Gaza Civil Defense Recovers 57 More Bodies from Al-Shifa Hospital Grounds
Since Friday, the Gaza Civil Defense agency has been recovering the bodies of Palestinians buried on the grounds of Al-Shifa hospital throughout the war. They estimate that as many as 160 bodies may be buried in the yard of this Gaza City hospital, which is one of the largest medical complexes in the enclave and has been largely destroyed amid repeated Israeli attacks.
Today, the civil defense reported that they recovered 57 bodies, 40 of which remain unidentified. So far, a total of 135 bodies have been recovered.
Trump Threatens to Target Iran’s Assets
U.S. President Donald Trump is directly threatening to target Iran’s assets, and potentially its people. There is precedent for this—during his first term in 2020, the Trump administration assassinated Qassem Soleimani, a general in the Iranian military, while he was visiting Iraq.
How did we arrive at this point? Over the weekend, the U.S. president announced strikes on Yemen, claiming that attacks on commercial shipping coming from Yemen needed to stop immediately. However, there have been no such attacks since Trump took office.
Trump’s officials later clarified that they were referring to past attacks. Under his administration, the U.S. struck broader targets in Yemen than had been seen under the Biden administration. The Houthis reportedly responded with some drones and possibly one unsuccessful ballistic missile.
Now, Trump is taking it a step further, stating that any missile or drone launched by the Houthis will bear Iran’s signature. Iran has warned it will respond “decisively and with full force” to any attack on its territory or interests.
While Iran did not immediately respond to Trump's claims, its Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized that any attack on its territory or interests would elicit a strong response. “Iran will respond decisively and with full force to any violation of its territorial integrity, security, or national interests,” Esmail Baghaei stated at a news conference. He condemned the U.S. strikes on Houthi-held areas of Yemen as a “crime” and a “blatant violation” of international law.
Baghaei criticized the U.S. messaging to Iran as “highly contradictory,” pointing out that while the U.S. has expressed a readiness for dialogue, it simultaneously imposes extensive sanctions on Iran's trade and production sectors. “Over the past 10 to 15 years, the U.S. has shown that it does not honor its commitments. It views negotiations merely as a political, propaganda, and psychological tool rather than a genuine means to resolve disputes,” he said.
Israeli UN Ambassador Criticizes Report on Military’s Gender-Based Violence
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, has written an opinion piece opposing an independent UN commission report that documents disproportionate violence against Palestinian women by Israeli troops during the Gaza war. The report, presented to the UN Human Rights Council last week, highlights the severe impacts of Israel’s military campaigns and blockade of aid to Gaza on women, including “gender-based violence.”
In a piece published by the Jerusalem Post, Danon referred to the UN Human Rights Council as “not a serious institution” and as an “incubator for Jew-hatred.” Critics often accuse Israeli officials of employing anti-Semitism claims to silence criticism of its military actions.
At Least 5 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Drone Strikes
Earlier reports indicated that an Israeli drone strike killed three Palestinian men who were gathering firewood for cooking to break their Ramadan fast. Relatives rushed to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah to say farewell to the victims' shrouded bodies. “They were targeted, and when their cousins and others came to rescue them, the drone targeted them again with bombs,” said Jabr Abou Hajeer, the father of one of the victims.
Later, medics reported that an Israeli airstrike killed a father and son inside a school that was sheltering displaced families in the Bureij refugee camp, raising the death toll for the day to five.
Major Rallies in Houthi-Held Areas of Yemen After Deadly U.S. Strikes
Large crowds gathered in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen to protest deadly U.S. strikes that killed dozens and raised fears of a new cycle of violence in the conflict-torn country. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many armed with assault rifles, daggers, or holding Qurans, chanted “Death to America, death to Israel!” in the capital, Sanaa. There were also significant gatherings in Saada, the birthplace of the Iran-backed Houthi movement.
