On the night of June 16, Israel faced tragedy as two reservists from the Tel Aviv army lost their lives in a mortar attack in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military identified the victims as 25-year-old Omer Smadga and 27-year-old Saadia Yaakov Derai, bringing the military death toll in operations against Hamas to 314. Three other soldiers were seriously wounded in the same attack.
Meanwhile, on June 15th, a temporary pier in Gaza became operational and delivered approximately 656 tons of aid to the beach of the Strip. This marks the largest single-day aid distribution to date. The United States Central Command reports that over 4,160 tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered through the facility to the sorting area where humanitarian organizations can collect and distribute the aid in the Strip.
In Washington, US Secretary of State met with Israeli officials to discuss
