Morning Briefing: June 16, 2024

ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Sunday, including Israel's banning the entry of sacrificial animals depriving Gazans of Eid al-Adha rituals; more than 1.8 million Muslim pilgrims performing Hajj and Ukraine's president urging Putin to change language as the “world majority” wants peace.

TOP STORIES

• Israel's ban on entry of sacrificial animals deprives Gazans of Eid al-Adha rituals

Israel's ban on the entry of sacrificial animals deprives hundreds of thousands of families in the Gaza Strip of the opportunity to observe Eid al-Adha and perform the sacrificial rituals as part of Islamic religious practices, according to the Gaza Media Office.

In a statement on the eve of the Muslim holiday, the Office said: "The occupation forces committed a new crime" by preventing the entry of sacrificial animals by closing all crossings of the Gaza Strip, including the occupation and closure of the Rafah border and the Kerem Shalom crossings.

It called the ban "a clear violation of human rights and a total disregard for human and Islamic values."

• Over 1.8 million Muslim pilgrims start performing Hajj

More than 1.8 million pilgrims from across the globe converged on Mount Arafat in the western region of Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced.

Hajj and Umrah Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said pilgrims began gathering at Arafat, a crucial rite of the pilgrimage, which lasts six days.

The minister disclosed that the number of pilgrims for this year reached more than 1.8 million, including 221,854 from within the Kingdom. Pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia from more than 200 countries, he added.

• Ukraine's president urges Putin to change language as 'world majority' wants peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to change his language as the "world majority" wants peace.

Zelenskyy's remarks came during his opening remarks addressing a two-day peace summit in Switzerland's Burgenstock.

"The peace formula encourages all powers to think about ending the war and to propose how to end it, and therefore, the very idea of war has already lost," he said. "Putin should switch from the language of ultimatums to the language of the world majority, which wants a just peace."

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Summit on Peace in Ukraine started in Burgenstock in Switzerland with the participation of 100 states and organizations from around the world.
  
  
• Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Australia on a four-day visit, with trade talks and panda diplomacy high on the agenda.
  
  
• Israel has claimed it targeted a Hezbollah military structure in southern Lebanon.
  
  
• Turkish security forces “neutralized” 17 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and Syria.
  
  
• At least 19 Palestinians, including at least one baby, were killed and 50 others were injured in an Israeli army airstrike targeting homes in eastern Gaza City.
  
  
• Ukraine's shelling of the Russian city of Shebekino in the Belgorod region killed five people, according to Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.
  
  
• The Kremlin called "unconstructive" the reaction from Western capitals to a peace proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine.
  
  
• Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in battles in the southern Gaza Strip, said the Israeli army.
  
  
• At least 37,296 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October, according to the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave.

SPORTS

• Switzerland beat Hungary 3-1 in Group A match of EURO 2024

Switzerland beat Hungary 3-1 in a Group A match of the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship (EURO 2024).

Forward Kwadwo Duah drew first blood with a calm shot in the 12th minute in his second international appearance for Switzerland at the Cologne Stadium.

With a screamer from 23 meters (75 feet), Swiss midfielder Michel Aebischer scored the second goal in the 45th minute, just before the end of the first half.

In two other games on Saturday in Group B, Spain defeated Croatia 3-0 and Italy beat Albania 2-1.