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Israel-Hamas war: Israel announces daily ‘tactical pauses’
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Israel has said it will facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza by pausing military activity daily in southern areas of the strip. The US Pentagon said the Israeli defense minister will soon visit Washington. DW has more.
https://p.dw.com/p/4h5uC
Palestinians walk past debris a day after an operation by the Israeli Special Forces in the Nuseirat camp, in the central Gaza Strip on June 9, 2024
Aid groups say the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is direImage: Evad Baba/AFP
Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
Israel says it will hold daily “tactical pauses” in southern Gaza to allow aid to enter
Israeli Defense Miniter Yoav Gallant is expected to visit Washington to meet with his US counterpart
Palestinian Muslims have been celebrating the holiday of Eid al-Adha
Here is a roundup of developments linked with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Sunday, June 16:
Skip next section Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Eid al-Adha amid war debris
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Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Eid al-Adha amid war debris
Palestinian men sitting on mats amid ruins Palestinian men sitting on mats amid ruins
Palestinians prayed during Eid al-Adha outside a mosque in Khan Younis destroyed by Israel airstrikesImage: Mohammed Salem/REUTERS
As Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, Palestinians have also held prayers among ruins in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Dozens of Palestinians gathered Sunday morning near a destroyed mosque in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis to mark what is one of the two main Islamic holidays.
In the nearby town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, Muslims held their prayers in a school that has been converted into a shelter.
As the war in Gaza continues, Palestinians also gathered at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday.
The mosque, situated at a site that is also sacred to Jews, has often been a flash point for Israeli-Palestinian tensions and has seen several violent incidents in past years.
People gathered in front of a mosque with a golden dome People gathered in front of a mosque with a golden dome
The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is one of the three holiest sites in IslamImage: hmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images
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Skip next section US forces rescue ship crew after Houthi attack
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US forces rescue ship crew after Houthi attack
The US Naval Forces Central Command said Sunday it had rescued crew from the Liberian-flagged Greek-owned bulk carrier M/V Tutor, which was crippled by a bomb-carrying drone boat launched by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in a June 12 attack in the Red Sea.
The US Navy said the attack caused major flooding and damage in the engine room and that one civilian sailor remained missing.
“Despite these senseless attacks on innocent mariners just doing their job, the Philippine Sea crew stand ready to help preserve safety of life at sea, always,” said Steven Liberty, commanding officer of the USS Philippine Sea.
It said the M/V Tutor remained in the Red Sea and was taking on water.
In its statement on Saturday, Central Command also said crew members from the Palauan-flagged cargo ship M/V Verbena had been saved by another vessel, M/V Anna Meta, after the former ship was hit by two separate Houthi missile attacks off the coast of Yemen on Thursday.
The Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping routes since November, killing three sailors, seizing one vessel and sinking another, according to the US Maritime Administration.
The rebel group, which controls much of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, has said the attacks are meant to halt the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, but many have hit vessels unconnected with the conflict.
Meanwhile, as the US Navy fights to combat the Houthi attacks, which have caused major disruption to global shipping, the Central Command said US strikes had destroyed seven radars within Houthi-controlled territory.
“These radars allow the Houthis to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping,” Central Command said Saturday.
https://p.dw.com/p/4h64i
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Skip next section Anti-government protesters block roads in Israel — media reports
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Anti-government protesters block roads in Israel — media reports
Crowd of protesters in Tel AvivCrowd of protesters in Tel Aviv
Protesters in Tel Aviv have called on the War Cabinet to sign a hostage dealImage: EPA/ABIR SULTAN
Several highways and interchanges across Israel were blocked on Sunday by protesters calling for elections and a deal to bring home hostages still held by Hamas who were seized in deadly raids by the militant group in southern Israel on October 7, Israeli media reported.
According to The Times of Israel, activists are planning a week of such protests amid growing public anger at the government’s handling of the hostage situation.
Sunday’s protest actions follow a demonstration by tens of thousands of Israelis in Tel Aviv on Saturday, one of the now weekly protests held by families and supporters of the hostages.
Participants called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and enable a deal for the return of the hostages to be struck with Hamas.
“It has become abundantly clear that every additional day of war harms Israel’s interests,” a statement by a group representing family members of hostages held in Gaza said, according to the daily Haaretz.
Israel says 116 hostages of the more than 250 captured on October 7 remain in Gaza, though it is unknown how many are still alive.
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Skip next section Israel’s defense minister to visit Washington: Pentagon
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Israel’s defense minister to visit Washington: Pentagon
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will soon visit Washington for talks with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon said on Saturday.
The meeting will aim to “further discuss ongoing security developments in the Middle East,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement on social media platform X.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Gallant, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza, but since the US is not a state party to the ICC, it is highly unlikely that Gallant would be arrested during his visit.
While the defense minister is part of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, he has clashed with the prime minister several times. But he has refused to leave the War Cabinet despite calls from former cabinet member Benny Gantz.
The announcement comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to push a cease-fire proposal that it says has the support of Netanyahu.
The proposed deal has, however, met with flat-out rejection from some of Netanyahu’s far-right allies, while the Palestinian militant group Hamas has so far stopped short of accepting the plan and called for several amendments.
Blinken: Some of the changes sought by Hamas ‘workable’
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Skip next section Israel announces ‘tactical pauses’ in south Gaza
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Israel announces ‘tactical pauses’ in south Gaza
The Israeli army announced Sunday that it would hold a daily “tactical pause of military activity” in part of the southern Gaza Strip to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave via a key border crossing.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces said “a local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 08:00 until 19:00 (0500 GMT until 1600 GMT) every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northward.”
The statement said the move aimed to “increase the volumes of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip” following discussions with the UN and other organizations.
Aid groups have long complained that they have been unable to deliver much-needed supplies to the Palestinian territory amid ongoing fighting there.
The route described in the statement runs south of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where
Israel’s army is continuing operations that it says aim to root out remaining Hamas militants holed up in the area.
The operations in Rafah have met with much international condemnation, as many Palestinian civilians had sought refuge in the city from fighting elsewhere in the territory.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza comes in response to raids in the country’s south carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 last year in which some 1,200 Israelis died and more than 250 hostages were taken.
tj/ab (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)
