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

Gaza's health ministry warned in a statement that the lack of fuel is still affected the work of the remaining functional hospitals in the besieged Palestinian enclave, particularly their use of generators, oxygen stations and refrigerators for storing medicines

"Currently, work has been suspended in many departments within the remaining operating hospitals," the statement read.

Austerity measures are being followed regarding fuel use in hospitals.

"We repeat our appeal to all concerned, international and humanitarian institutions to intervene and quickly provide the fuel necessary to operate the generators."

The Gaza government's media office announced the killing of five Palestinian journalists in the past 24 hours:

• Amjad Jahjouh – the Palestine Media Agency – killed in Nuseirat
• Wafa Abu Dabaan – the Islamic University Radio in Gaza – killed in Nuseirat
• Rizq Abu Ashkian – the Palestine Media Agency – killed in Nuseirat
• Saadi Madoukh – Deep Shot Media Production Company – killed in Gaza City
• Ahmed Sukkar – Deep Shot Media Production Company – killed in Gaza City

The media office says that 158 journalists have been killed since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza.

Israeli forces launched a series of air and artillery strikes across the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning.

According to Wafa news agency, at least 10 Palestinian civilians were killed when Israeli air strikes targeted a residential home in Nuseirat refugee camp. Seven siblings were reportedly amongst the victims. 

Two Palestinians were also killed by an Israeli strike on a house in the Wadi al-Salqa neighbourhood of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, while Israeli strikes south of Gaza City killed an elderly man and his wife.

Israeli forces also launched air attacks on Bureij refugee camp, while artillery shells targeted the neighbourhoods of Shujaiya, Sheikh Ajleen, Tel al-Hawa, and Zaitoun in Gaza City.

The number of Palestinians killed by Israel's war on Gaza has climbed to 38,098, the Palestinian health ministry said on Saturday.

Israeli forces have wounded at least 87,705 others in the enclave since 7 October, the ministry added. 

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

Here are some of the day's key developments:

• Independent pro-Gaza candidate Shockat Adam unseated Labour's shadow cabinet minister Jon Ashworth in the East Midlands constituency of Leicester South on Friday, in one of the biggest shocks in the UK general election. He was amongst three other independent candidates who ran on a pro-Palestine ticket

• Israeli forces concluded an hours-long raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Friday morning killing at least seven people

• Hamas, amongst other groups, said on Friday that it will not accept plans to impose foreign forces on Gaza, adding that the administration of the Strip is for Palestinians alone

• Israeli and foreign sources have expressed concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may sabotage a potential Gaza ceasefire deal despite a recent breakthrough in indirect negotiations with Hamas, Haaretz reported on Friday

• Hamas official Mohammad Nazzal said the Palestinian group's demand for a permanent ceasefire as part of a deal with Israel to end the war has not changed

• Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire there during a meeting, Hezbollah said on Friday

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief has warned that a dire lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip could have a "catastrophic" impact on already devastated health services in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory

• The armed wing of Hamas said on Friday that its fighters its snipers shot an Israeli soldier in Rafah as the ground offensive there is set to enter its third month

• When asked how they rated the handling of the war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 68 percent of respondents to a Channel 12 survey rated him negatively, compared to 28 percent who gave him a good score

The right-wing Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has called Palestinians in Gaza as “the most radicalized population on the planet”.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) denounced Graham's comments “racist, hateful and absurd”.

In a social media post Graham said that he supports Israel “wholly and completely” in response to a pro-Palestinian protest outside his home.

“Contrary to Senator Graham’s claim that Palestinians in Gaza are radicalized people raised to hate Jews, anyone who has ever visited Gaza – including Jewish activists – report that the Palestinian people are incredibly warm and welcoming people despite the decades of injustice they have experienced,” the CAIR stament said.

Independent candidate Adnan Hussain unseated Labour's Kate Hollern in the northwestern ex-industrial town of Blackburn on Friday, in a sign that the Labour Party's position on the war on Gaza proved divisive and disastrous amongst many voters.

The political novice managed to secure 10,518 votes, winning by the slim margin of just 132 to Hollern's 10,386 votes. 

Former British ambassador Craig Murray, who also stood on a pro-Gaza platform for George Galloway's Workers Party, came in third place with 7,105 votes.

The seat in northwestern Blackburn had been represented by Labour for 69 years.

Read more: Pro-Palestine candidate Adnan Hussain defeats Labour in Blackburn

Palestinian families forcefully expelled from their homes in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp are relying "on seawater for washing, cleaning, and even drinking," said the UN.

"In Nuseirat, Middle Gaza, families shelter in makeshift structures by the water’s edge, as continued forced displacement has left few places for families to relocate," the UN said in a post on X.

Israel’s head of Mossad left Qatar on Friday after talks with mediators on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, with Israeli officials expressing optimism on progress.

David Barnea, Israel’s spy chief, made a sudden trip to Qatar after the US announced on Thursday that Hamas’s response to a ceasefire proposal had created space for a “breakthrough” in talks that have stalled for months.

The announcement came as fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has escalated, with US officials warning that Israel is weeks away from launching an offensive against Lebanon. If a deal is reached, it could provide an off-ramp to a major conflict. 

MEE reported last month that US envoy Amos Hochstein communicated to Hezbollah that it had roughly five more weeks to reach a ceasefire with Israel or the US would back its ally’s offensive on the Iran-backed group.

Read more: Israel optimistic on ceasefire talks, as US says Biden and Netanyahu meeting likely

The two Palestinian journalists killed by Israel were named Saadi Madoukh and Ahmad Sukar, local Palestinian reports say.

At least 153 journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Government Media Office

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement congratulated new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his office said.

Abbas says he hopes the new British government will work to achieve peace, stability and development in the Middle East and to help the Palestinian people “obtain their legitimate rights, freedom and independence in a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital”.

“He [Abbas] expressed his hope that Starmer would continue to develop and promote friendly Palestinian-UK relations,” Wafa said in a statement.

When asked how they rated the handling of the war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 68 percent of respondents to a Channel 12 survey rated him negatively, compared to 28 percent who gave him a good score. 

At least 54 percent of respondents, according to The Times of Israel, said the war on Gaza had not ended because of Netanyahu’s political considerations, 34 percent said it is due to substantive and operational considerations, and 12 percent weren’t sure.

As for who they’d prefer as president of the United States, 48 percent of respondents said Donald Trump, 27 percent said Joe Biden and 25 percent said they were unsure.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre informed reporters again on Friday that US President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the US, where he will address a joint session of Congress on 24 July.

A spokesperson for Al-Nasser hospital in southern Gaza has told Al Jazeera that it received at least ten casualties following an Israeli strike in the eastern part of Khan Younis as well as from ongoing attacks in Rafah.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has condemned Israel's legalisation of settler outposts and approval of new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank, labelling them as "flagrant violations of international law".

"These actions suggest that Israel aims to make the occupation permanent and has no intention of pursuing peace," the ministry said.

"We urge the international community to take a strong and principled stance against Israel's efforts to normalize the occupation," the statement added.