Gaza live: Israeli attack hits Unrwa centre

US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a prominent American lawmaker and member of the chamber's foreign relations committee, has criticised the House and Senate leadership's decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give an address to Congress.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Van Hollen said that Netanyahu giving an address to Congress risks signalling that Washington is endorsing his war strategy in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians so far.

The address could also send a message to Netanyahu that he can continue to avoid the repeated demands by Democrats for Israel's military to do more to protect civilian life in Gaza.

Read more: Prominent US senator says Netanyahu invitation to Congress is a mistake

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN Ocha) said 57 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land has been destroyed.

According to a report issued by Ocha on the situation update on the crisis in Gaza, the gross domestic product in the strip has fallen by 83 percent.

It also states that hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza suffer from poor access to shelter, health, food, water and sanitation.

At least eight Palestinians were killed in the southern city of Rafah, as Israeli military vehicles supported by warplanes and drones advance deeper into the western part of the city, Reuters reported.

Residents and Palestinian medical sources were quoted as saying that the tanks have moved into five neighbourhoods, as heavy shelling continued to target tents in al-Mawasi, western Gaza.
Earlier, it was reported that 12 Palestinians were killed as Israeli strikes hit a group of people awaiting an aid convoy to arrive through the Kerem Shalom crossing northeast of Rafah.

Several videos shared on social media showed large numbers of protesters demonstrating against the Israeli government in the coastal city of Ashkelon.

Protesters, families and relatives of Israeli captives are seen denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Unrwa, estimates that around 65,000 displaced Palestinians are still in Rafah, southern Gaza.

"Currently… Unrwa estimates that 65,000 people remain in Rafah. This is in stark contrast to six weeks ago, when Rafah hosted 1.4 million displaced people before the Israeli evacuation orders and military operation,” said Farhan Haq, the UN secretary-general deputy spokesperson.

He adds that Palestinians continue to be displaced amid active fighting and bombardment.

The US has indicated it is open to backing an Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, amid mounting frustration that the group continues to link a truce with Israel to an elusive broader ceasefire in Gaza.

In his meetings in Beirut on Tuesday, US envoy Amos Hochstein delivered "blunt" warnings to Lebanese officials that Israel is preparing to launch a limited offensive on Hezbollah and will have the US's support if a diplomatic solution isn't found, a senior Arab official told Middle East Eye.

Hochstein met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri on Tuesday, both of whom the US has used as intermediaries with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group the US designates a terrorist organisation.

Read more: US signals to Hezbollah it will back Israeli offensive, as frustration with Gaza ceasefire grows

Two people were killed in northern Gaza by an Israeli drone attack, while two others were killed in the southern city of Rafah, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Medical sources at Al-Ahli Hospital told Wafa that the first attack took place in the Zeitoun neighbourhood southeast of Gaza city.

The two other Palestinians were killed near the Alam Roundabout, in the western area of Rafah.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his country’s army is undergoing a “ground and air readiness” in northern Israel, following Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s televised speech.

Gallant made his remarks as he met with the Israeli army's chief of staff during a “situation assessment” meeting. He said there would be more strengthening in intelligence systems and preparations for “all possibilities”.

“We have an obligation to change the situation in the north and return the citizens safely to their homes and we will find the way to do this action,” Gallant said.

On Tuesday, Israeli officials agreed on plans for an “all-out war” against Hezbollah in Lebanon

The Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Hamas is “an idea” that cannot disappear, stating that his country’s goal to wipe the group out is unachievable.

In an interview aired on Israeli Channel 13, Hagari said that anyone who promises to eradicate Hamas is “misleading the public”.

He added that if the Israeli government doesn’t find an alternative, it will remain in Gaza.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that the security cabinet “has defined as one of the war goals the destruction of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities".

US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood said the American pier built off the coast of Gaza was never meant to be the “ultimate saviour”.

“The scope of what’s needed in Gaza is huge… it was never meant to be the ultimate saviour of getting assistance, but it was a worthwhile effort,” Robert Wood told reporters at the UN in New York, adding that he wasn’t sure how long it would remain operational.

His remarks follow reports about the US plan to potentially dismantle the pier, after bad weather and infrastructural issues hindered its operations.

The UN and aid groups had warned that the US pier would not be a sustainable aid mechanism for Gaza, and would not substitute land routes, which have been blocked and severely restricted by Israel.

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said there would be “no rules” and “no ceilings” for his group if Israel starts a “total war” against Lebanon.

Speaking in a televised address, Nasrallah warned that no place in Israel would stay safe from Hezbollah’s attacks.

“The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst… and that no place… will be spared our rockets,” he said, adding that Israel must “wait for us on land, by sea and by air”.

Nasrallah said the situation in the Mediterranean Sea would change, and threatened Cyprus if it continued to allow Israel to use its military infrastructure for drills.

“Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon would mean that the Cypriot government is part of the war, and the resistance will deal with it as part of the war,” he says.

Two Palestinians have been wounded by live ammunition, and others suffered from smoke inhalation, after Israeli forces raided the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. 

Wafa news agency reported that confrontations broke out after Israeli forces stormed the town, during which they fired live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas. Two Palestinians were shot in the hand, while others suffered minor injuries from tear gas.

A farmer in Gaza showcases the destruction caused to his farm by airbourne aid drops, pleading for aid to be distributed in a different way in a video taken by Palestinian journalist Rabie Abu Noqaira. pic.twitter.com/ERuoOzBJRL

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) June 19, 2024

Palestinians have called for an international investigation into the death “under torture” of a doctor in Israeli detention after he was abducted by soldiers from the Gaza Strip last year. 

Dr Iyad Rantisi, who was the director of Kamal Adwan hospital’s maternity department, died in November, six days after he was imprisoned by invading Israeli troops. 

The Gaza-based government media office strongly condemned his “assassination” and called for an urgent probe by relevant international organisations.

It said his death was part of ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinian doctors from the Gaza Strip. 

According to the media office, Israeli forces have killed nearly 500 Palestinian medical workers and detained 310 more in the ongoing onslaught. 

Read more: Palestinians demand probe for doctor 'killed under Israeli torture'

An Israeli intelligence officer is under investigation by Israeli authorities after she was arrested twice in the occupied West Bank and subsequently admitted to having an affair with a Palestinian in Ramallah. 

Channel 12 journalist Omri Maniv reported on Tuesday that a female soldier in a classified position within Israel's military intelligence directorate had been detained and investigated over the weekend. 

On Saturday, the woman was arrested by Palestinian police in Ramallah and later transferred to Israeli police. 

Just one hour later, she was once again caught in the West Bank city and re-arrested by Palestinian police, who again transferred her to Israeli authorities. 

The woman initially said she went to buy drugs, but later admitted that she had been having an affair with a Palestinian from Ramallah for around a year. 

Read more: Israeli intelligence officer arrested after year-long affair with Palestinian