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Thirty Palestinian prisoners were freed overnight Thursday, the Israeli prison authorities said, in the latest exchange under an extended truce deal due to expire within hours.

The prisoners - including 23 minors and seven women - were released hours after eight Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas.

Eight of the women were Palestinian citizens of Israel. They were freed from the Israeli run Ofer military prison in the West Bank and at the notorious Russian Compound prison in East Jerusalem.

19 of the released minor prisoners were brought from the Ofer prison to downtown Ramallah in the West Bank by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).  They were welcomed by their families and crowds of well-wishers.

Earlier, Israeli police in occupied East Jerusalem visited the homes of the families of Jerusalemite prisoners, warning them not to hold any celebrations or gatherings, according to the WAFA news agency. Journalists were also prevented from reporting the event.

A total of 63 women Palestinian detainees and 147 children and teenagers, most of them detained after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, have been released by Israel.

However 260 Palestinians have been arrested by Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the seven-day truce, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged Israel to create safe zones for Palestinian civilians in Gaza before it resumes "major military operations" in the besieged and bombed enclave.

Speaking on the seventh day of a pause in fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, Blinken also called for a further extension of the truce which included hostage and prisoner swaps and aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.

"Clearly, we want to see this process continue to move forward," he told reporters in Tel Aviv at the end of a visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank.

"We want an eighth day and beyond," he said.

The pause, due to expire early Friday unless an agreement to extend it is reached, has allowed the release of scores of Israeli and foreign hostages taken by Hamas in its surprise attack in return for Palestinian women, children, and teenage prisoners held by Israel.

Six hostages released in the Gaza Strip returned to Israel late Thursday, the Israeli prime minister's office said, hours before a truce extension was due to expire.

The release of the six - four adults, a 17-old girl and an 18-year-old man - who mediator Qatar said included Uruguayan, Mexican and Russian dual nationals, came after two women, including a French-Israeli dual national, were released earlier in the day.

That brought the total freed on Thursday to eight, while the truce agreement stipulates that a minimum of 10 Israeli hostages should be released alive each day.

The discrepancy came as mediators pursued discussions to extend the truce, which was due to expire at 0500 GMT on Friday.

A source close to Hamas told AFP that it considered two Russian-Israeli women released on Wednesday in addition to the required 10 as part of the seventh group freed, so that "as a result, the number of (hostages) in the seventh group is 10".

Mediator Qatar appeared to back the calculation.

International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan visited Israel "at the request and invitation" of the survivors and families of the victims of Hamas's October 7 attacks, the ICC said on Thursday.

"The visit, while not investigative in nature, represents an important opportunity to express sympathy for all victims and engage in dialogue," the court wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Khan is also due to travel to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank where he will meet with senior Palestinian officials, the ICC said.

Hamas militants took about 240 captives from southern Israel during an unprecedented October 7 attack that Israeli officials say killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

Since then, a relentless and indiscriminate Israeli air, sea and ground offensive has killed more than 15,000 people, most of them women and children.

A near week-long truce that has paused weeks of deadly Israeli bombardment is set to expire early on Friday, although there are currently efforts to extend it.

A 25-year-old man was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said today.

Karam Bani Odeh died of his wounds after being shot by Israeli troops near the village of Atuf in the northern Jordan Valley.

Israeli troops prevented ambulances from reaching Bani Odeh after he was shot.

The European Union should recognise a Palestinian state since this would help end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "stabilise" the region, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says.

"It is obvious that we must find a political solution to put an end to this crisis and this solution requires, in my opinion, the recognition of the Palestinian state," the Socialist premier says during an interview with Spanish public television TVE.

"It is in Europe's interest to address this issue out of moral conviction because what we are seeing in Gaza is not acceptable", and also for "a geopolitical objective – to stabilise a region", he adds.

When he was sworn in for a new term this month, Sanchez said his foreign policy priority would be to "work in Europe and in Spain to recognise the Palestinian state".

If there is no consensus among the EU's 27 member states, Sanchez has said Madrid does not rule out unilaterally recognising a Palestinian state.

A classified briefing for all US senators on Ukraine, Israel, and elements of the national security supplemental funding package requested by President Joe Biden will be conducted on Tuesday, Senate aides say.

The briefers will include Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown and US Agency for International Development Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman.

Biden asked Congress last month to approve $106 billion in national security funding, including aid for Ukraine, support for Israel, and money for additional security at the US border with Mexico.

But the funding has not been approved, raising concerns that funds for Ukraine in particular might never pass, particularly after the Republican-led House passed a bill including assistance for Israel, but not Ukraine.

(Reuters)

The Gaza war pushed its way to centre-stage at UN climate talks in Dubai on Thursday, with campaigners calling for a ceasefire and Israel taking the opportunity to discuss hostage releases.

More than seven weeks into the deadly war, the COP28 talks opened with a moment's silence announced by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the COP27 president, for "all civilians who have perished during the current conflict in Gaza".

The conflict also dominated the activist agenda, with chanting, keffiyeh-wearing climate justice defenders urging a ceasefire and an end to Israel's 17-year blockade of the Gaza Strip.

"We are here to express our solidarity with the Palestinians and call for a permanent ceasefire," Lidy Nacpil, representing a coalition of 350 climate justice organisations, told a press conference on the sidelines of the COP gathering.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, plans to use his COP28 visit for a diplomatic push to release hostages held by Hamas, according to his office.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is also expected to be at COP28 and will be in the same room as Herzog on Friday, as they are scheduled to give speeches just minutes apart.

French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his "great joy" upon the release of a Franco-Israeli woman who was held hostage in Gaza, saying Paris will keep working towards the release of those still detained by Hamas.

The freed hostage, 21-year-old Mia Schem, was seized at a dance party along with many of the other hostages abducted into Gaza. Schem also holds French nationality.

"I share this great joy with her family and all French people", Macron said in a statement on X.

(Reuters)

The inclusion of Palestinian prisoners with Israeli citizenship (1948 Palestinians) within the prisoner-for-hostage truce deal between��Israel��and��Hamas��has sparked controversy among lawyers and human rights activists concerned about due process and their legal and civil rights.

Out of 50 new names added by Israel to the list this week of��prisoners due for release��as part of the swap, 20 were female prisoners with Israeli citizenship.

The vast majority of these prisoners were arrested after the current��war on Gaza��which began on 7 October, but not all.

China��called on the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to formulate a "concrete" timetable and roadmap for a two-state solution to achieve a "comprehensive, just and lasting" settlement of the��Palestinian��issue.

The proposal was laid out in a paper stating China's position on resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict released by the Chinese foreign ministry, and as Beijing took over the rotating presidency of the Security Council for November.

The 15-member council needs to intensify its diplomatic mediation, relaunch the two-state solution, and convene a "more authoritative and effective" international peace conference as soon as possible, the paper said.

It urged the council to heed the general call of the international community for a "comprehensive ceasefire" to stop the fighting.

A support team is working to give medics mental health care in central Gaza.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) posts on X: "The psychosocial support team is working on providing mental health care for PRCS volunteers and… EMS [emergency medical services] staff in Deir al-Balah.

"This endeavour is pursued with the goal of reducing their stress in light of the aggression taking place, providing a safe space to express their feelings, and training on positive emotional relief mechanisms."

🫶 The psychosocial support team is working on providing mental health care for PRCS volunteers and 🚑EMS staff in Deir Al-Balah. This endeavor is pursued with the goal of reducing their stress in light of the aggression taking place, providing a safe space to express their…

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS)

About 1,000 Palestinians who were stranded outside the Gaza Strip when war broke out between Israel and Hamas have returned home during the seven-day truce, braving the prospect of renewed bombardment, a Palestinian border official said on Thursday.

At the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, yellow taxis with suitcases and cardboard boxes piled high on their roofs and trunks so full of luggage they could not be closed were carrying Palestinians back into their ravaged homeland.

One of them was Abu Nader, who said he had travelled to Turkey on 4 October to accompany one of his daughters who was starting her studies there. The war began three days later.

Abu Nader flew to Egypt on 24 October, but could not return to Gaza as the Rafah crossing was closed. He found himself stuck in Egypt until the truce.

He said his house in the al-Nasser neighbourhood in Gaza City had been destroyed by an Israeli strike and he had lost relatives, but was nevertheless desperate to get home to be with his other children and the rest of his family.

"No one leaves their children or their country, even if they lose their house. All Palestine is my home, not just Gaza or the house in al-Nasser, the whole nation is my home," he said.

Egypt had announced via the Palestinian embassy in Cairo on 23 November, the day before the truce came into effect, that Palestinians wishing to return to Gaza would be allowed, though not compelled, to do so.

The border official who spoke to Reuters on Thursday said crossings had begun on 24 November and had carried on since then.

(Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, AFP journalists saw.

Blinken arrived in an armoured convoy at the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited power in the West Bank.

Israel's military says that two Israeli hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza today, after an extension to the pause in fighting.

The two women "are on their way to Israeli territory", it says in a statement.

"In the next few hours, additional Israeli hostages are expected to be transferred to the Red Cross," it adds.

Villagers who live off the land in south Lebanon are rushing to sow their crops, making up for lost time after weeks of hostilities with Israel forced them to miss out on the start of the planting season.

"I work from this, I produce from this, I live from this," Zaynab Suweidan said as she sowed wheat in the village of Yater, in an area hit by Israeli strikes during heavy exchanges of fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah.

After enduring its worst violence since a 2006 war, the area has been largely calm since Friday, when Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary truce in the Gaza war.

The two sides agreed to extend the truce by one day on Thursday, bringing a seventh day of respite.

As a drone buzzed in the sky above her, Suweidan said she had stayed in her home throughout the hostilities even after it sustained some damage.

"Shelling has happened around us and planes launched two strikes near us, and we stayed in our house and we didn't leave. We want to stay steadfast," she said.

The crops should have been planted at the start of November, but she hoped the delay would not affect the yield: "Through God's power, everything will be fine."

Farming their land has become even more important for many in Lebanon since the economy there collapsed in a devastating financial meltdown more than four years ago.

Mousa Kawrani, a 55-year-old father of four who was planting wheat, beans and peas, said people needed to farm because they could not afford to buy everything they needed.

"We must farm. We cannot remain without farming."

(Reuters)

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar��Ben-Gvir has vowed to arm more Israeli citizens in wake of today's attack in Jerusalem.

Read our Jerusalem correspondent Ibrahim Husseini's report for further details.

Israel has summoned the Spanish ambassador for a reprimand and recalled its own envoy from Madrid for consultations after Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he doubted Israel was respecting international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he instructed his foreign minister, Eli Cohen, to call in Spain's ambassador for a reprimand "after the shameful statement by the Spanish prime minister on the same day that Hamas terrorists are murdering Israelis in our capital Jerusalem".

While Israel says Jerusalem is its capital, most of the international community does not recognise its claims over the city. East Jerusalem is considered occupied Palestinian territory and for Palestinians it is the capital of their future independent state.

Two Hamas gunmen killed three civilians at a Jerusalem bus stop during the morning rush hour today.

In a social media post, Cohen said the Israeli ambassador to Spain was being recalled for consultations.

"Israel conducts itself and will continue to conduct itself in accordance with international law," Cohen said.

(Reuters)

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has documented 427 attacks on health care in the occupied Palestinian territory since 7 October, the date the Gaza war broke out.

WHO writes on X that attacks have led to 566 deaths and 758 injuries.

WHO documented 224 attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – more than the 203 recorded in Gaza.

"Health care and civilians must be actively protected," the UN agency says, adding the hashtag "#NotATarget" to its post.

Since 7 October, has documented 427 attacks on health care in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Attacks have resulted in 566 fatalities and 758 injuries.

Health care and civilians must be actively protected.

— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt)

Egyptian and Qatari negotiators are pushing for a new two-day extension to the truce in Gaza along with more prisoner releases and an increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid, a statement from Egypt's state media body says.

The efforts follow the last-minute extension of the truce for a seventh day today.

Today's extension includes the release of 10 Israelis captured by Hamas and 30 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, as well as the provision of the same levels of humanitarian relief as during the previous six days, the head of Egypt's state information service, Diaa Rashwan, said in a statement.

"Egypt will continue to exert its utmost efforts to ensure the continued flow of humanitarian aid to the north and south of the Gaza Strip," the statement says.

(Reuters)

Italy and the UAE are considering setting up a field hospital in Gaza, an Italian statement said on Thursday, as Rome sent doctors to the Gulf state to help treat young Palestinians patients who were transferred there.

As part of a drive to help civilians wounded by the Gaza war, Italy has already shipped humanitarian materials to the region aboard two planes and a navy hospital ship is expected to dock in the Egyptian port of al-Arish on 3 December.

"Paediatricians from other countries, starting with Qatar… are expected to work on the ship," the Italian government statement said, adding all aid had been sent in agreement with the main regional partners and Israel.

"The deployment of a field hospital in Gaza together with the United Arab Emirates is also being studied," the statement added, without providing further details.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is travelling to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, will take aboard her flight a group of paediatricians from two Italian children's hospitals to help treat young Palestinian patients in the UAE.

"Prime Minister Meloni has been monitoring the assistance to the civilian population of Gaza since the beginning of the conflict," the statement said.

(Reuters)

Visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday, emphasised the need to protect civilians in southern Gaza, where many have fled, the State Department says.

Blinken "stressed the imperative of accounting for humanitarian and civilian protection needs in southern Gaza before any military operations there", State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says in a statement, adding he "urged Israel to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm".

Balanced on a steep slab of fissured concrete with rods of twisted metal poking out and the remnants of a dome slanted at a 45-degree angle behind him, a young muezzin in a baseball cap called Muslims to prayer from atop a bombarded mosque in Gaza.

The minaret, where the muezzin would usually stand, was still upright but appeared precarious, with a chunk missing from the balustrade at the top and the base resting on the jumbled ruin of the al-Touba Mosque in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

The mosque is one of many in Gaza that have been hit by Israeli strikes during the war. Israel claims the Palestinian armed group uses mosques to conceal tunnel shafts, missile and rocket launch sites, and other infrastructure.

Hamas denies this and accuses Israel of targeting places of worship including mosques and churches and making false accusations aimed at justifying civilian deaths.

Drone footage of three mosques in Khan Younis, filmed by Reuters on Wednesday, the sixth day of a truce that has since been extended by another day, showed the extent of the destruction of the religious buildings.

At al-Touba, the dome that used to rise above the multi-storey mosque was completely gone. The only part of it still recognisable was its circular base, tilted sideways on the collapsed roof where the muezzin, the person who performs the call to prayer, stood.

At al-Ansari Mosque in a different part of town, a pile of dusty prayer mats could be seen in a chaotic pile inside a room filled with cement that had been crushed into what looked like pebbles. Tiles with Arabic writing and twisted metal railings were visible in a gap between a fallen ceiling and tilted walls.

Both mosques were located in densely built-up areas, with what looked like apartment blocks adjacent to them.

At a third mosque, al-Ameen Mohammed, part of the yellow dome was still there, but with a huge gash at the top. The structure was also tilted at a steep angle as one side of the building below had collapsed.

Next to the mosque was an open expanse of sandy terrain where a tent camp for displaced people had sprung up. Beyond that were apartment blocks and the Mediterranean Sea.

(Reuters)

One of the youngest Palestinian detainees was set free on day five of the truce between Hamas and Israel.

Ahmad Salaymeh, 14, was released from the Israeli prison of Damon near Haifa late on Tuesday evening amid tight measures by police implemented to prevent celebratory gatherings upon his release.

Read more of our Jerusalem correspondent Ibrahim Husseini's report for further details.

A Hamas source tells AFP that 10 Israeli hostages would be released from the Gaza Strip today, two of them also holding Russian citizenship, as part of a one-day truce extension.

"All of them are alive," the source says. "Israel last night refused a list Hamas proposed that included three Israeli bodies."

"The negotiations were very difficult and lasted all night, right up to a few minutes before 7:00am this morning (05:00 GMT)," the source says.

The truce, which was to expire at that time, has since Friday paused fighting in the Gaza Strip and seen hostages exchanged, with Israeli captives in Gaza released in return for three times as many Palestinians held by Israel.

"At their conclusion, it was decided to extend the truce in the Gaza Strip by one day," the source says.

Hamas claims responsibility for a shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed three people today, shortly after the extension of a temporary truce in the Gaza war.

Israeli police said the two gunmen who carried out the attack were from occupied East Jerusalem and were shot dead at the scene, near a bus stop on the western side of the city, where there are no checkpoints controlling entry.

"Two terrorists arrived in a car, one of them armed with an M-16 and the other with a pistol," and opened fire, Jerusalem police chief Doron Torgeman told reporters at the scene.

The two gunmen were shot dead "after the attack by two off-duty IDF [Israeli army] soldiers and another civilian who fired at them", police said in a statement, adding a search of the attackers' car turned up ammunition and weaponry.

A police spokesman identified those killed as a 73-year-old rabbi, Elimelech Waserman, along with Hana Ifergan, 67, and Livia Dikman, 24.

In a statement issued hours later claiming responsibility, Hamas called the attack "a natural response to the unprecedented crimes of the occupier in the Gaza Strip and against children in Jenin", in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas identified the attackers as brothers Murad Nemr, 38, and Ibrahim Nemr, 30, saying they were members of its armed wing based in East Jerusalem.

Jordan's King Abdullah on Thursday urged UN aid officials and international NGOs to pile pressure on Israel to allow more aid into the beleaguered Gaza enclave where the humanitarian situation is worsening, officials and aid workers said.

They said the monarch told an emergency meeting in Amman of UN officials, heads of Western non-governmental organisations and representatives of Arab donors it was unacceptable that Israel continued to hold back sufficient aid flows into the densely populated strip, home to 2.3 million people.

"The monarch urged the international aid community to do their bit and save Gazans who have endured a brutal war that has turned their land into an unliveable place," said one delegate who requested anonymity since deliberations were taking place confidentially as requested by the royal palace organisers.

The palace was not immediately available for comment.

Israel agreed to allow a trickle of aid into the enclave last week after it reached a truce with Hamas to trade hostages, a move that aid workers say eased a siege imposed for weeks during the fighting where food, fuel, and goods were not allowed into the enclave.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior UNRWA officials attending the conference told delegates it was crucial Israel reopens the Kerem Shalom (Karm Abu Salem) border crossing that before the war handled more than 60 percent of the truckloads going into Gaza.

Currently Israel allows aid only through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border, where bottlenecks and capacity limitations mean it cannot handle more than 200 trucks a day.

"Before the war Gaza used to receive 500 trucks every day. We have never come close to that figure since 7 October," said UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma.

NGOs and UN officials also heard appeals from the monarch to accelerate delivery of aid to the northern part of Gaza, where Israel has sought to push its entire inhabitants further south but where over 700,000 people remain, a delegate said.

(Reuters)

Staff members at Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in Gaza have expressed their feelings on the temporary truce in the strip.

The UK-based humanitarian group has posted quotes from its staff to social media platform X, adding: "Only a permanent #CeasefireNOW can bring an end to the suffering of our team and everyone in #Gaza."

It came on Wednesday evening, before it was announced on Thursday morning that the temporary pause in fighting would be extended.

One team member, identified only as Nawraz, said: "I lost my son. I'm checking if anyone knows if my house is still standing – I want to go back and collect anything that reminds me of him."

Another named Tarneem said she cleared rubble from her sister's house in the first day of the truce.

"The next two I queued for cooking gas. Now I'm counting down the hours until the bombing restarts. I'm extremely worried," she says.

A third member of staff, Ghada, says: "I was able to visit my sister and lie down on a couch, after 48 days of sleeping on the floor. I can’t describe the mixed feelings of comfort and pain."

Our team in share their feelings and fears during this temporary truce. 🧵👇

“I lost my son. I’m checking if anyone knows if my house is still standing – I want to go back and collect anything that reminds me of him.” – Nawraz.

— Medical Aid for Palestinians (@MedicalAidPal)

A US Navy warship downed a drone on Wednesday launched from a part of Yemen controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the American military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

The USS Carney destroyer "shot down an Iranian-produced KAS04 unmanned aerial vehicle launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen", CENTCOM said.

The Houthis have launched a series of drones and missiles since the start of the Gaza war last month.

Analysts have said the rebels' overriding target is strategic, rather than military, as they seek regional and domestic legitimacy.

The Israeli military says it intercepted an "aerial target" that crossed from Lebanon, in an incident that jolted the calm prevailing at the frontier since the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel agreed a temporary truce.

Reuters witnesses heard blasts along the southeastern Lebanese frontier. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for any attacks from Lebanon.

The Israeli army says it has "successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory".

A spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) tells Reuters a launch was detected from Lebanon towards Israel, followed by Israeli retaliation.

Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, had been trading fire across the Lebanon-Israel border for weeks following the eruption of the Gaza war on 7 October.

Other groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have also launched attacks from Lebanon against Israel during the conflict.

(Reuters)

The UN's COP28 climate summit in Dubai has opened with a moment of silence for the victims of the war in Gaza.

Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister who chaired the previous COP talks in Egypt last year, urged delegates to "stand for a moment of silence" in memory of two climate diplomats who recently died "as well as all civilians who have perished during the current conflict in Gaza".

Russia thanks Hamas for freeing two Russian women hostages from Gaza outside a truce deal with Israel.

"We are grateful to the leadership of the Hamas movement for the positive response to our constant appeals," Moscow's foreign ministry says.

"We will continue to strive for the quick release of the remaining Russians held in the Gaza Strip."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society says its staff and volunteers received 1,132 aid trucks via the Rafah crossing with Egypt from the start of the truce in Gaza until yesterday.

The pause in fighting began on Friday.

📍Since the beginning of the truce until yesterday, PRCS staff and volunteers received 1132 aid trucks 🚛via Rafah Crossing.

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS)

The Israeli military retaliated today to cross-border fire from southern Lebanon, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told Reuters.

Reuters witnesses heard blasts along the southeastern Lebanese frontier with Israel.

(Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is "producing results" and should continue.

"We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families," he says at a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

"It's also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately. So this process is producing results. It's important, and we hope that it can continue."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is due to attend the UN climate talks in the United Arab Emirates today. He will hold talks with diplomats on the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Herzog's visit comes seven weeks into the Gaza war and coincides with a day-long extension of truce that had been due to expire on Thursday, amid ongoing attempts to release more hostages.

At COP28, which will also be attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Herzog will hold a "series of diplomatic meetings on the importance of releasing the hostages held by Hamas", the Israeli presidency said in a statement.

He "intends to engage world leaders in a high-level humanitarian effort to return the hostages", the statement said.

More than 140 heads of state and government are due to address COP28 on Friday and Saturday, including Herzog and Abbas, who are both scheduled to make speeches lasting three minutes on Friday.

The Gaza war has cast a shadow over the UN climate talks in Dubai with activists planning actions to express solidarity with the devastated Palestinian enclave.

On Thursday, climate activists will hold a press conference to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel's 17-year blockade of the enclave.

"The climate movement see the struggle of the Palestinian people against occupation and apartheid as part and parcel of our collective struggle for climate" justice, said a statement by the COP28 Coalition, a global network of climate justice and human rights organisations.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says that, given the number of casualties among civilians in Gaza, he doubts Israel is respecting the international humanitarian law.

"The footage we are seeing and the growing numbers of children dying, I have serious doubt [Israel] is complying with international humanitarian law," he says in an interview with Spanish state-owned broadcaster TVE.

"The indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, including thousands of boys and girls, are completely unacceptable," he adds.

(Reuters)

Seventeen Thai hostages kidnapped and held for weeks by Hamas in the Gaza Strip landed today in Bangkok, where overjoyed relatives waited to welcome them home.

Tens of thousands of Thais were working in Israel, mostly in the agricultural sector, when Palestinian militants began their surprise attack on 7 October. At least 32 Thais were abducted by Hamas, with Bangkok's foreign ministry and Thai Muslim groups working to negotiate their release.

An El-Al flight carrying the party from Tel Aviv landed at Suvarnabhumi airport soon after 15:00 local time (08:00 GMT).

"The plane has landed. They are being processed now," a foreign ministry official told AFP.

Accompanying the party is Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, who flew to Israel earlier this week.

Lumpong Pinakalo, 51, whose son is among the hostages, anxiously waited with other families for their arrival. "I've been following the news. At first when his name didn't appear as a hostage I was shocked thinking that he would be dead," she told AFP.

Ten of the hostages were released last Friday, as a truce began following weeks of negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. Seven more were set free by Hamas in the days that followed.

The group has been recuperating at a hospital in Israel as authorities made preparations to fly them home, Thai officials said. Six more Thais were released on Tuesday and Wednesday and are undergoing medical checks, the foreign ministry said, taking the total number freed to 23, with nine still in captivity.