Talks in Cairo aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza have hit a deadlock after Israel refused to consider Hamas's core demands, including a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Strip and a guaranteed end to the war. According to Al Jazeera, the Palestinian resistance group had accepted a proposed framework, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office subsequently rejected it, insisting on a desire to continue military operations in Rafah. A senior Hamas official told the Palestinian Information Center that the ball is now in the court of the international mediators, accusing Israel of deliberately sabotaging the diplomatic process.
The Israeli military dropped leaflets and sent text messages on Saturday ordering the "temporary evacuation" of civilians from the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to an expanded humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area with limited infrastructure. Reporting in Arabic, Al Jazeera confirmed that the orders affect at least 100,000 people, though UN officials warn the number could be far higher as families in adjacent areas also flee in anticipation of attacks. The evacuation order preceded a heavy wave of airstrikes on the eastern parts of the city, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more, according to local medical sources cited by Wafa News Agency. International aid organizations, including the UNRWA, have described the move as a recipe for a humanitarian catastrophe, noting that the designated "safe zone" lacks adequate shelter, water, sanitation, and medical facilities.
At least 15 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured late Saturday after Israeli warplanes bombed a residential building belonging to the al-Ajouri family in the al-Shoka area east of Rafah, according to Al Jazeera. Separately, an Israeli attack on a home in Khan Younis killed at least 8 children and 3 women, per Wafa News Agency. Medical sources at the European Hospital in Khan Younis reported that the bodies of the children were so badly mutilated that DNA testing was required for identification. The strikes come just hours after Israel ordered the evacuation of eastern Rafah, raising fears of a full-scale ground operation that could cause mass civilian casualties.
Palestinian resistance factions, including the Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades, reported on Saturday that they are engaged in intense street-level clashes with Israeli forces in the al-Zaytoun and al-Sahil neighborhoods of western Gaza City. According to a statement from Al-Qassam Brigades, their fighters ambushed an Israeli infantry unit, destroying a personnel carrier with an anti-tank missile and inflicting direct casualties. The Al-Quds Brigades confirmed that they fired mortars at Israeli command posts in the same area. The confrontations mark a significant uptick in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military had previously claimed operational control months ago.
A Palestinian sanitation worker was killed on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike in the central Gaza Strip, the Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu Agency. The victim was working for the Bureij municipality and was killed while working at a waste dump near the Bureij refugee camp. The killing occurred despite a ceasefire that began in October 2025, which was intended to halt Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and dozens of Jewish settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday morning, under heavy police protection. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned the incursion in the strongest terms as a "blatant violation of international law" and a "provocation to the feelings of Muslims worldwide." Ben-Gvir, who filmed himself at the site declaring that "Hamas is Hitler," has repeatedly performed such provocative acts. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a "declaration of war" and a direct attempt to change the historical and legal status quo of the holy esplanade, which has long been a flashpoint for Palestinian resistance.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday raided the city of Hebron’s Jaber neighborhood in the southern occupied West Bank, following the imposition of a curfew by the Israeli army on the area and its surroundings, Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu. Official Palestine TV reported that Israeli forces raided a house in the city and imposed a complete curfew on the Jaber, Salaymeh, and Wadi al-Haseen neighborhoods, restricting the movement of Palestinians.
Hezbollah announced on Saturday that its fighters targeted an Israeli military outpost in the occupied Shebaa Farms with a volley of heavy Katyusha rockets, causing a direct hit, as reported by Al Mayadeen. In a separate statement, the group said it had also struck the al-Malikiyah site and the al-Metulla barracks in northern Israel. The Israeli military confirmed a barrage of 10 rockets was fired from southern Lebanon, with some intercepted by the Iron Dome. No casualties were immediately reported on the Israeli side. The escalation comes as the Israeli military has stepped up its strikes on southern Lebanon, including strikes near the city of Baalbek deep inside the country.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Saturday that his country faces a "fateful" choice between a state monopoly on weapons or remaining "hostage to the logic of militias," Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu. Aoun's remarks came in a statement to mark the 48th anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese minister Tony Suleiman Frangieh. He stated that national unity is an urgent necessity for building a strong state.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that Iran and the US are closer than ever to signing a peace deal, with the deal expected to be finalized within the next 24 hours, Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu Agency. In a post on X, Sharif said the negotiations had entered their final stage and expressed optimism about the prospects for a breakthrough. According to Sharif, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the agreement immediately after its finalization. He added that technical-level talks are expected to begin next week to discuss implementation and other related matters.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that a proposed memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US would formally end the conflict across all fronts, including Lebanon, while laying the groundwork for negotiations on sanctions relief, Iran’s nuclear program, and regional security arrangements, Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu. Araghchi said the document, commonly referred to as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, would mark the formal end of the war. He said the proposed memorandum includes commitments not to initiate war, threaten the use of force, or interfere in each other’s internal affairs.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Friday that Tehran has reached understandings on most issues under discussion with the United States and is conducting final internal reviews of a proposed agreement, Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu. Speaking on state television, Baghaei said meetings involving relevant Iranian institutions were underway to examine the draft text and determine Tehran’s final position. He argued that an agreement could have been reached weeks ago but accused the other side of "procrastination."
US President Donald Trump has agreed to unfreeze $24 billion in Iranian assets while avoiding explicitly confirming this, a senior Iranian official said Friday, according to Middle East Monitor, citing Fars News Agency. Mohsen Rezaei, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, made the remarks during a memorial ceremony. According to the report, Rezaei said Iran’s recent conflict “boosted” the country’s standing globally, claiming the country’s deterrence capacity had grown to a point where “Trump the gambler” now fears negotiating with Tehran.
US President Donald Trump has paused a plan by the military to forcibly seize Iran’s enriched uranium, Middle East Monitor reports, citing CNN. The US military’s top officer, Gen. Dan Caine, made a secret, hurried trip to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to receive an in-person briefing on plans for a potential ground operation in Iran aimed at seizing the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The report said the briefings were considered so urgent and sensitive that Caine cut short a meeting of senior NATO officials in Brussels and flew back to Tampa on May 19.
The Yemeni Armed Forces, led by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement, announced on Saturday that they carried out a coordinated military operation targeting a US aircraft carrier and a vessel linked to Israel. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement, translated by Al Jazeera, that the group had attacked the USS Eisenhower in the Red Sea with multiple drones and ballistic missiles. Simultaneously, the Houthis targeted an oil tanker, the MV Andromeda Star, in the Indian Ocean with a drone, and struck the Israeli southern port of Eilat with a ballistic missile. Saree emphasized that the operations will continue until the "Israeli aggression" on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.
Canada announced $100 million on Friday in additional humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu. The funding, announced by Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Paris, will be delivered through UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and nongovernmental organizations. Anand made the announcement at the Paris Call for the Two-State Solution conference. This new contribution brings Canada’s total assistance for Palestinians to more than $500 million.
The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has sent a letter to the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, demanding the cancellation of the so-called "Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026," due to be held at an undisclosed venue in London on 14 June, Middle East Monitor reports. The AOHR UK explained that the event markets and facilitates the sale of property in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, warning that permitting it to proceed would facilitate the commission of a war crime on British soil and place the UK in direct breach of its obligations under international law.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday denounced Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, accusing Tel Aviv of exploiting the dispute between Mogadishu and the breakaway region, Middle East Monitor reports, citing Anadolu. He said Israel’s recognition of the region marks one of the darkest days in Somalia’s history. "Tel Aviv is taking advantage of the long-standing dispute between Mogadishu and Hargeisa," Mohamud said in an interview with Dawan TV.
The Observatory of Explosive Weapons released its comprehensive annual report for 2025, RT Arabic reports, revealing that the Israeli army was responsible for more than half of all victims of explosive weapons in the world in 2025. The report details a devastating death toll, particularly attributed to the "state of Israel" (the Hebrew state) due to its use of lethal weapons in armed conflicts around the world.
The Sudanese army announced on Saturday it had repelled an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the allied Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM/N) on the Umora area in Blue Nile State in the far southeast of the country, Al Quds Al Arabi reports. The army said in a statement that the 13th infantry brigade achieved a "new victory" after successfully repelling the attack.
Satellite images from May 2026 reveal new areas and hangars inside the Bahir Dar Airport in Ethiopia, Al Jazeera Arabic reports. This follows Sudanese accusations that the airport is being used to service the Rapid Support Forces, a claim officially denied by Addis Ababa.
The Israeli army continues to intimidate Syrian citizens in the southern regions of Syria, particularly in Quneitra and Daraa provinces, RT Arabic reports. The Israeli military fired on farmers in the Yarmouk Basin area, forcing them to abandon their land.
Iran will hold funeral procedures for the country’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei between July 4 and July 9, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, according to Middle East Monitor. The program includes a farewell ceremony in Tehran on July 4-5, funeral ceremonies in Tehran on July 6 and in Qom on July 7, and burial at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad on July 9 following a ceremony there on July 18. Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes that began against Iran on Feb. 28.
A Qatari proposal during negotiations over frozen Iranian assets revealed a financial package worth $12 billion that includes the release of $6 billion and a credit line of the same value for Iran, RT Arabic reports.
Elon Musk became the first person in the world to surpass a trillion dollars in wealth on Friday, after SpaceX's stock price surged in its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, Al Quds Al Arabi reports. The milestone was met with widespread criticism of Musk's far-right political positions and his alleged incitement of racist riots in Northern Ireland.
The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) awarded its "Golden Pen of Freedom" prize for 2026 to the photojournalists and video directors working with global news agencies in the Gaza Strip, in recognition of their on-the-ground coverage of the war of genocide, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.
Joachim Nagel, the president of the German central bank (Bundesbank), said it is likely that prices will remain high for a long time, even if the war in Iran ends soon, Al Quds Al Arabi reports. Nagel told Deutschlandfunk radio that "supply chains have clearly changed, and we may not even return to the data we had before this conflict."