Gaza live: Several dead including Hezbollah commander after Israeli strike on southern Beirut

The Allenby bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank is set to reopen on Tuesday but remains closed to commercial activity, the Israel Airports Authority said.

The crossing was closed two days ago when a Jordanian truck driver killed three Israeli guards at the cargo area of the crossing.

An Israeli strike on eastern Gaza City's Shawa square killed at least three people, the Wafa news agency reports.

Australia has expressed its support for the UK's decision to suspend 30 out of 350 existing arms licences to Israel, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said.

"I welcome the decision of my UK counterpart," Wong told the Guardian Australia. "It reflects what we have been advocating throughout this conflict. Palestinian civilians cannot be made to pay the price of defeating Hamas."

Wong added that "Australia is working with partners – including the UK – to put pressure to see a real change in the situation in Gaza".

UK arms exports amount to less than one percent of the total Israel receives, leading some critics to question the effectiveness of that move.

An Israeli attack on Gaza’s so-called “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi has killed at least 40 people and injured 60 on Tuesday, the besieged enclave’s civil defence told the AFP.

At least 20 tents sheltering displaced Palestinians were hit by the attack, with the civil emergency services saying that number could go up to 40.

Witnesses say that at least five rockets fell on the humanitarian area, and emergency services say the strikes created craters up to nine metres deep in what used to be a displacement camp.

READ MORE: Dozens killed in Israeli attack on Gaza 'humanitarian zone'

Hello Middle East Eye readers. On Monday, the Palestinian death toll as a result of Israeli military strikes reached at least 33, with several strikes taking place in Gaza City.

The Palestinian health ministry has placed the official death toll at 40,988 people. However, a recent study published in the Lancet medical journal estimated the death toll to be likely around 186,000 — a conservative estimate by the study.

In Gaza, Israeli forces also detained a UN convoy of vehicles for more than eight hours, with Israeli bulldozers damaging the UN's vehicles.

Here's what else happened today:

• White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that US President Joe Biden has not spoken with the family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, the Turkish American activist killed last week by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

• A funeral was held for the 26-year-old Eygi in Nablus, where Palestinian security forces took part in the procession.

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency meeting to discuss Israel's war in Gaza.

• An Axios report found that Israeli diplomats are being instructed to lobby members of US Congress to pressure South Africa into dropping its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

• Israel's military said that two of its soldiers were injured in a drone attack near the Lebanese border.

• A new report by Defence for Children International-Palestine detailed how Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 140 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank since 7 October.

A convoy of UN vehicles and staff has been released by Israel after Israeli forces detained the convoy for more than eight hours, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said.

The Israeli military said it detained the convoy based on intelligence indicating a number of "Palestinian suspects" were aboard.

"The convoy was stopped at gun point just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff. Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armoured vehicles," Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

"All staff & convoy are now released & back safely in the UN base."

Over the last 24 hours, Israeli forces have killed at least 33 Palestinians in bombings across Gaza, according to a tally from Al Jazeera gathered from medical sources.

There have been several Israeli bombings over this period that have killed at least five people.

The Israeli military said its forces stopped a vehicle suspected of car-ramming near Israel’s border with Egypt.

“Our forces chased the suspect and are conducting searches in the area,” the army said.

The car-ramming incident was linked to an attempt to smuggle drugs over the Egyptian border, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority. The incident also included a shooting and an attempt to run over Israeli soldiers.

US Senator Chris Murphy said during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a vested political interest in avoiding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Murphy added that Netanyahu and his coalition partners would likely not stand for a deal that includes releasing "Hamas prisoners". 

"It's very difficult given the fact that for both the Israeli government, Netanyahu's government, and for Hamas, there's political upside in not signing a ceasefire," the Democratic senator from Connecticut said during a discussion on the future of Democratic foreign policy.

"Netanyahu's hold on power may ultimately be dependent on him not signing that ceasefire agreement."

Murphy, who serves on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said it was unfortunate, but he believes that Hamas is gaining more "global support" as Israel's war on Gaza continues and that is preventing the Palestinian armed group from signing a deal.

Read the full story by clicking below.

Netanyahu's hold on power rests on avoiding Gaza ceasefire, US senator says

Several news outlets are reporting that an Israeli military strike in Gaza City has killed at least five Palestinians. The strike targeted a residential building, and Al Jazeera is reporting that among the killed are two women and a child.

During a news briefing, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that US President Joe Biden has not spoken with the family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, the Turkish-American activist killed last week by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

"He has not spoken to the family as of yet. I don't have a call to talk about today. Obviously we continue to mourn with her family," Kirby said.

"The Israelis have reached out made sure we knew they where promptly investigating this."

Last week, Palestinian Americans issued a sharp rebuke of the US response to Eygi's killing, pointing out a double standard between how Washington responds to the killing of Israeli Americans versus American citizens killed by Israeli forces.

The Israeli military said it has detained a convoy of United Nations vehicles in northern Gaza, claiming it has intelligence that a number of "Palestinian suspects" are in the convoy.

"We emphasise that this is not a convoy carrying polio vaccines, but a convoy whose purpose is to exchange UN personnel. The incident is not yet over," an Israeli military spokesperson said.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said the international body was aware "of an ongoing incident involving UN personnel and vehicles" and was working to establish the facts.

Dujarric said "the safety and security of our colleagues" is a paramount concern.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency meeting to discuss Israel's war in Gaza.

Erdogan called on Muslim-majority nations to form an alliance against what he described as Israel's "expansionism".

Following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said Israel was also targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, saying it was a part of its "expansionist" drive.

Erdogan said that Al-Aqsa is a "red line" for Turkey.

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir recently said he would build a synagogue within Al-Aqsa Mosque complex if given the opportunity.

Ben Gvir has also repeatedly led religious extremists in storming Al-Aqsa Mosque, actions that have been widely condemned as highly provocative and incendiary.

"It is unthinkable for the OIC, whose duty is to take care of the Jerusalem cause, to remain indifferent to these attacks. It is urgent that the organisation convenes at the leadership level without losing more time," Erdogan said.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said that Israel is looking into how Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed last week in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Eygi was killed by Israeli forces – she was shot in the head – during a demonstration against illegal settlement activity in the West Bank.

Patel urged Israel to quickly conclude its investigation.

“We expect that process to be thorough, transparent,” Patel told a news briefing.

Axios is reporting, based on a diplomatic cable, that Israel is lobbying members of the US Congress to press South Africa to drop its case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in which Pretoria is calling on the court to label Israel's actions against Palestinians a genocide.

"We are asking you to immediately work with lawmakers on the federal and state level, with governors and Jewish organizations to put pressure on South Africa to change its policy towards Israel and to make clear that continuing their current actions like supporting Hamas and pushing anti-Israeli moves in international courts will come with a heavy price," read the cable from Israel's foreign ministry to Israel's embassy and all consulates in the US.

According to Axios, Israeli diplomats were instructed to reach out to South African diplomats in the US and tell them their country will "pay a heavy price" if it doesn't change its policy towards Israel.

The Israeli diplomats were also instructed to ask US lawmakers to issue statements saying South Africa's ICJ case could lead to a suspension of US-South Africa trade, a highly unlikely possibility.