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Hamas appears to be accelerating its reconstitution effort in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is actively recruiting 18-year-olds and has attempted to conduct training for new recruits. Recruitment is one element of the second stage of reconstitution, regeneration. Reconstitution consists of two general tasks, reorganization and regeneration.
The IDF reportedly attempted to target the fourth highest-ranking Hamas military commander in Gaza City.
Iranian presidential candidates discussed government management and service provision during the second debate for the upcoming election.
The Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee issued a statement suggesting a consensus among Iranian-backed Iraqi militias to resume attacks targeting US forces. This is its first coordinated statement since attacks on US forces paused in January 2024 that suggests such a consensus. The committee said on June 19 that its militia members would use “all available means“ to achieve “full“ Iraqi sovereignty.
A senior Israeli negotiator told Agence France-Presse on June 17 that Hamas still holds “dozens” of living hostages in the Gaza Strip. The official said that Hamas — rather than other militias — is holding most of the hostages.
The IDF announced on June 16 it has begun executing a daily 11-hour “tactical pause” along a route east of Rafah to increase humanitarian aid delivery into the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF stated that it decided to suspend military activities daily between 0800 and 1900 local time along an approximately 10.5 kilometer route that leads from the Kerem Shalom crossing along Salah ad Din Road to al Fukhkhari, south of Khan Younis. The IDF stated that there will be no changes to how humanitarian aid enters the Gaza Strip.
Unidentified Palestinian fighters conducted an IED attack targeting the IDF 401st Armored Brigade in Tel al Sultan on June 15, killing eight IDF soldiers. The IED attack struck an IDF Namer armored combat engineering vehicle (CEV), damaging the vehicle and killing the occupants.
The IDF 162nd Division continued to operate in Rafah on June 14. The Nahal Brigade identified openings between buildings in Rafah that Hamas fighters use to traverse quickly through dense neighborhoods.
Hamas is requiring Israel to meet its maximalist demands sooner than stipulated in the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal. Hamas has seemingly not shortened the timeline on which it would release Israeli hostages, however. Hamas issued new demands on June 11 in response to the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the new demands as going beyond Hamas’ previous negotiating position and questioned whether Hamas is acting in good faith in the talks. The new demands involve Israel committing immediately to a permanent ceasefire, accelerating the timeline for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, and making greater concessions on the release of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas also reportedly requested that Israeli forces withdraw sooner from the Gaza Strip. These changes would help Hamas secure most of its maximalist demands in the first phase of the proposed ceasefire deal and dilutes the second and third phases.
Hamas issued new demands in the ceasefire negotiations with Israel on June 11. Hamas made the demands in response to the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal. The demands include determining timelines for a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.