Visual analysis and interviews show how Palestinians have been forced from their homes in the north as the Israeli military cuts a new corridor through Gaza.

Pope Francis appealed for a cease-fire in Gaza, as he called for a global cessation of violence and peace in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan,

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 22 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said.

The Health Ministry said 45,028 people have been killed and 106,962 have been wounded since the start of the war in October 2023.

Palestinians pray over the bodies of the victims of an Israeli strike on a home late Saturday before the funeral outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. At least eight people were killed according to the hospital which received the bodies. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Israel has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza by denying them clean water which it says legally amounts to acts of genocide and extermination.

The rights group joins a growing chorus of critics accusing Israel of committing genocidal acts in its war in Gaza.

U.S. and Arab mediators are working around the clock to hammer out a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, sources close to the talks said, while in the Gaza Strip medics said Israeli strikes had killed 44 Palestinians on Thursday.

Northern Gaza has seenf intense fighting and stringent aid restrictions during Israel's 14-month conflict with Hamas militants.

Israel and Hamas on Wednesday accused each other of obstructing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel withdrew its negotiators from the talks the previous day. Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the refusal by the Palestinian Islamist militia Hamas to hand over a list of the names of the hostages it still holds is hindering progress in the negotiations.