For today, links to eight reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Middle East Eye, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Israeli strikes in central Gaza kill at least 11 as the U.S. pushes a cease-fire plan. From AP. Palestinian health officials said Israeli strikes killed 11 people overnight into today, including a woman and three children, in central Gaza. A strike on a home in the built-up Bureij refugee camp . . . READ MORE . . .
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UN experts urge all countries to recognise Palestinian statehood. From Reuters. GENEVA — A group of United Nations experts called today for all countries to recognise a Palestinian state to ensure peace in the Middle East. READ MORE . . .
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Over a million flee Rafah as Israel weighs truce proposal. From Middle East Eye. The ongoing Israeli invasion of southern Gaza’s Rafah has forcibly displaced over one million Palestinians into damaged and destroyed facilities in nearby Khan Younis, the UN said today. Conditions for families there. . . READ MORE . . .
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Netanyahu says Gaza plan can begin before terms fully agreed — media. From Reuters. JERUSALEM — Israeli media quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying today that the first phase of a U.S.-promoted plan to wind down the Gaza war, entailing a limited hostage release by Hamas, could be undertaken without necessary agreement on what follows. The leaked quotes . . . READ MORE . . .
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Rafah border crossing can’t reopen unless Israeli forces quit Gaza side, Egypt says. From Reuters. DUBAI — The Rafah border crossing critical to aid deliveries into Gaza from Egypt cannot operate again unless Israel relinquishes control and hands it back to Palestinians on the Gaza side, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said today. READ MORE . . .
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U.S. pressures Hamas and Israel to permanently end the war in Gaza. Reported by Daniel Estrin and A Martínez | NPR President Biden surprised Israeli leaders on Friday when he went public with a ceasefire proposal that Israel had offered behind closed doors. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM JUNE 2 Israel seeks a ‘governing alternative’ to Hamas in Gaza. It’s been tried and failed before, by Melanie Lidman | AP JERUSALEM — Israel is looking into an alternative local governing body for Gaza, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Sunday, proposing a future beyond Hamas but . . . READ MORE . . .
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Biden’s road map basically signals the Zionist entity’s defeat, by Amira Abo el-Fetouh | Middle East Monitor What prompted U.S. President Joe Biden to deliver his urgent speech, in which he tried to fool the Arabs and pacify them with a “new” . . . READ MORE . . .