WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
Gaza strikes intensify, Scottish fires grow, and how conflict is changing flight paths

 
today's international story

Israel strikes Gazan seafront café

What happened
At least 30 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike that hit the Al-Baqa Cafeteria, a popular beachfront venue in western Gaza used by journalists, activists and residents. Yesterday's explosion injured dozens more and left a deep crater, according to doctors and the Palestinian Civil Defence.

The attack followed a wave of Israeli strikes across Gaza that triggered the overnight displacement of hundreds of families, many of whom ignored Israeli evacuation orders to head south and instead moved west within Gaza City.

Who said what
"It was horrific – bodies, blood, screaming everywhere," said Aziz Al-Afifi, a local cameraman. Residents described the bombardment as relentless. "It felt like earthquakes," one man told Reuters. 

"Amid the growing humanitarian crisis, fears are mounting that the evacuation orders and sustained air strikes are part of a broader Israeli plan to expand its ground offensive deeper into Gaza," said the BBC. Yet analysts have "detected changes in the rhetoric of senior Israeli officials" in recent days, said The Guardian, which "may suggest a new ceasefire is now being considered".

What next?
Israeli officials offered no immediate comment on the café strike. Pressure is now mounting on the country's government to pursue a ceasefire amid claims the military campaign may be nearing its strategic limits. US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "working on a deal" with Hamas.

 
 
today's emergency story

Scottish firefighters continue battling blazes

What happened
Fire crews in the Scottish Highlands have been working to contain multiple wildfires for a third consecutive day, with the outbreaks stretching from Carrbridge to Dallas and Forres in Moray. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has urged local residents to keep windows and doors shut due to the smoke. A flood alert was also issued for parts of the affected area amid concerns that heavy rain could complicate conditions.

Who said what
First Minister John Swinney called the situation "extremely serious" and praised both the firefighters and affected local communities. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), assisting in the response, warned that the fires were now "a danger to human life".

Moray Greens councillor Dræyk van der Hørn blamed worsening wildfires on the climate crisis and said Scotland was now "on the frontline". Heatwaves are becoming "more common due to climate change", said Chris Fawkes, lead weather presenter for the BBC, with there being a "greater chance of seeing extreme heat".

What next?
Calls are growing for a coordinated government response and greater recognition of climate-driven wildfire risks.

 
 
Today's policing story

China cracks down on women writing gay erotica

What happened
China has arrested at least 30 women since February on charges of violating the country's conservative obscenity laws by writing gay erotica.

Who said what
The accused – "nearly all of them women in their 20s" – are suspected of selling X-rated fiction on a Taiwan-based platform called Haitang Literature City, said the BBC. The website specialises in "danmei", a genre centred on relationships between men and often featuring subversive elements such as BDSM or male pregnancy.

"I'd never expected this day to come," one anonymous author called in for police questioning wrote on Chinese social media platform Weibo. "To be hit in the face with every word I've written in the past."

What next?
If convicted of producing and distributing obscene material for profit, the accused face fines or up to 10 years in jail. Since 2010, Chinese obscenity laws define "distribution" as any work that earns more than 5,000 yuan (£509) or receives more than 5,000 clicks online, said the ABC.

 
 

It's not all bad

Natural England chair Tony Juniper says he'd be "absolutely delighted" to see lynx reintroduced to Britain during his term, calling it a promising step for nature recovery. A draft application proposes a trial release in Kielder Forest using rescued Swedish lynx. Although the plan faces legal hurdles and opposition from some farmers, advocates argue that the shy, deer-hunting cats would boost biodiversity and rural economies. "It really is a no-brainer," said Paul O'Donoghue of the Lynx UK Trust.

 
 
under the radar

How global conflicts are reshaping flight paths

Air travel is being "redirected" by the world's ongoing military clashes. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, commercial flights have been forced to divert around Ukraine, while most Western airlines have been banned from using Russian airspace.
 
Meanwhile, the onset of missile strikes between Israel and Iran caused dozens of flights to busy Middle Eastern airports like Doha's to be diverted or cancelled. Live aviation tracking maps also show "gaping holes" over Israel, Iraq and Iran, said CNN.

These significant re-routes place a "bigger burden on airlines’ bottom lines – and on the environment", said The Guardian. Airlines are being forced to "respond rapidly" to the changing geopolitical landscape.

Pilots are increasingly finding "themselves sharing the skies with barrages of drones and missiles" near conflict areas, and continually responding to the changing threats from events on the ground.

Airlines are making these diversions and absorbing the extra costs to avoid the "worst-case scenario" – a plane "accidentally or intentionally" being brought down by missiles, said Reuters. The industry "prides itself" on safety, so carriers are "racking up costs and losing market share from cancelled flights and expensive re-routings, often at short notice".

For passengers, navigating the inconvenience of a sudden change to or the cancellation of a flight is becoming increasingly difficult. "Tens of thousands of passengers" were stranded at Doha's Hamad International Airport last week after it was abruptly closed, said travel expert Simon Calder in The Independent, with it taking "days to clear the backlog".

 
 
on this day

1 July 1968

The US, UK and 59 other states signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The landmark agreement came into force in 1970 – with Iran as a signatory – but some believe the damage caused to its nuclear sites by the US and Israel might drive Iran to leave it.

 
 
Today's newspapers

"Generational slaughter", says The Mirror, describing the fate of people in care homes during the Covid pandemic. "Catastrophic errors" have been "laid bare" by a top civil servant in a new report. The government's bid to "woo rebels" ahead of the welfare bill vote is in "chaos", says The Guardian. The "diluted" welfare reform "halves savings" but "still pushes 150,000 into poverty", says the FT, while the Daily Mail predicts that rebel MPs are "set to humiliate" Keir Starmer. The NHS will "prioritise UK doctors and nurses" in a bid to make the health service "self-sufficient", says The Times, ahead of a 10-year plan due to be published this week.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Meaty court case

Bull semen is among the chief exhibits in a case against a man accused of defrauding his employer in a Wagyu cattle deal. Eric Keddie Fraser, of Grafton, New South Wales, allegedly used a third party to buy 45 of the prized bovines at a steep discount while he has also been charged over the theft of embryos and semen. Following a tip-off, police found a liquid nitrogen tank full of bull semen worth an estimated AU$100,000 (£48,000) at his property.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Rebecca Messina, Harriet Marsden, Richard Windsor, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP / Getty Images; Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images; China Photos / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images.