Israel war on Gaza live: 10 aid seekers among 24 killed in Israeli attacks
- Hamas chief Haniyeh’s sister among 10 reported killed in attack on al-Shati camp. Two other attacks on schools kill at least 14 people.
- A high risk of famine remains in Gaza as more than 495,000 Palestinians experiencing “catastrophic” food shortages.
Palestinian rescuers rush gunshot victim to hospital
An ambulance crew with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has responded to a shooting victim in Zahraa city, near Nuseirat camp.
A video posted by the aid group shows ambulance carrying the injured man on a stretcher into Deir el-Balah’s crowded Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Editor’s Choice: What to read and watch
Here are a few highlights from the content recently published on Israel’s war against Gaza:
- Watch: Palestinian man shot, tied to jeep says Israeli forces gave no explanation
- Opinion: Drop the charges against the CUNY 22!
- Watch: What if Israel’s plan was no ‘day after’ for Gaza all along?
- From Gaza: Gaza emergency health chief killed in Israeli air attack
Ultra-Orthodox party reacts to Supreme Court ruling
Lawmakers with the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party have criticised the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling that ultra-Orthodox men, who often dedicate themselves to full-time Torah studies, must be drafted into the military.
UTJ chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf called the ruling “expected and very unfortunate” in a post on X.
Moshe Gafni, another party lawmaker, wrote on X: “There is not a single judge there who understands the value of studying the Torah and [yeshiva students’] contribution to the people of Israel in all generations.”
More on Israel’s Supreme Court ruling
The court ruling states that, without a law distinguishing Jewish seminary students from other draftees, ultra-Orthodox citizens are subject to compulsory military service.
This marks a major break from longstanding arrangements, under which ultra-Orthodox men have been exempt from military service.
The exemptions, a source of growing public frustration during the Gaza war, have repeatedly been ruled unjust by the courts, but Israeli leaders, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties, have repeatedly kept the arrangement in place.
The Supreme Court ruling threatens Netanyahu’s government, which depends on support from two ultra-Orthodox parties who oppose increasing enlistment for their constituents.
Israel’s Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox men must be drafted into military
The unanimous ruling by Israel’s highest court states that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for military service.
The independent Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which filed the petition leading to the case, urged the government to immediately begin the draft process.
“We call on the government and the defense minister to implement the decision without delay, to comply with the High Court’s order, and to work immediately to draft [ultra-Orthodox] yeshiva students,” it said in a statement cited by The Times of Israel.
At least 25 Palestinians detained in Israeli raids on West Bank
Israeli forces have arrested 25 people across the occupied West Bank in their latest round of raids, reports the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Most of the arrests were in Nablus governorate, while others took place in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Qalqilya.
During a raid in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, Israeli forces doled out “severe beatings” and made threats against detainees’ families, said the Prisoner’s Society.
The latest arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained in the West Bank since October 7 to 9,385, according to the group.
Australia’s senator Payman defies party on Palestinian statehood
Australia’s senator Fatima Payman crossed the floor on Tuesday to vote against her Labor Party’s motion related to a recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Australia’s ABC News reported that it was “the first time a Labor politician has crossed the floor while Labor is in government since 1986”.
The move failed to pass on Tuesday.
Gaza families resort to sea water amid shortages: UNRWA
As summer heat sets in, children in Gaza are waiting in long queues to bring back small amounts of clean water.
Due to the shortages, thousands of families are also using seawater, says the UNRWA.
Israeli attacks have wrecked all of the enclave’s water wells, according to the Northern Gaza Emergency Committee.
At least 14 other Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes on schools
In addition to the attack on Shati camp that we just reported on, another 14 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza this morning.
Both strikes hit schools in Gaza City, killing at least 14 people, medics said.
Gaza civil defence confirms Hamas chief’s relatives killed in Israeli attack
Gaza civil defence has confirmed that an Israeli air strike killed 10 relatives of Hamas chief Haniyeh, including his sister.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the attack.
“There are 10 martyrs … as a result of the strike, including Zahr Haniyeh, sister of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh,” Mahmud Basal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence, told AFP news agency, also reporting “several” wounded.
Israel likely to widen conflict with Hezbollah in coming months
Israel is likely to escalate conflict with Hezbollah in August or September, potentially even launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon, according to Omar Ashour, a professor of security and military studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
While Israel knows it cannot destroy Hezbollah, which is stronger militarily than Hamas, it will aim to “degrade” it as much as possible, perhaps even pushing it north of the Litani river, Ashour told Al Jazeera.
Compared with Hamas, he says, Hezbollah has:
- At least three to four times more manpower.
- More projectiles with a further reach, including 5,000-8,000 long-range rockets and missiles that can reach Tel Aviv.
- Range of antitank missiles.
- Some sea and air capabilities, as evidenced by its reconnaissance drones.
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Gallant says Israel, US need to quickly ‘resolve’ disagreements
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who met US Secretary of State Blinken in Washington, DC, yesterday, has stressed the need to “resolve disputes” between the two allied nations to put up a strong front.
“At a time when the eyes of our enemies and friends are focused on the relationship between Israel and the US, we must resolve our disagreements quickly,” Gallant said in a post on X. “This will weaken our enemies and help achieve our goals.”
Netanyahu has recently blasted the US for “withholding” weapons shipments, a claim the US denies and says it does not understand.
Israeli military carries out widespread arrests in Balata refugee camp
The Israeli military has arrested 13 Palestinians in the Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reports.
We earlier reported that Israeli forces, accompanied by military bulldozers, stormed neighbourhoods in the camp and raided several homes.
Intense fighting has been reported in the area and two young Palestinian men have been wounded, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
What is Netanyahu’s stance on a ceasefire deal?
Israel’s PM Netanyahu, speaking to the Knesset yesterday, made three promises:
- Israel is committed to the US-backed ceasefire proposal and will bring home all remaining captives in Gaza.
- Israel will not end the war until Hamas is eliminated, a position he says does not contradict the first point.
- Israel will “thwart Iran’s intentions to destroy us at any cost and in any way”.
According to senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq, Netanyahu’s promise to root out Hamas, while simultaneously saying he is committed to a ceasefire plan, shows he is merely stalling and wants to continue the “war of genocide”.
