Israel said Friday that it will reopen Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt in both directions over the weekend, allowing Palestinians to enter and leave the territory after nearly two years of closure.

By Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Agency for International Development staffers in early 2024 drafted a warning to senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration: Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland” with dire shortages of food and medical aid.

The Israel Defense Forces now accept the Gaza Health Ministry’s estimation that over 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the war in Gaza, after years of denying the validity of the calculation. Senior IDF sources told Haaretz,

It marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas carried out as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached in October.

JERUSALEM, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Israel's military has accepted that around 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the war in Gaza, after having earlier cast doubt on death tolls reported by the enclave's health officials,

The Israeli military says the body of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old special forces policeman killed while fighting Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, has been found.

Hamas remains heavily armed and still holds thousands of rockets and anti-tank missiles and tens of thousands of Kalashnikov rifles, Israeli officials say.

Medical officials in Gaza say Israel has destroyed nine out of 10 fertility clinics in the territory. In addition, embryos that remain are still in danger, despite the ceasefire, due to fuel shortages and a lack of liquid nitrogen to keep them at the required temperature.