Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House talks on ceasefire
A Palestinian woman sits amidst the damage at an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, in Gaza City, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians inspect the damage at an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, in Gaza City, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
CAIRO/JERUSALEM - Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals.
But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up.
"Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. "In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions."
Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said.
At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says Palestinian militants embed among civilians. The militant groups deny this.
The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City.
NEXT STEPS
A day after Trump called to "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back", Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said.
In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza.
On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed in to Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel's single deadliest day.
Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
More than 80% of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Military aid increasingly focuses on boosting Ukraine's defence industry
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: The sign in front of the main entrance of the United States Army's European headquarters, Lucius D. Clay barracks, is pictured in Wiesbaden's Erbenheim district July 18, 2013. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach(/File Photo WIESBADEN, Germany - Fenced off behind barbed wire, about 350 soldiers from 31 countries including Ukrainians work in a hangar and air-conditioned green tents at a U.S. military base in Germany. Their job at the Clay Barracks in Wiesbaden is to match Kyiv's needs in terms of weapons, equipment and training with offers received from donor countries in NATO and outside the Western alliance as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on. Six months after NATO set up a command centre at the base to coordinate military aid for Ukraine, military assistance for Kyiv is evolving, especially when it comes to drone production. After Russia's invasion in 2022, NATO states provided support for Kyiv's military effort largely by depleting their own inventories and Ukraine was heavily dependent on Western defence firms. Military aid today is increasingly shifting towards bolstering Kyiv's defence industry, Major General Maik Keller, deputy commander of NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), told Reuters at the mission's headquarters in Wiesbaden. "Now, we need to change our focus," Keller said in an interview at Clay Barracks. He said Ukraine had shown creativity, and praised the speed of its innovation, production and certification processes. The manufacture of drones was an area where NATO states could learn and even eventually buy weapons from Kyiv, he said. "Defence procurement is not a one-way street. Looking at drones, there is certainly a lot that we might want to buy from Ukraine, though, for now, I believe they need their entire output themselves," Keller said. NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral Keith Blount, also says Western allies may learn a lot from Ukraine, in particular on autonomous weapons such as drones. "We're learning about power of autonomy in a way that we always imagined was the future, but we are seeing it accelerated perhaps even faster than any of us could have imagined", Blount told Reuters while visiting NSATU's headquarters. He was referring to the use of drones on the sea, beneath the sea and on the ground as well as in the air. "That has been logarithmic, really, in the pace of adoption and actually the ability for Ukraine not just to learn how to use them, but learn how to make them, which has been fascinating," he said. PRESSING NEEDS Military assistance to Ukraine is evolving as European allies and Canada prepare to increase defence spending amid concerns over Russia's military ambitions and following demands by U.S. President Donald Trump. The companies that are producing arms for use by Ukraine will also be needed by NATO members to increase their own weapons stocks, Keller said. Keller said Ukraine's most pressing needs were air defence systems, ammunition and anti-tank mines to hold territory without tying down too many troops in the war with Russia. NSATU was established partly to make Western military aid less dependent on the United States, whose commitment to Ukraine under Trump has been called into question. A decision by Washington to halt some weapons shipments to Kyiv has underlined those concerns, prompting new concerns in Ukraine on Wednesday about its ability to defend itself. The United States, however, provides NSATU's commander and about 9% of its personnel in Wiesbaden. Most supplies are shipped to Ukraine through a NSATU hub in Poland, which NATO says sends in 18,000 tons each month, and a second hub is being established in Romania. Keller said he expected military aid channelled by NSATU to remain at least steady for now but that this depended on what political decisions were taken. Asked whether NSATU would be capable of sustaining Ukraine's resistance should the U.S. drop out, he said: "Yes." He also cautioned, however, that "Europe and Canada would be hard pressed" to replace some critical capabilities such as satellite surveillance although he made clear NSATU itself was not making use of satellite imagery. REUTERS
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Hamas studying ceasefire proposal labelled 'final' by Trump
CAIRO: Hamas said on Wednesday (Jul 2) it was studying what United States President Donald Trump called a "final" ceasefire proposal for Gaza, but that Israel must pull out of the enclave, while Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be eliminated. Trump had said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas after what he described as a "long and productive" meeting between his representatives and Israeli officials. In a statement, Hamas said it was studying new ceasefire offers it received from mediators Egypt and Qatar, but stressed it aimed to reach an agreement that would ensure an end to the war and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Trump's announcement. "There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a Hamastan. We're not going back to that. It's over," Netanyahu told a meeting hosted by the Trans-Israel pipeline. The statements from the two sides reiterated long-held positions, giving no clues as to whether or how a compromise agreement could be reached. Trump's announcement had raised some hope among Gazans for at least a temporary relief from war. "I hope it would work this time, even if for two months, it would save thousands of innocent lives," Kamal, a resident of Gaza City, said by phone. Others questioned whether Trump's statements would deliver long-term peace, saying it was not the first time he had said a peace deal was close. "We hope he is serious like he was serious during the Israeli-Iranian war when he said the war should stop, and it stopped," said Adnan Al Assar, a resident of Khan Younis in Gaza's south. There is growing public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-long war, a move strongly opposed by hardline members of his right-wing ruling coalition. At the same time, US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites in Iran and a recently agreed ceasefire in last month's 12-day conflict have put pressure on Hamas, which is backed by Tehran. Israeli leaders also believe that, with Iran weakened, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said a majority within the coalition government would back an agreement that would see the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza. "If there is an opportunity to do so - we must not miss it!", he wrote on X. Of 50 hostages still held, around 20 are believed to be still alive. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid posted that his party could provide a safety net if hardline members of the Cabinet opposed a deal, effectively pledging not to back a no-confidence motion in parliament that could topple the government. COMPLETE END? For Gazans, who have fled multiple times and face daily struggles to find food 21 months into Israel's military campaign, there was a glimmer of hope, but many worried that any ceasefire would only be temporary. "We want a complete end to the war on Gaza, not like every time - a partial agreement and ceasefire that lasts a month or two, then the war returns," said Samir Al Masri in Khan Younis. At the end of May, Hamas had said it was seeking amendments to a US-backed ceasefire proposal, which Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said was "totally unacceptable". That proposal had involved a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians; Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees the end of the war. "Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," Trump posted on Tuesday, without specifying the conditions. A source close to the group said leaders of the militant faction were expected to debate the proposal and seek clarifications from mediators before giving an official response. Gaza health authorities said Israeli gunfire and military strikes killed at least 139 Palestinians in separate attacks in north and southern areas in the past 24 hours, and the Israeli military ordered more evacuations late on Tuesday. In response to questions from Reuters about the reports, the Israeli military stated that its operations aimed to dismantle Hamas' military capabilities and mitigate civilian harm, without commenting on specific incidents. Among those killed on Wednesday was Marwan Al Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, in an airstrike that has also killed his wife and five children, medics say. The military had no immediate comment. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Turkish cartoonist jailed pending trial over drawing accused of insulting Prophet
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox People take part in a protest against a caricature published in the Turkish satirical magazine Leman, allegedly depicting the Prophet Mohammed and Moses, in central Istanbul, Turkey, July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya ANKARA - A Turkish court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan and three others pending trial, after a drawing in their satirical magazine stirred outrage among religious conservatives and condemnation by President Tayyip Erdogan. Pehlevan faces charges, which he denies, of inciting hatred and insulting the president, according to a court document. Justice Minster Yilmaz Tunc said the four had been arrested. The cartoon, published shortly after war ended between Israel and Iran, showed two elderly men named Mohammad and Moses shaking hands in the sky while missiles flew below — a scene critics said blasphemously referenced Muslim and Jewish prophets. On Tuesday, Erdogan called the Leman magazine cartoon a "vile provocation" and vowed that "those who show disrespect to our Prophet and other prophets will be held accountable before the law." His AK Party called it an Islamophobic hate crime. In a court statement seen by Reuters, Pehlevan denied targeting religious figures, saying the names were commonly used and intended to represent ordinary victims of war. "If I had referred the prophets, I would have used an expression like 'Prophet'," he said. "The cartoon is a call for peace." Pehlevan faces charges of "inciting hatred and enmity" and "insulting the president", the court document said. Three other Leman staff members — the managing editor, graphic designer, and administrative director — were also referred to court under similar charges. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore and Cambodia to expand collaboration in renewable energy, carbon markets and agri-trade Singapore From camping to mentorship, Singapore scouts mark 115th anniversary of the youth movement Singapore Ong Beng Seng's court hearing rescheduled one day before he was expected to plead guilty World Sean 'Diddy' Combs convicted on prostitution counts, but cleared of more serious charges Singapore ByteDance food poisoning: Catering firm convicted after cockroach infestation found on premises Singapore Teen, 17, to be charged with allegedly trespassing on MRT tracks Singapore Granddaughter of Hin Leong founder O.K. Lim fails to keep 3 insurance policies from creditors' reach Singapore Man on trial for raping drunken woman after offering to drive her and her friend home Leman has apologised to readers who felt offended and said the cartoon was misunderstood. It said Pehlevan sought to portray the suffering of civilians in wartime and that there was no intent to insult Islam. REUTERS
