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The Israeli occupation army carried out a demolition operation early Wednesday east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting areas adjacent to the separation fence.Local sources reported that loud explosions rocked the area following the operation, amid heavy overflights by warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian news agency (WAFA).Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes launched three airstrikes this morning on areas northeast of Beit Lahia, within the Green Line in the northern Gaza Strip, and near the education area in northern Gaza, amid heavy overflights in the area.At the same time, Israeli naval vessels opened heavy fire off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip, in yet another violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The United Nations affirmed its commitment, together with its humanitarian partners, to seizing every possible opportunity to save lives in the Gaza Strip, stressing that relief efforts continue despite numerous obstacles one month after the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.In a statement marking one month since the ceasefire took effect, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, said that ongoing humanitarian operations include providing food assistance to more than one million people, reopening nutrition centers and resuming vital vaccination campaigns, as well as repairing water lines, restoring hospitals to operation, distributing winter clothing and blankets, and providing psychosocial support services."But many obstacles remain. We're working to overcome red tape, enable essential humanitarian partners, open more crossings and routes, and navigate continued insecurity" Fletcher said.He stressed that the UN could achieve far more to save lives if these restrictions were eased. Despite the fragile situation and persistent obstacles on the ground, UN agencies and their partners continue to reach areas of the Gaza Strip that were previously inaccessible before the ceasefire.

The World Bank backs language in a US-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza that would authorise a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body.The 15-member UN Security Council began negotiations on Thursday on the text that would mandate a so-called Board of Peace transitional governance administration, giving it the authority to establish operational entities to address issues including the reconstruction of Gaza and of economic recovery programmes.The World Bank, the UN and the European Union had estimated in February it would cost more than $50bn to rebuild Gaza, and are finalising a new interim estimate of $70bn."Our engagement in Gaza will require the ability to work with international partners who enjoy the full support of the international community and full authorisation to undertake their efforts," World Bank President Ajay Banga wrote to US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz."The proposal to establish an authority, in the current draft the Board of Peace, by the UN Security Council with the authorisations set out in the resolution would provide the needed framework for engagement by the Bank," he said in the letter Sunday.Banga was responding to correspondence from Waltz, thanking him for sharing the draft UN resolution.The current text also "calls upon the World Bank and other financial institutions to facilitate and provide financial resources to support the reconstruction and development of Gaza as it would provide to its members, including through the establishment of a dedicated trust fund for this purpose and governed by donors."Banga said the bank appreciated this language, adding: "We are moving with all deliberate speed in these efforts so we will be ready on day one when asked to answer this call."Israel and Palestinian group Hamas agreed a month ago to the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza, a ceasefire in their two-year war and a hostage release deal. The next phase of the plan, which the draft UN resolution would endorse, is to establish the Board of Peace and a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza.The US formally circulated the draft resolution to Security Council members late on Wednesday.The draft would authorize a two-year mandate for the ISF that could "use all necessary measures" - language for force - to carry out its mandate.The US asked countries to submit feedback on the text by last Friday, said diplomats. A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to be adopted. Washington has said it aims to put the draft to a vote within "weeks, not months.""Overall, things are looking very positive. We're making changes to respond to concerns that some have raised," a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

The death toll from the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 69,169 martyrs in addition to 170,685 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.The ministry reported that since the ceasefire came into effect on October 11, a total of 241 people have been martyred and 614 injured, while 522 bodies have been recovered from the rubble. Adding that over the past 72 hours, hospitals in Gaza Strip received the bodies of 10 martyrs, including 9 recovered from beneath the rubble, in addition to 6 injured individuals.The ministry noted that many victims remain trapped under the debris and along the roads, as ambulance and civil defense teams continue to face severe difficulties reaching them.A ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli entity came into effect on October 11, following the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from populated areas in the Strip and the beginning of the return of displaced residents to northern Gaza. The truce marked the first phase of US President Donald Trump's initiative to end the war on Gaza.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas discussed via phone the latest developments in Gaza and Sudan, efforts to promote peace and sustainable development across Africa, and strengthening the Egypt-EU bilateral relations.In a statement issued Saturday, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said Abdelatty briefed Kallas on Cairo's efforts to uphold the Sharm El-Sheikh cease-fire agreement in Gaza. He also outlined preparations for Egypt's upcoming hosting of the International Conference on Early Recovery and Reconstruction in Gaza, scheduled for later this month, and expressed hope for active participation from EU member states.On Sudan, both sides emphasized the importance of preserving the country's unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national institutions. They also condemned the recent atrocities reported in the city of El Fasher.

The United States will share a draft resolution on President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza with the 10 elected members of the United Nations Security Council, a US official said. Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas agreed a month ago to the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza: a ceasefire in their two-year war and hostage-release deal.The United States has drafted a UN Security Council resolution that would approve a two-year mandate for a Gaza transitional governance body and an international stabilization force in the Palestinian enclave, according to the text seen by Reuters.A resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, the US, Britain or France to be adopted.It was not immediately clear if the US has yet shared a copy of the draft resolution with Russia and China. The two-page text seen by Reuters would authorize a Board of Peace transitional governance administration to establish a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza that could "use all necessary measures" - code for force - to carry out its mandate.

The United Nations said Tuesday it had distributed food parcels to one million people in Gaza since the ceasefire, but warned it was still in a race to save lives.The UN's World Food Programme stressed all crossing points into the Gaza Strip should be opened to flood the famine-hit Palestinian territory with aid, adding that no reason was given why the northern crossings with Israel remained closed."Three and a half weeks into the ceasefire in Gaza, we have distributed food parcels to around one million people across the Gaza Strip," said the WFP's Middle East spokeswoman Abeer Etefa."That's part of the broad operation to push back hunger in Gaza," she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Cairo.WFP aims to reach 1.6 million people in the territory with parcels, which provide enough food for a family for 10 days.However, to get operations running at the level required, "we really need more access, more border crossings to be opened and more access to key roads inside Gaza," said Etefa.The US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10.Etefa described how the WFP was scaling up operations in Gaza and opened 44 of the 145 food distribution points it hopes to run.An estimated 700,000 people are now receiving fresh bread daily, supplied through 17 WFP-supported bakeries: nine in south and central Gaza, and eight in the north.The agency is hoping to get 25 up and running.Etefa said while food consumption levels had increased slightly thanks to the humanitarian aid and commercial trucks now allowed to enter, they remained well below pre-conflict levels.Furthermore, at this stage, households are still eating mostly cereals and pulses, with meat, eggs, vegetables and fruit being consumed "extremely rarely".Nour Hammad, WFP's spokeswoman in Gaza, said commercial food prices were still beyond the reach of most families, saying an apple now costs as much as a kilogramme of apples did before the war broke out in October 2023.The WFP said it had only been able to bring in roughly half of what was required to meet the food needs of people in Gaza."The needs are overwhelming," said Etefa, adding: "We are in a race to save lives."She said WFP trucks were still only coming through the Kerem Shalom and Kissufim crossings, severely limiting the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, and posing a major obstacle to getting aid to the north."We actually haven't been given clear answers on why the northern crossing points are still closed," she said.

Ceasefire allows Palestinians to return home, but violence persistsHamas and Israel exchange hostages and bodiesIsraeli fire killed three Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, north of the southern city of Rafah, which remains under Israeli control, according to local health authorities, further testing the fragile US-backed ceasefire.In a statement issued earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said forces identified "terrorists" who crossed the yellow line, which marks areas the army still occupies. It said they were advancing towards troops in southern Gaza, posing an immediate threat, before it struck them.Medics said one of those killed was a woman. The identities of the two others weren't immediately clear. The incident follows days of Israeli strikes on the enclave, provoking mutual accusations between Hamas and Israel over violations of the tenuous ceasefire that halted two years of war.Residents said Israeli forces continued to demolish houses in the eastern areas of Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City, where forces continue to operate.The ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10, has calmed most fighting, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the ruins of their homes in Gaza. Israel has withdrawn troops from positions in cities, and more aid has been allowed to enter.Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held by Israel. Hamas has also agreed to turn over the bodies of hostages, a process which is still incomplete and which it says is difficult, while Israel accuses Hamas of stalling.But violence has not completely halted. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed 239 people in strikes on Gaza since the truce, nearly half of them in a single day last week when Israel retaliated for an attack on its troops.Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed and it has targeted scores of fighters.Meanwhile, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday it received 45 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel whose bodies were in Israeli custody. Monday's handover raised the number of Palestinian bodies Israel has returned to Gaza to 270.Hamas has so far returned 20 of the 28 bodies of hostages that had been buried in Gaza.

Jordan and Germany said on Saturday that an international force expected to support a future Palestinian police in Gaza under US President Donald Trump's post-war governance plan should have a UN mandate.Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, a coalition of mainly Arab and Muslim nations is expected to deploy forces in the Palestinian territory, which has been devastated by the war that broke out on October 7, 2023 with Hamas's attack on Israel.The so-called international stabilisation force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan, as well as secure border areas and prevent weapons smuggling to Hamas."We all agree that in order for that stabilisation force to be able to be effective in getting the job done, it has to have a Security Council mandate," Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.Jordan, however, will not be sending its own forces to the Strip."We're too close to the issue and we cannot deploy troops in Gaza," Safadi said, adding his country was nonetheless ready to cooperate with the international force.Safadi was speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain alongside his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, who also supported a UN mandate for the force, saying it would "need a clear basis in international law"."We understand that this is of utmost importance to those countries who might be willing to send troops to Gaza and for the Palestinians. Germany would also want to see a clear mandate for this mission," Wadephul said.The idea of the stabilisation force has drawn some criticism, with UN experts last month warning it would "replace Israeli occupation with a US-led occupation, contrary to Palestinian self-determination".The UN has mandated international peacekeeping forces in the region for decades, including UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, which is currently working with the Lebanese army to enforce a November 2024 ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

Nasser Medical Hospital in the Gaza Strip received Friday the bodies of 30 martyrs released by Israeli occupation forces.According to local sources, cited by the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), the bodies were transferred to the hospital via the International Committee of the Red Cross.This marks the fifth batch of martyrs' bodies handed over by the Israeli occupation since the ceasefire agreement in Gaza took effect.Most of the bodies bore signs of torture, burning, and execution. Many were found with bound hands and blindfolded eyes, their features severely disfigured, making identification by families nearly impossible.The handover is part of a prisoner and detainee exchange deal under the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli entity, which came into force on Oct 10.Under the truce, Israel is to return the remains of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli hostage returned by Hamas. Friday's transfer brings the number returned to Gaza to 225. Hamas has already returned 20 surviving hostages.Hamas insists it is committed to the ceasefire plan but is struggling to find the remaining dead because two years of Israeli bombardments have erased Gazan landmarks.Egyptian recovery teams equipped with earth-moving equipment have joined the effort to search for the bodies.

The Israeli military attacked the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Friday, killing three people, Palestinian health authorities said, in another test of a fragile ceasefire agreement.Residents reported Israeli shelling and gunfire in northern Gaza on Friday, as Israel continued to bombard areas of the enclave despite saying that it remains committed to a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.The Israeli military did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.Another Palestinian died of wounds sustained from previous Israeli shelling, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.The US-brokered ceasefire, which left thorny issues like the disarmament of Hamas and a timeline for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip unresolved, has been tested by periodic outbreaks of violence since it came into place three weeks ago.Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Israel retaliated for the death of an Israeli soldier with bombardments that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people.Gaza's health ministry said the Red Cross had delivered to it 30 bodies of Palestinians killed by Israel during the war, a day after Hamas handed over two bodies of hostages.Under the ceasefire accord, Hamas released all living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel agreed to pull back its troops, halt its offensive and increase aid.Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all 28 dead hostages in exchange for 360 Palestinian fighters killed in the war. After Thursday's release, it had handed over 17 bodies, while 225 Palestinian bodies have so far been returned to Gaza.Hamas has said that it will take time to locate and retrieve the bodies of all the remaining hostages.Israel has accused Hamas of violating the truce by stalling in the handover.

Humanitarian workers are being increasingly targeted in Gaza and in Sudan, where five Red Crescent volunteers were killed this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross's director-general Pierre Krahenbuhl told AFP Friday.Israel has repeatedly launched deadly strikes on Gaza despite a ceasefire agreed earlier in October and reports have emerged of atrocities by paramilitaries during Sudan's brutal civil war."It is now becoming a pattern of violence against humanitarian workers in Sudan, in Gaza, and others, that we find very dramatic," Krahenbuhl said in an interview before the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain."There is a wider erosion of respect for international humanitarian law," which had "clearly not" been respected in either conflict, he added.On Tuesday, the ICRC said five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers were killed in North Kordofan state, a major battleground of the war that has raged since April 2023.There were also reports of 460 people killed at a hospital in El-Fasher, which recently fell to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries.The capture of El-Fasher, following an RSF siege of more than 18 months, raised fears of a return to Sudan's ethnically targeted atrocities of 20 years ago.The western city has been cut off from all communications since its fall, but survivors who reached the nearby town of Tawila told AFP of mass killings, children shot in front of their parents and civilians beaten and robbed as they fled."We are dealing with probably one of the most dramatic conflicts of our time," Krahenbuhl said, pointing to attacks against civilians, "the extensive use of sexual violence" and the targeting of medical facilities.Krahenbuhl said Gaza's destruction was beyond anything he had seen before, and warned that aid supplies remained woefully short."In the 25 or 30 years that I've been working in the humanitarian field, I have not seen that level of destruction," he said."Not enough (aid) is coming into the Gaza Strip yet," the ICRC official added. "What people need is, of course, far bigger than what we currently are able to deliver."The basic needs of Gazans are so immense "that what we are starting to do with improved humanitarian access is only the tip of the iceberg".The United Nations also warned this week that although aid had increased since the truce, humanitarian groups faced funding shortfalls and problems coordinating with Israeli authorities.Separately, Krahenbuhl hit out at Israel's order this week banning the ICRC from visiting Palestinians held under a law that allows for their indefinite detention.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said resuming the visits, which were suspended during the Gaza war, would "seriously harm the state's security".But there was "no way in which our visits can pose a security threat or a national security threat", Krahenbuhl said, urging Israel to lift the ban.