Live blog: Israeli PM denounces army’s ‘tactical pause’ in southern Gaza

Sunday, June 16, 2024

1554 GMT –– Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he heard the reports of a “tactical pause” in southern Gaza this morning from the media, which was announced by his country's army, affirming his rejection of it.

This came in a speech during the weekly meeting of the Israeli government in Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli Channel 12.

Netanyahu claimed: “The political leadership in Israel was not informed in advance of the statement issued by the army spokesman (Avichay Adraee), and this (statement) was not coordinated with me, and this will never happen.”

He added: “There is an investigation into how such a statement was released without coordination with the political level.”

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1812 GMT –– Palestinian infant among others killed in Israeli airstrike in central Gaza

At least nine Palestinians, including six children, were killed and many others were injured, on the first day of Eid al Adha, due to an Israeli air strike on a house in al Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

“Some 9 martyrs, including 6 children, were brought to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, as a result of the Israeli occupation forces' air strike on a house in al Bureij refugee camp,” a medical source told Anadolu.

Earlier in the day, eyewitnesses said: “Medical teams retrieved a number of martyrs and injured people (without specifying their numbers), including an infant, as a result of an Israeli airstrike on a house in al Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.”

The witnesses explained that the bombing led to the destruction of the house and caused damage to neighbouring houses.

They also mentioned that medical and civil defence teams are working to search for more victims and injured people following the Israeli attack.

1356 GMT –– Gaza death toll from Israel's brutal war surpasses 37,300

At least 37,337 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said.

A ministry statement added that 85,299 other people have also been injured in the onslaught.

“Israeli attacks killed 41 people and injured 102 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement said.

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

1327 GMT –– Israeli army bombs southern Lebanese towns

On the first day of Eid al Adha, the Israeli army launched air and artillery strikes on the border towns in southern Lebanon following 12 hours of cautious calm in the area.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes “carried out an air attack targeting the town of Yaroun in the Bint Jbeil district with two air-to-surface missiles.”

Meanwhile, local sources speaking anonymously informed Anadolu correspondent that Israeli army artillery targeted the outskirts of Halta and Kfar Shuba after 12 hours of cautious calm.

No casualties or material losses were recorded as a result of the Israeli bombing.

1119 GMT –– UN welcomes Israel announcement of Gaza 'tactical pauses'

The UN has welcomed an Israeli decision to "pause" fighting around a south Gaza route daily for aid deliveries, but urged more "concrete measures" to unblock the humanitarian response in the Palestinian territory.

"We welcome this announcement," UN aid agency spokesman Jens Laerke said, noting though that "this has yet to translate into more aid reaching people in need".

"We hope this leads to further concrete measures by Israel to address longstanding issues preventing a meaningful humanitarian response in Gaza."

1101 GMT –– Unidentified aircraft air drop food aid to Palestinians in southern Gaza

An unidentified plane dropped boxes of humanitarian aid for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, Anadolu news agency reported.

Witnesses said the plane flew over the Al-Mawasi area and its surroundings, dropping boxes of food aid.

Al-Mawasi is a narrow strip of coastline at the southernmost end of the territory. It was designated as a "humanitarian zone" by the Israeli military when it invaded the city of Rafah last month.

0932 GMT –– Hamas calls for relief to counter 'Israeli war of extermination'

As Palestinians marked Eid al Adha despite death and destruction, Hamas has called for intensifying relief efforts in the face of Israel's "war of extermination" in Gaza for over eight months.

In a statement marking the Feast of Sacrifice, the group urged support for "the resilience of our Palestinian people and their defence of their sacred sites," and called for "increased efforts to provide relief in the face of the ongoing genocide, ethnic cleansing and starvation."

This year's Eid al Adha holiday comes amid Israel's continued brutal offensive on Gaza that has claimed the lives of 37,000 Palestinians and caused a humanitarian crisis. Vast tracts of the enclave lay in ruins amid a shortage of food, clean water and medicine.

0857 GMT –– Hamas response to Gaza ceasefire proposal 'consistent' with principles of US plan, leader says

Hamas's response to the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal is consistent with the principles put forward in US President Joe Biden's plan, the group's Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised speech on the occasion of the Islamic Eid al Adha.

"Hamas and the (Palestinian) groups are ready for a comprehensive deal which entails a ceasefire, withdrawal from the strip, the reconstruction of what was destroyed and a comprehensive swap deal," Haniyeh said, referring to the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

0706 GMT –– Casualties as Israel continues strikes on Gaza

A number of Palestinian casualties were reported as Israeli forces continued strikes on Gaza, Wafa news agency reported.

Israeli aircraft bombed areas including a house in the Tal Al-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah, southern Gaza, as well as the nearby Shuhada al-Shati Square in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City.

The army also blew up a number of residential buildings in the town of Al-Mughraqa, north of the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.

0418 GMT — Israeli army announces 'tactical pauses' in southern Gaza

The Israeli military has announced a "tactical pause" in its offensive in southern Gaza, AP and AFP news agencies reported.

The army said the pause would begin in the Rafah area at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT, 1 a.m. eastern) and remain in effect until 7 p.m. (1600 GMT, noon eastern). It said the pauses would take place every day until further notice.

The pause is aimed at allowing aid trucks to reach the nearby Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, the main entry point for incoming aid, and travel safely to the Salah a-Din highway, a main north-south road, to deliver supplies to other parts of Gaza, the military said.

It said the pause was being coordinated with the UN and international aid agencies. The crossing has suffered from a bottleneck since Israeli ground troops expanded their offensive deep into Rafah in early May.

2330 GMT — Cargo ship hit by Houthi rebels is abandoned: US

The crew of a bulk cargo carrier that was damaged in a missile attack by Yemen's Houthis in the Gulf of Aden has abandoned the ship, the US military said.

The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in attacks they say are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Those attacks surged this week.

The crew of the M/V Verbena — a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated ship — issued a distress call because it could not control fires touched off by the attack with two cruise missiles from the Houthis on Thursday, US Central Command said.

Another cargo ship rescued the crew, CENTCOM said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

2300 GMT — One more Israeli soldier dies from injuries in southern Gaza

The Israeli army announced the death of another soldier who died from injuries sustained days earlier in a battle with Hamas resistance in southern Gaza, following the killing of eight soldiers in Palestinian fighters' ambush.

"Sergeant Ya'ir Roitman, aged 19 and a fighter in the Givati Brigade, died from his injuries after being seriously wounded on Monday during battles in southern Gaza," it said in a statement.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Roitman "was injured when Palestinian fighters detonated a building under siege in the city of Rafah last Monday."

2200 GMT — Israel's ban on entry of sacrificial animals deprives Palestinians in Gaza of Eid al Adha rituals

Israel's ban on the entry of sacrificial animals deprives hundreds of thousands of families in Gaza of the opportunity to observe Eid al Adha and perform the sacrificial rituals as part of Islamic religious practices, the Gaza media office said.

In a statement on the eve of Eid al Adha, the office said "the occupation forces committed a new crime" by preventing the entry of sacrificial animals by closing all crossings in Gaza, including the occupation and closure of the Rafah border crossing, and the Karem Abu Salem crossing.

It called this ban "a clear violation of human rights and a total disregard for human and Islamic values."

For our live updates from Saturday, June 15, 2024, click here.