Live Updates
Middle East Eye, Jun 15 2024
Evening recap
Here are the main developments from the 253rd day of the conflict:
- The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Oct 7 has risen to at least 37,296 people, with another 85,197 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry added that, of them, 30 were killed and another 95 wounded in the last 24 hours.
- Israeli forces have killed at least 547 Palestinians, and injured another 5,200, including 800 children, in the occupied Palestinian territories since Oct 7, the WHO has said.
- The Palestine Red Crescent Society has said that 498 medical personnel have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza.
- The Israeli military said eight of its soldiers were killed in Rafah on Saturday, when an armoured vehicle they were in exploded. The armed wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, said it had killed and wounded a number of Israeli soldiers in the “complex ambush,” one of the deadliest incidents involving the Israeli military in the more than eight months of war in the Palestinian territory.
- At least 19 Palestinians, including a baby, have been killed and 50 others wounded in Israeli air strikes targeting homes near Gaza City.
- The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, as an army official confirmed troops opened fire during a raid.
- Over 50k children in Gaza require treatment for acute malnutrition, UNRWA said on Saturday. Continued restrictions on humanitarian access to the enclave are producing “desperate levels of hunger,” the agency said.
- Israeli forces conducted dawn raids of towns in the occupied West Bank, including Beita, Kafr Dan, Qalqilya and Hebron. In Beita, soldiers ransacked several houses, firing tear gas at a Palestinian youth.
- The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, has said that captives will only be released following a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
- Israeli police arrested five protesters who staged a demonstration outside Netanyahu’s residence in Israel’s coastal town of Caesarea.
‘Miscalculation’ could lead to wider Hezbollah-Israel conflict, say UN officials
There is a “very real” risk that a miscalculation along Lebanon’s southern border could trigger a wider conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, two UN officials in Lebanon warned on Saturday. The UN special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, Aroldo Lazaro, said they were “deeply concerned” about the recent escalation along Lebanon’s border. Hezbollah last week launched the largest volleys of rockets and drones yet in the eight months it has been exchanging fire with the Israeli military, in parallel with the Gaza war. The two officials said in a written statement on Saturday:
The danger of miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflict is very real.
The US and France are working on a negotiated settlement to the hostilities along Lebanon’s southern border. Hezbollah says it will not halt fire unless Israel’s military offensive on Gaza stops.
Palestinians say Israeli troops kill teen in West Bank raid
The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, as an army official confirmed troops opened fire during a raid. Sultan Abd’ul-Rahman Khatatbeh, 16, was killed by Israeli fire in the northern West Bank town of Beit Furik, the ministry said in a statement published on Facebook. WAFA reported that two others were injured when Israeli forces stormed the town, east of Nablus, “firing live bullets at local residents.” An Israeli military official told AFP:
Troops were operating in the Nablus area when dozens of suspects hurled rocks at Israeli security forces, who responded with riot dispersal means and live fire. Hits were identified.
Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Hamas ambush in Rafah
The Israeli military said eight soldiers were killed in southern Gaza Saturday “in operational activity,” while Israeli media reported the troops died in the city of Rafah when an armoured vehicle they were in exploded. The military said in a statement that Captain Wassem Mahmud, 23, and seven other soldiers “fell during operational activity in southern Gaza,” in one of the deadliest incidents involving the military in the more than eight months of war in the Palestinian territory. “Their families have been notified,” the statement added. Earlier the armed wing of Hamas said it had killed and wounded a number of Israeli soldiers in an ambush in the southern city of Rafah, which included a strike on an APC. In a statement on Telegram, the Qassam Brigades said:
On the morning of Arafah Day, our fighters carried out a complex ambush against enemy vehicles invading the area of the Saudi neighbourhood in Tal al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah. A D9 military bulldozer was targeted with an al-Yassin 105 anti-armour missile, which led to it igniting and leaving the bulldozer crew dead and wounded. Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, a Namer armoured vehicle was targeted with anal-Yassin 105 missile, which led to its destruction and the killing of all its members.
The latest fatalities take the Israeli military’s toll to 306 since Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza on 27 October last year.
UNRWA: over 50k children in Gaza urgently need treatment for malnutrition
UNRWA tweeted on Saturday:
Over 50k children in Gaza require treatment for acute malnutrition. Continued restrictions on humanitarian access to the enclave are producing “desperate levels of hunger. UNRWA teams work tirelessly to reach families with aid but the situation is catastrophic.
Qassam brigades claim attack on Israeli soldiers
Hamas’s armed wing the Qassam Brigades said its fighters had killed and wounded Israeli soldiers in “a complex ambush” in southern Gaza. In a statement on Telegram, the group said they had targeted “a Zionist D9 bulldozer with an Al-Yassin 105 shell” in Tal as-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah, “leading to the killing and injury of soldiers.” It added in another statement that its fighters had also “targeted, alongside the Al-Quds Brigades, the Sufa military site in southern Israel with a missile salvo,” and fired “short-range missiles” at the Israeli command headquarters in the Netzarim axis west of Gaza City.
Blazing and sinking ship struck by Houthi missiles evacuated
The crew aboard a merchant vessel which was ablaze and sinking following an attack by Yemen’s Houthis have been evacuated, The UKMTO has said.
The Palau-flagged Verbena cargo ship was struck by Houthi missiles in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, sparking a fire and severely injuring one of the crew.
Israeli army says ‘five projectiles’ fired from Gaza humanitarian zone
The Israeli army said in a statement on Telegram:
Five projectiles were fired from the designated humanitarian zone in central Gaza on Friday. Some of the projectiles landed in open areas, while the others fell inside Gaza. This is a further example of the cynical exploitation of humanitarian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields by terror organisations in the Gaza Strip for their terrorist attack.
Lebanese strikes spark fires in Goren, Western Galilee
Fires have erupted in Goren, in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel, following several drone strikes launched from Lebanon, the Israeli military has said.
Erdogan: Biden facing ‘test of sincerity’ over Gaza
Erdogan said on Saturday that Israel’s war on Gaza is a “test of sincerity” for Biden. Erdogan told reporters on his way back from the G7 Summit in Italy that Biden needs to demonstrate his ceasefire plan is not a calculated electoral tactic but a sincere effort to end the war. When asked during the summit if he was confident that the ceasefire deal would be struck soon, Biden said no. He told reporters:
I haven’t lost hope, but it’s going to be tough. Hamas has to move.
PRCS: 500 medical personnel killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October
The Palestine Red Crescent Society has said that 498 medical personnel have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October.
Islamic Jihad: Hostages will only be released following Israeli withdrawal
The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, has said that captives will only be released following a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. On Thursday, Hamas responded to the US-mediated ceasefire proposal with amendments including an end to the 17-year blockade on the enclave and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip.
German government declines to comment on funding cuts targeting pro-Palestine academics
A German government spokesperson has declined to comment on reports of funding cuts targeting professors who supported pro-Palestine student demonstrations. The funding cuts were reported by the public radio and television broadcaster NDR following an open letter in May on the Free University of Berlin’s response to protesters, which accused the university of exposing demonstrators to “police violence.”
Gaza death toll reaches 37,296
The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Oct 7 has risen to at least 37,296 people, with another 85,197 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry added that, of them, 30 were killed and another 95 wounded in the last 24 hours.
Rescue teams retrieve nine bodies from under rubble in Rafah
Palestine Civil Defence teams retrieved the bodies of nine Palestinians from under the rubble of buildings across Rafah, Wafa news agency reported, citing medical sources. The European Hospital in Khan Younis reported that the bodies were unearthed from the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli attacks across Rafah.
Israeli forces detain five Palestinians from across West Bank
Israeli forces have detained five Palestinians following dawn raids across the occupied West Bank, WAFA reported, citing security and local sources. Two of the detainees were arrested by Israeli forces following raids of the town of Beita, south of Nablus. Another was detained as Israeli forces stormed Jalazoun refugee camp, north of Ramallah, and another was arrested in the al-Masayef neighbourhood in Ramallah city. Meanwhile, a Palestinian woman was detained by Israeli forces in Hebron.
UNICEF: Israeli forces shot and killed Palestinian fishermen
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told journalist Owen Jones:
I witnessed Israeli forces shooting dead two Palestinian men who were fishing in shallow water. I saw the men fishing while he was waiting at a checkpoint, when an Israeli tank drove up and opened fire on two of them as they tried to flee. One is shot in the back, one is shot in the neck. I was with a paramedic, who radioed to Israeli officials asking for permission to treat the men, which was denied. One of these fishermen still had a fishing net trapped round his leg.
Israeli military claims attack on motorcycle in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military has confirmed its drone attack on a motorcycle travelling between the southern Lebanese towns of towns of Bint Jbeil and Aitaroun. The army said in a statement on Telegram that it had struck a “Hezbollah terrorist” in the area. “Moreover, artillery fired to remove a threat in the area of Aitaroun.”
UNICEF: Israeli forces blocked aid for 10k children
A UNICEF aid truck carrying nutritional and medical supplies for 10k children from Deir el-Balah to Gaza City was denied access by Israeli forces on Wednesday, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told Al Jazeera.
It took 13 hours and we spent eight of those around checkpoints, arguing around paperwork, was it a truck or a van. The reality is, this truck was denied access. Those 10k children did not get that aid. Israel as the occupying power has the legal responsibility to facilitate that aid.
Israeli bulldozers demolish evacuated homes in Rafah
Footage circulated online and verified by Al Jazeera has revealed Israeli bulldozers demolishing evacuated homes west of Rafah, that were damaged in attacks by Israeli forces.
British far-right and pro-Israel activists are fighting the Palestinian movement together
On May 23, hundreds of far-right British nationalists and Israel supporters gathered outside the entrance of a small arthouse cinema in North London. Brandishing Union Jacks, Israeli and Israeli military flags, they swarmed round a group of some 80 pro-Palestine activists who were staging a vigil on the far side of the road. The vigil was part of a campaign to protest against the cinema’s hosting of a private screening of a documentary about the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct 7, as part of the Israeli-government sponsored film festival, Seret. The vigil organisers had braced themselves for a backlash. The week before, another demonstration outside the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead had drawn a much smaller crowd of counter-protesters. But the numbers outside the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley had ballooned to close to 1k, anti-fascist investigation group Red Flare estimated. Read more: British far-right and pro-Israel activists are fighting the Palestinian movement together.
MSF: Gaza staff forced to eat pigeon food
An MSF logistician trapped in Gaza has reported having to eat pigeon food in order to survive. he said in a video published by the NGO:
After about four or five months, some food became available: canned food and a small amount of lentils and rice. But the prices are extremely high.
He added that there is no treatment available for his hypertension and diabetes, and that people are forced to use alternative herbal treatments instead of medication.
Casualties feared after Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon
An Israeli drone strike has targeted a motorcycle between the southern towns of Bint Jbeil and Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media is reporting. Casualties are currently unknown. Tensions between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have escalated in the last few days, after the latter’s assassination of Taleb Abdullah, the most senior Hezbollah commander killed since Oct 8.
Baby killed in Israeli attacks on homes in Gaza
At least 19 Palestinians, including a baby, have been killed and 50 others wounded in Israeli air strikes targeting homes near Gaza City, WAFA is reporting. The Palestinian Civil Defence teams have recovered the bodies of five people, including a baby, from the rubble of two homes belonging to the Al-Jamasi and Al-Ramlawi families in the al-Shaaf area in the al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Rescue teams are still working to look for the injured under the rubble.
WHO: 5,200 Palestinians, 800 children injured by Israeli forces in West Bank attacks
Israeli forces have killed at least 547 Palestinians, and injured another 5,200, including 800 children, in the occupied Palestinian territories since 7 October, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. WHO said in a statement:
The casualties are adding to the growing burden of trauma and emergency care at already strained health facilities. As of 28 May, WHO has documented 480 attacks on health care in the West Bank since 7 Oct 2023, resulting in 16 deaths and 95 injuries. The attacks affected 54 health facilities, 20 mobile clinics and 319 ambulances. The closure of checkpoints, arbitrary obstructions, and detentions of health workers, rising insecurity, as well as the siege and closure of entire towns and communities has made movement within the West Bank increasingly restricted, impeding access to health facilities. Extensive infrastructure and housing damage, particularly in the northern West Bank, have compounded the situation by obstructing access for ambulances and first-aid responders.
Five protesters arrested outside Netanyahu’s residence
Israeli police arrested five protesters who staged a demonstration outside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence in Israel’s coastal town of Caesarea, Israeli media is reporting. The IBA published footage of the demonstration, which was protesting against Netanyahu’s policies and the stalling of a hostage deal with Hamas. The protesters were arrested for causing “unreasonable noise,” according to the report.
Israeli forces storm West Bank towns at dawn
Israeli forces conducted dawn raids of towns in the occupied West Bank, including Beita, Kafr Dan, Qalqilya and Hebron. In Beita, soldiers ransacked several houses, firing tear gas at a Palestinian youth. One Palestinian was arrested, and two others were injured by Israeli forces in Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah, with one of them in critical condition after being struck on the head. Israeli forces have now withdrawn from Beita.
Morning update
Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 253rd day:
- Israeli air strikes pounded war-ravaged Gaza City overnight, destroying three homes and killing at least 19 people inside, according to WAFA.
- Heavy fighting continues in Rafah with Israel stepping up tank shelling and air strikes west of the city as it attempts to advance further into the centre. Initial reports on Hebrew media reported heavy Israeli casualties from Rafah on Saturday morning.
- The US military said it was preparing to temporarily remove the Gaza pier because of anticipated sea conditions.
- Separately, US CENTCOM said on Friday it destroyed seven Houthi radars, one drone and two uncrewed surface vessels in Yemen in the past 24 hours.
Niqnaq 