Evening recap

Our liveblog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning. 

Here are the day's key developments:

- Israel carried out heavy air raids in the early hours of Friday morning local time in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, as well as in Gaza City, where there is an as-yet undetermined number of casualties. Nearly one hundred Palestinians were killed in the previous 24 hours. 

- At his final press conference on Thursday as secretary of state, Antony Blinken told reporters he wished the Gaza ceasefire deal could have been secured sooner but made no mention of how the incoming Trump administration pushed Israel in a way that President Joe Biden chose not to, or was unable to. He said he still expects the ceasefire to begin Sunday, even as the Israeli security cabinet is yet to vote on it. Asked by a reporter if the US takes Israel's potential violations of international law seriously, Blinken responded that Israel can investigate itself because it is a democracy. 

- Israel's far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said on Thursday that he is going to resign from government if the Gaza ceasefire deal is approved by the security cabinet. He called on Netanyahu to scuttle the agreement, saying it would deal a blow to everything Israel has achieved in Gaza.

- Meanwhile opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Thursday he is ready to prop up Netanyahu's government. "I say to Benjamin Netanyahu, don't be afraid or intimidated, you will get every safety net you need to make the hostage deal. This is more important than any disagreement we've ever had," Lapid said in a post on X. 

- In video remarks on Thursday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who leads the armed group in Yemen, said there would be further attacks on Israel if it does not abide by the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which goes into effect on Sunday. He also credited the "success" of the Houthis' naval blockade in the Red Sea, saying it led to "true victory" against Israel.

- Rome's chief Jewish rabbi on Thursday sharply criticised Pope Francis over the pontiff's recent ramping up of criticism against Israel's war on Gaza, in an unusually forceful speech during an annual Catholic-Jewish dialogue event. Francis, the rabbi said, has unfairly focused his attention on Israel compared to other ongoing world conflicts, including those in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Ethiopia.