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

A tech entrepreneur living in Florida is a prime mover behind a pro-Israel disinformation network seeking to shape public opinion about the Gaza conflict, an investigation by the Guardian newspaper has found. 

The investigation alleged that Daniel Linden, who co-wrote a guidebook for OnlyFans users, is one of the main hands behind the "Shirion Collective", an organisation that has harassed pro-Palestinian activists and offered cash for anyone who could publicly reveal online identities.

The organisation is also responsible for spreading conspiracy narratives centred on figures like George Soros. It has boasted about an AI-surveillance platform but has not offered many concrete details of how the alleged technology functions.

Read more: Investigation identifies tech entrepreneur behind pro-Israel hate network

Saudi Arabia's embassy in Lebanon has called on its citizens to leave the country amid rising concerns over an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel.

In a post to X social media site, the kingdom’s embassy urged Saudis to leave Lebanon "immediately".

The Arab League has removed Hezbollah from its list of designated terror groups, the organisation's assistant secretary-general on the Egyptian Al-Qahera News Channel. 

In a televised statement, Hossam Zaki said, "The member states of the league agreed that the label of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation should no longer be employed". 

Hezbollah was classified as a "terrorist organisation" by the Arab League on 11 March 2016, shortly after the Gulf Cooperation Council countries made the designation. 

The Uncommitted National Movement, which urges US voters to vote "uncommitted" protest ballots in state primaries over the Biden administration's handling of Israel's war in Gaza, has called on the government to use its leverage to bring about a ceasefire. 

"If you want us to mobilise the 700,000 Democratic primary voters who cast uncommitted ballots toward your re-election, you must ensure a permanent ceasefire by imposing an arms embargo and not sending another US weapon for Israel’s war and occupation," the movement said on X social media.

"The battle for the soul of our nation demands Biden to change course – not another bomb."

The uncommitted campaigns won 29 delegates in several states to send to the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Chicago in August.

Our message to Biden: if you want us to mobilize the 700,000 Democratic primary voters who cast Uncommitted ballots toward your re-election, you must ensure a permanent ceasefire by imposing an arms embargo and not sending another US weapon for Israel’s war and occupation.

— Uncommitted National Movement (@uncommittedmvmt) June 29, 2024

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire and  delivery of aid to Palestinians trapped in the besieged enclave.

Speaking on the sidelines of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, Sisi warned against a further escalation of fighting in Gaza and the war expanding to Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah. 

"We call on the international community to take serious and rapid steps to prevent the region from sliding into a new and unprecedented cycle of conflict,” said Sisi. 

The United Nations Humanitarian Agency (OCHA) said that "about 60,000 to 80,000" people were displaced" from Shujaiya in Gaza. 

Speaking to AFP, Mohammed Harara said him and his family were forced flee with nothing after Israeli planes, tanks and drones targeted the area. 

"We couldn't carry anything from the house. We left the food, flour, canned goods, mattresses and blankets," said Harara. 

Abdelkareem al-Mamluk added that he saw Israeli tanks firing "in front of the Shuada mosque".

"There were martyrs in the street."  

An Israeli strike killed at least four Palestinians in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, Wafa reported on Saturday. 

A Wafa correspondent said Israeli warplanes targeted a residential home in the camp, killing four people and injured several others. 

Wounded Palestinians were taken to the Al-Aqsa and Al-Awda hospitals for treatment.  

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it was providing first aid to Palestinians injured by an Israeli artillery strike in the Bureij camp in Central Gaza.

Images posted by the PRCS said its crews were dispatched to provide first aid to the injured and transported them to the hospital after the strike.

🚨The Palestine Red Crescent crews provided first aid to one of the injured and transported him to the hospital following an artillery strike east of Al-Bureij camp in the central #Gaza Strip.
📷Filmed by volunteer: Musa Al-Qatawi. pic.twitter.com/01Auqbu2cr

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) June 29, 2024

Israeli bombing near the al-Istiqama mosque in the Jeneina neighbourhood, east of Rafah, killed at least two people, according to Al Jazeera. 

An unnamed Al Jazeera correspondent said several Palestinians were also injured when Israel opened fire on the al-Alam roundabout in Rafah. 

The Israeli army said it was continuing its air and ground offensive in the Shujaiya area of Gaza. 

In a series of posts, the Israeli army on Saturday said in the last 24 hours its soldiers had located a weapons warehouse and "eliminated terrorist" fighters in the area.

It added that it was also continuing its operations in Rafah and had "eliminated numerous terrorists in the area" over the past day.

Also in the central Gaza Strip, the air force had struck "several anti-tank missile posts" and the army had "eliminated numerous terrorists" on the ground.

כוחות אוגדה 98 ממשיכים בהתקפה על יעדי טרור במרחב שג׳עייה ונלחמים מעל ומתחת לקרקע במקביל.
ביממה האחרונה צוותי הקרב החטיבתיים 7 והצנחנים חיסלו מחבלים רבים בהיתקלויות, ואיתרו מחסן אמצעי לחימה במתחם בית ספר במרחב>> pic.twitter.com/Yr1nOvr6V4

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 29, 2024

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the death toll in Gaza had risen to 37,843, with 86,858 injured, from Israel's bombardment of the besieged enclave. 

The ministry added on Saturday that at least 40 Palestinians were killed and 224 wounded in the past 24 hours.  

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are some of today's key developments:

• At least 11 Palestinians have been killed and 40 wounded in an Israeli army attack on the al-Mawasi area near Rafah

• Unrwa has warned that nearly 100,000 tonnes of rotting waste is piling up near displacement camps in central Gaza

• Israeli settlers have stormed and occupied a house belonging to a prominent Islamic endowment in Jerusalem

• Heavy fighting between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in Shujaiya and Rafah was reported today

• 4,000 Jordanian citizens applied to donate blood for a Gaza blood donation campaign in Amman Jordan

• A report emerged stating that the US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since the start of the war 

US intelligence indicates that a large scale war is likely to erupt between Israel and Hezbollah in "the next several weeks" if a ceasefire deal in Gaza is not reached, according to a report by Politico.

The report said that the US assessment is more conservative than intelligence-based predictions from some European countries which believe a war could erupt in days.

The Politico article follows Middle East Eye's reporting last week that the US had signalled to Hezbollah via Lebanese intermediaries that it would support an Israeli offensive on the group in the coming weeks.

US official Amos Hochstein told Lebanese officials that Israel anticipates roughly five more weeks of intense fighting in Gaza, after which it will pause its main offensive across the enclave. However, it will continue to target senior Hamas officials and conduct attacks to recover hostages.

Israel says it has drawn up plans for a limited offensive on Hezbollah. Hezbollah has also said it is prepared for war and has a bank of Israeli targets, including in the Mediterranean.

Read more: Israel-Hezbollah war could erupt without notice in weeks if deal not reached

Since the start of the war on Gaza, the Biden administration has sent large numbers of munitions to Israel, two US officials with an updated list of weapons shipments disclosed today.

The shipments include more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles.

Biden has paused one shipment of the 2,000-pound bombs, citing concerns that the weapons could cause more Palestinian deaths in Gaza during Israel's ongoing military assault on Rafah.

Reports emerged on Thursday however that the US is preparing to deliver the suspended shipment.