Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Hamas condemned Israel’s decision to approve more than 760 additional settlement units in the occupied West Bank, calling the move a fresh attempt to cement control over Palestinian territory in violation of international law.

In a statement, the Palestinian group said the latest authorisation, along with earlier expansions, represented a "dangerous escalation" and reflected Israel’s policy of "creeping annexation" and systematic land seizure.

Hamas added that the settlement push aimed to advance a project of forced displacement and the removal of the indigenous Palestinian population, warning that such actions further entrench occupation and undermine prospects for peace.

Israel has given final approval for 764 housing units to be built in three illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said.

The far-right politician, who acts as de facto governor of the West Bank and opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, said he will “continue the revolution”.

He said that since he came to power in late 2022, some 51,370 housing units have been approved in the West Bank to curtail future Palestinian statehood.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said a review of state documents and leaks has revealed what it described as “historic” transformations in the West Bank under Smotrich, with record numbers of Palestinians driven from their land and homes, which are subsequently transferred to Israeli state control and turned into settlements.

The body of the last Thai national held hostage in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was returned home on Wednesday, Thailand's foreign ministry said.

The remains of Sudthisak Rinthalak arrived at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport from Tel Aviv, ministry official Jeerasak Pomsuwan told AFP, more than two years after the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Sudthisak was 43 and working in agriculture in southern Israel when he was killed on the day of the Hamas attack. His body was then taken to the Gaza Strip and held there throughout the ensuing war.

While Hamas released the living hostages it held in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, the process of returning the remains of deceased captives has dragged on.

Gaza's Media Office has warned that Storm Byron could threat thousands of displaced Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip in the next 48 hours due to heavy rains and strong winds, reported Al Jazeera.

"The Gaza Strip is facing severe weather consequences that could cause widespread damage to tens of thousands of families living in tents and makeshift shelters that offer no protection from the winter cold or the harshness of storms," read the issued statement.

"We emphasise that this weather reality exacerbates the humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the genocidal war and the unjust siege imposed on our Palestinian people," added Gaza's Media Office.

Turkiye's UN counsellor Gulsah Cumurcu Kader has said that international community was witnessing "grave atrocities that may amount to genocide" and that Gaza should be taken as a reminder for preventing genocide, reported TRT World.

"While the pledge of 'never again' made after the Holocaust remains embedded in our collective conscience, the international community today continues to witness grave atrocities that may amount to genocide," she said during a l UN meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of Genocide.

Gaza, she said, "served as a sombre reminder and a wake up call" and that, "there should be no impunity for the gross violations of international law such as the ones we witnessed in Gaza".

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

They reaffirmed their longstanding support for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution, in line with UN resolutions and internationally agreed parameters.

Both sides welcomed the Gaza peace plan and appreciated their continued diplomatic efforts in support of peace.

A Hamas official said Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire cannot proceed to its second phase as long as Israeli "violations" persist, calling on mediators to pressure Israel to respect the deal.

"The second phase cannot begin as long as the occupation (Israel) continues its violations of the agreement and evades its commitments," Hamas political bureau member Hossam Badran told AFP, referring to the fragile ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.

"Hamas has asked the mediators to pressure the occupation to complete the implementation of the first phase," he added.

China, Iran and Saudi Arabia called for "an immediate halt to Israeli aggression against Palestine, Lebanon and Syria" at a trilateral meeting in Tehran on Tuesday, a statement released by China's foreign ministry showed.

The three countries "condemned violations of Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity" in the meeting attended by their foreign ministry officials, according to the statement.