Gaza live: Israeli attack hits Unrwa centre

The UN Security Council approved US President Joe Biden's proposal to end the war in Gaza and release the captives held in Gaza.

Fourten countries voted in favor of the proposal. None objected, and Russia abstained.

Israel criticised the proposal last week for advocating an end to the war in exchange for the release of the captives, a stance that the Netanyahu government publicly opposes.

Read m0re: UN passes US-backed resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire

In a statement, the Government Media Office in Gaza has cast doubt on the US-built so-called humanitarian aid pier and its effectiveness in helping Palestinians.

• “In the wake of the World Food Programme’s announcement of stopping the entry of their aid into Gaza through the American floating dock due to security concerns, we once again confirm the futility of this dock, as we have not seen any serious contribution to it since its inauguration a month and a half ago, to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian reality.”
• “If the American administration were serious in its approach to mitigate the impact of the humanitarian catastrophe, and sincere in its intentions to help our people, it would have pressured the occupation to open the land crossings.”
• “We call on the international community to take urgent and serious action – before it is too late – to ensure the entry of aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip.”

An Israeli military court extended the illegal imprisonment of Rasha Herzallah, 39, until June 24 for alleged incitement on social media platforms.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission for Detainees’ Affairs, Israeli authorities detained the journalist from Nablus and interrogated her on June 2, and placed her under "administrative detention" a special law that Israel uses against Palestinians to hold them without charge or a trial.

According to Women In Journalism, an advocacy and support organisation, Herzallah joins more than 40 journalists currently in Israeli prisons.

Israel lashed out on Monday and reprimanded the ambassador of Slovenia over her country's recognition of a Palestinian state, Reuters reported.

Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement that during a conversation with the Slovenian ambassador it was emphasized that the statehood recognition "does not promote peace, it encourages the Hamas terrorist organization, and it makes it difficult to promote a deal for the release of the hostages".

The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights has submitted an appeal to the Ninth District Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

This appeal represents the Palestinian human rights groups Al-Haq and Defence for Children International, as well as Palestinians in Gaza and Palestinian Americans in the United States.

The appellants claims that the US government, including the president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense, is complicit in what they term as an Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Their original lawsuit, initiated in federal court in November, was dismissed in January on the grounds of jurisdiction.

Laila El-Haddad, one of the plaintiffs who lost five family members in the conflict, stated, "I promised my surviving family members in Gaza that I would do everything in my power to advocate on their behalf."

According to a US Pentagon spokesperson, Israel’s army conducted an operation "near" the US military pier during a bloody raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp to rescue four Israeli captives.

The raid on Saturday resulted in the deaths of at least 274 Palestinians and left hundreds wounded. 

The spokesperson claimed that Israel did not use the US military pier in Gaza for its raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday “in any way".

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Monday that the US secretary of state’s comments on the Gaza ceasefire proposal show “bias toward Israel”.

“Blinken’s speech during his visit to Egypt … offers an American cover to the holocaust conducted by the occupation in Gaza,” he told Reuters.

Earlier on Monday Anthony Blinken said during a visit to Cairo: “My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region, is if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say ‘yes’".

“If you want to alleviate the terrible suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, press Hamas to say ‘yes’. If you want to get all the hostages home, press Hamas to say ‘yes’. If you want to put Israelis and Palestinians alike on the path to more durable peace and security, press Hamas to say ‘yes’.”

Israel has so far refused to publically accept the ceasfire agreement. 

The US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, claimed on Monday without evidence that Israel has accepted the proposal for a three-phase deal between Hamas and Israel.

“This proposal is the best opportunity we have right now, to bring at least a temporary halt to this fighting to be able to get more assistance in, get hostages released, and all the other things are included in the proposal. So we want to work hard to get that done,” said Wood, speaking at the UN headquarters in New York City.

“We want to put pressure on Hamas to accept this deal. So far, it hasn’t accepted this deal,” he claimed.

When a journalist told Wood that Israel also has not formally accepted the proposal he said: “Israel’s accepted the deal. It’s Hamas. Hamas needs to accept this deal.”

Pro-Palestine activists threw rocks and sprayed red paint on 20 branches of the British bank Barclays over its ties to arms firms supplying Israel in its ongoing war on Gaza.

Protest group Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the targeting of the buildings on Monday, adding it worked in coordination with the climate group Shut the System.

In a statement, the group said it “aims to halt the Palestinian genocide by undermining suppliers of weapons to the Israeli military… along with financial companies involved with these weapons suppliers".

Palestine Action has previously targeted the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in so-called direct action protests, which involve physical damage and occupation of British properties associated with the company.

Read more: Pro-Palestine activists smash windows at Barclays branches over Israel arms links

An Israeli military court has ruled to prolong the detention of a Wafa news agency journalist by two weeks, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS).

According to the rights group, Rasha Hirzallah's detention was extended under the pretext of "incitement."

Hirzallah was summoned for investigation at a detention centre by Israeli intelligence on Sunday, where she was informed she would be detained for 72 hours.

PPS said that Hirzallah is among 80 journalists who have been detained since 7 October, 49 of whom continue to be detained, including six female journalists.

The UN Security Council will vote on Monday on a US-drafted resolution backing a three-stage Gaza ceasefire proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden.

The text was finalised on Sunday following six days of negotiations among the 15-member council. It is currently unclear whether Russia and China will be able to veto the adoption of the draft.

In order to pass, a resolution needs at least nine votes and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, China or Russia.

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said earlier on Monday that Hamas was the "only outlier" in not accepting the ceasefire proposal.

Israel has not offered guarantees for a “permanent” ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza in its response to a plan presented by mediators, a copy of the proposal seen by Middle East Eye shows. 

Israel instead agreed to a “temporary cessation of military operations” for 42 days, which would be followed by open-ended talks to reach a permanent ceasefire.

Palestinian freelance journalist Maha Hussaini has had her reporting for Middle East Eye on the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza recognised by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF).

Hussaini was one of three recipients of the Courage in Journalism Awards, announced by the Washington-based foundation on Monday, which it says honours remarkable bravery in the pursuit of reporting.

Since the assault began in October, Hussaini has published dozens of stories, including a report uncovering Israeli field executions of Palestinians, which was used as evidence by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in the case accusing Israel of genocide.

Reacting to the award, Hussaini told MEE she was both happy and sad at recognition for her work. 

"I am happy because it is another effort to recognise the work of Palestinian journalists and make them heard and seen," she said. "But I am saddened because I know the cost of such recognition in a place where over 150 journalists have been killed over the course of eight months."

READ MORE: MEE Gaza journalist Maha Hussaini wins at Courage in Journalism Awards

Lebanon's Hezbollah armed group has said it conducted an air strike on an Israeli military based in the occupied Syrian Golan.

In a statement on Telegram the group said it had launched an “air attack with a squadron of drones”  targeting the 210th Golan Division in the Israeli Nafah base in the occupied Syrian Golan.

It added that the attack had resulted in "confirmed casualties" and that part of the headquarters had been destroyed.

Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich has said that the resignation of Minister Benny Gantz from the war cabinet would allow leaders "to act in a much more decisive and determined manner against the Palestinian Authority."

He spoke at the meeting of the religious Zionist faction, alongside far-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who described Gantz's departure as a "great opportunity to step up and bring victory."

"Whoever demands to bomb Gaza and stop the entry of Palestinian workers should be a member of the war cabinet," he added.

Ben-Gvir demanded Gantz's seat on the war cabinet following his resignation.

"The time has come to make brave decisions," Ben-Gvir said in a post to X social media that included a copy of his official demand.