May 10, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Palestinians prepare to evacuate a tent camp after Israeli forces launched a ground and air operation in the eastern part of Rafah, on May 10, 2024

The White House said Friday it sees no indication of a “large-scale invasion” in Rafah – but the Biden administration is watching the situation closely and “with concern.” 

Kirby said that the forces in the area had been “put in there at the beginning.” 

“That said, we’re watching it with concern,” he said. “Every day that that crossing is not available and usable for humanitarian assistance, there’s going to be more suffering, and that’s of deep concern to us.” 

On a national security memorandum expected Friday detailing whether Israel violated the terms of a weapons agreement with the United States, Kirby said President Joe Biden had been briefed and was “obviously aware of the contents.” 

On Friday, the United Nations warned the situation in Gaza has reached “even more unprecedented levels of emergency,” with every single crossing into Rafah remaining closed.

In this January 2024 file photo, ICJ President Joan Donoghue and ICJ judges arrive at the International Court of Justice prior to the verdict announcement in the genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa.

South Africa has filed an urgent request for additional measures in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case against Israel, a court statement from Friday shows.

CNN has reached out to the Israeli government for comment.

Some background: On March 28, the ICJ issued additional provisional measures against Israel in light of famine “settling in” Gaza. It followed the court’s original ruling in January ordering Israel to “take all measures” to prevent genocide after South Africa accused Israel of violating international laws on genocide in its war in the enclave.

The ICJ rejected Israel’s request for the case to be thrown out, saying there was a “plausible” case of genocide, but the court stopped short of ordering Israel to halt the war as South Africa had asked. 

The results of a vote on a resolution for the UN Security Council to reconsider and support the full membership of Palestine into the United Nations is displayed during a special session of the UN General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York City on May 10, 2024.

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has welcomed the passing of the UN General Assembly resolution that calls on the UN Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership to the UN, according to a written statement published by the ministry on Friday.

The ministry also thanked the countries that sponsored and voted for the resolution and renewed its call to nations supporting the two-state solution and regional peace, to recognize a Palestinian state formally.

Some context: While a General Assembly vote cannot confer UN membership, the resolution does endow the Palestinian Authority with new procedural rights and privileges.

Only member states can vote, but the Palestinian Authority can now be seated among member states in alphabetical order; submit and introduce proposals and amendments; and co-sponsor proposals and amendments.

Smoke rises above building at sunrise, in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 10, 2024

Israel’s security cabinet approved an “expansion of the area of operation” in Rafah late Thursday, an Israeli official said, one day after President Joe Biden threatened to withhold US weapons if Israel carries out an all-out offensive in the city.

The approval is a way for the cabinet to express its support for expanding military operations in Rafah and empowers the war cabinet to continue to make military decisions there without further consulting the security cabinet.

The approval is not an indication of an imminent expansion of Israeli military operations in Rafah.

Biden on Wednesday warned he would halt some shipments of American weapons to Israel — which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza — if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a “major invasion” of the city of Rafah.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 28.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas applauded the UN General Assembly’s overwhelming vote Friday in favor of the UN Security Council’s reconsideration of Palestine’s full UN membership.

He thanked countries that supported the resolution, which he said in a statement is “consistent with international law and expresses the international consensus in isolating the occupation and its crimes and serious violations of international legitimacy.”

Abbas added that, “in light of this vote, the State of Palestine will continue its endeavor to obtain full membership in the United Nations by a decision of the Security Council.” 

He called on the US to withdraw its veto and support the Palestinian Authority’s full UN membership.

Abbas highlighted the vote – which also granted the Palestinian Authority additional rights within the UN system but not full membership – as a restoration of faith in international legitimacy and law, crucial for regional peace.

Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz attends a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York on March 11.

Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz has condemned the passing of the UN General Assembly resolution on Friday calling for the UN Security Council to reconsider UN Membership for the Palestinian Authority.

Katz said the decision would further complicate negotiations surrounding the release of hostages held in Gaza, by providing “a tailwind to Hamas.”

The foreign minister thanked the countries that did not vote in favor of the resolution, who he says chose to “stand on the right side of history and morality.”

A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling on the UN Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership to the UN passed on Friday, with 143 votes in favor, nine votes against and 25 abstaining. 

The resolution calls for the Security Council to “reconsider the matter favourably,” and stresses that the Palestinian Authority be granted UN membership, saying, “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations.”

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour gestures to delegates after addressing them during the UN General Assembly in New York, on May 10.

In a poignant address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday ahead of a crucial vote in the body, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour spoke passionately about the plight of his people, highlighting the dire situation in Gaza.

The UNGA session saw a vote on a draft resolution calling on the UN Security Council to reconsider the Palestinian Authority’s UN membership bid – which passed with 143 votes in favor.

Mentioning ongoing protests at Columbia University, Mansour paused briefly.

Mansour asserted Palestinian resilience, noting the symbolic significance of their flag flying proudly both in the Palestinian Territories and across the globe, including at Columbia University.

He underscored the urgent need for global solidarity in support of Gaza, stressing that while Palestinians will not disappear, the lives lost and the scars inflicted cannot be undone.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a special session at UN headquarters in New York, on May 10.

A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling on the UN Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership to the UN passed on Friday, with 143 votes in favor, nine votes against and 25 abstaining. 

The resolution calls for the Security Council to “reconsider the matter favourably,” and stresses that the Palestinian Authority be granted UN membership, saying, “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations.”

Prior to the start of the UNGA session, the US Mission to the UN indicated that if the resolution was adopted and the membership application sent to the Security Council, the US would veto it again, saying, “We expect a similar outcome to what occurred in April.”

The US mission said the Palestinian Authority does not meet the criteria for UN membership and that the resolution does not resolve concerns previously raised about Palestinian membership.

In April, the Palestinian Authority relaunched its membership request, and later that month, the US vetoed the Palestinian attempt to achieve membership status. The vote in the Security Council saw 12 members in favor and one against, in addition to the US veto. Israel commended the US veto, calling the Palestinian bid a “shameful proposal” while the Palestinian Authority presidency called the veto “unfair, immoral and unjustified”.

In September 2011, the Palestinian Authority failed to win UN recognition as an independent member state. A year later, the UN decided that the Palestinian Authority’s “non-member observer entity” status would be changed to “non-member observer state,” similar to the Vatican.

Displaced Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes in Khan Younis, Gaza, after fleeing from Rafah on May 7.

People fleeing from the southern Gaza city of Rafah have described arriving in Khan Younis only to find it “completely destroyed,” with dire living conditions.

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates nearly 110,000 people have fled Rafah since Monday, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation order. Many of them arrived in Khan Younis, only to reach an area already devastated by war.

Amana added that her family had left Rafah under the bombardment, which was a “horror scene.”

Another man named Fayez Abu Amsha, originally a resident of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, told CNN that he and his family were told to flee to Rafah in the early days of the war.

Amsha and his family fled to Khan Younis to find an UNRWA school in the city “totally and completely destroyed and uninhabitable.”

Another elderly lady named Fatama Al-Masri, from Beit Hanoun, described dire living conditions in Khan Younis, including no water electricity or running water, and being left with no choice but to “defecate on the dirt.”

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at U.N. headquarters in New York City, on February 8.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that a massive ground attack in Rafah would lead to an “epic humanitarian disaster” as well as “pull the plug on our efforts to support people as famine looms.”

It comes as ceasefire-for-hostage talks are on “pause” while Israel steps up its military operation in Rafah, two US officials told CNN.

Guterres also stressed that the situation in Rafah “is on a knife’s edge,” as airstrikes continue throughout southern Gaza.

Guterres then reiterated his calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and the massive surge in life-saving aid.