June 7: US says still awaiting official Hamas response to hostage-ceasefire deal proposal

Yemen’s Houthis fired four anti-ship missiles over Red Sea, US CENTCOM says

Yemen’s Houthis launched in the past 24 hours four anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen over the Red Sea, the US military’s Central Command says, adding there were no injuries or damage reported by American, coalition or commercial ships.

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.

Danish PM attacked and hit by man in Copenhagen; suspect arrested

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks with the media as she arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, December 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was in shock after being attacked by a man in central Copenhagen, Ritzau news agency reports, citing police and the prime minister’s office.

It is unclear whether Frederiksen was injured by the attacker.

The man was arrested following the incident, Ritzau says.

UN spokesman blasts Erdan for ‘shocking’ decision to release video of call informing him Israel on ‘list of shame’

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a Security Council meeting on a resolution that would have recognized the Palestinians as a full UN member state, at United Nations headquarters, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A spokesperson for the United Nations blasts the “unacceptable” decision by Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan to release a recording of him being formally informed of the decision to include Israel on a so-called list of shame.

Stéphane Dujarric tells The New York Times that the release of the video was “shocking and unacceptable and something I’ve never seen in my 25 years serving this organization.”

“The call was a courtesy afforded to countries that are newly listed,” Dujarric tells the newspaper, “to give countries heads up and avoid leaks.”

Israel, along with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups, has been added to the “list of shame,” which is attached to an annual report released by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office that documents alleged rights violations against children in armed conflict.

The move sparked outrage in Jerusalem.

Erdan has a history of stunts and gimmicks at the UN.

IDF says jets hit Hezbollah rocket launcher, other terror targets in south Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon earlier today, the IDF says.

Troops also shelled several locations with artillery and mortars to “remove threats,” the military adds.

The IDF says that a siren in the northern community of Matat at 8:34 p.m. was triggered by two rockets launched from Lebanon, which both hit open areas. Sirens at 8:13 p.m. in the Western Galilee warning of a suspected drone infiltration were a false alarm.

מוקדם יותר היום הופעלו התרעות במרחב נוף הגליל על ירי רקטות וטילים. לאחר תחקור האירוע, התברר כי מדובר בכטב"ם שחצה מלבנון ונפל בשטחים פתוחים במרחב עמק יזרעאל. בוצע ניסיון יירוט שלא צלח לעבר המטרה. בנוסף, זוהה כטב"ם נוסף שחצה מלבנון ונפל במרחב שומרה>> pic.twitter.com/QuyXnw2qZn

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 7, 2024

IDF says drone from Lebanon struck open area near Nazareth after interception failed

The Israeli military confirms that a drone launched from Lebanon earlier today struck an open area in the Jezreel Valley, near Nazareth.

According to the IDF, there was a failed attempt to intercept the drone. Residents of the area reported seeing an Iron Dome missile launch.

Sirens had sounded in the area during the incident, amid fears of falling shrapnel.

The incident marks the deepest Hezbollah attack in Israel amid the war, with the projectile hitting an area some 40 kilometers from the border. The previous deepest attack occurred last month, when a Hezbollah drone struck a military facility some 35km from the Lebanon border.

A second drone struck an area near the border community of Shomera, the military adds.

No injuries were caused by either drone.

The update from the IDF comes nearly eight hours after the incident.

White House says still awaiting official Hamas response to hostage-ceasefire deal proposal

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, May 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The White House says it is still awaiting an official response by Hamas to the latest hostage deal and ceasefire proposal for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Spokesperson John Kirby tells reporters that US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the issue during a meeting on Saturday.

Explosive-laden drone from Lebanon struck open area near Nazareth after interception failed – report

An explosive-laden drone launched from Lebanon earlier today struck an open area near the northern city of Nof Hagalil, adjacent to Nazareth and some 40 kilometers from the border, the Ynet news site reports.

Sirens had sounded in the area at around 2:20 p.m., with residents reporting that an interceptor missile was launched.

According to Ynet, the interceptor missile failed to down the drone, and the device struck an open area, sparking a fire.

The IDF has not yet commented on the incident, and has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Poll: 62% won’t vote for party that supports Netanyahu to continue as PM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on May 27, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A new Channel 12 poll finds that 62 percent of voters say they will not cast their ballot for a party that supports the continued premiership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nineteen percent tell pollsters they would only vote for a party that supports Netanyahu, and 19% say they don’t know.

Additionally, 30% of those who are classified currently as voters within Netanyahu’s bloc, say they will not vote for parties that support his continued leadership of the country.

Channel 12 does not give the sample size or margin of error for the poll.

Report: Israel advances pilot program that could serve as precursor to alternative Gaza rule

Food and goods stalls are set up by vendors close to the ruins of destroyed buildings as people shop in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip on June 7, 2024 (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Israel has advanced a pilot program in Gaza that could serve as a precursor to establishing alternative civilian rule in the Gaza Strip to replace Hamas, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

According to Hebrew media reports earlier this week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently presented the cabinet with a plan for “humanitarian bubbles” to be formed inside the Palestinian enclave, in which Palestinians proven to have no affiliation to Hamas or other terror groups will be responsible for overseeing the distribution of humanitarian aid inside specific neighborhoods.

According to Kan, the war cabinet approved the plan to be implemented in various areas in the northern Gaza Strip, where the IDF will provide security — at least initially — to local neighborhoods that are part of the program in order to prevent them from being taken over by Hamas.

Kan reports that under the program, the IDF will clear an area of ​​terrorists and then secure it from a distance to prevent their return.

Israel will then allow humanitarian aid trucks to enter the area in coordination with international organizations, who will transfer the supplies to the local body charged with its distribution.

IDF: Senior member of Hamas’s general security forces in Rafah killed in airstrike

A senior member of Hamas’s general security forces in southern Gaza’s Rafah was killed in an airstrike yesterday, the military announces.

Salame Muhammad Abu Ajaj, according to the IDF, was one of the commanders of the general security forces in Rafah. He was killed in a fighter jet strike, it says.

The IDF says the general security forces is a Hamas body that supports the military wing of the terror group, and is tasked with several roles to “ensure the survival of the group, [continue] routine Hamas military activity and disrupt the IDF’s freedom of action in the Strip.”

Alongside Abu Ajaj, the mayor of Nuseirat, Eyad al-Maghari, was also killed in the strike.

The IDF says al-Maghari was a terrorist with “an extensive history in Hamas.”

It says he previously served in Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters, a unit involved in advancing attacks against Israel from or within the West Bank.

Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas following the October 7 onslaught, including its civil authority and members of its political wing.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad also to be added to UN ‘list of shame’ for children’s rights violations during war

Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists are seen on their way to cross the Israel-Gaza border fence from Khan Younis during the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023. (Said Khatib/ AFP/ File)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad will be added to the United Nations’ so-called “list of shame,” which is attached to an annual report submitted by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office that documents rights violations against children in armed conflict, a diplomatic source tells Reuters.

PIJ will be added to the list alongside Israel and Hamas.

This is the first time that Israel, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been included on this list, joining the ranks of Russia, the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, Yemen and Syria.

The allegations against Israel mean that it is believed to be the first democratic country included on the list. The decision provoked outrage from Jerusalem.

Yemen’s Houthis claim to have targeted two vessels in Red Sea with drones and missiles

Houthi supporters attend a rally against the Israel war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the U.S.-led bombing in Yemen in Sanaa on June 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Yemen’s Houthis launched two military operations targeting two vessels in the Red Sea, the Iran-backed group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree claims.

The Houthi militia, which controls the most populous parts of Yemen, has staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country for months in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The Elbella and AAL GENOA vessels were targeted with “a number of drones and ballistic and naval missiles,” Saree says in a televised speech.

Saree did not specify the date on which the operations were carried out. Reuters did not receive any reports of incidents in the Red Sea on today.

Months of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around Southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilize the wider Middle East.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Sirens warn of incoming rocket fire in northern communities

Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire sound in a number of northern towns.

Communities warned to take cover include Hurfeish where a reserve soldier was killed in a Hezbollah-claimed attack with explosive-laden drones on Wednesday.

Hostage’s mom calls on public to join protests: Netanyahu ‘decided to sacrifice them and us’

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, protests outside the Kirya Base in Tel Aviv, May 9, 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, calls on the public to go onto the streets tomorrow night and call for a deal, charging that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has decided to sacrifice them and us.”

“I would like to appeal to all the people of Israel, to every mother and father who is watching us right now. I am so close to hugging Matan in my arms,” Einav says in a direct appeal to the public while appearing on Channel 12.

“There is a deal on the table, and our prime minister has decided to sacrifice them and us,” she charges.

“The prime minister prefers to abandon the babies, the elderly, the citizens, the soldiers in order to preserve his political capital, to keep himself as prime minister,” she says.

“I invite you to join me at the Begin Gate [entrance to the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv] on Saturday night. Come, help me fight for the return of the hostages, for the residents in the north, for the security of the state and for the people of Israel,” she says.

US President Joe Biden announced last week what he described as an Israeli proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal. Hamas has not yet formally responded to the proposal, but officials in the terror group have reiterated their insistence that any agreement must guarantee an end to the war, a demand Israel has repeatedly ruled out.

Sirens warning of suspected drone attack sound in northern border communities

Sirens warning of a suspected drone attack are sounding in several communities close to the Lebanon border.

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 the war against Hamas there.

IDF says it identified 8 more Hamas, Islamic Jihad operatives killed in Thursday strike on UN school

A graphic issued by the IDF on June 7, 2024, shows eight Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives, in addition to nine previously identified, whom the army says it killed in a June 6, 2024 airstrike on a UN school in central Gaza's Nuseirat (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has identified another eight Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives who were killed in Thursday’s airstrike on a United Nations school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat.

According to the IDF, some 30 terror operatives were gathered in three classrooms at the UN school. Civilians were also sheltering in the compound, but not in the classrooms with the Hamas and PIJ members.

Yesterday, the IDF named nine of the killed terror group members. In all, 17 terror operatives killed in the strike have now been identified by the military.

Some of those killed had participated in the October 7 onslaught, the military has said.

The IDF says is continuing to work to identify the other terror operatives it killed in the strike.

The early Thursday morning airstrike killed at least 33 people, according to Hamas authorities.

Blinken to visit Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar next week, US State Dept. says

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks out of his plane upon his arrival at the airport in the Jordanian capital Amman on April 30, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, the US State Department confirms, as Washington is trying to put pressure on Hamas to take an Israeli truce and hostage swap deal presented by US President Joe Biden last week.

In Blinken’s eighth visit to the region since October 7, the top US diplomat will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar and meet with their senior leaders.

Katz: Adding Israel to children’s rights violators list ‘will have consequences for Israel’s relations with UN’

Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem, February 19, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Israel Katz says a decision to add Israel’s military to a global list of offenders who have committed violations against children “will have consequences for Israel’s relations with the UN.”

Israel and Hamas have been added to the United Nations’ so-called “list of shame,” which is attached to an annual report submitted by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office that documents rights violations against children in armed conflict.

This is the first time that Israel and Hamas have been included on this list, joining the ranks of Russia, the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, Yemen and Syria.

The allegations against Israel mean that it is believed to be the first democratic country included on the list.

UN adds Israel to ‘list of shame’ for alleged rights violations against children during war; Netanyahu: ‘Delusional’

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York City, September 19, 2023. (AP/Mary Altaffer)

Israel and Hamas have been added to the United Nations’ so-called “list of shame,” which is attached to an annual report submitted by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office that documents rights violations against children in armed conflict.

This is the first time that Israel and Hamas have been included on this list, joining the ranks of Russia, the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, Yemen and Syria. The allegations against Israel mean that it is believed to be the first democratic country included on the list.

Previous reports included chapters on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which accused Israel of grave rights violations against children.

However, Israel was never included in the annex at the end of the report of “listed parties that have not put in place measures during the reporting period to improve the protection of children.” This annex is what has become known as the “list of shame.”

Jerusalem has fumed over the announcement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, “The UN has put itself on the blacklist of history today when it joined the supporters of the Hamas murderers. The IDF is the most moral army in the world and no delusional decision by the UN will change that.”

The Israeli Mission to the UN filmed Gilad Erdan receiving the formal notification on Friday from Guterres’s chief of staff.

“You know that Israel’s army is the most moral army in the world. This immoral decision will only aid the terrorists and reward Hamas. The only one who is blacklisted today is the secretary-general whose decisions since the war started and even before are rewarding terrorists, incentivizing them to use children for terror acts.

“Now Hamas will continue even more to use schools and hospitals because this shameful decision of the secretary-general will only give Hamas hope to survive and will only extend the war, and extend the suffering. Shame on him,” Erdan declares.

Potential Colombia ban on coal exports to Israel would hit foreign investment, says mining group

A possible ban by Colombia’s government on coal exports to Israel would violate international agreements and put market confidence and foreign investment at risk, the country’s private mining association says.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that the commerce ministry could bar coal shipments to Israel, after leftist President Gustavo Petro cut diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern country in May in protest of its actions in Gaza.

A source at the commerce ministry tells Reuters there currently exists no order, resolution or decree which would prohibit or restrict coal exports to Israel.

Petro has strongly criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Colombia has requested to join South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

Colombia, the world’s fifth largest coal producer, sent 56.7 million metric tons of coal abroad last year, including 3 million tons to Israel, about 5.4% of total exports, according to government data.

“This decision would not comply with international commitments by Colombia that should be respected and puts at risk the confidence of markets and foreign investment,” the Colombian Mining Association (ACM) says in a statement.

Israel is a key destination for Colombian coal and shipments there generate about $165 million a year in taxes, royalties and other contributions.

A free trade agreement between Israel and Colombia has been in force since 2020, and the ACM said that the deal prevents imports and export restrictions between the two countries.

Drummond and Glencore GLEN.L are major private coal miners in Colombia.

IDF: Hamas members killed in command room in a container at UN school in Gaza City’s Shati camp

Youths inspect damage to a storage container that was hit by an Israeli strike at the Asmaa school, run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp, June 7, 2024. The IDF says a Hamas cell was operating from the container. (Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP)

Earlier today a cell of Hamas operatives gathered at a United Nations school in Gaza City’s Shati camp were killed in an airstrike, the military says.

According to the IDF, the Hamas members were operating from inside a container within the ground of UNRWA’s Asmaa school.

The container was being used as a command room by the operatives and a meeting point for members of the terror group’s internal security forces, the IDF says,

The military says that the operatives killed in the strike were planning attacks against Israeli forces in Gaza in the “immediate timeframe.” It does not specify how many Hamas operatives were killed.

Prior to the strike, the IDF says it carried out “many steps to reduce the chance of harming civilians.” The strike itself was carried out using “precision munitions,” it says.

The IDF says Hamas was taking advantage of the school for terror activity, and it “systematically, intentionally and strategically places its infrastructure and operates from within civilian areas, in complete violation of international law and while putting the lives of [Palestinian civilians] at risk.”

A graphic issued by the IDF in the aftermath of a strike at the Asmaa school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in the Shati camp west of Gaza City on June 7, 2024. The IDF says a Hamas cell was operating from the container (Israel Defense Forces)

Yesterday the IDF carried out an airstrike on what it said was a compound used by dozens of Hamas fighters inside a United Nations school in central Gaza. The IDF said it took extensive precautions to reduce harm to civilians in the “precise strike” on the compound embedded within a UNRWA school in Nuseirat, where 20-30 terrorists, some of whom participated in the October 7 onslaught, were gathered.

It has since named nine of the Hamas operatives it says were killed in the strike.

Reports: Extremist settlers set fire to buildings, cars and trees in Palestinian West Bank villages

A Palestinian man walks past burnt out vehicles stationed in car park following a reported attack by extremist settlers in the town of Burqah, east of the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 7, 2024. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Extremist settlers in the West Bank have set fire to cars, houses and olive trees in at least three Palestinian villages in the West Bank, according to reports.

A military source tells Haaretz that extremists set fire to olive trees near the Palestinian village Burqa, near Ramallah.

The outlet also reports that Palestinian media says settlers set fire to buildings in Beitin.

Video on social media also appears to show settlers carrying out arson attacks in Deir Dibwan.

Arrests of Jewish extremists who carry out so-called “price tag” attacks are exceedingly rare and rights groups lament that convictions are even more unusual, with the majority of charges in such cases being dropped.

For these criminal settlers in the occupied West Bank, the holiest way to start the Shabbat is by burning Palestinian lands in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah.

This is not what Judaism looks like.

This is government-sponsored settler terrorism. pic.twitter.com/n4XEQkcrTz

— Peace Now (@peacenowisrael) June 7, 2024

Report: CIA assesses Netanyahu likely believes he can avoid making post-war Gaza plan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 27, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The CIA assesses that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu probably believes he can successfully avoid making a clear post-war plan for the Gaza Strip, according to a report by the US spy agency seen by CNN.

The June 3 report notes that Netanyahu believes he can withstand pressure from the Biden administration on the need to formulate and announce a plan for the governance of Gaza after the war against Hamas concludes.

Netanyahu “probably believes he can maintain support from his security chiefs and prevent defections” from the right flank of his hardline coalition by discussing future plans for Gaza in “vague terms,” the report reads.

The CIA report, circulated to US officials, warns Netanyahu will likely only engage on the issue of post-war Gaza after the achievement of “what he sees as key security benchmarks, which may take months.”

The assessment notes that the benchmarks include completing the vague concept of “major military operations” as well as killing Hamas’s military wing commander Mohammed Deif.

CNN says of the report: “It comes amid a clear shift in how the Biden administration views Israel: less as a trusted partner and more as an unpredictable foreign government to be analyzed and understood.”

The CNN report comes as war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is expected to announce the withdrawal of his party from the government tomorrow night.

The move would mean he is fulfilling an ultimatum he set to Netanyahu last month demanding a commitment to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory in a scenario in which Hamas has been defeated.

US military says temporary pier for Gaza aid deliveries is operational again

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates and the United States Agency for International Development cross the Trident Pier before entering the beach in Gaza, May 17, 2024. (Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley/US Army Central via AP)

US Central Command says that it has “successfully reestablished” the temporary pier to facilitate aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip by sea.

“The pier’s reestablishment will allow for the continued delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” CENTCOM says in a statement.

“In coming days, CENTCOM will facilitate the movement of vital food and other emergency supplies, in support of the US Agency for International Development,” the statement reads.

The US suspended aid deliveries last week after the pier was damaged by bad weather.

The disruption came less than two weeks after the US began operating the pier, which cost $320 million to assemble.

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Gantz to give Saturday night press conference, is expected to announce withdrawal from government

War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz at a Jerusalem Day ceremony at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, on June 5, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz will give a press statement Saturday evening at 8:40 p.m., his office announces.

The National Unity leader is expected to announce the withdrawal of his party from the government.

The move would mean he is fulfilling an ultimatum he set to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month demanding a commitment to an agreed-upon vision for the Gaza conflict that would include stipulating who might rule the territory in a scenario in which Hamas has been defeated.

According to Hebrew media reports, there are no ongoing negotiations or efforts by coalition parties to bridge the gaps with Gantz or ensure that he remains in the coalition after the June 8 deadline, and barring any last-minute surprises, he will honor the ultimatum as the government has not accepted or even seriously discussed the demands he made.

Gantz has come under pressure from some to remain in the government, after he joined the coalition days after the Hamas terror group’s October 7 onslaught to form an emergency wartime government.

The Kan public broadcaster reported Thursday, without citing sources, that the US government has tried to convince Gantz to delay his planned departure amid ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas in Gaza.

IDF reportedly reaches coast of Rafah, completing control of key Gaza-Egypt border road

Smoke plumes billow near tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)

The Israeli military has reached the coast of southern Gaza’s Rafah, completing its control over the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, according to a report by the London-based, Qatar-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed outlet.

The IDF announced last week that it had established “operational control” over the entire route along the Gaza-Egypt border. It said at the time that troops were physically located in most of the corridor and that there was a small section near the coast where ground forces were not present, but it controlled the area with surveillance and firepower.

Residents speaking to Reuters earlier today said Israeli tanks advanced further west in Rafah.

They said armored vehicles took more control along Rafah’s border with Egypt, and made several raids into the center and west of the city.

Health officials in Gaza said two Palestinians were killed and several were wounded in western Rafah from tank shelling there.

Some residents said tanks were present in Al-Izba, an area of far southwest Rafah close to the Mediterranean coast.

Houthi-run media says US, UK carrying out strikes on Yemen airport and seaport

The Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV in Yemen says that US and British forces have carried out four airstrikes on the airport of Hodeidah and the seaport of Salif, to the north.

The reports of strikes come after authorities said more than a dozen aid workers, including UN staff, were abducted by the Iran-backed rebel group.

Thomas Hand says daughter Emily on track to full recovery after release from Hamas captivity in November

Screen capture from video of released Hamas hostage Emily Hand with her dog. (Screenshot/Channel 12; Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Living in temporary accommodation in the desert above the Dead Sea, nine-year-old Emily Hand and her father Thomas slowly recover from an ordeal that has upended their lives as the Gaza war rages.

Emily, a dual Irish-Israeli citizen, was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 and spent some 50 harrowing days in captivity in Gaza until her release on November 26.

Since her reunification with her father, Dublin-born Thomas Hand, they have been moving from one place of temporary accommodation to another, carrying only a few belongings and the family dog.

Hand says his native Ireland had been instrumental in the release of his daughter, but he voices strong criticism of the Irish government’s recognition of a Palestinian state, saying that it rewards Hamas for their actions.

Regarding the end of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which was sparked by the October 7 massacre, Hand says “All they (Hamas) have to do is hand over the hostages and the war is over.”

He tries to provide a sense of normalcy for Emily and says that, despite one or two triggers, she is on track for a full recovery.

Sirens sound near Nazareth in northern Israel for first time since December

Sirens warning of incoming rockets are sounding in communities adjacent to Nazareth in northern Israel.

The sirens sound in Reineh, Kafr Kanna, Mashhad and Nof HaGalil.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

It is the first time since December that sirens are sounding in that area, although at the time it was not caused by a Hezbollah attack.

Suspected drone infiltration sirens also sounded earlier today in the Galilee Panhandle and Golan Heights, but the IDF says they were false alarms.

Blinken to visit Israel on Monday for eighth time since Oct. 7

The US State Department confirms to The Times of Israel that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be visiting Israel on Monday next week, making it his eighth trip to the country since the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught and subsequent war in Gaza.

Reports of his visit come as the US and Israel await Hamas’s response to a proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire deal put forward by Israel and presented by US President Joe Biden last week.

More than a dozen aid workers kidnapped by Houthis across Yemen

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have kidnapped more than a dozen aid workers, including United Nations staff, in an apparently coordinated sweep, a diplomatic source and a Yemeni NGO say.

At least 18 Yemeni aid workers were kidnapped in four rebel-held parts of the war-torn country, the Yemeni Mayyun Organization for Human Rights says, listing 10 workers from UN agencies.

A diplomatic source who spoke on condition of anonymity also tells AFP that more than a dozen aid workers, including UN staff, were kidnapped on Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis or the United Nations.

The Houthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained, and tortured hundreds of civilians, including UN and NGO workers, since the start of Yemen’s conflict in 2014.

Cabinet secretary says ‘time not yet ripe’ to investigate government handling of Oct. 7

Cabinet secretary Yossi Fuchs arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on January 29, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs says that the “time is not yet ripe” to establish a state commission of inquiry into the government’s handling of the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara requested that one be set up as soon as possible.

“Israel is in the midst of a fierce war, and the time is not yet ripe to investigate the entire war and what preceded it,” Fuchs writes.

“The issue of establishing a state commission of inquiry is within the exclusive authority of the Israeli government in accordance with the law,” he adds of Baharav Miara’s request.

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Baharav-Miara implored him to cease blocking the launching of a state commission of inquiry and explained that the probe was essential in fending off the actions being taken against Jerusalem at international tribunals.

Israel rules out allowing Palestinian Authority to operate Rafah Crossing – report

Egyptian Red Crescent trucks loaded with aid queue outside the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024. (Photo by Khaled Desouki/AFP)

Israel has said it is not prepared to allow the Palestinian Authority to play a role in operating the Rafah Crossing in southern Gaza, Axios reports, citing four US and Israeli officials familiar with the matter.

The crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border has remained closed after the IDF took control of the Palestinian side last month, as Egypt said it would refuse to reopen it until it was back under Palestinian control, to avoid being seen as complicit with Israel’s military operation in the southernmost Gaza city.

Following US pressure, both sides agreed in principle last week to reopen the crossing to humanitarian aid, but have reportedly since failed to make any real progress toward meeting that goal.

Speaking to Axios, two anonymous Israeli sources say that ahead of a meeting on the issue in Cairo last Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the security cabinet that he was not prepared to allow the Palestinian Authority to run the crossing in any capacity.

According to the report, his comments contradicted a policy that was approved in the war cabinet days earlier in which it was agreed that any governing Palestinian entity other than Hamas would be permitted to oversee the border crossing’s day-to-day operations.

Blinken to visit Israel next week as US awaits Hamas response to ceasefire deal – report

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on May 21, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel for the eighth time since the October 7 Hamas terror assault in southern Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, according to unsourced Hebrew media reports.

Reports of his visit come as the US and Israel await Hamas’s response to a proposal for a hostage release and ceasefire deal put forward by Israel and presented by US President Joe Biden last week.

The State Department has not responded to a Times of Israel request for comment.

United Airlines resumes flights to Israel, Delta follows suit for first time since Oct 7

An Airbus A220 is sprayed as part of deicing training for Delta Air Lines employees in preparation for winter weather at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, Wednesday, September 6, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Delta Airlines and United Airlines have resumed flights to and from Israel for the first time since the October 7 Hamas terror assault and subsequent war in Gaza.

United Airlines resumed its Newark-Tel Aviv service on Thursday, with daily flights that, according to reports, it hopes to increase to twice-daily later in the month.

The airline briefly renewed flights in March, only to suspend them again a month later due to Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel.

Following suit a day later, Delta Airlines has now resumed its direct flights to Israel, which will depart once a day from New York’s JFK airport.

The route will be flown on an Airbus A330-900neo, allowing for close to 2,000 people to travel with the airline to Israel each week.

“The decision to resume the route on June 7, 2024, which was temporarily suspended in October 2023, follows an extensive security risk assessment by the airline,” the airline says. “Delta continues to closely monitor the situation in Israel in conjunction with government and private-sector partners.”

IDF says dozens of terror operatives killed in central Gaza, including head of Hamas rocket cell

IDF troops are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated handout photo cleared for publication on June 7, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has killed dozens of terror operatives amid an ongoing operation in east Buriej and east Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The operation began earlier this week, and is being carried out by the 98th Division.

Troops located tunnel shafts and demolished infrastructure used by terror groups in the area, the IDF says.

The head of a Hamas rocket-launching cell was also killed in an airstrike in the central Gaza area, the IDF adds.

The IDF also continues its offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah, where it says troops of the 162nd Division located additional tunnel shafts and weapons over the past day.

The military also continues to operate in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, with the Paratroopers Brigade being deployed to the area, joining the 99th Division.

Eshkol Regional Council says one rocket landed in open area after sirens sounded

Following rocket sirens in the Gaza border communities of Magen and Ein Habesor, the Eshkol Regional Council says it found one rocket had landed in an open area.

No injuries or damage have been reported.

Humanitarian aid deliveries via Gaza pier expected to resume later today – report

Palestinians rush trucks as they transport international humanitarian aid from the US-built Trident Pier near Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on May 18, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by AFP)

The US-built temporary pier off the coast of Gaza will resume operations this afternoon, the Kan public broadcaster reports, after it was damaged by bad weather last month.

The pier had only been operational for two weeks before it was towed back to Israel’s Ashdod Port for repairs.

In that time, the US said the pier had been used to deliver over 1,000 metric tons of humanitarian aid to civilians in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border communities

Rocket warning sirens sound in areas close to the Gaza border.

The sirens are activated in the communities of Magen and Ein Habesor.

Red Alert [10:19:48] – 2 Alerts:

• Gaza Envelope — Ein HaBsor, Magen#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/6syt6mWKaD

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) June 7, 2024

Palestinian journalist detained after being attacked by ultranationalist youth on Jerusalem Day

Right-wing Jewish youth attack journalists at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on Jerusalem Day, June 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A Palestinian photographer was detained by the Israel Police earlier this week after he was attacked by a group of ultranationalist Jewish youth in the Old City of Jerusalem ahead of the Jerusalem Day flag march earlier this week, Hebrew daily Haaretz reports.

According to the report, freelance journalist Saif Kwasami — who was beaten and had items thrown at him by some 10 extremist Jewish youths — says he was detained hours later after a right-wing activist contacted the police with a claim that he was connected to Hamas.

The detention lasted around an hour and a half, and his equipment was confiscated. Police said Kwasami was “not in any way recognized as a journalist with relevant documentation valid in Israel, and only recently was banned from the Temple Mount and its entrances until August 2024,” Haaretz reports.

The police statement adds, however, that there was “no connection between the incident in which he was attacked and its investigation and his detention following another report received on suspicion of incitement.”

To that end, the complaint against him is also under investigation.

IDF says fighter jets struck building used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon overnight

Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Jabal Rezlane, and in the towns of Ramyeh and Kafr Kila, the military says.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

מטוסי קרב תקפו במהלך הלילה מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב ג'בל רזלן, לצד מבנים צבאיים של הארגון במרחבים רמיה וכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/iYUSnUYKxK

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 7, 2024

At event in southern Israel, Smotrich again calls to reestablish Jewish settlements in Gaza

Finance Minister and head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich speaking next to a protest tent organized by the bereaved families of soldiers killed during the Iron Swords War next to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, June 3, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister and head of the far-right Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich has called to reestablish Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, Channel 12 reports, almost two decades after Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Palestinian enclave.

Speaking at the inaugural event for the Torah and Land Center in the southern community of Nitzan — home to many of those from the former Gush Katif settlements — Smotrich said that the next center should be built “in Gush Katif.”

“Our heroic fighters and soldiers are destroying the evil of Hamas and we will occupy the Gaza Strip. To tell the truth — where there is no settlement, there is no security,” he added.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, and Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock also attended the event, Israel Hayom reports.

US warns of ‘massive’ impact to Israel if Palestinian Authority collapses

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions during a news briefing at the State Department on July 18, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

The United States warns that Israel will see a “massive” negative impact if the Palestinian Authority collapses, as Washington again presses its ally to let revenue flow.

“We have made clear to the government of Israel in some very direct conversations that there is nothing that could be more counter to the strategic interests of Israel than the collapse of the Palestinian Authority,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller tells reporters.

While acknowledging shortcomings in the Palestinian Authority, he says the Ramallah-based body had helped maintain stability in the West Bank even as war has raged in Gaza, run for years by rivals Hamas.

“If you saw the Palestinian Authority collapse and instability spread across the West Bank, it’s not just a problem for the Palestinians,” he says, “it is also a massive security threat for the state of Israel.”

Under peace agreements in the 1990s, Israel collects money on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank.

Israel then disburses the money to the PA.

But Israel blocked revenue for months following the October 7 Hamas terror assault in southern Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, and only recently agreed to transfer the hundreds of millions of shekel in PA tax revenue via Norway to ensure none are diverted to Gaza.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has warned since then, however, that he will cut off the transfer of funds if the PA continues with its efforts for international recognition as a state.

The World Bank recently warned that the Palestinian Authority’s fiscal situation has “dramatically worsened” with the risk of complete collapse.

Biden: PM heeded my warning against major Rafah offensive, scaling down IDF ops there

President Joe Biden is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Joe Biden says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has listened to his warnings against a major military offensive in Rafah, tailoring the IDF’s plans to a more targeted operation.

Asked in an interview with ABC News whether he thinks Netanyahu is listening to him, Biden responds, “I think he’s listening to me.”

“They were going to go into Rafah full bore — invade all of Rafah, go into the city, take it out, move with full force. They haven’t done that,” Biden says.

Asked whether he thinks Netanyahu will stick by the hostage deal proposal Israel submitted last week, Biden says, “He’s publicly said he is. Our European friends are in on it. We have to get a ceasefire.”

“What [Israel has] done is they’ve agreed to a significant agreement that if in fact Hamas accepts it…” he begins before adding that the offer is being backed by much of the Arab world.

“We’ll see. This is a very difficult time,” Biden says.

Guterres warns of risk of broader conflict along Israel-Lebanon border

The remains of a large fire caused from rockets fired from Lebanon burns near a home in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, June 4, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for an end to hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, warning of the risk of a broader conflict.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the northern border area warned Wednesday that Israel was “prepared for a very intense operation” along the border.

Daily exchanges of artillery fire between Hezbollah and Israel have intensified in recent days.

“As the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line continue, the Secretary-General renews his calls to the parties to urgently cease fire,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says in a statement, referring to the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon.

“These exchanges of fire could trigger a broader conflict with devastating consequences for the region,” he adds.

Guterres also calls for the upholding of UNSC Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The terror group has not complied with the resolution, which stipulated that it must retreat from the border with Israel to the north of the Litani River. But Guterres’s statement avoids criticizing Hezbollah for this violation.

US military says it destroyed 8 Houthi drones, 2 unmanned surface vessels in Red Sea

The US military says it has destroyed eight Houthi drones and two uncrewed surface vessels in the Red Sea in the past 24 hours.

The US military’s Central Command says its forces had also successfully engaged a drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and that Houthis had launched an anti-ship ballistic missile. There were no reports of damage or injury, it says.

Netanyahu to address joint session of Congress on July 24 — sources

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks against the US-led international nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on July 24, an Israeli official and an aide to House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed to The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu last week received a formal invitation to address Congress.

It was initially reported that the speech would take place on June 13 but the premier’s office nixed the idea as it is the second day of the Shavuot holiday.

Spearheaded by Johnson, the invitation was issued after weeks of delay caused by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who gave a speech on the Senate floor in March calling for early elections in Israel to replace Netanyahu. Schumer ultimately acquiesced, saying he was prepared to cooperate with a Netanyahu address as long as it was done in a bipartisan manner.

An official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last month that Netanyahu has been speaking in recent weeks with interest to Republican Congressional leaders about a potential joint session address, viewing it as an opportunity to make Israel’s war case on the global stage and is less concerned about some of the political fallout within the US.

Republicans, including presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, have been eager to display their support for Netanyahu and expose the Democratic divisions over Israel.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last joint session address in 2015, which was organized by Republican Congressional leaders behind the back of then-president Barack Obama for the Israeli premier to lobby against the nuclear deal that Washington wound up signing with Iran later that year.

A much larger number of Democrats would likely boycott a Netanyahu speech, as the war in Gaza has become increasingly unpopular among progressives.

Far-left pundit who denied Oct. 7 rape claims axed by The Hill

Briahna Joy Gray. (Screen capture/YouTube)

Far-left commentator Briahna Joy Gray, who has repeatedly sought to cast doubt on the sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women during the Hamas-led terror onslaught, announces that she has been fired from The Hill where she co-hosted its morning news talk show “Rising.”

Gray claims the decision was politically motivated, charging that The Hill “has a clear pattern of suppressing speech, particularly when it’s critical of the state of Israel.”

Yesterday, Gray went viral when she was caught aggressively rolling her eyes and cutting off the sister of an Israeli hostage who urged her to believe Israeli women.

It finally happened. The Hill has fired me.

There should be no doubt that @RisingTheHill has a clear pattern of suppressing speech — particularly when it's critical of the state of Israel.

This is why they fired @kthalps, & it was only a matter of time before they fired me.… pic.twitter.com/lLqgWjgOIV

— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) June 6, 2024

The Hill’s @briebriejoy rolling her eyes and sighing after Yarden Gonen, sister of a hostage in Gaza, asking her to believe rape victims.

No low this person won’t sink to, truly disgusting. pic.twitter.com/d3A5mW0lsK

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) June 5, 2024