Daily Peace and Crisis Report — Friday

Summary

Middle East

Gaza Strip

Israeli forces struck the Gaza Strip on the first day of Eid al-Adha, 28–29 May 2026, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 20 others in an overnight strike on a residential building in the al-Rimal neighbourhood west of Gaza City, according to Democracy Now!. Four children were among the dead. A survivor, Abu Azam, described the attack: "At 10:00, we all woke up to the sounds of rockets. There was no warning of a strike or anything. Suddenly, we heard the sound of rockets and strikes, and the screams of children and the screams of women. We in the Gaza Strip have not experienced a real truce or ceasefire for days."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on 28 May that he has directed the Israeli military to seize 70% of the Gaza Strip, with Israeli forces already having expanded their control by 11% beyond the "Yellow Line" established under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement, according to Al Jazeera. Israeli forces struck Deir el-Balah, Khan Younis, and al-Shati camp, destroying homes and killing at least three Palestinians in an attack on police personnel.

Cumulative figures since 7 October 2023 stand at 72,819 Palestinians killed and 172,855 injured, according to WAFA / Gaza Ministry of Health. Since the ceasefire agreement entered into force on 11 October 2025, Israel has committed 3,005 violations, killing 910 Palestinians and injuring 2,747 others. At least 10,000 people remain unaccounted for, presumed dead under rubble. The UN added Israel to its annual "blacklist" of perpetrators of grave violations against children in armed conflict, according to WAFA.

The Freedom Flotilla interception on 18 May 2026 drew international condemnation, with hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching through Barcelona and other European cities in protest. Aid access remained severely constrained, with only half of all aid trucks from Egypt able to offload at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom Crossing in the first 18 days of May, according to OCHA.

West Bank

Escalating settler violence and Israeli military operations continued to deepen the humanitarian crisis across the West Bank. Between 12 and 18 May, Israeli forces and settlers killed five Palestinians, including one child, while nearly 60 Palestinians were injured, according to OCHA. OCHA documented more than 50 settler attacks in a single week, bringing the total since January 2026 to over 870 across more than 220 communities — an average of six attacks per day.

Hundreds of Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem governorate face heightened risk of forced displacement after Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructed authorities to rapidly implement long-standing demolition orders against Khan al Ahmar. The Bedouin community of Khan al Ahmar is among 18 communities comprising approximately 4,000 people directly affected by the E1 settlement plan between East Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim. Humanitarian partners have long warned that the E1 plan would sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and have severe humanitarian consequences.

On 13 May, Israeli forces and settlers conducted a large-scale attack across Sinjil, Jiljiliya, and Abwein villages in Ramallah governorate, killing one Palestinian and injuring 10. Subsequently, 22 Bedouin families comprising 137 people, including 81 children, were forcibly displaced from the area following recurrent settler attacks and intimidation, according to OCHA. Israeli forces detained six Palestinians in raids in Qalqilya and Nablus on 29 May, according to WAFA.

Lebanon

Israel intensified its attacks on southern Lebanon, ordering tens of thousands of additional residents to evacuate. With its latest evacuation order targeting all areas south of the Zahrani River, Israel has declared approximately 14% of Lebanon's territory a combat zone, including most of Tyre, Lebanon's fourth-largest city. Israeli strikes killed at least 14 people, including children, according to Democracy Now!. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) observed extensive Israeli military activity as well as non-state armed group activity since 25 May, according to UN Secretary-General's noon briefing. An initial 45-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel was agreed in mid-April and extended this month despite ongoing attacks, according to Newsweek.

Iran–US Diplomatic Situation

US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, according to Al Jazeera and Axios. The deal, which would also re-open the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, still requires President Trump's final approval. The agreement came amid continued military exchanges: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a US military base in the Persian Gulf region, while Kuwait activated its air defences. Trump circulated a draft peace agreement among allies including Israel, according to The Guardian. Trump also threatened to "blow up" Oman if it attempted to control the Strait of Hormuz, drawing condemnation from Iran's foreign ministry.

Eastern Europe

Russia–Ukraine Conflict

The Russia–Ukraine war entered a period of intensified aerial bombardment following the disputed 22 May 2026 strike on a vocational school dormitory in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast, which is under Russian occupation. Russian officials claim 21 people were killed and 42 injured, mostly young women aged 14–18, according to RT (Rus). Ukraine denied targeting a civilian building, stating it had struck a Russian military drone command headquarters established on the college grounds. The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting; UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban noted the dormitory reportedly housed at least 86 adolescents and that "children are disproportionately impacted" by the war, according to UN News. The UN stated it cannot independently verify the details as the area is under Russian occupation.

Russia conducted one of its largest aerial attacks on Kyiv on 23–24 May, deploying over 90 missiles and 600 drones, killing at least four people and wounding more than 60, according to Al Jazeera. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of "systematic" strikes on Ukrainian defence industrial facilities and decision-making centres in Kyiv, calling on foreign citizens and diplomats to evacuate the capital. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that Russia's claimed justification of retaliation for Starobilsk does not align with the Kremlin's historical pattern of behaviour, noting that Russia began intensifying strikes on Kyiv on 12–13 May — over a week before the Starobilsk strike — and that it is not feasible to have assembled a 600-drone package within 24–48 hours, according to ISW.

Russian Perspective: RT (Rus) framed the Starobilsk strike as a "barbaric" attack by the "Kiev regime" on a civilian educational facility, citing Russian envoy to the UN and Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova. RT reported that "Kiev's backers refuse to acknowledge Kiev's drone raid on Starobelsk that left at least 18 students dead and dozens more injured." Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov contacted US Secretary of State Rubio to convey Russia's position and to frame Ukraine and its European partners as "undermining peace efforts."

Chatham House published a major research paper on 28 May warning that a rushed or poorly defined ceasefire could provide Russian forces an opportunity to regroup and rearm, while enabling the Kremlin to continue exerting pressure through cyberattacks, sabotage, and election interference. The paper noted that "Moscow will only accept a ceasefire that cements its gains and allows it to continue weakening Ukraine," according to Chatham House. A UNHCR warehouse in Dnipro was struck by a Russian missile, destroying emergency shelter materials intended for displaced civilians — the first such attack on a UNHCR facility since the start of the full-scale invasion, according to UN News.

OHCHR reported that at least 238 civilians were killed and 1,404 injured in Ukraine in April 2026, the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since July 2025 and an 18% increase compared with April 2025. Long-range weapons (missiles and drones) accounted for 43% of casualties, with civilian casualties from long-range weapons increasing by 38% compared with March 2026. In the first four months of 2026, civilian casualties were 21% higher than in the same period of 2025, according to OHCHR.

Africa

Sudan

Sudan's civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) entered its fourth year in 2026, with humanitarian conditions continuing to deteriorate. An estimated 19.5 million people are currently 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), while numerous areas across Darfur and Kordofan remain at high risk of famine amid ongoing conflict, siege tactics, disrupted markets, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access, according to ReliefWeb / Data Friendly Space.

Fatality estimates remain highly contested due to limited humanitarian access and communication blackouts. ACLED recorded nearly 30,000 reported deaths by late 2024, while independent investigations and international media estimates suggest the true death toll may exceed 150,000 people. More than 14 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict, including approximately 9 million internally displaced persons and more than 4 million refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries, making Sudan the world's largest displacement crisis, according to ReliefWeb.

The RSF has expanded its territorial influence across much of Darfur and intensified offensives in Kordofan, while the SAF has maintained control over key eastern and northern urban centres. Fighting around Kadugli, Dilling, and other strategic locations in Kordofan has trapped large civilian populations under increasingly dire conditions. The conflict has seen growing use of drones, aerial strikes, and long-range attacks targeting civilian infrastructure. A Democracy Now! investigation reported that the UAE trained Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the RSF, according to Democracy Now!. The World Food Programme warned that severe funding shortfalls threaten additional ration cuts, placing millions at further risk of hunger and malnutrition.

Asia

Myanmar

Myanmar's civil conflict continued, with resistance forces controlling an estimated 38% of the country's territory and 66% of its border trade as of late May 2026. The military junta deployed a fleet of jet fighters and Y-12 bombers to pound resistance-held Matupi in southern Chin State, according to Mizzima (Myanmar opposition). Heavy clashes were reported along the Sagaing–Kachin border as both sides battled for control of a key strategic area, according to Myanmar Now. The Myanmar military also launched renewed offensives into border regions with critical rare earth deposits, according to Reuters.

A Mizzima analysis published on 28 May called for Myanmar's resistance to immediately transition from armed struggle to coordinated state-building, credible federal governance, and constitutionalism, warning of the risk of a "hybrid trap" in which external actors could orchestrate a "fake peace" that freezes the conflict while preserving junta influence. The junta is attempting to manufacture legitimacy through its 2025/2026 elections conducted under the 2008 Constitution, which analysts describe as fatally flawed. The analysis recommended establishing a "Spider and Starfish" joint operational command and convening a Strategic Leadership Summit before the end of 2026 to formally bring into being a New Federal Democratic Union, according to Mizzima.

Fuel shortages deepened in Myanmar as the Iran war continued to send global fuel prices higher, with long queues reported at petrol stations across the country, according to BBC.

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)