Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday evening to denounce the conduct of the war and call for the return of hostages still held in Gaza. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched a major offensive against the besieged Palestinian territory.
Information to remember
⇒ Netanyahu says ‘intense’ fighting in Rafah ‘about to end’
⇒ Lebanon: the Minister of Transport denies the presence of Hezbollah weapons at the airport
⇒ Merchant ship damaged by drone off Yemen
Netanyahu says ‘intense’ fighting in Rafah ‘about to end’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed on Sunday June 24 that the “intense” fighting in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army is leading a ground offensive, is “about to end”. While Israeli bombings again targeted this Palestinian territory devastated by more than eight months of war on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrived in the United States in the midst of an arms dispute between the two allies.
“The intense phase of fighting against Hamas is about to end […] This does not mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah,” Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli channel 14.
Gaza: “widespread looting and smuggling” prevent aid distribution (UNRWA)
Looting and smuggling “are widespread” in the Gaza Strip and “prevent” the delivery of humanitarian aid, the head of UNRWA, the UN agency in charge of Palestinian refugees, denounced on Monday.
“The collapse of civil order is giving rise to widespread looting and smuggling which hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid” which the population “desperately needs”, affirmed Philippe Lazzarini, during a meeting in Geneva of the Advisory Commission responsible for overseeing the conduct of the agency.
Lebanon: Minister of Transport denies presence of Hezbollah weapons at airport
Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamié denied on Sunday that pro-Iranian Hezbollah was storing weapons at Beirut airport, amid fears of an extension of the conflict between the Shiite movement and Israel. The minister organized a press conference to deny the allegations of “absurd articles” on this subject in the press and attacked the British daily by name The Telegraph.
In its article, the daily claims that Hezbollah stores Iranian missiles and explosives at the airport. He further claims that airport employees noticed the arrival of “mysterious crates” at Beirut airport at the start of the clashes between Israel and Hezbollah. The movement armed and financed by Iran opened the front against Israel on October 8, 2023 in support of its ally Palestinian Hamas in Gaza.
Merchant ship damaged by drone off Yemen
A merchant ship was damaged and its crew lightly injured by a drone attack off the coast of Yemen, where Yemeni Houthi rebels are increasing their raids against merchant shipping, two maritime security agencies announced on Sunday.
The Houthis, members of the “Axis of Resistance”, a group of movements supported by Iran and which includes the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah, have for months been carrying out attacks off the coast of Yemen against ships serving, according to them, Israel, saying it was acting in support of the Gaza Strip being bombed by the Israeli army.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed in a statement on Sunday that rebel forces had targeted two ships, one hit by “a direct strike”, the other “by a number of missiles from cruise”.
Save the Children calls for investigation into missing children in Gaza
The British aid group said 21,000 children are believed to be lost, missing, detained, buried under rubble or in mass graves in Gaza. Jeremy Stoner, the group’s regional director for the Middle East, calls for an independent investigation and accountability.
“Families are tortured by uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones. No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try to find the body of their child. No child should be alone, unprotected , in a war zone “No child should be detained or held hostage,” he said.