Middle East

Aside from Norway, Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, excluding Russia, this position is also backed by western producers the United States and Canada, the 27-country European Union, climate-vulnerable small island states, some African nations including Kenya and Ethiopia, and Latin American countries Chile and Colombia.

Along with the human toll, the premises of many media organisations in Gaza have been destroyed, he said. He estimated there were about 1,000 journalists and media workers in Gaza before the conflict and said that now, no one can get out.

Two other commercial ships, the Panamanian-flagged bulk carriers Number 9 and Sophie II, were both struck by missiles. The Number 9 reported some damage but no casualties, and the Sophie II reported no significant damage, Central Command said.

Displaced Gazans have been sheltering in Khan Younis and Rafah because of fighting in the north of the densely populated enclave, but residents said they feared Israeli troops were preparing to move on the south.

In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, a witness said he could hear heavy shelling and see smoke rising in the east of the town. People were fleeing the area to camps in the west of Khan Younis for cover, he added.

To remain focused, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani had cleared his agenda, cancelling planned trips to Moscow and London, the source briefed on the negotiations said.

Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement on Thursday to extend their ceasefire for a seventh day, and Washington said it hoped the truce could be extended further to free more hostages and let aid reach Gaza. The truce has allowed much needed humanitarian aid into Gaza after much of...

The hostages were among some 240 people seized by Hamas gunmen during a rampage into southern Israel on October 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed. Israel’s bombardment of Hamas-ruled Gaza in retaliation has killed more than 15,000 Gazans, health authorities there said.

Previously during the truce, Hamas fighters released 50 Israeli women and children, some of them toddlers, from among the 240 hostages they captured in southern Israel during a deadly rampage on October 7. In return, Israel released 150 security detainees from its jails, all women and teenagers.

Monday’s releases bring to 50 the number of Israelis freed under the truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 117 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons.