Israel–Hamas war

Hamas says it is considering in a "positive spirit" a Gaza truce deal, while the U.N. warned rebuilding the devastated Palestinian territory would require efforts not seen since World War II.

Türkiye has stopped all trade activity with Israel over violence against Palestinians in Gaza, the Trade Ministry said on May 2.

"Exports and imports to and from Israel have been suspended," the trade ministry said in a statement, adding: "Türkiye will apply these new measures... until the Israeli government authorizes an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Doubts grew on Thursday over the fate of a Gaza truce plan that, as the week began, had raised hopes of an end to nearly seven months of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.

Israel was still waiting for Hamas's response to the latest proposal, said an Israeli official not authorised to speak publicly.

President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday Colombia will sever diplomatic ties with Israel, whose government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he described as "genocidal" in its war in Gaza.

Hamas will respond to an Israeli truce proposal for Gaza "within a very short period", an official with the Palestinian militant group said Wednesday, stressing though that any ceasefire needs to be permanent.

Hamas is considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under grave pressure over possible arrest warrants for him and other senior Israeli officials by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over Israel's offensives in the Gaza war.

Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept a truce in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to send troops into its far southern city of Rafah.

Washington has heightened pressure on all sides to reach a ceasefire — a message pushed by Blinken, who was on his seventh regional tour since the Gaza war broke out in October.

Several European member states are expected to recognise Palestinian statehood by the end of May, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday at the sidelines of a World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday renewed U.S. opposition to an Israeli offensive on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah ahead of his trip to Israel.

"We have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected," Blinken told a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

A Hamas delegation is due to arrive Monday in Egypt, where it will respond to Israel's latest proposal for a long-sought hostage-release deal and truce in the Gaza Strip after almost seven months of war.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, as the death toll in Gaza rises and calls for a deal intensify.