Israel-Gaza war live: Israel’s opposition leader urges Netanyahu to accept ceasefire proposal

Israel’s opposition leader urges Netanyahu to accept ceasefire proposal
Israel’s opposition leader has urged Benjamin Netanyahu to heed Joe Biden’s call for a Gaza truce under which Hamas would free hostages (see earlier post at 08.31 for more details). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“The Israeli government cannot ignore President Biden’s significant speech. There is a deal on the table and it needs to be done,” Yair Lapid wrote in a post on X.

“I remind Netanyahu that he has a safety net from us for the hostage deal if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich leave the government.”

The deal offers a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of all hostages and the long-term reconstruction of the shattered coastal strip.

Although the terms of the new deal were set out by Biden, he repeatedly described it as an Israeli proposal. However, the US president made clear he was aware there would be considerable resistance to it from the Israeli right, including the hard-right members of the governing coalition.

Israeli armed forces have detained 20 Palestinians, including a woman and former detainees, according to the latest joint statement issued by the Detainees’ Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.

The detentions took place across various West Bank areas, including Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jerusalem, the statement said.

Since 7 October, the total number of Palestinians arrested in the occupied West Bank has risen to over 8,975, Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, reported.

The scenes we are seeing unfold in Israel and Gaza mark a new chapter in the Middle East conflict. The consequences and scale of losses are already devastating, and the recent attack – and the war that now follows – is likely to shape global politics for years to come.

With correspondents on the ground and reporters updating this liveblog 24/7, the Guardian is well-placed to provide comprehensive, fact-checked reporting, to help all of us make sense of this perilous moment for the region. Reader-funded and free from commercial influence, we can report fearlessly on world events as they develop.

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Belgium’s foreign minister, Hadja Lahbib, said her country “condemns the Israeli parliament’s attempts to classify Unrwa as a terrorist organisation and to remove the immunity of its staff”.

Belgium condemns the Israeli parliament’s attempts to classify UNWRA as a terrorist organisation and to remove the immunity of its staff.

UNWRA’s activities are essential for the Palestinians in the face of the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza.

— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) June 1, 2024
In late May, a bill aimed at designating the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) as a terrorist organisation passed a preliminary reading in Israel’s parliament, prior to three further readings.

Unrwa provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Allegations by Israel of the involvement of Unrwa staff in the 7 October Hamas attack led major donors in January to cut their funding to the agency.

An independent review, conducted by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, subsequently found that Israel had not provided evidence to back up claims that hundreds of employees of the UN agency for Palestinians were members of terrorist organisations.

Hezbollah says it launched series of retaliatory attacks on Israel
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched a series of attacks on Israeli military positions on Saturday after state media reported Israel had stepped up its own strikes the night before.

On Saturday morning, Hezbollah said it had carried out “an air assault using explosive drones against … the Yiftah barracks, targeting the positions of enemy officers and soldiers”.

It said the attack was in retaliation for a drone strike on a motorcycle in Majdal Selm earlier in the day.

The Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee said two people were injured in the drone strike.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “two Hezbollah terrorists operating in the region of Majdal Selm were struck by an aircraft”.

Later on Saturday, the Lebanese Shiite movement said it had “shot down a Hermes 900 drone which was attacking our people and villages”. These claims have not yet been independently verified by the Guardian.

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