Summary of the day …
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the most intense phase of the assault against Hamas in Gaza is coming to an end, freeing up forces to move to the Lebanese border, where escalating exchanges of fire with the militant group Hezbollah have increased fears of a wider war
Netanyahu’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said it is “My life’s mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state”. He told a meeting of the Religious Zionism party “We will establish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria [an Israeli name for the occupied West Bank], first on the ground and then through legislation. I intend to legalise the young [illegal] settlements”
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, will make her eighth trip to the region since the 7 October attacks. She is to hold talks in Israel, the West Bank and Lebanon with a view to contributing to de-escalation amid fears of war with Hezbollah. At an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg before leaving for Tel Aviv, Baerbock said “the images from Gaza and thoughts of the still-held hostages from Israel are heartbreaking”
Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini said the international community should push back against Israel’s efforts to have the UN agency for Palestinian refugees disbanded. “Israel has long been critical of the agency’s mandate. But it now seeks to end Unrwa’s operations, dismissing the agency’s status as a UN entity supported by an overwhelming majority of member states. If we do not push back, other UN entities and international organizations will be next, further undermining our multilateral system”. 193 Unrwa personnel have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its assault on the territory
In its latest operational update, Israel’s military has claimed to have killed a senior Hamas figure who was responsible for projects and development in Hamas’ weapons manufacturing headquarters, and said it is continuing operations in Rafah and in central Gaza
An Israeli airstrike at a medical clinic in Gaza City killed Hani al-Jaafarawi, the director of Gaza’s ambulance and emergency department, the territory’s health ministry has said
The Al-Quds Brigades has claimed an attack on Israeli ground troops operating inside Rafah
An Israeli court has extended the detention of Rasha Hirzallah, a journalist working for the Palestinian news agency Wafa. She is to be detained until 11 August
An Israeli commission investigating suspected wrongdoing in government purchases of submarines and missile boats from Germany issued a warning to Netanyahu on Monday. The panel notified the prime minister that based on evidence gathered thus far, it could ultimately determine that he had used his position as prime minister between 2009 and 2016 to greenlight the purchases without due process. A statement from the prime minister’s office said that “History will prove that prime minister Netanyahu was right on this issue … and made the right decisions for the security of Israel”
Officials from Hamas and Fatah have both blamed each other behind the scenes for the cancellation of proposed talks on a reconciliation to be held in China
Lebanon’s national news agency has reported that one member of a civil defence team working to put out a fire in the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh was injured by shrapnel from Israeli artillery fire
Greece’s foreign minister said on Monday that threats by Iran-backed Hezbollah against Cyprus were unacceptable and the EU would stand by member states against all such threats
Lebanon’s national news agency has reported that one member of a civil defence team working to put out a fire in the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh was injured by shrapnel from Israeli artillery fire.
Reuters reports that officials from Hamas and Fatah have both blamed each other behind the scenes for the cancellation of proposed talks on a reconciliation to be held in China.
China hosted a meeting between the two factions in April. Senior Hamas official Basem Naim, who attended that meeting, told Reuters Fatah had requested an indefinite delay.
Fatah spokesperson Abdel Fattah Dawla said his movement had not rejected the invitation, but had held discussions with the Chinese ambassador about the proposed date in light of he what he described as escalating Israeli aggression and “the complexities of events”.
An alternative date had been proposed, but Hamas had responded by refusing to take part, Dawla said. A Hamas official denied this account, saying the movement had not rejected another meeting.
Israel's finance minister Smotrich: 'My life’s mission is to thwart establishment of Palestinian state'
Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has restated his position that the Israeli-occupied West Bank should become permanently part of Israel rather than part of a Palestinian state. A member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, Smotrich described it as his “life’s mission” to “thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state”.
Speaking at a meeting of the Religious Zionism party, Haaretz reports he said:
We will establish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria [an Israeli name for the occupied West Bank], first on the ground and then through legislation. I intend to legalise the young settlements. My life’s mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Israel occupied the West Bank, capturing it from Jordan, in the six-day war of 1967.
In May 2023, Smotrich instructed Israeli government ministries to prepare for 500,000 more Israeli settlers to move into the occupied-West Bank, describing it as a “core mission” for Netanyahu’s government.
Reuters is carrying a fuller quote from Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini, who we reported earlier had said that the international community should push back against Israel’s efforts to have the UN agency for Palestinian refugees disbanded.
Israel has long been critical of the agency’s mandate. But it now seeks to end Unrwa’s operations, dismissing the agency’s status as a UN entity supported by an overwhelming majority of member states.
If we do not push back, other UN entities and international organizations will be next, further undermining our multilateral system.
In Gaza, the agency has paid a terrible price: 193 UNRWA personnel have been killed. More than 180 installations have been damaged or destroyed, killing at least 500 people seeking United Nations protection
Our premises have been used for military purposes by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
In April, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s permanent representative at the UN, claimed Unrwa had been infiltrated by Hamas, saying it was “the world’s biggest advocate for a one-state solution,” adding “Today in Gaza, Unrwa is Hamas and Hamas is Unrwa.”
Israel has accused Unrwa employees of taking part in the 7 October attacks, an accusation which led to many countries pulling funding from the body, despite Israel not producing evidence. Most countries have subsequently resumed funding Unrwa.
Lazzarini said that Unrwa, which was founded in 1949 to assist Palestinians who had been ousted from their land during the creation of Israel, still lacked the necessary resources to fulfil its mandate.
“The agency’s ability to operate beyond August will depend on member states disbursing planned funds and providing new contributions to the core budget,” he said.
Reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah due to be held in China this month have been delayed and no new date has been set, officials told Reuters.
The Belgian foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, said today that “the EU must use all the leverage it has to force the parties involved to cease hostilities.”
🎙️ "We will discuss the Middle East, where the situation continues to deteriorate day by day despite calls for a ceasefire. The EU must use all the leverage it has to force the parties involved to cease hostilities."
— Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 (@EU2024BE) June 24, 2024
➖🇧🇪 Foreign Minister @hadjalahbib at the #FAC. #EU2024BE pic.twitter.com/CP088Ytss1
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, has praised Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, and said he is sure there will soon be a new Argentinian embassy in Jerusalem.
שמחתי לארח היום את השגריר החדש של ארגנטינה בישראל שמעון ואחניש ביום כניסתו לתפקיד.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 24, 2024
בזכות הידידות והתמיכה של הנשיא מיליי @JMilei, הקשר בין ארגנטינה לישראל יתהדק ויתחזק לפסגות חדשות, ואני בטוח שבקרוב נראה את השגרירות החדשה של ארגנטינה בירושלים - בירתה הנצחית של מדינת ישראל.
אדוני… pic.twitter.com/GVTGQ5BoAn
German foreign minister to visit region
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, will travel to the Middle East on Monday, her eighth trip to the region since the 7 October attacks. She is to hold talks in Israel, the West Bank and Lebanon with a view to contributing to de-escalation amid fears of war with Hezbollah, and urge an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
At an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg before leaving for Tel Aviv, Baerbock said “the images from Gaza and thoughts of the still-held hostages from Israel are heartbreaking”.
She said the suffering of both the hostages “and the two million Palestinians - it must finally end”.
“It is perfectly clear that Israel can only live in security when Palestinians live in security and Palestinians can only live in security when Israel is safe - for this Hamas must at last accept the Biden plan,” she said, referring to the White House’s roadmap for easing tensions.
Baerbock warned that the situation on the so-called Blue Line on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon is “more than troubling,” adding that “a further escalation would be a catastrophe for all people in the region”.
The German minister’s shuttle diplomacy has shown few concrete victories but her team argues it may have helped head off a regional conflagration - so far.
She reportedly clashed with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit in April when she asserted that Israel was “driving Gaza toward famine”, with the premier shooting back, “We’re not like the Nazis”.
Germany later complained that a “distorted” account of the row had been leaked to Israeli media.
Baerbock will address the Herzliya Security Conference hosted by the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University Monday evening before meeting Palestinian Authority prime minister Mohammed Mustafa in Ramallah on Tuesday.
Later in Jerusalem she will hold talks with her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz, then fly to Beirut to see Lebanon’s premier Najib Mikati.
Updated
Unrwa chief says world should 'push back' against Israel's attempts to have it disbanded
The head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) on Monday called to push back against efforts by Israel to have the organisation disbanded.
“Israel has long been critical of the agency’s mandate. But it now seeks to end Unrwa’s operations, dismissing the agency’s status as a UN entity supported by an overwhelming majority of Member States,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said at a meeting of the agency’s advisory commission.
“If we do not push back, other UN entities and international organizations will be next, further undermining our multilateral system,” Reuters reports he added.
An Israeli court has extended the detention of Rasha Hirzallah, a journalist working for the Palestinian news agency Wafa. She is to be detained until 11 August.
She was initially told she would be detained for 72 hours in early June.
The Committee to Protect Journalists records that as of 24 June, 108 journalists and media workers have been among those killed during the war since 7 October 2023. 103 of them were Palestinian, two were Israeli, and three Lebanese. In May 2024 Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government banned the Al Jazeera news network from operating in Israel.
An Israeli commission investigating suspected wrongdoing in government purchases of submarines and missile boats from Germany issued a warning to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Reuters reports the panel notified Netanyahu that based on evidence gathered thus far, it could ultimately determine that he had used his position as prime minister between 2009 and 2016 to greenlight the purchases without due process.
Opponents of Netanyahu have frequently accused him of wishing to prolong the war against Hamas by refusing to do a hostage release and ceasefire deal because it acts as a distraction against accusations of corruption levelled against him.
A statement from the prime minister’s office said that “History will prove that prime minister Netanyahu was right on this issue … and made the right decisions for the security of Israel.”
This image sent to us over the news wires shows the funeral of Palestinian doctor Hani al-Jaafarawi, Gaza’s ambulance and emergency teams chief, after he was reportedly killed overnight in an Israeli strike on al-Daraj clinic in Gaza City.
Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem has this latest news story for the Guardian
Israel’s prime minister has said the most intense phase of the assault against Hamas in Gaza is coming to an end, freeing up forces to move to the Lebanese border, where escalating exchanges of fire with the militant group Hezbollah have increased fears of a wider war.
In his first public interview with a Hebrew-language network outlet during more than eight months of conflict, Benjamin Netanyahu also walked back on his commitment to a US-backed ceasefire proposal with Hamas, instead suggesting a far more limited offer.
Netanyahu made the remarks on Israel’s rightwing Channel 14 as the top US military officer warned of the risk that Iran would be drawn into a wider war with Hezbollah, threatening US forces in the region.
“We will have the possibility of transferring some of our forces north, and we will do that,” Netanyahu said in the interview, which was frequently interrupted by applause from the studio audience.
He said he hoped a diplomatic solution to the crisis could be found but vowed to solve the problem “in a different way” if needed. “We can fight on several fronts and we are prepared to do that,” Netanyahu added.
The prime minister said the offensive in Gaza would have to continue with “mowing” operations – targeted strikes aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping.
Read more here: Intense phase of Israel’s war with Hamas near end, says Netanyahu
Israel claims to have killed senior Hamas weapons expert
In its latest operational update, Israel’s military has claimed to have killed a senior Hamas figure, and said it is continuing operations in Rafah.
In a statement the IDF said:
Following IDF intelligence, IAF aircraft eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Salah, who was responsible for projects and development in Hamas’ weapons manufacturing headquarters. Salah was part of a project to develop strategic weaponry for the Hamas terrorist organisation, and he commanded a number of Hamas terrorist squads that worked on developing weapons.
The statement continued “IDF troops are continuing intelligence-based, targeted operations in the Rafah area”. It also said troops were operating in “central Gaza”.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Director of Gaza's ambulance and emergency department killed by Israeli strike – reports
An Israeli airstrike at a medical clinic in Gaza City killed the director of Gaza’s ambulance and emergency department, the territory’s health ministry has said.
Reuters reports the health ministry said the killing of Hani al-Jaafarawi brought the number of medical staff killed by Israeli fire since 7 October to 500. At least 300 others have so far been detained.
Overnight the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that two medical staff had been killed in a strike on the al-Daraj clinic. Additionally it reports that one Palestinian civilian was killed in an Israeli strike to the south-east of Gaza City.
The claims have not been independently verified. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Al Jazeera reports that on its Telegram channel, the Al-Quds Brigades has claimed an attack on Israeli ground troops operating inside Rafah.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from Israel and Gaza.
Haaretz reports that another anti-government demonstration has blocked a highway in Israel.
It quotes the protesters as saying:
When hostages are abandoned in Gaza, the north is set on fire and another war is about to break out, the government is forsaking all of our lives.
Traffic was blocked on route 2, with the movement calling for a general strike in Israel to force Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to either strike a hostage release deal with Hamas or call an election.
Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported that Israel has detained at least 59 Palestinians near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Wafa reports Israeli forces “also detained dozens of young men and interrogated them on the ground before releasing them”.
The detentions took place during raids on Silwad, east of Ramallah, and Kafr Nimah, to the west of the city.
Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the 7 October attack, adding to thousands that were in Israeli detention prior to that date.
B’Tselem, the Israeli information centre for human rights in the occupied territories, said in a 23 June update that, according to the latest figures released by Israeli security forces, “At the end of March 2024, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) was holding 8,611 Palestinians in detention or in prison on what it defined [as] ‘security’ grounds, including 1,141 from the Gaza Strip. At that time, the IPS was also holding 1,556 Palestinians, 7 of them from the Gaza Strip, for being in Israel illegally.”
This chart from B’Tselem indicates that detention levels in 2023 and 2024 have reached levels not seen since 2008, including a vast increase in “administrative detainees”.
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has announced she is to visit Lebanon, describing the situation there as “worrying”.
Israel and anti-Israeli forces including Hezbollah have repeatedly exchanged fire over the UN-drawn blue line that separates the two countries since 7 October. Tens of thousands of people in northern Israel and southern Lebanon have been displaced from their homes by the violence.
Over 400 people, including at least 80 civilians, are reported to have been killed inside Lebanon by Israeli military action. At least 25 people, including civilians, have been killed inside Israel. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Israel’s military has reported that overnight it has repeatedly struck at target inside Lebanon.
It claims to have struck “a Hezbollah military structure” and “Hezbollah operational infrastructure sites”. The claims have not been independently verified.
It says that as a result of “an anti-tank projectile attack in the area of Metula” two members of Israeli forces have been injured.
Greece’s foreign minister said on Monday that threats by Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah against Cyprus were unacceptable and the EU would stand by member states against all such threats.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to make threats against the sovereign state of the EU,” Reuters reports Greek foreign minister George Gerapetritis told the media on arrival in Brussels for a monthly foreign ministers meeting.
“We stand by Cyprus and we will all be together in all kinds of global threats coming from terrorist organisations.”
Last week Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned of a war “without rules or ceilings”, saying “Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war.”
Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, responded to the Hezbollah threat by saying “Cyprus is not part of the problem. Our role, as manifested, for example, through the humanitarian corridor, is recognised not only by the Arab world but by the entire international community.”
The UK maritime trade operations agency (UKMTO) said on Monday it has received a report of an incident 246 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s Nishtun.
Reuters reports UKMTO added that authorities are investigating the incident.
Yemen’s Houthis have repeatedly attacked shipping which it claims is linked to Israel. It says it is doing so in support of Palestininians while Israel’s assault on Gaza continues.
The EU deployed a maritime mission to the area earlier this year, and the US and UK have carried out strikes inside Yemen intended to reduce the Houthi capability to target shipping.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the Israel-Gaza war and the wider Middle East crisis.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that fighting in Gaza is entering a less intense phase, which would allow Israel to deploy more forces to the north, close to Lebanon.
“After the intense phase is finished, we will have the possibility to move part of the forces north. And we will do this. First and foremost for defensive purposes. And secondly, to bring our [evacuated] residents home,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.
His comments came as the top US general said that an Israeli offensive in Lebanon has the potential to increase the risk of a broader conflict that draws in Iran and Iran-aligned militants.
Air force Gen Charles Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said “Hezbollah is more capable than Hamas as far as overall capability, number rockets and the like. And I would just say I would see Iran be more inclined to provide greater support to Hezbollah,” Brown.
More on that in a moment, first here’s a roundup of the day’s other main news.
Israel’s defence minister has flown to meet senior Biden administration officials in Washington for what he has described as “critical” talks over the twin conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Yoav Gallant, accompanied by the Israel Defense Forces’ deputy chief of staff, will meet the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, as well as the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and Joe Biden’s special envoy, Amos Hochstein.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile batteries risk being overwhelmed in the opening strikes of any significantly escalated conflict with Hezbollah. The assessment delivered by US officials late last week, echoing recent analysis by experts in Israel and the United States, comes amid fears that a war with Hezbollah could be a far more dangerous undertaking than the devastating 2006 second Lebanon war, when Israeli bombing caused huge destruction in Lebanon.
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 being used as a human shield 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 UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, the witnesses said. Unrwa and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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 social media, 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,” Borrell said.
