Israeli forces pressed their incursion deeper into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip on Friday (June 28), and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people.

Jerusalem

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel is 'at war' following a surprise attack from Gaza by Hamas militants.

Israel-Gaza War

Israeli forces have extended their operations in both the northern and southern regions of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian health officials have reported that tank shelling in Rafah resulted in the deaths of at least 11 people. 

Funerals for emergency workers have become a regular occurrence in Gaza. Recently, emergency workers were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted the headquarters of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service in al-Nusayrat camp. The rescue service reported that the death toll among its staff has reached 74 since the war began on October 7.

Mohamed al-Mughair, the director of support at the Palestinian Civil Defense, expressed that emergency teams are facing severe shortages of critical supplies due to Israel’s military offensive. These shortages have significantly hampered rescue operations, extending mission times from two hours to as much as six hours due to lack of fuel for machinery.

The conflict began after Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of 250 more, according to Israeli figures. In response, Israeli military actions have reportedly caused over 37,000 deaths, per the Gaza Health Ministry. 

The Israeli military has released footage showing tanks in Shejaya in northern Gaza, but the exact timing of the footage remains unverified. Simultaneously, Palestinian officials have reported Israeli forces advancing in the south, including pushing further west into Rafah, causing displacements of thousands towards Khan Yunis. The Israeli military has not commented on these movements, but since May 7, tanks have moved through various districts of Rafah and taken control of the boundary with Egypt, including the Rafah crossing, a critical point of entry and exit for Gaza's 2.3 million residents.



Israeli forces push deeper into southern, northern Gaza

Funerals, such as this one, are now all too common in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. And these victims, buried on Friday, were emergency workers, who were killed after an Israeli airstrike hit the headquarters of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service in al-Nusayrat camp. These are the crews who run toward fire, digging through rubble, seeking survivors. The rescue service said its facility was struck just before midnight. It said the latest deaths raised the tally of staff killed by Israeli forces to 74 since the start of the war on October 7. Mohamed al-Mughair, the director of support at the Palestinian Civil Defense, told Reuters his emergency teams faced severe shortages of critical supplies as a result of Israel's military offensive, which has left the densely populated coastal enclave in ruins. The capabilities are almost non-existent. In light of the increased strikes and airstrikes, missions, which would require two hours, take up to four to six hours to complete, as the rescue machinery does not exist, due to the lack of fuel to operate the machinery needed to break concrete and to pull martyrs and the wounded from under the rubble. The loss of rescue workers is yet another compounding tragedy for Gaza residents. Israel launched a massive air and ground offensive into Gaza after Hamas militants rampaged through Israeli communities on October 7, killing 1,200 and taking 250 captives, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliation has killed more than 37,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military released footage on Friday purporting to show its tanks operating in Shejaya in the northern Gaza Strip, while Palestinian officials said Israeli forces were also pressing in the south. Reuters was able to verify part of the video based on buildings, but was not able to independently verify the date when the video was filmed. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into Rafah, forcing thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head northward to nearby Khan Yunis. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Since May 7, tanks have advanced in several districts of Rafah, and forces remain in control of the entire borderline with Egypt and the Rafah crossing, the only gateway for most of Gaza's 2.3 million people with the outside world.

People in France have voted to elect 577 members of the country’s National Assembly.
Exit polls show that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party are ahead in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections.

Paris

France snap election

Far-right leads the first round of French elections

Hurricane Beryl has become an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to bring life-threatening winds and flash flooding to the Caribbean's Windward Islands as it rapidly strengthens into Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) says.

Bridgetown

Hurricane Beryl strengthens to Category 4 storm

Voter turnout in France's first round of voting in the 2024 general elections stood at 59.39 percent by 5pm according to the interior ministry, around 20 percent higher compared to the same time in the 2022 elections.

Evening voter turnout in French elections at almost 60%

Britain’s upcoming general election is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years with many analysts calling it one of the country’s most consequential elections since 1945. The centre-left Labour party led by Keir Starmer, is expected to win by a landslide by taking votes away from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Tories.

London

Main opposition Labour party tipped to win upcoming UK elections

Russia claimed two more east Ukrainian villages as its forces have had the upper hand over Kyiv on the battlefield for months. Moscow has claimed new villages in the east of Ukraine regularly for weeks, as outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces struggle to hold them back.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia claims two more villages in east Ukraine

Voting is underway in France for its first snap parliamentary election in nearly 30 years.

France votes in key snap polls as far right eyes power

Spanish police say they've called off a search for a British teenager who went missing on the Canary island of Tenerife, though the case remains open. His phone was last traced to a steep and rugged ravine on the island.

Tenerife

Spanish police end search for missing UK teenager

At least three women are dead and dozens more injured after a Greyhound bus crashed into a caravan on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, south of Townville. The bus was carrying 33 passengers.

Gumlu

Three dead, dozens injured in tour bus crash

Across the United Kingdom, a record number of candidates – more than 4,000 – are campaigning for the July 4 general election. Economic stagnation, a housing crisis, the cost of living, immigration and foreign policy concerns are high on the agenda.

How immigration has become a key UK election issue

U.S. President Joe Biden sought to project an image of confidence during a rally in North Carolina after a woeful performance in a debate with Donald Trump exacerbated concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Washington

U.S. Presidential Election

Joe Biden comes out swinging after debate performance

South Asia has recently experienced severe weather, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people. The region has faced widespread destruction, with floods devastating Afghanistan and landslides wreaking havoc in Nepal.

Kathmandu

Severe flooding in Afghanistan and landslides in Nepal

Russian scientists are performing an autopsy on a wolf frozen in permafrost for about 44,000 years, a find they said was the first of its kind.

Siberia

Scientists discover intact 44,000-year-old wolf carcass

A hardline protege of Iran's supreme leader and a relative moderate are to face each other in a run-off presidential election. Both are loyalists to the system and neither is expected to bring a major shift, a lack of real choice that was reflected in a historically low turnout.

Tehran

Hardliner, moderate to stand in Iran Presidential run-off

The river Seine is still failing water quality tests one month before the Paris Olympics when it is scheduled to host the open-water swimming competition and the swimming leg of the triathlon, results showed Friday.

River Seine fails water quality tests ahead of Paris Olympics

Ahead of tomorrow's $300 energy rebate, the Australian government has rolled out a $200 million scheme implementing 420 community batteries nationally, as part of its clean energy transition. The coalition wants to add nuclear power by 2035 to increase supply

Canberra

Federal government launches solar batteries nationwide

A day after his disastrous debate performance prompted calls for him to step aside, Joe Biden delivered a fiery campaign speech in North Carolina aggressively attacking Donald Trump while acknowledging his own age and shortcomings.

Biden tries to shake off debate disaster

COVID-19 has infected hundreds of millions worldwide, yet some never get it. British researchers now think the reason could be a specific gene that gives the immune system advance warning to destroy viral invaders quickly.

Scientists discover why some never had COVID-19

The AFP has charged a West Australian man who allegedly established fake free WiFi access points across various airports, to capture personal data from unsuspecting victims who mistakenly connected to them.

Mascot

Man arrested over fake airport wifi scam

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a 10-year security pact with the European Union in Brussels, the latest deal aimed at shoring up long-term support for Kyiv in its fight with Russia.

Brussels

Zelenskyy signs Ukraine security accord with E.U.

European Union leaders agreed to nominate Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the EU's powerful executive body. At a summit in Brussels, the bloc's 27 national leaders also picked former Portuguese premier Antonio Costa as the future chair of their European Council meetings.

E.U. leaders pick von der Leyen for second term as Commission chief

The US Supreme Court cleared the way for women experiencing medical emergencies to obtain abortions in Idaho, but the ruling's narrow scope meant it was a muted victory for reproductive rights activists. The decision comes two years after the conservative-majority bench dismantled the nationwide right to terminate a pregnancy, making it a pivotal issue in November's presidential election.

Idaho

U.S. Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho

President Joe Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance while his Republican rival Donald Trump battered him with a series of often false attacks at their debate, as the two oldest presidential candidates ever exchanged personal insults ahead of the November election.

Biden-Trump debate

Biden struggles, Trump spouts falsehoods in debate

Social media platform bosses have been grilled by a Senate Committee over its roles and responsibilities to Australian society. Facebook defended its decision to stop sharing mainstream media news.

Facebook defends ending news deals

Palestinian refugees in the West Bank city of Jenin are bracing for more Israeli raids days after Israeli soldiers strapped an injured Palestinian to the hood of a military vehicle, triggering international anger. Israel called the man a suspected militant, but also said its soldiers violated protocol.

Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp brace for more IDF raids

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is confident her party will win an absolute majority in parliament, form a government and impose limits on what President Emmanuel Macron can do to support Ukraine, she said days before voting starts.

France's Le Pen expects clear far-right win and power over Macron

Julian Assange spent his first night in 14 years as a free man back at home in Australia as the conservative opposition on Thursday cautioned the government against hailing the WikiLeaks founder as a hero.

Julian Assange freed

Assange not 'a hero', says Opposition

Bolivia's army chief was arrested after deploying soldiers and tanks to government buildings, which President Luis Arce called an attempted coup. Surrounded by soldiers and tanks, the dismissed army chief General Juan Jose Zuniga claimed the armed forces aimed to restructure democracy.

Sucre

Bolivian army chief arrested for alleged coup

Kenyan police fired teargas at dozens of protesters as demonstrations continued across the country on Thursday (June 27), albeit at a smaller scale than before Kenyan President William Ruto promised to scrap a controversial finance bill.

Nairobi

Kenya protests continue after president's tax climbdown

Bolivian armed forces pulled back from the presidential palace in La Paz and a general was arrested after President Luis Arce slammed a "coup" attempt against the government and called for international support.

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Israel-Gaza War