GAZA/JERUSALEM/UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT - Hamas said on Thursday that it is ready to engage in a "new and serious" round of negotiations to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement.

"We are making a continuous effort with all parties to reach an agreement... leading to the end of this war, a permanent ceasefire, and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the entire Gaza Strip, in addition to immediate relief for our people, ending the siege, and reaching an honorable exchange deal," Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official and head of the group's negotiating team, said in a statement.

Al-Hayya said contacts with mediators and others are ongoing for a new round of talks, noting that the group had not rejected the latest US ceasefire proposal but demanded changes to secure the end of the war in Gaza.

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He stressed that Hamas is ready to "hand over the government in Gaza immediately to any agreed-upon professional Palestinian national body."

On March 18, Israel resumed military assaults in Gaza, effectively ending a phased truce reached in January. Several rounds of mediated talks have been held recently, but all have failed to restore the Gaza ceasefire.

The death toll in Gaza from the Israeli attacks has reached 54,677 since the start of the offensive in 2023, according to data released by Gaza's health authorities on Thursday.

Netanyahu confirms Gaza militia support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday confirmed that Israel has armed local groups in the Gaza Strip to counter Hamas.

He was responding to accusations made by opposition lawmaker and former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said Netanyahu had ordered arms transfers to "criminal gangs" in Gaza.

"We are talking about what is equivalent to the Islamic State in Gaza. No one guarantees that these weapons will not be directed at Israel. We have no means of monitoring or tracking," Lieberman told Israel's state-owned Kan Reshet Bet Radio.

In an initial response, Netanyahu's office neither fully confirmed nor denied the claims, saying that Israel is acting to defeat Hamas "in various ways upon the recommendation of the heads of the security establishment."

In a later video on his X account confirming the move, Netanyahu said that it was coordinated with security officials.

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Israel's state-owned Kan TV news cited Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying that local "criminal gangs," rivals of Hamas, have been receiving from Israel Kalashnikov rifles. According to the report, the initiative was approved by Netanyahu and carried out in coordination with the Shin Bet internal security agency, without approval from the Security Cabinet.

The revelation comes as Gaza reels from 20 months of Israeli siege, airstrikes, and ground assaults that have left much of the enclave in ruins and widespread severe hunger. Key infrastructure, including hospitals, universities, electricity networks, and farmland, has been severely damaged or destroyed.

UN aid stifled

The world body's proven aid program remains choked despite the suspension for a second day of the Israeli-endorsed new aid scheme for Gaza, UN humanitarians said Thursday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said supplies continued to feed into the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing from the Israeli side but are severely limited in emerging into Gaza. The crossing is the sole UN aid point allowed by Israel.

OCHA said that after 80 days of full blockade on the entry of aid and any other supplies, people in Gaza are starving.

"This demands the urgent opening of all crossings and allowing unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations to deliver aid at scale, through multiple routes, and to all areas where people require assistance," it said.

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The office said six other missions failed, either due to impediments or because organizers had to cancel them, which typically happens for security or logistical reasons. The remaining five were completed. They allowed the partners to screen children for malnutrition, provide medical services, and carry out assessments. However, none of them involved the delivery of supplies.

OCHA reports that Israeli authorities on Wednesday issued another displacement order, covering 54 neighborhoods across three governorates: North Gaza, Gaza and Deir el-Balah, the second order issued for the same area, representing one-third of the Gaza Strip.

"Overall, since the renewed escalation of hostilities in March, the Israeli military issued 35 displacement orders, forcing more than 640,000 people to flee again, almost every third Palestinian in Gaza," the office said.

Health care partners warn that facilities continue to be attacked. The humanitarian office reiterated that civilians and health care facilities must always be protected.

OCHA said that fuel, generators and spare parts must be allowed to enter Gaza to restore safe and unimpeded access to water.

On the education front, the humanitarians said their colleagues in Gaza report hundreds of learning spaces have been forced to suspend operations due to insecurity or lack of funding. More than 200,000 students and 5,000 teachers have been affected.

Israeli military intercepts Yemen missile

The Israeli military said Thursday night that its aerial defense systems intercepted a missile fired by Houthi forces in Yemen.

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Air raid warning sirens were heard across dozens of cities and communities, including Jerusalem, several settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the area near Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv, sending residents to shelters and safe rooms.

No injuries or damage have been reported.

Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory airstrikes in Yemen, including a strike in May on the capital, Sanaa, damaging the country's main international airport and killing several people.

Israel strikes Beirut suburbs

The Israeli military launched airstrikes Thursday evening on buildings in several areas of Beirut's southern suburbs after evacuation warnings of attacking Hezbollah military infrastructure in the area.

The official Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported that at least three missiles were fired at the southern suburb of Beirut.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it was striking "targets of the Hezbollah Aerial Unit in Dahieh in Beirut."

The attack came on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday, less than two hours after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning to residents in areas that it says hold underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production.

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Following the warning, residents in Beirut's southern suburbs fled from their houses to other areas, causing heavy traffic. There are no reports of casualties from the strikes.

It is the fifth attack on Beirut's southern suburbs since a ceasefire agreement was reached between Hezbollah and Israel in November 2024, ending 14 months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.