Closing summary
President Donald Trump has claimed Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen, as he sought to reinvigorate peace talks.
Hamas suggested on Wednesday it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel but stopped short of accepting the US-backed proposal announced by Donald Trump, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza. AP reports that Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the militant group was “ready and serious regarding reaching an agreement.”
Reuters reports that Hamas is reviewing new ceasefire proposals from mediators, aiming for an agreement that would end the Gaza conflict and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
Iran’s western and central airspace is closed to international transit flights for safety reasons, while the country’s eastern airspace is open to flights, Iran’s SNN cited a spokesperson for the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development as saying on Wednesday. Internal and external flight cancellations in the northern, southern and western parts of the country have been extended until Thursday 2pm local time, SNN added, Reuters reports.
Israeli strikes killed at least 14 people on Wednesday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said. Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said five members of the same family were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a tent housing displaced people in the coastal Al-Mawasi area.
The Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday put into effect a law passed by parliament last month to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.
Germany has said that Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sends a “disastrous signal”. “For a diplomatic solution it is essential for Iran to work with the IAEA,” foreign ministry spokesman Martin Giese told reporters, after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian formally enacted the suspension which followed Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Switzerland has initiated proceedings to dissolve the Geneva branch of the controversial, US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid group, citing legal shortcomings in its establishment. The GHF is registered in the US state of Delaware and had registered an affiliate in Geneva on 12 February, Reuters reports.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Wednesday for the elimination of Hamas in his first public remarks since Donald Trump announced what he called a “final proposal” for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, Reuters reports.
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar called for global action against Iran’s nuclear programme, after the move. He also said any opportunity to free hostages held in Gaza “must not be missed”.
The Red Cross has warned that Gaza’s few functioning medical facilities are overwhelmed, with nearly all public hospitals “shut down or gutted by months of hostilities and restrictions” on supplies.
There is rising concern about aid delivery in Gaza, with more than 170 NGOs on Tuesday calling for the dismantlement of the secretive US and Israeli-backed food distributor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The death toll from Israeli attacks on Palestinians waiting for food at its sites has risen to more than 500.
The Hamas-run interior ministry on Wednesday ordered Yasser Abu Shabab the leader of a Palestinian gang armed by Israel in Gaza to surrender and face trial, accusing him of treason. A ministry statement said the decision was taken by what it called a “Revolutionary Court”. Yasser Abu Shabab has 10 days to surrender, it said.
The US bombing of Iran’s key Fordow nuclear site has “seriously and heavily damaged” the facility, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with CBS News.
The Israeli military says it captured a “terrorist” cell operated by Iran in Southern Syria, Reuters reports.
More than 400 stars and media figures have signed a letter to BBC management calling for the removal of a board member, Robbie Gibb, over claims of conflict of interest regarding the Middle East.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that “there will be no Hamas” in post-war Gaza.
US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen, AP reported.
The US leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement, and bring about an end to the war.
Hamas said in a brief statement on Wednesday that it had received a proposal from the mediators and is holding talks with them to “bridge gaps” to return to the negotiating table to try to reach a ceasefire agreement.
