Terror group expected to release captives five separate times during 60-day truce, without handover ceremonies * Ben Gvir again urges Smotrich to join forces, torpedo ‘reckless’ deal
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
38 people said killed while waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza overnight
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says 82 people were killed in the Gaza Strip overnight, including 38 people who were trying to access humanitarian aid.
It says that five people were killed outside aid distribution sites operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and 33 others were killed while waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Strip.
Dozens of people were also said to have been killed in airstrikes overnight, including 15 people in the sprawling tent city in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza. The Hamas-linked civil defense says a separate strike at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed at least 12.
The figures provided by the Gaza health ministry cannot be independently verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
There have been repeated instances of Palestinians being shot near aid distribution sites. The IDF says it is investigating but has denied that troops are ordered to open fire on civilians.
New ceasefire proposal said to include IDF withdrawal to March positions, reimplementing UN aid mechanism
Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper reports that the latest ceasefire proposal for Gaza is focused on three central issues.
Firstly, it says that the agreement requires Israeli forces to withdraw to the positions they held before the collapse of the last ceasefire on March 2. At that time, the IDF had not fully withdrawn from Gaza, and remained stationed along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor.
The second item is the matter of humanitarian aid. According to the report, the United Nations mechanism for delivering aid would be reinstated, “to ensure uninterrupted supply.” While the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is not explicitly mentioned, the report suggests that the UN mechanism would be used exclusively.
Finally, the proposal includes a commitment to continue negotiations over the broader future of the ceasefire, even if an agreement on ending the war is not reached before the initial truce begins.
Settlers break into homes in Palestinian village of Mu’arajat al-Sharqiya overnight, forcing residents to flee
Israeli settlers were documented breaking into a home in the Palestinian village of Mu’arajat al-Sharqiya, in the southern Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, overnight and ousting the family living there, reportedly amid efforts to establish a new outpost inside the village.
Photos from the scene show settlers relaxing and smoking outside the home after the family fled.
According to the left-wing activist group Looking the Occupation in the Eye, they also stole cash and an air conditioner unit from the home.
Elsewhere in the village, other settlers took over an uninhabited house and remained there throughout the night and into the morning.
An Israeli activist assisting residents of the village tells The Times of Israel that at the height of the incident, around 25 settlers were present at the scene. She says they threw stones at activists and villagers, and chased them with clubs. There were no injuries.
After the incident, it was discovered that about 60 sheep had been stolen from one of the residents, she says.
The activist says that dozens of calls were made to the police overnight but no officers were dispatched to the scene. One of the villagers later filed a complaint.
Footage from the night shows IDF soldiers were present at the scene, but according to the activist, they did not intervene.
A group of soldiers was later seen sitting with two of the settlers in what appeared to be a relaxed setting, with the soldiers drinking energy drinks and using their phones.
Mu’arajat is one of the few remaining Palestinian communities between Ramallah and Jericho. Most of the area’s roughly 1,000 residents have fled or were forcibly displaced by settler violence over the past two years.
The IDF and police have not yet issued a response.
Report: Hamas officials abroad told to hand over weapons as symbolic nod to Israeli demand for disarmament
Senior Hamas officials abroad have been told to hand in their personal weapons amid negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, the Times newspaper reports.
The directive came from Qatari mediators, the Times reports, and is largely a symbolic initiative and a nod to Israel’s demand for Hamas’s disarmament, which the terror group has thus far rejected.
It says that among the senior Hamas officials instructed to hand over their weapons are lead negotiator and senior politburo official Khalil al-Hayya; the Istanbul-based leader of Hamas in the West Bank, Zaher Jabarin; and the chair of Hamas’s Shura Council, Muhammad Ismail Darwish.
The report comes as Hamas is reviewing the latest ceasefire proposal, and as mediators and Israel await its response. Earlier today, a Saudi report suggested that Hamas was satisfied with the framework of the deal and would submit its response by Friday.
Armored vehicle hit by Hamas in deadly Gaza attack last week didn’t have working exit hatch or cameras, report finds
New details published by the Kan public broadcaster from the deadly armored vehicle attack in southern Gaza last week reveal that defects in an IDF armored personnel carrier allowed a Hamas operative to throw an explosive device into the vehicle, killing seven combat engineering soldiers in Khan Younis on June 24.
According to the report, the exit hatch of the Puma APC was broken and had been tied shut with a rope. The APC’s cameras were not functional and hadn’t been for an extended period.
Soldiers said commanders were aware of the issues.
The incident sparked criticism from families of soldiers in the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion, who accused the army of negligence and demanded updated equipment in a letter to the battalion commander.
The incident was “unnecessary and preventable,” they said.
Parents noted that other battalions have more advanced vehicles, such as the Namer, while the 605th continues to rely on outdated Pumas.
The IDF and Shin Bet announced yesterday that two Hamas operatives involved in the deadly attack had been killed in a drone strike.
Ben Gvir again urges Smotrich to join forces, torpedo ‘reckless’ hostage deal
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tells the Kan public broadcaster that he will not support the ceasefire and hostage release deal currently on the table as he believes it is “reckless.”
After reports yesterday that he was hoping to involve Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party in a plan to torpedo the deal, Ben Gvir again urges him to join forces and vote against it.
“I won’t allow this reckless deal to happen,” he says. “I hope that Smotrich will join forces with me. We were elected with 14 mandates by people who do not want us to surrender in Gaza,” he says, stressing that Israel has a “historic opportunity” for victory there.
“We must not stop the war without victory,” Ben Gvir reiterates. “What do you think will happen if we stop the war now? That Hamas will hand out flowers?”
As he has often done in the past, the ultranationalist minister insists that the only thing standing between Israel and victory is the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip.
“It was a giant mistake” to allow aid to begin entering the Strip again in late May after an almost three-month total blockade, he says. “I’m embarrassed that I was the only cabinet member who voted against it. If we want to win, we need to go all the way.”
Report says Hamas satisfied with assurances to end Gaza war included in truce proposal
Citing a knowledgeable source, the Saudi news outlet Asharq reports that Hamas is satisfied with the guarantees to end the Gaza war included in the ceasefire proposal it received.
According to the report, the proposal contains assurances from the mediators that both sides will not resume fighting as long as negotiations are ongoing. Additionally, it says US President Donald Trump is expected to announce the agreement once both parties have approved it and will serve as the clear sponsor for its implementation.
However, another source close to Hamas tells the outlet that the new proposal presented to the group does not contain any substantial changes from the one submitted by US mediator Steve Witkoff, only includes minor modifications.
According to Asharq, Hamas is expected to deliver its response to the proposed framework on Friday.
Hamas reportedly won’t hold hostage handover ceremonies during Gaza ceasefire
As part of the hostage release and Gaza ceasefire deal being negotiated, Hamas will not hold public ceremonies while freeing captives, an Israeli defense official and Palestinian source close to the terror group tell the New York Times.
The report notes the proposal being discussed would see the return of 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 captives to Israel, with Hamas releasing them on five separate occasions over the 60-day truce.
Columbia University says student data recently stolen by politically motivated hacker
NEW YORK — A politically motivated hacker breached Columbia University’s data systems last week, stealing troves of student documents while briefly shutting down the school’s computer systems, a university official says Wednesday.
The June 24 cyberattack prompted widespread network outages on campus, locking students and staff out of their email accounts, coursework and video conference software for several hours. On the same day, images of US President Donald Trump’s smiling face appeared on several public monitors across the Manhattan campus.
A spokesperson for Columbia declines to elaborate on the political motivations behind the attack. But officials describe a highly sophisticated “hacktivist” who had gained access to private student records in an attempt to further a political agenda.
The spokesperson says it’s unclear if the Trump photo display was connected to the data breach.
“We are investigating the scope of the apparent theft and will share our findings with the University community as well as anyone whose personal information was compromised,” the school says.
US lawmakers propose giving Israel access to bunker-busting bombs, stealth bombers in bipartisan bill
Two US lawmakers, a Republican and a Democrat, have presented a bill that, if passed, would give Israel access to the bunker-busting bombs and stealth bombers used by the US in its strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last month.
The bill, put forward by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (Democrat-New Jersey) and Rep. Mike Lawler (Republican-New York), would give the US president the authority to transfer a supply of the 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs and the B-2 stealth bombers to Israel in the event that Iran continues working on developing a nuclear weapon.
The US dropped more than a dozen of these bombs on the Fordo and Natanz underground nuclear facilities on June 22, amid Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.
While Israel struck hundreds of other nuclear and military targets across the Islamic Republic, it was unable to target these underground sites, as it lacks the weapons and planes needed for such a strike.
Accordingly, the bipartisan Bunker Buster Act would authorize the US to “take actions to ensure Israel is prepared for all contingencies if Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon.”
The bill has been proposed by Gottheimer twice previously, first in 2022 and then in 2024. It did not progress beyond the House floor either time.
“Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans,” he writes on X. “As Iran rebuilds its nuclear program, we must maintain maximum deterrence.”
“My bipartisan Bunker Buster Act will give Israel the tools she needs to deter Iranian aggression and take out their underground nuclear sites — strengthening US national security.”
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