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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they happened.
Trump speculates Gaza ceasefire will be reached ‘within the next week’
US President Donald Trump gives his challenge coins to Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe (not in frame) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)
US President Donald Trump says he thinks a ceasefire will be reached in Gaza “within the next week.”
Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office that he just spoke with some of the individuals involved in trying to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
He then pivots to highlight the recent US decision to donate $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been distributing boxes of food in Gaza from militarized zones in the Strip for the past month.
“It’s a terrible situation that’s going [in] Gaza… and we’re supplying a lot of money and a lot of food to that area because we have to,” Trump says.
“We’re, in theory, not involved in it, but we’re involved because people are dying,” he says. “I look at those crowds of people that have no food, no anything.”
He then laments that some of the aid is being stolen by “bad people,” but he says that the new GHF system is “pretty good.”
However, GHF has been marred by near-daily mass casualty incidents in which the IDF has opened fire at Palestinians trying to reach their distribution sites.
Trump says other countries should be helping address the aid crisis. Other than the US, countries have stayed away from GHF, due to its controversial mechanism that has required Gazans to walk long distances and cross IDF lines in order to pick up food.
On the other hand, the UN-backed mechanisms in Gaza have been marred by looting. Aid groups say the issue would be addressed if Israel increased the amount of aid in Gaza, so that demand would go down.
An average of just 56 trucks a day have been entering Gaza over the last month — far below the hundreds per day that aid groups say is needed to address the dire need.
Saudi Arabia condemns settler violence ‘under protection’ of Israeli troops
Saudi Arabia condemns the recent spate of settler attacks on Palestinians, including the deadly rampage in Kafr Malik near Ramallah.
A statement from the Saudi foreign ministry notes that the attacks are taking place “under the protection of the occupation forces.”
“The Kingdom reiterates its condemnation of the continued Israeli violence against unarmed civilians in Gaza, including the targeting of civilian sites housing displaced persons,” the statement adds.
Israel says UN ‘aligning itself’ with Hamas over Gaza aid
Israel accuses the United Nations of aligning itself with Palestinian militant group Hamas after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced an Israeli-backed aid distribution system in war-ravaged Gaza.
The US-and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation had provided “46 million meals” in the territory, the foreign ministry says in a post on X, but “the UN is doing everything it can to oppose this effort. In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF’s humanitarian operations.”
IDF says it intercepted rocket from central Gaza
A rocket launched from the central Gaza Strip was intercepted by air defenses a short while ago, the military says.
No sirens sounded in towns, but an alert was activated in open areas near the border.
The IDF says no injuries were caused.
Armed settlers filmed expelling Palestinians from their field near Ramallah
Armed settlers are filmed expelling Palestinians from their fields near the village of Shuqba near Ramallah on June 27, 2025. (Screen capture/X)
Palestinian news sites have published footage showing what they say are armed Israeli settlers expelling Palestinian farmers from their fields belonging to the village of Shuqba near Ramallah.
سلاحٌ مقابل لا شيء … هنا صاحب الأرض، هنا من لا يهاب صوت الرصاص، هنا من هو هنا، إلا أنت.”
تصدّى أهالي قرية شقبا غرب رام الله لهجمات مستوطنين إسرائيليين pic.twitter.com/24umcV8Onf
— Tamer | تامر (@tamerqdh) June 27, 2025
Israeli strike kills 18 picking up aid as IDF said to target Hamas-linked unit distributing it
A Palestinian man carries a wounded child after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Gaza City, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
An Israeli strike hit a street in central Gaza on Thursday, where witnesses say a crowd of people was getting bags of flour from a Hamas-linked police unit that had confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. Hospital officials said 18 people were killed.
The strike in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Thursday appeared to target members of the Hamas-linked Sahm unit, a security group tasked with stopping looters and cracking down on merchants who sell stolen aid at high prices. The unit is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry, but includes members of other factions.
Witnesses say the Sahm unit was distributing bags of flour and other goods confiscated from looters and corrupt merchants, drawing a crowd when the strike hit.
Video of the aftermath showed bodies, several torn, of multiple young men in the street with blood splattering on the pavement and walls of buildings. The dead included a child and at least seven Sahm members, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where casualties were taken.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has accused the Hamas terror group of stealing aid and using it to prop up its rule in the enclave. Israeli forces have repeatedly struck Gaza’s police, considering them a branch of Hamas.
Super Bowl halftime performer charged for running on field with ‘Sudan and Free Gaza’ flag
A protester holds Palestinian and Sudanese flags with the words 'Gaza' and 'Sudan' as US rapper Kendrick Lamar performs during the Super Bowl halftime show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 9, 2025. (Photo by Chandan Khanna / AFP)
A Super Bowl halftime show performer was charged yesterday with two misdemeanors, about 4 1/2 months after he ran across the field at the Superdome waving a flag that included the words “Sudan and Free Gaza,” Louisiana State Police say.
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, turned himself in to authorities to face charges of resisting a police officer and disturbing the peace by interrupting a lawful assembly, police say. He surrendered in coordination with his attorney and was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center.
Nantambu revealed the flag and ran on the field during rapper Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance on Feb. 9. He was detained on the field after his demonstration but not charged. The NFL said at the time he would be banned for life from league stadiums and events.
According to a statement from police, Nantambu had been hired as an extra performer and “had permission to be on the field during the performance, but did not have permission to demonstrate as he did.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy thanks investigators for their work.
“We take any attempt to disrupt any part of an NFL game, including the halftime show, very seriously and are pleased this individual will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” McCarthy says in a statement.
PA publishes footage of infant suffering from acute malnutrition in aid-squeezed northern Gaza
The Palestinian Authority’s government communications center posts footage of what it says is a Palestinian infant suffering from malnutrition in northern Gaza, where Israel has granted severely limited access to humanitarian aid.
Aid groups say new mothers in the Strip have had a difficult time breast-feeding because they, too, are suffering from malnutrition. Accordingly, the enclave is in desperate need of baby formula.
While Israel has been allowing aid over the past month after a 78-day blockade, it amounts to just 56 trucks per day on average, with half of that being Gaza Humanitarian Foundation assistance, which doesn’t include baby formula.
Trump says ending trade talks with Canada ‘immediately’
US President Donald Trump says that he is calling off trade negotiations with Canada immediately, citing its digital services tax and adding that Ottawa will learn of their tariff rate within a week.
“Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,” Trump says in a post on his Truth Social platform.
IDF releases footage that it says shows Hezbollah rocket caused deadly south Lebanon blast
The IDF releases footage it says confirms that a Hezbollah rocket flew out of a facility belonging to the terror group, after it was targeted earlier today, and hit a home in southern Lebanon.
Following the Israeli strike on the Hezbollah site near Beaufort Castle, Lebanon’s health ministry reported one dead and 11 wounded in a blast that struck an apartment in Nabatieh.
“A review revealed that as a result of the strike, secondary explosions were identified, as well as the launch of a Hezbollah terror organization rocket that was stored at the site, which struck a civilian building,” the military says.
לאחר תקיפות צה״ל הבוקר על אתר ששימש לניהול מערך האש וההגנה של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון, התקבלו דיווחים כי נפגע מבנה אזרחי במרחב נבטייה.
מבדיקה עלה כי כתוצאה מהתקיפה, זוהו פיצוצי משנה וכן יציאת רקטה של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה שהוחזקה באתר ופגעה במבנה אזרחי.ארגון הטרור… pic.twitter.com/xUqkeA0Ccf
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 27, 2025
Trump says he stopped Israel killing Khamenei, held off on removing Iran sanctions after Khamenei’s victory speech
A composite image shows US President Donald Trump, left, addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis - Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
US President Donald Trump claims he reversed plans to remove sanctions against Iran after the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a speech yesterday declaring that Trump had “exaggerated” the impact of strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, while threatening to repeat the “slap” Tehran had dealt American forces in the region.
“During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery,” Trump writes on Truth Social.
“But instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief and more,” he adds, blasting Khamenei for his “blatant and foolish” statement.
“As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie,” Trump says, reiterating his insistence that Iran’s nuclear sites were “obliterated” in the US strikes on Sunday.
Trump says he “knew exactly” where Khamenei was hiding during the war and didn’t let Israel or the US army kill him.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday that Israel didn’t kill Khamenei because it didn’t know where underground he was hiding.
“I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death,” Trump says, while also highlighting that he ordered Israel to turn planes around that were planning to strike Iran significantly in response to missile fire launched by Tehran after the ceasefire went into place.
“It was going to be the biggest attack of the war by far,” Trump says.
“Iran has to get back into the world order flow, or things will only get worse for them,” he warns.
“They are always so angry, hostile and unhappy, and look at what it has gotten them: A burned out, blown up country, with no future, a decimated military, a horrible economy and death all around them,” Trump continues.
“They have no hope, and it will only get worse! I wish the leadership of Iran would realize that you often get more with honey than you do with vinegar,” he adds.
IDF chief believes Iran no longer a nuclear threshold state
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (left) and IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar are seen at the IAF's underground command center, June 15, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has told colleagues that Iran is no longer a nuclear threshold state following the Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear program, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.
While Iran may still maintain parts of its nuclear program, it has been set back by years, Zamir has concluded, the source says, given the damage suffered by Iran to the entire bomb-making process, including the elimination of key scientists, and the attacks on key nuclear facilities and other elements of manufacture and weaponization.
Trump says he’d ‘absolutely’ consider striking Iran sites if Tehran resumes uranium enrichment
US President Donald Trump is asked if he would consider bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran were enriching uranium to a level that concerned the US.
“Sure, without question, absolutely” he responds.
Israel killed 30 Iranian security chiefs and 11 nuclear scientists, Israeli official says
Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists to deliver a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a senior Israeli military official says, in summarizing Israel’s 12-day air war with Iran.
The June 13 opening strike on Iran, 1,500 km (930 miles) away, severely damaged its aerial defenses and destabilized its ability to respond in the critical early hours of the conflict, the official says.
Israel’s air force struck over 900 targets and the military deeply damaged Iran’s missile production during the war that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, the official says.
“The Iranian nuclear project suffered a major blow: The regime’s ability to enrich uranium to 90% was neutralized for a prolonged period. Its current ability to produce a nuclear weapon core has been neutralized,” the official says.
Iran, which denies trying to build nuclear weapons, retaliated against the strikes with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites and cities. Iran says it forced the end of the war by penetrating Israeli defenses.
Iranian authorities said 627 people were killed in Iran, where the extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed because of tight restrictions on the media. Israeli authorities said 28 people were killed in Israel.
Dermer reportedly set to visit DC for talks with Trump officials on Gaza and Iran
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is slated to visit Washington on Monday for talks with top Trump officials regarding Iran and Gaza, Channel 12 reports.
Trump: Time will tell, but I don’t think Iran will ‘go back to nuclear’ soon
US President Donald Trump says, “Time will tell, but I don’t believe that they’re going to go back into nuclear anytime soon.”
Speaking at a White House press conference, Trump reiterates his assertion that Iran hasn’t moved any material from the site since it was struck by the US. He has also claimed that Iran wasn’t able to move any material beforehand, though, European intelligence agencies have disputed that assessment.
Trump also reiterates that Iran is interested in meeting — something Tehran has denied.
He notes that he would want the International Atomic Energy Agency or another trusted entity to have full rights to conduct inspections in Iran.
asked what he wants to see from Iran to prove they've given up their nuclear ambitions, Trump goes on a long rant about how the media disrespected the troops and says, "I don't believe that their going to go back into nuclear anytime soon." pic.twitter.com/EBM8GyUvhh
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 27, 2025
Iran FM: UN nuclear watchdog head’s insistence to visit Iran sites is ‘meaningless, even malign’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicates on Friday that Tehran may reject any request by the head of the UN nuclear watchdog for visits to Iranian nuclear sites.
The Parliament of Iran has voted for a halt to collaboration with the IAEA until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed.
This is a direct result of @rafaelmgrossi's regrettable role in obfuscating the fact that the Agency—a full decade ago—already…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 27, 2025
GHF says it distributed 25K boxes of food at three Gaza sites on Friday
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it distributed over 25,000 boxes of food at three sites on Friday, two in southern Gaza and one in the central Strip.
GHF says its boxes contain enough food for 5.5 people for 3.5 days, but the contents are dry food products that require preparation elsewhere in war-ravaged Gaza, where community kitchens and cooking supplies are limited.
The aid distributed by GHF amounts to 30 trucks, well below the hundreds that aid groups say are needed daily to properly address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The US- and Israeli-backed initiative says it also brought in a truckload of potatoes for the first time as a pilot.
GHF says that it will not be affected by Israeli restrictions on aid as Jerusalem investigates whether looting is taking place. Yesterday, UN staff were barred from picking up aid from a north Gaza crossing after footage emerged of armed gunmen on top of an aid convoy.
UN chief says US-backed Gaza aid operation is unsafe, killing people
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is “inherently unsafe,” giving a blunt assessment: “It is killing people.”
The small number of sites located in militarized zones has forced Gazans to walk long distances while crossing IDF lines to pick up aid. On a near-daily basis, the IDF has acknowledged opening fire on Gazans it claims had strayed off pre-approved access routes or used them at the wrong times. A Haaretz report from earlier today revealed that troops have been ordered to deliberately use live fire against hungry Gazans, even though they don’t pose a threat.
Guterres also says UN-led humanitarian efforts are being “strangled,” aid workers themselves are starving, and Israel, “as the occupying power,” is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave.
“People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence,” Guterres tells reporters.
50th Palestine Red Crescent medic killed in Gaza since start of war, group says
The 50th medic from the Palestine Red Crescent has been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the PRCS says in a statement.
Haitham Bassam Abu Issa, a nurse at the PRCS clinic in Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza strip, was killed while off duty on Thursday, the PRCS says.
“This brings the total number of PRCS staff and volunteers killed during the conflict to 50 – a deeply shocking figure,” the PRCS says.
IDF chief asserts Israel’s war in Iran advances Gaza war aims
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (left) holds an assessment with Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor in Gaza, June 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says Israel’s actions in Iran during the 12-day war may advance its goals in the Gaza Strip.
“Iran took a heavy blow. There is potential that the blow caused to Iran will advance our goals in Gaza,” Zamir says during a visit to the Gaza Strip today with senior officers, according to remarks provided by the IDF.
“In the near future, we will reach the lines we defined for the current phase within the framework of Gideon Chariots,” he says, referring to the IDF’s current offensive against Hamas, in which Israel seeks to capture 75% of Gaza’s territory.
“From there, operational options will develop that will be presented to the political echelon,” Zamir says, adding that the IDF “will continue to act with determination to achieve the two objectives of the campaign, the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Zamir had met with Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Ground Forces chief Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan, the commander of the 99th Division, Brig. Gen. Yoav Brunner, and other officers.
PM, Katz accuse Haaretz of ‘libel’ after report reveals troops ordered to open fire on aid-seeking Gazans
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz accuse Haaretz of publishing “blood libel” following a report in the newspaper revealing that troops are receiving orders from commanders to open fire on aid-seeking civilians.
“These are vicious lies designed to discredit the IDF — the most moral army in the world,” they say in a joint statement.
Despite their outrage, the IDF has confirmed launching a high-level probe into the matter.
“The IDF operates under difficult conditions against a terrorist enemy that operates from within the civilian population… and operates an entire industry of lies to undermine the legitimacy of the State of Israel,” they say.
“IDF soldiers receive clear orders to avoid harming innocent civilians, and they act accordingly.”
“Israel calls on all free democratic countries to stand by it in its just and moral struggle against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas,” they add.
UAE top court upholds life terms for 24 convicted for ‘terror’ links in controversial mass trial
The UAE supreme court has jailed 24 people for life after upholding their convictions for “terrorist” links, which had been dismissed following a mass trial criticized by human rights groups.
“The Criminal Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court ruled [on Thursday] to partially overturn the judgment issued by the State Security Chamber at the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal and to reconvict 24 defendants,” the United Arab Emirates’ official WAM news agency reports.
The 24 were originally convicted in a mass trial of 84 people in July last year, most of whom had been behind bars since a similar mass trial of 94 people in 2013, according to human rights groups.
“Following yesterday’s ruling… the total number of convicted individuals in this case has risen to 83 out of 84 referred to trial,” WAM says. Sixty-seven of them were jailed for life.
“The court sentenced the defendants to life imprisonment for collaborating with the ‘Terrorist Justice and Dignity Organisation’, and providing funds to the Al-Islah,” WAM adds, referring to a group with ties to the outlawed Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
The original 2013 trial of the so-called UAE 94 followed a round-up of dozens of government critics, including activists, lawyers, students and teachers in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings around the region. It was strongly criticized by human rights groups.
In March, the UAE rejected the appeals of 53 of those convicted in the July 2024 trial.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court overturned the convictions of the other 24 defendants, but the attorney general sought to reverse that decision, arguing it had been “legally flawed.”
Prominent activist Ahmed Mansoor and academic Nasser bin Ghaith were among those tried last July, Human Rights Watch says.
The UAE, a federation of seven absolute monarchies, prohibits criticism of its rulers and any speech that is deemed likely to spark social unrest.
The Emirati courts have convicted dozens of citizens and Egyptian expats of forming clandestine cells, including Al-Islah.
IDF confirms probing troops’ fire on aid-seeking Gazans; denies that it’s an order from above
Palestinians who were injured allegedly by Israeli fire as they gathered near a food aid center receive care at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
Following a Haaretz report revealing that Israeli troops are using deadly fire on hungry aid-seeking Gazans, the IDF confirms that its high-level General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism is probing the matter.
However, the IDF denies that troops are being ordered by commanders to deliberately open fire on Palestinian aid seekers.
Over the past month, though, the IDF has repeatedly acknowledged firing warning shots that struck Palestinians who it claimed had strayed off pre-approved access roads to distribution sites or used them when they are supposed to be closed. While not providing figures of its own, the IDF has also claimed that Hamas is inflating the death counts in these mass casualty incidents.
In a statement, the military asserts that it is “operating to allow and facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid by the American Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and to secure the routes leading to the distribution centers, to allow the aid to reach the civilians rather than Hamas.”
“These efforts are taking place alongside the IDF’s ongoing operational activities throughout the Gaza Strip,” the statement says.
“We strongly reject the accusation raised in the article. The IDF did not instruct the forces to deliberately shoot at civilians, including those approaching the distribution centers. To be clear, IDF directives prohibit deliberate attacks on civilians,” the military claims.
The Hamas-run health ministry says 549 people have been killed and 4,000 have been wounded trying to pick up aid from GHF sites or while waiting for UN food trucks since May 27, when GHF launched.
“In light of recent reports of incidents of harm to the civilians approaching the distribution centers, the incidents are being examined by the relevant IDF authorities,” the military says, confirming Haaretz’s report that the Military Advocate General directed the top-tier General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism to investigate.
“Any allegation of a deviation from the law or IDF directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary,” the statement continues.
“The allegations of deliberate fire toward civilians presented in the article are not recognized in the field,” the IDF asserts.
Report: PM rebuffed ex-Shin Bet chief Bar’s repeated calls for ending war with comprehensive hostage deal
Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar consistently pushed for an end to the war in Gaza through a comprehensive hostage deal with Hamas, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
Bar’s position, which he made clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the political echelon, was that Israel would gain little from the continuation of the war, according to the report. Hamas will always be in Gaza, he argued, as long as Palestinians are.
He argued for a comprehensive deal to release all the hostages, and a policy of striking Hamas every time they violate the conditions of the ceasefire.
To date, Netanyahu and his cabinet have rejected that approach, aiming for a staged deal that would see the war end only if Hamas disarms and its leaders go into exile.
Bar stepped down earlier this month after a public and increasingly bitter campaign by Netanyahu to oust him.
Threatening Iran, Katz says he instructed IDF to prepare plan to prevent nuclear advancement
Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has instructed the IDF to “prepare an enforcement plan against Iran that includes maintaining Israel’s air superiority, preventing nuclear advancement and missile production, and responding to Iran for supporting terror activity against Israel.”
“We will act regularly to thwart such threats,” he says in a post on X, summarizing the IDF’s activities during the 12-day war against Iran.
“I suggest the defanged head of the snake in Tehran, understand and beware: Operation Rising Lion was only the preview of a new Israeli policy, after October 7, immunity is over,” Katz adds.
GHF says it’s unaware of IDF shootings outside its sites but urges investigation
Palestinians who were injured allegedly by Israeli fire as they gathered near a food aid center receive care at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
Responding to a Haaretz report detailing the near-daily deadly shooting incidents outside of its distribution sites, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says in a statement that it is “not aware of any of these incidents.”
A member of one of the American security contractors working on the ground with GHF says that the US- and Israeli-backed organization is well aware of the shootings of hungry Palestinians seeking to pick up humanitarian assistance, even if it is not familiar with the exact details revealed in the Haaretz report
The GHF statement makes a point of asserting that the shootings have not taken place at or in the immediate vicinity of its distribution sites.
However, that’s because the IDF has been opening fire at Palestinians before they get to the immediate perimeter of the sites, claiming that Gazans strayed off approved access roads or used them when it is not approved.
GHF often doesn’t update the public on its Arabic Facebook page about a site opening until moments before. Other times, it announces a planned opening time ahead of time, only to open earlier due to crowding outside the sites. Accordingly, Gazans risk their lives to reach aid sites because they don’t know when they’ll be opened or if any aid will be there when they arrive.
GHF notes in its statement that the “IDF is tasked with providing safe passage for aid-seekers to all humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, including GHF,” its statement adds.
“These allegations are too grave to ignore and we therefore call on Israel to investigate them and transparently publish the results in a timely manner,” the statement says.
Families of detained French citizens in Iran plead for proof of life after Israeli prison strike
Illustrative: A 2008 photo of Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran, where a number of foreigners and dual nationals have been detained over the years. (CC BY-SA 2.0 Ehsan Iran/Wikipedia)
The families of Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, two French citizens detained in Iran since 2022, have issued urgent pleas for proof the pair is still alive, days after an Israeli strike hit Tehran’s Evin prison where they are held.
Evin prison is known as Iran’s most notorious facility for political prisoners, and where Iran has often held foreign nationals, including Paris and Kohler, who are accused of spying and seeking to stir up unrest. France has called the charges baseless and has demanded their immediate release for three years.
Israel struck the prison on Monday, one of the last targets hit in its 12-day air campaign that ended with a ceasefire the following morning. Iran has said some people died in the attack, but the fate of the French prisoners remained unclear.
France has condemned the strikes on the prison, accusing Israel of putting two of its citizens in danger.
Vous avez sans doute vu passer cette vidéo de l'explosion de la porte de la prison d'Evin, en Iran, lundi. Elle a été reprise par tous les médias.
Comme noté par @talhagin, tout porte à croire qu'elle a été générée par IA (alors mm que l'entrée de la prison a bien été détruite). pic.twitter.com/Tm8bNGPMkB— Brice Le Borgne (@BriceLeBorgne) June 25, 2025
“We are desperate, terrorized,” says Anne-Laure Paris, daughter of Jacques, calling on Iranian authorities to provide immediate evidence that the pair survived and to secure their release within hours.
According to their families, the last confirmed contact with the prisoners was on May 30 during a consular visit.
“No one, not us, the families, or the French authorities, have been able to make direct contact with them,” Noemie Kohler, Cecile’s sister, says.
“We are waiting for an immediate sign of life from Cécile and Jacques… to make sure they are really okay and they are really alive.”
IDF denies carrying out strike in south Lebanon, blames rocket for deadly blast
The IDF denies carrying out a deadly strike in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh earlier today, instead blaming the blast on a Hezbollah rocket that was launched amid strikes on a nearby facility belonging to the terror group.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported one dead and 11 wounded in a blast that struck an apartment in the city, after the military announced strikes on an underground Hezbollah site near Beaufort Castle.
“The IDF did not target any civilian building,” says the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.
“According to the information we have, the building was hit by a rocket projectile that was stored at the site, and was launched and exploded as a result of the airstrike,” he says.
“The Hezbollah terror organization continues to store its rocket projectiles near residential buildings and the residents of Lebanon, thereby endangering them. Hezbollah continues to endanger the residents of southern Lebanon in light of its refusal to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state,” Adraee says.
He adds, “The Lebanese government bears responsibility for what is happening on its territory, in light of its failure to confiscate Hezbollah’s heavy weapons and rocket projectiles.”
مشهد لتطاير صواريخ #حزب_الله في الهواء بعد قصف #إسرائيل لموقع تابع للحزب في مرتفعات علي الطاهر جنوب #لبنان#العربية pic.twitter.com/h1NyCAutKP
— العربية (@AlArabiya) June 27, 2025
‘A killing field’: IDF said probing troops’ near-daily shooting of Gazans near aid sites as potential war crimes
Palestinians evacuate a wounded man amid lines for receiving humanitrian aid in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on June 15, 2025. (AFP)
The IDF reportedly launched a probe this week into potential war crimes committed by its troops who have been opening fire on hungry Palestinians on a near-daily basis as they try and reach aid distribution sites, even though they do not pose a threat.
The mass-casualty incidents were discussed at a meeting earlier this week during which the Military Advocate General’s (MAG) Office directed the top-tier General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism to investigate suspected war crimes that have largely taken place near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites, Haaretz reports.
The mechanism is an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war.
During the meeting, officials in the MAG’s office expressed alarm over mounting global uproar over the killing of civilians en route to aid sites, Haaretz reported. Senior officers from the IDF’s Southern Command pushed back, claiming that the incidents have been isolated and that troops only fired at Palestinians who posed a threat.
Representatives from the MAG’s office pushed back, insisting that the Southern Command’s account doesn’t line up with the facts on the ground, according to a source who attended the meeting.
“The claim that these are isolated cases doesn’t align with incidents in which grenades were dropped from the air and mortars and artillery were fired at civilians,” a MAG representative is quoted as having responded.
אני מתחנן אליכם: תסתכלו על הסרטון הזה ממרכזי ״חלוקת הסיוע״ של צה״ל וארה״ב בעזה. כל האנשים כאן, שמנסים לחמוק מהכדורים, עומדים בתור לאוכל. מי שיורה עליהם הם החיילים שלנו. כן, היום נחשף סופית – בעדויות ישירות של חיילים בתחקיר הארץ – שצה״ל יורה יום יום על אנשים מורעבים בתור לאוכל >> pic.twitter.com/NBf0xwLYw6
— Alon-Lee Green – ألون-لي جرين – אלון-לי גרין 🟣 (@AlonLeeGreen) June 27, 2025
“This isn’t about a few people being killed – we’re talking about dozens of casualties every day,” the MAG official adds.
The Hamas-run health ministry says 549 people have been killed and 4,000 have been wounded trying to pick up aid from GHF sites or while waiting for UN food trucks since May 27, when GHF launched.
The numbers have not been verified, but between May 27 and June 24, there were at least 19 IDF shooting incidents related to humanitarian aid distribution, according to a review of reports out of Gaza conducted by The Times of Israel.
In most of these cases, the IDF has admitted to opening fire and striking Palestinians, but characterized it as “warning shots” at those who got too close to soldiers or used site access routes when distribution sites were closed.
Israeli soldiers serving near the aid distribution sites described far more grim scenarios in interviews with Haaretz on condition of anonymity.
“It’s a killing field,” one soldier says. “Where I was stationed there, between one and five people were killed every day. They’re treated like a hostile force – no crowd-control measures, no tear gas – just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars. Then, once the center opens, the shooting stops, and they know they can approach. Our form of communication is gunfire.”
Palestinians transport a man who was allegedly injured by Israeli fire while waiting near a food aid center into Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
“We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred meters away, and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there’s no danger to the forces,” the soldier continues. “I’m not aware of a single instance of return fire. There’s no enemy, no weapons.”
He describes the incidents as a deadly form of the children’s game “Red light, green light.”
“Firing mortars to keep hungry people away is neither professional nor humane. I know there are Hamas operatives among them, but there are also people who simply want to receive aid,” another soldier tells Haaretz.
“It’s become a place with its own set of rules. The loss of human life means nothing. It’s not even an ‘unfortunate incident,’ like [the IDF] used to say.”
Local Palestinian staffers of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in blue vests form a human chain to protect female aid recipients at one of GHF’s distribution sites on June 9, 2025. (GHF)
Asked to respond to the report, the IDF does not deny any of its contents.
However, it stresses that Hamas is working to prevent the successful operation of GHF sites.
To address the repeated shootings, the IDF says it has placed new fencing and signage on access routes so civilians know where to go.
“Following incidents where there were reports of harm to civilians arriving at distribution centers, in-depth investigations were conducted, and instructions were given to forces on the ground based on lessons learned. These incidents were referred for examination by the General Staff’s debriefing mechanism.”
PM submits second request to cancel 2 weeks of graft trial hearings after first attempt rejected
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu submits a second request for a two-week hiatus in his graft trial after the Jerusalem District Court rejected his initial attempt on the grounds that the premier’s defense attorney didn’t provide any justification for doing so.
This time, Netanyahu submits a copy of his schedule for the next week as evidence for needing the hearings to be postponed.
UK counter terrorism police arrest 4 anti-Israel activists over military base break in
Police officers monitor protesters holding a banner during a protest in support of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action, in Trafalgar Square, central London, on June 23, 2025. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
British counter terrorism police say they have arrested four people in connection with a break-in at a military base last week, during which two planes were vandalized.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East says in a statement that two men, 24 and 36, from London were arrested yesterday along with a 29-year-old woman of no fixed address “on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.”
A 41-year-old woman, of no fixed address, was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
They remain in police custody.
The arrests relate to a break-in at the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton, during which two planes were damaged with red paint.
The anti-Israel activist group Palestine Action subsequently released video footage appearing to show one of the two activists who entered the base spraying the paint into a jet’s turbine engines.
The group alleged that Britain was continuing to “send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets,” and condemned the country as “an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.”
Earlier this week, the British government said it will ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.
The measure means it will be a criminal offense to belong to or support the group. Doing so will be punishable by a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The government said a draft order for the ban will be laid in Parliament next week. Lawmakers still need to approve it.
Britain’s government has proscribed about 80 organizations, including Hamas and al-Qaida, and far-right groups such as National Action.
A spokesperson for Palestine Action says that the incident being treated as terrorism “further demonstrates that proscription is not about enabling prosecutions under terrorism laws – it’s about cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine.”
Doctors Without Borders demands end to ‘degrading’ GHF aid program in Gaza
The Doctors Without Borders charity calls for the controversial Israel- and US-backed relief effort in Gaza to be halted, saying it is “slaughter masquerading as humanitarian aid.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, launched last month, “is degrading Palestinians by design, forcing them to choose between starvation or risking their lives for minimal supplies,” it says in a statement, demanding that the scheme be “immediately dismantled.”
GHF has faced severe criticism from the UN and other aid organizations for failing to meet the needs of the Palestinian enclave’s battered population, and for the near-daily mass casualty incidents near GHF distribution centers, in which the IDF has opened fire on Palestinians it claims strayed off approved access routes or were using them when they were forbidden from doing so.
NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani’s primary win sparks surge in anti-Muslim social media content, advocates say
New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani, speaks to supporters during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images via AFP)
Anti-Muslim online posts targeting New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani have surged since his Democratic primary upset this week, including death threats and comments comparing his candidacy to the September 11, 2001, attacks, advocates say.
There were at least 127 violent hate-related reports mentioning Mamdani or his campaign in the day after polls closed, says CAIR Action, an arm of the Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group, which logs such incidents.
That marks a five-fold increase over a daily average of such reports tracked earlier this month, CAIR Action says.
Overall, it noted about 6,200 online posts that mentioned some form of Islamophobic slur or hostility in that day-long time frame.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and a 33-year-old state lawmaker, declared victory in Tuesday’s primary after former New York governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat.
“We call on public officials of every party — including those whose allies are amplifying these smears — to unequivocally condemn Islamophobia,” says Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action.
The advocacy group says its hate monitoring system includes its own scraping and analysis of posts, online submissions by the public and notifications from law enforcement.
About 62% of the anti-Muslim posts against Mamdani originated on X, CAIR Action says.
People close to US President Donald Trump, including one of his sons, are among those spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric, advocates say.
Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, wrote on X on Wednesday that “New York City has fallen,” and Republican US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted an AI-generated picture of the Statue of Liberty draped in a burqa.
Mamdani came under fire from some parts of the NYC Jewish community for his refusal to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state — saying instead that he believes it “has a right to exist as a state with equal rights” — and for his apparent defense of the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
He nevertheless received the endorsement of key Jewish and Zionist Democratic politicians, including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Lebanese health ministry says one killed, 11 injured in strike on southern Lebanon apartment
The Lebanese health ministry says one woman was killed and 11 others were injured in an Israeli strike on an apartment in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon.
Earlier, Lebanese media reported that an Israeli drone targeted an apartment in Nabatieh.
It remains unclear whether the incident is part of the wave of strikes in southern Lebanon previously announced by the IDF.
Man shot dead in Iksal, near Nazareth; police investigating incident
A 28-year-old man was shot dead this afternoon in Iksal, an Arab village in the lower Galilee.
Paramedics found the victim in critical condition and took him to a nearby hospital, but he soon succumbed to his wounds.
Police have opened an investigation into the incident and have not yet apprehended any suspects.
Nazareth and the smaller locales in its vicinity — including Iksal — have seen a spate of fatal shootings over the past few days.
On Wednesday, cousins Tawfik Abu Lashin, 25, and his cousin Naif Abu Lashin, 29, were both killed in separate shooting incidents within hours of each other.
As of today, 127 Arab Israelis have been killed in violent incidents amid an unrelenting, years-long crime wave.
After a relatively quiet year in 2022, the number of Arab murder victims doubled in 2023, coinciding with Itamar Ben Gvir’s first year overseeing the police as national security minister. The year following saw a similar murder rate, and this year stands to be just as deadly, given current numbers.
Local officials have blamed police for failing to stamp out violent crime, arguing that their failure to solve the majority of Arab sector murder cases hampers deterrence.
Court blocks Ben Gvir’s promotion of cop indicted for throwing stun grenade at protesters
A protester shouts at Israel Police officer Meir Suissa (left), who threw a stun grenade at a Tel Aviv rally, on March 9, 2023. (Carrie Keller Lynn/Times of Israel)
The Jerusalem District Court has barred Israel Police Supt. Meir Suissa from taking charge of the South Tel Aviv police station, rejecting National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s bid to promote the indicted officer, who threw a stun grenade into a crowd of anti-government protesters.
The national security minister decried the ruling handed down last night, calling Suissa a “talented and respected police officer who has fallen prey to a judicial system that is busy constantly thwarting government policy.”
“As I promised the prime minister earlier today, we will do everything in our power, using the tools available to us in the Knesset, to put an end to this harassment and persecution,” continued Ben Gvir, who oversees the police, as quoted by Hebrew outlets.
Ben Gvir promoted Suissa to the rank of chief superintendent just a month after he was indicted on charges of reckless and negligent behavior in July 2024 over his conduct while dispersing an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv a year prior.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara called the promotion — made without the police chief’s recommendation — illegal. The Jerusalem District Court froze Suissa’s promotion in September last year, which Ben Gvir then appealed.
Suissa was filmed throwing a stun grenade directly into a crowd of protesters during the March 2023 demonstration, hospitalizing a woman with a direct hit to her face.
He was indicted alongside four other officers accused of throwing stun grenades towards the crowds, who had not been acting violently towards police officers. At the time, Ben Gvir praised Suissa for his handling of the demonstration.
IDF intel chief says Israel’s ‘security reality’ is better for Iran operation, but still ‘complex’
Incoming Military Intelligence Directorate chief, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, speaks at a handover ceremony at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, August 21, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
In a missive to soldiers, the chief of the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, says that “with the completion of the operation [in Iran], Israel stands before a better security reality, but no less complex.”
“Failure and success took place within the same organization; this requires all of the Intelligence Directorate to exercise genuine humility,” he adds.
FedEx says it has fully resumed import and export services in Israel
A FedEx plane (Courtesy)
FedEx announces that it has fully resumed its operations in Israel following the end of the conflict with Iran earlier this week.
The global shipping company had partially suspended its import and export services to Israel on June 13, when Israel launched its offensive against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.
Its statement says that following the reopening of Israeli airspace after the ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday, “all import and export express services to and from Israel have fully resumed.”
We remain committed to delivering reliable, resilient service that keeps Israeli businesses connected and operating smoothly,” it says.
Court rejects Netanyahu’s request for two-week break from graft trial testimony
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits at the Tel Aviv District Court before the start of his cross-examination in the criminal trial against him, June 4, 2025. (Moti Milrod/POOL)
The Jerusalem District Court rejects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a two-week hiatus in his graft trial after the State Attorney’s Office said it opposed the move.
In a statement, Justice Rivka Friedman-Feldman says the request, submitted by Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad, “does not present a detailed basis or reason that might justify canceling evidentiary hearings.”
Hadad had said that the premier required the two-week break to devote his time to “diplomatic, national and security issues of the first order,” in the wake of the recent war with Iran, which ended on Tuesday.
Reports abounded yesterday that Israel and the US were working on plans for a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza and reach normalization agreements with further Arab countries.
Gazan media reports clash between Hamas, armed clansmen at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis
Reports from Gaza: Gunfire exchange between Hamas and armed clansmen at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis yesterday.
Media outlets in Gaza report that a confrontation broke out yesterday between Hamas operatives and armed members of the influential Barbakh family clan at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
Footage shared on social media captures sounds of gunfire during the confrontation, and burned vehicles and damaged equipment can be seen in the vicinity of the hospital.
There are no known casualties as a result of the clash.
The Hamas-run interior ministry says that “armed individuals operating outside of the law” entered Nasser Hospital, fired weapons inside the facility, set fire to ambulances, and destroyed equipment.
Hamas police forces reportedly clashed with the gunmen, expelled them from the hospital, and arrested several of them.
Anti-Hamas media outlets in Gaza report a different version of events, however, saying that members of Hamas’s “Sahm Unit — a unit tasked with enforcing order and pursuing those accused of theft or collaboration with Israel — killed a member of the Barbakh family and then fled to Nasser Hospital.
According to these reports, armed members of the Barbakh clan pursued them, resulting in the confrontation. The reports further claim that Hamas forces used ambulances and fired toward homes belonging to the Barbakh family members.
A Telegram channel affiliated with Hamas’s Sahm Unit claims that Hamas acted against a member of the clan involved in the theft of humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The post does not specify the fate of that individual.
IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah facility in Beaufort Castle area, southern Lebanon
Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck a Hezbollah facility in the Beaufort Castle area a short while ago, the military says, after Lebanese media reported strikes in the area.
According to the IDF, the facility, used by the terror group to “manage its fire and defense array,” was part of an underground Hezbollah site that was previously targeted in Israeli strikes.
“In recent days, the IDF identified attempts by the Hezbollah terror organization to restore the site and therefore the terror infrastructure in the area was struck,” the military says.
The IDF says the “presence of this site and the attempts to reestablish it constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
مراسلة «الأخبار»: سلسلة غارات إسرائيلية تستهدف تلال علي الطاهر والدبشة في أطراف النبطية الفوقا وكفرتبنيت وكفررمان pic.twitter.com/zJx2HAkGfz
— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) June 27, 2025
PM denies reported plan to end Gaza war while backing Palestinian state
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies that he agreed to a White House vision that would end the war in Gaza, expand the Abraham Accords and see Israel commit to supporting a future Palestinian state.
“The conversation that’s described in the article in Israel Hayom did not take place,” says the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.
“Israel was not presented with the political proposal supposedly described in the article, and it obviously did not agree to it.”
The Israel Hayom newspaper reported yesterday that as part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, new countries would join the Abraham Accords, and Israel would be required to commit to supporting a future Palestinian state.
According to the outlet, Trump brought up the matter of ending the war during a “euphoric” phone call with Netanyahu late on Monday, following the US’s weekend strikes on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
Citing an unnamed source familiar with the conversation, the newspaper reported that during the phone call, the two leaders agreed to wrap up the war in Gaza within two weeks, requiring Israel to halt its military offensive and Hamas to release the remaining 50 hostages.
Unconfirmed reports: Jewish community leaders in Iran arrested on suspicion of having ties to Israel
Unconfirmed reports claim that several Jewish community leaders in Iran have been arrested in recent days on suspicion of having ties to Israel, in the aftermath of the 12-day war between the two countries.
According to the French-Iranian women’s rights group Femme Azadi, rabbis and other religious leaders in both Tehran and Shiraz were arrested and accused, without any evidence, of having ties to Israel.
Without citing any sources, Israel’s Ynet news outlet reports that Iranian authorities arrested multiple members of one family and confiscated their electronic devices.
It says the women were later released from custody, but the men, one of whom it says is a rabbi, remain in detention.
Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency publishes photos of the Jewish community in Tehran gathering yesterday at the Abrishami Synagogue for an event in support of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Iranian military after the war with Israel.
Iranian #Jewish community gathered at Tehran’s Abrishami Synagog
to stand against the Israel regime's aggression.#Iran #IranUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/8d1cpN2Sdz— I.R. Iran Embassy – Prague (@IRANinCZECH) June 27, 2025
Some 700 people have been arrested in Iran on suspicion of having ties to Israel since June 13, when Israel began its offensive against Iran’s nuclear program, Fars news reported yesterday.
Between 8,000 to 10,000 Jews are believed to live in Iran — meaning the Islamic Republic has the second-largest Jewish population of any country in the Middle East, after Israel.
IDF says troops in northern Gaza demolished Hamas tunnel used in deadly attack during 2014 war
A Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, used in a deadly attack on troops during the 2014 Gaza War, was recently demolished, the military says.
In the incident on July 21, 2014, a cell of Hamas operatives emerged from a tunnel and exchanged fire with troops, killing Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar, 2nd Lt. Yuval Haiman, Warrant Officer Baynesain Kasahun, and Sgt. First Class Nadav Goldmacher.
The tunnel, which the military says was a kilometer long, was demolished by the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit during operations of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the Beit Hanoun area.
"היום אנו ממשיכים את הדורות של הלוחמים – מגני עוטף עזה":
נצח יהודה השמיד תוואי ממנו יצאו מחבלים בצוק איתן. צפו בתיעודיםhttps://t.co/nvL0shMUBQ pic.twitter.com/czBBhs5NAT— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 27, 2025
Prosecution opposes Netanyahu’s request for two week break in his graft trial testimony
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits at the Tel Aviv District Court before the start of his cross-examination in the criminal trial against him, June 3, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The State Attorney’s Office opposes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a two-week hiatus in his trial, citing the slow pace of his testimony and the upcoming summer recess as its reason for doing so.
Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad had said that the premier required the two-week break to devote his time to “diplomatic, national and security issues of the first order,” in the wake of the recent war with Iran, which ended on Tuesday.
According to Hadad, the issues include “managing the war in Gaza and dealing with the issue of the hostages.”
In its response, the State Attorney’s office says that the “general reasons detailed in the request cannot justify canceling two weeks of hearings, particularly in the run up to the recess.”
It notes that it has already made adjustments to better accommodate Netanyahu’s obligations, including by allowing him to testify twice a week, rather than three times a week.
“The prosecution, therefore, opposes the request,” it adds.
The Jerusalem District Court will now have to issue a decision on the matter.
The request for a two-week break was submitted hours after US President Donald Trump demanded the cancellation of the premier’s trial, calling it a “Witch Hunt against [Israel’s] Great War Time Prime Minister.”
Netanyahu is on trial in three corruption cases, facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies any wrongdoing and says all the charges were fabricated in a political coup led by the police and state prosecution.
Israeli pilgrims make illegal visit to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, clash with local Palestinians
A group of Israelis who visited Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian city of Nablus overnight without prior coordination with the military had to be extracted from the area after clashing with local Palestinians, the IDF says.
The military says other groups of Israelis had attempted to reach the site as well, but were blocked from entering Nablus by troops at the entrance to the city.
According to the Walla news site, the Israeli pilgrims and the Palestinian residents of the city threw stones at each other, and several of the Israelis were said to have sustained minor injuries.
The IDF says all Israelis were then rescued from the area and handed over to the Israel Police for further investigation.
The Israel Hayom news outlet reports that the pilgrims were initially rescued from the scene of the clash by Palestinian Authority police, who then transferred them to the IDF.
The Israelis involved in the incident are reportedly members of the Shuvu Bonim cult led by convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland.
Rubio speaks to Pakistani PM about ‘durable peace between Israel and Iran’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hold a call in which they discuss promoting “a durable peace between Israel and Iran,” the State Department says in a statement.
US President Donald Trump met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last week where they discussed Iran, which Trump said Pakistan knew about better than most other countries.
‘We Will Dance Again’ film on Nova massacre wins award at News & Documentary Emmys
The Nova music festival in southern Israel as seen in 'We Will Dance Again.' (Courtesy)
“We Will Dance Again,” a documentary film about the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, wins an award at the 46th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.
The 90-minute film, produced by Paramount Plus and Hot 8, takes home the award for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary.
Yariv Mozer, who directed the film, accepts the prize while wearing a yellow hostage pin on stage at the ceremony in New York City.
“As of tonight, [it has been] 620 days that the Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza have experienced a catastrophic pain because of the war triggered by Hamas on October 7,” he says in his acceptance speech. “‘We Will Dance Again’ is a document of history recording events as they happened.”
Mozer notes that one of the film’s producers, Michal Weits, was wounded this week when her home in Tel Aviv was hit by an Iranian missile: “Michal is hospitalized and we wish her a full recovery.”
Also joining Mozer and the producers and editors on stage is Natalia Casarotti, the mother of Keshet Casarotti-Kalfa, who was murdered at age 21 while fleeing the Nova festival, as well as two survivors who appear in the film, Yuval Siman-Tov and Tamir Leshetz.
“Above all we dedicate this award to the safe and immediate return of the hostages who are still in Gaza,” Mozer proclaims. “We want this cycle of bloodshed to end. This war should end. This war should not serve the interests of the Israeli government and the Hamas terror group.”
The film beat out four other entries in the category, including the PBS documentary “A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians.”
Trump is ‘very determined’ to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, says Macron
(L-R) French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump are seen at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 16, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett / POOL / AFP)
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels after a meeting of EU leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron says US President Donald Trump is “very determined” to broker a new ceasefire in Gaza.
Macron, speaking following a phone call with the US president, says Trump is “very much aware of the importance of a ceasefire” for Gaza following the US-brokered ceasefire this week that halted 12 days of fighting between Israel and Iran.
“I think his commitment is crucial on this issue,” Macron says.
The two leaders discussed the Middle East and Ukraine, according to Macron’s office.
Macron says Iran quitting non-proliferation treaty would be ‘worst-case scenario’
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, June 20, 2025. (Benoit Tessier / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron says that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were “genuinely effective” but the “worst-case scenario” would be if Tehran now exits the global non-proliferation treaty.
“The worst would be that the consequence of this is Iran’s exit from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and therefore, ultimately, a drift and a collective weakening,” Macron tells journalists after an EU summit in Brussels.
Iranian FM says law passed barring cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
An unidentified International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector disconnects the connections between the twin cascades for 20 percent uranium production at the nuclear research center of Natanz, some 300 kilometers south of Tehran, Iran, on January 20, 2014. (KAZEM GHANE/IRNA/AFP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that a bill suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog is now “binding” after being passed by lawmakers and approved by a top vetting body.
“The bill that was approved by (parliament) and has been approved by the Guardian Council today… is binding on us and there is no doubt about its implementation,” he tells state television. “From now on, our relationship and cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy) Agency will take a new form.”
After classified briefing, GOP and Democratic Senators diverge sharply on damage done by Iran strikes
United States Senators emerge with sharply different assessments of the US bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, with Republicans calling the mission a clear success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came to Capitol Hill to give the classified briefings, originally scheduled for Tuesday.
Many Republicans leave satisfied, though their assessments of how much Iran’s nuclear program was set back by the bombing vary. Senator Tom Cotton says a “major blow” and “catastrophic damage” had been dealt.
“Their operational capability was obliterated. There is nobody working there tonight. It was highly effective. There’s no reason to hit those sites anytime soon,” Senator Lindsey Graham says.
Democrats remain doubtful and criticize Trump for not giving Congress more information. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says the briefing “raised more questions than it answered.”
Condemning latest settler attack, UAE calls on Israel to hold perpetrators accountable
A Palestinian woman gestures in front of a burnt car after an Israeli settlers attack the previous day in Kafr Malik in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on June 26, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry issues a statement condemning yesterday’s deadly settler rampage in the central West Bank Palestinian village of Kafr Malik.
Abu Dhabi in the statement “warned against the continuous assaults by settlers, and called on the Israeli government to assume full responsibility, condemn these hostile practices and hold the perpetrators accountable.
“The UAE stressed that failure to act will be seen as tacit approval that will only further deepen the cycle of hatred, racism and instability,” the statement adds.
Police free all settlers detained in Wednesday’s deadly rampage of Palestinian village
A Palestinian man walks near a burnt car after an Israeli settlers attack the previous day in the village of Kafr Malik in the West Bank, on June 26, 2025. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
Police released all five Israeli suspects who were detained in yesterday’s deadly settler rampage in the Palestinian village of Kafr Malik.
The suspects had been detained by Israeli troops before being transferred to police at a nearby station, where officers promptly released them and informed them that they were no longer suspects in the case, Haaretz reports.
No other suspects have been arrested.
Settler attacks on Palestinians throughout the West Bank have been taking place on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity, in what has sparked mounting sanctions from Western governments.
The head of the Israel Police’s West Bank division is currently under investigation for ignoring settler violence to curry favor in the eyes of Ben Gvir. He was allowed to return to his post, despite the ongoing investigation.
Iran FM says war with Israel caused ‘serious’ damage to nuclear sites
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that damage to Iran’s nuclear sites from the 12-day war with Israel was “serious,” as the country begins assessing the conflict’s impact.
“A detailed assessment of the damage is being carried out by experts from the Atomic Energy Organization [of Iran],” he tells state television.
“Now, the discussion of demanding damages and the necessity of providing them has been placed as one of the important issues on the country’s diplomatic agenda,” he adds.
“These damages are serious, and expert studies and political decision-making are underway at the same time.”
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that airstrikes that the United States launched against Iran’s nuclear sites in support of ally Israel “obliterated” the facilities.
Iran FM says Tehran still deciding whether to hold talks with US, despite Trump claim to the contrary
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister says Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel says the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araghchi says the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
Katz: Israel sought to assassinate Khamenei during war, but opportunity didn’t present itself
Iranian protesters hold their country's flags and posters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at an anti-US and anti-Israeli rally at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) square in downtown Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
Defense Minister Israel Katz reveals in an interview with Channel 13 that Israel had intentions to eliminate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the opportunity never presented itself.
“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz said, adding, “We wanted to eliminate Khamenei, but there was no operational opportunity.”
Asked whether Israel had sought American approval for such an action, Katz responded: “We don’t need permission for these things.”
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