Gaza civil defence says Israeli forces kill 37, including children

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Sources close to Hamas said that a member of the movement’s military wing – the Al-Qassam Brigades - was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday in Gaza City.

The Hamas commander was reportedly a Syrian national known as Abu Omar al-Suri.

He was not well known in the Gaza Strip, but Hamas members said he was killed in an Israeli strike on Friday evening in the southern part of Gaza City, without providing further details.

According to Hamas-affiliated activists, Abu Omar came to Gaza from Syria in 2005. They praised him, saying he had brought a lot of military expertise to Gaza.

“There was no field in which he did not contribute; he established the training and development system, the al-Qassam Brigades Academy, and thanks to his expertise, thousands of fighters graduated. He introduced various types of scientific and technical expertise in several military specializations," one source said.

Read more here.

Four people have reportedly been killed after Israeli drone fire targeted a tent housing displaced people in the west of Khan Younis, Al Jazeera reports.

Israeli forces have been carrying out a massive bombing campaign in the city, the publication's team on the ground reports.

The Israeli army has claimed to have killed Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa , who the army claims "played a significant role" in planning the 7 October attacks.

“Hakham Muhammad Issa Al-Issa was a senior figure in Hamas’ military wing and was considered one of the founders” of the organisation, the army said in a statement,

“In the past, Issa led Hamas’ force-buildup efforts in the Gaza Strip, was one of the founders of its military wing, served as Head of the Training Headquarters, and was a member of Hamas’ General Security Council.”

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says Iran likely will be able to begin to produce enriched uranium "in a matter of months," despite damage to several nuclear facilities from US and Israeli attacks, CBS News said Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the extent of the damage to the nuclear sites is "serious," but the details are unknown. US President Donald Trump insisted Iran's nuclear program had been set back "decades."

However, Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said, "Some is still standing."

"They can have, you know, in a matter of months, I would say, a few cascades of centrifuges spinning and producing enriched uranium, or less than that," Grossi said Friday, according to a transcript of the interview released Saturday.

Israeli forces raided the towns of Turmus Ayya and Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, sources told Wafa.

There were no arrests and no homes were raided, but the sources said the presence of the forces stirred tension.

The Gaza documentary film "Doctors Under Attack", initially commissioned by the BBC, will now be aired on Channel 4 after the broadcaster decided not to run it due to impartiality concerns.

"This is a meticulously reported and important film examining evidence which supports allegations of grave breaches of international law by Israeli forces that deserves to be widely seen and exemplifies Channel 4's commitment to brave and fearless journalism," Louisa Compton, Channel 4's head of news and current affairs and specialist factual and sport said.

Israeli forces blew up a Palestinian home in Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reports.

This is some as Israeli forces continued their campaign of demolishing homes inside the camp, with multiple houses being destroyed over the past two weeks.

France "stands ready, Europe as well, to contribute to the safety of food distribution" in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Saturday.

His comments came as criticism grew over mounting civilian deaths at Israeli-backed food distribution centres in the territory.

An Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle in the village of Mahrouna in south Lebanon has now killed two people, Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has revealed.

In a second statement later on Saturday, the health ministry said a strike on a motorcycle in Mahrouna, near Tyre, resulted in "two martyrs and wounded one person".

A woman succumbed to "severe wounds" as three other people were also wounded.

Thirteen Palestinian athletes were killed in June, the Palestinian Olympic Committee revealed.

A total of 615 athletes have been killed since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

“This devastating loss not only represents a profound human tragedy, but also constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the fundamental values enshrined in humanitarian and sports charters worldwide”, the statement read.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 37 people in the devastated territory on Saturday, including at least nine children who died in strikes.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP 35 people were killed in seven Israeli drone and air strikes in various locations, and two others by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza.

He said the dead included three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment by Saturday evening.

At least 81 Palestinians have been killed over the past 24 hours, including 422 injuries, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

At least 20 Palestinians, including nine children, have been killed after an Israeli strike targeted the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City.

The airstrike targeted a group of civilians near Abdel Fattah Hammoud School on Yafa Street - Wafa reports.

Hamas has issued a statement warning that famine and malnutrition are devastating children in Gaza.

The group urged immediate global intervention to stop the worsening hunger crisis, calling it a violation of international law.

Hamas also accused Israel of deliberately targeting children through starvation and attacks, and blamed the U.S. for enabling these actions by shielding Israel from accountability.

Protests demanding an end to the war on Gaza and the return of Israeli captives are set to resume across Israel this evening, following a two-week pause due to emergency measures during the Iran conflict, according to Haaretz.

Demonstrations will include gatherings by captives’ families in Tel Aviv, a silent protest outside Likud party headquarters with images of Palestinian children killed in Gaza, and a march near Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, with additional protests planned in other cities.

Israeli forces killed 13 Palestinian athletes and coaches in June alone, according to a statement released on Saturday by the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

The committee reported that since Israel launched its military offensive on Gaza in October 2023, approximately 615 members of the Palestinian sports community- including youth athletes- have been killed.

Among those killed in June were eight football players and staff, two volleyball athletes, a handball player, a karate practitioner, and a Muay Thai fighter.

The football players included Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Jaabari, Emad Yousef Al-Samhouri, Mohamed Mahmoud Yassin, Mostafa Mayt, Abdullah Mazen Hawila, Ayman Jumaa Al-Hamas, and Youssef Ayman Al-Najjar.

Volleyball athletes Abdel Karim Al-Nanman and Ahmed Mohamed Al-Mufti were also killed, along with karate athlete Ayman Totah, Muay Thai fighter Ammar Hamayel, and handball player Mohamed Hussein Al-Nashar.

Israeli forces launched two deadly airstrikes just minutes apart on Saturday in Gaza’s eastern Tuffah neighbourhood, killing at least 20 people, according to Al Jazeera English.

The first strike hit a residential home, scattering shrapnel and debris that left several people wounded.

Minutes later, a second airstrike targeted Yafa Street, a busy market area nearby, killing at least nine.

All victims were rushed to al-Ahli Hospital, which is reportedly overwhelmed and lacking the capacity to treat the influx of injuries.

A witness told AJE that the hospital scene as “very chaotic”, with staff urgently seeking to transfer the wounded to other facilities like private clinics or al-Shifa Hospital.

According to Al Jazeera, the area has come under relentless bombardment. In just three hours, 11 additional people were killed near Yafa Street, bringing the day’s toll in that area alone to at least 20- including several children.

Meanwhile, drone strikes also hit parts of Khan Younis and the Bureij refugee camp.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization Coordination Committee has announced the reopening of the country’s central and western airspace exclusively for international transit flights.

A spokesperson from Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development confirmed that the move aims to facilitate global air traffic while ensuring safety standards are maintained.

Prior to this, the eastern half of Iran’s airspace had already been open for domestic, international, and transit flights.

This reopening is expected to improve flight routes across the region, providing airlines with more direct passage over Iranian airspace, which had been partially restricted until now due to security concerns.

Six Israelis were detained for assaulting soldiers near a village in the occupied West Bank where deadly clashes with Palestinians erupted this week, the military said on Saturday.

The fresh violence around the central West Bank village of Kafr Malik came after the Palestinian health ministry said three men died there in an attack by Israeli settlers on Wednesday.

Soldiers went to disperse a gathering of Israelis near the village overnight, the military said in a statement.

"Dozens of Israeli civilians hurled stones toward them and physically and verbally assaulted the soldiers, including the Battalion Commander," it said.

"In addition, the civilians vandalised and damaged security forces' vehicles, and attempted to ram the security forces," it added.

"The security forces dispersed the gathering, and six Israeli civilians were apprehended and transferred to the Israel Police for further processing."

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 23 people in the war-stricken territory on Saturday, including at least three children who died when a house was struck.

"At least 23 dead and dozens of wounded were taken (to hospitals) after Israeli firing and raids" across Gaza, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told news agency AFP.

Among the casualties were three children who were killed in an air strike on a home in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

Bassal said the children were among 21 people killed in six air strikes by drones and planes across the territory.

He said two other people were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for food aid in the Netzarim zone in central Gaza.

Iran has reopened its central and western airspace to international transit flights, state-run Nour News said on Saturday. 

An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed one person on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said, the latest attack despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

In a statement, the health ministry said that an "Israeli enemy" drone strike on a car in Kunin, south Lebanon, killed one man in a preliminary toll.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident.

The attack comes a day after Israel killed a woman and wounded 25 other people in strikes across the country's south.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that the woman was killed in an Israeli drone strike on an apartment in the city of Nabatiyeh.

The number of children who have died in the Gaza Strip due to severe malnutrition has risen to 66, the enclave's media office said on Saturday.

In a press statement released today, the Government Media Office said Israel's actions constitute "a war crime and a crime against humanity," demonstrating the Israeli army's "deliberate use of starvation as a weapon to exterminate civilians—especially children—in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions".

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 44 on Saturday, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera Arabic.

Israel carried out strikes in the Tuffah neighbourhood east of Gaza City, an aid distribution point in Rafah, as well as al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces have arrested a number of Israeli settlers for attacking army reservists in a closed military zone in the West Bank village of Kafr Malik.

The Israeli military statement published on Telegram said the incident took place overnight when several Israeli civilians were driving towards the closed military zone.

"Upon the arrival of the security forces, dozens of Israeli civilians hurled stones towards them and physically and verbally assaulted the soldiers, including the battalion commander," the statement said.

Six settlers were transferred to the Israel Police for further processing following their arrest, according to the statement.

Emirates extended its cancellation of flights to and from Iran's capital Tehran until July 5 due to the "regional situation", it said in a statement on Saturday.

The Dubai-based airline said it will recommence operations to Baghdad on 1 July and Basra on 2 July. 

Yemen's Houthi rebels said they fired a ballistic missile towards Israel on Saturday, in response to Israel's conduct towards Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The Israeli army confirmed the launch and said the "missile was most likely successfully intercepted". In a statement, rebel military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Houthis had fired at a "sensitive Israeli enemy target in the occupied area of Beersheba using a Dhu al-Fiqar ballistic missile."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that his compatriots had given their "blood" during a 12-day war with Israel but "not honour", as Iran held a state funeral.

"Iranians gave blood, not land; gave their loved ones, not honour; they withstood a thousand-ton rain of bombs, but did not surrender," Abbas Araghchi said on his Instagram account, adding that Iran does not recognise the word "surrender".

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, al-Quds Brigades, has said in a statement published on Telegram on Saturday that its fighters detonated "a highly explosive device" in an Israeli military vehicle.

The attack came on Highway 5, north of Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, the group said, without elaborating any further.

Qatar, one of the key mediator states between Israel and Hamas, said it sees 'window of opportunity' for a ceasefire in the enclave, spokesman person said on Saturday.

"If we don't utilise this window of opportunity and this momentum, it's an opportunity lost amongst many in the near past. We don't want to see that again," Majed al-Ansari said in a Friday interview with AFP.

Israeli forces detained over a dozen Palestinians across the West Bank provinces of Nablus and Salfit on Saturday, including a former detainee and a journalist, Palestinian media reported.

Arrests and raids were carried out in the towns and villages of Zawata, Madama and Asira al-Qibliya in the Nablus governorate, while in Salfit, such incursions occurred in Al-Zawiya.

Israeli forces detained journalist Mujahid Bani Mufleh from the town of Beita, after storming and ransacking his home.

Iran began a state funeral service on Saturday for around 60 people, including its military commanders, killed in its war with Israel, after Tehran's top diplomat condemned Donald Trump's comments on supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as "unacceptable".

The proceedings started at 8:00 am local time (0430 GMT) in the capital Tehran as government offices and many businesses were closed on Saturday for the occasion.

"The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started," state TV said, showing footage of thousands of people donning black clothes, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain military commanders.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with other senior government officials and military commanders - including Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards - also attended the event.

Images showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in uniform near Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where the march began.

The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory had been "most likely successfully intercepted".

Israel has threatened Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement - which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza - with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.

Since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.

Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.