Israeli forces kill dozens of aid seekers at Gaza distribution site

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A sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks planned for the weekend is unlikely to go ahead, a US official has told Axios, amid escalating tensions.

The US State Department on Wednesday ordered the removal of non-essential staff in several of its embassies in the region after Iran warned it would target American bases in the event of a US-Israeli attack on its nuclear sites.

This came after a top American general said the Pentagon is prepared to use overwhelming force to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Tehran has long denied it has ambitions of acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran's UN mission said Wednesday that diplomacy is "the only path forward" and accused Washington of "fueling regional instability".

Israeli lawmakers are expected to vote early Thursday on a bill submitted by the opposition to dissolve parliament, which could pave the way to a snap election.

While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and leftist groups, ultra-Orthodox parties that are propping up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government are also threatening to back the motion.

If the bill wins a majority, three more rounds of voting will be needed to dissolve the Knesset.

If it fails, the opposition will have to wait six months to submit another bill.

Debate continued through Wednesday evening and Israeli media said a vote was not expected before 3 am on Thursday (midnight GMT).

(AFP)

Israel's extremist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Authority if other countries recognise an independent Palestinian state. 

"If you recognise a Palestinian state unilaterally, we’ll leave nothing to recognise," he told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday amid speculation that other Western countries could make the move at next week's UN conference on the two-state solution.

There will be "no entity left for your recognition to apply to," he said of the Palestinian Authority. 

His comments come a day after he was sanctioned by the UK, Australia, Canada, Norway and New Zealand for promoting extreme settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The countries also slapped sanctions on far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

"There will be a very strong response toward these countries," Smotrich told the Israeli news outlet.

"We won’t remain silent. There will also be what I call a 'proper Zionist response', which will significantly strengthen our presence in [the occupied West Bank," he said.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the bodies of two captives had been recovered from Gaza by the military and the domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet.

He said the body of Yair Yaakov had been recovered, along with that of another captive whose identity has not been cleared for publication. There are now 53 captives still held in Gaza.

(Reuters)

Argentine President Javier Milei said Wednesday his country would in 2026 move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the status of which is one of the most delicate issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

"I am proud to announce before you that in 2026 we will make effective the move of our embassy to the city of west Jerusalem, as we promised," Milei said in a speech in the Israeli parliament during an official state visit.

Argentina's embassy is currently located in Herzliya near the coastal city of Tel Aviv.

This is Milei's second visit to Israel since being elected in 2023. His previous trip, in February 2024, was his first official state visit outside of Argentina.

(AFP)

Israel is to expel by the end of the week four French nationals held after security forces intercepted their Gaza-bound aid boat, France's foreign minister said Wednesday, as an Israeli NGO said one of the French campaigners was briefly put in solitary confinement.

The four, who include Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of European Parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, will be deported on Thursday and Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.

They were among 12 people on board the Madleen sailboat which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza before it was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the besieged Palestinian territory on Monday.

Four, including two French citizens and Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, agreed to be deported immediately.

The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily, according to Adalah, an Israeli rights NGO representing most of the activists.

(AFP)

The Israeli military has recovered the body of dead captive Yair Yaakov from Gaza, his son said on Wednesday, according to Israeli media .

The military has not commented on the operation.

One person was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on a village in southern Lebanon, the health ministry reported, the latest deadly attack despite a November ceasefire.

"The raid carried out by an enemy Israeli drone on the town of Beit Lif, in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in one martyr and three people injured," read a statement from the ministry.

The official National News Agency said the strike targeted a house's courtyard in the town, adding that a missile hit the homeowner's car.

Israel has regularly bombed its northern neighbour since the November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah including two months of full-blown war.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to evacuate non-essential staff from US embassies in Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain.

US officials told The Associated Press and Reuters that all nonessential personnel in Baghdad will be ordered to leave the country due to potential regional tensions.

The orders come a few hours after Iran warned that it would strike US bases in the region if its nuclear facilities are attacked.

An Iraqi foreign ministry official said a "partial evacuation" of US embassy staff had been confirmed due to what the official termed "potential security concerns related to possible regional tensions".

Similar orders have been issued to nonessential personnel and their family members in American embassies in Bahrain and Kuwait, according to Reuters.

Egypt said on Wednesday that it backs efforts to put "pressure on Israel" to lift its blockade on Gaza, but added that any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval through official channels.

Egypt "asserts the importance of putting pressure on Israel to end the blockade on the [Gaza] Strip," the foreign ministry said as hundreds of activists in a Gaza-bound convoy head to the Egyptian border on their way to the besieged Palestinian territory, but added "we will not consider any requests or respond to any invitations submitted outside the framework defined by the regulatory guidelines and the mechanisms followed in this regard."

The convoy - made up of more than 1,500 people from Algeria and Tunisia - arrived in Libya earlier on Wednesday and plans to head to the Egyptian border.

The Israeli government has demanded Egypt block the vehicles from reaching the Rafah crossing.

(AFP and TNA staff)

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Wednesday accused French activists who sailed on a Gaza-bound aid boat of capitalising on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for political attention.

The activists -- who hoped to raise awareness about the humanitarian situation in war-torn Gaza -- included Rima Hassan, a member of European Parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party who is of Palestinian descent.

She is among four French activists still detained in Israel, after Israeli forces intercepted the Madleen sailboat and its 12 crew members in international waters off the besieged Palestinian territory on Monday.

"These activists obtained the effect they wanted, but it's a form of instrumentalisation to which we should not lend ourselves," Bayrou told the National Assembly on Wednesday.

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot also accused Hassan of "gesticulations" that "instrumentalise the suffering of Gazans".

(AFP and TNA staff)

Israel's defence minister on Wednesday called on Egypt to block a hundreds-strong pro-Palestinian activist convoy from reaching Gaza, as the group arrived in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

"I expect the Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border and not to allow them to carry out provocations or attempt to enter Gaza, an act that would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed," Israel Katz said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump's administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a United Nations conference next week in New York on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

The cable, sent on June 10, says countries which take "anti-Israel actions" on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences from the US.

It adds that Washington would oppose any steps that would unilaterally recognise a conjectural Palestinian state.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reuters)

The NGO representing most of the activists detained aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat that was intercepted by Israeli forces said Wednesday that two of the campaigners had been placed in solitary confinement in Israel.

"Israeli authorities transferred two of the volunteers, the Brazilian volunteer Thiago Avila and the French-Palestinian European Parliament member Rima Hassan, to separate prison facilities, away from the others, and placed them in solitary confinement," Israeli human rights group Adalah said in a statement.

When asked for comment, Israel's prison authority referred AFP to the foreign ministry, which said it was checking the reports.

At least 120 Palestinians have been killed and 474 have been injured over the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry revealed.

This includes three bodies recovered from the rubble and the 57 aid seekers killed at an aid distribution centre.

An Israeli move to cut off cooperation with Palestinian banks could halt the supply of essential goods such as food and fuel to the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) said on Wednesday.

Cancelling the waiver would require approval by Israel's security cabinet. No date for a vote has been set, and it was not clear whether it would pass.

The PMA said it was following developments and warned that such disruption posed a serious threat to Palestinian access to basic goods and services.

It noted it has ongoing coordination with the political leadership and international community to safeguard correspondent banking relationships.

"These efforts are vital to ensuring the continuity of commercial transactions and the payment of essential imports and services, including food, electricity, water and fuel," the PMA said.

(Reuters)

The EU on Wednesday urged Israel to undo a move by a far-right minister that threatens to paralyse Palestinian financial institutions.

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday that Israel had cancelled a waiver allowing its banks to work with Palestinian ones.

"The European Union is deeply concerned by the instruction by Israel's finance minister Smotrich to cancel the waiver on cooperation with Palestinian banks, which could cut them off from the Israeli financial system, devastate an already crippled Palestinian economy, and may lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

"The EU calls on Israel to revert this decision immediately and to refrain from any action that could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian authority."

A convoy carrying hundreds of activists has arrived in Libya after driving from Algeria and crossing through Tunisia on its way to the Gaza Strip to challenge Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid in the territory.

The convoy comprises at least 1,500 people, including activists and supporters from Algeria and Tunisia, with more expected to join from Libya.

The group arrived in Zawiya city in Libya on Tuesday and plans to reach Gaza via Egypt’s Rafah Crossing, travelling by cars and buses. It drove through the Libyan cities of Tripoli, Misrata, Sirte, and Benghazi to reach the Saloum Crossing, which borders Egypt. It is expected to soon reach Cairo before heading to the Rafah Crossing.

Jamila Sharitah, an Algerian participant, said Tuesday that authorities in Tunisia and Libya have been cooperative with the convoy, helping facilitate their smooth journey. Zayed al-Hamami, another participant, stated that the convoy aims to push for the reopening of crossings and the allowance of aid into the Gaza Strip.

“There are land, sea and air convoys that will arrive in Gaza despite the restrictions,” said convoy organizer Terkiya Shayibi. She added that violent responses against the convoy will not frighten them.

Medical charity Médecins du Monde on Wednesday accused Israel of violating international law with drone strikes on a building housing one of its offices in war-torn Gaza that killed eight people, none of them staff.

The France-based aid group said in a statement that the attack on Tuesday "constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law, which protects both civilian populations and humanitarian organisations operating in conflict zones".

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Yesterday morning, at around 11:00 am local time, a building in Deir el-Balah housing a Medecins du Monde office was attacked by drones," the aid group said.

Its staff had not been present, as they had been off for the Eid al-Adha holiday, it added.

"At least eight people were killed in the bombardment. All were on the last floor of the building," it said, without providing more details on those killed.

"Medecins du Monde had informed the Israeli military of the presence of its office, which had officially been declared 'deconflicted', or shielded from Israeli military attacks under humanitarian coordination agreements," it said.

"However, as during previous Israeli attacks, the team received no forward warning that would have allowed it to evacuate the building or take measures to protect anyone inside," it added.

The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month war on Gaza has climbed past 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

The ministry says 55,104 people have been killed since the start of the war, and 127,394 wounded. Many more are believed to be buried under the rubble or in areas that are inaccessible to local medics.

Hamas has condemned far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after he entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound today alongside a group of settlers, where some performed religious rituals.

The Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem confirmed Ben-Gvir was part of the group that "stormed" the site, a frequent flashpoint. In a statement, the Palestinian group said Ben-Gvir’s actions were a "dangerous provocation" aimed at sparking a "religious war".

"We warn against the escalation of settler incursions and the performance of Talmudic rituals within the Al-Aqsa compound," it said.

The compound, sacred to both Muslims and Jews, is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the site Jews call the Temple Mount.
 

The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), says its fighters are locked in intense clashes with Israeli troops and armoured vehicles north of Khan Younis.

The group posted on Telegram that the fighting is still underway and described the confrontations as "fierce".

Earlier today, PIJ claimed responsibility for destroying an Israeli military vehicle using a barrel bomb in the same area.

At least 61 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

27 bodies arrived at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, seven at al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, two at al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah and 25 at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

This includes 39 seeking aid.

Peace between Syria and Israel is "very possible", a Trump-linked evangelical Christian pastor said after he and a pro-Israel American rabbi held talks this week with Syria's Islamist leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, at the presidential palace in Damascus.

Rev. Johnnie Moore, a White House adviser during President Donald Trump's first term, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, from the Jewish human rights organisation Simon Wiesenthal Centre, have promoted interfaith dialogue in Arab states for years.

The two men met Sharaa late on Monday during a visit to Syria, which they said was not aimed at discussing potential ties with Israel, although the topic arose.

"I think peace is very possible, if not probable, but the first priority has to be Syria focusing on Syria," Moore told Reuters in a phone interview late on Tuesday, after they had concluded their trip.

Sharaa "articulated issues of concern he has, but also the potential for a very positive future", Moore added.

A Syrian presidency media official did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reuters)

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli shelling in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, in the central and southern Gaza Strip - Wafa reports.

Two were killed after Israeli forces attacked a mobile phone charging point in Deir al-Balah, while another was killed near an aid centre west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israeli lawmakers will vote on Wednesday on a bill submitted by the opposition to dissolve parliament, which, if successful, could pave the way for a snap election.

While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and leftist groups, ultra-Orthodox parties that are propping up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government are also threatening to back the motion.

If the bill wins a majority at Wednesday's plenum, three more rounds of voting will be required to dissolve the Knesset.

"The opposition faction leaders have decided to bring the bill to dissolve the Knesset to a vote in the Knesset plenum today. The decision was made unanimously and is binding on all factions," the leaders said in a statement.

They added that all opposition parties would freeze their ongoing legislation to focus on "the overthrow of the government".

US House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel to Israel to address the Israeli parliament on 22 June, Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday.

Johnson is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem during the brief trip, the report said.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

(Reuters)

A 10-year-old Palestinian boy who survived an Israeli air strike in Gaza last month, which killed his father and nine siblings, was due to arrive in Italy on Wednesday for treatment.

Adam and his mother, paediatrician Alaa al-Najjar, were due to fly to Milan in northern Italy on Wednesday evening alongside his aunt and four cousins, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.

"Adam will arrive in Milan and will be admitted to the Niguarda (hospital), because he has multiple fractures and he will be treated there," Tajani told Rtl radio.

A plane carrying Palestinians in need of medical care is scheduled to land at 7:30 pm (1730 GMT) at Milan's Linate airport, according to the foreign ministry.

A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces in Tamoun, south of Tubas, in the occupied West Bank.

Ra'iq Abdul Rahman Basharat was killed after the forces stormed his town, opened fire and seized his body. Medical sources told Wafa the army prevented medical crews from working and taking him to the hospital.

The Gaza civil defence agency said 31 people were killed and "about 200" wounded Wednesday when Israeli troops fired on people waiting to enter a food distribution centre.

"We transported at least 31 martyrs and about 200 wounded as a result of Israeli tank and drone fire on thousands of citizens... on their way to receive food from the American aid centre," civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Campaigner Greta Thunberg arrived home in Sweden late Tuesday, after Israel detained her and other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat and deported some.

Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four, including Thunberg, agreed to be deported immediately, while all of them have been banned from Israel for 100 years, the rights group that legally represents some of them said in a statement.

The remaining eight were taken into custody after they refused to leave Israel voluntarily and brought before a detention review tribunal on Tuesday, rights group Adalah said.

"The state asked the tribunal to keep the activists in custody until their deportation," Adalah said, adding that under Israeli law, individuals under deportation orders can be held for 72 hours before forcible removal.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said condemnation by the US and Israel of sanctions imposed on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers was "predictable", and that the two men had impeded a two-state solution.

Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, in a coordinated action, imposed sanctions on Tuesday on cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that the US condemned the move, and Israel said the action by the five countries was "outrageous" and the Israeli government would hold a special meeting early next week to decide how to respond.

Albanese said the responses from Israel and the US are "predictable".

(Reuters)

Israeli military strikes killed at least 35 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, most of them at an aid site operated by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in central Gaza, local health officials said.

Medical officials at Shifa and Al-Quds Hospitals said at least 25 people were killed as they approached the aid site near the former settlement of Netzarim, and dozens were wounded.

Ten other people were killed in other Israeli military strikes in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, they added.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.7

On Tuesday, when Gaza health officials said 17 people were killed near another GHF aid site in Rafah in southern Gaza, the army said it fired warning shots to distance "suspects" who were approaching the troops and posed a threat.

(Reuters)