The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
IDF says fighter jets intercepted suspicious object heading toward Israel from the east
The IDF says that its fighter jets successfully intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” heading toward southern Israel from the east.
The object did not cross Israeli airspace and no sirens were activated, the IDF adds.
Biden meets with US citizen freed in first hostage deal he helped broker
US President Joe Biden met earlier this afternoon with Liat Beinin Atzili, an Israeli-American who was released as part of the hostage agreement Washington helped broker in late November.
Atzili was joined by members of her family, and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also sat in on the meeting, the White House says.
Brazil adopts free trade with Palestinian Authority in show of support
Brazil has put into effect a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority that has been waiting for ratification for more than a decade, in a show of support for the Palestinian people.
“The agreement is a concrete contribution to an economically viable Palestinian state, which can live peacefully and harmoniously with its neighbors,” Brazil’s foreign ministry says in a statement.
It says Brazil, which recognizes a Palestinian state and allowed a Palestinian embassy to be built in the Brazilian capital in 2010, ratified the agreement on Friday between the Mercosur trade bloc of South America and the Palestinian Authority that had been signed in 2011.
It is not clear whether other Mercosur members would follow suit. Argentina’s right-wing government of President Javier Milei is not expected to do so.
The foreign ministries of Uruguay and Paraguay did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Palestinian ambassador in Brasilia, Ibrahim Al Zeben, calls Brazil’s decision “courageous, supportive and timely.”
It is “the effective way to support peace in Palestine,” he says in a message to Reuters, adding that he hopes Palestinian trade with Mercosur, currently only $32 million a year, will grow.
Zikkim beach 3 km from Gaza border said set to reopen for first time since Oct. 7
The Zikim beach located just three kilometers from the Gaza border will reopen to the public on August 1 for the first time since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, Channel 13 reports.
Some of the 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists who invaded Israel in that attack, infiltrated through the Zikim beach, slaughtering roughly 19 people.
In recent months, Israeli authorities have worked to revive the beach after it incurred significant damage during the attack. The renovations included the construction of a large bomb shelter.
Channel 13 says that 20 IDF soldiers will be stationed at the beach and an outpost will be built where they will sleep. The beach will initially only be opened during daylight hours, the network says.
Senior State Department official heads to region for talks on Gaza war
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf has departed for the region where she will meet with various government officials to advance diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war, the State Department says.
Leaf will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank and Italy, returning to the US on July 14.
“The assistant secretary will meet with government officials on continued diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire agreement, secure the release of all hostages and ensure humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout Gaza. She will also have further discussions on the post-conflict period in a way that builds lasting peace and security,” the State Department says.
IDF says it struck Hamas, PIJ operatives gathered at school in central Gaza
A group of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives gathered at a school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat were struck by Israeli fighter jets earlier this evening, the IDF says.
According to the military, the operatives were carrying out “terror activity” from within the school and “using it as a shield for terror.”
The IDF says it used precision munitions in the strike to mitigate harm to civilians.