- The Gaza aid vessel Madleen arrives in Israel’s Ashdod port after the 12-member activist crew was seized by commandos illegally in international waters.
- The Madleen ship, launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was about 185km (100 nautical miles) from Gaza when it was captured.
- It was carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians starving because of the strict Israeli siege since March 2, which was lifted partially last month under mounting international pressure.
- Israel has killed 54,927 people in Gaza during the war after maintaining a land, sea and air blockade since 2007.
- The Madleen departed Sicily on June 1, one month after Israeli drones bombed another aid ship headed for Gaza. Climate activist Greta Thunberg is among the 12 activists now detained by Israel.
50 MPs back call for public inquiry into UK’s role in Gaza genocide
More than 50 members of the UK Parliament have now endorsed a call by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for an independent public inquiry into Britain’s role in Israel’s war on Gaza.
The Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill, presented to Parliament last week, passed its first reading.
It proposes a formal investigation into UK government involvement in Israel’s military assault since October 2023, including arms sales, intelligence sharing, and the use of Royal Air Force bases in Cyprus for alleged spy flights over Gaza.
The second reading is scheduled for 4 July and has the backing of 45 MPs from Labour, Green, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Alliance, and the SDLP.
All seven Sinn Féin MPs also support the inquiry bringing the number to at least 50, though their policy of abstentionism prevents them from formally signing parliamentary bills.
‘Piracy’: World reacts to Israel’s seizure of Gaza-bound aid vessel Madleen
Governments and NGOs have condemned Israel’s interception in international waters of the Madleen aid ship, which sought to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by Israel’s devastating war.
“We strongly condemn the cowardly and illegal Israeli attack on the Madleen as it approached Gaza with desperately needed humanitarian supplies,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said.
“We applaud Greta Thunberg and the other activists of the Madleen who bravely risked their safety and freedom to help the starving people of Gaza.”
Read the full story here.
Europeans demonstrate after Israel’s Gaza aid ship seizure
Tens of thousands of people in Europe staged rallies after Israel stopped the Gaza aid ship Madleen and detained 12 activists in international waters.
Angry demonstrations took place in the United Kingdom and France. In Switzerland, people blocked train stations in Geneva and Lausanne to protest Israel’s military assault on Gaza, media reports said.
Some 300 protesters carrying Palestinian flags occupied two tracks at Geneva’s main station for about an hour, leading to delays and cancellations. A similar protest was staged in nearby Lausanne, where police cleared the tracks.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said earlier that “all the passengers of the ‘selfie yacht’ are safe and unharmed”, and it expected the activists to return to their home countries.
Trump says Iran involved in Gaza ceasefire negotiations
US President Donald Trump says Iran is playing a role in ongoing negotiations over Israel’s war on Gaza.
“Gaza right now is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel, and Iran actually is involved,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He did not elaborate on what role Iran is playing in the talks, but added: “We’ll see what’s going to happen with Gaza. We want to get the hostages back. It’s all I can tell you.”
Trump earlier had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he said “went well, trying to avoid death and destruction”. He again didn’t elaborate.
Israel has rejected a number of ceasefire proposals, but the latest plans include a 60-day truce, the exchange of captives and prisoners, and negotiations over Gaza’s long-term future.
‘International piracy’: French officials call for release of Gaza activists
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has called on Israel to quickly free activists, including Greta Thunberg, after a naval operation that sparked angry protests in the country.
Macron “requested that the six French nationals be allowed to return to France as soon as possible”, his office said. Paris was “vigilant” and “stands by all its nationals when they are in danger”, he added.
The French government demanded Israel ensure the “protection” of all the activists in custody. Macron also called the humanitarian blockade of Gaza “a scandal” and a “disgrace”.
Rallies in Paris and at least five other cities were called by left-wing parties. Jean-Luc Melenchon, the head of the France Unbowed party, called the seizure of the Gaza-bound boat by the Israeli military “international piracy”.
More than 1,000 join Tunisian land convoy heading to Rafah
A Tunisian humanitarian convoy comprised of more than 1,000 participants is making its way towards the Egyptian border to try to deliver aid to besieged Palestinians in Gaza.
Organised by a coalition of civil society groups, unions and pro-Palestine activists, the convoy is carrying medical supplies, food and other essentials, aiming to push through the Rafah crossing, which has remained largely closed to international aid for months.
Convoy leaders say their goal is to challenge the ongoing Israeli blockade and draw attention to the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where tens of thousands are on the brink of starvation and the health system is collapsing.
The effort comes in the wake of Israel’s seizure of the Madleen aid vessel, which was intercepted by Israeli naval forces as it attempted to breach the blockade by sea.
Organisers have called on other Arab and international groups to join the effort and demand unhindered humanitarian access to Israel-besieged Gaza.
Trump mocks Greta Thunberg after Madleen seizure
US President Donald Trump has dismissed activist Greta Thunberg’s efforts to raise awareness of the disaster in Gaza. Thunberg was among the volunteers onboard the Madleen aid ship seized by Israeli forces.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said: “I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg.”
He added: “She’s a young, angry person… I think she has to go to an anger management class.”
The comments come after Thunberg was seized by Israeli commandos onboard the UK-flagged civilian vessel attempting to deliver aid to Gaza’s starving population.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, continues to arm Israel and has repeatedly used its veto to shield its ally from accountability at the UN Security Council.
Israeli army issues forced evacuation orders for Yemeni ports
The Israeli army has issued forced evacuation orders for three Yemeni ports ahead of potential air strikes.
The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee announced the latest forced evacuation orders in a post on X, ordering residents to flee the seaports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif “until further notice”.
The Houthi militia and Israel have exchanged attacks since October 7, 2023, as the Yemeni group vowed to target Israel in what it says is support of Palestinians during its devastating war on Gaza.
Yemen’s al-Qaeda leader threatens Trump, Musk over Israel’s war on Gaza
The leader of al-Qaeda’s Yemen branch has targeted US President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk over US backing for Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and its besieged Palestinian population.
“There are no red lines after what happened and is happening to our people in Gaza” said Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki in a half-an-hour video message, which was spread online Saturday by supporters of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
“Reciprocity is legitimate,” he said.
The message featured images of Trump and Musk, US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Read the full story here.
‘Gaza being erased’: Just 38% of hospitals functioning
Only 38 percent of Gaza’s medical centres remain operational and even those are functioning only partially, according to the UN.
Thanos Gargavanis, a trauma surgeon and emergency officer with the World Health Organization, said that “the emergency department of [Nasser Hospital] receives multiple casualties every day, and it’s a lifeline for the health system in Gaza right now”.
“Hospitals should never be militarized and they should be protected at all costs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson with the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that in Gaza’s north, “there are no longer any functioning hospitals”.
“Many facilities, including healthcare, are either in displacement order areas or very near them including Nasser Hospital. Gaza is being erased,” she said.
Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza as bombardment continues
Israeli strikes and bombardment have killed more than 60 Palestinians and wounded dozens more – most with critical injuries – in a series of attacks across the besieged enclave since dawn.
Citing medical sources, the Wafa news agency said hospitals are struggling to provide even basic care because of the severe shortage of medical supplies. The attacks mark one of the deadliest days in Gaza in recent weeks amid the deepening humanitarian catastrophe.
Here is a breakdown of attacks:
- Air strikes targeted the Shaarawi and Haddad buildings in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, resulting in multiple casualties.
- Three paramedics were killed by an Israeli air strike while attempting to rescue the wounded in the al-Mahatta area of Tuffah.
- Israeli aircraft bombed tents sheltering displaced families in al-Katiba Square, also in Gaza City, causing additional deaths and injuries.
- At least one person was killed and others injured in an artillery strike on Old Gaza Street in Jabalia, in the north.
- In Bureij refugee camp, in central Gaza, heavy artillery fire critically wounded several Palestinians.
- Later, more homes were shelled in Tuffah and an air strike hit a house near al-Mahatta Mosque on Yafa Street in northeastern Gaza City.
- In central Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on civilians along Salah al-Din Street near Nuseirat refugee camp, wounding multiple people.
Israel on Gaza aid activist Thunberg: ‘Greta is here for Greta’
Israeli officials say the seized Madleen vessel carried what amounted to less than a truckload of aid.
“This wasn’t humanitarian aid. It’s Instagram activism,” government spokesperson David Mencer said. “Meanwhile, Israel has delivered over 1,200 truckloads in the last two weeks. So who’s really feeding Gaza and who’s really feeding their own ego? Greta was not bringing aid, she was bringing herself. And she’s not here for Gaza, let’s be blunt about it. She’s here for Greta.”
Israel sealed off Gaza from all aid in the early days of the war on Gaza in 2023, but later relented under US pressure. In early March, shortly before Israel broke a ceasefire with Hamas, the country again blocked all imports including water, food, fuel and medicine.
Only minimal aid has arrived in Gaza under an Israeli scheme that forced the United Nations and other humanitarian groups from the process. The UN says the current relief entering the besieged territory is a “drop in the ocean” as Palestinians face famine.
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farms near Ramallah
Israeli settlers have carried out multiple attacks on Palestinians in the towns of Sinjil and al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
In Sinjil, settlers assaulted agricultural areas in al-Ma’shariya and Batn al-Halawa, where they also grazed their cattle on local crops, destroying them and blocking Palestinian farmers from accessing their lands.
Witnesses reported that settlers continued for a second day to occupy Jabal al-Batn, a southern hill considered an archaeological site, where they pitched a tent and assaulted residents who approached, the Wafa news agency reported, citing witnesses and local officials.
Iman Fuqha, a Sinjil municipality official, said that nearly half of its land has been turned into military and settlement zones, surrounded by barbed-wire fencing. She said settlers caused major losses to local farmers by seizing wheat harvests.
Meanwhile, in al-Mughayyir, settlers erected another tent east of the village, close to residents’ homes, and assaulted any Palestinians attempting to access their land.
Death toll in Gaza since dawn rises to 60
At least 60 Palestinians have been killed in various Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since this morning, medical sources say.
Among them are three medics killed in Gaza City, as well as 13 hungry aid seekers killed near an Israel- and US-backed aid distribution site in southern Gaza.
Israel has killed 54,927 people in Gaza during the war – a figure estimated to be far lower than the actual death toll. Most of the dead are women, children and the elderly, health authorities say.
Al-Amal Hospital ‘essentially out of service’, WHO chief says
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that al-Amal Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis is now essentially out of service because of Israeli attacks in its vicinity.
Access to the hospital is blocked, he said, preventing new patients from receiving care and leading to an increase in preventable deaths.
Although two emergency medical teams – one national, one international – remain on-site, Tedros said they’re operating under extreme conditions with severely limited supplies. “The hospital is no longer accepting new patients,” he said.
With al-Amal shut down, Nasser Hospital is now the only facility with an intensive care unit still functioning in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city.
Tedros renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire, the protection of health facilities, and unrestricted delivery of essential medical supplies to Gaza.
UNRWA demands aid for Gaza ‘at scale and safe’
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned thousands of displaced families in Gaza are living in desperate conditions, completely cut off from humanitarian assistance.
“Israeli authorities have blocked the delivery of safe and dignified aid at scale to the people of Gaza for over three months now,” the agency said.
“We are not asking for the impossible. Allow us to do our work: assist people in need and preserve their dignity.”
Despite ongoing humanitarian collapse, Israel has banned UNRWA and other international aid agencies from operating in Gaza, cutting off drinking water, food, and medical supplies.
It has permitted only the widely criticised Israel-US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, raising concerns about the weaponisation of aid.
Two Palestinians killed in Gaza City in Israeli drone attack
At least two Palestinians have been killed and several wounded in an Israeli air strike on the Shujayea neighbourhood in northern Gaza City, medical sources say.
Elsewhere in Gaza City, injuries were reported at al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli forces struck an area near the Nabulsi junction on al-Rashid/al-Sahili Street.
Additional casualties were reported following the shelling of a home in the as-Saftawi area, north of the city.
Meanwhile, in southern Rafah, at least three more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike near an aid distribution point in the Shakoush and al-Alam areas.
Flotilla activists incommunicado for 19 hours after Israeli capture
Freedom Flotilla organisers say there has been no contact with the 12 international activists detained by Israeli forces since nearly 19 hours ago.
“We have lawyers on standby who are going to demand they have access to them tonight – as soon as possible,” said Huwaida Arraf, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement and a Freedom Flotilla organiser.
The Madleen vessel was carrying humanitarian aid for blockaded Gaza and sailing under a United Kingdom flag when it was forcibly seized by Israeli commandos early this morning.
“These citizens were sailing peacefully under international law, in international waters, and Israel went and forcibly abducted them,” Arraf told Al Jazeera. “This was done, as Israel puts it, to ‘maintain a maritime closure of Gaza’ – which it has no authority to do.”
Arraf also criticised the UK government for failing to issue a strong condemnation of the seizure, noting the Madleen is UK-flagged.
She urged states to hold Israel accountable for what she described as an unlawful act in breach of maritime and humanitarian law. The 12 activists remain in Israeli custody and are expected to be deported from the country.
Israeli ship seizure an ‘unlawful incursion in international waters’: UN expert
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, has condemned Israel’s interception of the Madleen aid vessel as “an unlawful incursion in international waters”.
Albanese, who was on the phone with the captain during the seizure, said there were three stages of communication as the flotilla was captured.
“The first was when speed boats arrived; the second when the quadcopter drones, that can kill, arrived; and then the third was when the boat was surrounded, intercepted and boarded by Israeli soldiers.”
The Madleen, part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, had been carrying baby formula, food, and medicine for Gaza’s besieged and starving population before it was boarded by Israeli soldiers.
“Israel has absolutely no authority to intercept and stop a boat like this, which carries humanitarian aid, and more than everything else, humanity, to the people of Gaza,” Albanese said.
“There should be state navies breaking the siege instead of a boat of volunteers risking their lives. But this is what we are left with – the humanity of these volunteers.”
Activists’ lawyers call on states to demand release of 12 Madleen crew
After the commandeered Freedom Flotilla’s ship arrived in Israel, a Palestinian legal centre representing the detained activists called for the international community to demand their immediate release.
All 12 volunteers aboard are currently in Israeli custody and expected to be taken to a detention facility. It remains unclear what repercussions they face or when they’ll be freed.
In a statement, Adalah said: “Israeli authorities are using the continued enforcement of an illegal blockade on Gaza to justify the detention of international activists, including medical professionals, a journalist, and a parliamentarian, from multiple countries.
“These individuals undertook their mission in protest of Israel’s egregious, ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
“States and the international community must immediately demand both the release of the 12 detained activists and an immediate end to the crimes that compelled their action.”
Madleen crew to be detained in isolation, then deported from Israel
It has taken many, many long hours. The Israeli navy took over the flotilla just after midnight and the docking of the boat only happened around sundown.
We know already that the Israeli government intends to deport the 12 activists. Among them is the famous Swedish activist Greta Thunberg but also a French European parliamentarian who is of Palestinian descent.
The Israeli minister of national security intends to keep them detained in isolation as they are processed and deported from the country
Adalah, a prominent Palestinian-Israeli human rights and civil rights organisation, will be representing them.
The activists will be charged with entering Israel illegally. These activists had no intention to enter Israel. They wanted to reach the shores of Gaza, which are not part of Israel. They are a part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
But that is how they will be processed, and they will be deported because of that.
UK calls for Israel to show ‘restraint’ over Madleen activists
The United Kingdom’s government has urged Israel to handle its detention of the Madleen aid vessel “safely with restraint, in line with international humanitarian law”.
Speaking to reporters during a Downing Street briefing, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: “We have made clear our position in relation to the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The PM has called it appalling and intolerable.”
The UK is pushing for increased humanitarian access to the besieged territory, the spokesperson added.
“We have made it very clear we must get more aid into Gaza. The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs in Gaza is critical.”
Freedom Flotillas: A history of attempts to break Israel’s siege of Gaza
Several Freedom Flotilla vessels have attempted to break the blockade of Gaza.
In 2008, two boats from the Free Gaza Movement successfully reached Gaza, marking the first break of Israel’s naval blockade.
The movement, founded in 2006 by activists during Israel’s war on Lebanon, went on to launch 31 boats between 2008 and 2016, five of which reached Gaza despite heavy Israeli restrictions.
Since 2010, all flotillas attempting to break the Gaza blockade have been intercepted or attacked by Israel in international waters.
Read the full story here.
UN: Gaza families hanging by a thread as ‘children go to bed hungry’
The United Nations has issued a stark warning about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying families are “hanging on by a thread” as “children go to bed hungry” each night.
In a post on X, the UN added “the aid reaching Gaza remains critically insufficient”.
“The unimpeded entry of assistance at scale to meet the enormous needs must be restored immediately,” it said.
The warning comes just weeks after the release of the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, which found Gaza’s entire population is facing a critical risk of famine.
Seized Gaza aid ship arrives in Israel
The Israeli navy towed the Madleen aid vessel into the port of Ashdod as night fell on Monday.
Afterwards, the activists were expected to be held at a detention facility in the Israeli city of Ramle before being deported, according to Adalah, a legal rights group representing the activists.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies towards the Palestinians.
Hamas calls for probe into Israeli aid centre ‘crimes’
The Palestinian group has called for an independent international investigation into “systematic Israeli crimes” in Gaza, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders must be prosecuted.
In a statement, Hamas demanded an end to “suspicious military-run aid distribution centres” and called for the UN to be the sole “legitimate and neutral channels” for delivering humanitarian relief.
The UN Security Council and the international community must take urgent action to “stop the genocide and lift the siege” on Gaza, where famine looms, it said.
The statement comes as Israeli forces continue to open fire and kill hungry Palestinians while they try to collect food from the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution centres.
Madleen spotted off Israel’s coast: Report
The boat carrying 12 activists who tried to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza has been spotted off Israel on its way to Ashdod, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene.
The passengers will be transferred to a detention facility before their deportation from Israel, according to Israeli officials.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organised the voyage, said the activists were “kidnapped by Israeli forces” while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the besieged territory.
Gaza’s Civil Defence agency rejects Israeli ‘smear campaign’
Gaza’s emergency service has condemned Israel for targeting its humanitarian mission and specifically spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal.
“We categorically reject the Israeli incitement against the Civil Defence and its spokesperson, and we warn of the dangerous objectives behind it,” a statement said.
The agency said the Israeli army began sending messages to international media outlets accusing Bassal of ties to Palestinian armed groups and urging them to disregard his press statements about rescue efforts in Gaza.
It described the move as a deliberate effort to undermine the agency’s credibility and silence reporting on the humanitarian disaster in the war-battered territory.
The rescue agency stressed it’s an independent, nonpolitical humanitarian body and accused Israel of trying to distract attention from its war crimes. It called on international organisations and press freedom advocates to reject Israeli propaganda.
UK MP Jeremy Corbyn condemns Israeli capture of Gaza aid ship
Former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has condemned Israel’s seizure of the Madleen aid ship in international waters.
The now-independent parliamentarian told Al Jazeera: “The Madleen sailed to Gaza with one intention: to save the lives of Palestinians being starved to death by Israel.”
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition‘s boat, a UK-flagged civilian vessel, was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza when it was intercepted by Israeli commandos. Under international maritime law, civilian ships in international waters are protected from interference.
“Its interception is just as illegal as the siege it was trying to break. The flotilla was not just carrying life-saving aid. It was carrying solidarity, hope and our shared humanity,” Corbyn said.
“The brave individuals on board have inspired us to carry on campaigning for an end to all arms sales [to Israel], for sanctions and for an end to the occupation of Palestine.”
Israel using gangs to ‘engineer chaos’ at Gaza aid sites: Monitor
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has accused Israel of recruiting local gangs and foreign mercenaries to deliberately sow chaos at aid distribution points in Gaza.
In a new report, the group said the armed groups are being deployed to intimidate civilians, loot aid, and discredit Palestinian governance under the guise of internal collapse.
It warned this tactic aims to shift blame away from Israel’s crippling blockade and bombardment, and instead present Palestinians as incapable of managing humanitarian aid.
The organisation called for urgent international oversight of aid operations and an investigation into the systematic use of violence against civilians at relief sites.
Death toll in Gaza rises to 51 since dawn
Medical sources in hospitals across Gaza tell Al Jazeera at least 51 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since this morning.
The death toll includes at least 14 Palestinians killed near the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid centre in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
At least 120 people seeking food have now been killed by Israeli gunfire at the aid sites since they opened on May 27, according to Gaza authorities.
Activists’ legal adviser describes what’s next for seized Madleen crew
Suhad Bishara, legal director at Adalah, a Palestinian-run legal centre in Israel representing the seized activists, says the 12 detainees have been unable to make contact yet with the outside world.
She explained the likely scenario over the coming hours, noting Israel’s “preventing the entry of humanitarian supplies is illegal under international law”.
“As with foreigners on flotillas in the past who were detained under these same conditions, they were never charged in Israel. However, deportation orders were issued for most cases for 10 years,” Bishara said.
“We are insisting to see them tonight immediately upon their arrival at the detention centre to give them consultation on what are the next steps. I would expect they’ll be deported within 24 to 48 hours to their homes,” she told Al Jazeera.
Captured Madleen aid ship expected to reach Israel in a few hours
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s vessel seized by Israel is expected to reach the port of Ashdod in the coming hours.
“The Madleen is expected to reach land in the evening hours. All kinds of consular support is being provided to our citizens, and the necessary initiatives have been taken to meet with them and ensure their release as soon as they disembark,” unnamed Turkish diplomatic sources told the Anadolu news agency..
Ankara has remained in close contact with other countries whose citizens are on board the vessel, they said, with families of Turkish nationals regularly updated.
The Madleen was intercepted and seized by Israeli forces about 185km (100 nautical miles) off Gaza. The seizure has sparked international condemnation because the boat carrying aid for Gaza was in international waters.
aNew Israeli drone attack on southern Gaza ‘safe zone’ and hospital
An unspecified number of Palestinians have been wounded in an Israeli drone attack on a tent housing displaced people in the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis.
The Nasser Hospital complex, also in Khan Younis, was damaged as a result of an Israeli air strike that targeted a nearby house, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report.
The displacement camp at al-Mawasi – repeatedly described as a “safe” area by Israel – is one of the most overcrowded regions in Gaza, devastated by 21 months of relentless bombardment.
Israeli strike blows up vehicle in Lebanon despite Hezbollah truce
An Israeli drone has launched two missiles at a car travelling on a road on the outskirts of al-Numairieh town in southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the targeted vehicle was blown off the road by the force of the explosions and caught fire.
Israel has been carrying out near-daily air strikes across southern Lebanon, often resulting in casualties, despite a ceasefire agreed with Hezbollah in November.
Israel demolishes homes in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have resumed demolishing homes in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced since the Israeli army began raiding the camp in January.
Many residents now fear they’ll never be able to rebuild their homes, even if the Israeli forces withdraw.
‘We are left to face our pain in silence’
Madleen Kulab’s grief extends beyond the failed voyage of the aid ship named after her. It reflects the wider pain inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza – a suffering she says feels endless.
“This ship’s story mirrors my own, and the story of every tired, worn-out person in Gaza,” she told Al Jazeera. “We are just a media wave. It rises sharply then fades just as fast, and we are left to face our pain in silence.”
Now, with Madleen ship intercepted and its crew detained by Israel, Kulab said she has no wishes left except for the crew’s safety and eventual return home.
“Their noble message was delivered. The message of humanity reached the world. But I no longer have the words to appeal to anyone to act.”
Her voice grows heavier as she speaks of the daily toll of life in Gaza.
“I am drowning in suffering amid war and starvation. Me, my family, and everyone here. Day by day, my hatred for everything around me grows. My hatred for life itself grows stronger with each passing day.”
Israeli forces raid towns near Tulkarem, detain Palestinians
Israel’s army has carried out incursions on several villages in the Sha’rawiya area north of Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank, detaining two young men.
Citing local sources, Wafa news agency said Israeli military vehicles stormed the towns of Baqa al-Sharqiya, Attil, Allar, and Seida, setting up checkpoints, blocking main roads, and halting the movement of vehicles and residents.
Troops stopped and interrogated young men, checked identification cards, and subjected some to physical abuse and temporary detentions. Several shops were also raided and searched by Israeli soldiers.
In a separate incident, Wafa said two men – Rami Ragheb Hamad and Omar Mousa Salman – were detained near the main entrance of Ramin, a town east of Tulkarem.
Israeli forces also raided Anabta, another town east of Tulkarem, patrolled its main streets, and were later seen moving towards Nur Shams refugee camp.
Israeli forces have launched a major incursion into Nur Shams and other areas across the northern West Bank, deploying ground troops and armoured vehicles.