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

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Hello MEE readers, 

US Vice President Kamala Harris delivered the sharpest comments of any senior US leader today when she called for an immediate six-week ceasefire in Gaza, as well as an increase in aid being allowed into the besieged enclave. 

"What we are seeing every day in Gaza is a tragedy," Harris said.

The vice president, who was speaking at an event in Selma, Alabama, urged Hamas to accept a deal to release captives that would kickstart a 6-week ceasefire and allow more aid to flow.

"People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act," Harris said.

Harris's comments come several days after an Israeli attack on an aid convoy killed more than a hundred people in Gaza City.

"We saw hungry desperate people approach aid trucks, simply trying to secure food for their families, after weeks of nearly no aid reaching northern Gaza," Harris said of the incident.

"And they were met with gunfire and chaos," she continued, without naming Israel as the perpetrator.

"The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses."

Harris is set to meet with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House on Monday, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's disapproval. Gantz arrived in Washington earlier on Sunday. 

Other updates from today include: 

• The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, called for sanctions against Israel, saying it is the only way to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

• Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard, in a post to X social media platform, warned that the deaths of children through dehydration and malnutrition are the "result of acts by Israeli authorities which engineered famine".

• The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reiterated its call for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

• Discussions over a proposed law that would end conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews have caused anger in the community, and members blocked a highway in Jerusalem in protest.

• Israel's army radio said the country's Division 162 destroyed 35 Hamas "sites" in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood, killing 113 fighters.

Israel's Channel 14 news has reported the resignation of senior officials in Israel's army spokesperson unit, including Daniel Hagari, the unit head.

Middle East Eye could not immediately verify the report. 

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, has called for sanctions against Israel, saying it is the only way to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

In a post on X social media platform, Fakhri said Israel was intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since 7 October, asserting that a potential famine may already be occurring in besieged Gaza.

He stressed that an immediate ceasefire is essential to prevent or end the famine and called for sanctions against Israel as a means to push for a ceasefire.

"The only way to end/prevent this famine is an immediate ceasefire. And the only way to get a ceasefire is to sanction Israel," Fakhri added.

US Vice President Kamala Harris called on the Israeli government to do more to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, saying the Palestinians in the enclave were suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe in which the conditions were inhumane.

Speaking in Selma, Alabama, at a commemoration of "Bloody Sunday," when state troopers beat peaceful protesters, Harris also said there must be "an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza that would secure the release of captives and allow more aid to get inside Gaza.

Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard, in a post to X social media platform, warned that the deaths of children through dehydration and malnutrition are the "result of acts by Israeli authorities which engineered famine".

"They knew the likely outcome of their actions but persisted," she said, adding that the countries which halted funding to Unrwa also "bear responsibility".

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reiterated its call for the establishment of a Palestinian state, the group said in a statement carried by Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani during their latest ministerial meeting in Riyadh.

Al-Thani, who chaired the event, said GCC members want to see an "independent State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital".

They promised to continue pushing for a lasting peace that would include "the Palestinian people obtaining all their legitimate rights approved by international bodies".

Israel continues to oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Israeli minister Benny Gantz has landed in Washington, where he plans to meet with a series of senior officials, including US Vice President Kamala Harris.

The meeting was not coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejected the Gantz's efforts. 

Gantz is first set to meet AIPAC chief Howard Kohr. On Monday, he will meet with Harris and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

It was announced Sunday that a Tuesday meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been planned additionally. Gantz will then head to London for a meeting with British Secretary of State David Cameron.

Discussions over a proposed law that would end conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews have caused anger in the community, and members blocked a highway in Jerusalem in protest.

"We will die and not be mobilised," they chanted.

Israel's army radio said the country's Division 162 destroyed 35 Hamas "sites" in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood, killing 113 fighters.

The army said these figures come from a two-week operation in the neighbourhood that has now been wrapped up.

Palestinian armed group Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade says it killed an Israeli soldier near the same neighbourhood in a sniper attack earlier today.

The ending statement of the Gulf states' ministerial meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

"We reject any justifications and pretexts for the continuation of the Israeli aggression against Gaza," the statement read.

The meeting was also attended by foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

An Israeli air strike on an aid truck in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, killed at least nine people and injured several others on Sunday, Palestine's Wafa news agency reported.

Hamas said the attack indicated that "the occupation's continued targeting of aid convoys expresses an unprecedented level of criminality and brutality in contemporary history".

The attack comes a few days after another Israeli attack on aid seekers killed more than a hundred people in Gaza City.

READ MORE: At least nine killed in Israeli strike on aid truck

The Gaza government's media office said famine is deepening across the Gaza Strip.

The office said that "2.4 million people suffer from severe food shortages, and famine is deepening further in Gaza and the north".

"Airdropping aid and turning a blind eye to bringing it in through the crossings is a circumvention of radical solutions to the problem," it added.

The government said they hold Israel and the international community responsible for the famine.

Middle East Eye's correspondent in Gaza shared photos that portray the daily life of civilians in Gaza, particularly their struggle to find food. Starvation due to Israel's blockade has led to the death of 15 children so far in Kamal Adwan Hospital alone.

The Times of Israel reports that Israel will not be sending a delegation to Cairo for negotiations today, after the country said Hamas refused to provide a list of living hostages and the number of Palestinian prisoners it wants freed for each hostage released.