Middle East crisis

Israel-Hezbollah
Experts: Israel uses white phosphorus in southern Lebanon

Israel is using the self-igniting substance white phosphorus in attacks on populated areas in southern Lebanon. This is the assessment of experts and aid organizations according to the New York Times, which also reviewed photographic evidence from the attacks.

One of the occasions when the substance is considered to have been used is on May 30, when Israeli forces took the Beaufort castle ruins. More than 40,000 people live in the city of Nabatieh, where the ruins are located.

White phosphorus is illegal if used against civilians or in areas where many civilians are present. Israel denies that white phosphorus is being used illegally.

This is not the first time Israel has been accused of using white phosphorus. Among other things, the human rights group Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of illegally using the substance in attacks on Lebanon in 2024.

Gaza war
Several dead in Israeli attacks on Gaza

At least six people have been killed and 15 injured in an Israeli drone attack on a refugee camp in Gaza City, health workers say, according to Reuters.

At the same time, talks are underway in Cairo, involving Hamas and other Palestinian parties, on how to maintain the ceasefire agreement. Talks on the second phase of the ceasefire, where Hamas is to disarm and Israel is to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, have stalled.

A 25-year-old man was also killed in an attack on a tent this morning, according to the Hamas-controlled rescue service. The man was due to get married the same day, his cousin told AFP.

According to the Israeli military, the target of the attacks was “terrorists,” but no further details were given.

West Bank
Democrats Demand Trump Act Against Annexation

85 Democrats in the US Congress are demanding that Donald Trump put pressure on Israel. They write this in a letter to the president, reports the Times of Israel.

“President Trump has said that he does not support an Israeli annexation of the West Bank. The construction of E1 is annexation in its clearest form. We urge the Trump administration to back up its rhetoric,” the congressmen write.

Israel's controversial E1 project involves greatly expanded construction of housing and roads in occupied Palestinian territory, something that is in itself illegal under international law. The project connects annexed Jerusalem with a large settlement in the West Bank and cuts off the Palestinian cities in the area from each other.

It would in practice make a future Palestinian state impossible, writes Haaretz. That is also part of the purpose, according to previous statements from several Israeli ministers in Israeli media.
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