The Biden administration has approved $735 million worth of precision-guided weapons to be sold to Israel, sparking opposition from some Democrats. The sale, which Congress was officially notified of on May 5, mostly consists of Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, equipment that can make unguided bombs dropped from aircraft into guided missiles. The 15-day window for Congress to block this sale is effectively closed. But the deal was approved before the current bombardment began. "The United States should not stand idly by while crimes against humanity are being committed with our backing," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said in a statement. (The Hill)

A ceasefire came into force in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of May 21 after Egypt brokered an agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt 11 days of conflict. Thousands of people in Gaza and the Palestinian territories poured onto the streets to celebrate the ceasefire, waving flags and flashing V signs for victory. The agreement came a day after the Biden administration at last publicly called for a ceasefire. (Al Jazeera)

Gazans continue to extract bodies from the rubble, and officials estimate that it will take several weeks to ascertain the final death toll. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that the death toll has risen to 243, and that it is expected to continue rising. Of those killed, 66 are children, 39 are women and 17 were seniors. The Health Ministry added that the number of people injured in Israeli strikes had risen to 1,910. (Haaretz)

Thousands of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv on May 22 in a show of support for peace and coexistence between Jews and Arabs. Protesters also voiced support for the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect the day before, calling on the government to take immediate action to end Israeli occupation in the West Bank and to reach peace with the Palestinians. The mass march was organized by the Standing Together and Breaking the Silence movements. (JP)

Israeli opposition parties on June 2 reached an agreement to form a coalition government and oust Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history who has been for years mired in scandal. The alliance would be led until 2023 by Naftali Bennett, a former settler leader who is actually to the right of Netanyahu—he openly opposes a Palestinian state and wants Israel to annex the majority of the occupied West Bank. 

If the government lasts a whole term, it would then be led between 2023 and 2025 by Yair Lapid, a "centrist" who has bitterly opposed Netanyahu but has displayed bellicose tendencies of his own.

The new coalition is an awkward alliance between eight political parties from a diverse array of ideologies, from the center-left to the far right. It includes the membership of a small Arab party called Raam, which would become the first Arab group to join a right-leaning coalition in Israeli history. (NYT)

Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his 12-year hold on power in Israel after its parliament voted in a new coalition government. Right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett has been sworn in as prime minister, leading a "government of change." He will lead an unprecedented coalition of parties which was approved with a razor-thin majority of 60-59. 

One of the coalition partners is Ra'am-United Arab List, whose chair Mansour Abbas is a cultural conservative but has already won long-sought concessions for Israel's Arab minority. Israel will immediately recognize three unauthorized Bedouin villages in the southern Negev desert, extend by three years the freeze already placed by the outgoing government on the demolition of illegal housing in the Arab community, and present within nine months a proposal to legalize all unlawful Bedouin villages.

Representatives of the Palestinians have reacted dismissively to Israel's new government.

"This is an internal Israeli affair. Our position has always been clear, what we want is a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital," a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.

"It is an occupation and a colonial entity, which we should resist by force to get our rights back," said a spokesman for Hamas. (BBC News, YNet)

Israeli warplanes carried out new air-strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on June 15, in retaliation for "incendiary balloons" launched from the territory into Israel. The escalation follows clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces on the Strip's border, with one Palestinian shot in the leg. The protests were undertaken in response to the right-wing Flag March through Jerusalem’s Old City—an event held annually on Jerusalem Day, marking the city’s capture by Israeli in 1967. It was initially to have been held on May 10, the actual Jerusalem Day, but was postponed due to Hamas rocket fire. (BBC News, Al Jazeera, ToI)

Hundreds of Palestinians protested against President Mahmoud Abbas after Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem a day after an outspoken critic died in the custody of Palestinian security forces.

Nizar Banat had harshly criticized the Palestinian Authority over its corruption and misrule in a series of Facebook videos. His family says security forces raided the home where he was staying and beat him with batons before dragging him away.

Palestinians also chanted against the PA at his funeral in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and masked gunmen fired shots into the air. Demonstrators also burned tires, blocked roads and clashed with riot police in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the PA is headquartered. (The New Arab)

Human Rights Watch announced Aug. 12 that rocket and mortar attacks by Hamas in May, killing 12 civilians in Israel, constituted a war crime under the laws of war. (Jurist)

Israeli warplanes have bombed Hamas sites in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave that caused brush fires in southern Israel. (Al Jazeera) Meanwhile, A 15-year-old Palestinian, Imad Khaled Saleh Hashash, was killed by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank as Israeli forces stormed Balata refugee camp near Nablus. (Al Jazeera)

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot last week by Israeli soldiers during clashes along the border with Gaza has died of his injuries, the territory's health ministry said. Omar Hassan Abu al-Nile was hit Aug. 21 on the sidelines of a demonstration near the border fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel. About 100 mourners attended his funeral. (The Guardian)

Israel has meanwhile launched new air-strikes on targets in Gaza in response to more incendiary balloons launched from the territory. (AFP)