Netanyahu admits Israel backed anti-Hamas Gaza clan

The Israeli army is short of more than 10,000 troops, including around 6,000 for combat units, its spokesperson has said, nearly 20 months into the war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

“This is a real operational need, and that is why we are taking all necessary measures,” army spokesperson Effie Defrin told a Friday press briefing via video from the Gaza Strip.

Defrin was responding to a question about the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who had been exempt from military service for decades. Israel's Supreme Court ruled in June last year that the country's compulsory military service system should apply to ultra-Orthodox men, in a highly controversial decision.

Four Israeli soldiers have been killed and five others injured during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military says.

The incident took place in the city of Khan Younis.  According to consistent reports from Israeli media, the soldiers were inside a building that had been rigged with explosives.

The device detonated, causing the building to collapse.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his condolences "to the families of our four fallen heroes in Gaza in the fight to defeat Hamas and bring back our hostages."

The deaths bring the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive in Gaza to 429, as per a tally by the French AFP news agency.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes Hamas, following claims by a former defense minister that weapons were supplied to the faction.

Israeli and Palestinian media have identified the group as part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) describes him as heading a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks."

Former defense minister and Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman told public broadcaster Kan that Israel, under Netanyahu’s orders, had been "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons."

Netanyahu confirmed the collaboration in a video posted online Thursday, saying: "What did Lieberman leak? That security sources activated a clan in Gaza that opposes Hamas? What is bad about that? It is only good, it is saving [the] lives of Israeli soldiers."

France is softening expectations for a possible recognition of Palestinian statehood ahead of a key United Nations conference in New York.

Paris says regional commitments are needed for any such move to be effective.

French President Emmanuel Macron had previously suggested the June 17–20 event might offer a window for recognition, but Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Friday that any decision must be part of an international effort.

"France is determined to recognize Palestine, but will not do so alone," Barrot told RTL.

Barrot said France hopes to use the conference to secure commitments from the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries to remove obstacles to the creation of a Palestinian state. He stressed that disarming Hamas was essential to that process.

He added that France would not make a merely symbolic move. “We could have taken a decision with symbolic significance, France could have taken it,” he said. “But if we do it, it will be to change things and ensure that the existence of the State of Palestine becomes more credible and possible.”

Nearly 150 UN member states recognize Palestine as a state, but major Western powers — including the United States, Britain, France and Germany — have yet to follow.

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation order for parts of Gaza City ahead of an expected assault, as it intensifies its operations in the embattled Palestinian enclave.

"This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike," said army spokesman Avichay Adraee, adding that Israel would target "all areas from which rockets are launched."

The evacuation order comes at the start of Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar.

The Reuters news agency said 16 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Friday, citing local health authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory, as strikes intensified across several areas of the enclave.

Israel has recently escalated its offensive, describing it as a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack triggered the ongoing war.

Health officials said fatalities occurred in Jabalia, Tuffah, and Khan Younis, amid heavy bombardments. Witnesses and medics told Reuters that Israeli planes and tanks had escalated attacks in Jabalia and nearby Beit Hanoun since early morning.

The Israeli military has not commented on the reported deaths.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk demanded that the United States lift the sanctions it imposed on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges.

"Attacks against judges for performance of their judicial functions, at national or international levels, run directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law — values for which the US has long stood," Türk said in a statement.

The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on four ICC judges.

European Council chief Antonio Costa also condemned the US decision, reiterating that the bloc "strongly supports" the ICC, saying it "does not stand against nations — it stands against impunity."

"We must protect its independence and integrity," Costa added.

The International Criminal Court's governing body joined the condemnation of the US sanctions, calling them "regrettable attempts to impede the Court and its personnel."

The Lufthansa Group will resume flights to and from Tel Aviv on June 23, following a suspension triggered by a rocket launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels that struck near Israel’s main international airport in May.

The group—which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, SWISS, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, ITA Airways, and Lufthansa Cargo—announced that services to Israel will restart “gradually” due to operational considerations.

“The decision is based on an extensive security analysis and in coordination with the relevant authorities,” the group said in a statement.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would keep striking Lebanon until the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah disarms.

This comes after Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs, with the Israeli army saying it targeted drone-making facilities. 

"There will be no calm in Beirut and no order or stability in Lebanon without security for the State of Israel," Katz said in a statement, adding Lebanon did not do "what is required" to disarm Hezbollah, resulting in Israel needing to act "with great force."

Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement last November. Israel has carried out repeated strikes on south Lebanon since the truce, but strikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs have been rare.

As Muslims around the world mark Eid al-Adha, Arabic for the Festival of Sacrifice, Gaza continues to be at risk of famine.

Muslims traditionally celebrate Eid al-Adha by slaughtering a sheep or cow to share the meat with the poor and celebrate with a family meal, sweets, and gifts for children.

But in Gaza, Israel has blocked food and aid shipments to the war-embattled enclave for three months.

The UN has said that 96% of livestock and 99% of the poultry in the Gaza Strip have been killed as result of the war. 

The food that is available is being sold for high prices, with one Gaza resident telling the Associated Press that he cannot afford to buy bread.

"The prices are astronomical," Abdel Rahman Madi said.

Another resident, Karima Nejelli, said that the people of Gaza "see no kind of joy" due to the war.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a privately run organization backed by Israel and the United States, has resumed limited food aid distribution at two sites in Gaza, which had been shut down on Wednesday following deadly shootings and chaos near their locations.

The United States has announced sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges over the arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The four judges will be barred from entering the US, and any property they hold in the country will be frozen.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will "take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other U.S. ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC."

The ICC described the sanctions as a "clear attempt" to undermine its independence.

Human Rights Watch condemned the move, saying the sanctions "aim to deter the ICC" from pursuing accountability for suspected war crimes committed during the Israeli campaign in Gaza, also highlighting "US complicity."

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a series of airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, targeting what it said were underground drone factories associated with Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

Less than two hours before the attacks, the IDF's Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee had posted on his social media accounts that residents in the area were located "near facilities belonging" to Hezbollah and should evacuate with immediate effect.

LebanonPresident Joseph Aoun condemned what he called the "Israeli aggression," labeling the airstrikes a "flagrant violation" of the ceasefire agreed between the countries last November. 

It was the fourth time that Beirut has been bombed since the truce in November. Israel's military has also continually targeted southern Lebanon and Israeli troops still occupy five hilltop positions in the south. 

The Israeli military carried out attacks in several locations in Beirut's southern suburbs, saying it targeted facilities used by Islamist militia Hezbollah for drone production.

Israeland Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement in November 2024.

Elsewhere, the Israeli government has admitted to having "activated" some clans of Palestinians opposed to Hamas in Gaza, while the population in the enclave marks the Eid al-Adha holiday with food being scarce.

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