Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas
The Israeli military said forty rockets were fired at northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday, causing at least ten fires that teams are working to extinguish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The rockets were fired from northern Lebanon, with Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah claiming responsibility for their launch. The group said it targeted six Israeli military barracks using Katyusha and Falaq rockets and used three drones to target bases. Hezbollah claimed it struck the bases with the drones.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it could not confirm whether military bases had been struck, but said “numerous launches” had been successfully intercepted and a number of rockets impacted. Two people are being treated for mild injuries caused by shrapnel, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said.
Hezbollah’s massive rocket barrage: Thursday’s launches came after more than 200 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel Wednesday, according to the IDF. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for some of the rocket launches on Wednesday, saying they were in response to an assassination carried out by the IDF in southern Lebanon. The group on Tuesday confirmed the death of Talib Sami Abdullah, known as Abu Talib, and three other fighters. According to Lebanese and Israeli media, Talib was a prominent leader in the group.
The IDF on Wednesday said it had killed the Hezbollah member in an airstrike on Tuesday. In a statement, the IDF describes Talib Sami Abdullah as “one of Hezbollah’s most senior commanders in southern Lebanon”, who they say was responsible for multiple attacks against Israeli civilians over several years.
Israeli hostage initially thought Israeli forces who rescued him were sent to kill him, family says
From CNN’s Paula Hancocks, Madalena Araujo, Eugenia Yosef, Florence Davey-Attlee and Sophie Tanno
Andrey Kozlov disembarks from a helicopter after his rescue from Hamas captivity, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 8.
Andrey Kozlov disembarks from a helicopter after his rescue from Hamas captivity, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on June 8. Marko Djurica/Reuters
The family of one of the hostages rescued in an Israeli operation over the weekend has said that he experienced psychological abuse over the hands of his Hamas captors during the eight months that he was held in Gaza.
Andrey Kozlov, 27, was rescued alongside Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan and Shlomi Ziv during a raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday. The operation was only the third Israeli rescue of hostages held in Gaza and has been celebrated in Israel. But it left a trail of devastation, with authorities in Gaza saying at least 274 Palestinians were killed in the raid and the ensuing firefight with Hamas militants.
Kozlov and the others were held in two civilian buildings in the densely packed territory. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said that the raid was carried out in the two buildings simultaneously for fear the captors would kill some of the hostages if they knew an operation was unfolding.
A Russian citizen, Kozlov moved to Israel almost two years ago. He was working as a security guard at the Nova music festival on October 7 when he was kidnapped and taken into Gaza.
In an interview with CNN, Kozlov’s family revealed some details of their son’s ordeal, including that he initially believed the Israeli forces who saved him had been sent to kill him.
Palestinians who take refuge and live in tents due to ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza, also face the risk of epidemics due to uncollected garbage and accumulated sewage water in Rafah, Gaza on April 26.
Palestinians who take refuge and live in tents due to ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza, also face the risk of epidemics due to uncollected garbage and accumulated sewage water in Rafah, Gaza on April 26. Jehad Alshrafi/Anadolu/Getty Images/File
More than 330,000 tons of waste have accumulated in or near populated areas across Gaza as of Sunday, the United Nations’ relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Thursday.
The waste poses “catastrophic environmental (and) health risks,” UNRWA said. “Children rummage through trash daily.”
The UN agency also reiterated its call for a ceasefire, saying it is “crucial to restore humane living conditions” in the Palestinian enclave.
Some context: UNRWA’s statement comes a day after the UN’s relief chief warned that more than a million Palestinians could face starvation by next month due to the war in Gaza and as a ceasefire proposal stutters, with nether Israel or Hamas yet publicly committing to the plan.
Palestinians inspect destroyed tents after an Israeli air strike in the Al-Mawasi area in Rafah, Gaza, on May 27.
Palestinians inspect destroyed tents after an Israeli air strike in the Al-Mawasi area in Rafah, Gaza, on May 27. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/AP/File
New details are emerging about the conditions some Israeli hostages have been held in, after four were freed by the military in a raid over the weekend.
The family of Andrey Kozlov, a Russian-Israeli hostage, told CNN he experienced psychological abuse at the hands of his Hamas captors during the eight months he was held in Gaza before he was freed this weekend. Meanwhile, a group representing families of hostages urged Israeli mediators taking part in the new ceasefire proposal “to intensively continue negotiations” to bring them home safely.
Negotiations stutter: A US-backed Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal appears to be in limbo, with neither side yet publicly committing to the plan. In a statement, Hamas said it “has shown the necessary positivity in all stages of negotiations” to reach a “comprehensive and acceptable agreement based on the just demands of our people.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier questioned whether the militant group was “proceeding in good faith.”
Famine warning: More than a million Palestinians could face starvation by next month due to the war in Gaza, the United Nations’ relief chief has warned. “Famine in the 21st century is a preventable scourge. G7 leaders can and must wield their influence to help stop it,” said Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
War crimes allegations: A UN inquiry into the first few months of the war in Gaza found both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes. The damning report also paints an alarming picture of both sides routinely disregarding international law. bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce bce
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