UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backs Palestinian bid for membership

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Summary:

• Israeli tanks captured the main road dividing the eastern and western halves of Rafah on Friday, effectively encircling the entire eastern side of the city in the southern Gaza Strip.                                                                                                   
• UNICEF's senior emergency coordinator in Gaza said Friday that "more than 100,000 people have fled Rafah" as the city braces for an imminent full-scale Israeli ground assault. 
• Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he hopes he and Biden can overcome their disagreements over the war, after Biden withheld some weapons from Israel.
• Palestinian militant group Hamas said early Friday that its delegation attending ceasefire negotiations in Cairo had left the city for Qatar, adding the "ball is now completely" in Israel's hands.
• At least 34,904 Palestinians have been killed and 78,514 wounded in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.

Yesterday's key developments:

• Israel has submitted its reservations about a Hamas proposal for a hostage-release deal, and deems the latest round of negotiations in Cairo to have ended, a senior Israeli official said, confirming earlier reports of an end to this round in the Egyptian capital.
• The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said it was temporarily shuttering its east Jerusalem headquarters after "Israeli extremists" set fire to the perimeter following weeks of repeated attacks.
• Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Malta are considering recognising a Palestinian state on May 21, according to a report by Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE issued on Thursday. Israel said that the plan constituted a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the Gaza conflict.
• Israeli strikes on Syria early Thursday targeted facilities belonging to Iraq's Al-Nujaba armed movement, a war monitor and the pro-Iran group said, with Damascus saying an unidentified building was attacked. No casualties were reported.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters, AP)