Israel-Hamas War: Latest

• A day after Israeli airstrikes on a Gaza school killed at least 33 people, the Israeli military bombed another school complex in northern Gaza on Friday, killing three people. In both airstrikes, the Israeli military said Hamas militants were operating from within the schools. On Friday, Israel also released the names of 17 militants it said were killed in Thursday’s attack.

• Israeli airstrikes overnight in central Gaza killed 28 people, including children. On Friday, attacks were carried out on the Nuseirat and Maghazi refugee camps and the towns of Deir al-Balah and Jawaida. The Israeli army said its troops killed dozens of militants hiding in tunnels and also destroyed infrastructure in the area.

• A drone launched from Lebanon, possibly by the Hezbollah terror group, landed in an open area in the Jezreel Valley near Nazareth in northern Israel on Friday afternoon, The Times of Israel reports. An interceptor missile was launched shortly after the attack and sirens were sounded in towns around Nazareth.

• Hours later, Israeli warplanes earlier on Saturday struck Hezbollah rocket launchers and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Troops also fired artillery and mortar fire at several locations to “remove threats,” the army said. The Israel Defense Forces said two rockets launched from Lebanon set off sirens in the northern community of Matate.

• Pro-Palestinian activists demanding an end to the war in Gaza and US support for Israel plan to surround the White House during weekend protests, which have led to extra security measures, including anti-scale fencing. Reuters said the demonstration was planned for Saturday, which marks eight months of Israel’s war in Gaza.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has added Israel’s military to a global list of perpetrators of violations against children in 2023, with Israel’s UN envoy Gilad Erdan describing the decision as “shameful”. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will also be added to the list, a diplomatic source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The global list is included in a report on children and armed conflict that Guterres is due to submit to the UN Security Council on 14 June.

• The announcement sparked outrage in Jerusalem, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying: “The UN today put itself on the black list of history when it joined the ranks of Hamas murderers. The IDF is the most moral army in the world and no misleading decision by the UN can change that.”

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, the US State Department said on Friday, as Washington tries to pressure Israel and Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal that President Joe Biden laid out last week. In his eighth trip to the region since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the diplomat will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar and meet their senior leaders.

• The White House has said it is still awaiting an official response from Hamas to the latest hostage deal and ceasefire proposal for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Spokesman John Kirby told reporters that US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the issue during a meeting on Saturday.

• Israel has stepped up a pilot program in Gaza that could serve as a precursor to establishing an alternative civilian regime in the Gaza Strip replacing Hamas, the Kan public broadcaster reported. According to Hebrew media, Defense Minister Yoav Galant recently presented to the cabinet a plan to create “humanitarian bubbles” inside the Palestinian enclave, in which Palestinians who prove they have no ties to Hamas or other terrorist groups would be responsible for overseeing the distribution of humanitarian aid inside specific neighborhoods.