JERUSALEM -- The Israeli parliament on Wednesday approved a revised state budget for 2024 to fund the country's war against Hamas in Gaza.

According to the Finance Ministry, the updated budget stands at about 584 billion shekels ($161 billion), an increase of 70 billion shekels compared to the original budget approved in May last year.

Defense spending alone will go up by 55 billion shekels.

The fiscal plan envisages a deficit of 6.6 percent of the gross domestic product.

The statement noted that the budgets of all government ministries were cut to support the balancing measures.

The new budget also includes several measures to increase state revenues, such as taxing bank profits and reducing convalescence payments for employees, as agreed with the largest Israeli worker union Histadrut.

GAZA -- Gaza's health ministry reported on Monday that the Palestinian death toll due to ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has climbed to 31,112.

Within the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 67 Palestinians and injured 106 others, pushing the total death toll to 31,112, and injuries to 72,760 since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct 7, 2023, the ministry said in a statement.

Palestinian sources told Xinhua that, on the first day of Ramadan, Israeli warplanes continued to carry out airstrikes in various areas of the Gaza Strip, resulting in numerous casualties.

In the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood of southern Gaza, sources reported that 16 people, including children and women, were killed when a house was bombed. Additionally, a residential house in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, south of the city, was reportedly targeted, resulting in injuries among its residents.

Further south in Rafah, three Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli bombing that struck a house east of the city, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

GAZA - Amina Al-Ashi, a mother of six in the Gaza Strip, has never been as scared of a holiday as she is ahead of this Ramadan.

For millions of starving Palestinians like her, the raging Israel-Hamas conflict and bloodshed seem to render any thought of festivity utterly absurd.

"Last year, on days like these, I was busy hanging Ramadan decorations and preparing for suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and breakfast for several days," the 44-year-old woman recalled.

Ramadan is scheduled to begin on Monday for Palestinians, but Al-Ashi was not even in the mood to welcome the Muslim holy month.

"My children and I starve most of the time due to lack of food. I do not know how to encourage them to fast when they only find the slightest amount of food," she lamented, referring to practices of Islamic traditions during the holy month.

The nightmare started months ago when heavy Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City took away her job and all her property and shattered her peaceful life.

Before Oct 7, 2023, Al-Ashi had lived in her own house in the al-Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza City and worked in a women's clothing store.

But after the conflict broke out on that day, she was forced to flee again and again, first to the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, then to the city of Khan Younis, and finally to the southernmost city of Rafah, where she lived in a makeshift tent near the border with Egypt.

Recalling all the joyful moments in Ramadan in previous years, the thin woman said she "began to wish that it would not come this year as there is no food or any other aspect of celebration".

"Even the canned goods that we are supposed to receive as aid are stolen and sold in local markets at exorbitant prices, which I cannot afford," she said.

Social order is collapsing in Gaza as millions of desperate Palestinians struggle to make a living amid heavy Israeli strikes, paralysis in public services, and overwhelming humanitarian needs.

Al-Ashi stressed that she does not intend to celebrate Ramadan or even encourage her children to fast for fear that their health will deteriorate if they become malnourished and dehydrated.

In addition, she does not want to see any decorations related to Ramadan anywhere in Gaza, believing that "everyone here is dying without any mercy".

Not far, Emtethal Abu Ramadan has lived with her family in a tent set up by herself shortly after the conflict began. In recent days, she has been preparing Ramadan decorations from scratch. Despite the difficult circumstances, the woman wants to show the grit of Palestinians.

"For more than five months, we have been living in an atmosphere of fear due to the continuous Israeli bombing and destruction of our city ... but we (the Palestinians) want to prove to the world that we are a people who love life even under these tragic circumstances," the 33-year-old mother of three told Xinhua.

The young woman made Ramadan lanterns from cardboard while putting small light bulbs inside them to create a joyful atmosphere for her children in the tent.

"Even on such days, we must remember that life is worth fighting for ... Despite all the pain and sadness that we are experiencing, we can rebuild our homes and city as long as we remain alive," the woman said.

In Rafah, hundreds of street vendors touted goods on small stands, trying to make some money before the holy month.

But Abdul Qader Al-Buhaisi felt the pinch of skyrocketing goods prices in the market, saying he would barely be able to buy small amounts of food to prepare even a breakfast for his family on the first day of Ramadan.

"I did not find any type of meat except canned meat, which is sold at prices unaffordable for me," the 45-year-old father of five complained.

"Everyone is a loser ... No one, regardless of rich or poor, can bear the heavy losses of this war," he said, adding, "Warmongers are killing the desire for life within us."

Israel has waged a large-scale military campaign in Gaza since Oct 7 last year, right after Gaza-ruling Hamas carried out a surprise military attack on the Israeli towns adjacent to the strip, killing approximately 1,200 people and capturing more than 200 others.

So far, 31,045 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and 72,654 others injured, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

The Palestinians, as well as all Muslims around the world, are preparing to observe Ramadan amid hopes that Hamas and Israel will reach a humanitarian truce to restore calm to Gaza.

GAZA -- At least 13 Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a house in the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinian medical sources and eyewitnesses said Saturday.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that Israeli aircraft targeted a house with two missiles, destroying the house and causing damage to neighboring homes.

The Israeli airstrike killed 13 people, including children, and several others were injured to varying degrees and were all transported to hospitals, medical sources said.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates accused Israel of "involving the entire population of Gaza in a whirlwind of imminent death."

It also criticized that Israel consistently ignores all international decisions and requests regarding the protection and basic needs of civilians

Earlier on Saturday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the enclave had risen to 30,960, with 72,524 others wounded.

Gaza -- At least five Palestinians were killed on Friday and several others wounded in northwestern Gaza when they were hit by airdropped aid boxes with a parachute failing to open, Palestinian sources said.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza, said in a statement that the aid was dropped in an unprofessional and unprecedented manner on the heads and houses of residents in the northwest area of Gaza City.

No further details were provided, but eyewitnesses said the aid airdropped by aircraft over Gaza City fell freely without properly opening their parachutes.

Meanwhile, the media office of the Hamas-run government said in a press release that the airdrop operations were "ineffective and not the optimal method," calling for the immediate opening of land crossings to allow for aid delivery to the territory to prevent an imminent famine, especially in northern Gaza.

It added that people in Gaza suffer greatly from severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and shelters.

"As a result of the famine disaster, at least 20 people have died, and the number is likely to increase daily due to hunger, malnutrition, and drought," the statement said.

Several countries, including Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, have been conducting joint operations for about a week to drop food aid to the strip.

The coastal enclave, inhabited by about 2.35 million people, has been experiencing difficult humanitarian conditions since Oct 7, 2023, and international organizations have been warning of a famine.

An event calling for a cease-fire in Gaza was held in Washington DC on Feb 26. Josephine Gilbert, a US intelligence officer with 17 years of military service, said: "Our technology allows us to see exactly who is in these locations and buildings. So they [the Israeli military] know exactly who's in there and how many children are in there when they're targeting and bombing homes." She also called the US government "corrupt to the core".

GAZA -- A Hamas official said on Thursday that Israel aimed to secure the release of its hostages without agreeing to the conditions set by the movement, a demand Hamas deemed "impossible."

The official, who spoke anonymously, told Xinhua that during the ceasefire negotiation, the Israeli side prioritized its captives' issue, while refusing the conditions set by Palestinian factions to proceed with the ceasefire negotiations.

Hamas's delegation left the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Thursday to consult with the movement's leadership regarding the negotiations.

Egypt's Al-Qahera News quoted a high-level Egyptian source as saying that negotiations will resume next week in Cairo, noting that consultations are still ongoing among all parties to reach a ceasefire before Ramadan.

Egypt has been hosting a new round of talks since Sunday to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, with the participation of delegations from Qatar, the United States, and the Hamas movement.

JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said on Thursday it launched an internal investigation into the failures that led up to Hamas's attack on Oct 7, 2023, which caught Israel off guard and resulted in the deaths and kidnapping of hundreds of Israelis.

The attack "began with a surprise that resulted in a difficult outcome and a significant loss of civilian and soldier lives," the military's Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi wrote in a letter to commanders. He acknowledged that the security forces failed in the mission to protect human lives.

The investigation would review the defensive capabilities at the onset of the attack and the events preceding it. This includes the lack of intelligence on the large-scale attack and the absence of preparedness on the eve of the attack.

Thousands of Hamas-led militants raided Israeli border communities on Oct 7, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, marking the highest tally in a single day since Israel's statehood in 1948. A total of 253 individuals were taken hostage.

GAZA -- The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,800 since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct 7, 2023, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Thursday.

Israeli army killed 83 Palestinians and wounded 142 others during the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 30,800 and injuries to 72,298, the ministry added.

Palestinian medical sources said that the bodies of at least 45 Palestinians and dozens of injured people were transferred to the Al-Aqsa Hospital in the city of Deir Al-Balah during the past 24 hours.

The sources said most of the victims were children and women, noting that some of the casualties remain trapped under debris.

The sources reported that a large number of injured people died due to the lack of medical resources in the hospital.

The Israeli army announced in a statement on Wednesday that a soldier was killed and 13 others were injured, with six of them sustaining serious injuries, in the ongoing battles in the southern Gaza Strip.

The death toll of Israeli soldiers has risen to 587, with 3,053 others injured since Oct 7, 2023, according to data released by the Israeli army on Wednesday.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

Ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, or OIC, have adopted a joint resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional cease-fire in Gaza and resumption of international aid for refugees, as Saudi Arabia reiterated its support for a two-state solution.

It also condemned the "barbaric aggression of Israel against civilians" in the besieged Gaza Strip and "the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory" and refused what it called "the crime of genocide" as with the targeting of civilians "under any pretext and forcibly displacing them from their homes".

The meeting was held on Tuesday after the death toll breached the grim figure of more than 30,000, as violence in Israel's expanded military operations to eliminate Hamas continues five months on. This year's Ramadan starts on Sunday or Monday.

Famine looms over the Gaza Strip as aid supplies, already sharply curtailed during the conflict, have dwindled to barely a trickle. Swathes of the territory are completely cut off from food. Gaza's few functioning hospitals, already overwhelmed by the wounded, are now filling with children starving to death.

At the meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah expressed concerns over Israel's plans to scale up military operations.

"We have noticed a positive development in the positions of some countries and an understanding of the magnitude of the disaster. We have also seen an increase in the number of countries calling for an immediate cease-fire," he was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency.

He also said Saudi Arabia directs its message to those countries that the time has come for them to make their decision to recognize the State of Palestine and continue to pressure Israel to stop the violence in Gaza and accept the two-state solution.

Hamas said on Wednesday that it would continue working toward achieving a cease-fire in Gaza with Israel, Reuters reported.

Negotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt — but not Israel — are in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day cease-fire in the conflict.

Strong incentive

Palestinian-Israeli violence often spikes during Ramadan, as does hostility toward Israel in the Arab and Muslim world, creating a strong incentive for leaders to clinch a deal before then, the report said.

On Sunday, US Vice-President Kamala Harris demanded Hamas accept an immediate cease-fire while also urging Israel to ramp up aid deliveries into Gaza, where she said innocent people were suffering a "humanitarian catastrophe".

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, said his agency was "at a breaking point" and had no capacity to absorb financial shocks.

UNRWA, critical for humanitarian aid in Gaza, is "functioning hand-to-mouth" after a significant funding halt, triggered by Israel's accusations against 12 UNRWA staff members of being involved in the Hamas attack, Lazzarini said.

Meanwhile, Israel has denied blocking aid and blamed aid agencies for slow delivery.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Tuesday held a discussion on preparations for Ramadan and announced that Israel's policy "has always been, and always will be", to "safeguard freedom of worship for all faiths".

Agencies contributed to this story.

CAIRO - There are difficulties in the negotiations hosted by Egypt to reach a truce between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip, Egypt's Al-Qahera News TV reported Tuesday.

The report, citing a high-ranking Egyptian official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the negotiations for a humanitarian truce in Gaza are difficult, but were still ongoing.

The source did not reveal the nature of these difficulties or details of the items in dispute between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, in statements to Xinhua, official Egyptian sources denied media reports that the talks in Cairo had failed, noting that the negotiations were continuing.

The sources noted that the Hamas delegation is still in Cairo to discuss solutions for reaching a truce, revealing that Hamas submitted proposals that are currently being presented to Israel.

The sources pointed out that the United States is also pressuring Israel to accept a truce during the month of Ramadan.

Since Sunday, Egypt has been hosting a new round of discussions to reach a calm in the Gaza Strip, with the participation of delegations from Qatar, the United States and the Gaza-ruling Hamas movement.

Israel waged a massive military campaign on Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli towns, killed about 1,200, and took over 200 as hostages on Oct 7, 2023.

Since then, the Israeli retaliation has killed over 30,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 70,000, according to Gaza's health ministry.

ANKARA - Turkiye is ready to assume its responsibilities within the framework of the guarantor mechanism as part of its efforts to end the Israel-Hamas conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"It is obvious that a just peace with guarantees is needed instead of just verbal peace efforts," Erdogan said at a joint press conference attended by visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The only path to lasting peace is the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and geographically integrated Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Erdogan added.

"It is now widely acknowledged that unless a fair solution to the Israel-Palestine issue is found, peace cannot prevail in the Middle East," he said.

Erdogan attributed Israel's "spoiled and lawless attitude" to the support it receives from Western powers.

Turkiye stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people, he said, adding the Turkish government has received more than 900 patients from the Gaza Strip for treatment. Erdogan also underlined his country's efforts to build a field hospital in Gaza.

For his part, Abbas stressed the need for the international community to protect the Palestinian people.

"Efforts need to be strengthened to provide international protection to Palestine," he said, adding that Palestine should become a member of the United Nations.

While expressing his gratitude for Turkiye's continued support for the Palestinian cause, Abbas said Palestine attaches importance to Turkiye's role in the Palestinian issue.

UNITED NATIONS -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday urged Israel to cease discrediting the "two-state solution."

"We urge Israel to cease discrediting the two-state solution, stop eroding the basis of the two-state solution, and end its illegal settlement activities," Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN General Assembly on the use of veto.

Geng stressed that nearly five months after the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, the Security Council's call for a ceasefire was forcibly blocked by the United States for the fourth time, "which China found extremely disappointing."

He added that the result of the Security Council's vote clearly shows that on the issue of demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, the vast majority of council members are in agreement.

"However, the United States has been the only country to abuse its veto power to stifle the consensus of the Council, causing widespread discontent in the international community," Geng said.

He underscored that an immediate ceasefire in Gaza "is a prerequisite to save innocent civilians and provide humanitarian assistance, and a key to avoiding further escalation and proliferation of the conflict."

"As Ramadan is approaching, the international community must push for an immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict with the strongest sense of urgency and the political determination, in order to preserve the hope of survival for the people of Gaza," he said. "We urge Israel to immediately change course, cancel its offensive plans against Rafah, cease military attacks on Gaza, and stop the forced transfer and collective punishment of the Palestinian population."

"We call on the country concerned to put aside geostrategic considerations and domestic political calculations, be truly impartial and responsible in making the right choice, and play a constructive role in promoting a ceasefire in Gaza."

The ambassador noted that Gaza under gunfire is facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with an extreme shortage of survival supplies, nearly 600,000 people on the verge of famine, and social order on the verge of collapse.

"We urge Israel, as the occupying power, to comply with its obligations under international law to guarantee safe, rapid, unimpeded entry of sufficient humanitarian supplies. Practical measures should be taken to protect the safety of humanitarian agencies and personnel and to facilitate them to deliver their relief work."

"Resolutions 2712 and 2720 adopted by Security Council must be fully implemented," the envoy stressed.

Geng said that the "two-state solution" is the only viable way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli issue.

He added that recently, some Israeli political figures have openly and repeatedly rejected the two-state solution and any international efforts toward independent Palestinian statehood. "This is very alarming."

"China calls for intensified international and regional diplomatic efforts to reshape a credible multilateral process, revitalize the political prospects for the two-state solution, and relaunch direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. We call for an international peace conference that is more broad-based and effective. We support Palestine in becoming a full member state of the UN at an earlier date."

The ambassador stressed that China will continue to work tirelessly with the international community to bring an early end to the fighting in Gaza, alleviate the humanitarian disaster, implement the two-state solution, and achieve enduring peace and stability in the Middle East.

AMMAN -- The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said on Tuesday that it conducted eight joint airdrops of aid to Gaza with several countries.

The airdrops, which came as part of continued efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, were conducted by three C130 aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, three American aircraft, one Egyptian aircraft, and one French aircraft, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

The relief and food aid targeted several sites in northern Gaza, and it included materials provided by the World Food Programme, Petra reported.

The operation is part of Jordan's ongoing efforts to send more medical, relief, and food aid to the people in the Gaza Strip to alleviate the effects of the conflict and compensate for the severe shortages in food and medicine due to the continued Israeli aggression, according to the agency.

The armed forces emphasized continued commitment to sending aid through an aerial bridge, whether through aid planes from Amman's Marka Military Airport to El-Arish International Airport in Egypt's North Sinai or through airdrop operations to the Gaza Strip.

UNITED NATIONS -- Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, warned Monday against attempts to dismantle the agency.

Lazzarini expressed concerns at the UN General Assembly about "a deliberate and concerted campaign" aiming to cease the agency's activities, amidst accusations from Israel of the agency harboring over 450 "military operatives" from Hamas and other groups.

"UNRWA is facing a deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine its operations, and ultimately end them," Lazzarini said.

UNRWA, critical for humanitarian aid in Gaza, is "functioning hand-to-mouth" after a significant funding halt, triggered by Israel's accusations against 12 UNRWA staff members of being involved in a Hamas attack, said the UNRWA head.

Lazzarini warned media the same day that the "worst is yet to come" for UNRWA and its beneficiaries.

"We are in a situation where there is a political decision to eliminate UNRWA," he said, citing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement that there is "no place" for UNRWA in Gaza as well as attempts to block and evict the UNRWA staff from its premises "with the aim to dismantle the agency."

He confirmed that a yet-to-be-published UNRWA report will document the experiences of those released from Israeli detention since October last year, including UNRWA staff members, who "have been traumatized" by their "ordeal."

"It's a very broad range of ill-treatment, and we heard stories of people being systematically humiliated, obliged to be naked, subjected to verbal and psychological abuse," he said, providing a snapshot of the report's findings.

UNITED NATIONS - UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis on Monday called for action to end violence and suffering in Gaza.

"First and foremost, an immediate humanitarian ceasefire must be implemented. The bombardment must stop, now," Francis told the General Assembly plenary meeting on the use of the veto, describing the situation in Gaza as "catastrophic", and highlighting the "shocking" death toll and the impact on children and families.

The General Assembly met to examine the US veto of the latest Security Council draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, where a grim, forewarned landscape of famine has seen babies and children die of starvation in recent days.

Francis said that from the UN's inception in 1945, the world body and the Security Council have an overarching duty to save generations from the scourge of war, and called for the international community to act now to end Gaza crisis.

"I am shocked and horrified at the reported killing and injury of hundreds of people during disbursement of aid supplies, west of Gaza City last week," Francis said.

This comes with a rising death toll, babies dying of starvation, and 85 percent of Gaza's population -- or 1.9 million people -- are internally displaced.

Extremely concerned about pending Israeli ground operations in Rafah, where nearly 1.5 million people now reside, the UNGA president called for maximum restraint to prevail in order to save innocent civilian lives.

Israeli restrictions on humanitarian access have drastically reduced the flow of lifesaving aid to a mere trickle, with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East reports a significant 50 percent reduction in the number of trucks entering Gaza daily from January to February, he said.

"It is therefore essential that we rapidly and substantially increase the scale of humanitarian operations and ensure unrestricted access to all civilians in need," he said.

The 193 members of the UN General Assembly on April 26, 2023 adopted by consensus resolution 76/262, committing that every time a veto is cast in the UN Security Council, the General Assembly will meet within 10 days and "hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast".

The initiative was born out of growing frustration over states persistently using vetos in the Security Council, including to block action aimed at halting or averting the commission of atrocity crimes, and addressing their humanitarian consequences.

WASHINGTON - US Vice President Kamala Harris met Monday with a member of Israel's cabinet prosecuting the war in Gaza, urging an immediate ceasefire and the increase and safe distribution of humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in need.

Harris' meeting with Benny Gantz, former Israeli defense minister and deputy prime minister, came one day after the vice president gave what appeared to be the most strongly-worded call to date from the Joe Biden administration for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"The Vice President discussed the urgency of achieving a hostage deal and welcomed Israel's constructive approach to the hostage talks," said a readout of the meeting issued by the White House. "She called on Hamas to accept the terms on the table whereby the release of hostages would result in an immediate six-week ceasefire," it added.

Harris also "expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza", the readout said, referring to an incident Thursday that killed scores of Palestinians trying to get food from an aid convoy in Gaza City. As a result, the civilian death toll since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza surpassed 30,000.

The Israeli military said Sunday that most of those killed in the chaotic event died from stampede, while Palestinian-run local health authorities said those sent to hospitals were shot by large-caliber ammunition.

During her meeting with Gantz, Harris "urged Israel to take additional measures in cooperation with the United States and international partners to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and ensure its safe distribution to those in need", the readout said.

Gantz's visit came amid a growing rift between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the latter's handling of the war. Gantz is a political opponent of Netanyahu, but the two have reached a deal whereby they agree to share power in planning the military operation against Hamas.

CAIRO -- Gaza-ruling Hamas continued talks here on Monday with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

Egyptian security sources confirmed to Xinhua that "remarkable progress" was made on Sunday, the first day of the current ceasefire negotiations in Cairo, without providing further details.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the security source said that topics being discussed include a halt to fighting for 40 days during the first phase of the proposed truce, accompanied by the exchange of 40 Israeli hostages, including the elders and civilians, for 400 Palestinian prisoners.

The deal will also ensure entry of 60,000 movable houses, 120,000 tents and 500 aid trucks every day, the source added.

Egypt's state-linked broadcaster Al-Qahera News, citing unnamed security sources, said the current round of talks would be concluded on Monday, adding that Egypt has been working with the Qatari and US sides to reach a "fair deal" on a truce before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Israel has yet to send a delegation to Cairo. According to Israeli media, the country won't do so unless Hamas provides a list of hostages still alive and the number of Palestinian prisoners that it requires for each hostage.

Israel waged a massive campaign on Gaza after Hamas attacked Israeli towns, killed about 1,200, and took over 200 as hostages on Oct 7 last year.

Since then, the Israeli retaliation has killed 30,534 Palestinians and wounded 71,920 others, according to the latest data released by Gaza's health ministry on Monday.

CAIRO - Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday that depriving the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip of basic life-saving aid is tantamount to a "death sentence and collective punishment".

The AL chief made the remarks during his meeting with Sigrid Kaag, United Nations senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, at the league's headquarters in Cairo, the pan-Arab organization said in a statement.

Aboul Gheit attributed the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, home to over 2 million people, to "the green light that some major powers gave to Israel to practice aggression in such a hideous and inhuman manner," according to the statement.

He reiterated that the priority at this stage is to reach an immediate ceasefire, stop the bloodshed, and prevent a possible famine in Gaza.

Both sides agreed that the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip is "an urgent necessity for reconstruction", said the AL statement.

Israel launched a massive military campaign on Gaza after Gaza-ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attacked southern Israeli towns on Oct 7 last year, killing about 1,200 and taking over 200 as hostages.

The Israeli escalation has killed so far 30,410 Palestinians and wounded 71,700 others, as reported by Gaza's Health Ministry on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, a high-level delegation headed by Hamas's deputy chief in Gaza Khalil Al-Hayya arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on a truce with Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that starts next week, an Egyptian security source told Xinhua on conditions of anonymity.

The expected deal will include a swap of 40 Israeli hostages for 400 Palestinian prisoners, as well as increasing aid trucks into the besieged enclave, the source said, adding that an Israeli delegation is likely to arrive later on Sunday for truce talks.

GAZA - At least 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens of others wounded in Israeli overnight airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security and medical sources said on Sunday.

The sources told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes launched more than 50 raids last night across Gaza, targeting homes, agricultural lands, and military sites in the cities of Rafah, Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, and Jabalia.

Sixteen Palestinians, including children and women, were killed in an Israeli raid on an inhabited house in the Al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah, southern Gaza, said local medical sources.

Israeli aircraft bombed a house in the Al-Saftawi neighborhood, north of Gaza City, killing four Palestinians and wounding several others, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.

In the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, 10 Palestinians were killed as a result of an Israeli raid that targeted an inhabited house near a UNRWA school housing displaced persons.

The Israeli military said that three of its soldiers were killed on Saturday in the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said in a brief statement on Saturday that its members "blew up a house that had been previously booby-trapped with two anti-personnel devices of an Israeli force".

They said that Israeli soldiers were killed and wounded in the Al-Satar area, north of the city of Khan Younis.

As fierce fighting continued in Gaza, Cairo was preparing to host talks on a ceasefire in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, with the participation of all concerned parties, Egypt's Al-Qahera News TV reported Saturday.

A high-level Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on a ceasefire deal, according to an official security source on Sunday.

During the past 24 hours, a total of 90 Palestinians were killed and 177 others wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza, bringing the total death toll to 30,410 and injuries to 71,700 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct 7, 2023, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Sunday.

Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has tried to broker a truce deal before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to start in about a week in Egypt, as part of the diplomatic efforts to end a conflict that has incurred a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.