Eight killed in latest shooting near Israeli and U.S.-supported aid site in Gaza. The war in Gaza is still raging, more than 20 months after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited it. That attack also set off a chain of events that led to Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on Friday.

The witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire around dawn toward crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to two aid sites in Rafah. Experts and aid workers say Israel’s blockade and military campaign have caused widespread hunger and raised the risk of famine.

The shooting happened hundreds of metres (yards) away from the sites, which are operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group that Israel and the United States hope will replace the UN-run system of aid distribution. The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles.

There have been near-daily shootings near the sites since they opened last month. Witnesses say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on the crowds and health officials say scores have been killed. The military has acknowledged firing warning shots at what it says were suspects approaching its forces.

“There were wounded, dead, and martyrs,” Ahmed al-Masri told The Associated Press on Sunday as he returned from one of the sites empty-handed. “It’s a trap.”

Umm Hosni al-Najjar said she joined the crowd heading to the aid point in Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighborhood around 4:30 a.m. She said the shooting began as people were advancing to the site a few minutes after her arrival.

“There were many wounded and martyrs,” she said. “No one was able to evacuate them.”

The Nasser Hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis said it received eight bodies after the shooting.

The aid system rolled out last month has been marred by chaos and violence, while the UN system has struggled to deliver food because of Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of law and order, despite Israel loosening a total blockade it imposed from early March to mid-May.

Israel and the U.S. say Hamas has siphoned aid off of the UN-run system, while UN officials say there is no evidence of systematic diversion. The UN says the new system does not meet Gaza’s needs, allows Israel to control who gets aid and risks further mass displacement as people move closer to the sites.

Two are in the southernmost city of Rafah — now mostly inhabited — and all three are in Israeli military zones that are off limits to independent media.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says there has been no violence in or around the distribution points. It has warned people to stay on the designated routes and recently paused delivery to discuss safety measures with the military.

Hamas started the war with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage. The militants still hold 53 hostages, fewer than half of them alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s military campaign has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up most of the dead, but doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90 per cent of its population, often multiple times. The vast majority rely on international aid because the offensive has destroyed nearly all of Gaza’s capacity to produce food.

Magdy reported from Cairo.

WASHINGTON, June 15. The United States has nothing to do with the latest attack of Israel against Iran, President Donald Trump said on his page in Truth Social.

"The US had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight," Trump said. "However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict," he stressed.

Any attack of Iran against the United States will have a response of the US Armed Forces with "full strength and might," the US leader added.

Israeli authorities have imposed strict censorship, blocking the dissemination of information about the aftermath of Iran’s attacks. However, footage captured by residents reveals widespread destruction in the port city of Haifa, with thick plumes of smoke rising from multiple locations and fires breaking out in several areas. Preliminary reports indicate at least one Zionist has been killed and three others wounded during the latest wave of strikes.

Iran’s first night of attacks, which began late Friday and continued into the early hours of Saturday, primarily targeted Tel Aviv and surrounding towns. According to a statement from the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), at least 150 military and spy sites were successfully struck by ballistic missiles.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has declared that Iran’s Armed Forces will leave Israel "helpless." Military officials, replacing those assassinated by Israel this week, have vowed to "open the gates of hell" to the regime and continue the attacks for as long as necessary. The Pezeshkian administration has firmly aligned itself with the Leader and military officials’ stance.

#Israeli research institute struck in #Iranian missile attack - NYT

An Iranian missile attack damaged the prominent research center The Weizmann Institute for Science in Rehovot south of Tel Aviv on Saturday, the New York Times reported citing imagery it had obtained.

A fire occurred in at least one building containing laboratories, the newspaper added.

Two UAVs were intercepted by the IAF after sirens sounded in the area of Arava

TEL AVIV, June 15. The #Israeli Air Force (IAF) intercepted two unmanned aerial vehicles in the south of the country, the Israel Defense Forces said.

"Two UAVs that were launched toward Israeli territory were intercepted by the IAF" after sirens sounded in the area of Arava," the statement reads.

#OTTAWA, June 15. Leaders of the member-countries of the Group of Seven (G7), which comprise the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United States, France and Japan will gather for their 51st summit.

Their meeting will take place this year from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis, Alberta. Guests are expected to gather on June 15. According to Canadian mass media, only informal meetings of leaders are expected on that day and the official part will start on Monday, June 16.

Main topics of the meeting are expected to be the conflict in Ukraine, the situation in the Asia-Pacific Region and the tariff policy of US President Donald Trump, sources in the Canadian government said before. Western leaders will maximize the use of bilateral meetings to solve economic problems in the first instance.

The situation in the Gaza Strip is outside the official agenda but may go to the forefront, considering the latest aggravation of the situation between Iran and Israel.

#Iran will not notify IAEA about its nuclear activities anymore — Foreign Ministry
Iran will not be able to cooperate with #IAEA as before, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said

June 15. Iran will not notify the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about its activities for nuclear program implementation after Israel’s attacks, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said.

"New and special measures for protection of nuclear materials and equipment will not be communicated to the International Atomic Energy Agency since now on. Iran will not be able to cooperate with IAEA as before," the diplomat said on the air with the Iranian television.

Overnight into June 13, Israel kicked off Operation Rising Lion aimed against Iran’s nuclear program. The Israel Defense Forces said that 200 fighter jets attacked more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities.

On the evening of June 13, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that Iran retaliated by attacking dozens of targets in Israel with missiles, including military facilities and air bases, striking, in particular, the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Israel said some targets were hit but most of the missiles were intercepted.

#Israel's mission hinges on destroying Iran's hardest nuclear target, One factor that could determine whether Israel's audacious attack on Iran proves a daring success or a dangerous mistake is the fate of Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment site.

Israel will require unforeseen tactical ingenuity or U.S. assistance to destroy Fordow, which is built into a mountain and deep underground. But if the facility remains intact and accessible, a nuclear program Israel is determined to "eliminate" could actually accelerate.

"The entire operation... really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordow," Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told Fox News on Friday.
That's why the Israeli government hopes the Trump administration ultimately decides to join Israel's operation.

Breaking it down: Israel lacks the huge bunker busters needed to destroy this facility and the strategic bombers to carry them. The U.S. has both within flying distance of Iran.

An Israeli official claimed to Axios that the U.S. could still join the operation, and that President Trump even suggested he'd do so if necessary in a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the days leading up to launch.
But a White House official denied that, telling Axios Trump said exactly the opposite. The U.S. currently has no intention of getting directly involved, the official said.

Yes, but: Some experts think Israel could try to replicate the effect of a massive bunker buster by repeatedly bombing the same location.

A much riskier approach would be sending special forces to raid the facility.
Israeli special forces conducted such a raid last September, albeit on a smaller scale, when they destroyed an underground missile factory in Syria by planting and detonating explosives. The entire operation took two hours.

Driving the news: Netanyahu argued Israel was compelled to act because of Iran's growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and because intelligence suggested Iran was resuming R&D on nuclear weaponization.

Israel targeted nuclear enrichment facilities, centrifuge production lines and nuclear scientists in hopes of decimating the program.

Israel urges U.S. to join war with Iran to eliminate nuclear program

Israel has asked the Trump administration over the past 48 hours to join the war with Iran in order to eliminate its nuclear program, according to two Israeli officials.

The big picture: Israel lacks the bunker buster bombs and large bomber aircraft needed to destroy Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment site, which is built into a mountain and deep underground. The U.S. has both within flying distance of Iran.

But the Trump administration has so far distanced itself from Israel's operation, and argued that it would be illegitimate for Iran to retaliate by striking U.S. targets.
Directly attacking Iran, even if the U.S. involvement is limited to bombing a single site, would pull the U.S. directly into the war.
However, if Fordow remains operational after the operation ends, Israel will have failed in its goal to "eliminate" Iran's nuclear program.

Behind the scenes: An Israeli official claimed to Axios that the U.S. might join the operation, and that President Trump even suggested he'd do so if necessary in a recent conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A White House official denied that on Friday. A second U.S. official confirmed on Saturday that Israel has urged the Trump administration to join the war, but said currently the administration is not considering it.
A senior White House official told Axios Saturday that "whatever happens today cannot be prevented," referring to Israel's attacks.

"But we have the ability to negotiate a successful peaceful resolution to this conflict if Iran is willing. The fastest way for Iran to accomplish peace is to give up its nuclear weapons program," the senior official added.

#Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia’s war effort. A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in #Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine’s position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports.

“The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,” Zelenskyy said. “The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.”

Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East.
Zelenskyy to address concerns with the U.S.

Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,” he said.

Zelenskyy also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East.

“We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.”

Ukraine’s military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelenskyy said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel.

“And for us it was a blow,” he said. “When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.”

An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop.