At least 165 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israel’s military over the last 24 hours, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israeli forces bombarded the southern city of Khan Younis overnight and into the morning, carrying out air strikes and shelling targets.
Palestinian resistance group Hamas has said that it does not want to keep Israeli hostages and that it is seeking a new prisoner exchange deal with Tel Aviv.
In a statement, Hamas's political bureau member Musa Abu Marzouk said: "Israel will be forced to make a deal because it failed during more than a hundred days of war to recover any prisoners by force."
Israel will either take its hostages back via a deal or take them as bodies, he added.
Marzouk also praised Yemen's Houthi rebels — who have been targeting vessels connected to Israel in the Red Sea — in support of the Palestinian people.
“What the Houthis are doing is real and effective solidarity with our people, and we express our appreciation," he concluded.
The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state “must be recognised by all”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Uganda on Saturday
“The refusal to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, and the denial of the right to statehood for the Palestinian people, are unacceptable,” the UN leader insisted in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
Such a stance “would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security; exacerbate polarization; and embolden extremists everywhere,” Guterres warned.
“The right of the Palestinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all.”
The United States, Israel´s main ally and key supporter in its war against Hamas, has also recently reiterated its support for the creation of a Palestinian state.
In recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his opposition to the creation of a viable Palestinian state, drawing criticism from his American ally.
