President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel and is expected to visit Gaza, where the death toll among Palestinians waiting for aid continues to climb.

In the last 24 hours, 104 people have been killed in Gaza and a further 399 injured, the Hamas-run health ministry says in its latest update. The death toll since Israel's military launched a campaign in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 has risen to 60,138, the ministry says.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to arrive in Israel on Thursday in a bid to salvage Gaza ceasefire talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine was unfolding.

U.S. President Donald Trump believes that recognizing Palestinian statehood would be rewarding the militant group Hamas and he does not intend to do that, a White House official said on Wednesday, after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his country's decision on the issue.

Haniyeh was under U.S. sanctions and wanted by the International Criminal Court. The political leader was the public face of Hamas.

Several media outlets have been slammed for describing the Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh as "moderate" in their reporting on his assassination. Haniyeh, Hamas' Political Bureau Chief, was killed after attending the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian,