Israel-Palestine live: US and Israel air differences over Gaza strategy
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used a visit on Thursday to Israel to call on Israeli forces to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza.
Blinken's spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said he had met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank.
"The secretary stressed the imperative of accounting for humanitarian and civilian protection needs in southern Gaza before any military operations there," Miller said.
Following the meeting, Netanyahu's office posted a statement reaffirming Israel's intention to wipe out Hamas from Gaza.
Speaking with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken said: "We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families.
"And that should continue today. It's also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately," Blinken said.
Israel summoned Spain's ambassador to Tel Aviv for a reprimand after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez questioned whether Israel was respecting international humanitarian law in Gaza.
On Thursday, Sanchez told Spanish state-owned broadcaster TVE: "The footage we are seeing and the growing numbers of children dying, I have serious doubt [Israel] is complying with international humanitarian law."
He added: "What we are seeing in Gaza is not acceptable."
Last week, after weeks of relentless bombing in Gaza, Israel agreed to temporarily pause its assault after negotiating a truce with Hamas through mediators in Qatar and Egypt.
Though its agreement with Hamas included the cessation of hostilities and the entry of a limited quantity of aid into Gaza, the deal hinged on one key factor: the exchange of prisoners.
Following two truce extensions, and 120 captives released from Gaza and ongoing talks, important questions are starting to arise.
If all civilian women, children and foreign nationals are released during potential extensions of the current truce, an estimated 110-120 Israelis will remain in Gaza. Almost all of them are men, except for a few female soldiers.
With all women and children possibly released by the end of the week, the focus is on what will happen to the others.
Some of the questions being asked include: will there be another deal to release other categories of prisoners held in Gaza and Israel? What will the price be on each side? And could it lead to a lasting ceasefire?
We break down some of the possible scenarios and ask an expert to find out more.
Click on the link below to read more.
Read more: How many more will be released?
Jordan's King Abdullah II called on UN officials and international NGOs to put pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza as the humanitarian situation continues to worsen, according to sources.
Jordanian officials and aid workers with knowledge of the conversation told Reuters that the king called an emergency meeting in Amman with UN officials, heads of NGOs and representatives of various Arab states.
"The monarch urged the international aid community to do their bit and save Gazans who have endured a brutal war that has turned their land into an unliveable place," said one delegate, who requested anonymity as the conversations took place confidentially.
Thr first group of Thai workers abducted from southern Israel on 7 October and released by Hamas as part of a truce deal to Gaza have returned home.
Seventeen Thai workers returned home on Thursday. Since the truce began, a total of 23 Thais have been freed by Hamas in Gaza. Nine Thai workers remain in Gaza.
Uthai Saengnuan, who represents the Thai nationals held in Gaza, told reporters that he was grateful to return home and said he mourns the loss of his fellow workers killed during the 7 October attack.
"I'm saddened that my 39 fellow workers who died and would like everybody to take a moment to mourn their loss," said Saengnuan.
"I would like to thank the Israeli and Thai authorities who helped us ... and hope that the others will come back."
A Thai Muslim group that held direct talks with Hamas said their efforts were crucial in securing the early release of Thai hostages.
On the first day of the ceasefire, 10 Thai hostages were released without condition.
Before the war, around 30,000 Thai labourers worked in the agriculture sector, making them one of Israel's largest migrant worker forces.
Since then, 9,000 Thais have been repatriated.
Egyptian and Qatari negotiators are pushing for a new two-day extension to the truce in Gaza along with more prisoner releases and an increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid, a statement from Egypt's state media body said on Thursday.
Content creator Wizard Bisan has spent the last seven weeks documenting the lives of Palestinians trapped in Gaza because of the war.
Bisan speaks to homeless Palestinians on how they are coping with the low temperatures as winter is fast approaching.
Good morning. If you are just waking up or heading into work with your morning coffee, here is a quick recap of the last-minute truce.
- Both Hamas and Israel agreed to a last-minute one-day extension to the truce moments before the six-day agreement was due to expire.
- The truce extension coincides with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Israel on Thursday.
- The agreement came after Hamas sent Israel a list of women and children it would free on Thursday.
- Hamas has also sent a list to Israel of women and children prisoners it would like released from Israel’s prisons.
- Hamas freed 10 Israelis, two Israeli-Russian dual-nationals and four Thai citizens, according to Qatar's foreign ministry on Wednesday.
- Among the 30 released from Israeli jails on Wednesday was Ahed Tamimi, a prominent 22-year-old Palestinian activist and writer who was sentenced to eight months in prison for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier in 2017.
READ MORE: Israel and Hamas extend truce after last-minute mediation efforts
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir doubled down on earlier comments to hand out weapons to Israelis during a visit to the site of a shooting in Jerusalem.
Comments carried by Times of Israel appeared to show Ben Gvir also saying that the shooting was proof that the only way to defeat Hamas was “through combat”.
“This type of incident proves again how much we can’t show weakness, how much we have to speak to Hamas only through intentions, only through the war,” said Ben Gvir.
Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, vowed to hand out more weapons and claims they saved lives after a shooting in Jerusalem.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, the ultra-nationalist minister said: “Weapons save lives…despite the criticism from all kinds of parties, I will continue this policy of handing out weapons everywhere, both to emergency rooms and to civilians.”
Last month, just days after 7 October, Ben Gvir was pictured handing out M-16 rifles to Israelis.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed on Thursday that Hamas had sent a new list of women and children it wished to be released as part of a future truce deal.
“A short while ago, Israel received a list of women and children, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, and therefore, the pause will resume,” the statement said.
Earlier on Thursday, Hamas said Israel refused an offer to receive seven women and children detained and the bodies of three Israelis who they said had died during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in return for an extension of the truce.
Israel and Hamas both confirmed the pause in fighting would extend for another day as talks for the release of more hostages continued. The announcement came minutes before the truce was due to expire.
Israeli police said that the two gunmen were former prisoners affiliated with Hamas and hailed from the village of Sur Baher, south of Jerusalem.
What we know about the Jerusalem shooting so far:
- Israel’s ambulance service confirmed that the shooting has so far killed a 24-year-old woman, and a 73-year-old man who died from his wounds.
- The shooting took place along Weizman Boulevard as people waited for buses.
- Israeli police said it killed two suspected gunmen.
- The motivation and culprit behind the shooting remain unclear.
At least two people were killed and seven injured in a shooting attack near the entrance to the city of Jerusalem, according to Israeli media reports.
Israeli police said two shooters had been “neutralised on the spot.”
A 24 year old women and a 73-year-old man were killed in the shooting, Israel's ambulance service said. At least seven people were injured.
Israeli police say the shooters opened fire on people waiting for buses and rides along the main highway at the entrance to Jerusalem.
A six day truce between Hamas and Israel has been extended, both sides said early on Thursday morning just minutes before the truce was set to expire.
Israel said the truce would be extended, "in light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing hostages, and subject to the terms of the agreement."
Hamas confirmed the statement saying it had agreed to extend the truce for a seventh day.
There was pressure for both sides to extend the truce to allow more hostage releases and additional aid into devastated Gaza.
