The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they happen.
US military confirms Houthi missiles hit 2 commercial ships in Gulf of Aden
LOS ANGELES — Yemen’s Houthis damaged two commercial vessels in missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden in the last 24 hours as part of the militia group’s ongoing campaign against international ocean shipping, US Central Command says.
The Iran-backed Houthis hit the Tavvishi, a Liberian-flagged and Swiss-owned container ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile, CENTCOM says. The vessel was damaged, but no crew were injured, according to CENTCOM.
Two missiles fired by the Houthis struck the Norderney, a German-owned cargo ship operating under Antigua and Barbados flags, CENTCOM says. That ship sustained damage, but no crew were injured and the vessel continued on its journey, CENTCOM says.
The Houthis previously said they had hit the Tavvishi and Norderney, and claimed to have set the latter ablaze.
MSC Ship Management is the manager of the Tavvishi, according to LSEG data. Reuters cannot immediately reach the firm for comment. Sunship Schiffahrtskontor, manager of the Norderney according to LSEG, also cannot be reached for comment.
CENTCOM says its forces also destroyed an uncrewed aerial system over the Gulf of Aden as well as two land attack cruise missiles and one missile launcher in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
UN food agency pauses delivery of aid from US pier in Gaza, citing safety concerns
The director of the UN World Food Program says Sunday the program has “paused” its distribution of humanitarian aid from an American-built pier off Gaza, saying she was “concerned about the safety of our people” after what had been one of the deadliest days of the war there.
Saturday saw both an Israeli military operation that freed four hostages from Hamas captivity but was accompanied by deadly fighting, and, Cindy McCain says, two of WFP’s warehouses in Gaza had been “rocketed” and a staffer injured.
The UN announcement of the pause appears the latest setback for the US sea route, set up to try to bring more aid to Gaza’s starving people.
The US Agency for International Development describes the pause as a step to allow for a security review by the humanitarian community in Gaza. USAID works with the World Food Program and their humanitarian partners in Gaza to distribute food and other aid coming from the US-operated pier.
The UN agency gives no further details, including how long the pause will last. WFP spokespeople do not respond to requests for further details.
Asked about the pier operation during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” McCain says: “Right now we’re paused.”
“I’m concerned about the safety of our people after the incident yesterday,” McCain says, without elaboration. “We also, two of our warehouses, the warehouse complex were rocketed yesterday.”
“We’ve stepped back for the moment,” she says, and want “to make sure that we’re on safe terms and on safe ground before we’ll restart. But the rest of the country is operational. We’re doing … everything we can in the north and the south.”
USAID says in a statement to The Associated Press that it’s working with other US government officials and with humanitarian groups in Gaza “to ensure that aid can safely and effectively resume movement following completion of the security review that the humanitarian community is currently undertaking.”
US drops UNSC resolution’s rejection of IDF buffer zone in Gaza ahead of Monday vote
The US has circulated another amended version of its Security Council resolution in support of Israel’s latest hostage-ceasefire deal proposal ahead of tomorrow’s expected vote.
The draft obtained by The Times of Israel has removed a clause that stressed opposition to the establishment of security buffer zones in Gaza following pushback from Israel.
Israel months ago began work on a security buffer zone on the Gazan side of its southern border, which some of its officials have insisted is temporary. The move has been condemned by the US, but a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this year that Washington’s opposition hasn’t been as fierce behind closed doors.
The latest text still includes a clause rejecting “any attempt at demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any actions that reduce the territory of Gaza.”
The new draft also now includes the critical “clause 14” of Israel’s hostage deal proposal, which states that phase one’s six-week ceasefire can be extended as long as the talks between the parties during this stage — aimed at finalizing the terms of phase two — are ongoing.
Additionally, the new draft more clearly states that Israel “accepted” the latest hostage deal proposal, as opposed to the previous version’s text, which said that the most recent offer “is acceptable to Israel.”
US has circulated another amended version of its UNSC resolution in support of Israel's latest ceasefire proposal ahead of tomorrow's expected vote
Clause stressing opposition to establishment of security buffer zones in Gaza has been removed following pushback from Israel (1/5) pic.twitter.com/jyoFfiMKX2
— Jacob Magid (@JacobMagid) June 10, 2024
US resumes airdrops of humanitarian aid into northern Gaza
WASHINGTON — An American cargo plane dropped more than 10 metric tons of rations into northern Gaza on Sunday, the US military says, after a suspension of such deliveries due to Israeli operations in the area.
The air drop provided “life-saving humanitarian assistance in northern Gaza,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) says in a statement.
“To date the US has airdropped more than 1,050 metric tons of humanitarian assistance” in addition to aid delivered via a temporary pier attached to the Gaza coast, it says.
“These airdrops are part of a sustained effort, and we continue to plan follow-on aerial deliveries,” CENTCOM adds.
The Pentagon said in late May that factors including Israeli operations and weather conditions were affecting the drops, while deputy CENTCOM commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said Friday that they had been “suspended due to the kinetic operations happening in the north” but were expected to resume soon.
The latest airdrop came a day after aid deliveries were restarted via the pier, which was damaged by bad weather last month and had to be repaired in a nearby port before being reattached to the coast.
IDF confirms launching interceptors at ‘suspicious aerial target’ from Lebanon
The IDF confirms that in launched interceptor missiles at a “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.
“The incident is over,” the military says in a statement.
It also adds that sirens were activated in Acre and Kiryat Bialik were activated due to concerns about falling interceptor shrapnel.
Video shows interceptor missile launched over Acre
Video shared on social media shows an interceptor missile being launched over Acre.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says that a woman was lightly hurt while rushing to a bomb shelter but that otherwise no one was injured in the latest attack on the north.
אזעקות נשמעו בגליל העליון ואזור מפרץ חיפה | תיעוד יירוט מעל עכו@ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/r7hxMafqe8
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 9, 2024
Rocket warning sirens sound in Acre, Haifa suburb
Incoming rocket sirens sound in the northern coastal city of Acre and the surrounding area, around 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the Lebanon border.
A minute later, sirens are activated in Kiryat Bialik, one of the so-called Krayot suburbs of Haifa.
Residents quoted by Hebrew media outlets report hearing the sound of booms.