Live Updates
Middle East Eye, Jun 17 2024
Evening recap
Here are some of the day’s key developments:
- Israeli forces have killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded 73 more in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry bringing the Palestinian death toll since 7 October to 37,347, with more than 85,372 wounded
- Netanyahu dissolved the war cabinet days after key opposition figure Benny Gantz quit it, the Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Monday
- Israeli forces have torched and destroyed facilities at the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, including halls used for travellers’ arrival and departure, according to local officials and media reports
- Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has said that Netanyahu should dissolve the Israeli government, following the leader’s decision to disband the war cabinet after the resignation of key opposition figure Benny Gantz
- According to a new poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute, around 60% of Israelis want the country to accept a captives-for-ceasefire deal presented by Biden
- The Israeli army has claimed that it controls over 60% to 70% of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
- In 2023, Israel’s defence exports reached a historic high, exceeding $13b, as reported by the Defense Exports Department of the Defence Ministry.
American and Jordanian aid planes destroy greenhouse feeding Palestinians
American and Jordanian planes destroyed the greenhouses of a young Palestinian farmer growing crops to feed the people of Gaza.
New World Central Kitchen in Khan Younis in memory of slain worker
World Central Kitchen has unveiled a new food distribution center called “Zomi” in honor of an aid worker who tragically lost their life during Israeli air strikes in April. one WCK worker, announcing the new kitchen in southern Khan Younis city, said:
Now Zomi’s dream will become true. This will be our fourth large-scale kitchen in Gaza and will be named after Zomi, one of our seven team members killed in the Apr 1 strike on a WCK humanitarian convoy.
US envoy visits Israel in bid to avert war with Hezbollah
US special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Israel on Monday in a bid by the Biden administration to avert soaring tensions between Hezbollah and Israel from erupting into a wider war. Hochstein met Netanyahu along with National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman. Hochstein’s visit to Israel underscores the urgency in Washington to prevent Israel’s war on Gaza from descending into a wider regional conflagration. Axios reported that he may travel to Beirut after Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near daily fire since 7 October. The fighting has displaced over 86k Lebanese and anywhere from 60k-96k Israelis from their homes. Read more: US envoy visits Israel in bid to avert war with Hezbollah.
3 wounded, at least 8 arrested at protests outside Netanyahu’s home
Thousands protested outside Netanyahu’s house on Azza Street in West Jerusalem. Police arrested at least eight protesters, and used a water cannon to put out a fire that protesters had lit on the road.
Blinken promised Netanyahu US will remove limits on arms shipments to Israel: Report
Blinken promised Netanyahu that Washington would soon remove all restrictions on weapons transfers according to reports by Israel’s Channel 12 news and Germany’s Bild. Blinken made the promise during a recent meeting to Israel following a demanded a renewal of the same level of arms shipments as at the start of the war.
At least 8 killed in Israeli strikes while waiting for aid
At least eight Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes while waiting for commercial trucks along the main eastern road of the Gaza Strip. An unknown number of people were wounded in the attack and taken to European Gaza Hospital.
UK approval of arms exports to Israel plunged at start of Gaza war
Britain’s approval of arms export licences to Israel dropped by more than 95% following Israel’s war on Gaza. The figures, which have not previously been reported, are based on information provided by government officials to Reuters new agency and data from the Department for Business and Trade’s Export Control Joint Unit. The US and Germany increased arms sales to Israel after the start of the war with Hamas.
US, UK attack Yemen’s Hodeidah International airport and Kamaran Island
The US and UK launched strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah International airport and Kamaran Island Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run said on Monday. The US and British forces have carried out at least six airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah International airport and four strikes on Kamaran Island near the port of Salif off the Red Sea, Reuters reported.
Israel’s defence exports reach record $13.1b in 2023
In 2023, Israel’s defence exports reached a historic high, exceeding $13b, as reported by the Defense Exports Department of the Defence Ministry. The report indicates that 36% of all defence export agreements in 2023 involved air defence systems. Over the past five years, Israel’s defence exports have doubled, with new records set each year for the last three years. In 2023, nearly half of the defence exports, 48%, went to countries in Asia and the Pacific. Europe accounted for 35%, North America for 9%, Latin America for 4%, countries in the Abraham Accords for 3%, and Africa for 1%.
LSE becomes first British university to evict pro-Palestine student encampment
A university in London has become the first British institution to evict its students from an encampment for Gaza after receiving a court order to disperse them. Wearing masks and scarves to cover their faces, students and staff chanted “Free, free Palestine” as dozens of students at the London School of Economics left a university building on Monday which they had occupied for more than 30 days. Forming a human chain, students frantically threw bin bags full of belongings out of the Marshall Building after the LSE obtained a court order to evict the students by 4 pm on Monday. Using megaphones and flags, other students continued to make their presence heard as security staff told them to leave the building because of a court order. Read more: LSE becomes first British university to evict pro-Palestine student encampment.
Israeli army claims to control 60% of Gaza’s Rafah city
The Israeli army has claimed that it control over 60% to 70% of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The offensive against Rafah has been ongoing for more than 40 days. At least 22 soldiers and had more than 300 others wounded as part of this battle, the military said.
60% of Israelis back proposed captives for ceasefire deal
According to a new poll by the Jewish People Policy Institute, around 60% of Israelis want the country to accept a captives-for-ceasefire deal presented by Biden. So far, Israel has not accepted the proposal, while Hamas has proposed amendments to the deal but accepted the overall framework. The poll also found that most Israelis want Palestinians to control Gaza after the war, with Israel maintaining a security foothold in the Strip. Only 10% want the Palestinian Authority involved in running Gaza, while 60% want local Palestinian entities and Arab states involved. More than 25% of Jewish Israelis want Israel to maintain full control and occupy Gaza after the war. Other findings of the poll, reported by the Times of Israel, revealed that 56% of Jewish Israelis have a very low level of trust in Netanyahu, while 74% of Palestinians said the same. Views on whether Israel should attack Lebanon are also divided, with 36% calling for an all-out war against Hezbollah. Another 26% called for a war in Lebanon once the Gaza war is over, and 30% support a political settlement.
Norway to increase funding to UNRWA
Norway’s international development minister, Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, said on Monday that the country will increase its current roughly $25m budget to UNRWA by another roughly $9m.
Egypt detains 250 Al Ahly fans over pro-Palestine chants
Egyptian security forces in Alexandria have detained more than 250 fans of Al Ahly Football Club at Borg El Arab Stadium for raising the Palestinian flag and chanting in solidarity with Gaza, according to a local rights group. The crackdown is the latest in a series of measures against pro-Palestine activism in Egypt since October, with more than 120 people detained for protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza, including students and two children. The fans were detained during their team’s match against Farco on Friday, according to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF). Children aged 13 and 15 were among those detained, according to ECRF. The group said that authorities had yet to confirm the detention of the fans, and that many were released a day later. Read more: Egypt detains 250 Al Ahly fans over pro-Palestine chants.
Gaza government accuses Israel and US of deliberately aggravating humanitarian situation
Gaza’s government media office has condemned Israel and the US for “deliberately withholding aid as a tool for political pressure.” The media office added that around 2.4 million Palestinians are living in dire conditions, with famine taking old in Gaza’s north. Continued border closures have deprived tens of thousands of sick and wounded people of badly needed food and medicine, it said.
Yair Golan: Ultra-Orthodox exemption bill undermines Israel’s national security
Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Labour Party, has condemned Netanyahu’s bill to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service. Golan said:
This will seriously undermine national security. This bad government has chosen to increase the burden on those serving in the ranks of the compulsory army and the reserves and to continue giving political bribes to coalition partners on the backs of all our sons and daughters.
Lapid prepares to block ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill
Opposition leader Yair Lapid met with representatives of his Yesh Atid party to discuss strategies to block the passage of the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill. If approved, the contentious legislation, which has been put forward by Israel’s government, would lower the age of exemption from service for Torah students from 26 to 21, and aims to “very slowly” increase conscription among the ultra-Orthodox. Lapid spoke to his party members ahead of a debate in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the bill, saying:
I believe that there are decent people in the committee from all factions of the house whose conscience and values will not allow them to pass the law as it is.
Lapid says Netanyahu should dissolve government, not war cabinet
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has said that Netanyahu should dissolve the Israeli government, following the leader’s decision to disband the war cabinet after the resignation of Benny Gantz. Lapid applauded Gantz’s decision as “important and correct.” He added:
The time has come to replace this extreme and reckless government with a sane government that will lead to the return of security to the citizens of Israel, to the return of the abducted, to the restoration of Israel’s economy and international status.
Lapid, who has emerged as a key figure in the anti-government protests, has urged the government to secure a hostage release deal with Hamas and repeatedly called for Netanyahu’s resignation.
Biden aide to meet with Israeli leaders about Hezbollah de-escalation
US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein is set to meet with the Israeli leadership, including Netanyahu and Herzog, on Monday to discuss deescalation between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, the Times of Israel is reporting. Hochstein brokered an Israel-Lebanon boundary agreement in 2022. Last month he told the Carnegie Endowment that he did not expect “everlasting peace” between Israel and Hezbollah.
Russia’s rights commissioner renews calls for release of Russians held in Gaza
Russia’s human rights commissioner is renewing calls on senior UN officials to act to secure the release of Russian hostages held in Gaza. In a statement on Telegram, Tatyana Moskalkova said that she had appealed to UNHCHR Volker Turk, head of the ICRC Mirjana Spoljaric, and other officials, after speaking to the hostages’ relatives. There are reportedly five captives with Russian passports still held captive, while three others have been released.
PRCS works with relief groups to build Gaza’s first shelter for people with disabilities
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee and the Gaza-based Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children have started constructing Gaza’s first shelter for people with disabilities in Deir el-Balah. When Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, there were an estimated 50k people with disabilities. Most shelters in Gaza are facing dangerous overcrowding and are not equipped to cater to special medical needs.
Israeli strike kills reporter in Gaza, bringing journalist death toll to 151
Israeli forces have killed Palestinian reporter Mahmoud Qasem, bringing the death toll among journalists and media workers in Gaza since Oct 7 to 151. According to the Gaza-based government media office, Qasem worked for the Falasteen online news outlet.
Palestinian Authority at risk of collapse, Norway says
The Palestinian Authority could collapse in the coming months, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Monday, citing a lack of funding, continuing violence and the fact that half a million Palestinians are not allowed to work in Israel. Barth Eide told Reuters:
The Palestinian Authority, with whom we work closely, are warning us that they might be collapsing this summer.
Norway chairs the international donor group to the Palestinians and is a backer of the PA.
Israeli forces kill 10 Palestinians in past day bringing Gaza death toll to 37,347
Israeli forces have killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded 73 more in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry. This brings the Palestinian death toll since Oct 7 to 37,347, with more than 85,372 wounded and an estimated 10k missing, likely dead and buried under rubble. Health officials report that over 70% of the victims are children and women.
Israeli drone strike hits car in Lebanon’s Tyre
An Israeli drone strike hit a car near in the Selaa village in Tyre on Monday, according to Lebanese media reports. The Lebanese National News Agency said ambulances were dispatched to the scene. There were no immediate reported of injuries.
UNRWA chief: Nothing changed after Israeli ‘tactical pauses,’ hostilities continue
Nothing has changed on the ground after the Israeli military announced “tactical pauses” along a road in Rafah, as hostilities continue across the Gaza Strip, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Monday. Speaking from Oslo, Lazzarini added that UNRWA has funding until July but the future beyond that was unknown. He also warned that a “silent war” was taking placed in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military announced a “tactical pause” on Sunday along a key road in Rafah to facilitate aid delivery, but later backtracked and said operations there would not stop after coming under pressure from the government.
Israeli troops ‘torch’ Rafah crossing’s arrival and departure halls
Israeli forces have torched and destroyed facilities at the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, including halls used for travellers’ arrival and departure, according to local officials and media reports. Pictures shared online showed what appeared to be the exterior of the departure hall damaged and blackened. Middle East Eye could not independently verify the authority of the photo. However, the report was confirmed by some media outlets and the Gaza-based government media office, which called for the urgent opening of crossings to alleviate the worsening starvation crisis. It also said “talk of a tactical pause was an Israeli lie,” referring to an announcement on Sunday by the Israeli military that it would hold temporary pauses in fighting along a key road in Rafah to facilitate aid delivery. However, Netanyahu denounced the move as “unacceptable” and the military later backtracked on the announcement, saying operations in Rafah would not stop.
Netanyahu dissolves war cabinet
Netanyahu dissolved the war cabinet days after key opposition figure Benny Gantz quit it, the Israeli state broadcasting reported on Monday. According to Haaretz, Netanyahu said he will continue to consult a limited “forum” for sensitive decisions.
UNRWA: Gaza most dangerous place in the world for aid workers
The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers where the Israeli war on Gaza has killed 193 UNRWA staff members so far, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday. It is the highest death toll in UN history.
Gaza’s students fight to keep learning amid Israeli ‘scholasticide’
When Nour fled her home to Rafah early in Israel’s continuing war on Gaza, she didn’t pack her two daughters’ textbooks. But as the assault dragged on, the Palestinian mother noticed they were beginning to forget what they had learned. Worried for their future, she took matters into her own hands. The social media activist told Middle East Eye:
I downloaded their school textbooks online and relied on YouTube channels that explain the Palestinian curriculum. I went to a nearby bookstore and printed out the necessary materials, like reading lessons or exercises requiring writing, to keep them engaged. I focused on Arabic, English and maths.
A corner in her shelter had been turned into a makeshift classroom, where she gave lessons and monthly exams to her daughters, who have been deprived of a regular education for an entire school year along with all of Gaza’s pupils. The Israeli war, now in its ninth month, has killed more than 15k children, many of them students. It has also destroyed all Gaza’s universities and most of its schools in what rights experts say is a deliberate policy to obliterate education in the Palestinian enclave. Read more: Gaza’s students fight to keep learning amid Israeli ‘scholasticide.’
Israel police detain Palestinian imam of Grand Mosque in Lod
Israeli police arrested Sheikh Yusef al-Baz, the imam of the Grand Mosque in Lod, or Lydd as it is known to Palestinians, on Monday, police said in a statement. According to the Times of Israel, al-Baz was detained for questioning over a recent sermon he gave. Al-Baz is repeatedly targeted by Israeli authorities. He recently served a sentence for “incitement,” a charge he denied.
Israeli anti-government protesters block highways near Tel Aviv
A number of key highways and roads north of Tel Aviv were blocked by anti-government protesters for the second day of the “week of disruption.” According to Israeli media, a series of protest actions are set to take place this week calling for early elections and a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
Morning update
Here are the latest updates from Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 255th day:
- Israeli air strikes at dawn on Monday have killed five Palestinians in Gaza City and the northern governorate, according to WAFA.
- Local Palestinian media said Monday morning that Israeli ground forces were advancing towards Gaza City’s southeastern al-Zaytoun neighbourhood under the cover of heavy air strikes.
- Israeli milspox Daniel Hagari said late Sunday that Hezbollah was “bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation” as cross-border fire intensified in recent weeks.
- Meanwhile, the White House said Amos Hochstein, a senior Biden adviser, will arrive in Israel on Monday for meetings to avoid further escalation between Israel and Lebanon.
Niqnaq 