Al Jazeera

By Heba Habib and Zaid Sabah

    Funeral payers for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family are under way in the holy city of Qom.

    The UK’s maritime agency says an “unknown projectile” has hit a tanker off the coast of Oman, causing a fire. No casualties are reported.

    Hamas announces it will no longer govern Gaza, paving the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian government.

    Israeli forces keep up deadly attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, killing at least six Palestinians and four Lebanese despite US-brokered ceasefires.

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    Here’s what you need to know:

    Funeral prayers for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Khamenei are under way in the holy city of Qom.

    The UK’s maritime agency says a tanker off of the coast of Oman has been hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire on board the vessel.

    US officials, speaking to Axios, blamed Iran for the attack while Iranian media said the tanker was targeted because it was “planning to pass through the Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz with the support of the US Navy”.

    Lebanon’s President Aoun says he is preparing to travel to the White House before the end of July to meet Trump and advance the framework agreement signed with Israel.

    Hamas has accused Israel of trying to create an “administrative vacuum” in Gaza by continuing to block the entry of a UN-backed governing committee.

    Calls are growing for the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, with Amnesty International condemning Israel’s “terrifying” treatment of the detained Palestinian doctor.

Attack on tanker off of Oman could be linked to Iranian mine-clearing operations

    Hossein Royvaran, a Tehran-based analyst, says it is not yet clear why the tanker off the coast of Oman was targeted, noting that Iran has yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

    Speaking to Al Jazeera, he suggested one explanation was that the vessel had strayed into an area where Iranian teams were engaged in mine-clearing operations.

    “The area near Oman is likely full of mines,” he said. “There is a possibility that these ships headed in directions where Iranian teams in that area are clearing mines, and the ships’ movement might have threatened those teams,” he said.

    Royvaran said the ship’s position off the Omani coast indicated it had been attempting the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran does not endorse.

    He said Tehran had mined that stretch of water while keeping shipping lanes closer to its own coast clear, allowing traffic to continue unimpeded there.

    “There is no restriction in this regard and even the number of ships coming and going is large,” he said.

Hamas accuses Israel of trying to engineer ‘administrative vacuum’ in Gaza

    The Palestinian group – which has announced the dissolution of its governing body in Gaza – says Israel is trying to engineer an “administrative vacuum” in the territory by continuing to block the UN-backed technocratic committee from taking over governance of the Strip.

    Hamas said the dissolution of its governing body was a necessary step to facilitate the transition of power to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG, which was formed in January but has been blocked by Israel from entering the Strip.

    “The movement remains fully committed to implementing all provisions of the Gaza ceasefire agreement until administration is fully transferred to the National Committee,” Hamas said.

    It added that Israel is attempting to obstruct the implementation of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement and create “a reality of administrative vacuum” in Gaza to deepen Palestinian suffering and undermine efforts to restore normal life in the territory.

    Hamas went on to urge international mediators to pressure Israel to stop obstructing the handover.

What is the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza

    We have been covering Hamas’s decision to dissolve its government in Gaza and transfer power to the UN-backed Palestinian technocratic committee.

    The body is known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG.

    Here is what we know about it:

    The NCAG was established in January of this year under a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

    The transitional committee is supposed to take over the “day-to-day running of public services” and civil administration in Gaza, operating under Trump’s Board of Peace for the territory.

    According to its website, the committee currently has 13 members and is “composed exclusively of qualified Palestinians from the Gaza Strip”. It is led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister.

    The committee is currently based in Cairo, as Israel has prevented it from entering the Gaza Strip nearly six months after its founding.

Israeli officials dismiss Hamas dissolution as a ‘media stunt’

By Nour Odeh

Reporting from Ramallah, the West Bank, Palestine

    Israeli media is quoting senior officials as saying that the Hamas announcement (of the dissolution of its governing committee) amounts to a “media stunt”, a diversion, an attempt to deflect from Israel’s accusation that Hamas is not dismantling itself.

    It is not disarming and thus not implementing the Trump plan for Gaza.

    Over the past months, Israel has expanded its occupation of territory in Gaza to reach more than 70 percent of the Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said there would be no reconstruction, no withdrawal, no talk of any of that until and unless Hamas completely disarms.

    It is not clear how Israel wants that disarmament to happen without the presence of the local governance committee set up by the Board of Peace, a committee that has welcomed that announcement (by Hamas) for now.

    And the fear, the anticipation, or the trepidation, rather, in Israel right now is that this announcement may open the door for pressure on Israel to implement more of its obligations under the ceasefire.

Hero Gaza doctor facing ‘torture to death’ in underground Israeli jail

    Dr Hussam Abu Safiya saved hundreds of lives during Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

    Now he is in immediate danger after Israel transferred him to a notorious underground prison without charge or trial.

    Gaza’s hero doctor says Israel is torturing him to death.

    Our colleagues at AJ+ have more:

Amnesty condemns ‘terrifying’ treatment of detained Gaza doctor

    Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, has taken to X to condemn Israel’s abuses against detained Palestinian doctor Abu Safiya.

    In her post, Guevara Rosas described the emerging accounts of his detention as “terrifying” following reports from his lawyer that he has been subjected to “torture, severe abuse, and prolonged solitary confinement”, which have left his life at “imminent risk”.

    She further asserted that a doctor “who refused to abandon his patients during Israel’s Gaza Genocide‌ should never have been imprisoned in the first place”, emphasising that he must be released immediately and that “states cannot remain silent while his life hangs in the balance”.

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Funeral prayers for Khamenei under way in Qom

    As we’ve been reporting, the coffins of the slain supreme leader and members of his family have been taken to the holy city of Qom for more funeral rites.

    According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, funeral prayers for Khamenei and four members of his family are underway at the Jamkaran Mosque, located on the outskirts of the city of Qom.

    Footage posted online by the agency showed huge crowds of mourners gathered at the mosque for the prayers. Khamenei’s coffin will next be taken to Iraq for further rites before his body is returned to the Iranian city of Mashhad for burial on Thursday.

Translation: Moments from the prayer held over the body of the martyred Leader of the Revolution and the martyrs of his family, amidst the tears of the people present at the Holy Jamkaran Mosque

Iranian media say ship attacked in Hormuz after attempting to take US-backed route

    We have more details on the attack on the tanker attack.

    The IRIB state broadcaster, citing anonymous sources, is reporting that the oil tanker was “planning to pass through the Omani route in the Strait of Hormuz with the support of the US Navy”.

    The ship was “attacked after ignoring repeated warnings”.

    IRIB said no Iranian official has yet confirmed or denied the report.

    As we’ve been reporting, Iran has warned ships against transiting the Strait of Hormuz through the southern route in Oman’s waters and insists all passage through the waterway must be coordinated with its military.

US officials blame Iran for attack that ignited fire on tanker off of Oman

    We’ve been covering a fire on board a tanker off the coast of Oman after it was hit by an “unknown projectile”.

    Two US officials, speaking to the Axios news outlet, are blaming Iran for the attack. The officials said Iran’s military fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

    One of the officials said a second vessel was also hit, and that both ships suffered significant damage, but no casualties.

    The attack comes days after the US and Iran exchanged tit-for-tat strikes following earlier assaults on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The earlier assaults followed the announcement of a US-backed corridor in Omani waters in a move Iran had opposed, saying it move violates the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries on June 17 to end hostilities.

    Tehran maintains the agreement gives it sole responsibility to manage shipping through the critical waterway.

Oil prices tick up as attention shifts to supply and demand

    Oil prices have edged up slightly higher today but gains have been limited as traders looked beyond easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and turned their attention to supply increases and demand prospects, according to the Reuters news agency.

    Brent crude futures increased by 28 cents, or 0.39 percent, to reach $72.29, while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose by 29 cents, or 0.26 percent, to hit $68.84 a barrel as of 00:46 GMT.

EU ministers to discuss trade measures against Israeli settlements

    The European Commission will present an options paper this week outlining possible trade measures targeting products from illegal Israeli settlements, ahead of a meeting of EU trade ministers next week, according to spokesperson Olof Gill.

    The paper is set to be discussed by EU member states at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, which is scheduled for July 10.

    The discussion comes in response to requests from the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, and several member states to assess possible measures related to goods produced in Israeli settlements, which are deemed illegal under international law.

    Israel’s trade with the EU exceeds 43 billion Euros ($49.2bn) annually, making the bloc its largest overall trading partner and accounting for roughly 32 percent of its global goods trade.

    According to the legal nonprofit Global Echo, Israeli exporters routinely declare fruit and vegetables grown in illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian land and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as produced in Israel in order to ship them to European markets.

    A Lebanese government survey estimates that more than 90,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed, with reconstruction costs exceeding $1bn. Those who have managed to return describe living in constant fear, while the international community has made aid conditional on Hezbollah’s disarmament, a demand the group refuses to meet.

Lebanon’s Aoun to meet Trump at White House later this month

    Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says he is preparing to travel to the White House before the end of July to meet Trump in a visit aimed at advancing the framework agreement with Israel.

    The trip follows a 17-minute phone call on Sunday between the two leaders that Aoun described as “good”.

    In an interview with Lebanese daily An-Nahar, Aoun acknowledged that the framework agreement is “not ideal”, but that the Lebanese government’s acceptance of it reflects the facts on the ground and the current balance of power in the south, which favours Israel.

    “This is a framework, not an agreement with Israel… No one should bet on the Lebanese army’s division, and I will not let my people die,” Aoun said, adding that the deal would not stop Lebanon from pursuing its rights and recovering occupied land.

    He also said the phased security transition would begin with a pilot deployment in Zawtar in the Nabatieh district, testing a model in which the Lebanese army takes exclusive control of specific towns to facilitate incremental Israeli military withdrawals. The comment comes amid concern that Israel could strike the nearby Ali Al-Taher hill.

    Aoun said Lebanese officials had asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ensure the hill remains under Lebanese army control, and that Netanyahu had agreed to the proposal.

    He also defended Lebanon’s decision to send a minister to the funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader, saying: “Our diplomatic relations with Iran continue and are not severed.”

What’s the latest on the ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza

    As we’ve been reporting, Hamas says it’s dissolving its governing body in Gaza and preparing to transfer power to a UN-backed Palestinian technocratic committee.

    Let’s take a closer look at the situation in Gaza:.

    Under the US-brokered deal last year, the last captives held in Gaza were freed in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but Israel continues to flout its commitments, including restricting the entry of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations of thousands of sick and wounded people.

    Israel also continues its near-daily attacks on Gaza, killing more than 1,000 Palestinians since the truce, and expanding its control to more than 70 percent of the territory.

    Humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain dire, with the vast majority of its 2 million people living in overcrowded and squalid tent camps, infested with rodents, and with little access to healthcare.

    Hamas has refused to disarm, citing Israel’s continued violations and warning that stripping weapons from an occupied people would make them an “easy victim to be eliminated”.

    The technocratic committee to govern Gaza, led by former Palestinian Authority minister Ali Shaath, was formed in January, but it has not been able to enter Gaza.

    A multinational International Stabilization Force is preparing to deploy between Israeli– and Palestinian-controlled areas in Gaza and has said that its first tactical vehicles have arrived at a base outside the Strip.

US lawmaker demands release of abducted Gaza hospital director

    US Congresswoman Delia Ramirez has called for the release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was abducted by Israeli forces on December 27, 2024.

    Ramirez said the doctor has been detained “for 18 months without charge or trial”, and cited reports that he is now in “critical condition after being beaten” by Israeli soldiers.

    “We must put an end to the impunity and violations of US and international law. We must defend our shared humanity,” she wrote on X.

    Ramirez also urged support for her Block the Bombs Act, which seeks to prohibit the US from selling, transferring, or exporting specific offensive weapon systems to Israel.

    Her appeal follows a warning from Abu Safia’s lawyer, Nasser Odeh, who said the doctor’s health condition is in serious decline, posing a “tangible danger to his life”.

    Odeh, who visited Abu Safia last week at the underground Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan prison, documented fresh bruising and wounds to his head, eyes, ears, and neck, along with breathing difficulties and repeated loss of consciousness.

Palestinian FM presses UK to take tougher steps against Israel

    Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin has met UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in London and pressed the UK to take firmer action against Israel over its policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Wafa news agency reports.

    Shahin thanked the UK for recognising the state of Palestine, saying the move should mark the start of a clear policy towards ending the occupation, including of East Jerusalem. She welcomed recent UK measures, including sanctions on hardline Israeli settler groups, restoring funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, and easier UK medical travel for wounded and sick Palestinians from Gaza, according to Wafa.

    But she said the measures were not enough given what she described as ongoing Israeli “crimes” in Gaza after more than 1,000 days of war.

    Shahin also raised concerns about East Jerusalem, citing curbs on Palestinian residents and pressure on the city’s Christian community and churches, including high taxes on church-affiliated land. She urged London to impose comprehensive sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements and block settlement goods from UK markets, saying there was “no such thing as a good settlement and a bad one”, according to Wafa.