Daily killings of aid seekers ‘nothing short of a scandal for the whole world’

The killings of more than 500 Palestinians near aid hubs in Gaza over the past month is a “travesty” and a global “scandal”, says academic Sami Al-Arian.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Istanbul, Al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, said it is “unbelievable to think of this as being routine”.

“Every day people go there hoping that they can get some food so that they can feed their starving children and they end up dead, they end up injured, in a place where there is no medical facility in which they can even treat their injuries.”

Al-Arian said that the situation was “nothing short of a scandal for the whole world”.

“No one could seriously argue that this is a food distribution centre when day after day … we’re having Palestinians not just being injured, being killed,” he said.


_{Smoke rises after an artillery shell was fired by an Israeli tank towards aid seekers west of Gaza City on Wednesday}

Netanyahu’s lawyer requests criminal trial to be postponed

Israeli media outlet Haaretz is reporting that Netanyahu has requested that the Israeli courts postpone his testimony in his criminal trial for the next fortnight.

The report said that his lawyer, Amit Hadad, sent a request saying that Netanyahu must devote “all his time and energy to handling top-priority diplomatic, national and security issues, including the management of the war in Gaza and dealing with the hostage crisis”.

He also cited the war with Iran and “other regional and global developments”.

Netanyahu’s trial began in 2020, following his indictment in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.

The trial has been delayed several times. His testimony was originally scheduled to begin in July 2024, but it was reportedly postponed due to the war in Gaza and did not commence until December.

Israeli media have reported that the cross-examination of Netanyahu began on June 3 in a Tel Aviv court and was expected to take about a year to complete.

Netanyahu turns attention from Gaza with talk of expanding Abraham Accords

Netanyahu is talking a much bigger game, and that’s because only talking about a ceasefire in Gaza following his grand proclamations of victory over Iran would be domestically costly for him.

Instead, what we hear now is Netanyahu working with his close confidants, with the US administration, about something bigger, more normalisation deals with some countries in the region. Deals that can help him sidestep the Palestinian issue.

But of course, immediately after the declaration of the ceasefire with Iran, we heard from the families of the captives held in Gaza. We heard from opposition leaders. All eyes were back on Gaza.

This is a war that has lasted for more than 625 days with no end in sight.

EU ‘deplores’ humanitarian situation in Gaza

During a meeting in Brussels, the EU said it “deplores the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the unacceptable number of civilian casualties and the levels of starvation”.

“The European Council calls on Israel to fully lift its blockade on Gaza, to allow immediate, unimpeded access and sustained distribution of humanitarian assistance at scale into and throughout Gaza and to enable the UN and its agencies, and humanitarian organisations, to work independently and impartially to save lives and reduce suffering,” it said.

The bloc added it will discuss in July a report from its diplomatic service, which found there were indications Israel had breached its human rights obligations under the terms of a pact governing relations. That meeting could lead to possible EU sanctions on Israel.

It also called to “take work forward” on “extremist settlers” in the occupied West Bank, and the entities and organisations that support them.

Oh no, the EU switched from concerned to deplores, better watch out Netanyahu. Useless.


Most families in Gaza forced to survive on one meal a day: WFP

One-third of families in Gaza are going the entire day without eating as a result of Israel’s continued bombardment of the Palestinian enclave, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners.

In a statement, the WFP said families in Gaza are surviving on thin broths, lentils or rice, one piece of bread or sometimes just a combination of herbs and olive oil known locally as duqqa.

It said that due to the extreme shortages of food, Palestinians routinely risk their lives to get some food.

“The majority of casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach US-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarised zones,” said Johnathan Whittall, head of office for the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The UN said that since 27 May, 549 Palestinians have been killed and 4,066 injured while trying to access food.

Other services are being pushed to the brink. As a result of fuel shortages, only 40 percent of drinking water facilities are functional, and 93 percent of households face water insecurity, the statement said.


WHO makes first aid delivery to Gaza since March

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it has delivered its first medical shipment into Gaza since March 2, adding that the nine truckloads were “a drop in the ocean”.

“Nine trucks carrying essential medical supplies, 2,000 units of blood, and 1,500 units of plasma” crossed into the Palestinian territory, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

While calling for unimpeded access for aid deliveries, he stated that four WHO trucks are still at Gaza’s Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing and more are en route the besieged enclave.

Yesterday @WHO delivered its first medical shipment into #Gaza since 2 March - 9 trucks carrying essential medical supplies, 2000 units of blood, and 1500 units of plasma.

The supplies were transported from Kerem Shalom, without any looting incident, despite the high-risk… pic.twitter.com/umwGRNXvXM

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 26, 2025

UNRWA says ‘no respite’ for occupied West Bank

The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees has said home and building demolitions have been ongoing in the occupied West Bank for 12 days, as the territory has been out of the global spotlight.

“Out of the spotlight of the regional escalation, camps in the northern West Bank have faced ongoing destruction, with dozens of buildings demolished in the last twelve days,” Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA affairs for the occupied West Bank said in a statement.

“Even now, Israeli Forces are continuing to demolish homes and buildings in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps. “This is not just destruction: it is part of systematic forced displacement, a violation of international law, and a form of collective punishment.”

“Despite the delicate ceasefire now in place between Israel and Iran, there has been no respite for the #WestBank.

Out of the spotlight of the regional escalation, camps in the northern West Bank have faced ongoing destruction, with dozens of buildings demolished in the last… pic.twitter.com/lKNFkLzPAt

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) June 26, 2025

Israeli forces fire bullets, stun grenades in occupied West Bank raid

The Palestinian Wafa news agency is reporting that several Palestinians have been injured in a raid by Israeli forces on the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

According to local activist Muhammad Awad, quoted by Wafa, Israeli army vehicles stormed the town and deployed soldiers. Live and rubber-coated steel bullets were fired in addition to stun grenades and tear gas canisters.

Gaza death toll rises

Hospital sources in Gaza report that 71 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza since dawn.


_{Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Gaza City}

In Gaza, every piece of bread comes with a risk

For the people of Gaza, chasing the illusion of help can be more dangerous than hunger itself. The shelling never stops, and panic spreads fast. For many, the distribution points run by the US and Israelis have become what the UN is now calling a death trap.

But now, not all aid lines end in bloodshed. In northern Gaza, coordination between Palestinian tribes has allowed for safer, locally secured distribution points. No shooting. No bombings. Just food and a shred of dignity.

In coordination with UN agencies and other international aid groups, Israel is allowing 100 aid trucks back into Gaza a day. This, after devastating scenes of crowds being shot at and hundreds being killed after Israeli attacks on aid distribution points run by US contractors.

In Gaza, every piece of bread comes with a risk. But even among the rubble, people find moments of unity and ways to survive. A single package might last only a few days, while the need is overwhelming and continuing.

Palestinians in Gaza form long queues to receive a hot meal

Charity organisations distribute food to Palestinians at Nusierat Refugee Camp in Gaza City


_{Palestinians, affected by the food crisis in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli attacks and aid blockades, form long queues with containers in their hands in the hope of receiving a hot meal}

Two infants die in Gaza from malnutrition

The Palestinian news agency has reported that two infants have died today in Gaza due to malnutrition and the lack of formula milk. The Wafa news agency quoted the uncle of one of the infants as saying that five-month-old Nidal died as a result of “lack of food and unavailability of milk”.

It cited the father of the other infant, 10-day-old Kinda, saying she had died of malnutrition and lack of medicine. Both infants were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel has severely limited aid access to Gaza in recent months, instead funnelling most deliveries through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Earlier today, the WHO said it delivered its first medical aid delivery to Gaza since March 2, calling it a “drop in the ocean”.

Gaza officials call aid sites ‘death traps’ amid rising casualties, missing civilians

Earlier today, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that at least 549 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating four weeks ago.

The attacks at the “death traps”, it said in a statement, have also caused 4,066 injuries, and led to 39 missing people among starving Palestinian civilians.

“The occupation is using food as a weapon of mass killing, turning what it claims to be ‘aid’ into a tool of extermination and domination,” Gaza’s Government Media Office added.

Palestinians rush to receive aid after trucks arrive in northern Gaza


_{Palestinians receive aid supplies after aid trucks enter through the Netzarim Corridor amid Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip}

Faced with intense grilling by reporters, State Dept. official shames humanity

US State Department official Thomas Pigott on Thursday stopped to a new low when he refused to criticise the IDF for routinely firing at the starving population of Gaza, leaving scores of them dead everyday. Instead, he blamed the Palestinian group Hamas even for the action of the IDF. Gaza has been under siege since the beginning of March at the behest of an order from Benjamin Netanyahu, which is current wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Iran calls US ‘self-defence’ justification for strikes a distortion of international law

Iranian media reported that the government wrote to the UN formally condemning the US for its recent strikes on nuclear facilities and rejecting its “self-defence” justification for the attacks.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that in the letter, Iran’s representative to the UN rejected Washington’s attempts to justify its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as an act of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

He said Iran denounced the explanation as a “blatant distortion” of international law and the UN’s Charter, saying the attacks were a violation of Tehran’s sovereignty, and contravened principles governing the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

In remarks to a UN Security Council briefing on non-proliferation and Iran on Tuesday, acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the “precision operation” against Iran’s nuclear sites was carried out “in accordance with the inherent right to collective self-defense, consistent with the UN Charter”.

And actual self-defense is called retaliation... The UNSC is corrupt and pointless. It has become a mere tool for the veto holders to do whatever they want with total impunity.

New normalisation agreements would send chilling message to Arab world

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of media studies at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said it was “unthinkable” that new normalisation agreements between Israel and other Arab countries could be reached with the war in Gaza still raging.

“To say this would be the wrong message to send, not only to the Palestinians, but to Arabs in the Arab world, I think would be an understatement,” Elmasry said.

The US and Israel have indicated new agreements could soon be announced, with reports indicating Syria and Lebanon are top possibilities.

“The message is that Israel can beat Arab states into submission. And, you know, these Arab states will effectively reward Israel by normalising with them,” he said.

Main events on June 26th

• At least 71 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since midnight on Thursday, including several aid seekers. Two infants in the enclave also died due to malnutrition.
• Gaza’s Government Media Office has said at least 549 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating four weeks ago.
• President Donald Trump has said US and Iranian officials will discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme next week. Iran denied it would meet the US, as it suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
• The Trump administration has doubled down on its claim that US attacks destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme, but Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said classified intelligence shown to Congress did not support the claim.
• During a meeting in Brussels, the European Union has said it “deplores the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the unacceptable number of civilian casualties and the levels of starvation”.
• The EU also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, but said it will not decide until July if Israeli abuses there have violated its human rights obligations under the terms of a pact governing its ties with the bloc.

Beyond the West Bank: the new frontier of Israel's settlement expansion

Our special report takes us right into the middle of one of these settler attacks, this time in a Bedouin village in the south of the West Bank

Spanish PM calls situation in Gaza ‘catastrophic’ genocide

Speaking ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Gaza was in a “catastrophic situation of genocide” and urged the EU to immediately suspend cooperation with Israel.

Sanchez mentioned an EU report which found “indications” Israel was breaching its human rights obligations under a cooperation deal with the European bloc, which forms the basis for trade ties.

His comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by the Spanish premier, who was already an outspoken critic of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

Israel lashes out at Spanish PM Sanchez’s Gaza ‘genocide’ comments

Israel’s embassy in Madrid has accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of “demonising” Israel, and saying his country was “on the wrong side of history”.

The statement, which was also posted on the embassy’s X account, did not directly reference Sanchez’s statement earlier at an EU meeting where he called Israel’s war on Gaza a “genocide” and urged the bloc to suspend cooperation with Israel.

“This is not only deeply regrettable: it is morally indefensible,” the embassy said. “Let us be clear: Israel, a democratic country facing existential threats on multiple fronts, has the right — and the duty — to defend its citizens,” it added.

In response, the Spanish government called the Israeli statement “unacceptable” and summoned the embassy’s charge d’affaires.

Iranian FM says bill suspending cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog ‘binding’

As we have been reporting, Iran has passed a parliamentary bill suspending its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A short while ago, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the bill is now “binding” after being passed by lawmakers and approved by Iran’s Guardian Council, the country’s highest authority.

“The bill that was approved by [parliament] and has been approved by the Guardian Council today [Thursday] … is binding on us and there is no doubt about its implementation,” he told state TV.

“From now on, our relationship and cooperation with the [IAEA] will take a new form,” Araghchi added.

Israeli forces carry out arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank

The Israeli military has stormed several areas across the occupied West Bank over recent hours, including:

Israeli sniper shoots 13-year-old three times, 30th child killed in West Bank this year

Rayan Tamer Anwar Houshyeh was killed by the sniper on Wednesday afternoon in the occupied West Bank town of al-Yamoun after he peeked over a wall during an Israeli military incursion, a leading child rights group reports.

The 13-year-old “looked over a stone wall in an alley near the Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque to observe nearby Israeli forces” and was shot by the sniper from a distance of 50 to 60 metres (164 to 196 feet), said Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P).

He was struck by bullets in the neck, abdomen, and thigh, the group said.

“Israeli soldiers entered Rayan’s hometown, killed him without a second thought, and no one will be held responsible. This is Palestinian childhood today,” DCI-P’s Ayed Abu Eqtaish said in a statement.

Rayan’s killing marks the 30th Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank so far this year, DCI-P added.

Yesterday, an Israeli sniper fatally shot Rayan Tamer Anwar Houshyeh, 13, three times during an incursion into Al-Yamoun in the northern occupied West Bank. Rayan is the 30th Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in 2025. https://t.co/JCZiWgJfPs pic.twitter.com/GIDaONmfq5

— Defense for Children (@DCIPalestine) June 26, 2025

Police free Israeli suspects detained over deadly attack on Palestinian village

Israeli police have released five Israeli settlers arrested in connection with a deadly assault on the occupied West Bank village of Kafr Malek on Wednesday, in which three Palestinians were killed.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reports that the suspects were taken to a nearby police station, before officers released them and informed them they were no longer suspects in the case. No other suspects have been arrested in connection with the deadly attack.

On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates issued a statement condemning the attack and calling on the Israeli government to “assume full responsibility, condemn these hostile practices and hold the perpetrators accountable”.

“The UAE stressed that failure to act will be seen as tacit approval that will only further deepen the cycle of hatred, racism and instability,” the statement said.

Israeli settlers attack the village of Kafr Malek north east of Ramallah. #gaza #genocide pic.twitter.com/2c5AfYiGtv

— Nahed Hajjaj (@Jolijnvr) June 25, 2025

Palestinian doctor killed by Israeli strike on tent in southern Gaza

The Israeli military has bombed a tent housing displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza, killing at least two people, our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues report, citing a source at the Nasser Hospital.

A Palestinian doctor, along with his niece, were killed in the strike, according to the Palestinian Information Center.

عاجل .. استـ.ـشهاد الطبيب أيمن أبو طير، وابنة أخيه اميرة محمد أبو طير، جراء قصف الاحتلال خيمة في شارع 5 بالمواصي غرب خانيونس، ليلتحق بوالدته وزوجته وأطفاله. pic.twitter.com/GLdw9rT0Er

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) June 26, 2025