Middle East live: Israel prepared for ‘strong action’ in north near Lebanon, says Netanyahu | Israel-Gaza war

Here are the latest images coming over the wires from Gaza:

Israel’s military said it had launched “operational activity” in two areas of central Gaza in a possible expansion of its months-long ground offensive against Hamas.

The military said on Wednesday that its forces were operating “both above and below ground” in the eastern parts of Deir al-Balah and Bureij, a built Palestinian refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel. It said the operation began with airstrikes on the militants’ infrastructure, after which troops launched a “targeted daytime operation” in both areas.

Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Wednesday that his party would “destroy” the ruling coalition while Benjamin Netanyahu reveals details of future Gaza deal amid renewed ceasefire efforts.

“As long as the prime minister continues to hide the details of the deal, Otzma Yehudit will upset his coalition,” National Security Minister Ben-Gvir wrote to X, revealing deepening rifts in the country’s wartime coalition.

Hamas released a statement criticizing the Jerusalem flag march that is due to take place today. In the statement Hamas said: “The march of flags in occupied Jerusalem is an aggression against our peoples and holy places.”

Reuters reports that an Israeli police spokesman said more than 3,000 officers would be on duty in Jerusalem to “maintain the routine of life as much as possible.”

“Proceeding Israelis through Israel with Israeli flags is not inflammatory, it’s just a national holiday that will take place,” they said.

Many Palestinian shopkeepers have closed their businesses for fear of racist violence, and last year, Reuters noted, the event saw groups of Jewish youth chanting slogans including “Death to the Arabs.”

The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that the Jerusalem governorate said that “the march of flags in the streets of Jerusalem is an attack on the status quo in the occupied city and a continuation of the Israeli occupation measures aimed at Judaizing it. Israel uses aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza to advance the Judaization of the holy city.’

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvirwho is in charge of policing, said last week he would take part and encouraged supporters to join.

Israeli peace activists in Jerusalem have taken part in the ‘flower parade’ where they hand out flowers to Palestinian residents as an alternative to the Jerusalem Day flag parade planned for later today.

Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned Israel today for failing to protect the holy sites in Jerusalem.

He criticized the government of Israel for “holding the so-called flag march in occupied Jerusalem and the accompanying aggression against Palestinians and extremist racist practices, imposing restrictions on the access of worshipers to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and restricting the movement of Palestinians in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem.

The times of Israel reports that IsraelThe Russian government has increased the number of reservists the IDF is allowed to call up from 300,000 to 350,000.

The Israeli military posted on its official Telegram channel to claim that a “suspicious aerial target that passed from Lebanon was successfully intercepted in the area of Metula“.

The Office of the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has released several images of him being instructed on site in northern Israel during a visit there today.

Here is Netanyahu’s full quote released to the media:

We said at the beginning of the war that we would restore security to both the South and the North – and that is what we are doing.

Today I am on the northern border with our heroic fighters and commanders, as well as our firefighters. The ground burned here yesterday and I’m glad you put it out, but the ground burned in Lebanon too.

Whoever thinks that he can hurt us and we will respond with folded hands is making a big mistake.

We are prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another we will restore security in the north.

The Israeli army said it had launched “operational activity” in two areas of central Gaza.

The military said on Wednesday that its forces were operating “both above and below ground” in the eastern parts of Deir al-Balah and Bureybuilt Palestinian refugee camp dating back to 1948.

An Associated Press report said IS claimed the operation began with airstrikes on the militants’ infrastructure, after which troops launched a “targeted daytime operation” in both areas.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed overnight.

Al Jazeera reported that local sources said 75 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks in the center Gaza in the last 24 hours. It reported that “the attacks affected the densely populated Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, as well as neighborhoods east of Deir el-Balah.”

The Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating in Israel in May.

Here are some of the latest images sent to us by Gaza on the news channels.