Middle East updates: 'Serious concerns' over Israel's bombs

The Israeli government and military have reiterated their goal of eliminating the Hamas organization after a top army spokesperson said that Hamas as "an ideology" could not be eliminated.

"Hamas is an ideology, we cannot eliminate an ideology," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 on Wednesday.

"To say that we are going to make Hamas disappear is to throw sand in people's eyes," he added. "If we don't provide an alternative, in the end, we will have Hamas."

Hagari's comments prompted a quick rebuttal from the Israeli government and the Israeli military.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Hagari's comments "referred to the destruction of Hamas as an ideology and an idea, and this was said by him very clearly and explicitly."

"Any other claim is taking things out of context," it added.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said it remained committed to destroying the militant Islamist group.

"The political and security cabinet headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu defined as one of the goals of the war the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "The IDF is of course committed to this."

Three boys aged 12 and a 13-year-old are being held in connection to the Saturday rape of a 12-year-old girl in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie, French authorities announced Wednesday.

The boys, who were said to have been motivated by antisemitism, are being held on charges including aggravated rape of a minor younger than 15, violence and public insult motivated by religion, death threats, attempted extortion and unlawfully recording and broadcasting sexual images.

The victim told police she was gang-raped by the boys, who insulted her with antisemitic slurs.

French President Emmanuel Macron reacted by calling on schools around the country to hold discussion sessions on racism and antisemitism this week.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who called the incident "awful," said police were helpless to prevent such behavior, adding: "It’s a parenting problem… of authority. It’s a problem of society as a whole."

Reports of the crime have sent shockwaves across France at a moment when political parties jockey for position ahead of snap elections ordered by Macron after far-right gains in recent EU parliamentary elections.

Brussels has refused to host a Nations League soccer match between Belgium and Israel on September 6 due to security concerns.

In a statement on Wednesday, the city said that holding the match amid the ongoing war in Gaza "will undoubtedly provoke large demonstrations and counter-demonstrations, compromising the safety of spectators, players, Brussels residents and also the police."

The Belgian Football Federation (URBSFA) criticized the announcement from Brussels authorities, and said it would've accepted a compromise to hold the game behind closed doors.

"We deplore the decision taken by the City of Brussels — which has a lot of experience of organizing big events — to not organize the match in our stronghold," the federation said.

The federation said it would seek another city to host the match. Louvain has already announced that that it would not host the match either.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that "no place" in Israel would be spared from the group's weapons in case of a full-blown war.

The Iran-backed group has been trading fire with Israel for the last eight months in parallel with the war in Gaza.

But fighting between the Israeli forces and the group's armed wing on the border of Lebanon has escalated in recent days.

Last week, the group fired the largest volleys of rockets and drones of the hostilities so far at Israeli military sites after an Israeli strike killed the most senior Hezbollah commander yet.

On Wednesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said senior commanders had approved "operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon."

It came with a warning from Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz that Hezbollah would be destroyed in a "total war."

Nasrallah however, warned against such an operation. 

"The enemy knows well that we have prepared ourselves for the worst... and that no place... will be spared our rockets," he said in a televised address.

He said his group would fight with "no rules" and "no ceilings." 

Nasrallah also threatened Cyprus for the first time, saying Hezbollah could consider it "a part of the war" if it continued to allow Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises.

Urgent action must be taken in the Red Sea to stop attacks on merchant shipping by Yemen's Houthis, leading industry groups said in a joint statement after a second ship was sunk.

"The shipping community is appalled and deeply saddened with the tragic news that, yet another seafarer seems certain to have been killed in a drone boat strike on Wednesday 12 June while on board the MV Tutor in the Red Sea," the statement said.

The Greek-owned Tutor coal carrier attacked by Houthi's last week has sunk, salvagers confirmed on Wednesday.
The Iran-aligned militants first launched drone and missile attacks on the vital trade route in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. They have since launched more than 70 attacks, killing at least three sailors.

The shipping industry condemned these attacks, which it said were in direct violation of the fundamental principle of freedom of navigation.

"These attacks must stop now. We call for states with influence in the region to safeguard our innocent seafarers and for the swift de-escalation of the situation in the Red Sea," the statement said.

International naval forces have been deployed to provide mainly defensive support to ships still passing through the Red Sea. However, attacks have increased significantly.

A new report published by the United Nations (UN) human rights office has raised "serious concerns under the laws of war" regarding the Israeli military's use of heavy bombs in Gaza and the high numbers of civilian deaths.

The assessment highlighted six attacks carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which involved "the suspected use" of bombs ranging from 250 lbs to 2,000 lbs and which took place from October 9 to December 2, 2023. 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that 218 deaths had been verified from these six attacks which were carried out on "residential buildings, a school, refugee camps and a market."

"The requirement to select means and methods of warfare that avoid or at the very least minimize to every extent civilian harm appears to have been consistently violated in Israel’s bombing campaign," said High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. 

The report found that in these six attacks "the IDF may have repeatedly violated fundamental principles of the laws of war."

In a statement, the UN human rights office said Israel's "choices of methods and means of conducting hostilities in Gaza, including through the extensive use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas, have failed to ensure that they effectively distinguish between civilians and fighters."

Among the attacks listed were the strikes on the Ash Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City on December 2, which caused destruction across an approximate diagonal span of 130 meters, destroying 15 buildings and damaging at least 14 others.

The report found that the bombs deployed "are mostly used to penetrate through several floors of concrete and can completely collapse tall structures" and that considering the dense population of the areas targeted, "the use of an explosive weapon with such wide area effects is highly likely to amount to a prohibited indiscriminate attack."

Israel launched a military offensive after the Hamas-led terror attack on October 7, during which 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.

More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, although at least 40 have been declared dead in absentia by Israeli authorities.

Since then, more  than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Hamas-run health authorities.

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the United States and others.

State media in Syria on Wednesday reported that a military officer was killed in an alleged Israeli drone attack.

State-run news agency SANA cited a military source in reports an Israeli drone struck two sites in Quneitra and Daraa which led to the death of the officer.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the Syrian officer was close to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

The report cannot be independently verified.

Israel has previously targeted what it describes as Iran-linked forces, along with Hezbollah fighters and Syrian army positions. The strikes are often reported hitting ports and airports. 

A Greek-owned bulk carrier has sunk a week after being attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels, UK authorities said.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that debris and oil were sighted in the last known location in the Red Sea.

The vessel was attacked on June 12 while sailing off the coast of Yemen.

The Iran-backed Houthis say their attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea area are in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Reuters news agency reported that a salvage firm had been en route to recover the stricken vessel but was then informed that the ship was believed to have sunk.

Reuters cited the owner of the salvage firm as saying the salvage mission was then aborted.

It's the second time a ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea. The UK-owned Rubymar was the first, sinking on March 2, about two weeks after being struck by missiles.

The United States, Britain and other Western countries have launched operations to protect international shipping in the region.

kb/rc (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)