LIVE UPDATES: Hamas seeks ceasefire guarantees as Israel intensifies Gaza attacks

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Here’s where things stand on Friday 4 July 2025:

• US President Donald Trump says he wants “safety” for people in Gaza, as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week to push for a ceasefire.
• Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war’s end, a source close to the group said, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed dozens more people.
• Netanyahu pledges to bring home all the captives still held by Hamas in war-stricken Gaza, where the civil defence agency said 73 people were killed Thursday in his country’s ongoing offensive.
• Former European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has accused US-linked armed groups of killing hundreds of starving Palestinians in Gaza, while criticising the EU’s alleged inaction.
• Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 57,130 people and wounded 134,592, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.

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If you’re just joining us

Here are the latest developments:

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has concluded a short visit to Abu Dhabi, where he met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the country’s Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

At least 18 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since dawn, with dozens more injured, according to medical sources speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

Netanyahu has pledged to bring home all the captives still held in war-stricken Gaza.

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student the Trump administration is seeking to deport for his pro-Palestine activism, has told the Reuters news agency that he will use his new-found profile to raise public awareness.

Israeli forces kill 18 Palestinians in Gaza since dawn

At least 18 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since dawn, with dozens more injured, according to medical sources speaking to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

The victims include at least 15 people killed when Israeli jets bombed tents housing displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area near the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Another person was killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution point near the so-called Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.

Israeli opposition leader meets with UAE president, foreign minister

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has concluded a short visit to Abu Dhabi, where he met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, and the country’s Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Posting on X, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party said he discussed “regional developments and the utmost importance of returning all the hostages”.

Mahmoud Khalil says he will use platform to ‘shed light’ on Israeli atrocities

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student who the Trump administration is seeking to deport for his pro-Palestine activism, has spoken to reporters from his home.

Khalil told the Reuters news agency that he “did not choose to be in this position” and it has “had a great impact on my life”. But he said he will use his new-found profile to raise public awareness.

“I now have some sort of a platform that I will, of course, use to shed light on the atrocities that Israel is committing against Palestinians and how the US government, how Columbia and other US universities are also complicit in these crimes, because this is what actually matters,” he said.

“What’s happening is that there is a genocide now happening in Palestine, being funded by the US and invested in by Columbia,” Khalil added.

Prosecutors drop ‘Maccabi Tel Aviv’ assault cases

A decision to drop criminal charges against fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv football club has ignited controversy in the Netherlands.

Dutch prosecutors took the decision after CCTV footage showing violent behaviour by Israeli hooligans towards Muslim women last November was found to have been erased.

Trump on Hamas response to Gaza ceasefire deal – will know in 24 hours

US President Donald Trump says it would probably be known in 24 hours how Hamas would respond to a proposal for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza.

Saudi defence minister called Iranian army chief after Trump meeting: Report

President Trump reportedly discussed Iran and “other regional issues” with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House on Thursday, the Axios news outlet reports, citing a source familiar with the meeting.

After the meeting, bin Salman, the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reportedly spoke on the phone with the chief of Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi.

The meeting between Trump and bin Salman comes just days before the US president is set to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

Hamas seeks ceasefire guarantees as more are killed in Gaza

Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war’s end, a source close to the militant group said on Thursday, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed dozens more people.

Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire and captive deal appeared high, nearly 21 months since the war between Israel and Hamas began.

Efforts for a Gaza truce gathered steam after the US secured a ceasefire to end a 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran, but on the ground in Gaza, intensified Israeli strikes continued unabated, killing at least 59 people on Thursday, according to health authorities in the territory.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties will work to end the war.

Hamas is seeking clear guarantees that the ceasefire will eventually lead to the war’s end, the source close to the group said. Two Israeli officials said those details were still being worked out.

In a statement early on Friday, Hamas said it was discussing the ceasefire proposal with other Palestinian factions and would submit its response to mediators once those talks conclude.

Israel strikes Gaza school as more than 300 Palestinians killed in 48 hours

Books and clothes were scattered amid the rubble after Israel’s deadly attack on a school sheltering Palestinian families. 

More than 300 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza in 48 hours.

Netanyahu vows to bring all Gaza captives home

Netanyahu has pledged to bring home all the captives still held by militants in war-stricken Gaza, where the civil defence agency said 73 people were killed in his country’s ongoing offensive.

Netanyahu has come under strong pressure to get the captives back after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas that could lead to their release.

“I feel a deep commitment, first and foremost, to ensure the return of all our abductees, all of them,” Netanyahu told inhabitants of the Nir Oz kibbutz, the community that saw the most captives seized in the 2023 Hamas attacks that sparked the war.

“We will bring them all back,” he added, in filmed comments released by his office.

Netanyahu is due to meet Trump in Washington, DC, next week, with the US president expected to push for a ceasefire.

Israeli forces fire on Palestinians during confrontations with Israeli settlers

The Israeli military has carried out several raids and arrests in locations across the occupied West Bank over recent hours, according to Palestinian media, including:

• The town of Beita, south of Nablus, where Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian youths as they confronted Israeli settlers entering the community.
• The city of Jenin, where Israeli forces have surrounded a house and demanded that a Palestinian man surrender himself.
• Arrests have also been reported in the towns of Nilin and Kobar, near Ramallah; al-Eizariya, southeast of Jerusalem; Azzun, east of Qalqilya; Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron; and Yabad and Ajja, near Jenin.

Trump on Hamas response to Gaza ceasefire deal – will know in 24 hours

US President Donald Trump says it would probably be known in 24 hours how Hamas would respond to a proposal for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza.

Israeli military carries out deadly attacks on displaced Palestinians

The Israeli military has carried out several deadly attacks targeting displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza over recent hours, our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues report.

In the al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, Israeli fighter jets bombed tents housing displaced Palestinians, killing at least 15 people and injuring others, according to sources at the nearby Nasser Hospital.

Israeli forces have also shelled a tent housing displaced Palestinians on a beach in Khan Younis, killing at least seven people and injuring more.

An earlier attack on tents housing displaced Palestinians near the Taiba Towers, west of Khan Younis, has also killed five people and wounded others.

We will bring you more information when we have it.

Gaza’s nutrition crisis grows as families rely on dangerous, inadequate food aid

Palestinian families in Gaza face relentless bombardment, starvation and a lack of essential supplies. Food aid delivered by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is scarce, nutritionally poor, and dangerous to access, with many killed trying to receive it.

The distribution centres offer parcels meant to last days, but families say they fall far short of their needs. A severe shortage of water and cooking gas makes preparing even basic food a major challenge. Malnutrition is spreading, especially among children who show signs of weakness and exhaustion.

A recap of recent developments

• US President Donald Trump has said he wants “safety” for people in Gaza, as Hamas seeks assurances that the new US-backed ceasefire proposal will lead to the war’s permanent end.
• At least 101 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza on Thursday, medical sources told Al Jazeera, including at least 51 people who were waiting for humanitarian aid.
• Pressure continues to build on the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) after an Associated Press report found American contractors fired on Palestinian aid seekers. The GHF has denied any wrongdoing.
• Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the “US mercenaries” for killing 550 “starving Palestinians” in one month as they attempted to reach the GHF distribution points.
• An Israeli drone attack on a vehicle near Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, has killed at least one person and injured three others as the Israeli military continues to strike sites across the country despite a months-long truce with Hezbollah.

Welcome to our live coverage

Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and the tenuous ceasefire with Iran.

Stay with us for the latest news, reaction and analyses.

You can find all our updates from Thursday, July 3, here.