A Hamas official has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “undermining” ceasefire talks after three sons and four grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli air attack on northern Gaza.

      Starving Gaza residents have held muted Eid al-Fitr celebrations as Israel continues to block food deliveries and carry out deadly air raids.

      In his harshest criticism yet of the Gaza war, US President Joe Biden has told Israel to “just call a ceasefire“, describing ongoing military operations as a “mistake”.

      At least 33,482 Palestinians have been killed and 76,049 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive.

    ‘Imminent risk of famine for most, if not all’ Gazans: US Gaza humanitarian envoy

    David Satterfield, appointed as Gaza humanitarian envoy by the US government, has told a forum organised by the American Jewish Committee that most “if not all” of Gaza’s 2.2 million people are facing famine.

    “There is an imminent risk of famine for the majority, if not all, the 2.2 million population of Gaza,” Satterfield was quoted as saying by Israeli media including Haaretz and The Times of Israel.

    “This is not a point in debate. It is an established fact, which the United States, its experts, the international community, [and] its experts assess and believe is real.”

    The US envoy also stressed that since Israel is seen as the effective controlling power in Gaza, the country had an obligation to help the civilians there.

    “The horrific dehumanization of Israelis that took place on October 7 and the ongoing dehumanization of the Israeli hostages every day they’re held cannot be matched by the dehumanization of innocent Palestinian civilians,” Satterfield was quote as saying in the online event.

    Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promises to ‘flood Gaza with aid’

    Gallant has said Israel is planning to “flood” Gaza with aid through a new crossing and a port just north of the besieged territory.

    He promised to “streamline security checks” that aid organisations have blamed for choking the flow of assistance to the territory’s more than 2 million people through six months of war.

    “We plan to flood Gaza with aid and we are expecting to reach 500 trucks per day,” Gallant told reporters in Tel Aviv.

    Humanitarian groups have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, where UN experts say half the population is facing “catastrophic” food shortages.

    Gallant told reporters that Israel planned to bring the Port of Ashdod, half an hour north of Gaza, on stream shortly, and that it was also planning a new northern crossing as well as two routes with Jordan.

    US says engaged 11 Houthi drones over Red Sea

    The US Central Command says it engaged 11 drones over the Red Sea on Wednesday.

    CENTCOM said the first three drones were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in the early hours of April 10 – two over the Gulf of Aden and one over the Red Sea.

    Later that evening, CENTCOM said it destroyed eight drones launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen.

    “It was determined the UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region,” it said in a statement, adding that it was acting to protect freedom of navigation in the waterway, a major international shipping route.