During the week of June 16, Israeli officials announced administrative changes in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, while an Israeli strike in Gaza killed a journalist for Al Jazeera. The events prompted statements from the Palestinian Authority, the United States, and several international organizations.
In the West Bank, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on June 18 that he had effectively annulled parts of the 1997 Hebron Agreement by transferring planning authority for the H2 zone, which includes Israeli settlements and the Ibrahimi Mosque, from the Palestinian municipality to Israeli control. The announcement was made during the inauguration of a new settlement.
In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry clarified that the agreement itself was not canceled but that a prior cabinet decision had transferred the planning powers. The Palestinian Authority described the move as illegal. The U.S. State Department reiterated its position that it “does not support Israel annexing the West Bank,” and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation issued a statement warning the action undermined the city’s status.
In a separate development, Israel’s Channel 13 reported that Israeli officials were pursuing a policy of expanding the military’s line of control westward into Gaza through periodic incursions without formal announcements. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization, estimated that Israeli forces now control approximately 64 percent of the Gaza Strip.
On June 20, an Israeli strike on a home in the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed three people, including Ahmed Wishah, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Mubasher. In a statement, Al Jazeera condemned the killing and said it was the 12th staff member killed in Gaza since October 2023. The Israeli military later stated that Wishah was an operative for Hamas. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 260 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the same period.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the number of Palestinians reported killed since a ceasefire agreement was announced passed 1,000 on June 17, reaching 1,024 by June 22. On June 18, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, told the UN Security Council that more than 250 children were among those killed and that no hospital in Gaza is fully operational. A UN report noted that humanitarian operations are funded at 24 percent of the required level, leading to rationing of essential supplies like fuel.
In the West Bank, several incidents of violence were reported. On June 17, arson attacks damaged mosques in the villages of Jiljiliya and Mazraa al-Nubani, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa and Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Israeli military confirmed the attacks to AFP but did not name any suspects. The incidents were condemned by eight Arab and Muslim nations.
Local Palestinian officials and activists also reported multiple instances of damage to water infrastructure. The mayor of Umm Safa, Marwan Sabah, said settlers damaged a main water pipe with heavy machinery. Other reports cited damage to water lines near Bedouin communities in Atouf and Khan al-Ahmar.
On June 22, the Israeli military reported that its forces shot and killed two Palestinian teenagers, Issa Awad, 19, and Rida Awad, 15, near the Karmei Tzur settlement. The military stated that the two had thrown firebombs at the settlement.
Meanwhile, construction continued on a new Israeli military base in Area A of the West Bank, an area designated for Palestinian administrative control under the Oslo Accords. Israel’s Civil Administration also approved 576 new housing units in West Bank settlements, according to Wafa. In a separate action, Israeli border police demolished structures at four unauthorized settler outposts.
