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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will return to the table for cease-fire talks with Hamas.
Friday’s announcement marks yet another attempt to reach a deal to pause Israel’s devastating war in Gaza against Hamas in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. Efforts by the United States, Qatar and Egypt to negotiate a cease-fire appear stalled as the war grinds through its sixth month.
Hamas has previously suggested a phased release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Netanyahu called these conditions delusional, and said that after any hostage release, Israel will keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed.
Hamas is believed to be holding roughly 100 hostages, as well as the remains of about 30 people killed in the 7 October attack.
Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people and wounded 74,000, according to the the territory's Health Ministry.
UN Court: Israel must open more land crossings in Gaza
In a legally binding order, the top United Nations court says Israel must open more land crossings into Gaza for food, water, fuel and other supplies.
The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures Thursday in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in its war in Gaza — charges Israel strongly denies.
The UN has reported that 2.3 million people are at severe levels of food insecurity in Gaza. Aid deliveries have been impeded by Israeli military restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, according to the UN and international aid groups.
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The two-day visit came in the run up to the EU election in June where the far-right, who are mainly less supportive of Ukraine and less opposed to Russia, are expected to make big gains.
"It's an important signal for our men, our women, our children that we are part of Europe and Europe knows that we are this defending shield for our common values," Volodymr Zelenskyy said.
He also stressed Ukraine's urgent need for more weapons and ammunition to the delegation.
Hours after the visit, Renew Europe's president Valerie Hayer urged the EU to expose any MEPs, or any candidates, who have accepted money from either Russia or its proxies.
In a letter to Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, she wrote:
"I write to express the Renew Europe Group’s grave concerns about reports, confirmed by Polish, Czech and Belgian security services and by the Prime ministers of Belgium and the Czech Republic, that Members of this House and candidates in the forthcoming European elections have been paid by the Russia Government or its proxies to disseminate propaganda in the European Parliament and beyond. This is clear attack on our European way of life, our Parliament and its democratic mandate by a foreign power."
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Air raid warnings rang out across the country, with 10 Ukrainian regions coming under fire, the Interior Minister, Ihor Klymenko, said. The main target was the energy grid.
Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine in recent days, launching several missile barrages on Kyiv and hitting energy infrastructure across the country in apparent retaliation for recent Ukrainian aerial attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod. Such sporadic attacks, however, have been common throughout the war.
In the winter of 2022-23, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, causing frequent blackouts across the country. Many in Ukraine and the West expected that Russia might repeat this strategy this winter, but Russia instead focused its strikes on Ukraine’s defence industries.
Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, said that Friday's attack deliberately targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants across central and western regions.
DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private electricity operator, also said that three of its thermal power plants had been damaged in the attack.
Elsewhere, five people, including a 5-year-old girl, were wounded during the attack in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, said local governor Serhii Lysak.
He later said that another man had been killed and one more injured in a separate drone attack Friday.
Also on Thursday, a Russian fighter plane crashed into the sea off Sevastopol the port city on the Crimea Peninsula, the Moscow installed governor of the region said.
It's not yet known whether it was shot down or suffered a malfunction. Some Russian military bloggers speculated that it may have been shot down by friendly fire.
Russian fighter jet crashes into sea off Crimea
Meanwhile, the bombardment in the west of Ukraine caused the Polish Armed Forces to scramble its own aircraft, the country’s operational command said on social media.
Last week Warsaw demanded an explanation from Moscow, after one of its missiles strayed briefly into Polish airspace during a major missile attack on Ukraine, prompting the NATO member to activate F-16 fighter jets.
Romania’s defence ministry also said on Friday that an investigation has been launched after fragments that appear to be from a drone were identified on its territory Thursday evening in an agricultural area of Braila county, close to the border with Ukraine.
It did not provide additional details, although since the start of the full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, NATO member Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on several occasions.
Belgorod also came under fire Friday, Russia's Ministry of Defence wrote on social media. It said that it shot down 15 Ukrainian shells, with falling debris damaging a number of residential buildings. No casualties were reported.