![Benny Gantz](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5335x4001+333+0/resize/1300/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F69%2Ffc%2Fb27851b542ccb5d21f75c99b2717%2Fgettyimages-2059118672.jpg)
“Netanyahu is preventing us from reaching real victory,” said Gantz, a former Israeli army chief, in his Sunday evening speech. He called on Netanyahu to set a date for new elections to take place by the fall.
“Netanyahu is preventing us from reaching real victory,” said Gantz, a former Israeli army chief, in his Sunday evening speech. He called on Netanyahu to set a date for new elections to take place by the fall.
In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections. It was a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
Ukraine’s forces have hit an advanced Su-57 warplane on an airbase in Russia nearly 600km from the frontlines, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. The GUR shared satellite photos appearing to show an aircraft among scorch marks and craters. “The pictures show that on June 7th, the Su-57 was standing intact, and on the eighth, there were ruptures from the explosion and characteristic spots of fire caused by fire damage near it,” the GUR said.
The strike took place on Saturday at the Akhtubinsk base in southern Russia, the GUR said. The plane, capable of carrying stealth missiles, was among “a countable few” of its type in service. Russia’s Su-57 fleet has been largely absent from the skies over Ukraine, and has instead been used to fire long-range missiles from across the border.
The UK Ministry of Defence has said Russia is likely trying to avoid “reputational damage, reduced export prospects, and the compromise of sensitive technology” that would come from losing any Su-57 jets in enemy territory. For its part, the Russian defence ministry said its forces downed three Ukrainian drones in the Astrakhan region, home to the Akhtubinsk airstrip. Russian officials routinely say all enemy threats were shot down, regardless of the actual outcome.
Militant-held Israeli hostages were among the more than 200 people killed in the raid that freed four captives and has been lauded as heroic in Israel but described as a massacre across much of the Middle East, Hamas officials said Sunday.
Abu Obaida, spokesman for the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades military wing, called Saturday's raid a "complex war crime." He said three hostages were killed in the attack, including one holding a U.S. passport, a claim Israeli military spokesperson Peter Lerner said should be taken "with a pinch of salt."
"By committing horrific massacres, the enemy was able to free some of his prisoners, but at the same time, it killed some of them," Obaida said. "The operation will pose a great danger to the (remaining hostages) and will have a negative impact on their conditions and lives."
Vovchansk, once home to about 17,000 people, is approximately three miles (5km) from the border with Russia in north-east Ukraine.
Russian troops seized it on the first day of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale February 2022 invasion. They retreated six months later, going back up the road to the Russian city of Belgorod. A month ago – on 10 May – they swept in again, taking over Vovchansk’s polyclinic and meat processing factory.
A brutal battle has raged ever since. Russian forces control the north of the city and a grid of shattered western districts. Ukrainian troops hold the centre. Their fiefdom includes half of Korelenka Street, with the Russians concealed in nearby basements. Fighting takes place house by house. Vovchansk now resembles a 21st-century mini Stalingrad, a place of death, rattling gunfire and close-quarters combat.
Details about Israel Defense Forces' complex military plan in Gaza that rescued four Israeli hostages were still emerging Saturday afternoon as world leaders and family members celebrated. An Israeli official acknowledged "under 100" Palestinian casualties during the operation, while Hamas officials reported twice as many deaths.
The four hostages, three men and one woman, were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year. They were identified by Israel's Defense Forces as Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 22; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 41.
The military said they appeared to be in good health and were being taken to a hospital for further health checks.
US President Joe Biden has apologised to his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for delays in military aid to Ukraine and has pledged $225m (£191m) in support.
The pair met for talks in Paris, a day after they both attended the 80th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.
The US Department of Defense said the new aid package would include ammunition and anti-aircraft missiles.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mr Biden said previous delays in aid had been caused by some Republicans in Congress, but reiterated US support for Ukraine.
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