Israel / Palestine

The proposal, endorsed by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo, is their alternative to President Donald Trump's idea for the US to take over Gaza and permanently resettle its population. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas welcomed the Arab plan, which calls for Gaza to be governed temporarily by a committee of independent experts and for international peacekeepers to be deployed there. But both the White House and Israeli foreign ministry said it failed to address realities in Gaza and stood by Trump's vision.

France, Britain and Germany have called on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning against using it as leverage in ceasefire negotiations with Hamas and highlighting the dire humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.  

It was the final such exchange the two sides agreed to as part of a fragile truce that is due to end this weekend. Negotiations over a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire, have not yet begun. 

Israel and Hamas will begin indirect negotiations on a second stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal, officials said on Tuesday, as the Palestinian militant group said it would hand over more hostages, including the bodies of two children, this week.

Israel's prime minister has said he is working to make US President Donald Trump's plan to remove and resettle Gaza's population "a reality". Benjamin Netanyahu said he was co-operating with the US on a "common strategy" for the Palestinian territory after a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday condemned the intensifying Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank, warning that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced already amid an “alarming wave” of violence and destruction.

The militant group Hamas expressed its commitment to a ceasefire with Israel on Thursday, as mediators worked to preserve the halt in fighting amid accusations of violations and threats of a return to war.

More than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the “humanitarian catastrophe” that has gripped the war-ravaged territory, including $20 billion in the first three years alone, the United Nations said Tuesday.

A return to war in Gaza must be avoided at all costs, UN Secretary-General António Guterres insisted on Tuesday, amid fears that the three-week-old ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and Israel is about to end. … The war in Gaza has devastated more than 70 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure.

EUBAM Rafah, the EU civilian border assistance mission, deployed a specialised team to the Rafah Crossing Point to allow the parties to reopen the RCP.