Gaza live: Israeli protesters demand ceasefire as war enters 10th month

The Israeli ground assault on the Shujaiya neighbourhood launched last week has cut off access to a key aid distribution hub in northern Gaza, according to Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. 

The renewed escalation forced an estimated 84,000 Palestinian to flee their homes in a matter of days, the UN added. 

“People in this area tell us about the looming famine, and how people are eating tree leaves or only have flour to survive on,” Unrwa said. 

Ongoing heavy fighting in northern #Gaza has now forced an estimated 84,000 people to flee eastern Gaza City in a matter of days, while also cutting off access to a key aid distribution hub. Read @UN_News_Centre's report. https://t.co/KYUs1XLp44

📷 UNRWA pic.twitter.com/1oF6nxwzau

— ReliefWeb (@reliefweb) July 2, 2024

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza, now in its 270th day:

• Several Palestinians were killed and wounded in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip overnight, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Heavy artillery shelling and air strikes were reported in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Nusairat refugee camp in central Gaza and Shujaiya neighbourhood in northern Gaza. 

• The attacks on eastern Khan Younis came after fresh Israeli military displacement orders, instructing residents of the vast war-ravaged area to leave it and head to the overcrowded and under-served western part of the city. 

• The orders left people scrambling to flee on Monday, with patients forced to leave the European hospital in the east to the damaged Nasser hospital in the west, fearing an imminent ground assault. 

• Bombing north of Nusairat spiked late on Monday amid reports of heavy clashes between Palestinian fighters and Israeli troops stationed at the so-called Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli military base and checkpoint that dissects the Gaza Strip into northern and southern parts. 

The European Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the last functioning hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip, has been forced to move patients following an order from the Israeli military.

Videos verified by Al Jazeera showed entire departments being emptied, including areas housing patients and tents for the displaced.

Medical teams were working to transfer essential devices and equipment to Nasser Hospital.

With Rafah Hospital and Nasser Hospital out of service, the European Hospital was one of the last remaining operational hospitals in the southern part of the Strip.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Monday there was no sign Israel had downgraded the intensity of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli statements that it was shifting to a lower intensity phase.

“We’ve heard the Israelis talk about a significant downshift in their operations in Gaza. It remains to be seen,” Blinken said at an event hosted by the Brookings Institute think tank in Washington DC.

For weeks, Israeli officials have signalled they are downshifting their offensive on the Gaza Strip, even as its military continues to pummel the enclave, inflicting a staggering number of civilian deaths. On Saturday, at least 40 Palestinians were killed and 224 wounded in 24 hours alone.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, the death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 37,843, with 86,858 injured.

Read more: No sign Israel has lowered intensity of Gaza offensive, Blinken says

Israeli media and social media users report that thousands of Palestinians and Israelis have come together for a conference titled "The Time Has Come."

Participants are calling for an end to the war, the release of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, and a deal to ensure future peace between Israel and the Palestinian people.

An Israeli soldier was killed early Monday when a military vehicle hit an explosive device in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm.

Yemen's Houthis announced they carried out four military operations targeting ships in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean, allegedly linked to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel, Reuters reported on Monday.

Yahya Sarea, the Houthi spokesperson, said that the first operation targeted the Israeli ship, MSC Unific, in the Arabian Sea.

The second operation, conducted in the Red Sea, targeted a US oil tanker named, Delonix, marking the second attack on this vessel within a week.

In the third operation, the UK landing ship, Anvil Point, was targeted in the Indian Ocean. The fourth operation, in the Mediterranean Sea, targeted a ship identified by Sarea as the Lucky Sailor.

According to a report in the German tabloid, Bild, an Israeli ground operation in Lebanon could begin on the third or fourth week of July.

Serbia’s state-owned weapons manufacturer, which was recently revealed to be selling millions of dollars in armaments to Israel, also has decades-old ties with the UAE.

According to a report by Balkan Insight, in 2024 Serbia’s main state-owned arms trader, Yugoimport-SDPR, exported at least $17.1m worth of weapons to Israel via Israeli military planes as well as civilian aircraft.

Serbia was a major arms supplier during the Cold War when it was still part of Yugoslavia. Despite its close ties to Russia, it has also been doing business selling ammunition to Ukraine valued at $858m, according to a recent Financial Times report. In 2021 Serbia’s arms exports were valued at around $1.2bn.

But Serbia’s arms interests also extend throughout the Middle East.

Read more: UAE-linked company in Serbia supplying weapons to Israel amid war on Gaza

In an unlikely collaboration, the head of the Muslim World League delivered a keynote speech at a right-wing British think tank on Monday. 

Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, the former Saudi Arabian justice minister who has headed up the Mecca-based international Islamic NGO since 2016, spoke at Policy Exchange in London.

He touched on a wide variety of issues, including Islamophobia and Israel’s war on Gaza. 

In perhaps the most intriguing comments made during the event, Issa said he had frequent and fruitful conversations with French far-right leader, Marine Le Pen. 

“We have a good relationship with her. Whenever we go to France, we meet with Miss Le Pen,” he said. 

Read more: Muslim World League leader says he has 'amazing' chats with Marine Le Pen

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip is reporting that the Israeli army shelled a gathering of people near Abdel Aal junction on al-Jalaa Street, in the west of Gaza City.

At least two people were killed and more than 10 were wounded, according to Al Jazeera.

 When Hamas launched its offensive against Israel last October, Argentine voters were heading to the first round of the presidential election.

Politicians and candidates across the political spectrum quickly took to X to share their thoughts.

The centre-left outgoing president, Alberto Fernandez, continuity candidate Sergio Massa, and others, including the centre-right Patricia Bullrich and Juan Schiaretti, and the right-wing Javier Milei, expressed their solidarity with Israel and condemned the Palestinian group.

None of the posts made any mention of Gaza, Palestine, or the Palestinians.

Left-wing candidate Myriam Bregman, however, lamented the loss of innocent lives and blamed Israeli occupation and apartheid for the current violence during the second round of the presidential debate on 9 October.

READ MORE: Why is Argentina becoming a 'great friend' of Israel amid its war crimes in Gaza?

The Israeli military said it targeted two buildings in southern Lebanon's Aitaroun and Ayta Ash Shab, where Hezbollah operatives had gathered.

The military did not mention whether there were any casualties. It also claimed to have struck multiple Hezbollah sites today, including locations in the villages of Blida, Kfar Kila, and al-Bayyaada in southern Lebanon.

Germany’s Lufthansa Group has suspended night flights to and from Beirut until July 31 due to the worsening security situation.

According to a spokesperson, this change took effect on June 29, but daytime flights will continue as scheduled.

Swiss International Air Lines, a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, also announced that it will shift its Beirut night flights to daytime until the end of July "due to the political developments at the border between Lebanon and Israel."

In recent days, cross-border attacks between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces have intensified, with both sides threatening full-scale war.