Summary of the day …
Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the Israeli war cabinet that had been overseeing the conflict in Gaza, rebuffing far-right allies who had been seeking seats, and apparently moving to solidify his grasp on decision-making over the fighting with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The prime minister announced the move to ministers, saying the war cabinet had been established as part of an agreement in which the moderate politician Benny Gantz and his National Unity party joined an emergency coalition last year, and was no longer needed now Gantz had left government
The disbanding of the war cabinet was confirmed by Israeli officials briefing anonymously, against a backdrop of mounting discontent over the conduct of the war in Gaza and calls from anti-government groups for a week of daily protests. Two highways were reportedly blocked in Israel by demonstrators on Monday morning, and a rally outside the Knesset is planned for Monday evening
US special envoy Amos Hochstein was in Israel for talks with Netanyahu, Gantz, Israel’s president Isaac Herzog and opposition leader Yair Lapid. Lapid said on social media “Instead of disbanding the war cabinet, the government should be disbanded”
Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency has not seen a change in the position on the ground since Israel’s military announced it would take tactical pauses in its action to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza. He told the media “operationally, nothing has changed yet. For the time being, I see nothing which would qualify to the definition of a pause”
Spokesperson David Mencer said Israel had not seen any signs that Hamas would also pause fighting during the tactical pauses that Israel’s military has said will take place during its ground offensive in Gaza
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that one person has been detained by Israeli security forces at a military checkpoint in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the newswires of Israeli military operations inside the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that one person has been detained by Israeli security forces at a military checkpoint in Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It also reports that a raid by Israeli forces, setting up temporary military checkpoints, has taken place in a village to the east of Jenin.
Away from the press briefing, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid has commented in public on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to disband the war cabinet after the exit of Benny Gantz from his governing coalition. Lapid posted to social media to say:
Instead of disbanding the war cabinet, the government should be disbanded.
David Mencer says he has not seen any sign that Hamas will also pause fighting during the tactical pauses that Israel’s military has said will take place during its ground offensive in Gaza.
Updated
Israeli spokesperson David Mencer says the narrative that there is famine in Gaza is not true. He says Israel has comprehensively debunked IPC reports saying there is famine. He says the IPC has “maligned” Israel with its suggestion. “Our mission is to get as much aid into Gaza as possible.”
Israel’s military has currently seized control of the Rafah crossing, preventing aid entering Gaza from Egypt.
David Mencer has claimed the UN and Unrwa have been “hopelessly inefficient” in distribution of aid in Gaza, and that there are stockpiles of aid on the Gazan side of the border. He says the UN have not acted “truthfully” during the conflict. He claims more food is entering Gaza now than was entering daily before 7 October.
There is an awkward moment where he accuses Unrwa of acting “hand-in-hand with Gaza” and acting as “a front for Gaza”. He then corrects himself and says he meant to refer to Unrwa working with Hamas.
David Mencer, Israeli spokesperson, has said Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the war cabinet because it had been an instrument of the agreement of coalition with Benny Gantz. There was no need for it, he said, with Gantz leaving government.
Israeli spokesperson David Mencer has said that since 7 October, Hezbollah has fired over 5,000 rockets, anti-tank missiles and explosive UAVs from Lebanon into Israel.
He said “there is no territorial dispute with Lebanon” and that Israel’s northern border is “precisely where the UN determined it should be”. He said Hezbollah bears “full responsibility” for the deterioration of the security situation in northern Israel, and that “diplomatically or militarily, one way or another, we will return Israelis to their homes in northern Israel.”
Tens of thousands of Israelis as well as people in Lebanon have been displaced due to the fighting.
David Mencer has started this briefing by listing the names of Israeli soldiers killed in recent days and a message that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave to their grieving relatives.
Israeli spokesperson at the national public diplomacy directorate, David Mencer, is holding a press briefing on the war in Tel Aviv. We will bring you any key new lines that emerge.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has recorded so far that at least 108 journalists and media workers have been killed during the Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October. That figure includes 103 Palestinian, two Israeli, and three Lebanese media workers.
Al Jazeera, citing the government media office in Gaza, is reporting that another journalist, Mahmoud Qassem, who worked with the digital publication Palestine Online, has been killed by Israel.
Here are fuller quotes from Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini, who has said the agency has not seen a change in the position on the ground since Israel’s military announced it would take tactical pauses in its action to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Apparently referring to criticism of the plan from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Lazzarini said:
There has been information that such a decision has been taken, but the political level says none of this decision has been taken. So for the time being, I can tell you that hostilities continue in Rafah and in the south of Gaza. And that operationally, nothing has changed yet. For the time being, I see nothing which would qualify to the definition of a pause.
Israel’s military said it would take pauses between 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT in the area from the Kerem Shalom Crossing in southern Israel, to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards in Gaza.
Israeli media is reporting that the strike this morning on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed a Hezbollah commander.
Lebanese authorities have put the death toll from Israeli strikes inside the country at over 375 since 7 October, including more than 80 civilians. Tens of thousands of people in northern Israel and southern Lebanon have been displaced from their homes due to the fighting between Israel and anti-Israeli forces inside Lebanon.
Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide has told Reuters that the situation facing the Palestinian Authority is “dire” and that it could collapse in the coming months.
He said:
The situation is extremely dire. The Palestinian Authority, with whom we work closely, are warning us that they might be collapsing this summer. If it collapses, you could end up having another Gaza, which would be terrible for everybody, including the people of Israel.
He said a lack of funding, continued violence, and a block on Palestinians being able to work in Israel was contributing to the crisis.
The Times of Israel reports it has been informed that US special envoy Amos Hochstein will meet with Israel’s president Isaac Herzog and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is also meeting with opposition leader Yair Lapid, and with Benny Gantz, who recently exited Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
Lebanon’s national news agency has reported that one person has been killed by an Israeli strike in Al-Shahabiya which reportedly hit a vehicle.
More details soon …
Al Jazeera reports that one person has been killed in an Israeli strike on Rafah while “Israeli forces continue heavy strikes and home demolitions” in the region.
The health authorities in Gaza have issued updated casualty figures, stating that more than 37,347 Palestinians have been killed and 85,372 have been injured since the Israeli military offensive on Gaza started on 7 October.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Unrwa chief: hostilities continue in Rafah despite Israeli military promise of tactical pauses
Hostilities continue in Rafah and southern Gaza despite the Israeli military’s announcement on Sunday of tactical pauses in operations to allow humanitarian aid to enter, Reuters reports Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini, told the media in Oslo on Monday.
In its latest operational update, Israel’s military has claimed it is still operating in the Rafah area of Gaza, where it says “IDF troops located numerous weapons and struck a number of structures rigged with explosives that posed a threat to the forces.”
It also claims in the update that “several terrorists posing a threat to the forces were eliminated in close-quarters combat and by drones” in the Tal as Sultan area of Rafah.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Here are some drone photographs of the anti-government protest which has been attempting to disrupt traffic in Israel. Two highways were reportedly blocked.
Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves Israel's war cabinet
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet, an Israeli official confirmed on Monday.
Reuters reports that it was a widely expected move that came after the departure from government of the centrist former general Benny Gantz.
Netanyahu had faced demands from the nationalist-religious partners in his coalition, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to be included in the war cabinet, a move which could have intensified strains with international partners including the US.
Jonathan Lis reports for Haaretz that “some of the issues previously discussed by the war cabinet will now be transferred for discussion in the security cabinet, but sensitive decisions will be addressed in a smaller consultation forum”.
The move comes as protesters against Netanyahu’s government and handling of the war with Hamas are staging a week of demonstrations with the aim of forcing an election before the first year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack.
Updated
Israeli media reports that eight days after Benny Gantz resigned for the Israeli government, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war cabinet has been dissolved.
More details soon …
Updated
Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir al-Balah for Al Jazeera, says that overnight Israeli attacks took place across the Gaza Strip.
He writes for the news network that the attack “includes heavy strikes on central and eastern parts of Rafah. Israeli forces also continued systematically demolishing homes in the east … these areas are completely razed, with no remaining residential buildings and no agricultural land left.”
Al Jazeera has been banned from operating inside Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “two people were killed and at least 13 others were injured, including women and children” as a result of an Israeli attack on a house in the north of the Gaza Strip.
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Anti-government protesters in Israel have again blocked highways as part of a demonstration. Israeli media reports that two roads have been disrupted.
מפגינים נגד הממשלה חוסמים את כביש 2 באזור הרצליה ואחרים מוחים בכביש 1, באזור מבשרת ציון. המשטרה הודיעה כי כבישים בתוך ירושלים ייחסמו היום לצורך צעדה של אחים לנשק
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 17, 2024
(צילום: חן ליאן) @AnnaPines_ @VeredPelman pic.twitter.com/YlYcsYpqCo
The demonstrations are part of a week of planned action with the aim of calling for elections to be held before the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks. A rally is expected tonight at 7pm local time in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem.
Overnight Israel’s military claims to have intercepted “a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into the maritime space near Acre in northern Israel”.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East crisis.
A senior adviser to Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Monday in a bid to prevent tensions between Israel and Lebanon from worsening, a White House official has said. Amos Hochstein will advance efforts to avoid further escalation along the UN-drawn blue line between Israel and Lebanon, said the official, who did not wish to be identified.
Attacks between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have led to worries of a deeper war across the Middle East.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said that intensified cross-border fire from Hezbollah could trigger a serious escalation. “Hezbollah’s increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation, one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region,” Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a video statement in English.
“Israel will take the necessary measures to protect its civilians – until security along our border with Lebanon is restored,” he said.
In other developments:
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly criticised plans announced by the military to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza to facilitate the delivery of aid. “When the prime minister heard the reports of an 11-hour humanitarian pause in the morning, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him,” an unnamed Israeli official told media late on Sunday
The official said Netanyahu received assurances that “there is no change” in the military’s policy and “fighting in Rafah continues as planned”. Israeli television stations later quoted Netanyahu as criticising the military, saying: “We have a country with an army, not an army with a country”
On Sunday the military announced a daily pause that would begin in the Rafah area at 8am and remain in effect until 7pm along the main Salah al-Din road, to allow aid trucks to transit between the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel, adding that the pause would take place every day until further notice
France is working alongside the US on a negotiated settlement to the hostilities along Lebanon’s southern front. Last week, Hezbollah launched the largest volleys of rockets and drones yet in the eight months it has been exchanging fire with the Israeli military, in parallel with the Gaza war. Hezbollah says it will not halt fire until Israel halts its military offensive in Gaza
