LIVE: Israel bombs Beirut as UN says Gaza child malnutrition cases soar
UN says number of Gaza children facing acute malnutrition has soared since February, with over 2,700 now suffering from the medical condition.The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says it resumed aid distribution at two of its points in the Strip. The organisation ceased operations for over a day after hundreds of aid seekers were killed and wounded by the Israeli military.Israel bombed the southern Beirut suburbs of Dahiyeh and several areas in South Lebanon late yesterday, Lebanon's president says 'blatant violation' of Israel's ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 54,677 Palestinians and wounded 125,530, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
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Date: 1m ago (06:03 GMT)
Title: A recap of recent developments
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Date: 4m ago (06:00 GMT)
Title: Welcome to our live coverage
Content: Thank you for joining our live coverage of Israel's war on Gaza, as well as its attacks on the occupied West Bank and the wider region.
Follow this page for continuous updates and analyses of the latest developments.
You can read about key events from Thursday, June 5, here.
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Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Energy crisis adds to survival threats in war-torn Gaza: NGO
The lack of reliable energy sources is a key threat to survival in war-torn Gaza, an NGO has warned. The 'deliberate denial of energy access', like electricity and fuel, 'undermines fundamental human needs' in the war-torn enclave, a report published on Monday by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) cautioned. The alert is just the latest regarding the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is driven by Israel's blockade amid its war against Hamas. Israel halted the entry of food, water and fuel in March, putting the Palestinian territory's population at risk of famine. Electricity supply has also been limited. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 2.1 million people in Gaza have no access to power. 'In Gaza, energy is not about convenience – it's about survival,' Benedicte Giaever, executive director of NORCAP, which is part of NRC, said. 'When families can't cook, when hospitals go dark and when water pumps stop running, the consequences are immediate and devastating. The international community must prioritise energy in all humanitarian efforts,' she added. NRC's report noted that without power, healthcare facilities in Gaza have been adversely impacted, with emergency surgeries having to be delayed, and ventilators, incubators and dialysis machines unable to function. Lack of electricity has also impacted Gaza's desalination facilities, leaving 70 percent of households without access to clean water and forcing households to burn plastic or debris to cook, NRC said. The humanitarian organisation also highlighted how the lack of power has increased the risks of gender-based violence after dark. 'For too long, the people of Gaza have endured cycles of conflict, blockade, and deprivation. But the current crisis represents a new depth of despair, threatening their immediate survival and their long-term prospects for recovery and development,' NRC's Secretary General Jan Egeland said, urging the international community to ensure the people in Gaza gain access to energy. Amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, hundreds of people have been killed by the Israeli military as they have sought food and other vital supplies from aid stations set up by the controversial Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). In its latest daily update released on Monday, the Health Ministry in Gaza said the bodies of at least 39 people had been brought to hospitals over the previous 24 hours. At least 317 people were wounded, it added. Since Israel eased its total blockade last month, more than 400 people are reported to have died trying to reach food distribution points. The UN's top humanitarian official in the occupied Palestinian territory issued a stark warning on Sunday over the deepening crisis. 'We see a chilling pattern of Israeli forces opening fire on crowds gathering to get food,' said Jonathan Whittall, who heads OCHA in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. 'The attempt to survive is being met with a death sentence.'
Al Jazeera
an hour ago
- Al Jazeera
Can Iran really shut down the Strait of Hormuz?
Amid Israel's ongoing attacks in Gaza and Iran, US President Donald Trump's unprecedented decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites has deepened fears of a regional conflict in the Middle East. Over the weekend, the United States military carried out its first known strikes against Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled pro-Western Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Tehran has vowed to respond, prompting fears of escalation. During an address to a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkiye on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US crossed 'a very big red line' by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. One way Iran could retaliate is to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route where one-fifth of the world's oil supply – roughly 20 million barrels – and much of its liquified gas, is shipped each day. That would lead to a surge in energy prices. So, what do we know about the strategic passage, and can Iran afford to block it in response to the US and Israeli aggression? What is the Strait of Hormuz? The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and the United Arab Emirates on one side and Iran on the other. It links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond. It is 33km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 3km (2 miles) wide in either direction, making it vulnerable to attack. Energy traders have been on high alert since Israel launched a wave of surprise attacks across Iran on June 13, fearing disruptions to oil and gas flows through the strait. While the US and Israel have targeted key parts of Iran's energy infrastructure, there has been no direct disruption to maritime activity in the region so far. Still, even before the US strikes on Saturday, the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran had sparked ocean freight rates to surge in recent weeks. Freight intelligence firm Xeneta said average spot rates have increased 55 percent month-over-month, through to last Friday. Who would need to approve the closure? Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, but has never followed through on the threat. Iran's Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision to close the strait, Iran's Press TV said on Sunday, after parliament was reported to have backed the measure. However, the decision to close the strait is not yet final, as parliament has not ratified a bill to that effect. Instead, a member of parliament's National Security Commission, Esmail Kosari, was quoted in Iranian media as saying: 'For now, [parliament has] come to the conclusion we should close the Strait of Hormuz, but the final decision in this regard is the responsibility of the Supreme National Security Council.' Asked about whether Tehran would close the waterway, FM Araghchi dodged the question on Sunday and replied: 'A variety of options are available to Iran.' In his first comments since the US strikes, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel has made a 'grave mistake' and 'must be punished', but did not make any specific reference to either Washington or the Strait of Hormuz. How would the closure work in practice? Iran could attempt to lay mines across the Strait of Hormuz. The country's army or the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) may also try to strike or seize vessels in the Gulf, a method they have used on several occasions in the past. During the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, the two sides engaged in the so-called 'Tanker Wars' in the Persian Gulf. Iraq targeted Iranian ships, and Iran attacked commercial ships, including Saudi and Kuwaiti oil tankers and even US Navy ships. Tensions in the strait flared up again at the end of 2007 in a series of skirmishes between the Iranian and US navies. This included one incident where Iranian speedboats approached US warships, though no shots were fired. In April 2023, Iranian troops seized the Advantage Sweet crude tanker, which was chartered by Chevron, in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was released more than a year later. What would it mean for the global economy? US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Speaking to Fox News, Rubio said: 'It's economic suicide for them if they do it [close the strait]. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours.' For starters, shutting Hormuz risks bringing Gulf Arab states – which have been highly critical of the Israeli attack – into the war to safeguard their own commercial interests. Closing the strait would also hit China. The world's second-largest economy buys almost 90 percent of Iran's oil exports (roughly 1.6 million barrels per day), which are subject to international sanctions. According to Goldman Sachs, a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could push oil prices above $100 per barrel. That would push the cost of production up, eventually affecting consumer prices – especially for energy-intensive goods like food, clothing and chemicals. Oil-importing countries around the world could experience higher inflation and slower economic growth if the conflict persists, which could prompt central banks to push back the timing of future rate cuts. But history has shown that severe disruptions to global oil supplies have tended to be short-lived. Before the start of the second Gulf War, between March and May 2003, crude oil surged by a whopping 46 percent at the end of 2002. But prices quickly unwound in the days preceding the start of the US-led military campaign. Similarly, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked a sharp rally in oil prices to $130 a barrel, but prices returned to their pre-invasion levels of $95 by mid-August. These relatively quick reversals of oil price spikes were largely due to global spare production capacity available at the time, and the fact that the rapid oil price increase curbed demand.
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
UN nuclear chief estimates damage to Iran's facilities ‘very significant'
The United Nations nuclear chief has estimated that military attacks by Israel and the United States have inflicted considerable damage to Iran's nuclear facilities. Rafael Grossi on Monday told an emergency board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the UN's nuclear watchdog – that craters caused by ground-penetrating US bombs were visible at Fordow, the cornerstone of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme. Israel said as it launched the attacks on Iran on June 13 that Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. The US made the same claim as it entered the conflict directly on Saturday, striking Iran's three key nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. US President Donald Trump claimed the strikes had 'obliterated' the three sites. Grossi said while 'no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow', it is expected to be 'very significant'. That is because of 'the explosive payload utilised and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges', Grossi added. The IAEA chief also pointed out that the Natanz and Isfahan facilities were bombed by US warplanes and Tomahawk cruise missiles and damaged as well. At Natanz, he said, the US hit a fuel enrichment plant. At Isfahan, it destroyed several buildings including some 'related to the uranium conversion process', while the entrances to tunnels used to store enriched material were hit. The Israeli military continued its daytime strikes across Iran on Monday, with huge explosions reported in Tehran and other areas. Officials from Israel and Iran also reported another attack on Fordow. Iran has continued to launch waves of missiles and drones against Israel and has promised to retaliate against the US. Tehran has also threatened to quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and lawmakers have backed an effort to suspend cooperation with the IAEA. Iran has accused Grossi and the IAEA of being complicit in the conflict, saying that its 'biased' reporting on Iran's nuclear activities was used as a 'pretext' by Israel for its attack. During the IAEA board meeting, Grossi again emphasised that 'armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place', but did not directly condemn Israel or the US for the attacks. He called for Iran and the US to return to the series of negotiations that were cancelled by the Israeli strikes, warning that 'violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels' should the conflict persist. He reiterated that IAEA inspectors must be admitted to assess the damage at the nuclear facilities. At this point, no rise in radiation has been reported. 'I'm ready to travel immediately to Iran. We need to keep working together despite existing differences,' Grossi said. Iranian authorities have not indicated whether they would be open to extending an invitation for the watchdog chief to visit. Former IAEA official Tariq Rauf told Al Jazeera that Iran's short-term nuclear enrichment capacity has been damaged or destroyed, but that the country still has about 9,000kg (19,800 pounds) of enriched uranium – at levels between 2 and 60 percent – that is unaccounted for. 'At some point, the IAEA will need to go in and again make material balance to ensure that all the material is there,' Rauf said.
