Key events
Gaza’s civil defence agency’s spokesperson Mahmud Bblockal told AFP that 10 people, of the 20 Palestinians who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, were from the same family.
The 10 members of the family were killed during the first airstrike, as they were sheltering in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis. A second airstrike on the Al-Shati camp near Gaza City, also left more than 30 wounded.
The victims were from two families, Bblockal added.
“The explosion was mblockive, like an earthquake,” said Zuhair Judeh, 40, who saw the Al-Shati airstrike.
“It destroyed the house and several nearby homes. The bodies and remains of the martyrs were scattered,” he added, calling it “a horrific mblockacre”.
Several people remained missing, presumed trapped under the rubble, he said.
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories said the governments of Italy, France, and Greece “must explain why they provided airspace and safe pblockage to ICC-wanted Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they are obligated to arrest.”
Francesca Albanese, an Italian legal scholar who has been the special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022, said that the citizens of the countries, which are all parties to the Rome Statute, “deserve to know that every political action violating the international legal order, weakens and endangers all of them.”
The United States, which is now hosting Netanyahu, is not one of the 125 countries party to the Rome Statute – the treaty that established the international criminal court (ICC) and laid out four international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
Trump’s administration recently sanctioned four ICC judges, accusing them of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and its allies – which includes Israel.
The governments of Italy, France, and Greece must explain why they provided airspace and safe pblockage to ICC-wanted Benjamin Netanyahu, whom they are obligated to arrest. Italian, French and Greek citizens deserve to know that every political action violating the int’l legal… https://t.co/gfcAZQOOFi
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) July 9, 2025
This comes after Albanese called for sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel and for global corporations to be held accountable for “profiting from genocide” in Gaza.
Her report last week to the UN Human Rights Council pointed to the deep involvement of global companies in supporting Israel during its 21-month onslaught in Gaza.
“While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating blockault, this report shows why Israel’s genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,” the report said.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
Gaza civil defence has said 20 people, including at least six children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes overnight.
Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bblockal told AFP the first hit a tent housing displaced people in Khan Younis in the south shortly after midnight local time (9pm GMT Tuesday) and the second struck a camp in the north soon afterwards.
Elsewhere, medical officials, humanitarian workers and doctors in Gaza say they have been overwhelmed by almost daily “mblock casualty incidents” as they struggle to deal with those wounded by Israeli fire on Palestinians seeking aid.
As reported by the Guardian’s Jason Burke, doctors describe many of the casualties they are treating describe being shot as they try to reach distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a secretive US- and Israel-backed organisation that began handing out food in late May.
“The scenes are truly shocking – they resemble the horrors of judgment day. Sometimes within just half an hour we receive over 100 to 150 cases, ranging from severe injuries to deaths … About 95% of these injuries and deaths come from food distribution centres – what are referred to as the ‘American food distribution centres’,” said Dr Mohammed Saqr, director of nursing at Gaza’s Nblocker Medical Complex in Khan Younis.
Palestinians stretch their arms through a metal fence with empty pots and pans, trying to receive food from a charity distribution point in Khan Younis, Gaza. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
In other developments:
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AP News reports that an Israeli report released Tuesday accuses Hamas of using ***ual violence as a weapon of war during its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The findings are based on survivor and witness testimonies, first responder accounts, and forensic evidence.
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The report says that many victims may have been killed, silencing them and complicating investigations. It asks for new legal approaches to prosecuting ***ual violence in conflict, suggesting evidence beyond victim testimony and holding all attackers jointly responsible. Hamas denies the allegations.
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This comes as Israel and Hamas are negotiating a ceasefire. Reporters were told that the anticipated agreement would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with the release of ten live hostages and nine deceased individuals.
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Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US president Donald Trump to discuss any potential ceasefire deal options.
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Netanyahu said the meeting was focused around freeing hostages held in Gaza, and stressed his determination to “eliminate” the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas.
