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Here’s where things stand on Wednesday 2 July 2025:
- Hamas stating that it is studying a US proposal, but noting that it wants any deal to lead to an end to the war.
- Israeli forces have killed at least 78 Palestinians across Gaza as they target aid seekers and displaced people sheltering in tents.
- More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in just five weeks while waiting for food parcels at the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites.
- Officials at al-Shifa, the largest medical centre in northern Gaza, say hundreds of patients are “facing death” as the hospital runs out of fuel amid Israel’s blockade.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 57,012 people and wounded 134,592, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Israel’s governing party signs letter calling for West Bank annexation
Israel’s governing party Likud, led by Netanyahu, has pushed for the formal annexation of the West Bank before the Israeli parliament’s summer recess on July 27.
Israeli media has reported that the letter has been signed by all of Likud’s government ministers.
The party justified the move by citing Israel’s “historic achievements” in its war against Iran, claiming the annexation is necessary to eliminate what they call an “existential threat from within”.
The letter also invokes the “strategic partnership” and support from the US, specifically mentioning Trump, framing this as an opportune moment to secure Israel’s future “for generations”.
Annexing the West Bank is widely condemned by international legal experts as illegal under international law.
Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the push, declaring he is ready to “implement Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank immediately” once Netanyahu “gives the order”.
UN says 714,000 displaced in Gaza since Israel broke ceasefire in March
Since Israel broke the last ceasefire agreement in March, approximately 714,000 people have been forcibly displaced across Gaza, including nearly 29,000 in just 24 hours between Sunday and Monday, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Speaking at a news conference, Dujarric also addressed recent accusations by the Gaza Health Foundation (GHF), which claimed the UN was obstructing aid operations.
He rejected the claim, saying “the UN does not have a monopoly on aid. All we ask is that [GHF] operate with minimum standards” including “impartiality”, so Palestinians “are not put at risk of being shot at”.
The comments come amid criticism from rights groups who have accused GHF of luring Palestinians to aid distribution sites where Israeli soldiers regularly open fire.
Netanyahu aims for more assurances as he prepares for US visit
Israel’s prime minister is definitely going to be looking for assurances for not only him, but Israel as a whole, if Israel does agree to this ceasefire, because their goals and objectives in the war haven’t been met, even after almost 20 months of war.
There are still 50 captives inside Gaza, Hamas has not been defeated politically and militarily, and Israel still feels that the Gaza Strip poses some sort of threat. Those were the main goals and objectives, and none of them have been achieved.
But Netanyahu is not just going to discuss that. He’s also going to discuss the situation with Iran. The 12-day war that Israel had begun when they attacked Iranian facilities, he’ll talk about the US involvement in that, as well as a potential trade deal between the US and Israel.
Iran reimposes airspace restrictions over ‘security’ concerns
Iran has closed parts of its airspace to international flights, reversing a recent easing of restrictions.
Following “security checks in the current situation” the airspace over central and western Iran has been shut once again, Iran’s SNN broadcaster reported on Wednesday, citing a Transport Ministry spokesperson.
The country’s civil aviation authority had recently granted limited overflight permits, but the main airport in Tehran remains closed.
Officials say the closure will stay in place until at least 2pm on Thursday.
Medical evacuations came under threat by nearby strikes: WHO
The WHO said its convoy came under threat from nearby strikes while completing a new round of medical evacuations from Gaza.
“WHO just completed medical evacuations from Gaza to Jordan, 19 child patients and 39 companions, and to Turkiye, with four patients and seven companions,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“During the evacuation, strikes near the convoy damaged the bus, ambulances and vehicles transporting the patients, their companions, and WHO staff.
“No injuries were reported, but the incident was distressing for the patients and families.
“More than 10,000 people in Gaza still need medical evacuation. We call for the protection of all patients, medical staff, and ambulances, and for medical evacuations to be expedited through all possible routes.”
Only 40 percent in Israel trust Netanyahu, survey reveals
Public trust in Netanyahu stands at just 40 percent, according to a new survey released by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), revealing the ongoing divisions within Israeli society amid its war on Gaza.
The poll, conducted last month during the final days of the war with Iran and cited by Israeli media, found significantly higher trust in Israel’s top security officials. Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir topped the list with a 68.5 percent trust rating, followed by Mossad director David Barnea at 67 percent.
Even among Jewish Israelis, only 46 percent expressed trust in Netanyahu, while just 10 percent of Palestinian citizens of Israel said the same.
Defense Minister Israel Katz received an even lower overall trust rating than Netanyahu, with just 35 percent of respondents expressing confidence in him.
Debate over expulsion of Arab lawmaker scheduled in Knesset
The Israeli Knesset will debate whether to expel Ayman Odeh, a prominent Arab lawmaker in the Israeli parliament, on July 14.
During a previous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Odeh said he was happy to see the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, many of whom were swept into prisons during mass arrests and never charged with a crime.
Israeli lawmakers expressed outrage, accusing Odeh of equating Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, and a Knesset committee voted in favour of impeaching Odeh at the end of June, clearing the way for his possible expulsion.
“We will stand firm,” Odeh said in a social media post responding to the announcement. “We will stand against fascism, against Kahanism, against Jewish supremacy, against the occupation, and against all the anti-democratic forces that try to silence us and destroy our shared space.”
In Gaza, death can be found in every direction
In Gaza, death can be found in every direction. Women living in the north of the Strip do not have the luxury of staying behind and must race men to try and secure food.
There seems to be no end to people’s desperation here. Trying to get food can come with a high price.
Families fleeing danger lead a dangerous existence at the whims of Israeli soldiers, often forced to make impossible choices to survive – death by bullets or death by hunger.
The Israeli army routinely opens fire on people waiting for food at GHF distribution sites. Many Palestinians have been gunned down in recent weeks.
People here say Israeli forces use the aid points as a deception to trap and kill Palestinians.
Mothers in Gaza face ‘impossible choices’
The Palestine branch of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which promotes reproductive and maternal health, has said pregnant women in Gaza face dire conditions amid continued Israeli attacks and near-total restrictions on humanitarian assistance, including baby formula.
“Across Gaza, nowhere is safe – not tents, not schools, not hospitals. Pregnant women give birth in horrific conditions without midwives, medicine, or clean water. Starving mothers face impossible choices,” the group said in a social media post.
“This is not a crisis – it’s a catastrophe. #OpenUpGaza NOW.”
‘Hope and anticipation’ for a ceasefire deal: UNRWA chief
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini says there is “hope and anticipation” for a ceasefire deal, calling it “desperately needed and long overdue”.
“People in Gaza are exhausted after nearly 660 days of war, displacement, bombing and siege,” he said in a post on X. “A deal is paramount.”
Lazzarini stressed that the starvation of the Palestinian people must end, and the flow of humanitarian aid must resume “uninterrupted and safely under UN mechanisms, including UNRWA”.
Earlier today, Hamas confirmed it had received a 60-day ceasefire offer and was reviewing it.
UK approves ban on Palestine Action
British lawmakers have voted to ban the group Palestine Action, proscribing it as a “terrorist organisation”.
The designation, approved by the House of Commons in a 385-26 vote, makes it a criminal act to support the group and places it in the same category as violent groups such as ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda.
Some Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the largest UK air force station, and sprayed two military planes with red paint due to the “UK government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide”.
It also disrupted operations at facilities of the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.
The push to designate Palestine Action as a “terrorist” group has raised alarm among civil liberties and Palestinian rights advocates, who call it an escalation in a campaign to criminalise dissent against Israel’s war in Gaza.
The designation will be voted on in the upper house of the UK Parliament, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s get you up to speed on the latest developments:
- Speculation continues about a possible ceasefire in Gaza, with Hamas stating that it is studying a US proposal, but noting that it wants any deal to lead to an end to the war.
- Israel says that it has accepted a proposal, but Netanyahu said that Hamas needs to be eliminated.
- At least 11 people have been killed while waiting for aid today.
- At least 17 people, most of them women and children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a building sheltering displaced people in the Zeitoun neighbourhood south of Gaza City.
- The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has said that at least 22 Palestinian journalists are being held in administrative detention by Israel.
Israeli soldier killed, two injured in northern Gaza
The Israeli army said one of its soldiers was killed in northern Gaza while a tank commander and another soldier were severely injured.
In a separate incident, an Israeli soldier was also injured, the army said.
Corbyn condemns UK gov’t move to ban Palestine Action
Jeremy Corby, former Labour Party leader in the UK, said the Independent Alliance, the five-MP group in parliament, “unequivocally oppose” the proscription of activist group Palestine Action.
The UK government is in the midst of a formal process to ban the group as a “terrorist” organisation. The proscription would trigger a range of criminal offences relating to support for the group.
“The use of Terrorism Act is an outrageous clampdown on civil disobedience. We implore MPs to recognise this gross misuse of state power for what it is: an assault on the democratic rights of us all,” read a statement by the Independent Alliance.
MPs are due to debate and vote on the proscription order today.
Some Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton, the largest station of the Royal Air Force in Oxfordshire, and sprayed two military planes with red paint due to “UK government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide”.
At least 22 Palestinian journalists held under administrative detention by Israel
At least 22 journalists are currently held under administrative detention in Israeli prisons, the Wafa news agency reported, quoting the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).
They are among 55 journalists currently in Israeli jails. Most of them were detained following the October 7 attack, the report said.
PPS added that detained journalists “are subjected to the same violations faced by all Palestinian prisoners, including systematic torture, severe beatings, starvation, and medical neglect, as well as continuous humiliation and abuse”.
An administrative detainee is a person held in prison without charge or trial. Neither the administrative detainees nor their lawyers are allowed to see the “secret evidence” that Israeli forces say forms the basis for their arrests.
Israel says its intercepted two rockets fired from Gaza
Israel said its air force intercepted two rockets fired from northern Gaza.
“Following the alerts activated at 6:47pm [15:47 GMT] in Sderot and Ibim, the Air Force intercepted two launches that crossed from the northern Gaza Strip,” the military said in a post on X.
There were no casualties reported
Who has said what about a possible ceasefire?
As speculation builds over a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, what have various parties said?
- On Tuesday, President Trump said Israel accepted the terms of a 60-day ceasefire deal, although the details of that proposal remain uncertain. Trump has called that deal a “final proposal”.
- Israel has continued to assert that it is seeking the total destruction of Hamas, with Netanyahu stating on Wednesday that “there will not be Hamas” in Gaza.
- Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that the government is serious about reaching a ceasefire, and sees some “positive signs”. He added that Israel has accepted the Witkoff proposal.
- Hamas wants a deal it can trust will result in an end to the war on Gaza and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, a position that Israel has flatly refused to consider for months.
- Hamas also wants guarantees, since Israel broke a previous ceasefire agreement in March after refusing to move on to the second phase of an agreement that would have begun negotiations for a final end to the war.
Hamas orders leader of Israel-backed armed group to surrender
Gaza’s Interior Ministry has issued a statement demanding that Yasser Abu Shabab, the head of an armed group in the Strip that has received support from Israel, surrender himself and face trial for treason within 10 days.
In a post on Facebook, Abu Shabab’s group said the order is a “sitcom that doesn’t frighten us, nor does it frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity”.
The group has said it helps to provide security for humanitarian assistance shipments carried out by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – panned by international aid groups as a ploy by Israel to assert control over aid distribution in the Strip – but has been accused of looting aid and working with Israel.
Deadly Israeli attack hits building housing displaced Palestinians
At least 17 people have been killed, most of them women and children, in Israeli bombing of a building housing displaced people in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, south of Gaza City.
Possible ceasefire underscores schisms within Israeli politics
Netanyahu was speaking earlier today, saying that there won’t be a Hamas, that those days are over and Hamas rule in Gaza is going to come to an end. But it’s still unclear exactly what is in this proposal that Trump has been talking about.
Previously, the Israelis have said, since March in fact, that they agreed to the so-called Witkoff proposal that was brought forward by US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in an effort to extend phase one of the previous deal rather than moving forward to a second phase that would see negotiations for an end of the war.
Now there are Israelis across the political aisle who are reacting to this today. The opposition is saying that they would offer Netanyahu a political safety net if he were to enter a deal and his right-wing ministers threatened to leave the government, ending the government and collapsing his coalition.
Gaza death toll rises
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since dawn has risen to 67, hospital sources say.
Among them are 11 people killed while waiting to collect humanitarian aid.
As we reported earlier, the victims included Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, as well as members of his family. Al-Sultan was killed with his wife and children in an Israeli attack on a residential building southwest of Gaza City.
Israeli demolitions, planning control wielded as ‘weapons’ in occupied West Bank
Alon Cohen-Lifshitz, an architect and urban planner from the Israeli human rights organisation Bimkom, said “security demolitions” at Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank were carried out to expand routes into the camp, “so all these kinds of army machines can go inside and do whatever they like”.
More than 100 Palestinian homes were demolished at the camp today by Israeli forces.
Speaking from Tel Aviv, Cohen-Lifshitz said the demolitions worked hand-in-hand with Israel’s control of the civil planning system as a means to control and “conquer” territory in Area C – the Israeli-controlled administrative division of the West Bank, which comprises more than 60 percent of its territory.
“We can say planning and the demolitions … are kind of weapons that Israel is using to conquer,” he said. Israel is also denying Palestinians’ applications to build houses, with less than 1 percent of Palestinian applications approved.
“For Palestinians, it’s almost impossible to build legally. The conflict is [over] land, and planning is a very powerful tool Israel is using in order to create discrimination and to conquer.”
Hamas statement on ceasefire stops short of a full ‘yes’
This statement is quite short, but it does say that Hamas is reviewing this proposal, that it’s exerting a lot of effort with the mediators to begin serious negotiations and reach a ceasefire deal.
Hamas also indicated that it will carry out national consultations – discuss this with other factions. And this is usually a way to buy a little bit of time.
What is on the table is not a clear-cut offer to end the war. It’s 60 days of ceasefire, during which the end of the war would be negotiated. There are no guarantees and Hamas had asked for such guarantees because, of course, there is no trust between Israel and Hamas.
The last time there was a deal in March, Israel resumed the war even though it had committed to continue negotiating regarding the end of the war.
So, for now, we have a Hamas statement that talks about serious effort, about reviewing what is on the table with responsibility.
But we don’t have an outright “yes” from Hamas. Trump pretty much gave an ultimatum to Hamas, as he had done in the past, to take it, because the situation would only get worse, not better.
Hamas says it wants an agreement that ends the war
The Palestinian group says it is reviewing a ceasefire proposal from mediators and that it seeks an agreement that will lead to the end of the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza – demands that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long rejected.
Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the group is “ready and serious” about reaching an agreement and will accept “any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war”.
Palestinians in Gaza sceptical: ‘No ceasefire until there is a ceasefire’
A lot of people we talk to say there is no ceasefire until there is a ceasefire, there is no agreement until there is an agreement. There’s political buzz. There are headlines that are talking about a potential agreement and an end to the genocide, but what we’re seeing on the ground, the reality tells a different story. An average of 100 to 120 Palestinians are killed every single day.
So for a lot of people, there is a lot of hypocrisy going on. If you talk about a ceasefire, then you need to create the conditions that would lead to a ceasefire, not an escalation, and what we are seeing on the ground is definitely an escalation.
There’s also this element of mistrust that the Americans aren’t getting involved to resolve this in a proper way, and that has created much anxiety. They don’t trust that Donald Trump, after almost seven months in office, is going to resolve this because he had a chance a few months ago but did not do it.
Israeli army continues home demolitions across occupied West Bank
Israeli forces are demolishing homes across three Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army started a major assault in Jenin and Tulkarem in January, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees from their homes.
The demolitions have now become more widespread and more destructive.
“Since the start of the year, hundreds of homes have been demolished in three refugee camps. Hundreds more are on their way to being completely destroyed,” said Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, who reported from the occupied West Bank before Al Jazeera was banned by the Palestinian Authority.
“This is all part of Israel’s longest and most destructive assault in the occupied West Bank in decades. But home demolitions are not limited to these refugee camps. On Wednesday, Israeli bulldozers razed a home in Nilin village near Ramallah. It’s a continued practice against Palestinians who don’t have Israeli-issued building permits.. which are rarely given.”
Al-Quds Brigades releases video of mortar fire at Israeli military
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, has released video footage it says shows its fighters targeting Israeli soldiers advancing into Khan Younis.
In the footage, masked fighters are shown firing mortar shells in what the group said was an operation carried out in cooperation with the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
Two days ago, al-Quds Brigades claimed it had destroyed two Israeli army vehicles east of Khan Younis, and that it had ambushed an Israeli infantry force.
Did God want Trump to bomb Iran?
After ordering the United States military to bomb Iran last month, US President Donald Trump made a brief address at the White House to laud the “massive precision strike” that had allegedly put a “stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror”.
The speech, which lasted less than four minutes, ended with the invocation of God’s name no fewer than five times in a span of seven seconds: “And I wanna just thank everybody and in particular, God. I wanna just say, ‘We love you God, and we love our great military – protect them.’ God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel, and God bless America.”
Read the op-ed by Belen Fernandez here.
Switzerland to dissolve GHF’s Geneva branch
Switzerland has initiated proceedings to dissolve the Geneva branch of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid group, citing legal shortcomings in its establishment.
The US and Israeli-backed GHF, based in the US state of Delaware, registered an affiliate in Geneva on February 12 this year.
“The ESA may order the dissolution of the foundation if no creditors come forward within the legal 30-day period,” the Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) said in a creditors’ notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce.
ESA told Reuters news agency that GHF had not fulfilled certain legal requirements, including having the correct number of board members, a postal address or a Swiss bank account.
“GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered (branch),” ESA said in a statement.
Last week, authorities in Geneva issued a separate legal notice to GHF to remedy within 30 days “deficiencies in the organisation” or face potential action. More than 600 people have been killed near GHF distribution hubs in Gaza or along access roads guarded by Israeli forces since the controversial group started operating there, according to Palestinian authorities.
Gaza court gives Israeli-backed gang leader 10 days to surrender
A court in Gaza has given Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a criminal group backed by Israel, 10 days to surrender himself for trial.
In a statement, the Revolutionary Court of the Military Judiciary Authority in Gaza said Abu Shabab would be considered a fugitive from justice and tried in absentia if he doesn’t surrender.
He was thrust into the limelight last month when Netanyahu said his government had “activated” powerful local clans in Gaza on the advice of “security officials”.
Abu Shabab’s group, which reportedly consists of about 100 armed men, later said online that its members were involved in guarding aid shipments sent to distribution centres run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Mass killings of aid seekers near the US- and Israeli-backed GHF distribution centres have become a routine occurrence.
The court said Abu Shabab faces three charges: treason and communicating with hostile parties; forming an armed gang; and armed rebellion. It said anyone who knew of his whereabouts and failed to report him would be considered to be concealing a fugitive from justice.
Israeli army kills Indonesian Hospital director, family
We are receiving reports from Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues that Marwan al-Sultan, the director of the Indonesian Hospital, has been killed along with his family in an Israeli attack in Gaza City.
The attack took place on a residential building southwest of Gaza City. His wife and children were also killed in the attack.
Al-Sultan was a key source of information from Gaza, reporting on the conditions of Palestinians in the north of the besieged enclave. He had repeatedly called on the international community to press for medical teams’ safety, including when the Israeli army laid siege or struck the hospital.
Photos: Aftermath of Israeli hits on tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis
Time for a recap
If you’ve just joined us, here are the latest updates:
- The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since dawn has risen to 43, hospital sources have told Al Jazeera. Nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed in five weeks, 250 of them in the past 48 hours.
- Wafa news agency reports that 14 Palestinians have been arrested in Israeli raids across the Bethlehem governorate in the occupied West Bank, where about 400 families would be made homeless by an Israeli army’s order to demolish more than 100 homes.
- Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin says the current times offer a “historic opportunity” to seize the occupied West Bank, Israeli media reports.
- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has approved a law requiring the government to suspend Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has called on Germany, France and the UK – the three European signatories to a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 – to impose new sanctions on Tehran.
- Saar has also commented on the prospect of a truce between Israel and Hamas, saying that any opportunity to free captives held in Gaza should not be missed, after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire.
Attacks on densely populated areas continue as dozens killed across Gaza
The situation remains very tense as I can hear the drones hovering above me in the sky above central Gaza. This has been part of the ongoing intelligence activities by the Israeli military.
On the ground, there has been a very significant expansion of ground operations in border towns and villages, specifically in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoon and the eastern part of Gaza city, which are being subjected to intense military operations.
We’ve also had reports in the past hour of a surge of air attacks on residential houses in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, where a building has been flattened. The victims and casualties have been transported to al-Ahli Hospital for emergency treatment.
Across the territory, more than 40 Palestinians have been killed since dawn today. There’s no sign of these Israeli attacks on heavily populated areas abating.
