Israel/Palästina

Israel says it has resumed its ground operations in Gaza, after launching a wave of air strikes that the Hamas-run health ministry says killed more than 430 people in two days. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops had moved in up to the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the north and south of the Strip.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, has accused Israel of weaponising humanitarian aid with its blockade of goods and electricity into Gaza. Speaking in Geneva, Philippe Lazzarini warned of a renewed hunger crisis if aid supplies did not resume.

Leading European nations have said they support an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would cost $53 billion (£41 billion) and avoid displacing Palestinians from the territory. The plan, drawn up by Egypt and endorsed by Arab leaders, has been rejected by Israel and by US President Donald Trump, who presented his own vision to turn the Gaza Strip into a "Middle East Riviera".

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.