Middle East Eye

🎥 “They are not breaking, and we are dying.” Israeli Channel 14’s military correspondent quotes Israeli soldiers on the ground in Rafah, expressing dissatisfaction with the war on Gaza and the commands from higher-ups in the Israeli parliament.

🎥 Palestinians rush dead and injured people to the European Hospital in Khan Yunis after Israeli bombardment in northeastern Rafah. Medics at the hospital told AFP that 10 bodies were brought to the facility after a group of people were killed by an Israeli air strike on Salah al-Din road, east of Rafah city, as they waited for aid trucks to arrive.

🎥 Israeli forces arrested Aziz Dweik, Speaker of the Palestinian legislative council from his home in Hebron, West Bank, less than a week after his release from detention on 9 June. Dweik, 77, was arrested on 17 October and held under military detention for six months, which was later extended by Israeli authorities. Dweik was held at a prison in the Negev desert, where the Palestinian Prisoners' Club accused authorities of medical neglect. The group said in December that Dweik suffered from anemia and hemoglobin deficiency due to diabetes, and had previously undergone two catheterisation operations and fragmentation of kidney stones. It added that the political figure did not receive appropriate medical treatment, and that his family were denied the right to visit him and check his health condition.

“Netanyahu wants to come here and pretend he’s Winston Churchill — and he is no Winston Churchill" US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a prominent American lawmaker and member of the chamber’s foreign relations committee, has criticised the House and Senate leadership’s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give an address to Congress. Speaking with Bloomberg, Van Hollen said that Netanyahu giving an address to Congress risks signalling that Washington is endorsing his war strategy in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians so far. The address could also send a message to Netanyahu that he can continue to avoid the repeated demands by Democrats for Israel’s military to do more to protect civilian life in Gaza. 🔗 Tap the link to read more https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/prominent-us-senator-says-netanyahu-invitation-mistake?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

🔴 RECAP #Israel #Palestine (as of 23:30 GMT, 19 June) - The Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Hamas is “an idea” that cannot disappear, stating that his country’s goal to wipe the group out is unachievable, and that anyone who promises to eradicate Hamas is “misleading the public” - The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah said there would be “no rules” and “no ceilings” for his group if Israel starts a “full-scale war” against Lebanon, and warned that no place in Israel would stay safe from Hezbollah’s attacks - Nasrallah threatened Cyprus will be part of the war if it continued to allow Israel to use its military infrastructure for drills - Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his country’s army is undergoing a “ground and air readiness” in northern Israel, following Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s televised speech - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Unrwa, estimates that around 65,000 displaced Palestinians are still in Rafah, southern Gaza

🎥 The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah said that “no place” in Israel would be spared from Hezbollah’s weapons in case of a full-blown war. “The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst… and that no place… will be spared our rockets,” he said, adding that Israel must “wait for us on land, by sea and by air”. Nasrallah said the situation in the Mediterranean Sea would change, and threatened Cyprus if it continued to allow Israel to use its military infrastructure for drills

🎥 “It’s easy to understand, why Netanyahu is credibly accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court and the United Nations" US Senator and formal presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, responded to claims that were made by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday where he criticised the US for “withholding” weapon and ammunition shipments from Israel. Sanders said, that it is “absurd” that Netanyahu has been invited to address congress on 24 July, and that the US should “use its leverage” to demand an end to Israel’s war on Gaza

🗞️ Israel’s war on Gaza has created an unprecedented environmental crisis in the enclave destroying sanitation systems, leaving tonnes of debris from explosive devices and causing major pollution, the United Nations said on Tuesday in a new report on the environmental impact of the war. The report found that explosive weapons used in the war have generated around 39 million tonnes of debris, with every square metre of Gaza littered with more than 107kg of debris on average. It also found that water, sanitation and hygiene systems in Gaza are almost entirely defunct, with the strip’s five wastewater treatment plants shut down. Read more here ⤵️ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israels-war-gaza-caused-major-environmental-damage-un-says?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

📰 US President Joe Biden’s administration reportedly cancelled a high-level meeting on Iran scheduled for Thursday with Israeli officials, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly criticised Biden’s decision to withhold a shipment of large bombs to Israel. Biden’s senior advisers called off at the last minute a strategic dialogue on Iran that would have seen Israeli officials meeting with counterparts from the State Department, Pentagon and US intelligence agencies, Axios reported. The decision was in response to a broadside Netanyahu launched against Biden on Tuesday. In a video, he reveals details of his discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and slams the administration for holding a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel 🔗 Click the link to read more https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-cancels-iran-meeting-israeli-officials-response-netanyahu-broadside?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

🎥 “My grandparents' house was bombed, my cousins died, three of my uncles, an aunt and my grandmother died, all from my mother's side of the family” Palestinian students in Cuba speak about their experiences, living through the war on Gaza from abroad