Israeli minister says hostage deal with Hamas would be ‘humiliation’ as Netanyahu offered ‘political safety net’ by opposition – as it happened

• Israeli politics was dominated on Monday by a row over whether the country should make a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said he will not be part of any deal, calling it a “a defeat and humiliation for Israel”. Brandishing a picture of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, he said “Prime minister, this is not the complete victory you promised. It is the complete failure. We will not be part of a deal of surrender to Hamas. The people of Israel, the bereaved families, IDF fighters in regular and the reserves, demand victory”

• Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he would provide prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a “political safety net” in order to get a deal through the Knesset if his coalition partners pull out of government. Lapid said “Netanyahu is a bad, failed prime minister, and he is to blame for the 7 October disaster, but the most important thing is to bring the kidnapped people back home”

• Israeli media reported that security sources were dismayed by a statement by Netanyahu on Sunday setting out Israeli pre-conditions for a deal. One source told Hebrew media outlet Ynet that it was “inappropriate conduct that will harm the chance of returning the abductees home”

• A senior Israeli delegation including Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar is in Egypt to continue talks

• A protest was held outside the Knesset in Jerusalem with the mothers of some of the about 120 people being kept captive by Hamas in Gaza holding a sign in Hebrew which read “Mother never gives up”

• AFP reported that a senior Hamas official on Monday accused Netanyahu of stepping up combat and bombardment in Gaza in order to derail the latest truce effort.

• More Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s military as it pushed into Gaza City, and again ordered people to forcibly evacuate their homes. The Palestinians death toll from the conflict has risen to 38,193 Palestinians according to the health authority in Gaza. Israel’s military says it has lost 324 troops during its ground operation. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict

• Israel’s military has claimed that in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City it has destroyed a Hamas headquarters which it says was converted from a school and health clinic “from civilian use to terrorist purposes”. The claims have not been independently verified

• Israel’s military confirmed it was responsible for killing Mustafa Hassan Salman, a Hezbollah member, inside Lebanon. The Iran-backed militant group announced his death earlier on Monday. Israel’s statement said he was “an operative in Hezbollah’s rockets and missiles unit, who took part in the planning and execution of numerous terror attacks against the state of Israel”

• Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has warned Israel that it would support Lebanon against any Israeli aggression, which would “increase tension and threaten security in the region”. Nasser Kanaani said “Defending Lebanon is a fundamental principle for Iran”

• The Yemen Data Project has said that the US-led strikes on Yemen increased in June compared to May. It recorded 26 strikes in June, compared to 15 in May, and recorded two people killed and nine others wounded by the June strikes

The Yemen Data Project has said that the US-led strikes on Yemen increased in June compared to May. It recorded 26 strikes in June, compared to 15 in May, and recorded two people killed and nine others wounded by the June strikes.

Yemen’s Houthis launched 37 attacks on maritime traffic during June, with six of them successfully striking vessels.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has warned Israel that it would support Lebanon against any Israeli aggression, which would increase tension and threaten security in the region.

The Beirut-based Al Mayadeen channel quoted Nasser Kanaani saying that an attack on Lebanon would “constitute a basis for increasing tension in the region and threaten security and peace there.”

He continued:

Defending Lebanon is a fundamental principle for Iran, which will without a doubt support Lebanon in the face of any Israeli aggression. Iran will not hesitate to support Lebanon and protect its security when needed. Israel will bear the consequences of any attack on Lebanon.

Israel’s military has claimed that in the Shujaiya area of Gaza City it has destroyed a Hamas headquarters which it says was converted from a school and health clinic “from civilian use to terrorist purposes”.

It claims its troops “found and destroyed a weapons manufacturing site and dozens of weapons, including mortar shells, machine guns, hand grenades.”

Israel also claimed it found “intelligence documents belonging to Hamas” which were hidden among uniforms and equipment belonging to Unrwa, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees.

The claims have not been independently verified.

A protest outside the Knesset in Jerusalem has been held with the mothers of some of those being kept captive by Hamas in Gaza holding a sign in Hebrew which reads “Mother never gives up”.

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Israel’s finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said he will not be part of any deal with Hamas, threatening a split in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Speaking at a meeting of the Religious Zionist party, and posing with a picture of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Smotrich said:

We will not be part of a deal to surrender to Hamas. This deal is a defeat and humiliation for Israel and a victory for Sinwar. It will sentence to death 90 abductees who are not part of the deal and will result in thousands of murdered people who will die in the next massacre.

Hebrew media outlet Ynet reports that Smotrich challenged Netanyahu directly, saying:

Prime minister, this is not the complete victory you promised. It is the complete failure. We will not be part of a deal of surrender to Hamas. The people of Israel, the bereaved families, IDF fighters in regular and the reserves, demand victory. We must not disappoint them. We must not endanger the country.

Earlier opposition Yair Lapid stated that he would provide a “political safety net” for the prime minister, and help get an agreement through the Knesset if Smotrich and far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir were to quit the government over it.

Israel’s operation leader Yair Lapid has said that he will offer Benjamin Netanyahu a political safety net if he reaches a hostage release deal with Hamas.

Far-right elements in the Netanyahu government have spoken out against such a deal –finance minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier called it a “senseless folly” – leading to fears that the government could collapse if a ceasefire were to be announced.

However Lapid has said that he places the release of the hostages as his highest prioirty, and would offer political support to Netanyahu if that happened.

The Times of Israel quotes Lapid saying:

There’s a hostage deal on the table. It is not true that Netanyahu has to choose between the hostage deal and his continued tenure as prime minister. I promised him a safety net, and I will keep that promise.

This is not an easy statement, and it is not an easy decision. Netanyahu is a bad, failed prime minister, and he is to blame for the 7 October disaster, but the most important thing is to bring the kidnapped people back home.

The announcement that Netanyahu issued yesterday was destructive and harmful … [but the hostage deal] as a large majority here in the Knesset, it has to happen. We are coming back and offering Netanyahu a political safety net to make the deal – now.

Smotrich said earlier today that “This is the time to squeeze the neck until we crush and break the enemy. To stop now, just before the end, and let them recover to fight us again is a senseless folly that will take the achievements of the war bought with much blood down the drain. We must continue until victory.”

Israeli security sources have expressed “shock” that Netanyahu intervened in negotiations by issuing a public statement on Sunday night setting out Israeli pre-conditions, which has been described as hindering talks. A senior Israeli delegation is in Egypt to continue talks.

Israel’s military has issued a further evacuation warning, ordering civilians in the south-west of Gaza City to flee to Deir al-Balah.

The UN has estimated that nine out of ten people in the Gaza Strip have already been internally displaced by Israel’s nine-month long military campaign.

AFP reports that a senior Hamas official on Monday accused Benjamin Netanyahu of stepping up combat and bombardment in Gaza in order to derail the latest truce effort.

“Whenever a round of negotiations begins and a breakthrough is within reach, he disrupts it all and escalates the aggression and massacres against civilians,” the Hamas official said, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.

Israeli media has reported that security sources have told it that the Israeli prime minister’s release of a statement on Sunday was “inappropriate conduct that will harm the chance of returning the abductees home”.

Jordan’s news agency Petra reports that the country has carried out three aid drops over southern Gaza.

Israel’s military has confirmed that it was responsible for killing Mustafa Hassan Salman, a Hezbollah member. The Iran-backed militant group announced his death earlier.

Israel’s statement said he was “an operative in Hezbollah’s rockets and missiles unit, who took part in the planning and execution of numerous terror attacks against the State of Israel.”

Israel released footage which it said was of the attack, which appeared to show that Salman was targeted while in a moving vehicle.

Al Jazeera reports that two Palestinians have been killed in the latest Israel airstrike on Gaza City, in the Sabra neighbourhood in the south of the city.

The health authority in Gaza has issued an updated casualty figure from the conflict. It states that 38,193 Palestinians have been killed and an additional 87,903 wounded in Israel’s military offensive on the territory.

It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

Israeli media is reporting that security officials were left “shocked” by Benjamin Netanyahu’s public intervention yesterday into ceasefire negotiations.

Two unnamed officials told Kan “Negotiations should be conducted inside the room, not in announcements to the media. And certainly not just before the start of a meeting that determines the continuation of the negotiations”

Hebrew outlet Ynet reported that a security source described Netanyahu’s actions as “Inappropriate conduct that will harm the chance of returning the abductees home.”

Late on Sunday Netanyahu’s office issued a document entitled Principles for a Hostage Release Deal demanding that “any deal enable Israel to resume its offensive operations until it achieves its war goals”, to “prevent Hamas from smuggling arms from Egypt”, and to prevent “thousands of terrorists from returning to northern Gaza”.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid was deeply critical of Netanyahu’s statement, posting to social media to say “I have one response to the announcement from the prime minister’s Office: what is it good for? We are at a critical moment in the negotiations, the lives of the abductees depend on it, why issue such provocative messages? How does it contribute to the process?”

A senior Israeli delegation has travelled to Egypt to continue talks.

Esti Perez, a journalist with Kan News in Israel, has spoken to Lishi Miren, whose husband Omri is being held in Gaza by Hamas. The couple have two small daughters. Miren told Kan:

Alma was six months old when Omri was kidnapped. We taught her to say ‘Daddy’ and she recognises him in pictures. Roni remembers, misses him very much and wants him to come back, she talks about him every day. I have two roles, wife of an abductee and mother of two little girls – this what keeps me going.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that at least 30 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank in the last 24 hours. It also reports that Palestinian crops and greenhouse have been burned south of the city of Tulkarm after they were targeted by Israeli forces.

Reuters reports that Gaza residents said Israeli tanks advanced from at least three directions on Monday and reached the heart of Gaza City, backed by heavy fire from the air and ground. That forced thousands of people out of their homes to look for safer shelter, which for many was impossible to find, and some slept on the roadside.

Medics at the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist hospital in Gaza City had to evacuate patients to the already crowded and under-equipped Indonesian hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said.

The Palestinian Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claims to have fired mortar bombs against Israeli forces during the raid in southwest Gaza City.

The claims have not been independently verified.

A family member of one of the hostages being held in Gaza has been forcibly removed from a meeting of the Knesset constitution, law and justice committee.

Danny Elgarat was taken out by security forces after refusing to leave when ordered after a sharp verbal exchange. Elgarat’s brother, Itzik, is being held by Hamas inside Gaza. Noa Shpigel, reporting for Haaretz, described it as a heartbreaking image.

Al Jazeera reports that “at least four Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli raid on the Shejaiya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City”.

The news network has been banned from operating inside Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.