1450 GMT — The viability of a US-backed proposal to wind down the 8-month-long aggression on Gaza was cast into doubt after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would only be willing to agree to a "partial" ceasefire deal that would not end the war, comments that sparked an uproar from families of hostages held in Gaza.
In an interview broadcast on Israeli Channel 14, a conservative, pro-Netanyahu station, the Israeli leader said he was "prepared to make a partial deal — this is no secret — that will return to us some of the people," referring to the roughly 120 hostages still held in Gaza.
"But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I’m not willing to give up on that."
Netanyahu's comments stood in sharp contrast to the outlines of the deal detailed late last month by US President Joe Biden, who framed the plan as an Israeli one and which some in Israel refer to as “Netanyahu’s deal.”
The three-phased plan would bring about the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas has insisted it will not release the remaining hostages unless there’s a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. When Biden announced the latest proposal last month, he said it included both.
1457 GMT — US-built pier in Gaza not sufficient in delivering aid: WHO
The reconnected US-built pier off the coast of Gaza cannot supply Palestinians with anywhere near the level of aid they need, the head of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean region said.
Dr Hanan Balkhy made the remarks after the US military began delivering aid through the floating pier again, after it was removed a second time because of rough seas.
"The pier has supported a little bit, but it’s not to the scale that is needed by any stretch of the imagination," Balkhy told The Associated Press in an interview. "So we need to emphasize on the land routes to ensure the amount and the quantity and the efficiency."
The organisation says that since Israel launched its ground invasion into Rafah, aid delivery had declined by 67 percent, with over 50 WHO trucks stuck on the Egyptian side of the crossing into the southern city.
1344 GMT — Israel nixes 20 arrest operations in West Bank due to prison overcrowding: reports
The Israeli army has cancelled around 20 planned arrest operations of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank due to a lack of prison space, according to local media.
The Israeli army and Shin Bet security service had to abolish these arrests because of crowdedness in detention facilities, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported.
The security agencies are being forced to evaluate the risk level of prisoners and release some detainees held without charges under Israel’s administrative detention policy to make space for those deemed a “high threat,” it added.
Israeli security officials warn that the lack of detention capacity could lead to the cancellation of more arrests in the West Bank.
The Israeli Prison Service had previously announced in April that the detention capacity for Palestinian prisoners was estimated at 14,500, while the actual number held exceeded 21,000.
1330 GMT — Medics aim to screen thousands of Gaza children for malnutrition
Medics in Gaza said they were working to step up screening of young children for severe malnutrition amid fears that hunger is spreading as people flee to new areas.
Aid group International Medical Corps (IMC) and partners are planning to reach more than 200,000 children under 5 years old as part of a 'Find and Treat' campaign, one of its doctors, Mumawwar Said, told Reuters by phone.
"With the displacement, communities are settling in new locations that do not have access to clean water, or there is not adequate access to food," he said. "We fear there are more cases being missed."
1230 GMT — Gaza is at 'high risk' of famine despite increased aid to the north: experts
An influx of aid appears to have eased a hunger crisis in northern Gaza for now, but the entire territory remains at “high risk” of famine after Israel's offensive in Rafah caused displacement and the disruption of aid operations in the south, a draft report said.
The report by the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises said n early everyone in Gaza is struggling to get enough food and that more than 495,000 people, or greater than a fifth of the population of 2.3 million, are expected to experience the highest level of starvation in the coming months.
That's despite months of US pressure on Israel to do more to facilitate aid efforts, the installation of a $230 million US-built pier that has been beset by problems and repeated airdrops by multiple countries that aid agencies say are insufficient to meet vital needs.
The latest findings come from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, an initiative first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia that now includes more than a dozen UN agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies.
12:06 GMT — Gaza death toll from Israeli assault surpasses 37,600
At least 28 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, pushing up the overall death toll to 37,626 since last October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said.
A ministry statement added that 86,098 other people have been injured in the onslaught.
“Israeli attacks killed 28 people and injured 66 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement said. "Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," it added.
12:30 GMT — Gaza is at 'high risk' of famine despite increased aid to the north: experts
An influx of aid appears to have eased a hunger crisis in northern Gaza for now, but the entire territory remains at “high risk” of famine after Israel's offensive in Rafah caused displacement and the disruption of aid operations in the south, a draft report said.
The report by the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises said n early everyone in Gaza is struggling to get enough food and that more than 495,000 people, or greater than a fifth of the population of 2.3 million, are expected to experience the highest level of starvation in the coming months.
That's despite months of US pressure on Israel to do more to facilitate aid efforts, the installation of a $230 million US-built pier that has been beset by problems and repeated airdrops by multiple countries that aid agencies say are insufficient to meet vital needs.
The latest findings come from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, an initiative first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia that now includes more than a dozen UN agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies.
11:46 GMT — 'Rampant' looting, smuggling impeding aid delivery in Gaza: UNRWA
The head of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees warned that a breakdown of civil order in Gaza as Israel's brutal war is continuing had allowed widespread looting and smuggling and blocked aid delivery.
"Gaza has been decimated," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told the agency's advisory body.
"We have witnessed unprecedented failures of humanity in a territory marked by decades of violence," he said, according to a written version of his address to the event in Geneva, which took place behind closed doors.
11:45 GMT — 'Intense' phase of Gaza war winding down: Israel PM
A day after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "intense phase" of the Gaza war is winding down.
Netanyahu, in his first Israeli media interview since Hamas's October 7 attack started the bloodiest ever Gaza war, told Channel 14 that "the intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end".
He stressed that this "doesn't mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah," the far-southern city near Egypt that is the last part of Gaza to face a full ground invasion.
Netanyahu said Israel would then be able to "redeploy some forces to the north" on the border with Lebanon, where Israel has traded fire with the Hezbollah movement, but said this would be "primarily for defensive purposes".
09:26 GMT — Israeli air strike kills Gaza's emergency medical director
The head of Emergency and Ambulance Services in Gaza has been killed in an Israeli air strike, the territory’s health ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry confirmed that Hani Al Jafrawi lost his life in an Israeli air strike.
The statement emphasised that “healthcare workers continue their humanitarian duty of evacuating the wounded and deceased around the clock, despite the continuous Israeli bombardment."
08:50 GMT — Germany’s Baerbock calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, ahead of her Israel visit
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, and warned that a further escalation in the Middle East would be a “catastrophe” for all people in the region.
Speaking to reporters during an EU meeting in Luxembourg, Baerbock said she will be heading to Israel later in the day to discuss diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and ways to increase humanitarian aid for Palestinians.
“We’re thinking of the hostages, the images from Gaza, they are heartbreaking. That's why it's definitely not an option for us, and our partners, to bury our heads in the sand now, we need this cease-fire,” Baerbock said, and underlined that more should be done to end the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
08:28 GMT — Palestinian injured, several arrested in Israeli army raids across occupied West Bank.
A Palestinian has been injured and several others arrested during Israeli raids in cities and towns across the occupied West Bank late on Sunday, witnesses have said.
Israeli forces carried out a series of incursions in the cities of Nablus and Ramallah, the Al Far'a refugee camp near Tubas, and towns in Hebron and Tulkarm.
While the raids at homes and businesses led to clashes and armed confrontations with Palestinians, explosions were also heard in several areas within the camp.
07:50 GMT — Situation in Gaza 'incommensurable' amid Israeli attacks: EU foreign policy chief
The situation in Gaza, where Israel continues its military offensive since last October, has become "incommensurable," the EU foreign policy chief has said.
Josep Borrell, at the doorstep of the EU’s foreign affairs council meeting in Brussels, deplored the death of over 100 Palestinians in latest Israeli attacks over the weekend, which he described as "one of the bloodiest days."
He reiterated support for the cease-fire backed by US President Joe Biden, but said it may not be implemented due to "lack of will from both sides."
07:12 GMT — Israel could use 'unprecedented weapons' in war with Hezbollah
Israel has alerted the US it could use weapons never deployed before in the event of an all-out war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to sources cited by Channel 12.
“Tel Aviv conveyed a message to the White House stating its intent to employ unspecified new weapons systems to swiftly deal with any potential conflict with Hezbollah and avoid a prolonged war," the Israeli television channel said.
Israel warned that if Hezbollah does not "back down" soon, Israel will take military action in Lebanon.
07:03 GMT — EU fear Middle East on brink after Hezbollah threats
European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the Middle East was close to seeing the conflict expanding into Lebanon just days after Iran-backed Hezbollah threatened EU member Greek-administered Cyprus.
"The risk of this war effecting the south of Lebanon and spilling over is every day bigger," Borrell told reporters ahead of a foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg.
"We are on the eve of the war expanding."
06:45 GMT — Over 20,000 children missing in Israel's brutal war on Gaza
Thousands of Palestinian children have been missing, trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed homes, detained by Israeli forces, buried in unmarked graves or lost from families, Save the Children said in a new statement
The agency’s child protection teams said the latest displacements caused by the offensive in Rafah have separated more children and further increased the strain on families and communities caring for them.
"It is nearly impossible to collect and verify information under the current conditions in Gaza, but at least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and approximately 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves," the British aid group said.
06:30 GMT — Israeli bombing in Gaza City kills 2 Health Ministry staffers
Two Palestinians working for the Ministry of Health were killed and several other people were wounded in Israeli air strikes on a medical clinic in downtown Gaza City.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said in a press release that its “teams recovered the bodies of two martyrs working for the Ministry of Health and many wounded individuals as a result of Israeli occupation aircraft targeting Al Daraj Clinic,” without providing further details.
06:00 GMT — Israel prepared for multi-front war — Netanyahu
Israel is preparing to change the situation on its border with Lebanon but hopes there will be no need to do so, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, referring to the army’s ongoing confrontations with the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel 14 about the possibility of a full-scale war with Hezbollah, Netanyahu said if necessary, “we will meet this challenge too. We can fight on several fronts. We are prepared for this.”
Regarding the war in Gaza, he said the phase of intense fighting is nearing an end, but the war will not end until Hamas no longer controls the enclave.
05:20 GMT — Israeli bombing in Gaza City kills 2 health ministry staffers
Two Palestinians working for the Ministry of Health were killed and several other people were wounded in Israeli air strikes on a medical clinic in downtown Gaza City.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said in a press release that its “teams recovered the bodies of two martyrs working for the Ministry of Health and many wounded individuals as a result of Israeli occupation aircraft targeting Al Daraj Clinic,” without providing further details.
04:25 GMT — Israelis wounded by anti-tank missile fired from southern Lebanon
Two Israelis were wounded when a house was hit by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon.
“Two people were slightly wounded” by an anti-tank missile fired toward the northern Israeli city of Metula, Israel’s Army Radio said on X.
A helicopter reportedly evacuated the wounded to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. There has been no immediate comment from the Lebanese side on the report.
For our live updates from Sunday, June 23, 2024, click here.
