In the West Bank, Israeli settlers assault 2 Palestinians, set fire to a vehicle and 200 olive trees, and attack homes in Burin. Israeli settlers also throw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near al-Muarajat, causing injuries and damage. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set fire to agricultural land in Burqa. Israeli settlers also damage a water well in Yasuf. Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man during a raid in Beit Fajjar. Israeli forces also shoot and injure 3 Palestinians during a raid in Beit Umar. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and injure 2 Palestinian children during a raid in Salem. Israeli forces also assault a Palestinian man at the Tayasir checkpoint. Meanwhile, Israeli forces raid ‘Usarin, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also arrest 7 Palestinians during late-night raids in Umm Safa, Sinjil, Kafr Ni'ma, and Jericho. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Rafah, Gaza City, Shati' refugee camp, Nuseirat refugee camp, and al-Bureij refugee camp, killing at least 25 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb a vehicle in al-Barghalia, injuring 8 civilians. Israeli forces also bomb Shebaa. Hezbollah forces fire rockets at an Israeli weapons factory in Sasa. In Yemen, U.S. forces destroy 9 drones. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/18; UNOCHA 6/19)
More than 37,372 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 15,694 children and 10,000 women, and around 85,452 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 10,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 542 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 129 children. More than 5,200 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 312 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,940 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 79,000 housing units have been destroyed and 370,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023. 60 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza. (AJ, WAFA 6/18; UNRWA 6/27)
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq says the daily pauses in attacks on Gaza in the area near the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing have not prompted more aid to reach Palestinians, saying the lack of police and rule of law makes the area dangerous to move good through. (AJ, AP, HA, REU 6/18; NYT 6/19; AP 6/21)
UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk warns the UN Human Rights Council that the “situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is dramatically deteriorating.” (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 6/18)
Haaretz reports that the head of the women's section of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi, died at a Shin Bet interrogation facility at the Shikma Prison on 11/17/2023, 6 days after being taken from Gaza. An Israeli court issued a 6-month gag order on publishing the details of the case after Dr. al-Rantisi died. (AJ, HA, WAFA 6/18)
Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh meets with Qatar prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, discussing ceasefire negotiations. (AJ 6/18; AJ 6/19)
The Israeli government informs the High Court of Justice that it will establish a mechanism to replace the International Committee of the Red Cross on visits to Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank and Gaza held in Israeli prisons. Israel has barred the committee from visiting Palestinian prisoners since 10/7/2023. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel says the decision contravenes international law. (HA, HA 6/19; AP 6/20)
Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tells the Knesset caucus for the resettlement of Gaza that he is committed to their objectives and says the resettlement “must be accompanied by encouraged emigration” of Palestinians. (HA 6/18)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly criticizes the Biden administration for withholding weapon shipments to Israel, saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him that the administration “is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says “[w]e genuinely do not know what he [Netanyahu] is taking about.” Blinken says 1 arms shipment is under review. Axios reports that the U.S. canceled a U.S.-Israeli meeting to discuss Iran in response to Netanyahu's criticism. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, AX, AX, HA, HA, REU 6/18; AX, HA, HA, HA 6/19; HA 6/20)
The Israeli military announces that it has approved operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon. Foreign Minister Israel Katz says “[w]e are getting very close to the moment of deciding on changing the rules of the game against Hezbollah and Lebanon. In an all-out war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be severely beaten.” U.S. deputy assistant to the president and senior adviser for energy and investment Amos Hochstein travels from Israel to Beirut for meetings with Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA, REU 6/18; AJ, AJ 6/19; REU 6/21)
Ynet reports on a recording of a meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and police and security officials in which Netanyahu asks why no “radical Jew” had been arrested in relation to the killing of 2 Palestinians on 4/15, saying “the Americans are pressing.” According to the report, Central Command commander Yehuda Fuchs said the attack was conducted by soldiers who were on vacation. (HA 6/18)
Germany designates the BDS movement an suspected extremist organization, saying the movement has “links to secular Palestinian extremism” and that there are strong indications that the movement “violates the idea of international understanding” by denying Israel the right to exist. The designation allows German authorities to recruit informants within the movement and monitor its activists. The designation is based on a report that vilifies the movement's anti-Zionist stance and labeling of Israel as an apartheid state. (HA 6/20)
A French court overturns the ban on Israeli companies attending the Eurosatory arms fair in Paris, calling the ban discriminatory. The organizers of Eurosatory appealed the ruling. (AJ, HA, NYT 6/18)