The arrival of the Moroccan personnel was confirmed on Tuesday by the Board of Peace established under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. A source familiar with the deployment said the officers reached the ISF headquarters in southern Israel on June 18 and would assist in developing the force’s organizational structure while providing expertise in policing and security operations.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that four Moroccan officers were part of the contingent but did not disclose whether additional personnel had also been deployed.

Morocco announced in February that it would contribute police and military personnel to the planned force, becoming the first Arab state to publicly commit troops to the initiative.

The deployment forms part of the second phase of a Gaza framework announced by Washington in January and later endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The plan aims to transition the Gaza Strip from active conflict toward a longer-term security and governance arrangement following the war triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Under the framework, Israel would gradually withdraw forces from parts of Gaza, Hamas would be disarmed, and an international stabilization mission would be deployed to support security and reconstruction efforts.

Despite diplomatic backing, implementation has progressed slowly. While the ceasefire that entered into force in October has largely prevented a return to full-scale warfare, negotiations over a permanent settlement remain stalled.

The proposed stabilization force has been discussed repeatedly by international mediators but has yet to become operational inside Gaza.

Hamas stated in February that it could accept the presence of an international force provided it did not interfere in the territory’s internal affairs. The group has governed Gaza since seizing control of the enclave in 2007.

Israeli officials say their forces currently maintain control over approximately 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, up from slightly more than half immediately after the initial troop redeployments conducted under the ceasefire arrangements.

The truce has remained fragile, with both Israel and Hamas regularly accusing each other of violations while international mediators continue efforts to secure a broader political agreement.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect. The United Nations has previously cited the ministry’s casualty data as generally reliable for monitoring conflict-related fatalities.

The Israeli military has reported the deaths of five soldiers during the same period.

The arrival of Moroccan personnel represents a tangible step toward establishing the multinational security mission envisioned under the ceasefire framework, even as political and security obstacles continue to delay its full deployment inside Gaza.

An overnight airstrike hit an apartment building in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, killing four members of the Al-Safadi family, including a husband, wife and their two daughters, Gaza’s civil defense agency said. The agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said the attack also wounded 12 other people.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed receiving the bodies of four members of the family, including two children.

Relatives said the victims were civilians with no involvement in militant activities. Nael Al-Safadi, a family member, said the strike occurred while the family was asleep inside the building.

Footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the apartment, with sections of the exterior wall destroyed and household belongings scattered among the rubble.

In a separate incident, Al-Shifa Hospital said it received the body of one person killed in an Israeli drone strike near an intersection in northern Gaza City.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either incident.

The latest deaths come as Israel and Hamas continue to exchange accusations of violating the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10 last year. Although large-scale fighting has subsided, sporadic strikes and security incidents have continued across the territory, complicating efforts to secure a permanent end to the conflict.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, at least 1,012 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the ceasefire began. The United Nations has generally regarded the ministry’s casualty figures as reliable, although independent verification remains difficult because of restrictions on media access and movement within Gaza.

The Israeli military has reported five fatalities among its forces during the same period.

The continuing violence highlights the fragility of the truce and the challenges facing diplomatic efforts aimed at transforming the ceasefire into a lasting political settlement.

Osama Abdullah, head of the village council in Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, said settlers targeted the village’s main mosque during the early hours of the morning, causing damage to an ablution facility and leaving hostile graffiti on the structure.

“Settlers set fire to the ablution room, caused damage to the village’s main mosque, and scrawled hostile slogans on the outer walls,” Abdullah told AFP.

Journalists who visited the site observed extensive smoke and fire damage inside the mosque. The ceiling, walls and flooring were blackened, while Hebrew-language graffiti was visible on exterior surfaces.

Among the inscriptions were slogans reading “vengeance” and “hi from the Hilltop Youth,” a reference to a loosely organized group of Israeli settlers frequently accused by Palestinians and rights organizations of carrying out attacks against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

According to Abdullah, the attackers arrived between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and were unable to enter the mosque because its doors were locked. He said they subsequently set fire to a lower-level room used for ablutions before leaving the area.

The blaze was extinguished by Palestinian civil defense teams with assistance from residents of Jiljiliya and neighboring villages, he added.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the incident.

The attack comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions and increasing reports of settler violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Palestinian officials and international organizations have repeatedly raised concerns over attacks targeting homes, agricultural land, vehicles and religious sites.

The United Nations has recently warned that violence involving Israeli settlers has reached record levels, reporting an average of six incidents per day resulting in casualties, property damage or both.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to approximately three million Palestinians as well as more than 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements outside East Jerusalem.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a position rejected by successive Israeli governments.

Settlement expansion and settler-related violence have become increasingly contentious issues under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which includes several ministers who openly support settlement growth.

Residents of Jiljiliya said the attack has heightened fears within the community, while local leaders called for accountability and protection of religious sites from further violence.

No arrests were immediately reported.

Marketing brochures distributed at the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event” reportedly included properties in Ma’ale Adumim and Givat Zeev in the West Bank, as well as Ramat Eshkol and Givat HaMatos in East Jerusalem, areas widely regarded as occupied territory under international law.

The disclosures were made by the UK-based group Jewish Anti-Zionist Action, which said it attended the event and collected promotional materials distributed to participants, according to reporting cited in the source material. The group said it documented listings from several real estate companies advertising properties in those locations.

Prior to the event, more than 100 British lawmakers had urged that the exhibition be cancelled, warning it could facilitate the marketing of properties linked to Israeli settlements. Some MPs said the concerns had been validated following the emergence of the promotional materials.

Labour MP Andy McDonald, co-chair of the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group, described the event as “an absolute abomination,” according to remarks cited in the report, and called for stronger government action to prevent UK-based trade involving settlement properties.

Organisers of the exhibition rejected the allegations ahead of the event, stating that exhibitors would only present properties within Israel’s internationally recognised borders, according to comments reported by Jewish News, while earlier references to settlement locations were removed from promotional material.

The UK government has previously stated that Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal under international law and are viewed as an obstacle to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Police said 15 people were arrested during protests linked to the event, which was held at a synagogue in northwest London and drew demonstrations both in support of and against the exhibition.

The deadliest incident occurred in Gaza City, where a drone strike hit the Jawazat camp for displaced Palestinians, killing eight people and wounding 15 others, according to the civil defense authority, which operates under the Hamas administration.

Al-Shifa Hospital said it received the bodies of eight victims from the strike. The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out an operation in the area, stating that it had targeted militants but providing no further details.

In southern Gaza, a separate strike killed 25-year-old Muhannad Othman Farwana in Khan Younis, according to civil defense officials and medical personnel at Nasser Hospital, who said several wounded people were also brought to the facility.

The Israeli military identified Farwana as a commander of a Hamas military cell and said he was killed in a precision strike. Hamas did not immediately comment on the allegation.

Relatives said the strike hit a tent erected on the roof of Farwana’s family home shortly before his scheduled wedding ceremony. Family members had been preparing for the celebration when the attack occurred, according to his cousin, Mohammed Farwana.

Later on Saturday, civil defense officials reported another fatal strike in southeastern Gaza City that killed a 37-year-old man.

The latest violence comes despite a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025 following more than two years of war triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Although large-scale hostilities have diminished, both Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of almost daily violations of the truce agreement.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas and whose casualty figures are regularly cited by United Nations agencies, at least 951 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began. The Israeli military has reported five fatalities among its personnel during the same period.

Independent verification of casualty figures and battlefield claims remains difficult because of restrictions on media access and movement within Gaza. International news organizations, including AFP, have said they are unable to independently verify many reports from the territory.

The continued exchange of strikes and accusations has raised concerns about the durability of the ceasefire, even as international mediators seek to prevent a return to full-scale conflict in the enclave.

Carney conveyed the message during a conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, while also expressing concern over conditions in Gaza, which his office described as “catastrophic.”

The Canadian leader reiterated Ottawa’s opposition to Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, violence by settlers, and attacks against Palestinian civilians, underscoring growing tensions between Canada and Israel over the conduct of the Gaza conflict and related humanitarian issues.

The latest intervention follows allegations by organizers of an international aid flotilla that activists detained by Israeli authorities after attempting to deliver assistance to Gaza were subjected to mistreatment while in custody. Organizers said several detainees required hospitalization for injuries and alleged that at least 15 activists reported sexual assaults, including rape.

Israel’s prison service has denied the allegations.
While Carney had already criticized Israel’s handling of the flotilla incident last week, Monday’s statement represented a broader condemnation and reflected the increasingly strained nature of bilateral relations.
The Israeli embassy in Ottawa did not immediately comment on Carney’s latest remarks.

Separately, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said she spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and informed him that Canada would provide evidence related to the alleged mistreatment of Canadian citizens detained during the operation.

Anand said she raised concerns over what Ottawa viewed as a denial of consular access to detained Canadians, arguing that such actions violated obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

“I raised that denying Canadian citizens access to consular services while they were detained violates the Vienna Convention and must never happen again,” Anand said in a statement posted on social media.
Saar rejected the criticism and said he had told Anand that participants in the flotilla had been motivated by support for Hamas. He also raised concerns about what he described as a rise in antisemitic incidents in Canada and called on Canadian authorities to take stronger action against antisemitic violence and incitement.

The dispute has added to mounting diplomatic friction between the two countries. Israel’s ambassador to Canada recently told Canadian media that bilateral government-to-government relations had deteriorated to their lowest point on record.
The episode highlights widening differences between Israel and several traditional Western partners over the conduct of the Gaza war, humanitarian access to the territory and the treatment of foreign nationals involved in aid initiatives linked to the conflict.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said five Indonesian citizens were detained after Israeli forces boarded flotilla vessels approximately 250 nautical miles from Gaza’s coast, while four other Indonesians remained aboard two of the 10 boats still heading toward the territory. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said 16 Malaysians had also been detained during the operation.

The flotilla coalition, comprising more than 50 boats and nearly 500 participants from 45 countries, departed from Turkiye last week on what organizers described as the final leg of a mission to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza and protest Israel’s restrictions on aid access.

“The situation on the ground remains highly dynamic,” Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said in a video statement, adding that Indonesian nationals still at sea remained vulnerable to interception by Israeli forces.

Indonesia urged Israel to release all detained activists and vessels and allow humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians “in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the ministry said.

Video footage circulating online showed Israeli naval personnel approaching several vessels in speedboats before boarding them in daylight on Monday. Organizers from the Global Sumud Flotilla said at least 41 boats had been intercepted and 337 participants detained.

Anwar said Malaysia was coordinating with other governments to secure the activists’ release. In a statement posted on social media, he said the interception violated international law and obstructed humanitarian relief efforts for Gaza’s civilian population.

Israeli authorities have not publicly detailed the status of those detained. Activists from several Asian countries, including South Korea, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, were also reported to be among those taken into custody.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono joined counterparts from Turkiye, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Jordan, Libya, the Maldives, Pakistan and Spain in issuing a joint statement condemning attacks on civilian vessels and what they described as arbitrary detentions of humanitarian activists.

The ministers said such actions constituted violations of international law and called for the immediate release of all detainees while urging respect for the activists’ rights and safety.

The latest interception follows similar incidents in recent months involving aid flotillas attempting to reach Gaza. Last month, Israeli forces intercepted more than 20 boats near the Greek island of Crete and detained roughly 175 activists, according to organizers.
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza have continued to deteriorate amid ongoing Israeli military operations following the outbreak of the war in October 2023.

The United Nations has said approximately 1.8 million people in Gaza have been displaced and remain heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance amid mounting shortages of food, medicine and shelter.

In a joint statement, Israel’s Defense Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality said the planned complex would include a military museum, a recruitment office and an office for Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Katz described the move as a matter of “sovereignty, Zionism, and security,” according to the statement.Israeli authorities demolished structures inside the UNRWA compound in January after ordering the agency to vacate the premises and halt operations at the site.

UNRWA condemned the demolition at the time as a violation of international law.The agency had stopped using the compound since the beginning of last year after Israeli directives targeting its operations in Jerusalem.A UNRWA spokesperson declined immediate comment on the cabinet decision.

UNRWA operates in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, Gaza and several neighboring countries, providing education, health care and social services to Palestinian refugees.

Most countries and the United Nations regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory captured by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Middle East war, while Israel considers the entire city its indivisible capital.

Katz said the establishment of Israeli defense institutions at the former compound carried symbolic significance, accusing some UNRWA employees of involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.Israel has alleged that a number of UNRWA staff members were linked to Hamas and participated in the assault that Israeli authorities say killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war in Gaza.

UNRWA has dismissed several employees following the allegations but has said Israel did not provide evidence supporting all accusations against agency personnel.

Former UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini previously accused Israel of conducting what he described as a large-scale disinformation campaign against the organization.

Gaza health authorities say more than 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began following the Oct. 7 attack.

James Elder, speaking on behalf of the UN children’s agency UNICEF in Geneva, said children were “paying an intolerable price” amid escalating violence and military activity across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.“Between January 2025 and today, at least one Palestinian child has been killed on average every single week,” Elder told reporters.

The remarks come amid intensified Israeli military operations in several West Bank cities and refugee camps, alongside growing displacement and humanitarian concerns in the territory.The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned about the impact of prolonged conflict and security operations on civilians, particularly children, in Palestinian areas.

Israel says its operations in the West Bank target armed militants and are aimed at preventing attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces.

The latest UN comments add to mounting international scrutiny over the humanitarian consequences of the conflict as violence continues across both the West Bank and Gaza.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said member states were close to reaching political agreement on the measures after months of internal deadlock.

“I expect political agreement on the sanctions on violent settlers, hopefully we will get there,” Kallas told reporters.

EU officials said the sanctions package would target seven Israeli settlers or settler-linked organizations accused of involvement in attacks and intimidation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The bloc is also expected to impose sanctions on representatives linked to Hamas.

Diplomatic momentum for the sanctions increased after the departure of former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, whose government had repeatedly blocked consensus on punitive measures against Israeli settlers.

Officials said the political shift in Hungary following the rise of nationalist rival Peter Magyar had effectively removed Budapest’s veto threat, allowing negotiations to advance.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, with near-daily clashes involving Israeli troops, settlers and Palestinians.

Palestinian officials and the United Nations have reported a further increase in settler attacks since the start of the regional conflict involving Iran and Israel earlier this year.

Human rights organizations and several European governments have accused extremist settlers of carrying out assaults, property destruction and intimidation campaigns against Palestinian communities, particularly in rural areas vulnerable to displacement.

Despite movement on settler sanctions, EU member states remain divided over broader punitive measures against Israel, including proposals to reassess trade relations or suspend cooperation agreements.
Several European capitals continue to argue that stronger action is needed to curb settlement expansion and prevent further destabilization in the occupied territories, while others remain cautious about increasing pressure on Israel amid ongoing regional conflict.

The sanctions discussion comes as international concern grows over deteriorating security conditions in the West Bank and the risk of a wider regional escalation involving Iran-backed armed groups and Israeli forces.