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

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK has condemned the "concerted campaign to discredit and impugn Maha Hussaini, a multi-award-winning journalist, and worried at the impact this has on her safety at a time when journalists in Gaza are facing unimaginable pressures and challenges".

"Given the clear evidence of the targeting of journalists that has been mounting through this conflict, such smears are not just unacceptable but dangerous," said the NUJ in a post on X. 

"The NUJ calls on the IWMF to respond to all those who’ve raised concerns about this decision and the message it sends at a time when the work of journalists in Gaza – in the absence of any foreign reporters being allowed in to do their jobs – is so vital," they added in a statement. 

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, Hussaini has published dozens of stories with Middle East Eye, including a report uncovering Israeli field executions of Palestinians, which was used as evidence by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its case accusing Israel of genocide.

Following accusations by the Israeli prime minister that the US is slowing weapons shipments to Israel the US Ambassador to Israel, Jacob J. Lew spoke at a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya.

"Even after one shipment was held, others keep coming," Lew said.

"There is certain impatience because the country is still at war, but the US system is moving quickly still, perhaps not at the speed of October 8, when things were at an extraordinary pace of response, something that isn't physically sustainable because you run into supply issues. But there is no change in US support for Israel," he added.

In reference to tensions with Hezbollah, he said that a diplomatic solution is "closer than people think, but quiet in Gaza is needed" for it to happen.

Israel has poured millions of dollars into campaigns aimed at shaping US legislation and university debates on Israel and Palestine, according to documents reviewed by The Guardian. 

According to Israeli parliament documents, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli oversaw 32m shekels ($8.6m) and over 80 programmes in a relaunch of the organisation, Voices of Israel.

Since Israel's war on Gaza began on 7 October, Voices has been helping non-profits and other groups stifle pro-Palestine views in US universities, media companies, and legislative bodies.

Voices previously campaigned for state laws to punish Americans who engage in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) activities against Israel.

Previously known as Concert, Voices was envisioned as a “PR commando unit” by ex-Israeli ambassador to the US Gilad Erdan. Its website declared its fundamental goal as to “enhance the image of Israel”.

Read more: Pro-Israel groups 'shaping US university discourse on Gaza'

European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says “despite all tactical pauses announced, the situation is that no help is entering Gaza”.

“The help is stockpiling outside of the border. Some of these goods are perishing,” he said upon his arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

“The last declaration from Prime Minister Netanyahu confirms that unfortunately this plan is not going to be implemented. We desperately need a ceasefire that could allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Otherwise, the tragedy will be incommensurable,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is open to a "partial deal" with Hamas that allows him to continue the war on Gaza after some of the captives are released.  

A deal that permanently ends the war was not an option until Hamas is "eliminated," he told Channel 14 on Sunday. 

Eliminating Hamas is a goal believed unachievable by the Israeli military and many experts.

Netanyahu's comments appeared to contradict several top US officials, who for weeks said Israel agreed to an outline presented by President Joe Biden in May, which leads to a permanent ceasefire. 

Morocco has begun sending 40 tons of medical aid to Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, the Moroccan foreign ministry said on Monday, according to a report by Reuters. 

The aid includes surgery equipment and supplies to treat burns and fractures, as well as medicine for children, it said.

The aid was transported by air and will be loaded into Palestinian red crescent trucks at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which was first used by Morocco to deliver aid in March, a senior diplomatic source told Reuters.

There have been many protests in Moroccan cities criticizing normalisation with Israel which have only grown since Israel's war on Gaza. 

The Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance journalists worldwide, has expressed support for Maha Hussaini after the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) withdrew its Courage in Journalism Award from the Palestinian journalist.

In a post on X, the trust said, "Palestinian journalists like Maha are subjected to scrutiny and criticism of their posts on social media, rarely applied to journalists elsewhere."

"The Rory Peck Trust is concerned for Maha’s safety and defends her right, and the right of all journalists, to freedom of expression," it added.

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, Hussaini has published dozens of stories with Middle East Eye, including a report uncovering Israeli field executions of Palestinians, which was used as evidence by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its case accusing Israel of genocide.

On 10 June, the IWMF announced that Hussaini was one of four recipients of its Courage in Journalism Awards, which it says honours remarkable bravery in the pursuit of reporting.

However, following allegations made by conservative US publication the Washington Free Beacon, the IWMF on Thursday said it was rescinding the award.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is open to a "partial deal" with Hamas that allows him to continue the war on Gaza after some of the captives are released.  

A deal that permanently ends the war was not an option until Hamas is "eliminated," he told Channel 14 on Sunday. 

Eliminating Hamas is a goal believed unachievable by the Israeli military and many experts.

Netanyahu's comments appeared to contradict several top US officials, who for weeks said Israel agreed to an outline presented by President Joe Biden in May, which leads to a permanent ceasefire. 

"I'm not prepared to end the war and leave Hamas in place. I am prepared to do a partial deal, that’s no secret, that would return some of the people to us," the premier said in the TV interview. 

Read more: Netanyahu rejects permanent ceasefire plan

Israeli forces shelled a civil defence team in the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon while they were extinguishing a fire, Lebanese media is reporting.

A firefighter was hospitalised from chest injuries inflicted by shrapnel.

Tensions between Israeli forces and Hezbollah have instensified along the Israeli-Lebanese border since 7 October, with each side trading heavier blows across an ever-widening area.

At least seven children, including two brothers, have been arrested in the last 24 hours by Israeli forces in the West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) has reported in a statement on Telegram.

The group added that Israel’s military court extended the detention of three children from the town of Beit Ummar near the city of Hebron.

According to PPS, the detentions are part of an escalating arrest campaign by Israeli forces targeting Palestinian children.

Israeli air defences intercepted a rocket launched from Rafah in southern Gaza, the military said in a statement on X.

It added that alerts were activated in the surrounding area before the rocket was destroyed.

Israel's Knesset House Commitee approved on Monday a government request to fast-track a bill delaying retirement age for Israeli reservists, the Times of Israel is reporting.

The bill seeks to extend a temporary measure of raising the age of exemption for reservists from 40 to 41 for soldiers and from 45 to 46 for officers. 

The temporary measure was initially passed by the Knesset late last year, and is due to expire shortly. The new bill seeks to extend the measure by several additional months due to troops shortages amid Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

A first reading of the bill in the plenum is set to take place later today, with the remaining two readings taking place this week.

Israeli forces detained at least 30 young men on Sunday, some as young as 15, in the occupied West Bank village of  Kafr Nime near Ramallah, Al Jazeera is reporting citing Mayor Rafat Khalifeh the head of the municipal council.

Khalifeh said that the reason for the detentions was unclear, adding that some of the young people were due to sit their exams.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, at least 59 Palestinians were detained as Israeli forces stormed the occupied West Bank towns of Silwad, east of Ramallah, and Kafr Nimah.

Since 7 October, over 9000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank, according to the groups.

Hundreds of food products made by companies in Arab states have been certified as kosher and many are still being sold in Israel, according to the findings of an investigation published jointly by Middle East Eye and Arabic Post.

The investigation highlights enduring trade links between Israel and a number of regional countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco since the start of the war in Gaza, even as Israel has faced international condemnation and calls for a trade boycott over accusations of genocide and the killing of more than 37,000 Palestinians.

According a database of kosher-certified products published by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, new certificates have been approved for dozens of products manufactured in these countries since October last year.

MEE also found examples of kosher-certified products imported from Arab countries on sale on shelves in Israeli supermarkets and online.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is a religious institution that issues kosher certificates, indicating compliance with Jewish law, which are necessary for food products intended for sale in most Israeli shops and supermarkets.

Some companies contacted by MEE and Arabic Post denied exporting goods to Israel, but said their products may have found their way into Israeli markets via companies and distributors in third countries.

Others said their products were intended for Palestinian markets, although kosher certification is not required for products marketed only to Palestinians in Israel or the occupied territories.

Read more: Arab companies still trading kosher-certified food products to Israel 

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are struggling to find basic food items to eat as the Israeli siege on the Palestinian enclave continues to worsen the deadly hunger crisis. 

A resident of Gaza City told Middle East Eye she can't find nutritious food in the markets, and when they are found, they are sold at unaffordable prices.   

"There are no vegetables, fruits or milk in the markets. Nothing that has any nutritional value," the resident, who didn't wish to be named, told MEE. 

"I received a food basket from the World Food Programme over a month ago, containing halva, beans, hummus, peas and cold cuts.

"I've been rationing them because if I run out I will have nothing to eat."

Israeli military officials estimate that approximately 50,000 bombs have been dropped on the Gaza Strip since 7 October by the Israeli air force, according to Army Radio. 

Of those, nearly 5 percent, or between 2,000-3,000 bombs, did not explode and could potentially be re-purposed by Hamas, the report added. 

According to the Gaza-based government media office, an estimated 79,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza since the start of the war.