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STORY: As Israeli forces mass on the outskirts of Rafah, fleeing Palestinians say they're already struggling to find a place to stay. Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza is crammed with people who have fled in recent days. Amani Al Fayoumi is among those who can't find anywhere to set up camp. “We have been sleeping in the cold for four days, and there is no place to set up our tent. Where will all the displaced people go? The situation is very difficult and we cannot find a place to set up our tents." Sumaya Shaaban and her children have been sat by the road for three days. What little aid there is doesn't reach them. "We are without life's necessities. We take water from the sea for our children. There are no bathrooms. There is no food. There is no side supporting us.” Israeli tanks seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday (May 7), cutting off a vital aid route and forcing at least 80,000 people to flee the city this week, according to the United Nations. That could just be the beginning. Residents fear Israeli strikes on Rafah, the biggest urban area in Gaza not yet overrun by Israeli ground forces, are a sign an invasion is imminent. The city is a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled combat farther north. Like many Gazans, the Al-Kafarna family have been displaced several times during the conflict and are now on the move again, this time from Rafah to the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, where they've been told, once again, they'll be safe. Laila Al-Kafarna: "We keep moving from one place to another. This child was born during the war, what did he do wrong? He was born in Rafah - there are no clothes, what did these children do wrong, what can we say?" Israel says it must hit Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are holed up there. The United Nations, Gaza residents and aid groups say an Israeli invasion of the city will result in a humanitarian catastrophe.

STORY: :: Greta Thunberg encourages pro-Palestinian protests while in the Eurovision host city :: Greta Thunberg, Activist “I think they should be everywhere. And, once again, young people are leading the way, showing the world how we should react to this, yeah.” :: Malmo, Sweden :: May 9, 2024 Some 100,000 visitors have gathered in the southern Swedish city for the annual kitsch-fest, which is taking place amid protests and boycotts over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Thunberg, 21, was wrapped in a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf that has become a symbol for Palestinian resistance. Israeli contestant Eden Golan, 20, will perform her song "Hurricane" in the second semi-final later on Thursday.

Scores of musicians, hundreds of journalists and thousands of music fans are gathering in the Swedish city of Malmo, where the Eurovision Song Contest is building towards Saturday's exuberant, glitter-drenched final. (AP Video: Kwiyeon Ha)

STORY: "The hate wave is so enormous, and it made the Israeli fans feel so depressed, and again, disillusioned." In the run up to Israel's semi-final performance on the Eurovision Song Contest stage on Thursday (May 9), Israeli fan Oded Avraham say he feels despondent. Protests and boycotts are planned over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. "We are all in Israel are heartbroken because of what happened on October 7, and it adds up. We thought we are going for this (Eurovision) escapistic bubble, fun, campic, colorful, and then it burst in our face. Another thing burst in our face. So, it's disappointing." Large pro-Palestinian protests are planned in Malmo, Sweden, where the song contest is hosted. Metal barricades and large concrete blocks have been put up around the arena, with police braced for possible unrest. On Wednesday (May 8), a vessel from Scandinavian NGO "Ship to Gaza" arrived at the port of Malmo, calling for solidarity with the people of Gaza. With stops in several European ports, the NGO aims to raise awareness of the situation for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. And will also attempt to break Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza coast. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes Eurovision, has resisted calls for Israel to be excluded. But it has asked Israel to modify the lyrics of its original song "October Rain," which appeared to reference the Hamas attack. "I have mixed feelings. It feels like it's hypocrisy that Russia was excluded and that Israel is included." While pro-Palestinian demonstrators, like Leah Ali, protest against what they call double standards, pointing to the EBU's decision to ban Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, Israeli Eurovision fan Yael Teleman says the two should not be compared. "The world perceives it as, like, Russia attacked Ukraine so now we're boycotting them, and Israel attacked Gaza so it's fair to boycott them as well. But this situation is more nuanced, and it's more complexed. Because we were attacked first, we were protecting ourselves." Some 100,000 visitors have gathered in the host city. The show is watched by some 200 million people worldwide.

Israeli forces have seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, pressing their offensive into the southern city. The Israeli assault into Rafah came just hours after Hamas accepted a cease-fire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar.

STORY: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday told the Senate that Washington had paused a shipment of weapons to Israel over that government's plans to carry an operation in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. "Israel shouldn't launch a major attack into the Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace." [FLASH] "...as we have assessed the situation, we have paused one shipment of high payload munitions." Austin confirmed reports that the U.S. had at least temporarily halted the planned transfer of some 3,500 powerful 2,000-lb and 500-lb bombs. It marks the first such delay since the Biden administration offered its "ironclad" support to Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. And the pause caught some U.S. lawmakers by surprise. CAPITO: "What is the status of withholding our weaponry that we voted to send to Israel? Are we doing that? Why are we doing that?" That was Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito's question to the Pentagon chief on Wednesday. AUSTIN: "Again, our commitment to Israel is ironclad." [FLASH] "We are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of the unfolding events in Rafah." That answer wasn't acceptable to Republican Lindsey Graham, who denounced what he called American efforts to tell Israel how to wage war. "You're going to tell them how to fight the war? And what they can and can't use? When everyone around them wants to kill all the Jews?" But others disagreed. MURPHY: "In fact, history tells us that the application of overwhelming military force can in fact grow terrorist threats, not shrink them." Democratic Senator Chris Murphy pointed out that the U.S. has no small experience trying - and failing - to defeat militant groups, and Israel could heed American advice on weapons and tactics. And Austin appeared to agree. "We learned that you have to protect civilians in the battlespace, otherwise you create more terrorists going forward." Washington is Israel's closest ally and main weapons supplier, and that relationship has been challenged by Israel's devastating retaliation that Palestinian health officials say killed 35,000 Gazans. The U.S. had urged Israel to hold off on plans to attack the city of Rafah, where around half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been crowded after fleeing other parts of the enclave during seven months of war. But Israel has threatened a major assault on the city to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are holed up there. An Israeli military spokesperson on Wednesday played down the arms hold-up, telling a conference that the operational partnership was significant and saying quote, "When there are disputes, and there are, they are being resolved behind closed doors in a matter-of-fact way."

Emergency workers said at least 30 people are dead in Rafah as the Israeli military continues to bomb the southern Gaza town.

STORY: In Cairo, all five delegations participating in ceasefire talks on Tuesday - Hamas, Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar - reacted positively to the resumption of negotiations, and meetings were expected to continue on Wednesday morning, two Egyptian sources said. Israel on Monday declared that a three-phase proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because terms had been softened. Israeli forces on Tuesday seized the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter during Israel's seven-month-old offensive. This cut off a vital route for aid into the tiny enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and hungry.

STORY: Aid trucks were seen lined up on the road in Egypt’s Rafah on Tuesday after Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the main border crossing. The United Nations and other international aid agencies said the closing of the two crossings into southern Gaza – Rafah and Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom – had virtually cut off the already-devastated enclave from outside aid. The seizure of the Rafah crossing, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinian civilians are holed up, came despite weeks of calls from the U.S. and others for Israel to hold off from a big offensive in Rafah. Fedaa Shallah, a displaced Palestinian woman from Gaza City said, “I don’t see that there is any place that is safe. There is bombing, shelling and we’ve had enough.” Doctor Mohammad Abu Skhil works in the emergency department of the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah. "The closure of the Rafah Crossing will contribute further to the demise of the health situation in Gaza Strip, specifically in the city of Rafah because it is through the Rafah crossing that essential medical supplies needed for the healthcare in Gaza come in.” The crossing was also the only exit point for those needing to leave Gaza for medical treatment unavailable inside the enclave. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel and Hamas on Tuesday to spare no effort in arriving at a truce deal. “Make no mistake – a full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe. Countless more civilian casualties. Countless more families forced to flee yet again – with nowhere safe to go.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said seizing the crossing was a significant step towards its aim of destroying Hamas' military capabilities. Hamas accused Israel of trying to undermine efforts to secure a ceasefire in the seven-month-long war... which started when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting about 250 others, according to Israeli tallies. Around 35,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli strikes since, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Any truce would be the first pause in fighting since a week-long ceasefire in November.

STORY: JOE BIDEN: "This ancient hatred of Jews didn't begin with the Holocaust. It didn't end with the Holocaust either." U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned that the threat of antisemitism is growing, in remarks honoring the 6 million Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust eighty years ago. And his keynote address for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's annual commemoration of the genocide came seven months to the day after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 by Israeli tallies. "That hatred was brought to life on October 7, in 2023, on a sacred Jewish holiday, the terrorist group Hamas unleashed the deadliest day of the Jewish people since the Holocaust." The Hamas attack provoked an Israeli retaliation that has so far killed 35,000 residents of the Gaza Strip. And it stirred up dramatic protests on U.S. college campuses by students demanding an end to the Israeli assault. Some Jewish students have said the demonstrations have included harassment and antisemitic instances. That comes against a backdrop in already-rising threats. The FBI reported a 36% increase in anti-Jewish hate crime incidents between 2021 and 2022, the latest year for which data is available, as well as a jump in crimes against Black Americans and gay men. MIKE JOHNSON: “To every Jewish student listening to us, no matter where you are around the country. You have my word. The U.S. House of Representatives will do everything in our power to ensure that you are safe." Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have condemned pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses, painting them as Hamas sympathizers. In some cases, police have forcefully torn down student encampments and arrested hundreds. Those arrested include University of Texas at Austin freshman Arwyn Heilrayn. REPORTER: "What is your reaction to people saying that these demonstrations are reflecting some antisemitism on campuses?" HEILRAYN: “I would reflect back the voices of the Jewish protesters that have been standing side by side with us, that this is not antisemitic, that this is pro-Palestinian.” The police crackdowns prompted criticism that universities were clamping down on political speech. And Biden has tried to walk a careful line as his own Democratic Party has appeared divided over those sympathetic to Palestinians' plight and others who insist on Israel's right to defend itself. "We respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech, to debate and disagree. To protest peacefully, and make our voices heard. I understand, that's America. But there is no place on any campus in America, no place in America, for antisemitism or hate speech, or threats of violence of any kind." Biden sought to reassure Jewish Americans, who overwhelming vote for Democratic candidates, that he would stand with them. "To the Jewish community, I want you to know, I see your fear, your hurt and your pain. Let me reassure you, as your president, you are not alone." Biden also said his commitment to Israel was ironclad even amid disagreements with the country's government.

During his speech at the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden condemned the recent surge in antisemitism in America and the atrocities committed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

President Biden denounced what he called a “ferocious surge” of antisemitism in the U.S., warning that people “are already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror” on Israel during the Oct. 7 attacks. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

President Joe Biden condemns a “ferocious surge of antisemitism," during a ceremony to remember victims of the Holocaust at a time when the Hamas attack on Israel and the war in Gaza spark new waves of violence and hateful rhetoric toward Jews.

Biden condemns antisemitism, says too many are 'forgetting' horrors unleashed on Israel by Hamas