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Here’s where things stand on Friday 26 June 2025:
- Hospital sources in Gaza tell Al Jazeera that at least 72 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the territory over the past 24 hours.
- Gaza’s Government Media Office says at least 549 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while trying to access humanitarian supplies in the past four weeks, and a further 4,066 were injured at or near US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution sites.
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country delivered a “slap to America’s face” by targeting a US airbase in the recent conflict with Israel and added that Iran would never “surrender”.
- Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 56,259 people and wounded 132,458, 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.
Hospitals confirm 36 Palestinians killed in Gaza since dawn
The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire across Gaza today has risen to 36, sources in hospitals in the territory have confirmed to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.
In what has become a routine occurrence, a number of those killed were seeking at one of the distribution centres run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Six people were killed by Israeli fire near a GHF aid point north of Rafah, sources at the Kuwait Field Hospital said.
In a separate attack, 10 people were killed, including a journalist, in an Israeli drone strike on a group of people in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City.
One killed, 20 wounded in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says one woman was killed and 20 people injured in a series of Israeli air raids on Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, earlier today.
The ministry says the woman was killed and 13 other people injured when an air raid hit a residential apartment building in Nabatieh.
Seven others were wounded in air raids on the outskirts of the city, officials say.
War on Iran has dealt a ‘severe blow’ to nuclear non-proliferation: Ryabkov
The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has told Al Jazeera that the recent strikes by Israel and the US against Iran were a major blow against the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, highlighting the weakness of the system.
Speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic, Ryabkov said the 12-day war had highlighted the need to establish new foundations for security in the Middle East and the Gulf.
The strikes on Iran, a strategic partner of Russia, had shown the weakness of the global nuclear security system, he said, as it had been unable to provide a strong enough argument to deter Israel and the US from military action.
He added that while there was no doubt Iran’s nuclear programme had suffered significant damage, the extent of it still needed to be assessed, and to say that the programme had been destroyed was an exaggeration.
Talk of it being wiped out was wishful thinking on the part of politicians in Washington and Tel Aviv, he said.
Lebanese PM slams Israeli attack in south of country
Nawaf Salam says on X that he “strongly condemns” the Israeli attacks in the vicinity of Nabatieh.
He called it “a blatant violation of national sovereignty and the arrangements for the cessation of hostilities reached last November, as well as a threat to the stability we are keen to preserve”.
The Lebanese media and the Israeli army reported the attack earlier.
In recent days, Israel has stepped up its attacks against what it calls Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire agreed in November last year.
Footage shows Israeli air attacks on Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon
Footage has been shared on social media showing Israel’s strikes on southern Lebanon, hitting what the Israeli military says was an underground Hezbollah site.
The footage, posted on X and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency, shows large plumes rising from the hill where Israeli aircraft struck their target, as the roar of jets is heard overhead.
US military officials say Iran’s facilities are ‘destroyed’ after strike
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine have responded to a leaked intelligence report suggesting the military’s strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities likely put the country back by mere months.
In a Thursday morning news conference from the Pentagon, the two officials maintained that Iran’s nuclear programme had been destroyed, echoing President Donald Trump’s version of events.
Gaza official says 17,000 children suffer from malnutrition in enclave
The director of medical relief in Gaza tells our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues that the situation in the Strip is getting worse for children.
“We expect a large number of children to die from malnutrition unless a serious intervention occurs,” he said.
“Pressure must be put on the occupation to allow the entry of baby milk and medicine,” the official said, adding that “many surgeries have been postponed due to a shortage of staff, medical supplies, and medicine.”
Al-Quds Brigades claims attack on Israeli forces in Khan Younis
The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group says it bombarded a group of Israeli soldiers and vehicles that infiltrated the vicinity of the entrance of Hamad City in the north of Khan Younis.
The attack was carried out in conjunction with the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, using mortar shells, according to an al-Quds Brigades statement on Telegram.
Hospitals confirm 26 Palestinians killed in Gaza since dawn
Sources in Gaza hospitals have confirmed to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that 26 Palestinians have been killed in strikes across Gaza since dawn.
The victims include six people killed by Israeli fire near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid point north of Rafah and eight killed in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Two people were also killed in a strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi in the south.
Israeli army says jets struck Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon
The site was used “as a hub for managing the fire and defence array” of Hezbollah in the Beaufort Castle area in southern Lebanon, according to an army statement.
It was part of an underground Hezbollah site that was previously hit by Israeli strikes, an army statement added.
Hezbollah has been trying to restore the site, and therefore, the infrastructure in the area was attacked, the military said.
The attack was also reported by the Lebanese media.
In recent days, Israel has stepped up its attacks against what it calls Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon. Yesterday, two people were killed in Israeli drone attacks, with the army saying its raids hit Hezbollah members.
Israel has kept up regular raids on Lebanon, particularly in the south, despite a November 27 ceasefire meant to end more than a year of hostilities that left Hezbollah weakened.
Shocking new claims by Israeli soldiers about killings of aid seekers
There have been shocking admissions in a report from Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting Israeli soldiers and officers saying they’d been given orders to shoot unarmed Palestinians who were seeking aid in order to disperse crowds.
For nearly a month since this aid rollout began, the Israeli military and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which operates the aid distribution programme, have either denied or downplayed the fact that there are Palestinians getting killed while seeking aid.
People in Gaza have said these distribution centres have now become a death trap for Palestinians. Aid groups have said that Palestinians are left with no choice — to either starve to death, or die seeking the very little food that is offered in the distribution centres run by the GHF.
From the beginning, it’s been a shadowy and incredibly controversial group, with questions over who exactly was backing it and gave it the initial funding.
Many are pointing the finger at the Israelis for wanting to control all the humanitarian distribution in order to get more access militarily inside Gaza.
What this report is saying is that the 549 Palestinians who have been killed in the last month seeking aid were killed by Israeli soldiers who were given orders to shoot.
Seven killed in Israeli attack on Gaza City
At least 10 others were wounded in the attack, which hit the Tuffah neighbourhood in the north of the Strip.
This information comes to us from sources at the area’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital.
Palestinian woman hospitalised after assault by Israeli settlers
A Palestinian woman in the Masafer Yatta area in the southern West Bank has been hospitalised after she was assaulted in an attack by Israeli settlers, local sources tell Al Jazeera.
They said the assault took place during an attack by settlers on Palestinian homes in the village of Susiya last night. Other residents were injured when they resisted the attack.
The woman sustained bruises and was taken to Yatta Governmental Hospital for treatment, sources said.
Israeli soldiers say they were ordered to fire at unarmed aid seekers: Report
Israeli officers and soldiers have told a local newspaper that they were instructed to shoot at unarmed Palestinians seeking aid at designated distribution zones in Gaza, despite the crowds posing no threat.
Israel’s Haaretz reported that it had learned that the military prosecutor’s office has demanded that the military’s supreme command launch an investigation of suspected war crimes at the aid hubs.
In the report, the soldiers described how they fired on crowds of aid seekers to prevent them approaching or disperse them, rather than using non-lethal crowd control measures.
“It’s a killing field … where I was, between one and five people were killed every day,” one soldier said.
“They fire on them as if they were an attacking force: they don’t use riot control devices, they don’t shoot tear gas, they shoot everything you can think of – a heavy machine gun, a grenade launcher, mortars.
He added: “We communicate with them through fire.”
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 549 people have been killed near aid centres since they began operating in late May.
The US has just approved $30m in funding for the group, despite the routine violence at its sites and warnings from human rights lawyers that its staff could be held criminally liable for complicity in war crimes.
Army claims troops demolished Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza
A tunnel in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoon, used in a deadly attack on troops during the 2014 war in Gaza, has been destroyed, according to the Israeli military.
Troops “completed the destruction of the underground route” used by fighters, who killed several senior Israeli military officers “during Operation Protective Edge”, the statement said.
The Israeli forces located and destroyed dozens of military infrastructures, and “eliminated” fighters in their operation in the area, it added.
GHF staff could be criminally liable for aid seeker deaths, says rights lawyer
A human rights lawyer says staff working for the controversial group behind the violence-plagued aid distribution programme in Gaza could be held criminally liable for complicity in war crimes.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from London, Kate Mackintosh, executive director of the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, said that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) could bear criminal liability for the killings of hundreds of aid seekers near its distribution points.
“It’s very unclear why these people are being targeted and killed, but I think it’s pretty clear that these are unarmed civilians who are desperately trying to get food for their families,” she said.
“Firing upon people in that situation prima facie is a war crime.”
She said that people working for the GHD would “have to think about the extent to which they could be complicit in those crimes”.
“If they’re aware that this is going to happen – or even in some jurisdictions they’re aware of the substantial risk of this happening, which it seems they must be, given what we’ve seen since these operations began – then they could be held criminally liable for participating in those crimes.”
UNRWA renews call for Israel to lift blockade on Gaza
The UN Relief and Works Agency, the backbone of Palestinian humanitarian aid, has urged Israel to lift the Gaza “siege”, which has prevented the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to the estimated two million Palestinians in the territory.
“UNRWA remains the lifeline to people in Gaza,” the UN agency posted on its account on X.
“Since the war began in Gaza, UNRWA has never stopped working – not through bombardment, displacement, or despair,” it added.
At present, humanitarian aid in Gaza is being delivered by the US-backed Israeli organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is accused of causing the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians waiting for food aid.
Well-known aid groups and the UN have refused to work with the new organisation, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles by coordinating delivery with Israeli troops backed by privately hired and armed US security personnel.
Forced mass displacement continues in northern Gaza
The vast majority of the residents of the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, which are located just kilometres away from each other, have been forced to leave their homes.
The camps were once home to more than 40,000 Palestinians – many of whom have now been forcibly displaced by the Israeli military’s siege.
The United Nations says it is the highest displacement in the territory since Israel occupied it in 1967.
‘There was no food or water. There was only death’
A man in Gaza has described the nightmarish conditions hungry Palestinians face when they try to access aid points guarded by Israeli soldiers in the territory.
Atar Riyad, a father of eight originally from Beit Hanoon, told Al Jazeera he had been to distribution centres numerous times to try to get food for his hungry family, walking about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) to the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. Riyad, whose family has been displaced to Gaza City, said crowds of about 20,000 would gather at the sites early in the morning, with the chaotic situation deteriorating into scenes of bloodshed.
“They told us that there is aid in the trucks,” he said. “We went to the trucks. The trucks moved very fast, running people over.”
“I used to see this in movies,” he added. “We went to only find death in front of us. There was nothing but death.”
Riyad, who says he has lost 32kg (about 70.5lbs) from his regular weight of 90kg (about 190lbs) throughout the war, said his best friend and neighbours were among those who had been killed at the distribution centres.
“All died as they tried to get food to feed their families,” he said.
“The Israelis aren’t giving us a chance to live our life,” he said. “I imagine every moment I go to the distribution centres to get aid, I am going to die.”
Prosecutor opposes postponement of Netanyahu testimony: Report
Israel’s office of the attorney general has denied Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to postpone his testimony citing “security reasons”, according to Maariv newspaper.
The attorney general was quoted as saying that the reasons detailed by Netanyahu in his request for postponement “cannot justify cancelling two weeks of hearings”.
Netanyahu’s corruption trial is scheduled to resume on Monday. He was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied the allegations.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump posted a statement on social media urging the Israeli government to cancel the corruption trial or grant Netanyahu a pardon, describing the case against the Israeli leader as a “witch-hunt”.
Iran’s majority Shia Muslims usher start of Muharram three days after ceasefire
Iran’s majority Shia Muslims have started to gather around their respective mosques across the country, as they usher in the beginning of Muharram, one of the holiest months of the year, just three days after a ceasefire with Israel was declared.
In Qom, one of the holiest sites in the country, 150km (90 miles) south of the capital, Tehran, devotees witnessed the flag-changing ceremony at the Hazrat Masouhmeh Shrine on Friday to mark the start of the first month in the Islamic calendar, according to the images posted by Iran’s English language broadcaster Press TV.
Qom is home to Fordow, one of Iran’s main nuclear enrichment sites that was hit by a US strike on Sunday.
Muharram is a particularly important period of mourning for Shia Muslims, as it marks the anniversary of the seventh-century Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq, where the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, was killed.
The death of Hussein is considered by the Shia community as a symbol of humanity’s sacrifice, as well as the struggle against injustice, tyranny and oppression.
This year, it has taken on more significance for Iranian worshippers, following the deadly Israeli strikes, which authorities said killed more than 600 people, including top military officials, nuclear scientists, and civilians, many of them women and children.
While the events surrounding the monthlong observance are religious in nature, they are also considered cultural events, and many secular Iranians participate in the annual rites.
Israeli settlers destroy Palestinian olive trees, establish illegal outpost near Nablus
We have been reporting on overnight clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Nablus area of the occupied West Bank.
Now, the Quds News Network reports that settlers have levelled land and bulldozed olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers on the outskirts of the town of Aqraba, southeast of Nablus.
Israeli settlers have also reportedly entered the Palestinian village of Kafr Qallil, east of Nablus, the Palestinian Information Center reports.
Shlomo Raichman, a journalist with Israeli Army Radio, reports that a new illegal Israeli outpost has been established near the existing settlement of Kedumim, west of Nablus.
“During the night, a new neighbourhood was established west of Kedumim – ‘Nofei Gideon’,” Raichman wrote in a post on X.
“In recent months, a road was paved to the neighbourhood and infrastructure was set up. Tonight, the buildings were erected, and 10 families began residing in the area,” he added.
Three killed in Israeli attack near Khan Younis
Sources at Nasser Medical Complex say three Palestinians have been killed in Israeli drone fire against the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israelis who stormed Nablus holy site breached law: Army
Earlier, we reported that Israeli settlers had clashed with Palestinians near the holy site of Joseph’s Tomb, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
A military update says Israeli citizens attempted to enter the occupied West Bank city of Nablus without coordination and in violation of the law.
The army said its forces blocked the entrances to the city and acted to disperse the gatherings.
“In addition, a number of Israeli citizens entered the Joseph’s Tomb complex in Nablus, and violent friction developed between them and Palestinian citizens in the area,” it added.
The military issued a reminder that the entry of Israeli citizens into the area is dangerous and prohibited by law.
The settlers and the Palestinian residents of the city threw stones at each other, with several Israelis sustaining minor injuries before being removed by Palestinian Authority police, according to Israel’s Walla news site.
Iran reports more arrests for alleged espionage
Authorities in Iran’s Hormozgan province have arrested two people for alleged espionage during the 12-day war with Israel, the Islamic Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported, quoting a police spokesman.
The suspects were arrested by intelligence officials from Hormozgan for allegedly communicating with foreign entities about specific locations of potential targets within the the country, ISNA quoted the police spokesman as saying.
The male and female suspects allegedly concealed their activities under the guise of importing cosmetics and repairing satellite phones, the report said, adding that they had received “huge sums of money” for their work.
A search of their reported “hideout” resulted in the discovery of telecommunications equipment, as well as GPS and satellite phones, ISNA reported.
No statements were immediately available from the accused, and the authorities’ statement could not be independently verified.
Iranian authorities have carried out a widespread security crackdown across the country, arresting more than 700 suspects, raising alarm among human rights groups.
Israeli settlers stormed Nablus holy site without military protection: Reports
Earlier, we reported that Israeli settlers had clashed with Palestinians near the holy site of Joseph’s Tomb, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli media now reports that the settlers stormed the area without prior coordination with the military and they were not protected by an official escort, as is often the case.
The settlers and the Palestinian residents of the city threw stones at each other, with several Israelis sustaining minor injuries before being removed by Palestinian Authority police, according to Israel’s Walla news site.
The settlers involved are reportedly members of the Shuvu Bonim cult, led by convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland, according to The Times of Israel.
After Iran, Netanyahu eyes broader regional goals
After what Netanyahu has described as a resounding victory against Iran, he is now looking at bigger steps spanning the region.
Not just to release the Israeli captives from Gaza, not just “destroy Hamas” – but something more grandiose. Something that, with the help of the US president, Netanyahu hopes will bolster his legacy and standing among right-wing circles in Israel.
What is being talked about are more normalisation deals with neighbouring countries in the region – deals that would make ending the war in Gaza a component rather than a central issue in efforts moving forward.
We’ve even heard from Trump stepping in, criticising the ongoing corruption charges against Netanyahu, asking that those trials be done with.
Right now, the momentum is building, not just by protests to demand an end to the war in Gaza, but from Netanyahu to try to find a deal that is bigger than Gaza, one that will keep his right-wing coalition intact.
How Zohran Mamdani shocked New York
Thirty-three years old, socialist, Muslim, pro-Palestinian and now, the likely Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani was barely known a few months ago.
Today, he may be the most popular political voice of a generation.
How did he get here – and could he be here to stay?
Israeli military detonate boobytraps, destroys buildings in Gaza
Israeli forces have detonated three booby-trapped explosive devices in the vicinity of Masoud Street, east of Jabalia al-Balad in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Information Center reports.
In Khan Younis in the south of the Strip, Israeli forces have also detonated explosives in order to demolish residential buildings, our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues report.
At least 23 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians recorded in one week: UN
In the seven-day period between June 17 and 23, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it documented at least 23 attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians that resulted in casualties, property damage or both.
The attacks left one Palestinian man dead and 14 injured, OCHA said.
Arson, killing, and vandalism of sapling trees – mostly olive – were recorded during the attacks carried out on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank, the UN agency said.
European leaders call for end to Israel’s war in Gaza
European Union leaders meeting in the Belgian capital Brussels on Thursday called for an immediate end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
The bloc also expressed concerns that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran could collapse, leading to regional chaos.
How Zohran Mamdani could reshape the US conversation on Palestine
Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic mayoral primary victory signals a seismic shift for progressive politics in New York City and has thrown a wrench in the pro-Israel lobby’s global strategy.
AJ+ editorial lead, Tony Karon, breaks down how Mamdani’s win could redefine local politics and reshape the national conversation in the US on Palestine.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed:
- Israel’s assault on Gaza has continued overnight, including a strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi in the south, which killed at least two people, one of whom was a doctor.
- The interim head of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has welcomed a $30m funding contribution from the US government, as the group’s work comes under intense criticism for death and chaos at its aid distribution sites.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said a bill passed on Thursday ending Tehran’s cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog is “binding”, and its relationship with the UN body will now take a “new form”.
- Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have slammed any plan for diplomatic normalisation between Israel and countries that support establishing a “Palestinian terror state”.
- Israeli police have released without charge five settlers arrested in connection with Wednesday’s deadly assault on the occupied West Bank village of Kafr Malek, in which three Palestinians were killed, the Haaretz newspaper reports.
Rubio speaks to Pakistani PM about ‘durable peace between Israel, Iran’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have held a phone call in which they discussed promoting “a durable peace between Israel and Iran”, according to the US State Department.
“Secretary Rubio emphasised Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon. The two leaders acknowledged the importance of working together to promote a durable peace between Israel and Iran and maintaining regional stability,” a readout of Thursday’s call said.
UN report highlights mass ‘forced displacement’ by Israel in the West Bank
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has raised the alarm on an Israeli military notice that all buildings will be destroyed in 13 Palestinian communities in the Masafer Yatta area in the occupied West Bank.
At least 1,200 people, including more than 500 children, are now at risk of “forced displacement” if the military carries out its planned demolitions, the OCHA said.
In its latest situation report on deteriorating conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank, OCHA also reports that in the period between June 13 and 23 , Israeli soldiers temporarily “took over” 240 Palestinian homes to use them as military outposts and interrogation centres.
The owners of the homes were either forcibly evicted or detained, the UN said, during the military’s home invasions.
In the West Bank’s Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, nearly 100 structures – mostly homes – were also demolished by the Israeli military this month, and in occupied East Jerusalem, almost 320 residents in three Palestinian communities face renewed eviction and demolition threats, OCHA said.