Israeli army torched the al-Awda Mosque in the centre of Rafah

 

al Jazeera:

Israel war on Gaza live: Simultaneous ground assaults on Rafah, Shujayea

By Stephen Quillen

Published On 30 Jun 202430 Jun 2024

• Heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters continues in northern and southern Gaza with at least six civilians, including children, killed in a strike on a home in Rafah.
• No progress in has been made in ceasefire talks but Hamas remains ready to “deal positively” with any proposal that includes a “permanent ceasefire”, a senior official says.
• The Arab League, the European Union, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar slam Israel’s decision to legalize five settlements as an Israeli minister promised to bring “a million” new settlers into the occupied West Bank.
• At least 37,877 people have been killed and 86,969 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza

Israeli attacks kill 4 in northern Gaza

Two people were killed by Israeli artillery fire in Beit Lahiya, while two others died in strikes on Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, report our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Israeli warplanes also struck an apartment building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, to the west. No casualties were reported.

The attacks follow our earlier report of an Israeli attack killing at least one person in Gaza City’s Daraj area. They come amid an intense Israeli ground operation in the nearby Shujayea neighbourhood, now in its fourth day.

• 

  Israeli air strike hits home in Nur Shams camp, wounding 4

  Israeli forces bombed a home in the Nur Shams camp, near Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, reports Wafa.

  At least four people injured in the attack were taken to Tulkarem Governmental Hospital, said the Palestinian Health Ministry. Two sustained severe injuries.

  We’ll bring you more updates on the attack and its aftermath as soon as possible.
• 31m ago

   (12:15 GMT)

  Israeli attacks on southern Rafah ramp up

  Six bodies from the Zurub family have been transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after an Israeli air attack hit their home in southern Rafah.

  Dozens of relatives paid their respects before the bodies, wrapped in white shrouds, were carried to prepared graves.

  Residents said the Israeli army torched the al-Awda Mosque in the centre of Rafah, one of the city’s best-known.

  The Israeli military said its forces continued “targeted, intelligence-based” operations in Rafah, killing several gunmen in different encounters and dismantling tunnels.

  

  Palestinians react after an Israeli attack on a tent camp in western Rafah [File: Mohammed Salem/Reuters]
• 46m ago

   (12:00 GMT)

  If you’re just joining us

  Let’s get you up to speed:

  • Israeli forces bombed a family home in western Rafah, killing six people including children.
  • Many families are still trapped in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood as Israel’s military, four days into its ground invasion, keeps hammering the area with air strikes and artillery attacks.
  • Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon kill three Hezbollah members, adding to boiling border tensions that have stoked fears of all-out war.
  • Prime Minister Netanyahu says Israel’s position on the US-backed ceasefire deal is unchanged and repeats his pledge to defeat Hamas.
  • Gaza’s Health Ministry warns hospitals could run out of fuel within 48 hours.
  • Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, responding to Iran’s threat of an “obliterating war”, says Iran “deserves to be destroyed”.
• 57m ago

   (11:50 GMT)

  Shujayea ground assault likely to last weeks: Report

  Israel’s ground invasion of Shujayea, a neighbourhood in northern Gaza City, is expected to last weeks as the army seeks to destroy Hamas tunnels it “missed during the first time through”, The Jerusalem Post reports.

  Israeli forces withdrew from northern Gaza in January saying Hamas had been “dismantled” there, however, ground operations were recently re-launched after Palestinian armed groups returned to the region.

  “[Israeli army] sources were somewhat defensive about needing to return to so many parts of Gaza where they had declared having achieved operational control,” the Post reports.

  “The sources note, however, the speed with which the [military] was able to penetrate the [northern] area – that is 40 minutes as opposed to the weeks it took in December – showed whatever version of Hamas was trying to return was exponentially weaker.”

  

  An estimated 60,000 to 80,000 Palestinians have fled the Israeli onslaught in Gaza City [Omar al-Qattaa/AFP]