Gaza death toll surpasses 62,000 as Hamas accepts truce proposal

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Egypt says new Gaza ceasefire proposal sent to Israel.

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The UN General Assembly must be empowered to urgently intervene in Gaza and send a protective military force to help its devastated population, the non-government Gaza Tribunal project said Monday.

The body, which groups international academics, rights advocates and legal experts, was set up in London in 2024 aiming to mobilise public opinion and pressure governments "to end the genocide" in Gaza.

Addressing a news conferences in Istanbul, its leader Richard Falk, a former UN rapporteur for Palestinian rights, said the tribunal called on governments to act before it was "too late".

The aim was "the empowerment of the UN General Assembly to organise a protective, armed intervention in Gaza to overcome the disruption of humanitarian aid and the continuing devastation and destruction of the people," said the 94-year-old American emeritus law professor.

"We urge governments around the world to take immediate steps to empower the veto-free UN General Assembly that ... so far has been frustrated in its attempts to end the Gaza genocide," the group said in a statement.

Israel has repeatedly denied there is any genocide in Gaza or that it blocks humanitarian aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that calls to end the war "harden" the Hamas resolve to fight the conflict.

Falk said the move could be established through policy instruments like the 1950 "United for peace" resolution or the more recent "Responsibility to protect" (R2P) doctrine.

A Hamas source told AFP on Monday that the Palestinian militants had agreed to a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, devastated by more than 22 months of war between the Islamist group and Israel.

"Hamas has delivered its response to the mediators, confirming that Hamas and the factions agreed to the new ceasefire proposal without requesting any amendments," the Hamas source told AFP, requesting anonymity.

A Palestinian official earlier on Monday told AFP that mediators had proposed an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches.

At least four Syrian workers have been wounded by Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon's town of Khiam, the country's Health Ministry said.

An Israel drone strike reportedly hit a quarry in the town, located in the Marjayoun district, according to Lebanese media.

Irish author Sally Rooney has vowed to give fees generated by two BBC adaptations of her books to the Palestine Action group, which was recently proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

The writer, whose second novel "Normal People" (2018) and its 2020 BBC television adaptation won her international acclaim, announced her plans in the Irish Times.

Rooney said she had chosen the Dublin-based newspaper to publicise her intention rather than a UK one as doing so "would now be illegal" after the government banned Palestine Action as a terrorist group in early July.

"The UK's state broadcaster... regularly pays me residual fees. I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can," she wrote.

More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the group was outlawed under the Terrorism Act 2000.

"I feel obliged to state once more that like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend, I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a 'supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it'," Rooney said.

Israel's foreign minister on Monday revoked the visas of Australia's representatives to the Palestinian Authority, saying the move followed Canberra's decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

In a post on X, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said it also came after the Australian government cancelled the visa of a far-right Israeli politician ahead of a speaking tour in the country.

"I decided to revoke the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority," Sa'ar wrote on X, adding that the Australian ambassador to Israel "was just notified on the matter."

"I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel," he said.

"This follows Australia's decisions to recognise a 'Palestinian state' and against the backdrop of Australia's unjustified refusal to grant visas to a number of Israeli figures," Saar added.

Israeli far-right politician Simcha Rothman, whose party is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, had been scheduled to speak at events organised by the Australian Jewish Association.

But Australia on Monday cancelled his visa, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke saying Australia would not accept people coming to the country to "spread division".

Egypt said on Monday it was willing to join a potential international force deployed to war-torn Gaza, but only if backed by a UN Security Council resolution and accompanied by a "political horizon", as ceasefire efforts pressed on in Cairo.

Egypt has repeatedly called for Palestinian unity under the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), an umbrella group that dominates the Palestinian Authority and excludes militant group Hamas.

The PA previously governed the Gaza Strip before losing power in 2007 during violent clashes with Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel sparked the current war in the territory.

"We are standing ready of course to help, to contribute to any international force to be deployed in Gaza in some specific parameters," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told a joint press conference with Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa at the Rafah border crossing on Monday.

"First of all, to have a security council resolution, to have a clear-cut mandate, and of course to come within a political horizon," Abdelatty said.

"Without a political horizon, it will be nonsense to deploy any forces there."

 The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday that more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza war.

Israeli settlers have erected three tents on the Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, on Monday.

Activist Osama Makhamreh told the Palestinian Wafa agency that the aremed settles set the tents up in the Huwara area of Masafer Yatta in a bid to create a new settlement outpost.

The settlers placed flags around the tents and bough household items and furniture.

Other settlers have allowed for cattle to raze around the Palestinian land, in another provocative act said Makhamreh.

Members of Israel's political circle have slammed the decision by Australian authorities to bar far-right minister Simcha Rothman from entering the country, hours before he was due to arrive for a so-called "speaking tour".

Settler and fellow far-right MK Bezalel Smotrich rallied behind Rothman, saying that "all the people of Israel stand behind" him and "support" him in the face "of all antisemites in the world".

Diaspora Affairs Minister said Amichai Chikli said Australia's choice to reject Rothman's visa was a "direct extension" of Australia's "disgraceful choice to honour the rapists and murderers of Hamas," while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the move "a historical stain and a shame" for Canberra.

Opposition figurehead Benny Gantz defended Rothman, describing the decision to bar him "deeply misguided and blatantly hypocritical".

However, some opposition MKs felt otherwise. MK Yesh Atid said "Israel doesn't stand" behind him and that "the people of Israel genuinely don't care whether Rothman enters Australia or not".

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the illegal settlement of Ofra in the West Bank, calling it a "provocative colonial incursion".

In its statement, the ministry condemned the premier's remarks about "clinging to the land" when talking about Ofra. His words constituted a "deliberate reinforcement of the colonial, racist, and displacement-oriented occupation as part of a series of genocide, displacement, and annexation crimes".

It warned that such actions provide "cover and encouragement for setter terrorist elements to commit further attacks against Palestinian citizens, their land, and their properties, while dismissing international reactions to the settlements and settlers' crimes".

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Monday it had decided to exclude six companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio, following a review of its Israeli
investments.

The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude, but said these would be made public once the divestment was completed. The announcement follows an urgent review launched this month after reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to
Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets.

The fund's ethics council watchdog said it would continue to assess Israeli companies every quarter.

Hamas negotiators in Cairo have received a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza calling for an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches, a Palestinian official said Monday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that the latest proposal from mediators "is a framework agreement to launch negotiations on a permanent ceasefire", calling for an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches.

The official said that "Hamas will hold internal consultations among its leadership" and with leaders of other Palestinian factions to review the proposal from mediators.

A source from Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant faction that has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, told AFP that the plan involved a "ceasefire agreement lasting 60 days, during which 10 Israeli hostages would be released alive, along with a number of bodies".

According to the Islamic Jihad source, "the remaining captives would be released in a second phase, with immediate negotiations to follow for a broader deal" for a permanent end to "the war and aggression" with international guarantees.

The source added that "all factions are supportive of what was presented" by the Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

At least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have died due to malnutrition in the past 24 hours, including two children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

At least 263 Palestinians have now died from hunger in the war-battered territory, including 112 children.

At least five aid seekers have been killed on Monday morning by the Israeli army near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) relief distribution site near Khan Younis, Palestinian media reported, citing medical sources.

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will reportedly arrive in Egypt for Gaza ceasefire discussions, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Hamas' delegation has received a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Al-Arabiya TV and AFP.

US envoy Tom Barrack called on Israel to honour its commitments under a ceasefire that ended its war with Hezbollah, after the Lebanese government launched a process to disarm the Iran-backed group.

Under the truce agreement, weapons in Lebanon were to be restricted to the state and Israel was to fully withdraw its troops from the country, although it has kept forces in five border points it deems strategic.

"I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They've taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply with that equal handshake," Barrack said following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Despite a ceasefire implemented since November last year, Israel has committed a series of near-daily violations, killing and injuring scores of Lebanese.

Australia has barred far-right Israeli politician Simcha Rothman from visiting the country hours before a scheduled speaking tour.

Rothman, who has branded Palestinian children in Gaza as "enemies" and has called for total Israeli control of the West Bank, had his visa rejected by Australia's home affairs minister, who said he will not be able to apply again for at least another three years.

"Our government takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division," Tony Burke told The Guardian.

Rothman, a member of the far-right Religious Zionism party, was due to appear at two public events in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as two other private events in a so-called "solidarity tour".

Rights group Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of enacting a "deliberate policy" of starvation in Gaza, as the United Nations and aid groups warn of famine in the Palestinian territory.

Israel, while heavily restricting aid allowed into the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly rejected claims of deliberate starvation in the 22-month-old war.

In a report citing testimonies of displaced Palestinians and medical staff who treated malnourished children, Amnesty said that "Israel is carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation in the occupied Gaza Strip."

The group accused Israel of "systematically destroying the health, well-being and social fabric of Palestinian life".

"It is the intended outcome of plans and policies that Israel has designed and implemented, over the past 22 months, to deliberately inflict on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction - which is part and parcel of Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza," Amnesty said.

The report is based on interviews conducted in recent weeks with 19 displaced Gazans sheltering in three makeshift camps as well two medical staff in two hospitals in Gaza City.