Israel attacks Syrian military installations, weapons
Listen to article
At least 95 Palestinians have been killed and 440 injured by Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The war in Gaza is having a devastating effect on pregnant women and nursing mothers, with an estimated 50,000 at serious risk due to shortages of food and essential medicines, according to a hospital in central Gaza, reported Al Jazeera.
Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, said rates of miscarriage had increased sixfold since the outbreak of war and had been accompanied by a large rise in premature births, Wafa reported.
That had left Gaza's embattled neonatal units overwhelmed, he said.
Al-Daqran said Israel's targeting of the healthcare had brought it to the brink of collapse, with far-reaching impacts on patients in Gaza.
More than 23 hospitals had been put out of action, with those that remained only partly functioning, as a result of severe shortages of medical supplies and fuel, he said.
That meant more than 12,000 cancer patients were left without treatment, resulting in about five deaths a day, while dialysis patients were also dying through a lack of essential treatment.
According to Middle East Monitor, 41% of kidney failure patients have died since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli assault, as a result of their inability to receive dialysis treatment due to the destruction of medical facilities and the collapse of essential health services.
Aid suspended
Meanwhile, the United States- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) suspended aid distribution in the war-torn territory on Wednesday, a day after Israeli forces again opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers near a GHF distribution site, killing at least 27 and injuring more than 100.
Read: 27 killed, dozens injured by Israeli fire near Gaza aid site
Israel's military also said that approach roads to the aid distribution centres will be 'considered combat zones' on Wednesday, and warned that people in Gaza should heed the GHF announcement to stay away.
'We confirm that travel is prohibited tomorrow on roads leading to the distribution centers…and entry to the distribution centers is strictly forbidden,' an Israeli military spokesperson said.
In a post on social media, GHF said the temporary suspension was necessary to allow for 'renovation, reorganisation and efficiency improvement work'.
'Due to the ongoing updates, entry to the distribution centre areas is slowly prohibited! Please do not go to the site and follow general instructions. Operations will resume on Thursday. Please continue to follow updates,' the group said.
The temporary suspension of aid comes as more than 100 Palestinian people seeking aid have been reported killed by Israeli forces in the vicinity of GHF distribution centres since the organisation started operating in the enclave on May 27.
The killing of people desperately seeking food supplies triggered mounting international outrage with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanding an independent inquiry into the deaths and for 'perpetrators to be held accountable'.
'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said.
'It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,' Guterres said.
The Israeli military has admitted it shot at aid seekers on Tuesday, but claimed that they opened fire when 'suspects' deviated from a stipulated route as a crowd of Palestinians was making its way to the GHF distribution site in Gaza.
'Syrian weapons struck down'
Separately, the Israeli military said in a statement it struck weapons belonging to the Syrian regime in southern Syria, in a second attack that Israel launched after claiming that two projectiles were fired from Syria into Golan Heights on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the two projectiles, according to Reuters.
Syrian state news agency and security sources reported a series of Israeli strikes, the first major ones in nearly a month, targeting several sites in the Damascus countryside and Quneitra and Daraa.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had said earlier that he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible for the two projectile launches.
"We consider the president of Syria directly responsible for any threat and fire toward the State of Israel, and a full response will come soon," Katz claimed.
אנו רואים בנשיא סוריה כאחראי ישירות לכל איום וירי לעבר מדינת ישראל והתגובה המלאה תגיע בהקדם. לא נאפשר חזרה למציאות של ה-7 באוקטובר.
— ישראל כ'ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 3, 2025
The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that reports of the launches towards Israel had not been verified yet and reiterated that Syria has not and will not pose a threat to any party in the region, state news agency SANA reported.
"We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilize the region to achieve their own interests," the Syrian foreign ministry added.
Syria and Israel have recently engaged in direct talks to ease tensions, a significant development in relations between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades.
The Israeli military earlier said that two projectiles crossed from Syria towards Israel and fell in open areas.
Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named "Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades," an apparent reference to Hamas' military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024.
Reuters could not independently verify the statement.
Syrian state media earlier reported an Israeli strike in the southern Daraa province, an attack the Syrian foreign ministry later said resulted in "significant human and material losses."
Local residents said Israeli mortars were striking the Wadi Yarmouk area, west of Daraa province, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The area has witnessed increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli military incursions into nearby villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops.
Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that destroyed much of Syria's military infrastructure.
It also has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and taken more territory in the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December, citing lingering concerns over the past of the country's new rulers.
Around the same time that Israel reported the projectiles from Syria, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Israel's Jaffa with a ballistic missile.
The group says it has been launching attacks against Israel in support of Palestinians during the Israeli war in Gaza.
Read: Israel 'without a doubt' committed war crimes in Gaza: Mathew Miller
War crimes
Moreover, Hamas described recent comments made by US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller on Sky News, where he acknowledged Israeli war crimes as a "significant acknowledgement", Al Jazeera reported.
In an interview with the Trump 100 podcast, Matthew Miller, who served as the State Department spokesperson under President Joe Biden, offered an unusually candid assessment of the administration's foreign policy challenges, particularly surrounding Israel's military operations in Gaza.
'It is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes,' Miller said, adding that Israeli soldiers were not being held accountable and that there were ongoing policy disagreements inside the administration over the US-Israel relationship.
Miller served from 2023 until the end of Mr Biden's term and was responsible for publicly defending US foreign policy decisions, including during the Israel-Gaza conflict and the war in Ukraine.
Speaking after leaving office, Mr Miller disclosed that there were both 'small and big' disagreements over how to manage relations with Israel, especially during the 2024 escalation in Gaza.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Hamas said the remarks 'denounce the Israeli occupation, validate its atrocities, and reveal efforts by the US administration to conceal the reality of this brutal war targeting innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.'
Israel's war on Gaza
The total death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 54,607 killed and 125,341 injured since October 7, 2023, according to Palestinian health sources.
Israel has killed 4,335 Palestinians and injured 13,300 since breaking a ceasefire in March this year.
Israel's atrocities have displaced around 90% of Gaza's estimated two million residents, created a severe hunger crisis, and caused widespread destruction across the territory.
Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US envoy tells Israeli hostage families he is working on plan to end Gaza War
JERUSALEM: President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy told families of hostages being held by Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. Trump has made ending the conflict a major priority of his administration, though negotiations have faltered. Steve Witkoffis visiting Israel as its government faces mounting pressure over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the enclave. In a recording of the meeting, reviewed by Reuters, Witkoff is heard saying: 'We have a very, very good plan that we're working on collectively with the Israeli government, with Prime Minister Netanyahu … for the reconstruction of Gaza. That effectively means the end of the war.' The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his remarks. Witkoff also said that Hamas was prepared to disarm in order to end the war, though the group has repeatedly said it will not lay down its weapons. In response to the reported remarks, Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war, said it would not relinquish 'armed resistance' unless an 'independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital' is established. US envoy meets Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of half the hostages ended last week in deadlock. On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole, which, he says in the video, is for his own grave. Witkoff met with Netanyahu on Thursday. Afterward, a senior Israeli official said an understanding between Israel and Washington was emerging that there was a need to move from a plan to release some of the hostages to a plan to release all the hostages, disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip, echoing Israel's key demands for ending the war. Gaza starvation On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of it, they said Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Witkoff arrived in Israel with Netanyahu's government facing a global outcry over devastation in Gaza and the starvation growing among its 2.2 million people. The crisis has also prompted a string of Western powers to announce they may recognize a Palestinian state. On Friday, Witkoff visited a U.S.-backed aid operation in southern Gaza, which the United Nations has partly blamed for deadly conditions in the enclave, saying he sought to get food and other aid to people there. Dozens have died of malnutrition in recent weeks after Israel cut off all supplies to the enclave for nearly three months from March to May, according to Gaza's health ministry. It said on Saturday that it had recorded seven more fatalities, including a child, since Friday. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza and says it is taking steps for more aid to reach its population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. U.N. agencies have said that airdrops of food are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and quickly ease the access to it. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Israel army chief warns of relentless combat over hostage crisis
Mourners react next to the bodies of Palestinians, who according to the medics, were killed in overnight Israeli strikes, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza on July 23, 2025. — Reuters Listen to article Israel's top general has warned that there will be no respite in fighting in Gaza if negotiations fail to quickly secure the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory. 'I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages,' said army chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, according to a military statement. 'If not, the combat will continue without rest,' he said, during remarks to officers inside Gaza on Friday. Footage released by the Israeli military showed Zamir meeting soldiers and officers in a command center. Read More: UN says over 1,300 Palestinians killed seeking aid in Gaza since May Of the 251 people who were kidnapped from Israel during Hamas's attack in October 2023, 49 remain in Gaza, 27 of them dead, according to the military. Palestinian armed groups this week released two videos of hostages looking emaciated and weak. Negotiations -- mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar -- to secure a ceasefire and their release broke down last month, and some in Israel have called for tougher military action. This comes against the backdrop of growing pressure -- both internationally and domestically, including from many of the hostages' families -- to resume efforts to secure a ceasefire in the nearly 22-month conflict. Aid agencies have meanwhile warned that Gaza's population is facing a catastrophic famine, triggered by Israeli restrictions on aid. Also Read: Hamas rejects disarmament without Palestinian state Zamir nonetheless rejected these allegations out of hand. 'The current campaign of false accusations of intentional starvation is a deliberate, timed, and deceitful attempt to accuse the [Israeli military], a moral army, of war crimes,' he said. 'The ones responsible for the killing and suffering of the residents in the Gaza Strip is Hamas.' Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Hamas says it won't disarm unless independent Palestinian state established
Hamas said on Saturday that it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established - a fresh rebuke to a key Israeli demand to end the war in Gaza. Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and deal for the release of hostages ended last week in deadlock. On Tuesday, Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, endorsed a declaration by France and Saudi Arabia outlining steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and saying that as part of this Hamas must hand over its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. In its statement, Hamas - which has dominated Gaza since 2007 but has been militarily battered by Israel in the war - said it could not yield its right to 'armed resistance' unless an 'independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital' is established. Israel considers the disarmament of Hamas a key condition for any deal to end the conflict, but Hamas has repeatedly said it is not willing to lay down its weaponry. US envoy meets Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described any future independent Palestinian state as a platform to destroy Israel and said, for that reason, security control over Palestinian territories must remain with Israel. He also criticised several countries, including the UK and Canada, for announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state in response to devastation of Gaza from Israel's offensive and blockade, calling the move a reward for Hamas' conduct. Israel's military assault on Gaza has turned much of the enclave into a wasteland, killed over 60,000 Palestinians and set off a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel and Hamas traded blame after the most recent round of talks ended in an impasse, with gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.
