Israeli troops kill two more Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as plans announced to expand their military assault on the Jenin refugee camp that has killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens since Tuesday.

    Israel’s military and intelligence service said a “series of operations” will be carried out in Jenin as Israel fights a “multi-front war” that has now shifted to the occupied West Bank.

    As humanitarian aid trucks continue to surge into Gaza, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warns that Palestinians returning to their homes in the war-torn enclave will find most of them destroyed or uninhabitable.

    Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 47,283 Palestinians and wounded 111,472 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 taken captive.

    Trump says he believes Israel-Hamas ceasefire ‘should hold’

    President Trump told reporters that while he thinks the Gaza ceasefire “deal should hold”, there “will be a lot of problems” if it doesn’t.

    Trump’s comments on Thursday appear more optimistic than those he issued earlier this week, when he said he was “not confident” the deal would last until the end of its three phases.

    When asked to elaborate on his earlier comments, Trump told reporters the Middle East is a “very tricky place”.

    Trump also praised his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for securing the Israel-Hamas truce agreement, claiming that “both sides” liked him.

    “That deal would have never been made without Steve,” Trump said, adding that Witkoff is “certainly” someone he would use to negotiate directly with Iran.

    Rubio reiterates Trump’s ‘steadfast support’ for Israel on call with Saar

    The newly sworn-in US secretary of state spoke with Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday and “congratulated” him on the “recently freed [captives] and the ceasefire agreement in Gaza”.

    Rubio “pledged to work tirelessly to help free all remaining [captives] held in Gaza and welcomed continued flow of aid into Gaza”, according to a US State Department statement on their call.

    He also “commended” Saar on Israel’s “successes against Hamas and [Hezbollah]”.

    The conversation between Rubio and Saar closely echoed an earlier call on Wednesday between Rubio and Netanyahu, which was the first between the Israeli prime minister and a top Trump aide since the new administration took office on Monday.