Palestinians have already been driven from northern Gaza to the south of the enclave as Israel bombed the northern part and put boots on the ground there. Having extended its military offensive to the south, the Israeli military operations will no doubt turn southern Gaza into a bloody slaughterhouse.

Israel's military offensive in Gaza, in retaliation for Hamas' abrupt attacks on Israel on Oct 7, has entered its second month. Yet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Saturday that his country's ground operation in Gaza must continue to ensure the release of hostages.

Netanyahu's government has already withdrawn its negotiation team from cease-fire talks with Hamas in Qatar, leaving little room and hope for further negotiations. This has fueled growing international concern that Israel's military apparatus is determined to exact retribution on the people in Gaza.

The World Health Organization said on Monday it had been forced to move supplies from a WHO medical warehouse in southern Gaza as the Israeli military's ground operations there made it inaccessible. WHO officials said the health sector in Gaza has undergone "a massive degradation" with 18 hospitals currently functioning well below capacity and down from 36 prior to the start of the current conflict.

Since Israel resumed military operations in Gaza, members of the world community have raised concerns and put intensive pressure on Israel to halt its punishment offensive, with the United Nations warning the situation in Gaza was becoming "more apocalyptic".

Israel consumed by rage, fear and loathing, and an internal blame game within its political circle for lapses that enabled the Oct 7 attacks, shows no signs that compassion will stay its vengeful hand. But even the United States, which has thrown its hat into the ring in support of Israel — as well as two aircraft carriers — has begun to put pressure on Israel as the situation in Gaza is no longer condonable by any blinkered loyalty or self-serving need. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan saying that "too many innocent civilians have died in the Gaza conflict" has been the strongest censure of Israel by the US administration so far.

Influential stakeholders such as the US must ramp up the pressure on Israel to see sense. Its punishment of the Palestinians in Gaza is not conducive to its long-term security. Greater efforts are needed by the international community acting in consort to protect civilians in Gaza. More civilian casualties in Gaza will be a scar on the conscience of Israel and a terrible indictment of the world's impotence to prevent the barbarism that has characterized the conflict.

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Palestinians after a short pause, said his spokesman on Monday.

The secretary-general is extremely alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups in Gaza over the weekend, including rocket fire toward Israel from Gaza and the renewal of ground operations and intensified airstrikes by the Israel Defence Forces in southern Gaza, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

Guterres calls on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law. The United Nations continues to appeal to Israeli forces to avoid further action that would exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and to spare civilians from more suffering. Civilians, including health workers, journalists and UN personnel, and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, said the statement.

"The secretary-general reiterates the need for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid flow to meet the needs of the people throughout the (Gaza) Strip. For people ordered to evacuate, there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on," it said.

Guterres also remains gravely concerned about the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank, including intensified Israeli security operations, high numbers of fatalities and arrests, spiking settler violence and attacks on Israelis by Palestinians, it said.

The secretary-general reiterates his call for a sustained humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and the unconditional and immediate release of all remaining hostages, said the statement.

TUNIS - Tunisia received on Sunday the first group of 20 wounded Palestinians from the Gaza Strip for treatment, the country's private radio station Mosaique FM reported.

The wounded Palestinians, along with 21 family members, boarded a Tunisian military plane and arrived at the international airport of Tunis Sunday evening, Ridha Dhaoui, the president of Tunisian National Council of the Order of Physicians, told Mosaique FM.

According to Dhaoui, the wounded Palestinians, aged 1-21, will be admitted to both public and private hospitals in Tunis to receive the medical treatment.

Dhaoui added that most of the injured Palestinians had broken bones and serious burns.

Dhaoui announced that another plane carrying 150 wounded Palestinians was expected to arrive in Tunis on Dec 5.

The move is part of Tunisia's efforts to treat the large number of wounded Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict on Oct 7, and 41,316 others were injured, according to the Gaza-based Media Office.

JERUSALEM - Israel's military chief Herzi Halevi said on Sunday that the military has expanded the ground operation against Hamas to the southern Gaza Strip, an area previously considered as a "safe zone".

"We fought strongly and thoroughly in the northern Gaza Strip, and we are also doing it now in the southern Gaza Strip," Halevi, the chief of the General Staff of Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said during a tour at Israel's Gaza Division outside the besieged enclave, according to a statement released by the military.

He said that the Israeli ground troops, in combination with air and sea forces, have almost completely "dismantled" two Hamas brigades, killing brigade commanders, company commanders, and "many" operatives.

Halevi said that on Saturday morning, a day after a fragile seven-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had collapsed, the forces "started the same process in the southern Gaza Strip." He vowed that the offensive in the southern Gaza Strip "will be with no less strength than that, it will be with no fewer results than that, and Hamas commanders will meet the IDF everywhere in a very, very strong way".

Halevi added that the offensive in the northern Gaza Strip would continue with full force.

The expansion of Israel's ground operation has heightened concerns over the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"People have lost everything, and they need everything," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), wrote on the social media platform X. "Gaza's population will soon begin dying from diseases as well as Israeli bombardment," the agency warned.

Meanwhile, rocket fire from Gaza continued on Sunday, targeting mainly southern Israeli communities. Rockets and anti-tank missiles were launched at northern Israel from Lebanon, lightly injuring at least four people in the community of Beit Hilel in the Galilee, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service.

In the Golan Heights, originally Syrian territory that was annexed by Israel, two projectiles were identified crossing from Syria in two separate incidents, the Israeli army said in a statement, adding that troops fired towards the area from which the projectiles were launched.

Despite the continuation of rocket fire, Israel's Homefront Command announced that all restrictions on schools and workplaces have been lifted, allowing the resumption of all activities, except in the southern communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip, where schools have been closed since the beginning of the war and remained so.

More than 15,000 people were killed in Gaza since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with 75 percent of them being children, women, and the elderly, and 41,316 others were injured, according to the Gaza-based Media Office. Israeli authorities said about 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side.

Israel carried out heavy bombardments in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as international pressure mounted for greater protection of civilians and the renewal of an expired truce deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The prospect of another cease-fire in Gaza appeared bleak, as Israel recalled its negotiators and Hamas' deputy leader said any further swap of hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel would only happen as part of ending the conflict.

The Israeli army said it had conducted more than 400 strikes in Gaza since the truce deal collapsed on Friday, including more than 50 in Khan Younis and its surrounding areas in the south. Hamas said at least 240 Palestinians were killed in the offensive.

Israeli strikes also hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 13 people, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

United States Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is in the United Arab Emirates to attend the COP28 global climate conference, sharply criticized on Saturday the rising civilian toll in Israel's eight-week offensive, sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7.

The overall death toll in Gaza had surpassed 15,200 as of Saturday, with 70 percent of the dead being women and children, according to Hamas.

"Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed," Harris told reporters in Dubai. "Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering and the images and videos coming from Gaza are devastating."

An estimated 1.7 million Gaza residents — more than two-thirds of its population — have been displaced by the conflict, according to the United Nations. On Sunday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said on X, formerly Twitter, that he couldn't "find words strong enough to express our concern over what we're witnessing".

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that Israel had told NGOs not to bring aid convoys across the Rafah border crossing from Egypt after the truce expired. As a result, Gaza residents are once again grappling with shortage of food, water and daily necessities.

Biden losing support

In the US, Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledged on Saturday to withdraw support for President Joe Biden at a conference in suburban Detroit, citing his refusal to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. They said the community's support for Biden is waning as more Palestinian men, women and children are killed in Gaza.

The weeklong truce, brokered with the help of Qatar and Egypt, led to the release of 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. But the deal collapsed with both sides blaming each other for violating its conditions. Israel said that Hamas had tried to fire a rocket before the cease-fire ended, and that it had failed to produce a list of further hostages for release.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters on Saturday that fresh military action was needed to "create the conditions that push (Hamas) to pay a heavy price".

French President Emmanuel Macron appealed for "stepped-up efforts to reach a lasting cease-fire "to free all hostages, allow in more aid and to assure Israel of its security. He said he was heading to Qatar to work on a new truce deal.

Macron took issue with Israel's stated war aims, warning that if the "total destruction of Hamas" in Gaza was the goal, "the war will last 10 years".

AGENCIES — XINHUA

GAZA -- Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 65 people since truce expired and fighting resumed on Friday morning, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported.

Local medical sources told Xinhua that dozens of others were injured in varying degrees as a result of Israeli raids that targeted several areas of the Palestinian enclave.

The government media office in Gaza said in a statement that Israeli aircraft bombed a number of inhabited homes and crowded areas in several cities of the Gaza Strip.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) which controls Gaza, said on Friday it has resumed its attacks on Israeli cities upon the end of the week-long humanitarian ceasefire.

Al-Qassam Brigades said in a press statement that they "targeted the cities of Ashkelon, Sderot, and Beersheba with rocket barrages" in response to the Israeli strikes on Gaza.

In Gaza, al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, said its fighters attacked an Israeli army unit gathered south of Gaza City using several mortar shells.

Field clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces took place inside and north of Gaza City, according to Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses.

Meanwhile, sirens were sounding in Israeli towns near their border with the Gaza Strip on Friday morning for the first time since Israel and Hamas reached a humanitarian truce on Nov 24, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli army confirmed that it intercepted a missile fired towards Israel from the Gaza Strip. In the wake of the attack, the Israeli Home Front Command tightened guidelines for civilians in some areas of the country.

The temporary humanitarian truce reached between Israel and Hamas began on Oct 24 and ended at 7:00 am local time (0500 GMT) Friday.

During the ceasefire days, 240 Palestinians, 86 Israelis, and 24 foreign citizens were released.

JERUSALEM - The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continued on Thursday for the seventh day as more hostages were freed from the Gaza Strip and mediators pressed ahead with the efforts to further extend the fragile truce.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived early Thursday in Israel, marking his fourth visit to the Middle East since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct 7.

Blinken held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended the Israeli wartime Cabinet, which was discussing the Qatari-mediated proposals to prolong the ceasefire in Gaza, as well as Israel's plans to resume military operations against Hamas after the hostages were returned.

In remarks to reporters alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog before their meeting, Blinken expressed his hope that the truce, which started on Nov 24, could be extended.

Blinken also stressed the importance of increasing the desperately needed humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the release of more hostages. "This process is producing results. It's important, and we hope that it can continue," he said.

Blinken also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, during which Abbas highlighted the urgent need to implement a "complete" ceasefire in Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, Blinken said that he urged Israel to put civilian protection plans in place to minimize civilian casualties once it resumes operations in Gaza.

The truce persisted following diplomatic efforts throughout the night between Wednesday and Thursday. Late on Wednesday, Hamas stated that Israel rejected a list of hostages slated for release on Thursday. Israel maintains its stance, demanding that Hamas releases a minimum of 10 hostages daily to sustain the ceasefire.

After intensive diplomatic endeavors overnight, Israel abandoned plans to resume fighting at dawn. The Israeli military released a statement just minutes before the truce was set to expire at 0700 (0500 GMT) that "the operational pause will continue."

Following the diplomatic efforts, two female Israeli hostages were released on Thursday evening, the first two out of 10 Israeli hostages expected to be released later at night, according to the Israeli military.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners Society published a list of eight Palestinian women and 22 children held in Israeli custody, who are slated to be released on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, a deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem served as a stark reminder of the volatile atmosphere and raised concerns about further escalation.

Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire near the entry of Jerusalem, killing three civilians, according to a police statement. Israel's Shin Bet internal security service later identified the two as residents of East Jerusalem linked to Hamas.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was "a natural response to crimes of occupation in Gaza, the killing of children in Jenin, and the harm to prisoners."

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct 7, and over 6,500 others are missing. In Israel, about 1,200 people were killed, mostly in the Oct 7 Hamas surprise attack on Israel that triggered the conflict.

JERUSALEM - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Thursday morning that the ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be extended.

"The operational pause will continue in light of the mediators' efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework," read a short statement released by the IDF several minutes before the expiration of the current truce deal.

It did not reveal the length of the extension. According to a statement by Hamas, the truce, which was set to expire on Thursday morning, will be extended for an additional day.

Only eight hostages will be released by Hamas on Thursday, according to several Israeli media, as the two Israeli-Russian women released by Hamas earlier on Wednesday will be included in the hostage list for Thursday. In exchange, 30 Palestinians will be released from Israeli prisons.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday emphasized the need for a comprehensive cease-fire in Palestine, called for renewed commitment to the two-state solution and urged the United Nations Security Council to take responsible and meaningful actions.

China strongly hopes that the temporary cease-fire is not a pause before a new round of fighting, but the beginning of a further comprehensive and lasting cease-fire, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

He made the remarks while chairing a high-level meeting of the Security Council on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Wednesday. The meeting was held under the initiative of China, which is the rotating president of the council for November.

"A comprehensive and enduring cease-fire should be the top priority, with all parties directing their efforts toward the common goal of ending the conflict in Gaza," Wang emphasized.

Wang called for more pragmatic and powerful actions to be taken to protect civilians. "Any violence and attacks against civilians are unacceptable, and any violation of international humanitarian law should be condemned," he said.

China reiterates its opposition to the collective punishment of the people of Gaza, the forced relocation of Palestinian civilians, and it emphasizes the importance of releasing all detained persons, said Wang.

Resolution 2712, the first resolution adopted by the Security Council after the current round of the conflict broke out, must be implemented, said Wang, adding that the implementation aims to remove obstacles hindering the entry of adequate humanitarian supplies and to establish additional relief channels to Gaza. He further said that the UN should assume a more significant role in supervising and coordinating humanitarian operations in Gaza.

In line with that commitment, the Chinese government will deliver a new round of emergency humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, said Wang.

Wang also called for revitalizing the political prospects of the two-state solution with firmer determination.

"While Israel has long established an independent state, addressing the rights of the Palestinian people to statehood, survival and return remains crucial and unresolved," said Wang. "The ongoing turmoil in the Palestinian-Israeli situation stems from this imbalance.

"Genuine and comprehensive implementation of the two-state solution is key to achieving peace in the Middle East, enabling the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel and fostering joint development for Arab and Jewish nations," said Wang.

China calls for increasing international and regional diplomatic efforts, reviving the political prospects of the two-state solution and restarting direct negotiations between Palestine and Israel, he said.

China calls for convening a more authoritative, inclusive and result-oriented international peace conference and supports Palestine's full membership in the UN, Wang said.

"We need to push the Security Council to take responsible and meaningful actions," The Security Council must reflect its responsibility on the major issues of war and peace, life and death, listen to the voices of the Arab and Islamic countries and the international community, and take further action in a timely manner, he said.

Wednesday's meeting came a day before a six-day cease-fire was set to expire on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Hamas released the sixth group of 16 Israeli hostages as part of a temporary cease-fire agreement. Another 30 Palestinian women and children are set to be released from Israeli prisons. That follows the release of 60 Israeli women and children by Hamas and 180 Palestinian prisoners by Israel under the agreement.

High-level representatives and foreign ministers from nearly 20 countries, including Brazil, Palestine, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, Slovenia, and Malaysia, as well as all members of the Security Council, attended the meeting.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland briefed the meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli situation.

Wang also met with Slovenia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Faton on Wednesday. He held a collective meeting with the foreign ministers of Arab and Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Indonesia.

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli government confirmed late Wednesday night that the sixth batch of hostages released from the Gaza Strip by Hamas has returned to Israel.

The 16 hostages, including 12 Israelis -- some holding dual citizenship -- and four Thai nationals, will undergo an initial medical examination before being escorted by security forces to hospitals to reunite with their families, according to statements issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The four-day humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, scheduled to expire on Tuesday morning, was extended by two days, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Israel did not comment on the extension, but said early Tuesday that it approved the release of 50 more female Palestinian prisoners if "more Israeli hostages are released."

More than 200 hostages were taken to Gaza by Hamas militants during their Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, which retaliated by launching deadly airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israel was widely reported to have insisted that all women and children be released under the framework of the current ceasefire deal, which provided for 50 Israelis to be freed in the first four days of the truce, and the release of 10 Israeli captives for an extra day's pause.

Amid talks to extend the ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday that his country will resume the military campaign to eradicate Hamas.

"There is no situation in which we do not go back to fighting until the end. This is my policy," Netanyahu said in a video statement Wednesday, adding that the entire security cabinet and government, the soldiers, and the Israeli people are all "behind it."

"From the start of the war, I set three goals: eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will never again go back to being a threat to the State of Israel. These three goals still stand," he stressed.

CAIRO - The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population launched on Wednesday an initiative to treat 1,000 Palestinian children injured during the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The initiative was launched in cooperation with Terous Misr Foundation for Development, an Egyptian NGO, and Nestle Egypt, a food giant, the ministry said in a statement.

The initiative, which comes within the framework of coordination, cooperation, and integration between government agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector, aims to reach the best level of treatment services for the injured people of Gaza, according to the statement.

According to official Egyptian data, 575 injured Gazans have been admitted to Egyptian hospitals for treatment since Nov 1.

After weeks of Israeli strikes on Gaza in retaliation for an attack on Oct 7 by Hamas against Israel, the two sides reached a four-day humanitarian truce last week, which was extended for another two days starting on Tuesday.

The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas conflict has surpassed 15,000, while more than 36,000 people were injured, according to Palestinian figures. Israel said that the Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people while more than 200 people were taken as hostages.

ANKARA - Turkiye will step up its efforts for the release of the hostages and establishment of a lasting truce in the Gaza Strip, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

"We will accelerate our contacts to release the hostages and make the ceasefire permanent," Erdogan said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

"Hopefully, our initiatives will continue in a multi-dimensional manner in the future," he said.

The Turkish government continues to dispatch humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza and has so far sent 12 relief planes and one ship to Egypt, according to Erdogan.

A second ship carrying 1,500 tons of humanitarian aid set sail earlier on Wednesday, according to the Turkish president.

"We take care of the treatment of injured people, especially cancer patients and children, by transporting them to Turkiye. Examinations for locations of the field hospitals we will establish in Gaza are underway," Erdogan said.

Turkiye brought another 23 Gazan patients, along with their 21 companions, for treatment in the capital Ankara late Wednesday.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, who welcomed them at Etimesgut Airport in Ankara, said Turkiye has so far received a total of 200 people from Gaza, including 114 patients and 86 companions.

After weeks of Israeli strikes on Gaza in retaliation for an attack on Oct 7 by Hamas against Israel, the two sides reached a four-day humanitarian truce last week, which was extended for another two days starting on Tuesday.

The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas conflict has surpassed 15,000, according to Palestinian figures. Israel said that the Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people while more than 200 people were taken as hostages.

GAZA - About three dozen Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived in the West Bank on Sunday, following Hamas' release of 17 hostages in the second round of swaps under a cease-fire deal.

Late on Saturday, Israel received the second batch of hostages released from the Gaza Strip, including 13 Israelis and four Thais, who had crossed into Egypt and were en route to Israel, confirmed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a post on its X account.

"After undergoing an initial medical assessment, they will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families," said the IDF.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Sunday that the Thais in the latest release were in good health.

"Everybody is safe, on the whole in good mental health and are able to speak normally," said the prime minister via social media X.

As part of the ongoing prisoner-hostage swap agreement with Hamas, Israel released 39 Palestinians -- six women and 33 minors -- from two prisons, reported the Palestinian news agency WAFA on Sunday.

The swap was scheduled for around 4 pm local time (1400 GMT) on Saturday. It was delayed for several hours after Hamas accused Israel of failing to meet the terms of a four-day humanitarian cease-fire agreement, which was agreed upon by the two sides on Wednesday after more than six weeks of bloody conflicts.

A Palestinian source told Xinhua that Hamas was expecting the delivery of "large quantities" of humanitarian aid to Gaza City and the rest of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, rather than providing supplies to the southern part of the enclave only.

Hamas also demands that the Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel should include those from the Gaza Strip, said the source.

Taher al-Nono, an advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, said Israel had breached the agreement, particularly with regard to the entry of humanitarian aid trucks.

An Israeli official threatened that if the second group of Israeli hostages is not released by Hamas before midnight, the Israeli army will "restart ground operations" in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlets have reported, without providing further details.

The "obstacles" were later solved through "Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides," Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari announced on Saturday night.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced early Sunday that it had received a new list of hostages slated to be released later in the day in the third of four scheduled swaps.

Under the mediation by Qatar and Egypt, Hamas and Israel on Wednesday agreed to a four-day humanitarian cease-fire to force a temporary halt to the fighting between the two sides. After the truce deal went into effect Friday, Hamas released 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai, and one Filipino, while Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners. The release of non-Israeli nationals was not part of the truce deal.

GAZA/DOHA -- The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said late Saturday that the second exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners will go ahead after being delayed for several hours.

Hamas said in a statement that it decided to ensure the continuation of the temporary truce agreement after Egyptians and Qataris assured the movement that Israel would abide by all terms stipulated in the agreement.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "obstacles to the release of prisoners were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian contacts with both sides, and 39 Palestinians will be released tonight, while 13 Israeli hostages will leave Gaza in addition to seven foreigners," it said.

The second exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners was scheduled to take place around 4 pm local time (1400 GMT) Saturday but was delayed for several hours.

Hamas said earlier in the day that it had decided to delay the second release as Israel failed to comply with the terms regarding the entry of relief trucks into the northern regions of the Gaza Strip and the agreed-upon criteria for releasing prisoners.

Under the mediation by Qatar and Egypt, Hamas and Israel on Wednesday agreed to a four-day humanitarian cease-fire to force a temporary halt to the fighting between the two sides. After the truce deal went into effect Friday, Hamas released 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai, and one Filipino, while Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners. The release of non-Israeli nationals was separate to the truce deal.

GAZA -- The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced Saturday in a statement that it had decided to delay the release of the second batch of Israeli hostages, blaming Israel for failing to meet the terms in a four-day humanitarian cease-fire agreement.

The delay was due to Israel's failure to comply with the terms in the agreement regarding the entry of relief trucks into the northern regions of the Gaza Strip and the agreed-upon criteria for releasing prisoners, according to the statement.

The second exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners was scheduled to take place around 4 pm local time (1400 GMT) Saturday but was delayed for several hours.

A Palestinian source told Xinhua that Hamas was expecting the delivery of "large quantities" of humanitarian aid to Gaza City and the rest of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, rather than providing supplies to the southern part of the enclave only.

Hamas also demands that the Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel should include those from the Gaza Strip, said the source.

Taher al-Nono, an advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, said Israel had breached the agreement, particularly with regard to the entry of humanitarian aid trucks.

An Israeli official threatened that if the second group of Israeli hostages is not released by Hamas before midnight, the Israeli army will "restart ground operations" in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlets have reported, without providing further details.

Under the mediation by Qatar and Egypt, Hamas and Israel on Wednesday agreed to a four-day humanitarian cease-fire to force a temporary halt to the fighting between the two sides. After the truce deal went into effect Friday, Hamas released 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, 10 Thai, and one Filipino, while Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners. The release of non-Israeli nationals was not part of the truce deal.

CAIRO/GAZA - The first temporary humanitarian truce between Hamas and Israel entered into force at 7:00 am local time (0500 GMT) on Friday in the Gaza Strip.

Confirming the truce agreement had taken effect, Diaa Rashwan, chairman of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement that 130,000 liters of diesel and four trucks of gas from Egypt will enter the Gaza Strip daily.

Some 200 trucks, loaded with food, medicine and water, can enter daily for the first time since the start of the war on Oct 7, he said.

"Some seven fuel trucks have entered the Gaza Strip so far," an anonymous security official source at Rafah crossing told Xinhua, adding that 230 trucks carrying aid and fuel will enter today.

There are about 600 Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, said the source, and some 17 ambulances are waiting to transfer the wounded.

Egypt will continue to receive wounded and injured children from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, helping foreigners and dual nationals detained in the Gaza Strip travel to their own countries, the SIS's chairman said.

Rashwan added that the Egyptian side will also allow the entry of Palestinians stranded in the country into the Gaza Strip at their will.

The truce is scheduled to be followed by the release of 13 Israeli detainees in the Gaza Strip at 4:00 pm local time (1400 GMT).

Hamas and Israel reached an agreement earlier this week on a four-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Under the deal, Hamas would release at least 50 hostages from Gaza in exchange for some 150 Palestinian detainees held in Israel.

Israeli troops have been conducting airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, in retaliation for a surprise attack staged by Hamas.

Israel said the Hamas assault killed about 1,200 people while more than 200 hostages were taken to Gaza. At the same time, the Palestinian death toll from the Israeli strikes in Gaza has reached 14,532 so far, according to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza.

GAZA/JERUSALEM - After more than six weeks of bloody conflict, Israel and Hamas are poised to implement the first truce as part of a swap deal, under which Hamas will free some hostages in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Under the deal reached on Wednesday under the mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US, a four-day humanitarian ceasefire will start at 07:00 am local time (0500 GMT) on Friday.

Hamas, formally known as the Islamic Resistance Movement, said in a press statement that it would release about 13 hostages at 04:00 pm on Friday as the first stage of the deal.

Hamas, which has been ruling Gaza since 2007, will hand over the hostages to Egypt. In turn, Israel will release 150 Palestinians, including women and children, from the Israeli jails.

Israel is expected to stop all its military operations in the Gaza Strip as part of the four-day ceasefire. Meanwhile, at least 200 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid and medical supplies, including four fuel trucks, will be allowed into the Gaza Strip, Hamas explained.

The ceasefire will also facilitate the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow the return of stranded Palestinians waiting in the Arish area, according to the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed receiving an "initial list of names" of detainees set for release tomorrow.

The Israeli army said it was ready to implement the ceasefire, but warned Hamas that "even the slightest violation would result in a severe response."

The ceasefire was originally due to start on Thursday but was delayed as the two sides were finalizing the details of hostage release. Meanwhile, Israel continued its airstrikes on various areas of Gaza, resulting in more casualties and injuries.

Palestinian medical sources reported that 10 people were killed in Israeli shelling on a residential building in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.

The Hamas-run health ministry said that six people, including three children, were killed on Thursday in Israeli strikes targeting two houses in the Shouat area in Rafah, southern Gaza.

In the meantime, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, and the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, separately launched mortar shells at Israeli military positions inside and on the outskirts of Gaza.

The upcoming Israel-Hamas ceasefire will mark the first cessation of hostilities between both sides since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7, during which 1,200 people were killed and over 200 hostages were taken to Gaza by Hamas militants. Israel retaliated by launching relentless airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza, which have killed over 14,000 Palestinians so far.

DOHA -- The Qatari Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would officially take place at 7 am local time (0500 GMT) on Friday.

China's top envoy to the United Nations on Wednesday called on international communities to increase efforts in advancing the political prospects of the two-state solution of the Palestinian question.

Any solution to the current situation must not deviate from the two-state solution and should be conducive to regional peace and stability, Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.

"Any arrangement on the future and destiny of Palestine must seek the consent of the Palestinian people and address the legitimate concerns of the countries of the region," Zhang emphasized.

"The United Nations should continue to play an active role in building international consensus and promoting the peace process. The Security Council should be ready to take responsible and meaningful action on the situation in Palestine and Israel to ensure that it stands the test of history and conscience," Zhang said.

The UNSC Resolution 2712, adopted in mid-November, called for humanitarian pauses and corridors in Gaza to allow relief supplies, Zhang went on to say that it, "represents an important initial step toward a ceasefire and de-escalation of the situation".

The resolution must be fully and immediately implemented in order to achieve a durable ceasefire and avoid further humanitarian catastrophe, Zhang said, calling Israel to cease its military operations against civilian facilities, such as hospitals and schools, and curb the growing settler violence in the West Bank.

"We support further diplomatic efforts to facilitate the early release of more detainees, in the hope that this will open up political space for dialogue and consultation and the resumption of peace," he said.

Zhang said China strongly condemns the clear violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and opposes any collective punishment of Palestinian civilians, forced displacement and forced transfer.

"We urge Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza as soon as possible and to fully restore the supply of basic goods such as water, electricity and fuel. We call for the urgent opening of more relief corridors to Gaza and for the full utilization of border crossings…to ensure the unimpeded and efficient entry of sufficient humanitarian supplies into Gaza from all directions," said Zhang, adding that China supports further action by the Security Council on this issue on the basis of Resolution 2712.

China has been making unremitting efforts to restore peace, said Zhang.

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday attended the BRICS extraordinary virtual summit on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, which was also the first summit since the expansion of BRICS, calling for justice and peace.

On the meeting, leaders jointly called on the international community to support a just solution to the Palestinian issue and to promote the realization of the two-state solution, said Zhang.

In addition, a delegation of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers came to Beijing on Monday to coordinate with China to promote the current Palestinian conflict of cooling down, protecting civilians, and impartially solving the Palestinian issue.

On Monday, WHO told reporters that 21 out of 24 hospitals in Wadi Gaza, located north of the besieged Gaza Strip, are now "completely non-functional". This situation has arisen due to escalated conflict, with ambulances coming under fire, hospitals overwhelmed with a surge of critical patients and a growing number of casualties, Time Magazine reported.

At least 14,500 Palestinians have been killed, including around 6,000 children and 4,000 women, since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict on Oct 7, according to the Hamas-run government media office.

Brief truce between Israel, Hamas seen as opportunity for peace talks

Israel and Hamas have reached a Qatar-mediated agreement to cease fire in the Gaza Strip for four days, which offers an opportunity for peace talks being widely pushed by the global community, analysts said.

The temporary truce, which will be accompanied by the release of some hostages held by the militant group in return for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, marks the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel reignited the Palestine-Israel conflict.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will free 150 Palestinian women and teens and allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza in return for 50 hostages, mostly women and children.

China has welcomed the pause in fighting and said it hopes this will help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, de-escalate the conflict and ease tensions in the region.

Since this round of conflict started, China has been calling for a cease-fire, and working relentlessly to de-escalate the situation, protect civilians and provide humanitarian assistance, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

Hamas gunmen captured around 240 people when they rampaged through southern Israeli towns on Oct 7. Four hostages have been released so far, while at least 14,400 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in the nearly seven-week-long conflict.

According to the deal brokered by Qatar, 50 hostages will be released in small groups over four days, during which there will be a full pause in the fighting. The release of every 10 hostages thereafter will result in one additional day of truce.

Umer Karim, an associate fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, told China Daily that the hostage issue "is becoming a real political burden "for Netanyahu.

"It (the cease-fire deal) shows that his military campaign in Gaza still hasn't given him the political leverage he needs right now domestically and, therefore, he needs some development on the hostage issue," Karim said.

Netanyahu has agreed on a temporary truce to also "slow down the general momentum against Israel right now in the form of protests and demonstrations", which is "putting some pressure on Western governments to change their stance on the matter", Karim added.

Yu Guoqing, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of West Asia and African Studies, said the Israeli government agreed to the brief cease-fire largely because it is under pressure at home and abroad.

The Netanyahu government is under immense domestic pressure due to Israeli casualties in the conflict and the fact that hostages held by Hamas have not been released even a month and a half later, Yu said.

Israel had received a wave of sympathy after it was attacked by Hamas, but its image in the international community changed somewhat following the continuous disclosure of the large number of civilian casualties caused by its military operation in Gaza, especially its attacks on hospitals and schools.

"The international community has already tried to restrain Israel's military action through the multilateral framework of the United Nations. Global calls for a cease-fire actually played an important role in this brief ceasefire agreement," Yu said.

China has also played an important role as it actively advocated for a cessation of hostilities and a cease-fire in Gaza, and consistently worked toward realizing lasting peace and sustainable security in the Middle East, the researcher said.

However, the Israeli government still believes its aim of completely defeating Hamas has not been achieved yet, and the brief cease-fire could be an opportunity to replenish its supply of troops and weapons and to see if Hamas is abiding by the agreement, Yu added.

Ayman Yousef, a professor of international relations at the Arab American University in Jenin in the West Bank, said the global community should put some pressure on the United States to exert influence on Israel to end the conflict, which "is the logic at this stage" and "a matter of directly influencing events in the region".

Haydar Oruc, a Middle East analyst and former researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, said the cease-fire decision, which came after 46 days of violence, could create a basis for a lasting truce in the region.

"If the US provides sincere support and puts pressure on the Netanyahu government, it will be possible to end the Israeli strikes on Gaza," he said.

Wang Qingyun in Beijing and Xinhua contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com