Israel pulled its ground forces out of the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, media reports said, in a partial withdrawal six months into the devastating offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

American, Israeli and Hamas negotiators are expected in Cairo over the weekend in a renewed push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in a war that reaches the half-year mark today.

Seven children were killed in southern Syria’s Daraa province yesterday when an “explosive device” detonated, state media reported.

Iran yesterday again threatened retaliation for the deaths of seven Revolutionary Guards in a strike on Damascus, with the army chief saying his country’s enemies will “regret” the killings.

Thousands of people chanted against Israel and the United States at yesterday’s funeral for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday that “scattered measures” for Gaza aid are not enough after Israel told the UN it will allow a “meaningful increase” in aid.

A growing number of children caught up in armed conflicts around the globe are being denied access to critical humanitarian aid, a United Nations official warned Wednesday, as relief operations come under attack or are blocked by governments.

President Joe Biden yesterday told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that continued US support would depend on Israeli actions to protect Gaza civilians, for the first time suggesting conditions on aid as he urged an “immediate ceasefire.”

The World Bank says the Israel-Hamas war has caused damage of around $18.5 billion to Gaza’s critical infrastructure, according to a new report published Tuesday.

A surprise Houthi attack killed 11 fighters loyal to the Yemeni government in the country’s south early yesterday, a spokesperson for the southern forces said, in a rare flareup.

An Israel airstrike killed seven aid workers who were unloading food brought by sea to the Gaza Strip.

Dominic Allen, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) covering Gaza, said he was “terrified” of what could happen if the Israeli offensive goes on any longer.

Iran yesterday warned its arch foe Israel that it will retaliate for an airstrike that killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals, and destroyed its consular annex building in the Syrian capital.

Israeli strikes hit an Iranian embassy annex building in Syria’s capital yesterday, state media said, as a war monitor reported 8 people were killed in the building.

President Tayyip Erdogan yesterday vowed to correct any mistakes that led to his party’s defeat in Turkey’s local elections where the opposition capitalised on economic woes and alienated Islamist voters, casting uncertainty over his reform plans.

Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in 24 hours, health authorities said yesterday, as Egypt hosted an Israeli delegation for a new round of talks in a bid to secure a truce with Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

Metres away from the concrete and steel fence separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, 11-year-old Malak Ayad flies a paper kite high in the sky -- a welcome distraction from the horrors of Israeli offensive.

Heavy clashes and explosions shook Gaza, witnesses said yesterday, as the Red Crescent reported several people killed during the latest chaotic aid distribution in the territory’s north, where famine looms.

Israel has hit back against a UN-backed report that warned of imminent famine in Gaza, alleging the assessment contained inaccuracies and questionable sources.

Some 9,000 patients in the Gaza Strip require evacuation for emergency care, with the war-torn Palestinian territory down to just 10 barely functioning hospitals, the head of the WHO said Saturday.