Iran presidential vote
Vote counting is underway after Iran holds a snap presidential election, with no candidate having cleared the threshold for an outright win, by now. Iran’s election commission says Saeed Jalili has won more than 41-percent of the four million votes counted, so far. Masoud Pezeshkian is trailing behind with 40-percent of the votes. That leaves Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf in third place with just 15-percent. The same trend would lead to a run-off that should be held next Friday. According to the election commission, more than 61 million people were eligible to vote. The ballot was originally planned for 2025. But Iran had to hold the snap vote after President Ebrahim Raeisi lost his life in a copter crash in May.
Palestinian medics killed
The Israeli regime continues its bloody onslaught on the Gaza Strip by carrying out more air and artillery strikes against the blockaded territory. The latest attacks targeted Gaza City, Rafah as well as Nuseirat refugee camp, leaving nearly a dozen Palestinians dead. In Bureij refugee camp, Gaza’s civil defence agency says three of its medics were killed by Israeli aircraft and 12 others wounded while they carried out rescue efforts. On the ground, heavy fighting is underway between Israeli troops and resistance fighters. Israeli soldiers and tanks attacked Gaza City’s Shujayea neighborhood, ordering residents to leave. Resistance forces launched a mortar attack on Israeli forces in the same area, leaving casualties. Israel attacked Gaza in October last year. Over 37,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since then.
Palestinians resist aggression
The Palestinian resistance fighters continue to repel the invading Israeli soldiers across the Gaza Strip. The military wing of the Hamas resistance movement, the Al-Qassam Brigades, has launched mortar shells at a contingent of Israeli soldiers in Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Israeli media say at least FOUR of the regime's soldiers have been killed and a number of others injured as a result. The group also released footage showing the moment a top Israeli military official was targeted in eastern Rafah. Meanwhile, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad resistance movement says it has targeted the regime's military sites in Netzarim settlement in Northern Gaza. Resistance fighters also struck Israeli troopers in Jabalia camp. The regime's army admits it has lost hundreds of troops since the start of the war, but Palestinians say the regime is under-reporting its losses.