Live blog: Hezbollah warns of possible incursion into northern Israel

Wednesday, June 19, 2024

1803 GMT –– Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has warned that the possibility of an incursion into the Galilee region in northern Israel remains plausible in the event of a war.

His statement was made during a memorial ceremony for party leader Talib Sami Abdullah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike on June 12.

"The chance of sliding into a major war is possible at any moment, even though Hezbollah does not desire a comprehensive war," said Nasrallah.

He emphasised that "for the first time since 1948, a security belt has been formed in northern Israel, which has understood since October 8 that its positions will be targeted, and we have enough information about their fortifications, devices, and personnel."

"So far, we have fought with a portion of our weapons and acquired new ones, the nature of which will become evident on the battlefield," he said.

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1737 GMT –– 67% of water, sanitation infrastructure destroyed in Gaza since October 7: UN refugee agency

The UN Relief Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) said that "67% of water, sanitation facilities and infrastructure have been destroyed or damaged" in Gaza since October 7.

The agency emphasized the urgent need for action.

"As infectious diseases continue to spread and temperatures rise, the lack of hygiene and dehydration pose a severe threat to the health of people across Gaza," it wrote on X.

1732 GMT –– Nine Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on citizens waiting for aid in Gaza, medical sources say

Nine Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a group of citizens and merchants in southern Gaza as they waited for convoys of aid trucks carrying goods through the Kerem Shalom crossing, medical sources told Reuters news agency.

1723 GMT –– 'Talk of destroying Hamas is like throwing dust in the public's eyes': Israeli army spokesperson

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari criticised the country's political leadership when he described the rhetoric about destroying Hamas as misleading in an interview with Channel 13.

"The talk of destroying Hamas is like throwing dust in the public's eyes," Hagari told the station late Wednesday.

"Hamas is an idea. You cannot destroy an idea. The political leadership must find an alternative; otherwise, it (Hamas) will remain," he added.

1712 GMT –– Denmark transferred F-35 spare parts to Israel in March

Denmark admitted to transferring several parts for F-35 combat aircraft in March this year directly to Israel, which uses the advanced aircraft in its ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen in a memo to the Danish Parliament's Defence Committee on Monday said the manufactured weapons were sent from warehouse in Skrydstrup in Southern Jutland, reported news outlet Altinget.

The military transfer came against the backdrop of a Dutch court order that stopped the government to supply F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel that it uses in deadly airstrikes on Gaza.

Emphasising a "clear risk" that the exported parts might be used in war crimes, the verdict requires the Dutch government to comply within seven days but retains the option to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. The legal action, initiated in December, was led by a group of organisations, including Oxfam and Amnesty.

1544 GMT –– Brussels refuses to host Belgium-Israel football match over security fears

Brussels has refused to host a Nations League match between Israel and Belgium on September 6 because it could spark demonstrations, city authorities said.

They said in a statement that holding such a match while the war in Gaza was continuing "will undoubtedly provoke large demonstrations and counter-demonstrations, compromising the safety of spectators, players, Brussels residents and also the police."

1515 GMT –– US ambassador to Tel Aviv informs Netanyahu of incoming military aid to Israel: Netanyahu's office

The US envoy to Tel Aviv informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the imminent arrival of American weapons and ammunition, Netanyahu's office said.

"US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew told Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday that the ammunition and weapons that the PM referred to are in the process of being delivered to Israel," it said in a statement.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu said he expects this to happen and instructed Israeli teams to work with their American counterparts to that end."

1508 GMT –– Egypt denies agreeing to participate in UN force for Gaza crossings

Egypt dismissed reports of its participation in a potential UN-organised Arab force to control Gaza border crossings.

"There is no truth to the rumours circulated by some news websites regarding Egypt's agreement to participate in an Arab force under the United Nations to control the crossings with the Gaza Strip," a senior Egyptian official was quoted as saying by the state-affiliated Al Qahera News channel.

Egypt has also refused to coordinate with Israel on the Rafah crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid into Gaza, since Tel Aviv captured the Palestinian side of the terminal last month.

1451 GMT –– Israeli army detains Palestinian teen, injures civilians in Nablus

The Israeli army detained a Palestinian teen and injured two civilians, one by gunfire, in Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, witnesses told Anadolu news agency.

They said a military force stormed neighbourhoods which led to fighting with dozens of Palestinians.

The force detained Sami Antar, 15, before withdrawing, witnesses added.

1432 GMT –– US cancels strategic meeting with Israel after Biden criticised

The US has cancelled a strategic meeting with Israel that was scheduled for Thursday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised President Joe Biden's administration for delaying arms shipments to Israel, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

"It's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel," Netanyahu stated in a video posted on X Tuesday.

"The meeting was set to take place in Washington on Thursday and was set to focus primarily on the progress of Iran's nuclear program," Haaretz reported.

"Instead of the delegation that was supposed to travel to Washington, led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, there will only be a meeting between National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan," the daily reported, citing a senior Israeli official.

1322 GMT –– Hezbollah says it hit Israeli army's Eastern Brigade

Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Eastern Brigade of the Israeli army, which acknowledged damage to a building in Kiryat Shmona where the military unit's headquarters is located but also announced the downing of 10 drones launched from Lebanon.

The Israeli army claimed that it detected 10 rockets launched from Lebanon and aimed at the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border.

"A building in the industrial area of Kiryat Shmona was damaged after 10 rockets were launched from Lebanon," the Israeli Army Radio said.

It said no human injuries were reported during the rocket attack, which took place in two waves.

1206 GMT –– 12 Israeli soldiers injured in past 24 hours in Gaza

At least 12 Israeli soldiers have been injured in the past 24 hours, including five in ground battles in Gaza, the Israeli army reported.

"The number of injured soldiers and officers since the beginning of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 has risen to 3,860," the army said on its website. It added that among the total soldiers injured, 1,947 were wounded in ground clashes in the Palestinian enclave.

The army had earlier raised the number of Israeli soldiers and officers killed in Gaza since October 7 to 662, including 311 since the start of ground invasion on October 27.

1150 GMT –– Israel rounds up 90 Palestinians in West Bank during Muslim Eid al Adha holiday

The Israeli army detained 90 more Palestinians in military raids across the occupied West Bank during the Muslim Eid al Adha holiday, the Palestinian Prisoners' Club stated.

Most of the arrests were made in the Hebron governorate in the southern West Bank, the club noted.

The new arrests have brought the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since last October to 9,280, according to Palestinian figures.

1118 GMT –– Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah, forcing people to flee again

Israeli tanks backed by warplanes and drones advanced deeper into the western part of Gaza's city of Rafah, killing eight people, according to residents and Palestinian medics.

Residents said the tanks moved into five neighbourhoods after midnight. Heavy shelling and gunfire hit the tents of displaced families in the Mawasi area, further to the west of the coastal enclave, they said.

1054 GMT –– Journalist arrested in France while covering protest against arms sales to Israel

A journalist was arrested in France while covering a protest against French arms sales to Israel.

According to French Blast media, one of its reporters was detained in front of the French Exxelia company while covering the demonstration against arms sales to Tel Aviv.

In 2016, a family from Gaza filed a lawsuit against Exxelia, claiming that components produced by the company were used in missiles launched by Israel, accusing Exxelia of complicity in manslaughter and war crimes.

​​​The journalist's detention period was extended after refusing to give the phone password to the police to protect news sources, it said.

French Blast described the journalist's detention as a "serious and unjust attack on freedom of information," demanding the immediate release of the journalist.

1051 GMT –– October 7 attack, Israeli war on Gaza did not occur in vacuum: UN commissioner

The October 7 attack on Israel and Tel Aviv's subsequent war in Gaza did not occur in a vacuum as they were preceded by decades of violence and retribution against Palestinians, UN Commissioner Navi Pillay said.

Pillay, a judge from South Africa, is a former UN Human Rights chief and head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel.

"In relation to Israel's military operations and attacks in Gaza from 7 October, we conclude that Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law," said Pillay.

These include "extermination, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, murder or wilful killing, using starvation as a method of war, forcible transfer, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, sexual and gender-based violence amounting to torture, and cruel or inhuman treatment."

1047 GMT –– 4 Palestinians injured, 12 more taken into custody by Israeli army during raids in West Bank

At least four Palestinians were injured and 12 more were taken into custody by the Israeli army during its raids on towns and cities in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army conducted a series of raids in the cities of Nablus, Qalqilya, Tubas, Jenin, Ramallah, and Hebron, eyewitnesses told Anadolu news agency.

1014 GMT –– Israeli use of heavy bombs raises 'serious concerns': UN

Israel's repeated use of heavy bombs in densely-populated Gaza indicates repeated violations of the laws of war, the UN said, highlighting six attacks that killed at least 218 people.

In a fresh report, immediately slammed by Israel as deeply biased, the United Nations rights office provided details on the six attacks, which it said were emblematic of a concerning pattern.

They involved the suspected use of up to 2,000-pound bombs on residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market.

The rights office, known by the acronym OHCHR, said it had verified 218 deaths in those attacks, which were carried out in the early months of the war on October 7, but said it had information indicating the number of fatalities "could be much higher."

0927 GMT — Death toll from Israel's brutal war in Gaza tops 37,390

Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 37,396 Palestinians and wounded 85,523 since October 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said.

A total of 24 Palestinians have been killed and 71 have been wounded in the past 24 hours, the ministry said in a statement.

0909 GMT — Israel claims to have detected ‘suspicious aerial target’ launched from Gaza

The Israeli army has claimed that it detected a "suspicious aerial target" launched from Gaza toward the nearby settlement.

“A suspicious aerial target infiltrated from Gaza and landed in the Gaza envelope area,” the Israeli army claimed in a statement.

The incident caused no injuries, according to the statement, which did not specify where the target landed or where it was launched from.

Meanwhile, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, al Quds Brigades, stated in a post on Telegram that they "shelled with heavy mortar shells the Kerem Shalom and Sofa military positions east of Rafah in southern Gaza," without providing further details.

0838 GMT — Several Palestinians killed, injured as Israel continues airstrikes targeting refugee camps in Rafah

Several Palestinians have been killed and injured, including women and children, in Israeli air strikes that targeted refugee camps in Rafah city and other areas of Gaza on June 19.

Five Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling of displaced people's tents in the Al Mawasi area west of Rafah city, paramedics said.

Eyewitnesses also reported that the Israeli army bombed and destroyed dozens of houses in the Saudi neighbourhood west of Rafah, in southern Gaza.

Israeli artillery and jets continued to target several areas in Rafah, particularly the Tel Sultan neighbourhood west of the city, according to the witnesses.

0800 GMT — Europe must host Gaza children impacted by war, Greek foreign minister says

Europe has a duty to host children hurt and traumatised by Israel's war on Gaza for as long as the conflict continues, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis has said.

Gerapetritis is seeking partners in what he hopes would be a project to temporarily bring the children to the European Union, and said he discussed the idea with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa this week.

"We need to face this tragedy very clearly," Gerapetritis said. "Europe should be open to injured people from (Gaza) but also to children who are now facing famine or other sorts of dangers."

0709 GMT — US, British forces conduct airstrikes on Raymah governorate in western Yemen

US and British forces have conducted air strikes on the Raymah governorate in western Yemen, the Houthi group has said.

The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV channel reported that “the American-British aggressive (forces) aircraft launched four raids on the government complex in the al-Gabin district of Raymah governorate.”

The broadcaster did not immediately provide further details about the outcome of the US-UK bombing.

0630 GMT — Israel may have violated laws of war in Gaza: UN report

Israeli forces may have repeatedly violated fundamental principles of the laws of war and failed to distinguish between civilians and fighters in their Gaza attacks, the United Nations human rights office has said.

In a report assessing six Israeli attacks that caused a high number of casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure, the UN human rights office said Israeli forces "may have systematically violated the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack."

"The requirement to select means and methods of warfare that avoid or at the very least minimise to every extent civilian harm appears to have been consistently violated in Israel's bombing campaign," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

0626 GMT — US Senator Warren declines to attend Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to Congress

US Senator Elizabeth Warren has said she will not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on July 24 as he has "created a humanitarian catastrophe."

Responding to reporters’ questions, Warren said, "He (Netanyahu) has also made clear that he does not support US policy for a two-state solution that will let the people of Israel and Palestinians develop their own nation self-determination, live with dignity.

"Look, we need a ceasefire, we need to get those hostages back, we need humanitarian relief, and we need to be giving both parties a big shove toward getting to the negotiating table and working out a peaceful solution."

0354 GMT — Hezbollah strikes military positions in northern Israel

The Lebanese Hezbollah group has announced that it struck two military positions in northern Israel in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

In a statement on its Telegram account, the group said its fighters targeted the Balasan factory for military industries in Israel's Sasa kibbutz with Falaq missiles.

It also reported that the headquarters of the Sehl battalion command in the Beit Hillel barracks was hit with Katyusha rockets.

Hezbollah said the attacks were carried out in retaliation for Israel's repeated attacks on the al-Barghalia area north of Tyre.

0130 GMT — US should withhold military supplies to Israel: Bernie Sanders

The US should be withholding military aid to Israel in its ongoing genocidal war in besieged Gaza, Senator Bernie Sanders has said.

"The United States should be withholding all offensive military aid to Israel and using our leverage to demand an end to this war, the unfettered flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, a stop to the killing of Palestinians in the [occupied] West Bank and initial steps towards a two-state solution," Sanders said in a statement.

His remarks came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the US is withholding weapons from Israel.

0119 GMT — Israel kills 21 Palestinians in Gaza on 3rd day of Eid al Adha

Israel has killed at least 21 Palestinians in its air strikes on besieged Gaza during the third day of Eid al Adha holiday, according to medical sources.

Israeli warplanes struck three homes in the central city of Deir al Balah, killing 13 people and wounding several others, the sources said.

Israeli drone killed two more people when it struck a group of civilians in central Gaza, medics said.

Several people were also reported killed and wounded in an Israeli air strike on a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City.

An Israeli drone killed two others in Gaza City, while the Israeli army killed two others in its bombardment in al-Qarara east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Palestinian medical teams also recovered a Palestinian after Israeli shelling that targeted a group of civilians west of Rafah in southern Gaza. Another Palestinian was killed by the Israeli army fire east of Rafah.

0047 GMT — 'No one wants to see a wider regional war' between Israel and Lebanon: US

The US has expressed concern over growing tensions between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group and warned against a wider regional conflict.

"When it comes to the situation along the Israel-Lebanon border, our focus is on working with partners in the region, to include Israel, obviously, to encourage a diplomatic resolution," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.

"So, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals or speculate on what might happen other than to say that no one wants to see a wider regional war," he added.

His remarks came right after the Israeli military said it had approved plans for an assault in Lebanon as tensions continue to rise with Hezbollah.

2221 GMT — UN says it's unable to use new aide route in southern Gaza

The United Nations hasn't been able to deliver aid using a new route the Israeli military said it would secure inside southern Gaza, a UN spokesperson said, citing fighting and insecurity along the road.

"The lack of any police or rule of law in the area makes it very dangerous to move goods there," in addition to active combat, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

Desperate Palestinians along the route "have to be assured that there's going to be a regular flow of goods so that there's not a panic when we get to the area," he said.

2202 GMT — US claims it destroyed nine Houthi drones in Yemen

The US military has claimed to have destroyed eight Houthi drones in Yemen and one over the Gulf of Aden in the past 24 hours.

US Central Command said on the social media site X that there were no injuries or damage reported to US, coalition or merchant vessels in the incident.

2155 GMT — Colombia urges Israeli protesters to demand end to Gaza genocide

Colombia's president has urged Israelis to protest against their government and demand that it stop committing genocide against Palestinian children.

Following anti-government protests in Israel on Monday, Gustavo Petro launched fresh criticism against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid its carnage in besieged Gaza.

Petro welcomed the marches in Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem in which thousands of Israelis called for new elections and a ceasefire in Gaza as well as a deal for the release of hostages being held by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

"The people of Israel are beginning to respond. 150,000 Israelis in demonstration demand the removal of international prisoner Netanyahu," Petro wrote on his X account.

Petro was referring to a request by International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli premier and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant based on reasonable grounds to believe that they "bear criminal responsibility" for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

"Today it is the people of Israel who are on the front line in need of responding to the peace of the world and to life...I ask you: do what you have to do to stop the genocide of the children," he added.

2025 GMT — Israel kills one Palestinian, wounds three in occupied West Bank

Israel has killed one Palestinian and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestine's Health Ministry and Red Crescent Society.

A statement by the ministry said a 39-year-old man was killed by Israeli fire south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.

Israeli forces wounded two others in clashes east of Nablus, as well as a third north of Tulkarm, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

1933 GMT — Houthis believed to have sunk second ship in Red Sea

Yemen's Houthis are believed to have sunk a second ship, the Tutor, in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The Greek-owned Tutor coal carrier was struck by missiles and an explosive-laden remote-controlled boat on June 12 and had been taking on water, according to previous reports from UKMTO, the Houthis and other sources.

"Military authorities report maritime debris and oil sighted in the (Tutor's) last reported location," UKMTO said in a security update.

For our live updates from Tuesday, June 18, 2024, click here.