Israel has almost finished eradicating Hamas's military capabilities, says Netanyahu: Day 269 of the Gaza war

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We will resume covering the conflict tomorrow morning.

Hezbollah issued its 6th statement of the day, announcing an attack on a building used by Israeli soldiers in Kfar Giladi. Kfar Giladi is south of Metula, which faces the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila in the Marjayoun district. This was in retaliation for an earlier Israeli bombardment on Blida.

Hezbollah also carried out a 7th attack, in which they targeted buildings in Gornot HaGalil — about ten kilometers south of Yarin in the Sour district.

The Lebanese army has received an additional $20 million from Qatar to support its troops, announced Lebanon's state agency (NNA)

The aid, announced at a critical juncture, follows exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and Hezbollah. While the Lebanese army is not directly involved, one soldier was killed by Israeli shelling in December.

Once administrative procedures are finalized, the funding will be evenly distributed among military personnel. Army Commander General Joseph Aoun praised the initiative, highlighting its role in easing financial hardships faced by soldiers.

A security source told Reuters that the new Qatari aid was part of an earlier $60 million package announced in 2022, with payments made in installments to support soldiers' salaries. Soldiers are set to receive $100 monthly as part of this support.

A five-year economic crisis has slashed the value of the Lebanese Lira against the dollar, driving down most soldiers’ wages to less than $100 per month. This amount barely covers basic needs such as electricity, with widespread power cuts lasting up to 22 hours daily.

To supplement their income, many soldiers have taken on additional jobs or left the army altogether. This trend raises concerns about the institution's ability to maintain national unity in a country divided along sectarian lines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel is nearing the final eradication of the military capabilities of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu added in a statement from his office, "We are progressing towards ending the stage of eliminating [...] Hamas, and we will continue to strike its remnants."

Updates from South Lebanon:

- Israeli artillery targeted the area around Kfar Shuba (Hasbaya), according to locals.

- An Israeli drone bombed an area between Wadi Jilo and Jwayya, in the Sour district, according to residents in the area.

Hezbollah announced that it has conducted multiple attacks on Israeli targets: 

- They targeted a building in the Israeli area of Metula, across from the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, which they claimed was being used by the Israeli army. They stated the attack was in response to assaults on southern villages and "safe houses, particularly in the village of Rabb Thalathin."

- Another attack targeted a building in Dovev, facing the Lebanese village of Rmeish, which they claimed was used by the Israeli army. They said the attack was retaliation for strikes on southern villages, "especially in the village of Kfar Kila."

- They fired artillery at the Israeli position of Ma'ayan Baruch and added they caused a fire inside the position at 5:40 p.m

Today, the Israeli army ordered civilians to evacuate parts of Khan Yunis and Rafah in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians had been sheltering, reported AFP. 

According to a statement from the Israeli army's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee, the evacuation includes the localities of al-Qarara, Bani Suheila, and other towns in the eastern parts of these two governorates.

The order comes after "20 projectiles" were fired towards Israel earlier this morning from the Khan Younis region, he added. 

More updates on the southern Lebanese-Israeli border:

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

- Hezbollah announced that they launched an attack on a building that the Israeli army uses in the area of Ramot Naftali, northern Israel — facing the Lebanese village of Blida (Marjayoun). The group claimed that the attack was in retaliation to Israeli attacks on southern villages and "safe homes, especially in the village of Houla." Earlier, Haaretz reported that sirens were activated in the same area.  

- Hezbollah also announced that they attacked "with artillery shots" an Israeli site in the disputed Kfar Shuba hills area at 4:10 p.m.

- Sirens were activated in Kibbutz Ma'ayan Baruch and Dovev, in the Upper Galilee region, Haaretz reported.

Here are the latest updates on the southern Lebanese-Israeli border:

- The Israeli army shelled the outskirts of Aitaroun (Bint Jbeil), Alma al-Shaab (Sour), and Kfar kela (Marjayoun), residents of the villages told L'Orient Today.

- The Metula Council said that a rocket hit a house in the city which is located in northern Israel, according to Haaretz.

- Sirens were also activated in Ramot Naftali, located in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border, Haaretz reported.

Spain joins South Africa's ICJ case against Israel 

Citing statements made by Israeli officials, Spain condemned the government's "extensive and blatant incitement to genocide, expulsion, and ethnic cleansing in Gaza by public figures."

Jose Manuel Albares, Spain's foreign minister had announced last month, June 6, that it would join the case. 

Palestinian men who had been detained by Israeli forces arrive after their release for a check-up at the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 1, 2024. (Credit: Bashar Taleb/AFP)

A group of released Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip have reported “severe torture” in Israeli custody, reported AFP.

Speaking after his release, director of Al-Shifa hospital Mohammed Abu Salmiya said he had suffered “severe torture” during his detention since November.

"Detainees were subjected to physical and psychological humiliation" and "several inmates died in interrogation centers and were deprived of food and medicine," he told reporters in Khan Yunis.

The European hospital in Khan Yunis stated that the head of its orthopedic unit, Bassam Miqdad, was also among those released.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military did not confirm the detainees' release and would not comment on the torture allegations.

To find out more details, press here.👈

Members of the Rissala Scout Association removed rubble and opened roads in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) after an Israeli airstrike targeted a house in the village last night. (Credit: Rissala Scout Association)

An Israeli drone fired several missiles on an undetermined number of houses in the village of Markaba (Marjayoun), residents told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South.

Gaza's Health Ministry announced that 37,900 people have been killed in the enclave since Oct. 7 with at least 23 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The ministry added that an additional 87,060 people have been injured in the Israeli offensive.

The regional commands of Jabal Amel of the Amal movement and Hezbollah held a joint meeting in Sour, in the presence of several members of the two groups, both involved in the clashes with the Israeli army along the Blue Line. "This total war that Israel threatens us with, we do not want it but we do not fear it either," the two delegations said in a joint statement.

Since the opening of the front along the border with Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah has lost 361 of its members and fighters in Israeli strikes. Amal has lost over twenty members.

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry announced that a child and a woman were killed in the northern occupied West Bank during an Israeli incursion.

Without immediately identifying them, the ministry said in a statement that "a child and a woman" were killed, while "four other citizens were injured by bullets from the occupation (Israel) in Tulkarem." The Israeli army, contacted by AFP, did not immediately comment on this information.

Israel "released dozens of prisoners from the Gaza Strip, including Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya," through a crossing point east of Khan Younis, reported a medical source from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah.

Read the full story here.

In a statement, Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, said that it blew up a building east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after Israeli soldiers entered it.

"Immediately after the soldiers entered the house, it was blown up, leaving the force members dead and wounded," the Qassam Brigades said.

The Israeli army has yet to comment on the incident.

“Our forces are operating in Rafah, Shujaiya, throughout the Gaza Strip,” Benjamin Netanyahu told the weekly government meeting last night, a week after asserting that the “intense phase” of the war was coming to an end.

"Dozens of terrorists are eliminated every day. It is a difficult fight that we are waging on the ground, sometimes hand-to-hand, and also underground," he said, referring to the tunnels dug underground by Hamas during its years in power.

The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, announced in a short statement that they had "hit" in a "concentrated" manner Israeli localities around the Gaza Strip with rockets, "in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people."

The Israeli army also reported a salvo of "20 projectiles" fired from the south of the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory, an attack claimed by the armed wing of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.

“Around 20 projectiles were identified as coming from the Khan Younis sector,” the army said in a statement. “A number of projectiles were intercepted and others fell in southern Israel.” There were no injuries, according to the army, which indicated that it was "targeting the origin of the shots" with artillery.

This morning, at 8:45, a house in Blida was destroyed by Israeli aircraft, according to a security source. Ambulances headed to the scene of the strike, according to local residents. 

The situation along the Lebanese-Israeli border last night:

- Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil) was bombed around 10 p.m. and midnight, several times.

- At 2 a.m., a house in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun) was destroyed by Israeli jets.

- At around 3 a.m., an Israeli strike destroyed a house in Bayyada (Sour) without causing any casualties. This is the first time that this village has been the target of bombing, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.

- A fire also broke out in the region of Dhaira (Sour) after an Israeli bombardment earlier in the day. 

The Israeli army announced last night, according to Haaretz, that a "drone explosion" earlier in the day in the northern disputed Golan Heights had injured 17 soldiers, including one in critical condition. 

Don't forget to read the Morning Brief so you can be caught up with everything that happened over the weekend. 

Morning Brief

Violent weekend in southern Lebanon and port debris sale: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

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Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of the ongoing war in Gaza and its regional and global impacts.