Negotiations being brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States are under way for a three-day humanitarian ceasefire in exchange for the release of about a dozen captives in Gaza.
Al-Quds Hospital has run out of fuel and shut down its key operations on Wednesday.
An overnight Israeli bombardment on Jabalia refugee camp in the north and Sabra in western Gaza has killed dozens, based on reports from Al Jazeera Arabic and Palestinian news agency Wafa.
A cartoon published by the Washington Post has been taken down after it received outrage for dehumanising Palestinians. The publication’s opinion editor said that the cartoon was “meant to caricature a specific Hamas spokesman”.
A total of 106 aid trucks and ambulances entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PCRS). The organisation has said that the supply still does not meet the enclave’s needs.
Human impact and fighting
A Palestinian medical source told Al Jazeera early on Thursday that in the last 24 hours, the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza has recorded at least 65 deaths and more than 100 injuries from the continuing Israeli bombardment. A huge blast has been reported near al-Shifa Hospital in the early hours of Thursday, according to Reuters.
The Israeli military announced on Thursday that one of its soldiers had been killed in Gaza.
In northern Gaza, Hamas fighters are conducting “hit-and-run attacks” against Israeli forces and will likely shift the focus of their military activity to the centre of Gaza City, according to Washington, DC-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War.
Late on Wednesday, Israel’s intelligence agency said it helped Brazilian police arrest two people who were involved in “terrorist” activity being planned by Hezbollah.
The Pentagon says it struck a weapon storage facility in eastern Syria on Wednesday that was being used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that nine people linked to Iran-backed groups had been killed.
Israeli air attacks targeted military sites in southern Syria, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
Diplomacy
Heads of state and United Nations officials are gathering in Paris on Thursday to discuss humanitarian aid for Gaza, according to the AP. On Wednesday, Amnesty International called on them to push for a ceasefire in their meeting.
At the third Republican debate on Wednesday night, party nominees for the US presidency voiced their support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Foreign ministers who gathered at the G7 summit published a joint statement on Wednesday calling for a “humanitarian pause” in Gaza.
In a video statement on Wednesday, the deputy prime minister of Belgium said it is time to place sanctions on Israel. In an interview with Al Jazeera, a Spanish minister also called on the international community to place sanctions on Israel.
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to try and find a resolution to the Israel-Gaza war. He will be holding talks with Middle East foreign ministers who are gathering in Saudi Arabia for an emergency meeting on Gaza this Saturday, according to the United Kingdom’s foreign office
Arrests and attacks in the occupied West Bank
On Wednesday night, a Palestinian man was fatally shot through the heart by Israeli forces in Tabaka village of Hebron, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi.
Israeli forces used four Israeli bulldozers to destroy streets in Jenin, Wafa reported early on Thursday.
Two Israeli settlers were shot in a settlement near Nablus, according to Basravi. Due to their critical condition, they had to be evacuated to a Tel Aviv hospital by helicopter.
