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Here’s where things stand on Friday 6 June 2025:
- The death toll in Gaza has gone up again, with hospital sources telling Al Jazeera that at least 42 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn.
- The Israeli army confirms four Israeli soldiers were killed and five others wounded after a blast caused a building to collapse in Khan Younis – bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in Gaza this week to eight.
- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says France is “determined” to recognise a Palestinian state, but stops short of saying the move will happen at an upcoming UN conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia.
- The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has reiterated a call for unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza as the population faces the continued threat of famine.
‘Incredibly damning’: Group slams Canada weapons exports to Israel
A human rights group in Canada has slammed the Canadian government after official data showed the country exported nearly $14m (more than 18 million Canadian dollars) in weapons to Israel in 2024.
“In the face of all the horrors we have witnessed in Gaza, Canada’s arms trade with Israel has not stopped. In fact, it has continued at historically high rates,” said Michael Bueckert, acting president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME).
Canada announced last year that it would not issue any new exports permits for weapons to Israel amid the war on Gaza.
But rights advocates had said the decision didn’t go far enough, as existing permits were still in place. They also noted that Canadian-made weapons components could still reach Israel via the United States without needing a permit.
The government said today that the nearly $14m in weapons sent to Israel in 2024 “all utilised permits destined to Israel were issued on or prior to January 8, 2024”, the date it announced a suspension of new permits.
CJPME’s Bueckert called on Canada to stop its “cynical ‘pauses’ and half-measures that fail to address Canada’s complicity in genocide”, urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to “impose a full arms embargo and bring an end to military trade with Israel once and for all”.
Death toll of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza war reaches 866
Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the last week, with Israel announcing today that four soldiers died after a blast caused a building to collapse in Khan Younis.
According to the Israeli Army Radio, 866 Israeli soldiers have now been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including 18 since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas in mid-March.
US lawmaker introduces motion calling ‘free Palestine’ chant anti-Semitic
Republican Congressman Gabe Evans has introduced a symbolic resolution that describes the chant “free Palestine” as an “anti-Semitic slogan that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people”.
The resolution condemns the attack on a pro-Israel rally that injured 12 people in the US state of Colorado last week.
It is the latest measure seeking to crack down on support for Palestinian rights in the US.
Activists have long argued that the “free Palestine” chant is a call for Palestinian freedom from Israeli occupation and apartheid.
Injured Palestinian boy recounts attack on Gaza aid site
UNICEF has shared a video of a Palestinian boy who suffered serious injuries after Israeli soldiers fired at people trying to get desperately needed aid at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site in the enclave.
“The pole next to me was targeted with a shell. The shrapnel flew into my abdomen and back,” Abed Al Rahman, 13, told the UN agency.
“I still have shrapnel inside my body that they couldn’t remove. I’m in real pain,” he said, laying on his bed, his body covered in bandages. “Since 6am, I have been asking for painkillers but they don’t have any. There’s nothing to hep me.”
Abu Obeida says Israeli forces will continue to meet resistance in Gaza
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, has hailed the group’s attacks against Israeli forces in Gaza, including a recent incident in Khan Younis that the army said killed four Israeli soldiers.
“The losses the enemy has suffered today in Khan Younis and Jabalia is an extension of the qualitative military operations and a model that the [Israeli] forces will face everywhere they are present,” Abu Obeida said in a post on Telegram.
He added that the Israeli public “has no choice but to compel its leaders to end the war of extermination and displacement or prepare to see more of their sons in coffins”.
Muslims in Gaza mark Eid amid mourning and destruction
Palestinians in Gaza once again mark Eid al-Adha, the second major Muslim festival after Eid al-Fitr, by praying at destroyed mosques.
Israeli forces raid towns in occupied West Bank
The Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that a 24-year-old man was injured after Israeli forces opened fire in the village of Dura al-Qari near Ramallah.
“The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the young man was shot in the thigh with live ammunition,” Wafa said, adding that he was transferred to hospital.
The Israeli military also carried out raids in Birzeit, Kobar and Abu Shkheidem, north of Ramallah.
Separately, Israeli troops stormed the town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank. Snipers were deployed to rooftops during the operation, Wafa said, but no arrests or injuries were reported.
Israel has carried out an intensified military campaign across the West Bank amid its war on Gaza while Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have also soared. Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from their homes amid the violence.
Photos: Palestinians in Gaza mourn loved ones killed in Israeli attacks
Researchers say Israel routinely attacks areas it instructed people to flee to
Forensic Architecture, a UK-based research group, says it has documented “a pattern of Israeli attacks” on areas that it told Palestinian civilians in Gaza to evacuate to.
“Our research confirms that the Israeli military carried out multiple attacks in areas towards which civilians had been directed, either on the same day as the evacuation order, or on the day after,” the group said on social media.
In one example, Forensic Architecture said the Israeli army told people to move west from their neighbourhoods in eastern Gaza City. The next day, it attacked a residential building to the west of the areas subject to the evacuation order.
The organisation said it documented 34 evacuation orders between March 18 and June 3 that directed “civilians from evacuation zones to undefined areas, which often later come under attack by the Israeli military”.
Eight Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza this week
The Israeli army did confirm, along with the Israeli prime minister, that four Israeli soldiers were killed and five others wounded today after a blast caused a building to collapse in Khan Younis.
They said the military was operating on the ground there, going to clear a building, and that’s when some sort of explosive went off, causing the building to collapse on top of those soldiers.
Now this would take the total number of Israeli soldiers killed this week alone to eight: Three were killed earlier in the week in Rafah, one in the north in Shujayea, and now four in Khan Younis.
The Israeli military states that two names of those killed today have been published. For the other two, their families are waiting to be notified.
And of the five who have been injured, one of them is in serious condition.
Hamas armed wing says it has attacked Israeli troops in southern Gaza
The Qassam Brigades says it targeted the Israeli military with mortar shells south of Khan Younis.
The group added that the attack was carried out in cooperation with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, the al-Quds Brigades.
Israel army lacking more than 10,000 soldiers, spokesman says
Israel’s military has said it lacks more than 10,000 soldiers, including about 6,000 for combat units, as it presses an intensified campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The army “lacks over 10,000 soldiers, including about 6,000 combat soldiers. This is a genuine operational need, and that’s why we’re taking all necessary steps”, army spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised news conference when asked about the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army.
Photos: Protesters march towards Israel-Gaza fence to demand end to war
ILO upgrades Palestine to non-member observer state
The International Labour Organization (ILO) decision gives the State of Palestine additional rights at ILO meetings, including the ability to submit proposals and amendments.
Several global trade unions welcomed the move, with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) hailing it as “a sign of hope and a strong gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
“This recognition by the ILO marks an important step towards broader international acknowledgement of Palestinian statehood,” ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said in a statement.
‘Families are hanging on by a thread’: WFP
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has reiterated a call for unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, where the entire population faces the threat of famine.
“People are struggling and the situation is extremely dire in Gaza,” a WFP official named Martina said in a video shared on X. “We have never seen it as difficult as it is now.”
Palestinian mothers visit children’s graves on Eid al-Adha
Umm Ahmad Awida is spending her second Eid al-Adha under Israeli bombs.
“Under bombs, strikes, death, siege and hunger – every way of torture for human beings,” she says.
World watching ‘starvation experiment’ in Gaza
That is according to International Crisis Group (ICG) analysts Robert Blecher and Chris Newton, who have analysed Israel’s policy of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza.
“The world, it seems, is witnessing an experiment: an attempt to indefinitely maintain Gaza’s population below the famine threshold while turning food into a weapon of war,” they wrote in an article today.
The pair said that while much of the public debate around humanitarian assistance for Gaza focuses on the number of aid trucks being allowed into the enclave, the real issue is “the deliberate strategy of calibrated deprivation that has left Palestinians in the Strip facing life-threatening hunger”.
“The goal must be food security, not truck tallies – which means ending the starvation policy itself,” they wrote.
“Whether through ad hoc closures or ‘fortified hubs’, integrating starvation into military strategy exposes a fundamental truth. When a government admits it cannot win without keeping millions at death’s edge, the response cannot be technical adjustments,” they continued.
“Gaza’s survival requires ending both the war and the starvation policy Israel deems essential to victory.”
Death toll in Gaza from Israeli attacks today rises to 42
At least 42 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on several areas in the Strip since dawn today, hospital sources have told Al Jazeera.
Photos: Children in Gaza play on Eid al-Adha amid ruins
Eid ‘a grim reminder’ of loss across Gaza
More casualties are coming and continue to flow to Al-Aqsa Hospital; this is what Eid looks like here in Gaza.
Families who once used to welcome guests into their houses are living in makeshift tents and overcrowded shelters, with a lack of water, cooking supplies and food.
For children who have lost their parents or their siblings, they no longer feel that this [holiday] is a time of celebration or happiness. It’s a very grim reminder of what they have lost.
What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
- Officially independent, the GHF is an Israel and US-backed body that began distributing aid in the Gaza Strip on May 27.
- Under increasing international pressure to allow in humanitarian relief, Israel sought to find a solution it says prevents aid from falling into the hands of armed Palestinian groups.
- Humanitarian organisations say the vast majority of food and other supplies reach Gaza’s civilian population and are not diverted to fighters.
- While the previous UN-led distribution network operated about 400 sites across the Strip, the GHF – guarded by armed private security contractors working for a US company – has set up only four “mega-sites” for Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians.
- The UN and aid groups say the GHF does not abide by humanitarian principles, accusing it of weaponising aid, and warning it could serve to depopulate northern Gaza, as planned by the Israeli military.
- The Government Media Office in Gaza says at least 110 Palestinians were killed, 583 were injured, and nine are missing after Israeli forces opened fire on them while they were trying to obtain food from the GFH aid sites since May 27.
- The GHF shuttered all its distribution points on Wednesday, as well as today.
French foreign minister ‘determined’ to recognise Palestinian state
Speaking during an interview with French radio station RTL, Jean-Noel Barrot did not say explicitly when France would recognise the State of Palestine.
But the French foreign minister said that an upcoming UN conference on the two-state solution – co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia – would allow countries “to make commitments to remove all the barriers on the path towards the creation – the existence even – of a Palestinian state”.
Barrot was pressed on whether France would recognise a Palestinian state on its own – even if no other countries followed suit – during the UN conference.
“This is not the option I’m considering,” he responded. “France could have made a symbolic decision. That’s not the choice we made because we have a particular responsibility.
“If we do this, it’s to change things and make it so that the existence of this Palestinian state is as credible as possible.”
Photos: Eid al-Adha festival in the Gaza Strip
Eid al-Adha is the second major Muslim festival after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting.
If you’re just joining us
Let’s bring you up to speed on the latest developments:
- At least 34 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn today, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.
- The Israeli military has issued new forced evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza, as displaced families say they have nowhere safe to go.
- An Israeli army spokesman says movement towards humanitarian aid distribution sites is only permitted between 6am and 6pm amid continued deadly attacks on Palestinian aid seekers.
- At least 226 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began, Gaza’s Government Media Office says, after Al Arabiya TV cameraman Ahmed Qaljah was confirmed killed earlier today.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in building collapse in Khan Younis
The Israeli military has released the names of two of the soldiers who were killed.
The names of the other two soldiers have not yet been made public.
A fifth soldier was also injured in the incident, the army said.
At least 110 Palestinians killed seeking aid since GHF began: Gaza gov’t
Gaza’s Government Media Office has released a breakdown of casualties linked to the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution points in Gaza.
It says that since the distribution centres began operations in late May, Israeli forces have killed 110 Palestinians and injured 583. At least nine people are reported missing.
Here’s a detailed look at the casualties:
- May 27: Three killed, 46 injured, and seven missing in Rafah
- May 28: 10 killed and 62 injured in Rafah
- June 1: 35 killed and 200 injured in Rafah; one killed, 32 injured, and 2 missing at the Wadi Gaza Bridge
- June 2: 26 killed and 92 injured in Rafah
- June 3: 27 killed and 90 injured in Rafah
- June 6: Eight killed and 61 injured in Rafah
University of Michigan using surveillance to monitor Gaza protesters: Report
British newspaper The Guardian has published an investigation into the University of Michigan’s use of private, undercover investigators collecting material that can be used to charge and jail pro-Palestinian campus protesters.
According to the report, these investigators would trail the students, “furtively recording them and eavesdropping on their conversations”. They also “cursed at students, threatened them and in one case drove a car at a student who had to jump out of the way”, The Guardian wrote.
The allegations were supported by videos reviewed by the newspaper as well as police body camera footage. The University of Michigan said it had not received any complaints about the investigators but did not deny the surveillance.
The report comes amid rising tensions on university campuses as detentions and visa revocations targeting pro-Palestine protest leaders are putting students on edge.
Gaza flotilla must be allowed to carry out mission: Amnesty
Amnesty International says the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) “is an important solidarity initiative that will help to keep the spotlight on Israel’s illegal and suffocating blockade of the occupied Gaza Strip amidst its ongoing genocide”.
“There can be no justification for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza amidst catastrophic levels of hunger and suffering and one of the worst manmade humanitarian disasters in the world,” the rights group said in a post on X.
It said the Madleen – the flotilla ship on its way to deliver assistance to Gaza – must be allowed to carry out its mission “free from intimidation or attack”.
The Madleen left Italy on June 1 with 12 advocates on board, including climate activist Greta Thunberg.
For more on the vessel’s journey, check out our live page here.
Israeli media releases recording of Netanyahu discussing fate of Gallant, Halevi: Report
Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting that Israel’s Channel 13 News has released a tape recording in which Benjamin Netanyahu is heard explaining to a senior ultra-Orthodox rabbi why he fired former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and pressured the resignation of former military chief Herzi Halevi.
The reason, Haaretz reports, was not because the Israeli PM held them responsible for failures on October 7, but because they were an obstacle in ratifying a bill which would exempt ultra-Orthodox youth from serving in the military, which has put pressure on his ruling coalition.
Netanyahu has said he had lost confidence in Gallant over the management of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Death toll in Gaza rises again
At least 34 were killed in Israeli raids on several areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn today, medical sources tell our team on the ground.
Here is a breakdown of the casualties received by hospitals in the territory:
- D16 bodies arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis
- 11 at al-Shifa Hospital in north Gaza
- Five at Ahli Hospital in Gaza City
- Two at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah
Intense Israeli attacks leaving entire areas in ruins
Earlier this morning, the Israeli military killed five Palestinians in the eastern part of Khan Younis.
Family members said two of them were on the way to the courtyard set up for Eid prayers. The other three were killed in drone attacks on makeshift tents that they set up for their families.
Both Khan Younis and the northern part of the Strip are hotspots for expanding Israeli military operations. Most of the bombardment takes place in an indiscriminate way, increasing the likelihood of many civilians [being killed].
They’re also characterised by their intensity – huge explosions not only destroying targeted areas … but leaving entire areas in ruins and forcing people to be displaced.
UNRWA shares stories of Gaza aid seekers who survived Israeli attacks
On X, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency shared quotes from one man who was present at one of the US-Israeli-backed aid points in Gaza when the army opened fire on hungry people seeking food.
He described crawling on the ground for more than an hour while the sounds of shots rang out above his head.
“We must return to delivering aid safely and at scale to all people in Gaza. The only way to do this is through the United Nations, including UNRWA,” the agency wrote in its post.
Israel attacks Beirut suburbs on eve of Eid
Israeli air attacks hit buildings in neighbourhoods across southern Beirut on Thursday following a forced evacuation order for residents to leave their homes on the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
Israeli settlers storm West Bank town of Beitunia
A group of Israeli settlers has stormed the town of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, according to videos posted by local Palestinian groups and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency.
A man carrying a machinegun can be seen in one of the video clips. It was not immediately clear whether clashes erupted and if there were any casualties.
Settler attacks have been intensifying as Israel moves to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank. Last year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory was unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.
Israeli army warns Gaza residents not to approach aid distribution centres outside set timeframe
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson has warned Palestinians in Gaza that movement towards humanitarian aid distribution sites is only permitted during daylight between 6am and 6pm.
Outside this timeframe, “the area is considered a closed military zone,” Avichay Adraee wrote on X. “Entering it poses a great danger to your lives. It is strictly prohibited to enter the distribution centres and the area near them” during the night.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured or killed by the Israeli army as it opened fire on aid seekers approaching the centres, which are managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial US- and Israel-backed body supposed to be replacing the United Nations’ aid delivery system.
Israeli army warns Gaza residents not to approach aid distribution centres outside set timeframe
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson has warned Palestinians in Gaza that movement towards humanitarian aid distribution sites is only permitted during daylight between 6am and 6pm.
Outside this timeframe, “the area is considered a closed military zone,” Avichay Adraee wrote on X. “Entering it poses a great danger to your lives. It is strictly prohibited to enter the distribution centres and the area near them” during the night.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been injured or killed by the Israeli army as it opened fire on aid seekers approaching the centres, which are managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial US- and Israel-backed body supposed to be replacing the United Nations’ aid delivery system.
Israeli shelling kills at least 7 near aid distribution points in southern Gaza
A medical source at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has told Al Jazeera that seven Palestinians have been killed in Israeli shelling near aid distribution centres west and north of Rafah, also in southern Gaza.
We’ll bring you more on this when we can.
‘The hardest Eid we’ve ever witnessed’, say Palestinians
Eid is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, but for Palestinians observing their second Eid al-Adha in war-ravaged Gaza, there’s little to smile about.
“This is the hardest Eid we’ve ever witnessed. People are facing unimaginable economic and humanitarian suffering,” Ibrahim Ahmed, a Gaza resident, told Al Jazeera.
“In past Eids, we prayed in this mosque surrounded by peace and joy. Today, the mosque is in ruins and we’re praying in the rubble.”
One boy, Saeed Nassar, said the circumstances this Eid al-Adha were “heartbreaking”.
“We couldn’t buy clothes, sweets, or an animal to sacrifice. We’re surrounded by total destruction,” he said. “This Eid doesn’t feel special like the ones we’re used to.”
UNRWA chief says international journalists must be allowed into Gaza
Philippe Lazzarini has renewed calls to allow international journalists into Gaza, who have so far been prevented from reporting on the ground due to an ongoing Israeli blockade.
“This is unprecedented in any other conflict in history,” the UNRWA chief said, calling it a “ban on the truth.”
“It is the perfect recipe to fuel mis-information, deepening polarization & dehumanization,” he wrote on X.
Lazzarini added that nearly 200 local journalists have been killed so far while reporting on the conflict. Gaza’s government puts the toll at 226.
Israel using gangs to elbow out aid groups who are ‘witnesses to genocide’
Israel’s newly revealed cooperation with criminal gangs in Gaza has been pursued to help it achieve its war aims, including sidelining aid agencies who are “witnesses to … genocide”, says a Palestinian analyst.
Muhammad Shehada, visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Israel had used a criminal group led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a local clan leader in Rafah, to loot aid supplies sent through established international networks.
By doing so, it helped Israel advance an argument that the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was the “sole solution” to aid distribution in Gaza, allowing Israel to “elbow out those UN agencies who act not only as providers of humanitarian aid, but also as witnesses to Israel’s genocide on the ground”, Shehada told Al Jazeera.
The use of the group helped Israel “advance and maintain starvation and ethnic cleansing by other means, rather than by directly implicating” the Israeli military itself, he said, adding that Israel was also using the group to carry out tasks like reconnaissance, espionage and kidnappings.
Netanyahu admitted on Thursday that Israel had “activated” criminal groups in Gaza on the advice of security officials, hours after former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused him of backing the gangs.
Mothers mourn lost children as they mark second Eid al-Adha in war
Grieving Palestinian mothers have described the “torture” of their second consecutive Eid al-Adha amid war, as they visited the graves of their children lost in the conflict.
“We are celebrating Eid al-Adha for the second year in a row, under bombs, strikes, death, siege and hunger – every way of torture for human beings,” Umm Ahmad Awida told Reuters, as she sat next to the grave of her daughter.
“We sacrificed a lot with our children, we lost our homes and ourselves, there is nothing left.”
Another grieving mother, Suher Shekfa, knelt as she visited the grave of Abdul Salam, the fourth of her six children.
“I feel like I have no children left since he was gone,” she said. “The smile of the house is gone.”
Today’s death toll in Gaza rises
Medical sources at several Gaza hospitals have told our team on the ground that at least 22 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the early hours of this morning.
Israel issues new forced displacement orders for north Gaza
The Israeli army’s Arabic language spokesperson has issued the order via a post on X
“To all residents of the Gaza Strip located in Blocks 608, 609, 615, 616 in the northern Gaza Strip area … This is a warning before the attack,” he said.
These areas of the Gaza Strip are located east of Jabalia in the north.
The spokesman claimed, without providing evidence, that the areas in question are used to launch rockets.
Roughly 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is currently under some kind of forced displacement order, leaving Palestinians fewer places to flee to.
Palestinians struggle to celebrate Eid al-Adha in Gaza amid war
Millions of Muslims are celebrating Eid al-Adha around the world.
But for Palestinians in Gaza, the festival, known for communal feasts and family gatherings, is marred by war and starvation.
Gaza government says journalist killed, total now at 226
The number of journalists killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war has reached 226 after Al Arabiya TV cameraman Ahmed Qaljah was confirmed killed earlier today, Gaza’s Government Media Office has said.
The statement did not specify where Qaljah was killed, but Al Jazeera correspondents reported that medical sources at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said a journalist had died of his wounds following an attack on the medical facility on Thursday.
The office called on “all journalistic bodies in all countries of the world to condemn these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip”.
“We also call on them to exert serious and effective pressure to stop the crime of genocide, protect journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip, and halt their killing,” it added.
15 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes
The death toll since dawn in Gaza has risen to 15, our team on the ground reports.
Nine people have been killed in Jabalia, while five were killed in Khan Younis when Israeli drones struck tents housing displaced people.
Meanwhile, another journalist who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Ahli Hospital on Thursday has succumbed to their injures, becoming the fifth journalist to be killed in the attack.
Aid distribution centres ‘have killed more people than they helped’
Journalist and Khan Younis resident Ahmad al-Najjar has told Al Jazeera that the closure of aid distribution points operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has little negative impact for Palestinian residents on the ground.
“It’s comical to say these distribution centres are closed today, as if they had been making a major difference,” al-Najjar said. “These distribution centres have killed more people than they helped.”
Hundreds of aid seekers were killed or wounded by Israeli fire before the centres were closed earlier in the week. The journalist said one of his former neighbours was shot in the arm at a GHF distribution point.
“He said he had no other choice but to go there and risk his life because he had to feed his children,” al-Najjar said.
“The painful thing is that he used to run a restaurant before this genocide began … but, like most of the families here, now he has no source of income or food and has been put in a desperate situation.”
EU chief backs ICC after US sanctions judges over Netanyahu warrant
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has reiterated European backing for the International Criminal Court, after the US slapped sanctions on four judges it accuses of “illegitimate and baseless actions” against Washington and its allies, including Israel.
“The Commission fully supports the [ICC and] its officials. The ICC holds perpetrators of the world’s gravest crimes to account [and] gives victims a voice,” the European Commission chief posted on X.
“It must be free to act without pressure. We will always stand for global justice [and] the respect of international law.”
On Thursday, the Trump administration followed through on a threat to sanction officials associated with the court, issuing sanctions against four judges.
Two of the judges, Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia, were sanctioned for their role in the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November, according to the US State Department.
Seven killed in Israeli attack on north Gaza
A medical source at Ahli Hospital in Gaza City added there were several wounded people in addition to those killed after the Israeli army carried out an air raid on a house in Jabalia al-Balad.
Yesterday, Ahli Hospital itself came under Israeli attack, in a strike that killed at least four journalists.
Palestinians offer Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in shadow of Israeli guns
Tens of thousands of Palestinians offered Eid al-Adha prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem this morning, despite tight Israeli restrictions and a sombre atmosphere driven by the ongoing war on Gaza.
According to local estimates, approximately 80,000 Palestinians gathered at Islam’s third-holiest site, entering and exiting while chanting the traditional Eid Takbirat.
Israeli police forces were heavily deployed in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the Old City before, during and after the prayers.
However, many Palestinians from the occupied West Bank were unable to attend the Eid prayers in Jerusalem due to Israeli restrictions on movement. Many Palestinians barred from entering the mosque by Israeli orders were spotted praying outside its gates.
If you’re just joining us
Here’s a recap of the most recent developments:
- At least nine Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the early hours of this morning. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,677 Palestinians and wounded 125,530, Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Thursday.
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has closed its aid distribution centres in the enclave, and told Palestinians to stay away from the hubs “for their safety”. The centres were closed earlier in the week following days of bloodshed in which hundreds of aid seekers were killed or wounded by Israeli fire, before two sites reopened on Thursday.
- Lebanon and Iran have condemned Israeli strikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon late yesterday, with the Lebanese army saying Israel was committing daily violations of “sovereignty and the ceasefire agreement”.
- Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said “there will be no calm in Beirut… and no stability in Lebanon without security for Israel”, and that the Lebanese government must disarm Hezbollah. Israel said it carried out Thursday’s strikes to target Hezbollah drone production and storage sites.
- A US private equity firm has a stake in Safe Reach Solutions, a private security company handling security for the GHF’s controversial aid operation, according to a report. Reuters reported that McNally Capital, founded by a member of the family that established US publishing giant Rand McNally, had helped set up the security firm in November.
Israeli air strikes hit Beirut
Warplanes hit Dahiyeh – that’s a traditional stronghold of Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said it targeted the group’s underground drone facilities. Before carrying out the strikes, the army issued forced evacuation orders.
It also issued warnings to residents of Ain Qana village in southern Lebanon.
UNICEF spokesperson calls for end to ‘brutal war against childhood’
The United Nations Children’s Fund spokesperson, James Elder, has pointed to the psychological trauma experienced by children in Gaza while on a visit to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in the central part of the Strip.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, Elder told the story of 11-year-old girl Jina, who was paralysed from the waist down following an air strike two days ago.
“Jina is still completely unaware of what happened to her. She is now in a state of deep despair and just wants to get out of here, but she cannot get medical evacuation,” he said. “Doctors assure me that there is currently no possibility of treating her paralysis.”
The latest UNICEF statistics indicate that 50,000 children have been killed or injured since the start of the war in Gaza.
“If we consider that every classroom has 25 children, this means that the equivalent of 2,000 classrooms of children have been affected by this disaster,” he said. “Therefore, this tragedy must end.”
Soap almost impossible to find in Gaza, UNRWA says
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said that while soap is taken for granted in households around the world, it has become “almost impossible” to find in Gaza, where little aid has been let through since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2.
“A regular flow of basic hygiene supplies, including soap, shampoo, sanitary pads is needed,” UNRWA said on X. “The siege must be lifted and aid must flow at scale to people who need it most in Gaza.”
It added that aid delivery can only be done through the UN mechanism that includes UNRWA, which has been banned from operating by Israel following unsubstantiated accusations of involvement in the attacks on October 7, 2023.
Israeli drones hit Khan Younis encampment, more attacks reported across Gaza
Israeli drones have hit tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, killing three Palestinians and wounding two, Al Jazeera correspondents have reported.
The Israeli military also launched air raids on the Tuffah neighbourhood in the eastern part of Gaza City, setting several homes on fire.
Medical sources at the Ahli Hospital in Gaza City also told Al Jazeera that a journalist died of wounds sustained in an Israeli attack on the hospital on Thursday.
Additionally, Israeli aircraft attacked Jabalia al-Balad, in the northern Gaza Strip. The number of casualties is unclear.
French grandmother files legal complaint over Gaza genocide
The grandmother of two children with French citizenship killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint, accusing Israel of genocide and murder, her lawyer says, as reported by AFP news agency.
Jacqueline Rivault filed her complaint with the “crimes against humanity” hub of the Court of Paris, lawyer Arie Alimi said.
Rivault hopes the fact that her daughter’s children, aged six and nine, were French means the country’s judiciary will decide it has jurisdiction to designate a magistrate to investigate the allegations.
The complaint states that “two F16 missiles fired by the Israeli army” killed Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023.
They and their family had sought refuge in another home “between Faluja and Beit Lahia” after leaving their own two days earlier due to heavy bombardment, the 48-page document stated.
One missile entered “through the roof and the second directly into the room where the family was”, it said.
Abderrahim was killed instantly, while his sister Janna died shortly after being taken to hospital.
The complaint argues the “genocide” allegation is based on the air strike being part of a larger Israeli project to “eliminate the Palestinian population and submit it to living conditions of a nature to entail the destruction of their group”.
Lebanese army condemns Israel’s ‘daily violations’ of ceasefire agreement
The Lebanese army has condemned Israel’s overnight attacks on Beirut, saying they “represent a daily violation of Lebanese sovereignty and the ceasefire agreement”.
It added that the timing of the strikes, which coincided with the preparations for Eid al-Adha, was a “clear attempt by the enemy to obstruct our nation’s progress and recovery”.
In accordance with the November ceasefire agreement, it said, the army coordinated with the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Committee (CHO) to prevent the attacks after a warning was issued, but Israel did not cooperate.
It also warned that Israel’s “persistent violation” of the ceasefire agreement and of the monitoring mechanism it set in place weakens the role of the army and could prompt it to freeze its cooperation with the CHO regarding site inspections.
Doctor says M16 bullets removed from victims of aid centre shooting
Goher Rahbour, a surgeon working in Gaza’s Khan Younis, has told Al Jazeera that the bullets extracted from victims of the shooting near the aid distribution centre on Sunday were from an M16 assault gun, consistent with those used by the Israeli military.
“I operated on two patients and we removed M16 bullets from abdominal injuries,” Rahbour told Al Jazeera. “When I spoke to these patients, they were very clear to say they came from Israeli forces.”
The surgeon also said hospitals were operating with little or no resources. “There is a lack of everything – antibiotics, swabs, surgical instruments,” he said.
Desperate conditions on the ground are compounded by personal grief and loss. “One of the consultant surgeons I was working with on Sunday lost his cousin, who had gone to the distribution centre,” Rahbour said. “He went to bury him and then came to work.”
Aid distribution sites closed, Palestinians advised to stay away
The US-backed group behind the chaotic aid distribution programme in Gaza has said all its sites are closed, and has advised people to stay away from the hubs “for their safety”.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing aid last week, said in a Facebook post that details about reopening would be announced later.
Operations at the group’s aid distribution hubs were halted earlier this week following days of deadly violence at the sites, in which Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers. Two sites distributed aid on Thursday.
The GHF’s approach has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations. But the US and Israel have pushed aid groups to work with it, claiming that aid distributed by prior, long-established distribution networks was diverted to Hamas.
Fatal Israeli strike on Khan Younis
A source at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis tells our team on the ground that two people were killed when an Israeli drone attacked a tent housing displaced people.
An unspecified number of people were also wounded in the attack, the source said.
Iran condemns Israel over Beirut strikes
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has slammed Israel’s latest air strikes on Lebanon as “a blatant act of aggression against Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty”.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei made the comments in response to the strikes that hit the southern Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh and several areas in South Lebanon late on Thursday.
Israel claims the strikes were targeting Hezbollah drone production and storage sites. Hezbollah has not commented on these claims.
Wounded Palestinians observe Eid al-Adha far from home in Doha
Hundreds of wounded Palestinians and their displaced families are observing Eid al-Adha far from home in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
A video shared on Instagram by Palestinian photographer Bilal Khaled shows dozens of children joining crowds of worshippers at the al-Thumama Complex in Doha.
Originally built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the complex is now emergency housing for Palestinians who have been evacuated from Gaza, including hundreds of wounded.
This year, Eid al-Adha falls for the second year in a row amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
Photos: Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank mark Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha, the second major Muslim festival after Eid al-Fitr, is also known as the Festival of Sacrifice.
Muslims believe the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) was tested by God who commanded him to sacrifice his first-born son, Ismail (Ishmail). Ibrahim was prepared to submit to the command, but God stayed his hand. Instead, he was told to sacrifice an animal, likely a lamb or sheep.
The Torah and the Old Testament both recount a similar version of this story.
The event also marks the end of Hajj, a five-day pilgrimage all able-bodied and financially capable Muslims are obliged to undertake once in their lifetime.
UK doctor recounts working at Gaza hospital when Israeli bombs hit nearby
Rossel Morhij is a UK-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon who has volunteered in Gaza twice.
On her most recent visit, she was finishing a shift at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis when a school sheltering people nearby was bombed.
“I went to [the emergency department] to try and help, but it was something I’ve never seen, and the images will stay with me forever,” she told Al Jazeera. “There was chaos. There were people running around, searching between the chaos, the bodies, the limbs, looking for their loved ones.
“One of the patients was an 8-year-old child who lost 19 members of his family. His name was marked with a permanent marker over his chest, because he was identified by the only surviving neighbour there. He lost his cousins, his dad, his sisters and brothers. His mum was alive. But she was unconscious with severe brain damage in ICU. I just didn’t know what to say to him when he wakes up that he lost a limb? That he lost everyone he loved?” she continued.
She went on to say that on her first trip to Gaza in early 2024, only four months into the war, she witnessed severe deprivation among Palestinians there, who were already struggling with a lack of food.
“Having no aid for three months, having the war that’s been going on for 20 months. I cannot imagine the extent of the suffering at the moment,” she said, of conditions on the ground now.
Israeli defence minister says ‘no calm in Beirut’ until Israel is secure
Israel Katz has warned “there will be no calm in Beirut, no order, and no stability in Lebanon without security for Israel.”
His words come after a flurry of Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, late last night.
“Lebanon must respect the agreements, and if it does not do what is required of it, we will continue to act with great force,” he said.
Katz argued that the Lebanese government must disarm Hezbollah and “prevent it from producing drones that threaten Israeli citizens”.
Lebanon’s PM Nawaf Salam has called these bombings a violation of November’s ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Private equity has stake in security group in Gaza aid rollout: Report
A US-based private equity firm has an “economic interest” in Safe Reach Solutions, a private security company involved in Gaza’s controversial new aid distribution operation, Reuters is reporting.
The news agency reported that McNally Capital, a private equity firm founded by Ward McNally – a member of the family that founded US publishing giant Rand McNally – had helped to set up Safe Reach Solutions.
The private security company, established in Wyoming in November, has provided security to the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been responsible for a widely criticised new aid distribution programme in Gaza.
The foundation paused aid distribution at its sites this week after multiple days of deadly bloodshed when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians seeking aid.
The GHF’s operations have been widely criticised for failing to adhere to established humanitarian principles, but the US and Israel have pushed international aid groups to work with the group, claiming that aid distributed by a UN aid network was diverted to Hamas.
US sanctions ICC judges; Rubio says court’s cases are ‘baseless and politicised’
In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration has sanctioned four judges of the International Criminal Court over what it calls “baseless and politicised targeting” of America and Israel.
The ICC has slammed the sanctions, calling them a clear attempt to undermine the independence of the court and saying it will continue its work.
Triestino Mariniello, a law professor at Liverpool John Moores University and a member of the legal team representing Gaza victims before the ICC, joins Al Jazeera from Liverpool.
UN warns of surge in acute malnutrition among Gaza’s young children
More than 2,700 children below the age of five in Gaza have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition, marking a steep increase in the number of children suffering from the serious medical condition since screening in February, the United Nations reports.
Of almost 47,000 under-fives screened for malnutrition in the second half of May, 5.8 percent (or 2,733 children) were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition, “almost triple the proportion of children diagnosed with malnutrition” three months earlier, the UN’s humanitarian office says.
The number of children with severe acute malnutrition, requiring admission to hospital, almost doubled in May compared with earlier months.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to allow only a trickle of aid into Gaza, and its distribution scheme has proved fatal or extremely dangerous for hundreds of Palestinians, shot by Israeli troops as they attempted to collect food.
Read more in our story here.
Israel raids Beirut’s southern suburbs on eve of Eid al-Adha
Israeli raids have hit Beirut’s southern suburbs overnight, as well as several areas of south Lebanon, as Muslims prepared to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had ordered residents living near buildings in the neighbourhoods of Hadath, Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh in the Dahiyeh suburbs to evacuate.
The Wafa news agency reported that 100 housing units were destroyed. The Israeli military claimed that these units held underground facilities used by the Lebanese group Hezbollah for drone production.
The attack is the fourth time Israel has bombed Beirut since a ceasefire with Hezbollah went into effect in November.
Child among victims of Israeli attacks on southern Gaza
Medical sources have told Al Jazeera that a child was killed by Israeli army fire northwest of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military hit the centre and north of Khan Younis with raids and artillery shelling, as well as the northern part of the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
It also attacked the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, Al Jazeera correspondents have said.
A recap of recent developments
- Israeli warplanes carried out air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs, reportedly destroying 100 housing units, in what Lebanon’s president said was a “blatant” violation of Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah.
- Hamas said it is ready for a new round of negotiations with US mediators to reach a ceasefire agreement.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted his government was coordinating with “clans” in Gaza, some of whom have been accused of stealing humanitarian aid, as part of an effort to weaken Hamas.
- The UN warned of a surge in acute malnutrition among Gaza’s young children, with more than 2,700 children below the age of five suffering from the serious medical condition.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed disappointment over the US veto of a Security Council draft resolution that called for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza – the fifth time the US has used its veto power since the war began.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged Israel to immediately halt its military campaign in Gaza, saying the response to Hamas has grown disproportionately and must end.
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You can read about key events from Thursday, June 5, here.
