The US aims for 20,000 soldiers in Gaza, here is the draft at the UN. Vienna: 'Arsenal linked to Hamas to strike in Europe'

For its part, the pro-Iranian Lebanese militia rejects disarmament and, on the contrary, claims "the legitimate right to defend itself against an enemy that imposes war on our country and does not cease its attacks". The Party of God therefore rejects "any political negotiations" between Lebanon and Israel, promoted by the United States and supported by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Since the ceasefire agreement reached a year ago, Israel and Hezbollah have regularly accused each other of violating it. "Israel will not allow Hezbollah to restore its military force" and "will continue to defend all its borders," Netanyahu government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian explained in a briefing as the premier convened a security cabinet. The Jewish state is also intent on protecting its southern borders. Defence Minister Israel Katz declared the area close to the border between Israel and Egypt where - it is the accusation - weapons are smuggled in using drones to 're-arm our enemies' in Gaza as a 'closed military zone'.

On the north-eastern front, however, according to Reuters, the US is preparing to establish a military presence at a base near Damascus to help operationalise a security pact that Washington is mediating between Syria and Israel. Syrian sources quoted by local media explain that next Monday's visit of Syrian leader Ahmad Sharaa to the White House aims precisely at formalising the US military expansion in Syria.

A new country normalises its relations with Israel today as part of the Abrahamic Accords, a process initiated by Donald Trump during his first term, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said. "I'm going back to Washington tonight because we're going to announce that another country is joining the Abrahamic Accords," he said during a panel discussion in Miami, refusing to reveal which state it is. According to Axios, it could be Kazakhstan, whose president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will meet Trump at the White House in the evening.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that Hamas representatives would assure him during the "famous meeting" on 9 October with him and Jared Kushner a few hours before the ceasefire was signed that they would disarm. "I hope they keep their word, because if they do they will understand that the development plan we have in mind for Gaza is really extraordinary - much better than has ever been discussed before," Witkoff said. The special envoy explained that Washington is "setting up a process to get rid of the weapons - a demilitarisation and amnesty programme", pointing out that "Hamas has always said that we will need an international security force to which we will hand over the weapons". The goal, he added, is to activate this force "within three weeks". "It will be the turning point to see if everyone will really do what they say and demilitarise," he concluded.

Meanwhile, a "weapons cache was found at a premises in Vienna" that is "believed to belong to the foreign operations of Hamas". And it is suspected that the weapons were 'introduced with a view to potential terrorist attacks in Europe' against 'Israeli or Jewish institutions'. This was reported in a note by the Austrian Interior Ministry. "Five pistols and ten magazines were found in a suitcase and immediately seized," it points out, stressing that investigations lasting several weeks into a global terrorist organisation linked to Hamas also led to the arrest in London of a 39-year-old Briton.

The Pope received in audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine (26 June 2015). "During the cordial conversation, it was noted the urgency to provide relief to the civilian population in Gaza and to put an end to the conflict, pursuing the prospect of a two-state solution," the Holy See reports.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the IDF to turn the area bordering Egypt into ''a closed military zone'' and has ''modified the rules of engagement'', thus allowing the military to shoot at any unauthorised person attempting to enter the country. The IDF, Katz explained, is thus authorised to ''hit any unauthorised object or person who infiltrates the area'' and thus restrict the actions of ''drone operators and smugglers''. Katz then stated that the head of the Shin Bet security service, David Zini, will work to classify drone smuggling across the border as a ''terrorist threat''. In a note, the Israeli Defence Minister stated that "the smuggling of weapons via drones is part of the war in Gaza and is aimed at arming our enemies. We must take all necessary measures to stop it'.

Meanwhile, the Israeli settlers' provocations continue: in the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus, they attacked farmers picking olives, stealing the fruits of their labour and a mobile phone belonging to one of them. This is, according to the PNA's Commission for Resistance to the Wall and Settlements, the 259th attack against olive pickers since the beginning of the season in early October. In Jerusalem, on the other hand, 465 settlers poured into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, carrying out provocative tours and celebrating Talmudic rituals.

The body returned by Hamas to Israel last night was identified by forensic experts as that of one of the hostages. His name has not yet been made public. The Times of Israel writes this. Thus, the bodies of six dead hostages now remain in the Gaza Strip.