A Hezbollah member killed in a targeted Israeli strike in Western Bekaa: Day 265 of the Gaza War

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Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have decided that the United Kingdom can present legal arguments to judges tasked with reviewing the prosecution's request for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Reuters reported.

Court documents released today show that the UK, an ICC member state, submitted a request earlier this month to provide written opinions on whether "the Court may exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, given that Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals under the Oslo Accords."

The judges agreed to consider submissions from other interested parties on the legal issue and set a deadline of July 12 for submissions. Granting the UK's request could potentially delay the judges' decision on the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant related to Israel's actions in Gaza, as requested by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in May.

Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted the British merchant ship, "Seajoy," in the Red Sea, reported AFP. According to British maritime security agencies, no casualties have been recorded. 

Huthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was carried out using "an uncrewed surface boat and several missiles and drones."

The reactivation of an electric line in Gaza, following an agreement with Israel, will enable the restart of a water desalination plant in the southern part of the enclave, a UNICEF spokesperson told AFP.

"UNICEF has reached an important agreement [with Israel] to restore the electric line to the desalination plant in southern Gaza," said Jonathan Crickx, spokesperson for the UN agency in the Palestinian territories.

To find out more details about the agreement and its repercussions, press here.👈

Updates on developments at the South Leabon-Israel border:

Hezbollah announced that it attacked the Israeli Birya air defense base in northern Israel with dozens of Katyusha rockets. The base is located opposite the Lebanese village of Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil district.

Hezbollah added that the attack was "in retaliation for enemy aggressions in Nabatieh and Sohmor," the latter of which killed a party member earlier in the day.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah urged Iranians to elect "the right president," stating that "the future of the region depends" on Iran, in a speech delivered ahead of Friday's Iranian presidential election. Nasrallah spoke today at a ceremony honoring the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash on May 19.

To read the key points of Nasrallah's speech, press here.👈

Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a member of Hezbollah's Central Council, asserted that "the resistance is undeterred by Israeli threats and remains prepared to confront any challenges," reported Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

"These threats are not new and represent Israeli frustration and resentment toward the resistance's accomplishments," he added. "The escalation of Israeli attacks and the frequency of threats will not alter our stance."

Israeli air force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar speaking about a potential conflict in the north, stated, "Attacking the enemy in its own territory... is the ultimate solution."

Bar made these remarks at a graduation ceremony for a class of pilots. He claimed, "Hamas will be defeated soon, and in the face of Hezbollah, we are prepared. We have the means and the capability."

Here are the latest from the southern Lebanese-Israeli border:

- The Israeli army launched an airstrike on Hadata in Bint Jbeil district, residents of the village told L'Orient-Le Jour. Ambulances soon rushed to the scene.

- The Israeli army shelled Kfarkila (Marjeyoun) and Haddatha and Taybeh, both in Bint Jbeil district, residents of the villages told L'Orient Today.

- The Israeli airstrike targeted Rameyh (Bint Jbeil), residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

- Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli military, claimed that Israeli forces killed a Hezbollah operative from the air unit who launched a drone towards Israel. He reported airstrikes targeting Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, saying, "Earlier today, Israeli aircraft eliminated a Hezbollah air-unit operative who launched drones toward Israeli territory in the Lebanese village of Sahmar." Adraee added that Israeli warplanes also struck Hezbollah military facilities in the villages of Houla (Marjayoun) and Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil).

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut has advised its citizens to "strongly reconsider travel to Lebanon. The security environment remains complex and can change quickly," stated the embassy on its official website.

"U.S. citizens in Lebanon should not travel to southern Lebanon, the Lebanon-Syria border area, or refugee settlements," the embassy emphasized, while not explicitly urging its citizens to leave the country.


To read a comprehensive update on countries that have urged their nationals to leave Lebanon, press here.👈

Here are the latest developments on the Lebanese-Israeli border:

- Hezbollah claimed it attacked an Israeli site of Rouaissat el-Qorn in the disputed Shebaa farms, using missiles at 5:30 p.m.

- An Israeli airstrike targeted Haddatha in the Bint Jbeil district, according to residents.

The Israeli State Comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, has sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that "Israel is not adequately prepared to evacuate residents in the north of the country in case of a war with Lebanon," according to Haaretz.  The Comptroller explains in his letter the "disagreement" between the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of the Interior over their "responsibility towards evacuees."

"The unresolved reality, nine months after the war began, while tens of thousands of people from two regions of Israel are displaced from their homes, with the imminent possibility of war in the North, is unacceptable," wrote Englman in the letter.

Screenshot from al-Manar

⚡ Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah began his speech at a ceremony honoring the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi — who passed away nearly 40 days ago in a helicopter crash. 

In the latest developments in South Lebanon, Israeli artillery targeted the surroundings of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun district), residents told our correspondent.

Hezbollah announced the death of one of its fighters, Ali Ahmad Ala'eddine, born in 1975 and hailing from Sohmor, in Western Bekaa — where he was killed today by an Israeli airstrike.

This brings the death toll to 353 Hezbollah fighters killed by Israel in Lebanon and Syria since October 8.

The Israeli army "continues to prepare and train for scenarios on the northern front" along the border with Lebanon, said Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli military, on X.

Adraee shared photos of Israeli soldiers training in rugged terrain and for combat scenarios in various areas.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for an exploding drone attack on the maritime site of Naqoura, which corresponds to the Israeli site of Rosh Hanikra facing Naqoura in Sour district. The party said it targeted "enemy officers' and soldiers' positions," resulting in "fires, deaths and injuries."

In the latest developments in South Lebanon, Israeli artillery targeted the surroundings of Rashaya Fawqar and Hebbarieh (Hasbaya district), residents told our correspondent.

⚡ Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a speech today, a spokesperson for the party confirmed to L'Orient Today. The source indicated that the speech will primarily pay tribute to Ebrahim Raisi, the former Iranian president who died 40 days ago in a helicopter crash.

In his last speech on June 19, Nasrallah significantly raised the stakes, confirming that Hezbollah acquired new weapons and has the capability of inflicting targeted attacks in various regions of Israel. His threats also extended to Cyprus, due to what he claimed were repeated Israeli military exercises in that country.

To read more about Hezbollah's military capability, press here. 👈

The Israeli army continued to bombard the Gaza Strip, as fears of this war spreading to Lebanon have intensified with Israel threatening to bring Lebanon back to the "Stone Age," reported AFP. 


In Gaza:

- In the North of the strip, The civil defense reported at least five dead in Gaza City, where intense Israeli artillery and helicopter fire targeted the Shuja'iyya neighborhood

- Violent clashes are occurring between Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers in Shuja'iyya, from which "tens of thousands of civilians" have fled according to the civil defense, after the Israeli army asked residents to evacuate the area. "There are injured and martyrs in the street," said a witness.

- In Rafah (South), several buildings were destroyed by Israeli forces according to witnesses.

- Israeli planes targeted a school in Khan Yonis, where according to the army, "terrorists" were located.

France's foreign ministry expressed its "extreme concern" over the Lebanese border conflict with Israel, adding that the "violence on the border with Israel is intensifying dramatically," reported AFP. 

The ministry calls for "the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," which governs the border zone. Christophe Lemoine, deputy spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that France remains "fully committed to preventing any risk of escalation on the Blue Line and promoting a diplomatic solution," stated Christophe Lemoine, deputy spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Image sent by residents to our correspondent Sarah Abdallah

⚡ An Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in Sohmor, in Western Bekaa, killing the driver, reported our correspondent in the region, Sarah Abdallah, citing residents and Hezbollah sources based in the area.

Here are the latest developments in southern Lebanon:

- An Israeli drone targeted a house in Houla (Marjayoun), residents told our correspondent.

- Israeli artillery attacked the surroundings of Alma Shaab, Naqoura, and Labbouneh — all in Sour district.

A commercial vessel claimed to have been targeted by a projectile off the coast of Yemen while sailing to Saudi Arabia, according to the British maritime security company Ambrey, as reported by AFP.

"A merchant ship reported being 'hit' by a projectile west of the port city of Hodeida," stated Ambrey, adding that no injuries or damage had been reported at this stage. The vessel, heading for the Saudi city of Dammam, was sailing "in the southern Red Sea when it issued a distress call."

Israeli troops carried out exercises this past week simulating fighting in Lebanon, which the military says is part of the Northern Command’s efforts to increase readiness amid heightened tensions on the northern border, according to the Times of Israel.

The Golani Brigade’s 12th Brigade, which has been operating in the "Mount Dov and Mount Hermon areas" — the Israeli settlements of the disputed Shebaa farms — carried out a drill simulating fighting in complex terrain, the military says.

The director of the Galilee Medical Center, in the north of Israel, Dr. Masad Barhoum, told hospital staff that they must "prepare for an escalation in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah," the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

"The level of preparedness required of us has been high for almost nine months, though now it appears we will be required more," he wrote to the hospital's staff.

Barhoum added that he instructed managers to not let more than a third of every unit go on vacation at the same time.

He also said that the hospital is preparing to work "off the grid" for several days.

The situation in southern Lebanon today has been relatively quiet, save for two morning strikes"

* Israeli jets struck the southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil district. residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

* The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Naqoura in the Sour district, residents of the village told L'Orient Today.

A merchant ship reported being hit by a projectile while off Yemen's coast en route to Saudi Arabia, British maritime security agency Ambrey said, as cited by AFP.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have targeted dozens of ships since November in a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The United States has provided $6.5 billion in security assistance to Israel since its war with Hamas started Oct. 7, with nearly $3 billion approved in May, according to the Washington Post, citing a senior administration official.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that “our ties with the United States are the second-most important element for Israel’s security,” after Israel’s own military. “We need American diplomatic and political support, power projection, supply of munition and more.”

Gallant also discussed the Israeli military’s upcoming switch to what he has called “Phase 3” in its war against Hamas, a transition to low-intensity conflict to root out remaining pockets of fighters in Gaza and “enabling a governing alternative … that isn’t Israel and isn’t Hamas,” the Post reported.

In Yemen, the U.S. military's Middle East Command, CentCom, reported that it has destroyed a "radar" belonging to Hamas-allied Houthi rebels, who have been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Last night, witnesses informed AFP of shelling in various parts of the Gaza Strip.

In Syria, two people were killed in an Israeli strike shortly before midnight, according to the official Syrian Sana agency, citing a military source.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), quoted by AFP, the strike targeted the service center of an organization affiliated with Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian groups, near the capital Damascus.

In addition to this violent strike, yesterday evening was marked by Israeli artillery fire and aerial bombardments, according to security sources contacted by our correspondent in the area.

- At 9 p.m., an Israeli drone fired a missile at Dhaira (in the Sour district).

- At around 11 p.m., Israeli artillery fire targeted Labbouneh, near Naqoura (Sour district). 

During the night, Israeli aircraft bombed a building in Nabatieh, South Lebanon, injuring at least seven people. At least 14 people were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation from the explosions.

Read about the late-night strike here. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ended a multi-day visit to Washington by declaring that "Hezbollah understands very well that we can inflict enormous damage on Lebanon if a war is launched." 

"We can take Lebanon back to the Stone Age, but we don't want to do it. We don't want a war," he added, pointing out that the Israeli government was "prepared for any scenario."

Make sure to read today's Morning Brief to get caught up with yesterday's most important events and everything you can expect today.

Good morning! Thank you for joining us on today's live coverage of the Gaza war and its regional impacts.