Middle East conflict live updates: U.S. announces sanctions on West Bank settler outposts

Australia will resume funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. Canada and Sweden resumed their funding last week, after more than a dozen countries paused payments in the wake of Israel’s allegations that some UNRWA staff members participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.

At least 20 people were killed and more than 150 wounded in an Israeli attack at Gaza’s Kuwaiti roundabout while waiting to collect aid supplies, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said the reports were false. The Washington Post could not immediately verify the incident.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas named economist Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Mustafa is expected to head a technocratic government in the West Bank, in keeping with international demands for a reformed administration that could lead a future Palestinian state.

The IDF intends to direct a “significant” portion of Rafah’s population of at least 1.4 million toward “humanitarian islands” in central Gaza ahead of Israel’s planned ground offensive, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said. The zones, to be created “with the international community,” would house the displaced and provide food, water and other necessities, he said.

Hamas said in a statement on Thursday that it had presented “a comprehensive vision” of a proposed cease-fire deal to mediators, which included providing relief and ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. It also included its stance on the exchange of hostages for prisoners. In response, Netanyahu said Hamas is “still clinging to unacceptable demands.”

At least 31,341 people have been killed and 73,134 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and says 250 soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operation in Gaza.