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Israel bombs school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan

Israel bombs school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan
By Alastair McCready, Ted Regencia, Tim Hume, Urooba Jamal, Nils Adler and Joseph Stepansky
Published On 26 Jun 2025

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26 Jun 2025 - 23:59
 (23:59 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

This live page is now closed.

For more context on the conflict, read more about the EU’s latest position on the war here.

Or learn about the numbers behind the 12-day Israel-Iran escalation here.

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in Deir al-Balah, Gaza [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]
26 Jun 2025 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page shortly. Here are the day’s major developments:

  • At least 71 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn. Two infants died of malnutrition in the enclave.
  • PM Netanyahu said the ceasefire with Iran opens the door to normalisation agreements, spiking concerns of Palestinians again being sidelined.
  • The Trump administration has doubled down that US attacks destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme, but one senator said classified intelligence shown to Congress did not support the claim.
  • The European Union called for a ceasefire in Gaza, but will not decide if Israeli abuses have violated a cooperation agreement until July.
26 Jun 2025 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

Photos: Palestinians rush to receive aid after trucks arrive in northern Gaza

Palestinians receive aid supplies after aid trucks enter through the Netzarim Corridor amid Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu]
[Ali Jadallah/Anadolu]
[Ali Jadallah/Anadolu]

26 Jun 2025 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)
Analysis

New normalisation agreements would send chilling message to Arab world

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of media studies at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said it was “unthinkable” that new normalisation agreements between Israel and other Arab countries could be reached with the war in Gaza still raging.

“To say this would be the wrong message to send, not only to the Palestinians, but to Arabs in the Arab world, I think would be an understatement,” Elmasry said.

The US and Israel have indicated new agreements could soon be announced, with reports indicating Syria and Lebanon are top possibilities.

“The message is that Israel can beat Arab states into submission. And, you know, these Arab states will effectively reward Israel by normalising with them,” he said.

26 Jun 2025 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

Iran calls US ‘self-defence’ justification for strikes a distortion of international law

Iranian media reported that the government wrote to the UN formally condemning the US for its recent strikes on nuclear facilities and rejecting its “self-defence” justification for the attacks.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that in the letter, Iran’s representative to the UN rejected Washington’s attempts to justify its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as an act of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

He said Iran denounced the explanation as a “blatant distortion” of international law and the UN’s Charter, saying the attacks were a violation of Tehran’s sovereignty, and contravened principles governing the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

In remarks to a UN Security Council briefing on non-proliferation and Iran on Tuesday, acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said the “precision operation” against Iran’s nuclear sites was carried out “in accordance with the inherent right to collective self-defense, consistent with the UN Charter”.

26 Jun 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

WATCH: Was the Iran war to establish Israel’s control over the Middle East?

Hours after President Trump said he wanted two weeks to think about whether to join Israel in bombing, he gave the order for a bunker-busting bomb attack that put the US in the middle of a major conflict.

Trump says Iran’s enrichment facilities have now been completely “obliterated”, but military experts say they’re not so sure.

So, what has he achieved by attacking Iran, and what options does Iran have now?

Watch the discussion below:

26 Jun 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

Gaza officials call aid sites ‘death traps’ amid rising casualties, missing civilians

Earlier today, Gaza’s Government Media Office said that at least 549 Palestinians have been killed trying to access aid since the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating four weeks ago.

The attacks at the “death traps”, it said in a statement, have also caused 4,066 injuries, and led to 39 missing people among starving Palestinian civilians.

“The occupation is using food as a weapon of mass killing, turning what it claims to be ‘aid’ into a tool of extermination and domination,” Gaza’s Government Media Office added.

26 Jun 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

France condemns Israeli settler attacks

France has called on the Israeli government to take “decisive action” after four Palestinians were killed in settler attacks in recent days.

Three Palestinians were killed in a settler attack on Kafr Malek, while a fourth person, identified by the Palestinian Health Ministry as a 48-year-old man, was killed in the town of Surif near Hebron last week.

“France condemns the repeated attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “France reiterates its condemnation of settlement activity and its strong opposition to any form of annexation.”

People gather around the body of a Palestinian who was killed during an Israeli settler attack at a hospital in Ramallah [Ismail Khader/Reuters]
26 Jun 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

US senator maintains Iran’s nuclear programme only set back months

Trump administration officials have held a classified briefing with members of Congress, after spending the day pushing back on reports that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were less effective than they have said.

Despite those claims, US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said that Trump officials did not provide any new information to support that Iran’s nuclear programme had been “obliterated”.

“To me it still appears that we have only set back Iranian nuclear programme by a handful of months,” Murphy told reporters, noting he could not provide further details on the classified information presented.

“There’s no doubt there was damage done to the programme, but the allegations that we have obliterated their programme just don’t seem to stand up to reason.”

Murphy also questioned the Trump administration’s transparency, asking why the director of national intelligence was not present at the briefing.

26 Jun 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Photos: Protesters in Tel Aviv call for end of war on Gaza, release of captives

Demonstrators block traffic during an antigovernment protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli captives, in Tel Aviv [Fadel Senna/AFP]
[Fadel Senna/AFP]
[Fadel Senna/AFP]

26 Jun 2025 - 21:35
 (21:35 GMT)

Two infants die in Gaza from malnutrition

The Palestinian news agency has reported that two infants have died today in Gaza due to malnutrition and the lack of formula milk.

The Wafa news agency quoted the uncle of one of the infants as saying that five-month-old Nidal died as a result of “lack of food and unavailability of milk”.

It cited the father of the other infant, 10-day-old Kinda, saying she had died of malnutrition and lack of medicine. Both infants were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel has severely limited aid access to Gaza in recent months, instead funnelling most deliveries through the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Earlier today, the WHO said it delivered its first medical aid delivery to Gaza since March 2, calling it a “drop in the ocean”.

26 Jun 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

How Israel used drones launched from inside Iran

By Maziar Motamedi

Reporting from Gilan, Iran

Just hours after the Israeli army and Mossad spy agency started their attacks on Iran before dawn on June 13, they released footage that appeared to have been recorded at night from undisclosed locations inside Iran.

One grainy video showed Mossad operatives, camouflaged and wearing tactical gear, including night-vision goggles, crouched in what looked like desert terrain, deploying weapons that aimed to destroy Iran’s air defence systems to help pave the way for incoming attack aircraft.

Others showed projectiles, with mounted cameras, descending to slam into Iranian missile defence batteries, as well as ballistic missile platforms. The projectiles appeared to be Spike missiles – relatively small, precision-guided anti-armour missiles that can be programmed to fly to targets that are out of their line of sight.

Israel also appears to have used a large number of explosives-laden small drones and quadcopters during the 12-day war to overwhelm Iranian defences as part of its multipronged assault operations.

Read more about how Israel launched attacks from inside Iran to sow chaos during war here.

Iran shot down an Israeli Hermes drone during the recent conflict, but Israel also launched large numbers of smaller drones from inside Iranian territory [File: Iranian Army Media Office/AFP]
26 Jun 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

In Gaza, every piece of bread comes with a risk

By Moath al-Kahlout

Reporting from Gaza City

For the people of Gaza, chasing the illusion of help can be more dangerous than hunger itself. The shelling never stops, and panic spreads fast.

For many, the distribution points run by the US and Israelis have become what the UN is now calling a death trap.

But now, not all aid lines end in bloodshed. In northern Gaza, coordination between Palestinian tribes has allowed for safer, locally secured distribution points. No shooting. No bombings. Just food and a shred of dignity.

In coordination with UN agencies and other international aid groups, Israel is allowing 100 aid trucks back into Gaza a day. This, after devastating scenes of crowds being shot at and hundreds being killed after Israeli attacks on aid distribution points run by US contractors.

In Gaza, every piece of bread comes with a risk. But even among the rubble, people find moments of unity and ways to survive. A single package might last only a few days, while the need is overwhelming and continuing.

Charity organisations distribute food to Palestinians at Nusierat Refugee Camp in Gaza City, Gaza on June 26, 2025. Palestinians, affected by the deepening food crisis in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli attacks, form long queues with containers in their hands to receive hot meals distributed by aid organisations [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]
26 Jun 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

Competing narratives on Capitol Hill regarding US strikes on Iran

By Heidi Zhou-Castro

Reporting from Washington DC, US

More information has been given to US senators here on Capitol Hill by the defence secretary, who was here a short while ago.

This was conducted behind closed doors and no classified information was shared. However, as you can imagine, the responses largely fell along party lines.

Lindsey Graham, a notable Republican senator, said he believed the US did obliterate Iran’s nuclear programme. He said this would set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions by years.

He noted that he had not shared information on whether the enriched uranium stockpile that Iran had prior to the strikes had been moved in time. And he said that further US strikes on Iran were not off the table.

Democrats, including Chris Murphy, had a different take. He said that Trump was lying when he said that the nuclear programme was obliterated.

Murphy said the programme was certainly damaged, but there is still remaining capability, and he believes that the programme was set back by only a few months, which is what the preliminary intelligence assessment that was leaked had also concluded.

26 Jun 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

Iran says detained assessment of damage being carried out at nuclear sites

Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi adds that a detailed assessment of the damage by US air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites is being carried out by experts from the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran.

He said that the damage is serious, and expert assessments and political decision-making are also under way at the same time.

26 Jun 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Iran denies any meeting with US next week

Iran currently has no plan to meet the US government, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, contradicting President Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.

The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear programme, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.

26 Jun 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Qatar’s emir, Turkiye’s president discuss Iranian strike

Qatar’s emir has spoken with Turkiye’s President Erdogan, in the latest call regarding Iran’s strike on a US air base in Qatar on Monday.

During the call, Erdogan “stressed his country’s absolute rejection of any aggression that threatens the security and safety”.

As we reported earlier, Sheikh Tamim also spoke with Iraq’s president about the Iranian attack.

26 Jun 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

Photos: Palestinians in Gaza form long queues to receive a hot meal

Charity organisations distribute food to Palestinians at Nusierat Refugee Camp in Gaza City [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]
Palestinians, affected by the food crisis in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli attacks and aid blockades, form long queues with containers in their hands in the hope of receiving a hot meal [Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]
[Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]
[Hassan Jedi/Anadolu]

26 Jun 2025 - 19:55
 (19:55 GMT)
Houthi

Gaza death toll rises

Hospital sources in Gaza report that 71 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes across Gaza since dawn.

Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Gaza City [Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut/Anadolu]
26 Jun 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

State Department approves $30m for controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The approval announced today comes despite global condemnation of the controversial group, whose aid delivery scheme has resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians.

It is the first known US government financial contribution to the GHF, although it has long been diplomatically supported by the Trump administration.

It comes at a time when the administration has severely curtailed other forms of international aid.