'Necessary to establish peace agreements between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon' says US envoy for Syria | LIVE

Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire have injured dozens of Palestinians in the Touffah neighborhood of Gaza, Palestinian media cited by Haaretz reported.

According to these reports, the injured were evacuated to al-Shifa Hospital for treatment.

Berlin expressed support Sunday for the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, calling Iran’s “threats” against him “deeply troubling” and saying they “must stop.”

“Iran’s threats against [Rafael Grossi and his team] are deeply troubling and must cease,” said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on X, following Tehran’s refusal to allow the IAEA to visit nuclear sites bombed by Israel and the United States.

Former minister and member of Hezbollah’s political bureau, Mahmoud Komati, stated that “Lebanon’s priorities have been clear from the start.” “The President, the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, and the entire cabinet agree on the priority to liberate the five occupied points (by Israel), free the prisoners (Lebanese held in Israel), end Israeli hostilities, and rebuild the country without conditions,” he said during a religious event in Ankoun, southern Lebanon.

“This is not just Hezbollah’s or the Shia duo’s demands but official positions clearly stated […] The priorities previously outlined must be implemented before any internal dialogue or discussion on a national defense strategy,” he added.

After the war, peace agreements with Israel are necessary for Syria and Lebanon, according to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, AFP reports.

Iran’s “threats” against the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are “deeply troubling,” Berlin stated, according to AFP.

The Civil Defense in Gaza announced on Sunday that 23 people, including children, were killed in strikes or gunfire by the Israeli army in the besieged and war-ravaged Palestinian territory, suffering through over 20 months of conflict.

The rescue organization stated that dozens of wounded individuals were transported to hospitals across the Gaza Strip, where the war was triggered by an unprecedented attack launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023, against Israel.

“They bombed us while we were sleeping. We did nothing wrong. My two children are dead, and the others are in intensive care,” said a grief-stricken Iman Abu Marouf, following a strike that hit tents sheltering displaced people in al-Mawassi (south Gaza).

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday on Fox News that now that the conflict between Israel and Iran is over, the United States will begin maneuvering to “bring more countries into the Abraham Accords,” the diplomatic normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel.

“Iran was the problem,” he added. “I actually thought there was a chance Iran could join those accords. They’d be much better off today if they had.”

Trump also reiterated that U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had “wiped out” Tehran’s nuclear program. He insisted that Iran had not moved any enriched uranium before the strikes, stating: “They didn’t move anything. You know what they moved? Themselves. They were just trying to survive.”

The president also mentioned the possibility of partially lifting sanctions on Iran: “One of the things I was thinking about was starting to lift sanctions for countries that behave well — like Iran — to allow them to sell their oil and do what they want.”

The war between Iran and Israel presents an opportunity for a “new path” in the Middle East, said the U.S. envoy for Syria, according to AFP.

⚡ According to Iranian state media cited by Reuters, smoke was seen rising from the Tabriz refinery in northwestern Iran following the explosion of a nitrogen tank. Initial investigations reported no casualties, and the facility is operating normally, according to the same sources.

The Tabriz region was struck multiple times by Israel during the twelve-day war, which a ceasefire announced earlier this week is supposed to have ended.

According to Haaretz, an Egyptian official said Sunday that Hamas may be willing to make concessions regarding the presence of Israeli soldiers in key areas of the Gaza Strip during the truce.

One such area is the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land adjacent to Gaza’s border with Egypt, from which the Israeli army partially withdrew during the last truce that began in January.

Lebanese political tensions over Hezbollah’s role

Former minister Richard Kouyoumjian, head of foreign affairs for the Lebanese Forces party, criticized Hezbollah official Naim Qassem on Sunday, calling his remarks outdated and irrelevant. “The irony is that you, specifically, are not silent,” Kouyoumjian posted on X. “Lebanese people are tired of waiting for you endlessly — they’ve already tried you. You have one choice: hand over your weapons to the army and return to the fold of the state and legality.”

At the same time, other political factions in Lebanon are calling for a clear timetable for Hezbollah’s disarmament, a demand the Shiite party continues to resist.

In a statement Sunday, Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Kabalan echoed Qassem’s tone, holding the Lebanese state responsible for Israel’s violations of the ceasefire and continued aggression in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Shin Bet dismantles major Hamas network in Hebron

Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, announced Sunday it had dismantled a “terrorist” network affiliated with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Hebron, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The operation, carried out in cooperation with the Israeli army and police, is described as “the most extensive uncovered in the past decade.”

According to a Shin Bet statement, 60 suspects were arrested over the past three months. Authorities also seized 22 weapons of various types and resolved a 15-year-old shooting attack that left four Israelis dead.

The network reportedly consisted of ten separate cells. Shin Bet also revealed the existence of an underground hideout used to store combat equipment and shelter fugitives wanted by Israeli authorities.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began. Since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 945 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army or settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Meanwhile, at least 35 Israelis, including soldiers, have died in Palestinian attacks or military operations, according to Israeli sources.

Tehran has formally asked the United Nations to recognize Israel and the United States as responsible for the 12-day war against Iran, which ended with a cease-fire on June 24, according to a letter released Sunday and addressed to the U.N. Secretary-General.

“We hereby officially request the Security Council to recognize the Israeli regime and the United States as the initiators of this act of aggression and to hold them accountable, including through the payment of compensation and reparations,” wrote Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the letter to Antonio Guterres.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 88 people were killed and 365 wounded in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

The ministry noted that a number of victims remain trapped under rubble or lie in the streets, where ambulances and civil defense teams are unable to reach them.

The overall death toll has now risen to 56,500 killed and 133,419 wounded in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

A court on Sunday partially accepted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to postpone his hearings in his ongoing corruption trial, according to a court document released by Netanyahu’s Likud party.

“Following the explanations provided... we partially accept the request and cancel, at this stage, the hearing dates for Mr. Netanyahu set for June 30 and July 2,” the Jerusalem court stated. This comes after the court had initially rejected Netanyahu’s postponement request.

The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain announced Sunday that it has returned to normal staffing levels and operations, according to a message posted by the embassy on X.

Shortly before the 12-day war between Israel and Iran earlier this month, the U.S. military had authorized the temporary departure of military families stationed in Bahrain.

Gaza’s Civil Defense announced on Sunday that 17 people, including three children, were killed in strikes and gunfire carried out by the Israeli army across the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, now enduring over 20 months of conflict.

Dozens of wounded were also taken to hospitals following the attacks, according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the emergency rescue organization, speaking to AFP.

Bassal reported five airstrikes, allegedly conducted by drones or fighter jets, that killed 16 people across the besieged territory.

“Two children from the Azzam family were martyred and several others were injured in an Israeli raid carried out at dawn (around 4:00 a.m. local time, 01:00 GMT) on a house in the southeast of Gaza City,” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted a message on his platform Truth Social, urging for a swift agreement in the Gaza Strip to free the hostages and end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. BRING THE HOSTAGES HOME!!!” he wrote briefly.

(Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP.)

A loader removes debris from the site of an Israeli strike on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. Lebanon's health ministry said on June 27, that a woman was killed and 11 other people were wounded in an Israeli strike in the country's south, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Gaza Civil Defense reports 14 dead, including 3 children, in latest Israeli strikes

Gaza’s Civil Defense announced Sunday that 14 people, including three children, were killed in Israeli strikes and gunfire across the war-ravaged enclave. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for the emergency response service, told AFP that dozens of others were wounded and transported to hospitals following the attacks.

UK government demands explanation from BBC over Glastonbury broadcast of anti-Israel chants

The British government on Sunday called on the BBC to explain its live coverage of performances by two rap groups at the Glastonbury Festival—Kneecap and Bob Vylan—after criticism over anti-Israel chants and insults aimed at Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Local police confirmed they are reviewing footage from Bob Vylan’s performance, during which the crowd was encouraged to chant “Death, death to the IDF,” referring to the Israeli Defense Forces. The concert was broadcast live on the BBC’s dedicated Glastonbury platform.

Later, members of Kneecap—one of whom, Liam O’Hanna, has been charged with a “terrorist offense” for displaying a Hezbollah flag during a show—reportedly led the crowd in chanting insults against Starmer.

“It was appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury must explain how such a performance was aired on our screens,” Health Minister Wes Streeting told Sky News.

Iran has "serious doubts" about Israel's compliance with the cease-fire, according to its chief of staff, as quoted by AFP.

⚡A senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is putting forward unrealistic conditions aimed at sabotaging any chance of reaching a cease-fire agreement and securing the release of hostages.

He added that Netanyahu is refusing to commit to elements of the deal he had previously approved, according to Haaretz.

On his Telegram channel, Mardawi wrote that the Prime Minister insists on releasing only ten hostages instead of agreeing to a one-phase release of all hostages. "Netanyahu is lying when he claims he is not involved in selecting the names of the hostages to be released as part of the deal," he wrote. "He does not want an agreement."

France and its main European partners intend to play "a central role" in negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, particularly due to their power to reimpose sanctions on Iran, the French Foreign Minister warned on Saturday.

"If Iran [...] refuses to negotiate in good faith a strict and lasting framework for its nuclear program, then France, along with its European partners, can simply, with a letter in the mail, reapply the global embargo on arms, nuclear equipment, and on banks and insurance companies that was lifted ten years ago," declared Jean-Noël Barrot on the LCI news channel.

France "stands ready, along with Europe, to contribute to the security of food aid distribution" in war-torn Gaza, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Saturday.

Such an initiative would aim to "address the concern of Israeli authorities, namely the diversion of humanitarian aid by armed groups," Barrot continued on LCI, without naming the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The French minister did not specify what form this French and European assistance to aid distribution in Gaza would take. However, he expressed his "anger" when referring to "the 500 people [...] who lost their lives in food aid distributions" in Gaza in recent weeks.

Israel partially eased in late May a total blockade imposed on the Palestinian territory in early March, which had led to severe shortages of food, medicine, and other basic necessities.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Sunday that his country must "deepen" its support for Israel against Iran, during a visit to a site affected by recent Iranian attacks south of Tel Aviv. It marks the first high-level diplomatic visit to Israel since the 12-day war with Iran, which ended with a ceasefire on June 24.

"We must deepen our support for Israel," said Dobrindt amid the rubble in the Bat Yam residential neighborhood, where several people were killed, including three children.

During the war with Iran, the German chancellor had faced criticism after stating at the G7 summit, in support of Israel, that "the work Israel is doing, it is doing for all of us."

Monday’s Israeli strike on Evin Prison in Tehran during the war with Iran killed 71 people, Iran's judiciary reported Sunday on the sixth day of a ceasefire between the two enemy states.

Opponents of the regime and foreign or dual-national prisoners, including French citizens, were detained in this high-security prison located at the foot of the mountains in northern Tehran at the time of the strikes.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was notably incarcerated there for many years.

"According to official statistics, 71 people were killed in the attack on Evin Prison," said judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir. Israel confirmed that its strikes in Tehran had targeted this prison.

Among the victims were prison staff, soldiers, inmates, visiting relatives, and local residents, Jahangir specified.

On Sunday morning, the Israeli army issued a new evacuation order for several neighborhoods in northern Gaza, where it claims to be conducting "extremely forceful" operations against Hamas — attacks which, according to local sources, are targeting civilians indiscriminately.

Israeli soldiers "are conducting operations using extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will intensify and expand westward, toward the city center (of Gaza City, editor’s note), in order to destroy terrorist organizations' assets," said Israeli army Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X, publishing a map highlighting several neighborhoods in red, including Gaza’s old city and the Jabalia area.

On Saturday evening, Gaza's civil defense reported the deaths of 37 people, including nine minors, killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire across the Palestinian enclave.

More than 56,412 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli military campaign against Gaza, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-run government — figures considered reliable by the United Nations.

Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side. Investigations have been launched in Israel to assess the responsibilities of authorities and security services on that day.

Argentina has expressed support for the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi — originally from the South American country — stating that he is facing “threats” from Iran.

"We firmly support IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and categorically condemn the threats made against him by Iran," said Argentina's Foreign Ministry in a statement posted on X.

This statement comes after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday denounced what he called Mr. Grossi’s "malicious intentions."

The IAEA chief had on Monday requested access to Iranian nuclear sites to determine what happened to enriched uranium stockpiles following Israeli and U.S. bombings of nuclear sites.

"We urge the authorities of that country to ensure his safety and that of his entire team, and to refrain from any actions that could put them in danger," the ministry added, without specifying the nature of the "threats."

Argentina, under President Javier Milei, expresses strong support for Israel.

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Continued Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon despite cease-fire

Israeli forces continued sporadic airstrikes overnight and into the morning in southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire that took effect on Nov. 27.

• Around 10 p.m., Israeli artillery hit a house in Kroum al-Mrah, near Meis al-Jabal (Marjeyoun district). The homeowner, identified as Hassan Ammar, was evacuated by Civil Defense, according to our correspondent Mountasser Abdallah.
• Around midnight, a resident of Qaaqaiyat al-Jisr (Nabatieh district) received a phone call warning him to evacuate. The neighborhood was evacuated as a precaution, but the call turned out to be a hoax.
• Around 1 a.m., the town of Taybeh (Marjayoun district) was hit by two heavy artillery shells, with the blasts heard as far away as several villages in the Nabatieh district.

Trump slams Netanyahu corruption trial amid hostage talks

One of this morning’s key headlines concerns U.S. President Donald Trump’s position on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial.

Speaking Saturday, Trump said he would not “tolerate” the continuation of the trial against Netanyahu, who later thanked him.

“The United States of America spends billions of dollars a year — far more than for any other country — to protect and support Israel,” Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social.

He even called Netanyahu a “war hero.”

“We will not tolerate this,” he added, referring to the trial. “Netanyahu is negotiating a deal with Hamas that includes the release of hostages.”

“How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel is forced to sit in a courtroom all day?” Trump asked. Netanyahu responded on X: “Thank you again. Together, we will make the Middle East great again.”

Hezbollah will not remain silent forever, says Nasrallah’s deputy

In a speech aired late Saturday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared that the group would “not remain silent” in the face of near-daily Israeli violations in Lebanon.

“Do you think we will remain silent forever? No, everything has its limits. [...] You have tested us, and you want to test us again? Go ahead!” he warned during a speech marking the third day of Muharram, the lead-up to the Shiite commemoration of Ashura.

He insisted the party has “fully adhered to the cease-fire agreement” and that neither Washington nor Tel Aviv could blame Hezbollah for anything.

“The cease-fire agreement marks the beginning of a new phase — the phase of state responsibility,” he said.

On the issue of disarmament, he added that “no reasonable person” could accept giving up defensive capabilities while “Israel continues to violate the agreement and carries out attacks.”

Iran could resume uranium enrichment within months, says IAEA chief

Iran has the technical capacity to restart uranium enrichment within “a few months,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in an interview with U.S. network CBS.

Nearly a week after U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, there is broad consensus—even in Tehran—that the facilities sustained significant damage. However, questions remain over the true effectiveness of the strikes.

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the Iranian nuclear program has been set back “by several decades.”

“There was major damage, but not total. [...] They could, within a few months I’d say, have centrifuges spinning again to produce enriched uranium,” Grossi stated in the interview, which will air Sunday.

A key remaining issue is the fate of Iran’s stockpile of over 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60%—a quantity that, if further enriched to 90%, could theoretically yield more than nine nuclear bombs.