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The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
Security firm reports explosion near vessel in Red Sea off coast of Yemen
Illustrative: In this image provided by the US Navy, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transit the Bab el-Mandeb strait on August 9, 2023. (Mass Communications Spc. 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/US Navy via AP)
A merchant vessel reported an explosion took place near it in the Red Sea today about 19 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port city of Mokha, British security firm Ambrey says.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it has received a report of an incident 27 nautical miles south of Mokha and authorities are investigating.
The vessel fit the target profile of Yemeni Houthi terrorists, who have attacked ships off the country’s coast for several months, Ambrey says in a note.
It was unclear whether the two incidents reported by Ambrey and UKMTO were the same.
Report: UK’s Labour Party manifesto to pledge recognition of Palestinian state
Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer delivers a speech in Glasgow on May 24, 2024 to launch Scottish Labour's campaign ahead of a general election on July 4. (Andy Buchanan/AFP)
Britain’s opposition Labour Party is expected to include a pledge to recognize a Palestinian state at an appropriate time in peace talks in its election manifesto, the Guardian newspaper reports, citing people with knowledge of the document.
The manifesto, which sets out the party’s policies ahead of the vote on July 4, will also pledge to ensure that recognizing a Palestinian state is not vetoed by a “neighboring country,” the newspaper reports.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said last month that he wanted to recognize a Palestinian state if he won power, but that such a move would need to come at the right time in a peace process.
The manifesto will be finalized in a meeting with unions tomorrow and will be presented next Thursday, the report says.
Labour did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Qatar says Hamas is still studying latest deal proposal, has yet to respond
Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari says that Hamas has not yet handed its response to the latest ceasefire proposal to the mediators and is still studying it, adding that Qatar, Egypt and the US mediation efforts are still ongoing.
A US official tells The Associated Press that Egyptian and Qatari mediators have told top Biden administration officials on the ground in the Middle East that they expect Hamas will submit its formal response in the coming days.
AG tells Netanyahu that state commission into war is best way to counter Hague efforts
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara addresses the Israel Bar Association's annual conference in Eilat, May 27, 2024. (Courtesy: Israel Bar Association)
Israel’s attorney general has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish a state commission of inquiry into the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, in order to counter the legal steps being taken against Israel abroad.
In a letter from Gali Baharav-Miara sent to Netanyahu earlier today and published on the Walla news site, the attorney general says that such a move is the best defense against both the ongoing trial against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the arrest warrants sought by the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“Given the urgency of dealing with the threats on the international stage, our professional opinion is that there should be no delay in establishing a state commission of inquiry in investigating the events of the war,” Baharav-Miara writes in the letter.
Netanyahu has resisted calls from within his coalition and the opposition to establish such a commission.
Such a commission, usually headed by retired Supreme Court justices, would almost certainly head off procedures in the ICC, since the court is prohibited in principle by the Rome Statute which founded it from holding proceedings against the nationals of a country, which is itself holding credible investigations into the allegations in question.
Police say they shot a man who tried to stab police officer in Jerusalem
Police say that they shot a man in Jerusalem who they found attempting to enter vehicles downtown while holding a sharp object.
The man tried to stab the officer, police say, and the officer opened fire, neutralizing the attacker. The suspect was seriously wounded and taken to a hospital for treatment, police say, saying the incident is being investigated further.
US, UK, Germany and France reaffirm support for current ceasefire deal proposal
US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Germany, France and Britain reaffirm their support for a deal laid out last week by Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, on the margins of the D-Day anniversary events in France, they say in a statement.
“The Leaders… reaffirmed their full support for the comprehensive deal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all the hostages, a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance… and an enduring end to the crisis,” they say in a joint statement published by Britain.
IDF spokesman: International media ‘fell for Hamas tactics’ on Gaza school strike
Palestinians look at the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a UN-run school in the Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, June 6, 2024, that the IDF says targeted more than 20 terror operatives working there. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Speaking in English, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari criticizes international media for “falling for Hamas’s tactics” again amid the ongoing war.
Noting the overnight airstrike on terror operatives gathered in three classrooms in a UN school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, Hagari says “This is the fifth time we have had to target Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists operating from inside UNRWA facilities.”
“In the last months alone, Hamas wages wars from schools and hospitals. Hamas hopes that international law and public sympathy will provide a shield for their military activities, which is why they systematically operate from schools, UN facilities, hospitals and mosques,” he says.
“Sadly, we saw some media outlets fall for Hamas’s tactics yet again, before checking the facts,” Hagari continues.
“While Hamas abuses international law, the IDF will continue to operate according to international law. The systematic abuse of UN facilities is a war crime, and it must be stopped by the world,” he adds.
Terrorists who tried to infiltrate Israel emerged from tunnel 200m from border, says IDF
IDF troops are seen operating in Gaza in a handout photo cleared for publication on June 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Hamas terror cell that had attempted to infiltrate into Israel this morning from southern Gaza’s Rafah, had initially emerged from a tunnel shaft some 200 meters from the border.
He says the cell was armed with RPGs and assault rifles.
Three members were killed in a drone strike and tank shelling, while a fourth fled back toward Rafah, he says.
One soldier was killed in an exchange of fire when the cell was first discovered.
The IDF releases footage showing the drone strike.
Air raid sirens sound in towns near northern border
Air raid sirens sound in several towns near the northern border with Lebanon, including Beit Hillel and Maayan Baruch.
Fire blazes at famed restaurant near Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda
Israeli firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the Ima restaurant in Jerusalem, June 6, 2024. (Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)
A fire is raging at the famed Ima restaurant near the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the fire, and firefighters are working to ensure nobody is trapped inside and to extinguish the flames.
IDF says ‘suspicious aerial target’ from Lebanon hit Kiryat Shmona; no injuries reported
A “suspicious aerial target” launched from Lebanon, possibly a drone, impacted the northern city of Kiryat Shmona earlier this evening.
According to police and local authorities, damage was caused, but there were no injuries.
The IDF says it is investigating the incident.
Sirens that sounded in the Western Galilee a short while ago were false alarms, the military adds.
IDF names 9 of the Hamas, PIJ terrorists killed in strike on UNRWA school
The identities of nine of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists the IDF says were killed in a strike on an UNRWA school on June 5, 2024, in this graphic released a day later. (IDF)
The IDF names nine Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives killed in an overnight strike in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.
According to the IDF, some 30 terror operatives were gathered in three classrooms at a UN school. Palestinian civilians were also sheltering at the site, in an area the IDF says was separate from where the strike took place.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says the military is working to identify the other terrorists who were killed in the attack.
“Some of these terrorists participated in the massacre on October 7. We will pursue anyone who participated in October 7,” he says.
Report: In response to proposal, Sinwar says Hamas will ‘not surrender its guns’
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Sinwar reportedly issues a brief response to the latest hostage-truce deal proposal, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Hamas will not surrender its guns or sign a proposal that asks for that,” the newspaper quotes Sinwar as telling Arab mediators.
Earlier, an Egyptian source told state-linked TV that it had received “positive signs” on the latest deal and was expecting a response in the coming days.
PA prime minister says Palestinians ‘ready’ for unified leadership after war
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa addresses the media during a joint press conference with the Iraqi foreign minister, in Baghdad, on June 6, 2024. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa says in Baghdad that the Palestinian Authority is ready to re-establish “unified” Palestinian leadership after the Gaza war.
“We are ready, as Palestinians, to assume our responsibilities from the day after [the Gaza war ends] in order to help… restore the unity of the Palestinian people and leadership,” Mustafa says during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
“We also need to be well prepared for the creation of a [Palestinian] state and the responsibilities that this entails,” he adds.
The Palestinian leadership largely split when Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, ousting all officials from Fatah, the party that rules in the West Bank. Israel has vowed that Hamas will not be able to play any role in ruling the Strip following the war, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international calls for a revitalized PA to take control of Gaza.
IDF says several gunmen killed, suspect arrested in Jenin raid
IDF troops operate in the West Bank, early March 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says troops detained a wanted Palestinian and killed several gunmen during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier this evening.
According to the IDF, amid the operation, an Air Force attack helicopter carried out strikes to aid ground forces who came under fire by Palestinian gunmen.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry says three were killed by IDF fire amid the raid.
The wanted Palestinian was handed over to the Shin Bet for questioning.
Police report impact in Kiryat Shmona following warning sirens
Firefighters and medics at the scene of a deadly rocket strike in Kiryat Shmona on March 27, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
Police say officers are at the scene of an “impact of a munition” in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona.
It says that damage was caused to property, but there are no injuries.
It is not immediately clear what impacted the city, which has been largely evacuated since the start of the war.
The IDF has no immediate comment.
Sirens had sounded a short while ago in Kiryat Shmona warning of a suspected drone infiltration.
Fresh drone warning sirens sound in towns along northern border
About half an hour after earlier sirens, fresh warnings blare in a series of towns near the northern border with Lebanon, including Ma’alot-Tarshiha, warning of a potential drone infiltration.
Israel says it opposes wording of US Security Council resolution on ceasefire
A general view shows a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, April 18, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan informs his US counterpart Linda Thomas-Greenfield that Jerusalem opposes the Security Council resolution being advanced by the Biden administration, which expresses support for the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal.
The opposition is not expected to influence the rest of the yet-to-be-scheduled vote, given that Israel is not a member of the Security Council, but the resistance is likely to irk Washington, given that it has repeatedly blocked initiatives at the Security Council that were viewed as hostile to Israel.
Explaining Erdan’s opposition, an official in the Israeli mission notes that an updated version of the resolution refers to the hostage deal as one that will bring about a “ceasefire,” as opposed to the original version that referred to a “cessation of hostilities, which Israel reads as less permanent in nature.
Israel also objects to the updated version’s call for both sides to fully implement the latest hostage deal proposal. The earlier version only called on Hamas to accept the proposal. The updated draft does the same, but also notes that the latest hostage deal proposal is “acceptable to Israel.”
The Israeli mission also does not like the updated version’s inclusion of the three phases of the hostage deal — ones that have already been laid out publicly by the US.
Finally, the Israeli mission opposes a new clause in the draft that “rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including actions that reduce the territory of Gaza, such as through the permanent establishment officially or unofficially of so-called buffer zones.”
Israel has already advanced plans to create a security buffer zone on the Gaza side of the border, which some of its officials have insisted are temporary, a plan that has been condemned by the US and the international community.
Hamas official: Biden’s ceasefire plan is ‘just words,’ we haven’t received any document
Troops of the Givati Brigade operate in southern Gaza's Rafah, in a handout photo published June 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
A senior Hamas official says US President Joe Biden’s proposed Gaza ceasefire deal is “just words” and the terror group has not received any written commitments related to a truce.
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Beirut, tells AFP: “There is no proposal — they are just words said by Biden in a speech.”
“So far, the Americans have not presented anything documented or written that commits them to what Biden said in his speech,” he says.
Hamdan says Biden “tried to cover up the Israeli rejection” of a deal Hamas said it agreed to in May, which would have left the terror group in power in the Strip and seen few of the hostages released in exchange for hundreds of imprisoned terrorists.
Sirens warning of drone infiltration sound along northern border
Sirens warning of a possible drone infiltration sound along the northern border with Lebanon, including in Kiryat Shmona, Metula and surrounding areas.
Tel Aviv holds toned-down pride gathering with focus on hostages
Members of the LGBTQ community and supporters take part in a Gay Pride Parade in central Tel Aviv, on June 6, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
A toned-down gathering to mark Pride Month in Tel Aviv is underway, with a focus on calling for the return of the hostages being held in Gaza.
With a different tone than the usual annual parade and raucous party, the gathering is titled the “pride, hope and freedom” march and coordinated with the Hostage Families Forum.
The event is also slated to highlight the contributions to the war effort of many soldiers and reservists who are part of the LGBTQ community.
Netanyahu says despite international pressure, Israel ‘will change’ pre-Oct. 7 reality
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting at the IDF Central Command headquarters on June 6, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
After a visit to IDF Central Command headquarters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel is fighting a multi-front war “while difficult international pressures being exerted on us.”
“I can guarantee one thing,” Netanyahu says in a video statement, “whatever happened before will not happen again. We will change this reality.”
Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, head of the IDF Central Command, gave the prime minister and his senior aides a briefing on ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in the West Bank and along the Green Line, where terrorists have been firing into Israeli towns in recent days.
Three Palestinians killed during IDF raid in Jenin, say PA health officials
Palestinians look at the damage following an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, May 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
The Palestinian Authority health ministry reports three dead by IDF fire amid a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. The ministry says several others are wounded.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the operation.
Tensions have been high in the West Bank amid the war in Gaza, with the IDF reporting that since October 7 troops have arrested some 4,150 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,750 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the PA health ministry, more than 520 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.
Rights orgs to Israel’s High Court: Order government to allow ailing Gazans to exit Strip
Israeli forces operating on the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces/AFP)
Three human rights organizations petition the High Court of Justice to order the government to allow sick and injured Gazan civilians who are in life-threatening conditions to leave Gaza to gain medical treatment.
According to the petition, filed by Doctors for Human Rights, Hamoked and Gisha, Israel has not allowed the sick and injured to be evacuated from Gaza since May 7 and the beginning of the IDF’s operation in the southern city of Rafah.
During that operation, Israel took control of the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza, through which sick and injured Gazans were able to leave the coastal enclave for medical treatment since October 7 and up until May 7.
The petitioning organizations estimate that there are 14,000 critically sick and wounded people in need of evacuation for the purposes of life-saving treatment, a number that is growing on a daily basis due to the severely damaged health system in Gaza because of the war and the severe humanitarian conditions in the Strip resulting from the fighting.
“Even when the cannons are thundering, Israel has an obligation to act in accordance with the principles of international law and basic moral principles and according to the ruling of this court, and enable the provision of medical treatment to men, women, the elderly, children and infants, whose fate depends upon it, whose lives are hanging by a thread,” the petitioning organizations say.
“They have no possibility of receiving medical treatment without the state allowing it and establishing a proper mechanism for the implementation of its obligations. Every day that passes brings with it suffering and devastating harm that must be prevented.”
Up until the Hamas invasion and atrocities of October 7 and the outbreak of war, some 2,000 sick Gazans left the territory every month to receive medical treatment, principally in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Egypt, and a small number in Israel, mostly through the Erez Crossing between Gaza and Israel.
Since October 7, Erez was closed to medical evacuees, although 4,895 Gazans have been able to leave the territory through the Rafah Crossing, out of 12,760 requests made up until May 7.
EU foreign policy chief calls for probe into IDF strike on UNRWA school
A UN school housing displacing Palestinians that was hit by an Israeli strike in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on June 6, 2024. The IDF said it hit a compound where Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were gathered. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell calls for a probe into an Israeli strike on a UN-run school in Gaza that medics claimed killed at least 37 people.
“Reports coming from Gaza time and again show that violence and suffering are still the only reality for hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. This appalling news must be independently investigated,” Borrell writes on X.
The IDF said it carried out a “precise strike” on a compound embedded within a UNRWA school in Nuseirat, where 20-30 Hamas terrorists, some of whom participated in the October 7 onslaught, were gathered.
US announces sanctions against largely dormant Lion’s Den West Bank terror group
Gunmen wearing Lions's Den headbands and insignia attend the funeral in Nablus of Tamer al-Kilani, a top fighter in the Palestinian terror group, who it said was killed by an explosive device planted in a motorcycle, October 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
The US State Department has for the first time announced sanctions against the Lion’s Den terror group that was established over two years ago in the northern West Bank.
“The United States condemns any and all acts of violence committed in the West Bank, whoever the perpetrators, and we will use the tools at our disposal to expose and hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability there,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement.
The Lion’s Den — or Areen al-Ossud in Arabic — emerged in late 2022 in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank as violence surged in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and carried out a number of terror attacks. It has been largely dormant over the past year, and has not claimed responsibility for an attack since mid-2023.
In October 2022, Lion’s Den claimed responsibility for several drive-by shootings in the Nablus area. Lion’s Den members opened fire at Israeli vehicles driving close to the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh, injuring a taxi driver and damaging vehicles. In a separate attack, numerous shots were fired toward the West Bank settlement of Har Bracha, the State Department says.
In September 2022, Lion’s Den fighters injured and killed Palestinian civilians during clashes between Palestinian fighters and Palestinian Authority Security Forces in Nablus, the US announcement adds.
The US State Department announcement also cites April 2024 Palestinian media reports of Lion’s Den fighters targeting Israeli forces with small arms at an Israeli checkpoint in Nablus. However, these reports were never confirmed, the group never claimed responsibility for that attack and it could well have been perpetrated by Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters.
UNRWA says it had no warning about IDF strike on Gaza school housing terrorists
A UN school housing displacing Palestinians that was hit by an Israeli in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on June 6, 2024. The IDF said it hit a compound where Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were gathered. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, Philippe Lazzarini, says that Israel bombed one of its Gaza schools “without prior warning.”
The IDF said it had killed several terrorists in a “precise strike” on a Hamas compound embedded inside a UNRWA school in the Nuseirat area. According to the military, the members of the terror groups were struck while gathered in three classrooms, separate from an area where civilians were sheltering.
“Another UNRWA school turned shelter attacked,” Lazzarini writes on X. “Attacking, targeting or using UN buildings for military purposes are a blatant disregard of International Humanitarian law.”
He added that UNRWA “shares the coordinates of all its facilities (including this school) with the Israeli army and other parties in the conflict.”
The IDF said earlier that “many steps were taken before the strike to minimize the risk of harm to uninvolved people” — including analyzing aerial footage and using precise intelligence, and that it had been postponed twice in an effort to minimize civilian harm.
Dutch lawmakers join passersby inside replica of Hamas tunnel in The Hague
Lawmakers Mona Keijzer, left, and Claudia van Zanten visit a replica of a Hamas tunnel in The Hague, the Netherlands on June 5, 2024. (Ronny Naftaniel)
Outside a train station in The Hague, five teenagers pause to study an imposing structure: a 24-meter (79-foot) dark tunnel with just a faint light visible at its end.
Having missed an explanatory board, they debate its meaning briefly. Rachel Meijler, an Israel-Dutch gallery owner, explains that it’s a replica of the tunnels where Hamas has kept hostages from Israel since October 7. Her nephew, Laor Abramov, 20, was murdered by the terrorists at the Supernova music festival, she adds. The students fall silent and venture into the cramped space, one of them bending slightly.
Brought to the Netherlands last month at Meijler’s initiative, the tunnel opened to the public yesterday in The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, where Israel is facing disputed genocide charges over its war on Hamas in Gaza.
“The tunnel has been on display in Amsterdam for a month but The Hague is the more strategic place,” says Ronny Naftaniel, a former leader of Dutch Jews. “Theoretical knowledge is different to the stuffiness and discomfort one feels inside the thing,” he tells The Times of Israel.
Multiple lawmakers visit the tunnel. Ulysse Ellian, a lawmaker for the People’s Party for the ruling Freedom and Democracy, comments after the visit: “It’s unthinkable that there the hostages are kept in these conditions, day in day out.”
‘Ali Baba and the 40 thieves: UAE FM lashes out at top PA official over alleged corruption
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, front left, attends a meeting with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein al-Sheikh, during a day of meetings about the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool photo via AP)
A meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a group of Arab counterparts in Riyadh in late April deteriorated into a shouting match between the foreign minister of the UAE and a senior Palestinian official, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
Confirming reporting in the Axios news site, the source recalled how Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said during the meeting that there was no real reform in the Palestinian Authority, accused the Palestinian leadership of being “Ali Baba and the 40 thieves” and said all of the PA leadership is “useless.” Bin Zayed went further, asking why the UAE would want to provide funding to such a body.
“His Highness added that if the Palestinian Authority paid as much attention to its own people as it does to security coordination with Israel the Palestinians will be in much better shape,” an Emirati official told Axios — a particularly low blow, given that the PA has long come under fire domestically for its security cooperation with Israel but usually receives praise for it from the US and the rest of the international community.
Palestinian Liberation Organization Executive Committee secretary general Hussein al-Sheikh, a close aide to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, shot back that nobody could dictate to the PA how to conduct its reforms.
The sides both stormed out of the room in anger and later returned to apologize to Blinken for arguing in his presence, according to the source.
The PA has long had a rocky relationship with the UAE, particularly since Abu Dhabi normalized ties with Israel in 2020. The personal relationship between Abbas and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed is widely known to be chilly.
But the source familiar with the matter said anger with the PA and Abbas stems well beyond just the UAE, with the majority of the other countries present at the meeting — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar — all increasingly losing their patience with Ramallah.
The feeling among many of those present in the meeting was that Abbas has not been willing to institute the significant reforms that are necessary in order to reform the PA so that it can return to governing Gaza and advance a two-state solution.
The frustration with Abbas extends to Qatar who wanted him to appoint a prime minister who would have support within Palestinian society, including the Islamist sectors. This message was passed along by Qatar’s emir during Abbas’s visit to the country in February. However, Abbas ultimately snubbed the emir and appointed a close confidant, Mohammed Mustafa, whose public support is rather limited.
IDF says it carried out drone strike on two Hezbollah operatives in south Lebanon
People inspect the destruction outside a charred building hit by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Wadi Jilo, east of Tyre, on June 6, 2024 (Mahmoud AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
Two Hezbollah operatives were struck in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun earlier today, the military says.
The IDF also says it struck several buildings used by the terror group in the town.
Two Hezbollah operatives were struck in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon's Aitaroun earlier today, the military says.
The IDF also says it struck several buildings used by the terror group in the town. pic.twitter.com/wiBXmLQGhJ
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 6, 2024
NAACP calls on Biden to ‘indefinitely’ halt all weapons deliveries to Israel
US President Joe Biden speaks at a dinner for the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, in Detroit, May 19, 2024. (Alex Brandon/AP)
The NAACP, an influential civil rights organization, urges US President Joe Biden to “indefinitely” halt all weapons deliveries to Israel and apply pressure for the end of the war, sending a reminder that his support for Israel could hurt him among Black voters in November’s election.
The NAACP’s call is a rare instance of the advocacy group for Black Americans taking a position on US foreign policy toward a country without a significant Black population.
The organization says Israel had a right to defend itself after the Hamas massacre of October 7 and urges the terror group to return the hostages and “stop all terrorist activity.” It also urges Israel to “commit to an offensive strategy that is aligned with international and humanitarian laws.”
“The NAACP calls on President Biden to draw the red line and indefinitely end the shipment of all weapons and artillery to the State of Israel and other states that supply weapons to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. It is imperative that the violence that has claimed so many civilian lives, immediately stop,” the organization says in a statement first provided to Reuters.
Hamas official: US resolution at UN based on deal that is ‘not acceptable to us’
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. (AP/Hatem Moussa)
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tells Reuters that while the group welcomes what he calls “Biden’s ideas” to reach a truce in fighting in Gaza, he says a US draft resolution at the UN Security Council is dependent on an Israeli ceasefire proposal that Hamas had already seen and rejected.
“The [US] document… has no mention of ending the aggression or the withdrawal,” he says. “The Israeli documents speak of open-ended negotiation with no deadline, and it speaks of a stage during which the occupation regains its hostages and resumes the war. We had told the mediators that such a paper wasn’t acceptable to us.”
But Abu Zuhri says Hamas is committed to its May 5 proposal, under which the terror group would retain control of the Strip and release very few hostages in exchange for hundreds of imprisoned terrorists — a plan swiftly rejected by Israel.
Ministry plans to file new request to extend temporary ban on Al Jazeera in Israel
Police raid the Al Jazeera offices in East Jerusalem on May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Communications Ministry tells the Al Jazeera news network that Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi intends to file a new request with the cabinet to extend the temporary ban on the channel’s broadcasts in Israel and local access to its website.
In a letter to Al Jazeera, the ministry director says the security agencies continue to believe that the channel poses a threat to national security, as determined before the original May 5 order shuttering the outlet, and that Karhi has therefore decided to request the extension of the ban.
The current ban expires at midnight on Saturday night, but the communications minister is entitled to request that it be extended by 45 days or less, until the temporary law expires on July 31 — at which point the legislation would need to be renewed to continue to remain in effect.
Karhi originally ordered Al Jazeera to be shuttered for 45 days, but the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court reduced that period to 35 days on Tuesday.
Since the order now expires on Saturday night, Karhi would not have time to obtain renewed authorization from the cabinet, as required by the law, to extend the ban, since the cabinet is only scheduled to convene on Sunday morning.
The minister has therefore requested from the court that it change its decision to allow for the current ban to expire on Sunday night, in order to give the cabinet time to approve the extension before the original order expires.
Houthis claim without evidence to target ships at Haifa port
View of the port in the northern city of Haifa, July 31, 2022. (Shir Torem/Flash90)
Yemen’s Houthi terror group claims it launched two joint military operations with the Iraqi Islamic Resistance against ships at Israel’s Haifa port.
“The first targeted two ships carrying military equipments in the port of Haifa, while the second targeted a ship that violated the decision to ban entry to the port,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claims in a televised statement.
There were no reports of an incident in Haifa, and previous claims by Iran-backed groups have later been proven to be exaggerated or fabricated.
“It’s not true,” says IDF spokesperson Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner.
Report: Egyptian source cites ‘positive signs’ from Hamas on Gaza truce
Troops operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released for publication by the military on June 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Egypt has received “positive signs” from Hamas over a proposed Gaza truce and hostage release deal, the state-linked Al-Qahera News reports, citing a high-level source.
“Hamas leaders have informed us that they are studying the truce proposal seriously and positively,” it quotes the unnamed source as saying, adding that Hamas is expected to provide a response “in the coming days.”
Earlier a Saudi report said that Hamas had rejected the truce proposal.
Netanyahu congratulates India’s Modi on his reelection
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi visit the water desalination plant at Olga beach, on July 6, 2017. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks by phone with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his electoral victory this week.
According to the Israeli readout, the leaders agree to continue working to strengthen bilateral ties.
In D-Day anniversary speech, Biden says US and NATO won’t walk away from Ukraine: ‘We cannot surrender to the bullies’
US President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte Macron, walk on stage during ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2024, in Normandy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The United States and NATO will not walk away from the crisis in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden says in a D-Day speech in Normandy, France.
Biden says Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, was invaded by a “tyrant intent on domination” and that democracy was now more at risk than at any point since World War II.
“Make no mistake, we will not bow down, we cannot surrender to the bullies, it is simply unthinkable. If we do, freedom will be subjugated, all Europe will be threatened ” he says in Colleville-sur-Mer.
IDF Northern Command chief: Military ready for potential all-out war against Hezbollah
Chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin speaks at a ceremony marking 18 years since the Second Lebanon War, June 6, 2024. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)
Chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, speaking at a ceremony marking 18 years since the Second Lebanon War, says the military is prepared to face the Hezbollah terror group once more.
“Hezbollah has suffered severe blows. About 420 terrorists and senior operatives were eliminated. The terror infrastructure built over the years has been destroyed and is attacked every day. We have been doing this for eight months, with the understanding that this time too, like 18 years ago, we have no choice but to continue fighting, together, until the mission is completed,” he says.
“Last week we completed preparations… for an attack in the north. I meet with the troops and commanders; they are training and determined. I am sure they will be able to face any task against the Hezbollah terror organization. We are prepared and ready, and when we will be ordered, the enemy will meet a strong and ready army,” Gordin continues.
“We will not rest for a moment and will continue to fight with strength and reason, until the task is completed, restoring security and the sense of security to the north. This responsibility is clear and rests on our shoulders,” he adds.
IDF says Gaza airstrikes targeted rocket launchers, weapons depots
Troops operate in Gaza in a handout photo released for publication on June 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli fighter jets and other aircraft struck dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military says.
The targets included weapon depots, buildings used by terror groups, tunnel shafts, and other infrastructure.
One drone strike hit a position from which rockets were launched at Israel previously, and another targeted a launcher and a terror cell that fired mortars at the border community of Kissufim, the IDF says.
The strikes come as troops continue to operate in the east Bureij and east Deir al-Balah areas in central Gaza, in Rafah in the Strip’s south, and in the Netzarim Corridor.
In Bureij and Deir al-Balah, the IDF says troops located several tunnel shafts and weapons, and killed several members of Hamas’s rocket unit with tank shelling.
In Rafah, several more tunnel shafts were located, along with caches of weapons, the military adds.
Israeli national team cyclist Guy Timor killed when hit by unlicensed drunk driver
A member of the Israeli national cycling team has been killed by an unlicensed drunk driver who was trying to escape police near the Nehora interchange in the south.
Guy Timor was a member of the Israeli national team in track and road cycling. He was killed during his final training session this morning before he was set to fly to the Czech Republic for a Grand Prix competition.
Police say in a statement that the suspect in his 20s was detained and the initial investigation revealed that he had previously been caught driving without a license.
The driver, who has never held a license, hit Timor while trying to escape from police officers who ordered him to stop when he was seen driving erratically.
Timor has represented Israel in recent years in the European and world championships. According to Walla he won the silver medal in the 2024 Israeli Track Cycling Championship, as well as the silver medal in the U-23 Israeli Road Cycling Championship.
“It’s a huge and painful loss,” Timor’s coach Tzachi Bogen tells Walla. “It’s unbelievable how in one moment, a friend was taken from us.”
Yonatan Turgeman eulogizes his teammate and tells Army Radio that the roads are not safe for cyclists.
“He was an amazing rider, always with a smile. There was nobody who didn’t want to ride with him,” Turgeman says. “Every developed country has bicycle infrastructure. But not our country. We cannot protect ourselves.”
רוכב האופניים גיא תימור, חבר נבחרת ישראל באופני מסלול וכביש, נהרג הבוקר בתאונת דרכים באזור לכיש. תימור, בן 21 ממושב יד נתן, היה בעיצומו של אימון בוקר כהכנה לתחרות גראנד פרי בצ'כיה כשנדרס על ידי אדם שנהג בכלי רכב ללא רישיון בעת שניסע לברוח מהמשטרה
צילום: נמרוד הנגבי ורותם פבר pic.twitter.com/ieRHCadLcG
— Ido Rakovsky (@Nesherke) June 6, 2024
‘No time to lose’: World leaders issue joint statement calling on Hamas to agree to hostage-ceasefire proposal
Demonstrators call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, June 5, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
The leaders of countries with citizens held in Gaza call on Hamas to agree to the Israeli proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on Friday.
“There is no time to lose,” say the world leaders in a statement. “We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens.”
The statement notes that the proposal “would lead to an immediate ceasefire and rehabilitation of Gaza together with security assurances for Israelis, and Palestinians, and opportunities for a more enduring long-term peace and a two-state solution.”
“It is time for the war to end and this deal is the necessary starting point,” says the missive, signed by the leaders of the United States, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
Earlier today, the Saudi Ashraq news outlet reported that Hamas had circulated a memo rejecting the offer, but Israel has yet to receive a formal response.
Soldier killed by terrorists trying to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza, IDF announces
The IDF announces the death of a soldier killed during a gun battle with Hamas operatives who attempted to infiltrate into Israel from southern Gaza’s Rafah early this morning.
The slain soldier is named as Warrant Officer Zeed Mazarib, 34, a tracker in the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, from Zarzir.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attempt, during which the IDF said it killed three armed terror operatives.
One-year-old dies after she was apparently left in car in Sderot
The Barzilai Medical Center says that a toddler has died after she was apparently left in a car in Sderot for a prolonged period of time.
The Ashkelon hospital says the girl was 16 months old.
Temperatures in Israel are unseasonably high today.
According to the Beterem child safety activism group, four young children have died this year after being left in cars.
Between 2013 and 2024, 43 children died from being forgotten or trapped in vehicles in Israel, Beterem says according to Channel 13 news.
IDF says delaying plan to reduce size of local security teams in some northern towns
The IDF says it is delaying by several weeks a planned move to reduce the number of members of local security teams in towns in northern Israel.
The civilian security teams are staffed by reservists on active duty amid the war.
The IDF had planned to release many of those reservists in towns in northern Israel that are not close to the border.
The security teams in evacuated towns, within a few kilometers of the Lebanon border, were to remain unchanged.
The IDF says that following a new assessment of the situation, it was decided to postpone the reduction by several weeks.
IDF says troops found tunnel shaft in child’s bedroom in Rafah
A tunnel shaft found in a child's bedroom in a home in southern Gaza's Rafah, in an image published by the IDF on June 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Bislamach Brigade — the IDF’s School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders in peacetime — has been withdrawn from southern Gaza’s Rafah after a week and a half of operations.
The IDF says the brigade will now prepare for additional operations.
This week, troops of the Bislamach Brigade discovered a tunnel shaft in a child’s bedroom, the military says.
The IDF says the troops also discovered a cache of weapons, including explosive devices stored inside bags bearing the United Nations logo.
IDF: Jets hit Hezbollah weapons depot in south Lebanon’s Wadi Jilou overnight
People inspect the destruction outside a charred building hit by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Wadi Jilo, east of Tyre, on June 6, 2024 (Mahmoud AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah weapons depot in southern Lebanon’s Wadi Jilou overnight, as well as two more sites belonging to the terror group near Aadchit, the military says.
The IDF adds that buildings used by Hezbollah in Beit Yahoun and Seddiqin, and additional infrastructure in Odaisseh, were also hit.
#عاجل جيش الدفاع هاجم خلال ساعات الليلة الماضية مواقع عسكرية لحزب الله في عمق وجنوب لبنان
أغارت طائرات حربية لسلاح الجو خلال ساعات الليلة الماضية على مواقع عسكرية لحزب الله الإرهابي من بينها مستودع أسلحة يقع في وادي جيلو بالإضافة إلى موقعيْن إضافييْن بالقرب من منطقة عدشيت في… pic.twitter.com/0vmSybKt9V
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) June 6, 2024
Report: Israel still has not received formal response from Hamas on hostage-truce proposal
Demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip march in Tel Aviv, June 5, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
An Israeli official tells the Kan public broadcaster that there has still not been a formal answer from Hamas regarding the proposal for a hostage-truce deal.
The report comes after a source from the terror group told a Saudi outlet that Hamas would reject any proposal that does not include a guarantee for the war to end.
Meanwhile, the network reports that the war cabinet meeting set to be held this evening has been canceled and the wider security cabinet will also not meet.
The top political decision-making bodies had been set to convene for a final time before war cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s Saturday deadline.
Last month, the National Unity leader issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding the premier commit to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory after Hamas’s defeat, and warning that he would bolt the coalition on June 8 should this not happen.
Rocket sirens in communities close to Gaza border
A second round of rocket sirens sound in Gaza border towns, this time in Avshalom, Yevul and Yated.
The communities are located across the border from southern Gaza’s Rafah.
Rocket sirens sound in Yated and Holit near Gaza border
Sirens warn of incoming rocket fire in Yated and Holit near the Gaza border.
The communities closest to the border have been largely evacuated of civilians since October 7.
Spain announces it will join South Africa’s ICJ ‘genocide’ case against Israel
The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the UN, hears South Africa's oral arguments asking the court to order Israel to halt its military campaign against Hamas, May 16, 2024. (International Court of Justice)
Spain will join South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, its foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares says.
Spain is the second European nation after Ireland to join the case, which has also been joined by countries including Chile and Mexico.
In December of last year, South Africa filed a case against Israel over the war in Gaza, declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
Last month, the court ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire as requested by South Africa.
In response to an emergency request filed by South Africa, the ICJ also ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
Israel has faced increasing international criticism in recent weeks, as it launched a military operation in the southern part of Gaza, where a majority of displaced people from the center and the north of the Strip had escaped to take refuge from the fighting in those areas.
Despite the criticism, the IDF has asserted that Rafah is the last major remaining Hamas stronghold in the Strip, and says that many of the remaining hostages captured by the terror group on October 7 could be held in the city.
Herzog sends letter of condolence after death of Chabad’s Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky
President Isaac Herzog sends a letter of condolence after the death of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky.
Kotlarsky, the vice chair of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, died this week aged 74.
“He was a man of deep integrity, diligence, spiritual intellect and menschlichkeit,” Herzog writes. “He was a faithful servant of the Jewish people and an exemplar of Judaism’s moral values. I will miss him greatly and I will never forget him.”
IDF: Terrorists trying to infiltrate from Gaza used fog for cover, were spotted by surveillance officers
The attempted infiltration on the Gaza border began this morning at around 4 a.m., when soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras spotted suspicious movement amid foggy weather, according to an initial IDF probe.
Troops of the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion were dispatched to the scene, in Gaza, just across from the Israeli border communities of Kerem Shalom and Holit, to search for the suspects.
At around 5 a.m., the soldiers came under fire by the cell, around 400 meters from the Israeli border. Moments later, two of the gunmen were killed in a drone strike, and a short time after that, a third was killed by tank shelling, the IDF says.
The cell was armed with assault rifles and RPGs, according to the probe.
A possible fourth gunman fled the area, though the IDF was still investigating this.
The IDF was also investigating how the gunmen reached the border area, where they were detected.
Lebanese media: 1 killed, 1 wounded in Israeli strike on motorbike in south Lebanon
Lebanese media reports that one person was killed and another injured in an Israeli strike on a motorbike in Aitaroun in south Lebanon.
There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
Hebrew-language media reports that the alleged strike targeted an operative from the Hezbollah terror group.
IDF says 20-30 terrorists were sheltering in UNRWA school targeted in Gaza
Palestinians check a UN-school housing displaced people that was hit in an Israeli strike the IDF said targeted Hamas members in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on June 6, 2024 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)
The IDF estimates that between 20 and 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were gathered at the UN school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat when it was struck overnight.
Members of the terror groups were in three classrooms, separate from an area where civilians were sheltering.
The strike was delayed twice as the military says it worked to fine-tune the plan to avoid harming civilians.
Hamas authorities claim at least 27 people were killed in the strike. It is not immediately clear how many of those killed were members of terror groups.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using schools and other civilian infrastructure in the Strip, including where civilians are sheltering, for terror activity.
Life sentence for man who stabbed wife to death day before their scheduled divorce
An undated photo of Yael Ben Avraham, 68, who was stabbed to death by her husband at their Herzliya apartment on November 1, 2022, a day before their divorce was set to be finalized. (Courtesy)
The Tel Aviv District court sentences a man to life imprisonment for the 2022 murder of his wife a day before the two were set to divorce.
Ya’akov Ben Avraham, 70, stabbed his wife Yael, 68, some 50 times at their Herzliya home.
The court also orders him to pay NIS 258,000 (approximately $69,000) to their two daughters, the maximum amount of compensation allowed.
The day before she was killed, Yael told Ya’akov she would not sign an agreement they had previously reached for dividing the property, at which point Ya’akov decided to kill her, according to the indictment.
Ya’akov Ben Avraham, accused of murdering his wife a few weeks ago in Herzliya, seen on a screen via a video link during a court hearing at the Tel Aviv District Court, on November 30, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Yael was resting on the living room couch when Ya’akov grabbed a knife and stabbed her multiple times. As she defended herself, the knife he was using broke, the indictment said.
As Yael was trying to escape the apartment, Ya’akov grabbed a second knife and continued to stab her.
He stabbed her more than 50 times, according to the indictment, until she collapsed at the entrance to the apartment.
A neighbor who witnessed the incident through an apartment window tried to convince Ya’akov to stop, but his efforts proved futile.
The indictment noted that Ya’akov had tried to conceal evidence by washing the knives used in the stabbing.
Preparations underway for Tel Aviv’s Pride, this year also a rally for hostages
Participants in the Pride Parade in Jerusalem, on May 30, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Preparations are underway for Tel Aviv’s Pride rally, to be held this evening in solidarity with the hostages held in Gaza.
The municipality said last month it was scrapping the normally exuberant celebration of LGBTQ life in the famously open city out of deference to the hostages.
Instead a rally will be held for “pride, hope, and liberty” in collaboration with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
It will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Charles Clore Park.
The event will feature the stories of LGBTQ individuals impacted by the war, and medals will be awarded to members of the community who have made exceptional contributions since October 7.
There is also an all-star line up of Israeli musicians including Noa Kirel, Noga Erev, Ivri Lider, Ran Dankner, Valerie Hamaty, Harel Skaat and Netta Barzilai.
Speakers will include Nadav Rudaeff, whose father Lior was killed on October 7 and his body taken to Gaza, and comedian Daniel-Ryan Spaulding.
At the start of the month, the city unveiled the Pride flag for this year’s events, featuring a wider yellow stripe to highlight the plight of the hostages.
In solidarity with the hostages held in #Gaza by Hamas, @TelAviv displays pride flags with a widened yellow stripe. ????????????️????️???? #AllEyesonIsraeliHostages #BringThemHomeNow #Pride2024 pic.twitter.com/KUECNMBRQ5
— Embassy of Israel to the USA (@IsraelinUSA) June 1, 2024
Saudi report: Hamas rejects hostage-ceasefire deal proposal without clear guarantee war will end
Demonstrators call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, June 5, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
A Saudi outlet reports that Hamas officials rejected the proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal, claiming it was fundamentally different from the deal presented by US President Joe Biden.
Hamas distributed a document to other Palestinian groups rejecting Israel’s latest proposal, the Asharq News outlet reports, after viewing a copy of the memorandum.
The document says that Israel’s offer “does not guarantee a permanent ceasefire,” and allows Israel to recover “the prisoners that interest it, then it resumes the war of extermination against our people.”
According to Asharq, Hamas says that it initially welcomed Biden’s proposal “because it provides the necessary foundations to reach an agreement that achieves a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, the flow of large amounts of aid, the return of the displaced, reconstruction, and the exchange of prisoners.”
Meanwhile, Hamas sources tell the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat that the terror group wants clear guarantees that the war will end.
“Israel is manipulating. They want a temporary truce, then the war will resume… They use ambiguous texts that are open to interpretation,” a source says.
It should be noted that this did not appear to be a formal rejection of the proposal by the terror group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that he will not accept any hostage deal that prevents Israel from completing its war aim of eliminating Hamas, which orchestrated the October 7 onslaught that killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.
Colombia urges curbs on coal sales to Israel – report
Colombia’s trade ministry is recommending restrictions on coal sales to Israel, Bloomberg News says, citing an internal document and a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The ministry is seeking limits on shipments of coal from a committee on tariffs and foreign trade, the report adds.
The outlet says Colombia is Israel’s biggest coal supplier, having sold it about $450 million of the fuel in 2023.
Last month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Bogota will cut diplomatic ties with Israel.
Reservist soldier killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah drone attack on northern town, army announces
Staff Sgt. (res.) Refael Kauders killed in a Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel on June 5, 2023 (Courtesy)
A reservist soldier was killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah drone attack on northern Israel, the military announces.
He is named as Staff Sgt. (res.) Refael Kauders, 39, of the Alon Brigade’s 5030th Battalion, from Tzur Hadassah.
Another soldier was seriously wounded and eight more troops were lightly injured in the explosive-laden drone attack near Hurfeish.
Two explosive-laden drones had impacted within a few minutes of each other in Hurfeish, located several kilometers from the Lebanon border, with the second seemingly targeting rescue crews who arrived to treat those wounded by the first.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas there.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 330 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 62 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.
IDF: Troops killed 3 terrorists trying to infiltrate into Israel from Rafah area in Gaza
The military says troops killed three terrorists who attempted to cross into Israel from the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip this morning.
In a statement, the IDF says troops searching the area encountered the gunmen, who opened fire toward the troops.
The IDF says the soldiers returned fire and an aircraft then carried out a strike, killing two of the gunmen.
A third was killed by tank shelling a short time later, the IDF adds.
A military source says the IDF is investigating if there was a fourth terrorist who may have fled the scene but remained in Gaza. The IDF says no suspects crossed the barrier into Israel amid the incident.
The IDF does not immediately provide information on possible Israeli casualties in the incident.
Greek-owned bulk carrier apparently targeted by Houthis in Red Sea, maritime security firm says
British security firm Ambrey says a Greek-owned bulk carrier was allegedly targeted by Yemen’s Houthis while traveling northbound in the Red Sea.
The ship’s transmissions stopped 118 nautical miles east of Massawa, Eritrea when it was underway from Mormugao, India, with its destination as Suez, Egypt, the firm says in a statement that did not name the ship.
“The alleged ‘targeting’ of the vessel was aligned to the stated Houthi intent,” Ambrey says. “The Houthi language did not indicate they were claiming to have damaged the vessel. At the time of writing, the event had not been verified.”
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have launched dozens of drone and missile strikes into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, describing their attacks as a campaign of support for Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.
The Houthis have also fired several ballistic missiles and drones at Eilat.
Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia set to get UN Security Council seats
The United Nations Security Council meets on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City on April 18, 2024. (Angela Weiss/AFP)
Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia are set to get seats on the UN Security Council in a secret ballot today in the General Assembly.
The 193-member world body is scheduled to vote to elect five countries to serve two-year terms on the council. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allotted to regional groups who usually select their candidates but sometimes can’t agree on one. There are no such surprises this year.
Last year, Slovenia soundly defeated Russia’s close ally Belarus for the seat representing the East European regional group, a vote that reflected strong global opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This time, the regional groups put forward Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two mainly Western seats.
The five council members elected today will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing those whose two-year terms end on Dec. 31 — Mozambique, Japan, Ecuador, Malta and Switzerland.
They will join the five veto-wielding permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France — and the five countries elected last year — Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia.
Hezbollah claims to have hit Iron Dome battery; IDF says unaware of such case
Hezbollah is claiming to have hit an Iron Dome air defense system launcher near the northern community of Ramot Naftali yesterday.
The Lebanese terror group publishes a video apparently showing a guided missile striking the launcher.
The video does not show the aftermath of the strike.
The IDF says it is unaware of any damage to an Iron Dome launcher.
It appears Hezbollah did hit the Iron Dome launcher with a guided missile. This is the first time I've observed an Iron Dome launcher being hit. Separately, Palestinian terrorist groups have been trying to do this for years, but I've never seen evidence they were successful. https://t.co/6KB518OqJ4 pic.twitter.com/j6LZdJXK4W
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) June 5, 2024
IDF says it struck terrorists hiding in UNRWA school, took steps to avoid harming civilians
The Israel Defense Forces says it has carried out a precise strike on a compound used by the Hamas terror group inside an UNRWA school in central Gaza, while taking extensive precautions to reduce harm to civilians.
The Hamas-run government media office has claimed at least 27 people were killed in what it termed the Israeli “massacre.”
“A short while ago, fighter jets… conducted a precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside an UNRWA school in the area of Nuseirat,” the army says in a statement, adding that several terrorists were “eliminated.”
The IDF says the compound was used by members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force who took part in the terror group’s October 7 massacre in Israel, in which some 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
The army says the terrorists, along with members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, “directed terror attacks from the area of the school, while exploiting it as a civilian location and as shelter.
“The strike eliminated terrorists who had planned to carry out terror attacks and advance imminent terror schemes against our forces,” the IDF says, adding that “many steps were taken before the strike to minimize the risk of harm to uninvolved people” — including analyzing aerial footage and using precise intelligence.
It releases an aerial photo showing where in the compound the terrorists had allegedly been staying.
לפני זמן קצר, מטוסי קרב תקפו בהכוונת כוחות אוגדה 99, אגף המודיעין ושב״כ מתחם ששימש את ארגון הטרור חמאס הממוקם בתוך בית ספר של אונר״א במרחב נוציראת.
במתחם שהו מחבלי חמאס וגא״פ אשר השתייכו לכוחות הנחב׳ה ולקחו חלק בטבח הרצחני ביישובי העוטף ב-7 באוקטובר>> pic.twitter.com/9IrXYw34qq
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 6, 2024
AFP contributed to this report.
Hamas claims 27 killed in attack on UNRWA school in Gaza’s Nuseirat
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office claims that at least 27 people have been killed and dozens injured in an UNRWA school housing displaced persons in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, casting it as an Israeli “massacre.”
The Israel Defense Forces doesn’t immediately react.
There is no immediate confirmation by the Hamas-run health ministry either, and the claim cannot immediately be verified.
Police probe after vandal filmed smashing door of Haaretz offices
Police are investigating after a yet-unidentified man vandalized the main offices of the left-wing Haaretz daily in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning.
הבוקר נופצה הכניסה לבניין הארץ בתל אביב. לפני שעה הותקף בעיר העתיקה בירושלים כתב הארץ @nirhasson בידי נערים ש״חגגו״ את יום ירושלים
ישראל תחת מתקפה מבפנים, מסוכנת בהרבה מכל איום חיצוני. ועדיין, ניר וכל יתר העיתונאים בעיתון הוותיק ביותר בישראל נמשיך בעבודה שלנו בהגנת המולדת pic.twitter.com/j8q63u1RZT— Anshel Pfeffer אנשיל פפר (@AnshelPfeffer) June 5, 2024
In CCTV footage, the culprit is seen walking up to the automatic glass doors with a large hammer and smashing a hole into the door before walking away.
אירוע חריג במשרדי עיתון הארץ הבוקר, אדם הגיע עם פטיש וניפץ את השמשה בכניסה למשרדים. כעת כל עובדי הארץ מחפשים אותו להבין את המניע למעשה הזה. המשטרה חוקרת. אנחנו נמצא את התכשיט pic.twitter.com/GjOKxMsvFU
— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) June 5, 2024
Saudi Arabia decries Jerusalem Day Flag March as ‘provocation’
Saudi Arabia tears into the Israeli government for allowing today’s Jerusalem Day Flag March to go forward through the flashpoint Old City of the capital, including through its Muslim Quarter.
“The kingdom affirms that these violations represent a provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world, especially in light of the continuing war and acts of violence against Palestinian civilians,” Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry claims in a statement.
As in past years, the Flag March featured some far-right participants assaulting journalists, harassing Palestinians and chanting racist slogans against Arabs.
The condemnation comes amid increased frustration in Riyadh with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued refusal to accept a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a key condition for a series of bilateral agreements that Riyadh is seeking to sign with the United States.
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