Panic and Havoc ensues as Palestinians are forced to flee the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in central Gaza after the Israeli army told them to evacuate; the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said that 86 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under similar evacuation orders.

This follows in response to a rocket attack that killed 12 people, mostly children, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel blames Lebanon’s Hezbollah for the attack; Israel’s security cabinet has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the power to decide how to respond.

Meanwhile, Israeli tanks have moved further into Gaza’s two main southern cities, Rafah and Khan Younis, as fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters continues.

At least 66 Palestinians have been reportedly killed in Israeli attacks in the past 24 hours.

So far, 39,324 people have been killed and 90,830 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. During the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, about 1,139 people were killed and over 200 were taken captive.

Lufthansa Suspends Beirut Flights

The German airline Lufthansa has stopped flights to Beirut until at least July 30 because of the current Middle East situation; as a precaution, the suspension also affects Swiss International Air Lines and Eurowings.

Turkey and Israel’s War of Words

Tensions between Israel and Turkey have also escalated.

Turkey’s foreign ministry compared Netanyahu to Hitler, saying his end will be like Hitler’s, stating that those trying to destroy Palestinians will be held accountable and humanity will support the Palestinians.

This statement came after Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to remarks by Turkey’s president suggesting Turkey should intervene in Israel to help Palestinians.

Katz compared Erdogan to Saddam Hussein and warned him to remember how things ended for Saddam.

Focus on Israel’s Next Moves in Lebanon
Israel has recently carried out several airstrikes on southern Lebanon and a drone strike on eastern Lebanon, where a building was hit, but there are no reports of casualties.

In retaliation, Hezbollah has also claimed to have targeted Israeli positions.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese government has talked to the United States, urging Israel to show restraint; Bou Habib warned that a significant attack by Israel could lead to a regional war.

Countering the request, the U.S. has also asked Lebanon to tell Hezbollah to show restraint. While both sides say they don’t want a full-scale war but are ready for one, this has escalated tension in the region.

Middle East Airlines, a major carrier in Lebanon, has delayed some flights to avoid landing during the night and early morning hours.

People in Lebanon believe this is a critical moment, with everyone watching Israel to see where and who they might attack next, and whether it will lead to more conflict.

Kamala Harris and US Policy on Gaza

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, likely the Democratic presidential nominee, has said she won’t stay silent about Palestinian suffering; however, rights advocates were quick to ask what this means for U.S. foreign policy.

They argue that showing sympathy for Palestinians without changing the U.S.’s policy of strong military and diplomatic support won’t help Harris win back voters upset with President Joe Biden’s approach to the war.

“Without an actual commitment to stop killing the children of Gaza, I don’t care about her empathy for them,” said Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist at the University of Chicago. She emphasized that the U.S. is responsible for the atrocities committed against Palestinians.

“Showing empathy while still providing the weapons and money that kill Palestinians is not enough. We need the U.S. to stop supporting the violence they claim to be empathetic about,” Abdelhadi added.

In a mixup, legal experts have criticized US Vice President Kamala Harris and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong for calling Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights an Israeli town, despite it being internationally recognized as part of Syria.

Israel occupied two-thirds of the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981.

Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University, said Harris’s condemnation of the attack on the Golan Heights was “entirely appropriate” but “recognition of Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights is not.”

In Australia, Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, responded to Wong’s tweet:

“Majdal Shams is not an ‘Israeli’ town. It is a Syrian town in the occupied Syrian Golan. Is Australia now recognizing illegally annexed territory? Does this apply to Crimea and eastern Ukraine?”

Israel’s Lapid Calls Erdogan ‘a Danger to the Middle East’

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned remarks from Turkish President Erdogan, who suggested Turkey might enter Israel to help Palestinians.

“President Erdogan is ranting and raving again. He is a danger to the Middle East,” Lapid wrote on X.

“The world, especially NATO members, must strongly condemn his outrageous threats against Israel and force him to end his support for Hamas. We won’t accept threats from a wannabe dictator.”

Earlier, Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, told his party members, “We need to be very strong so that Israel cannot do these ridiculous things to Palestine.”

“Just as we entered Karabakh and Libya, we can do something similar,” he said, referring to Turkey’s involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the 2020 conflict in Libya, where Turkey sent troops to support the government.

‘Enough of This. Where Do We Go?’
In response to the latest Israeli evacuation orders, Palestinians in central Gaza say they’ve been forced to flee multiple times and have no safe place left to go.

“I swear, I don’t know where to go. In 1948, they were displaced once,” said Um Mohammad, a displaced Palestinian in the Bureij refugee camp. “But this is the 10th time for us. I swear to God, I don’t know where to go.”

Abu Omar, another resident of Bureij, called for an end to the war.

“Find a solution for us. Enough. Where do we go?” he said. “They destroyed our homes. They killed our children. They displaced our women and men. Where do we go? Enough of this. Where do we go?”

Israeli Forces Raid Occupied East Jerusalem

Adding to the chaos, a large number of Israeli soldiers raided the al-Issawiya neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, arresting a young man and wounding several Palestinians as confrontations erupted, according to the Wafa news agency.

The soldiers also stormed a medical center and sprayed wastewater on homes and vehicles, Wafa reported, citing witnesses.