Daily Peace and Crisis Report — Wednesday

Summary

Middle East

Gaza Strip

Israeli military operations continued across the Gaza Strip on 26 May despite the ceasefire agreement in force since October 2025. Five Palestinians were killed and several others wounded when Israeli forces and a drone targeted civilians in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, according to WAFA and medical sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The attack occurred as residents attempted to confront an Israeli-backed militia advancing toward homes east of the camp. Separately, three Palestinians, including a woman, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Gaza City, while two others, including a six-year-old girl, were killed in a strike on a tent encampment in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis. Democracy Now!

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 904 Palestinians have been killed and over 2,713 wounded since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025. Palestine Chronicle The cumulative death toll since October 2023 has risen to 72,797 killed and 172,821 injured. Israel now controls nearly 60% of the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire, and the promised delivery of 600 aid trucks per day has not been implemented, deepening a humanitarian catastrophe as Eid al-Adha approaches.

West Bank

In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli forces during a raid on Jenin refugee camp on 26 May. WAFA According to OCHA data cited in UNRWA Situation Report #222, a total of 1,095 Palestinians—including at least 240 children—have been killed in the West Bank between 7 October 2023 and 13 May 2026. OHCHR reported that in April 2026 alone, at least 111 Palestinians were killed in attacks by Israeli forces, including 18 children and 7 women. Israeli forces also sealed off the main road connecting Al-Khader and Bethlehem and raided residents’ tents in the northern Jordan Valley.

Lebanon

An Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley killed 12 people on Monday 26 May, according to Lebanese state media. The strike came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised intensive military operations against Hezbollah and called up additional troops for deployment to Lebanon. Democracy Now! Despite a ceasefire agreed in April, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire on a near-daily basis. Since 2 March, over one million Lebanese have been forced to flee their homes, and the total death toll from Israeli attacks has risen to 3,213. Dawn

Iran–US Situation

The United States attacked southern Iran on Sunday 25 May in what the Pentagon described as “self-defence” strikes, sinking two Iranian ships that Washington claimed were attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it shot down a US Reaper drone that entered Iranian airspace. Democracy Now! Iranian negotiators travelled to Qatar to discuss a potential ceasefire deal, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a sign of “bad faith and unreliability.” President Trump demanded Iran hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium, while also urging regional states to normalise relations with Israel by joining the Abraham Accords. Official Pentagon statistics put US casualties in the Iran conflict at 423. The Intercept

Eastern Europe

Russia–Ukraine Conflict

Russia launched one of the largest combined aerial assaults on Kyiv since the war began on the night of 24 May, deploying approximately 600 strike drones and 90 missiles, including the Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile—its third confirmed use in the conflict. At least two people were killed and 83 wounded as strikes damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital, including residential areas, the National Chornobyl Museum, schools, and a market. The Oreshnik struck the town of Bila Tserkva, approximately 80 kilometres south of Kyiv. AP / 9News

The Russian Defence Ministry stated the strike targeted Ukrainian military command and control facilities, air bases, and defence industry enterprises, and that “all designated targets were hit.” Moscow described the bombardment as retaliation for a Ukrainian drone attack on a teacher training college dormitory in Starobilsk, in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, on 22 May. RT (Rus) The death toll from the Starobilsk strike rose to 21, with 42 others injured, mostly teenage students. President Putin described the attack as a deliberate “terrorist act” and ordered the military to prepare retaliatory options. RT (Rus) At a UN Security Council emergency meeting, Ukraine’s Ambassador denied accusations of war crimes, calling Russia’s claims a “pure propaganda show” and asserting the May 22 operations “exclusively targeted the Russian war machine.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned foreigners to leave Kyiv “as soon as possible,” signalling further strikes may follow. Democracy Now! According to Russia Matters, analysis of ISW data for April 21–May 19 indicates Russian forces registered a net loss of 69 square miles of Ukrainian territory during that period, suggesting battlefield momentum has shifted. A new US DOD Special Inspector General report confirmed that neither side demonstrated capability for decisive operational breakthroughs in Q1 2026.

Africa

Sudan

Sudan’s conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has entered its fourth year, with humanitarian conditions continuing to deteriorate at an alarming pace. According to the latest Sudan Crisis Situation Analysis published by ReliefWeb on 26 May, an estimated 19.5 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity, making Sudan the world’s largest hunger crisis. Famine conditions have been confirmed in el-Fasher (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Kordofan).

Fatality estimates remain highly contested due to limited humanitarian access and communication blackouts. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recorded nearly 30,000 reported deaths by late 2024, while independent investigations suggest the true death toll may exceed 150,000. More than 14 million people have been displaced since the conflict began, including approximately 9 million internally displaced persons and over 4 million refugees in neighbouring countries—making Sudan the world’s largest displacement crisis. ReliefWeb / OCHA

The RSF has expanded its territorial influence across much of Darfur and intensified offensives in Kordofan, while the SAF maintains control over key eastern and northern urban centres. Ethnic violence and sexual and gender-based violence continue to escalate, particularly in Darfur. Despite sanctions imposed by the US and UK on RSF leaders, regional and international mediation initiatives have failed to secure a durable ceasefire.

Asia

Myanmar

Heavy clashes between Myanmar’s military junta and resistance forces intensified along the Sagaing–Kachin border on 26 May, as both sides battle for control of a key gateway to the country’s north. Myanmar Now The military has reinforced troops to open multiple fronts in Kachin State, with intense fighting reported in Bhamo, Hpakant, and Shwegu townships.

The junta is also stepping up its fight for rare earth-rich areas in Kachin, along with Chin and Karen border areas, aiming to regain control of key communication and trade routes. Reuters In a separate development, ASEAN lawmakers denounced the regime’s “abduction campaign” as the 25th batch of forcibly conscripted civilians began military training. Resistance forces also captured a pro-regime militia base in Magway Region on 23 May, while the junta’s counteroffensive has pushed Karenni resistance into a new phase of war in eastern Myanmar.

Statistics

Table 1 — Casualties (Killed / Wounded)

* OHCHR access is denied to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine; figures for civilians in occupied territory cannot be independently verified. The vast majority (96%) of verified civilian casualties occur in Government-controlled areas.

Table 2 — Numbers (non-casualty figures)