"Settler attack in the West Bank, 3 Palestinians killed". Media, Syria does not rule out a peace agreement with Tel Aviv

At least 31 people were killed this morning in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reports, citing medical sources. At least 10 of these people, the broadcaster points out, were killed while waiting for humanitarian aid near the Netzarim corridor in the centre of the Strip. Another Palestinian waiting for aid was killed and five people were injured by Israeli fire in Rafah (south).

On the Israeli side, seven Israeli soldiers serving in the 605th SFI Engineer Battalion were killed yesterday in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. This was reported by the Israeli army in a statement. According to the IDF, the troops were conducting operations when an explosive device was attached to their vehicle and subsequently detonated, setting the vehicle on fire. In another incident later last night, another soldier from the same battalion was seriously injured in southern Gaza.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told Afp that the Palestinian Islamist movement's discussions with mediators to reach a ceasefire with Israel never stopped and have even intensified in recent hours. "Our contacts with our Egyptian and Qatari brother mediators have never stopped and have even intensified in the last few hours," said Taher al-Nounou, a senior official of the Islamist movement. The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has been going on for more than 20 months.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in The Hague announced that a group of 11 Palestinians left Gaza a short while ago in a new Italian-led operation involving relatives of Palestinian citizens who had come to Italy for medical treatment or were residents with a regular residence permit. The entire group will arrive in the evening in Amman, Jordan, and then continue on to Italy. Among the 11 are also exceptionally present a researcher from the University for Foreigners of Siena, Aya Ashour, and a student from the Catholic University of Rome, Joslin Aldadah Akram, both recipients of scholarships from their respective universities. The Chancellors of the two universities had approached Minister Tajani and Minister Bernini to urge them to approach the relevant authorities to allow them to leave the Strip.

Senior Syrian officials said in closed-door talks that direct dialogue with Israel has taken place on a daily basis over the past few days. Israeli TV channel Kan reports this, adding that a Syrian source said that the government led by Ahmed al-Shara (Jolani) does not rule out the possibility of reaching a peace agreement with Israel by the end of US President Donald Trump's term. The broadcaster recalled that Damascus did not condemn the Israeli raids on Iran, while it strongly condemned the Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.