Closing summary
It is approaching 6pm in Gaza and Tel Aviv. We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Israel-Gaza war coverage here and on the Middle East here.
Here are the recent developments:
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on accusations that his country’s top ally, the United States, was withholding weapons shipments, despite denials from the Biden administration. Netanyahu said the drop in arms shipments began four months ago, without specifying which weapons The dispute underscores the strain between Israel and Washington throughout the war in Gaza. Netanyahu’s earlier claims over the weapons last week sparked an uproar among critics in Israel and was met with denial and confusion from White House officials.
Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian man, Mujahed Azmi, to a military vehicle during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the army said Sunday, admitting that soldiers had violated operational procedures. Footage of the incident, which occurred on Saturday, has gone viral and shows Azmi, a Jenin resident strapped horizontally to the bonnet of a military Jeep as it passes through a narrow alley.
Eight Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on a training college near Gaza City being used to distribute aid, Palestinian witnesses said, as Israeli tanks pushed further into the southern city of Rafah. The strike hit part of an industrial college run by the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa now providing aid to displaced families, the witnesses said. Unrwa and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Sunday it had targeted two military positions in northern Israel with an armed drone in response to the killing of an Islamist commander. Hezbollah’s announcement came hours after it published a video excerpt purporting to show locations in Israel along with their coordinates, amid heightening fears of an all-out conflict between the two.
Cuba has said it will join a case by South Africa which accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement that the move was to “stop the atrocities against the Palestinian people as a result of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel”.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict. “We are prepared for any action that may be required in Gaza, Lebanon, and in more areas,” Gallant said in a statement before setting off to Washington, where he said he will meet his counterpart Lloyd Austin and secretary of state Antony Blinken.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief has called for an independent probe into a shelling which damaged the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza. In a post on X, Josep Borrell said the EU condemned the shelling which also “led to dozens of casualties”. The ICRC reported on Saturday that heavy-calibre projectiles “landed within metres” of its office and residences, killing at least 25 people. “An independent investigation is needed and those responsible must be held accountable,” Mr Borrell said.
Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of the Mawasi displaced persons’ camp in the north-west of the southern Gaza City of Rafah on Sunday in fierce fighting with Hamas-led fighters, residents said on Sunday. Images of two Israeli tanks stationed on a hilltop overlooking the coastal area went viral on social media, but the Guardian could not independently verify them.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday that it had received a report of a distress call from a vessel 96 nautical miles southeast of Nishtun, Yemen. The UKMTO reported that the vessel suffered flooding that could not be contained. It added that the crew were forced to abandon ship and were recovered by an assisting ship.
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Israel of “turning international law on its head” after footage emerged of a Palestinian man strapped to the hood of a military Jeep during an arrest raid by Israeli troops in the West Bank. Commenting on the scenes, Ms Albanese called it “Human Shielding in action” and said on X it was “flabbergasting how a state born 76 years ago has managed to turn international law literally on its head”.
Updated
UN official accuses Israel of 'turning international law on its head'
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has accused Israel of “turning international law on its head” after footage emerged of a Palestinian man strapped to the hood of a military Jeep during an arrest raid by Israeli troops in the West Bank.
The Israeli military in a statement said Israeli forces were fired at and exchanged fire, wounding a suspect and apprehending him.
Soldiers then violated military protocol, they added.
Commenting on the scenes, Ms Albanese called it “Human Shielding in action” and said on X it was “flabbergasting how a state born 76 years ago has managed to turn international law literally on its head”.
“This risks being the end of multilateralism, which for some influential member states no longer serves any relevant purpose,” she added.
An investigation by Israel into the incident is now under way.
#HumanShielding in action.
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) June 22, 2024
It is flabbergasting how a state born 76 years ago has managed to turn international law literally on its head.
This risks being the end of multilateralism, which for some influential member states no longer serves any relevant purpose.… https://t.co/swwjiuJYmG
