Israel will ‘respond forcefully’ to Iran ceasefire violation
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he has ordered the country’s military to respond forcefully to what he said was Iran’s violation of a ceasefire with Israel, Reuters reports.
The directive followed an announcement by the military that it had detected missile launches from Iran towards Israel.
The Israeli military said it was working to shoot down Iranian missiles after detecting the launch.
Katz said the military had now been instructed to carry out high-intensity operations against targets in Tehran.
He said:
In light of Iran’s blatant violation of the ceasefire declared by the President of the United States – through the launch of missiles toward Israel – and in accordance with the Israeli government’s policy to respond forcefully to any breach, I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) … to continue high-intensity operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran.
Key events
Iran denies launch of missiles after ceasefire
Iran on Tuesday denied it launched missiles at Israel in the “last few hours”, after Israel accused it of doing so following US resident Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The general staff of the Iranian army “denied the launch of missiles from Iran to the occupied territories (Israel) in the last few hours”, state television reported.
Parts of the administrative building of Evinprison in the Iranian capital were damaged in Monday’s Israeli strike, judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Tuesday on state TV, adding people had been killed and injured, according to Reuters.
Jahangir said:
Following the damage, some administrative and judicial coworkers … as well as inmates and members of their family were injured.
We had martyrs as well but the number is not yet defined.
Deaths of those waiting for aid in Gaza Strip rises to 25
The Associated Press (AP) reports that the number of people killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid trucks in central Gaza has risen to 25, according to Palestinian witnesses and hospitals (see 7:25 BST post)
The military said it was reviewing reports of casualties from Israeli fire after a group of people approached troops in an area adjunct to the east-west Netzarim corridor, which bisects Gaza.
The Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp, which received the victims, said the Palestinians were waiting for the trucks on the Salah al-Din road south of Wadi Gaza.
Witnesses told the AP that Israeli forces opened fire as people were advancing eastward to be close to the approaching trucks.
“It was a massacre,” said Ahmed Halawa. He said tanks and drones fired at people, “even as we were fleeing. Many people were either martyred or wounded.”
Hossam Abu Shahada, another witness, said drones were flying over the area, watching the crowds first, then there was gunfire from tanks and drones as people were moving eastward.
He described a “chaotic and bloody” scene as people were attempting to escape.
He said he saw at least three people lying on the ground motionless and many others wounded as he fled the site.
The Awda hospital said another 146 Palestinians were wounded. Among them were 62 in critical condition, who were transferred to other hospitals in central Gaza, it said.
In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital said it received the bodies of six people who were killed in the same incident.
The military says it has fired warning shots at people it said approached its forces in a suspicious manner.
Here is a video of sirens being heard in the north of Israel over Haifa after the Israeli military reported that two missiles were fired from Iran mid-morning on Tuesday.
Sirens heard over northern Israel hours after ceasefire agreement – video
The missiles were launched 2.5 hours after the start of the ceasefire, the army said.
An Israeli military official said the missiles had been intercepted. In response, Israel said it would ‘respond forcefully’ to the ceasefire violation and is expected to attack Tehran.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday a recently established, US-backed system for aid distribution in the Gaza Strip was “an abomination”, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Philippe Lazzarini said at a press conference in Berlin:
The newly created so-called aid mechanism is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people. It is a death trap costing more lives than it saves.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday that he had written to Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi to propose a meeting and urged cooperation after a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced.
Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a post on X that Iran resuming cooperation with the agency could lead to a “diplomatic solution to the long-standing controversy over Tehran’s nuclear program”.
‘Weaponisation’ of food in Gaza constitutes a war crime, UN says
The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the “weaponisation” of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organisation, Reuters reports.
Referring to a series of deadly shootings near distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing:
Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.
The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid near a distribution site in the centre of the Palestinian territory on Tuesday. About 150 people were reported wounded.
News about a missile attack by Iran on Israel after the ceasefire between the two countries took effect is “denied”, Iranian media reported through Reuters, quoting state TV.
Israeli military said earlier it detected missile launches from Iran to which Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Israel would respond “forcefully”.
Katz said the military had now been instructed to carry out high-intensity operations against targets in Tehran.
Qatar summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday after Iran attacked the major US military base on Qatari soil after American strikes hit its nuclear facilities, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The foreign ministry expressed its “strong condemnation” of the attack and repeated that it “retains the right to respond to this egregious violation”, a statement said.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Iran’s deputy foreign minister thanked Qatar on Tuesday for its “constructive role” in preventing regional escalation, according to Iran’s Young Journalist Club.
The minister, Majid Takhtravanchi, gave the message in a phone call with Qatari Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, the report added.
Takhtravanchi said:
Iran is determined to continue and strengthen relations between the two countries based on good neighbourliness and supreme interests.
The Israeli military reported two missiles fired from Iran mid-morning on Tuesday, leading sirens to blare in the north several hours after US president Trump announced a ceasefire plan, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
“Two missiles were launched from Iran and they were intercepted,” a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity, with the army saying people could leave shelters about 15 minuutes after the first alert.
Israel will ‘respond forcefully’ to Iran ceasefire violation
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he has ordered the country’s military to respond forcefully to what he said was Iran’s violation of a ceasefire with Israel, Reuters reports.
The directive followed an announcement by the military that it had detected missile launches from Iran towards Israel.
The Israeli military said it was working to shoot down Iranian missiles after detecting the launch.
Katz said the military had now been instructed to carry out high-intensity operations against targets in Tehran.
He said:
In light of Iran’s blatant violation of the ceasefire declared by the President of the United States – through the launch of missiles toward Israel – and in accordance with the Israeli government’s policy to respond forcefully to any breach, I have instructed the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) … to continue high-intensity operations targeting regime assets and terror infrastructure in Tehran.
Iran is assessing damage to its nuclear industry and arrangements had been made for its restoration, Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said on Tuesday according to Mehr news, Reuters reports.
The comments came after a series of Israeli and US strikes targeted Iran’s main nuclear facilities.
Eslami said:
The plan is to prevent interruptions in the process of production and services.
The Israeli military warned on Tuesday that “danger persists” despite the government earlier announcing it had agreed to a ceasefire with Iran on the 12th day of war between the foes, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Army spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said in a televised press conference:
The Chief of Staff instructed all of the army to maintain a high level of alertness and preparedness for a powerful response to any violation of the ceasefire.
I want to stress that at this stage there is no change to the Home Front command instructions. The instructions must be obeyed. The danger persists.
Israeli military detects another Iranian barrage hours after ceasefire begins
Israel’s military says it had detected another Iranian barrage of missiles hours after the start of the ceasefire, showing how dangerous the situation remained, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
The army says it has identified missiles launched from Iran 2.5 hours after the start of the ceasefire.
Sirens sounded in northern Israel and explosions could be heard as Israeli air defenses fired.
The Israeli government had said it would respond “forcefully” to any violation of the ceasefire.
First responders said they retrieved five bodies from one building after the earlier strikes and were searching for more. At least 20 people were injured.
China does not want tensions between Israel and Iran to escalate and is willing to work with the international community to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference China is calling on all parties concerned to return to political settlement at an early date.
Iranian state television said on Tuesday an overnight Israeli strike killed a nuclear scientist in northern Iran, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The strike reportedly took place before US president Donald Trump said a ceasefire was in effect between the Middle Eastern foes.
Citing sources, the broadcaster reported the killing of Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber at his parents’ residence in Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh innorthern Iran.
Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber was under US sanctions. Several days ago, his 17-year-old son was reported killed in a strike on their home in Tehran, the broadcaster said.
And now Gaza. It’s time to finish it there too. Bring back the hostages, end the war. Israel needs to start rebuilding.
An update on the Iranian strikes in Beershebaearlier on Tuesday has raised the number of confirmed deaths from the strikes to five, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Iran’s barrage damaged at least three densely packed residential buildings in the city, police said.
First responders said they retrieved five bodies from one building and were searching for more. At least 20 people were injured.
Outside, the shells of burned out cars littered the streets. Broken glass and rubble covered the area. Hundreds of emergency workers gathered to search for anyone else trapped in the buildings.
Israeli rescue teams work at the site of a missile strike on a residential area in Beersheba, southern Israel, 24 June 2025. Photograph: Atef Safadi/EPA
Police said some people were injured even while inside their apartments’ reinforced safe rooms, which are meant to withstand rockets and shrapnel but not direct hits from ballistic missiles.
The direct hit in the largest city in southern Israel came before Trump said the ceasefire had gone into effect.
