Eight Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza
The Israeli army announced on Saturday June 15 the death of eight soldiers in the south of the Gaza Strip, one of the worst tolls in a single day. These soldiers “fell during operational activity”, the IDF said in a statement. According to several Israeli media, they were killed in the explosion of their troop transport vehicle near the town of Rafah, in the south of the Palestinian territory. Bombings and ground fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian Hamas fighters continued on Saturday, the 253rd day of the war, notably in Rafah and its surroundings, not far from the Egyptian border. Since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip on October 27, a total of 306 Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Hamas official says ‘no one has the slightest idea’ how many hostages are still alive
In an interview with CNN, a senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said Friday that he did not know how many Israeli hostages were still alive. “I’ve no idea. Nobody has the slightest idea,” he said, indicating without providing evidence that the Israeli operation which allowed the release of four hostages last week had led to the death of three others, including an American citizen. Hamas told international mediators in April that it could not respond positively to Israel’s request to release 40 hostages as part of a peace agreement, particularly sick and elderly women and men, because he was not holding 40 live hostages.
Health crisis worsens in West Bank, says WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) was alarmed on Friday by the worsening health crisis in the West Bank occupied by Israel, where draconian restrictions, violence and attacks on medical infrastructure are complicating access to care. In a press release, the UN agency calls “for the immediate and active protection of civilians and the health system in the West Bank”. Since the start of the war on October 7, 521 Palestinians, including 126 children, have been killed and more than 5,200, including 800 children, injured in violence in the West Bank, notes the WHO. The Palestinian Authority in power in the West Bank estimates that at least 545 people were killed by Israeli troops or by settlers.
In Gaza, the American pier will be moved for shelter
The temporary American pier which allows the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gazan population will be removed in anticipation of rough seas, announced the American military Command for the Middle East (Centcom). “The temporary relocation of the pier will help avoid structural damage caused by sea conditions,” Centcom said. It will be moved to the Israeli port of Ashdod, Israel. “The decision to temporarily relocate the pier is not taken lightly, but is necessary so that it can continue to deliver aid in the future,” added the military command, promising that it will be resettled “quickly”.
New exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah
Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army exchanged new fire this Saturday, June 15 on the border between the two countries, Hezbollah thus acting in support of Hamas, its ally. These attacks have intensified since the death on Tuesday of one of its most important commanders, Taleb Sami Abdallah, killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Jouaiyya, in southern Lebanon, bordering northern Israel. The army confirmed that it had eliminated Abdallah, who it said had “planned and executed attacks” anti-Israeli. Hezbollah claimed to have targeted the Meron base in northern Israel with “guided missiles”, and launched “attack drones” to another Israeli base “as part of the response to the assassination perpetrated by the enemy in Jouaiyya”.
Update at 6:20 p.m. with details of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
