Israel-Palestine live: US vice president calls for ‘immediate’ six-week ceasefire

An Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced people in Khan Younis has killed at least three people and injured 10, Al Jazeera reports.

Israel's Yediot Ahronoth reported that the Israeli army is facing a severe "manpower problem" in its war on Gaza, saying it demands an immediate addition of 7,000 soldiers.

The report comes as Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he would only endorse a draft bill that would end military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men if it gets support from centrist ministers.

The Israeli government has extended its evacuation of areas surrounding the Gaza Strip, along with cities and towns near the Lebanese border up north, until 7 July.

The order comes as Gaza ceasefire talks remain inconclusive, with tensions remaining high with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Former Labour MP and left-wing politician George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election by a landslide, calling it "a shifting of the tectonic plates".

Galloway won 12,335 votes, or 39.7 percent of the total, in a striking 5,697 vote lead over his closest rival, independent David Tully.

Following a campaign that was heavily focused on the war in Gaza, Galloway called out the Labour party in his victory speech.

"Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza," he said. "You will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Gaza, in the Gaza Strip."

Labour, which had withdrawn its support from its candidate due to his comments claiming that Israel loosened security prior to the 7 October attack, received only 7.7 percent of the vote.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest developments on day 147 of Israel's war on Gaza: 

• The US blocked a UN Security Council statement that blamed Israel for the killing of over 100 Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza City on Thursday
• Israel said it would free some "administrative detainees" due to a shortage of space in its prisons, while far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir denied overcrowding was the reason, calling it a "gesture" ahead of Ramadan while voicing his disapproval
• Israeli forces raided Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and stormed the home of the alleged attacker who killed two settlers near the Eli settlement
• US President Joe Biden urged House Republicans to pass a foreign aid bill in order to "help ensure that Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats"

Hello, readers of Middle East Eye.

Early on Thursday, Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting for food aid in northern Gaza, killing at least 104 people and injuring hundreds of others.

Videos on social media showed Palestinians running away from Israeli fire, and pictures of the aftermath showed graphic devastation on al-Rashid Street, where Palestinians believed aid trucks carrying flour had been en route.

The Biden administration said the incident was "tremendously alarming" and called for an investigation into what transpired.

Qatar condemned the incident, while France called the shootings unjustified. Canada said what happened to the Palestinians was "a nightmare".

Meanwhile, Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, praised the Israeli soldiers who shot at the Palestinians, whom he described as a "mob", and said the incident shows that Israel shouldn't be giving any aid to Gaza.

Here is what else you need to know from today:

• A group of leaders from more than 30 news outlets, including the Washington Post and The New York Times, have signed an open letter stating their solidarity with journalists in Gaza.

• Congresswomen Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib sent a letter to US President Joe Biden calling on him to "decisively oppose" an Israeli military invasion of Rafah.

• A group of 30 activists led a demonstration in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, using non-violent means to block the entry of Aydin Displays, a subsidiary of the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Seven were arrested.

• A new report from the BBC says it can't confirm the claim by Israel's military that it killed 10,000 Hamas fighters in its war on Gaza.

• At a congressional hearing on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said more than 25,000 Palestinian women and children had been killed by Israel since 7 October. A spokesperson later walked back the comments.

• Colombia's President Gustavo Petro announced that the country would be suspending weapons purchases from Israel, citing Thursday's killing of more than 100 Palestinians in northern Gaza.

The foreign ministry released a statement condemning the "massacre" in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces fired upon Palestinians waiting for aid, leaving more than 100 dead.

It further called on the international community to protect Palestinians and work to put an end to the war.

“Qatar condemns in the strongest terms the heinous massacre committed by the Israeli occupation, against defenseless civilians who were waiting for humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza, resulting in the death and injury of dozens of people,” the statement said.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that the continuation of the occupation’s brutal crimes, as part of its brutal war on the Gaza Strip, proves day after day the pressing need for urgent international action to immediately end this unprecedented aggression in recent history.”

France said on Thursday the shooting of more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for an aid delivery was "unjustifiable" and all light had to be shed on the incident.

"In any event, it is Israel's responsibility to comply with the rules of international law and to protect the distribution of humanitarian aid to civilian populations," Christophe Lemoine, deputy spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said in a statement.

Reporting by Reuters

A group of leaders of more than 30 news outlets from around the world have signed an open letter stating their solidarity with journalists in Gaza.

The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists, comes as at least 94 journalists have been killed since the beginning of Israel's war, with 89 of them being Palestinians killed by the Israeli military.

“For nearly five months, journalists and media workers in Gaza – overwhelmingly, the sole source of on-the-ground reporting from within the Palestinian territory – have been working in unprecedented conditions,” the letter reads.

“These journalists – on whom the international news media and the international community rely for information about the situation inside Gaza – continue to report despite grave personal risk.”

The letter comes after another campaign from more than 50 journalists, who called on Israel and Egypt to provide "free and unfettered access to Gaza for all foreign media".

The two progressive lawmakers have sent a letter to US President Joe Biden, calling on him to "decisively oppose" an Israeli military invasion of Rafah.

“We ask you to utilize every avenue possible to achieve this end, including ending the use of the US’ veto in the UN Security Council to protect Netanyahu, a partial or full cessation of offensive support to Israel, and an end to any additional transfer of funds, weapons, military equipment, and any other material support,” they said in their letter.

“We must use our full power and leverage to secure the release of all the hostages and others arbitrarily detained, and support a drastic surge in humanitarian aid. This is only achievable with a lasting ceasefire.” 

Earlier this week, Biden made an appearance on the talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers, where he said that Israel had "made a commitment to me" that they have "the ability to evacuate significant portions of Rafah before they go and take out the remainder of Hamas".

The comments appeared to signal US backing of an impending Israeli offensive on Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip and where Palestinians have fled to in order to escape Israel's military campaign.

A group of 30 activists led a demonstration in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, using non-violent means to block the entry of Aydin Displays, a subsidiary of the Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems.

Seven were arrested by police as a result of the demonstration.

The activists, which included Christians, Jews, and Unitarian Universalists, shared with Middle East Eye that they also held a memorial service to commemorate those Palestinians killed in Gaza.

The Memorial Service was organised by local residents under a group called, Eastern Pennsylvania Against the Death Economy.

"Given Aydin's acquisition by Elbit, it is implausible that the LCD displays made here in the community in Birdsboro do not guide weaponry being used as we speak by Israel in Gaza," the group said.

"But even if Aydin were making ice cream cones, they still contribute to Elbit's profits— and Elbit profits from genocide." 

The protest is the latest to take place against a weapons manufacturer in the US since Israel's war in Gaza began in October.

"Over and over again, we have heard military production workers say, 'We don’t make the bombs. We just make the parts'," said Liam Ramsey, an anti-war activist.

"Surely they know that the sum of the components they build add up to whole weapons."

Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said the deaths of dozens of people waiting for an aid convoy in Gaza, after Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd, was "a nightmare".

"When it comes to what happened in Gaza today ... I must say I think this is a nightmare," Joly told reporters in Ottawa. "We need to make sure that international aid is sent into Gaza and that people are protected when they go and get that aid."

A UN spokesperson said that investigators expect to receive shortly materials from Israel related to its accusations that Unrwa staff members took part in the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Last month, Israel accused 12 staffers of being involved in the attacks, of which nine were fired, the UN later said.

The independent, internal UN probe was immediately launched as the US and other countries paused funding following the allegations.

A report last week stated that US intelligence had “low confidence” that a handful of staff took part in the attack, and further cast doubt on the claims of a wider link between Hamas and Unrwa.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres described Unrwa as "the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza".

The White House said that the incident in northern Gaza, in which more than 100 Palestinians waiting for an aid delivery were killed after Israeli forces opened fire on them, was "tremendously alarming" and of deep concern.

"This latest event needs to be thoroughly investigated," White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton told reporters.

"This event underscores the need for ... expanded humanitarian aid to make its way into Gaza."