DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back Saturday against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying Israel’s battle to crush Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants will continue with “full force.”
A cease-fire would be possible only if all 239 hostages held by militants in Gaza are released, Netanyahu said in a televised address.

RIYADH: The Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit, which concluded in Riyadh on Saturday, adopted the following resolution:

WASHINGTON: A US military aircraft has gone down over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, US European Command said Saturday.
The command said in a statement that the aircraft crashed while conducting training operations. It said the cause is under investigation, but there are no indications of any hostile activity involved.
The command said that out of respect for the families affected, no other information would be released on personnel involved.

RAFAH: Gaza’s border authority announced on Saturday that the Rafah land crossing into Egypt would reopen on Sunday for foreign passport holders and dependents.
The crossing between Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai peninsula is the only entry into the strip not controlled by Israel, and has been crucial for aid trucks and evacuees, who number in the thousands.

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday warned Hezbollah that launching a war would result in widespread destruction in Lebanon similar to that in Gaza, where Israel battled Hamas.
“If it (Hezbollah) makes this kind of mistake here, the ones who will pay the price will be first and foremost Lebanese citizens,” Gallant told soldiers on Israel’s northern border in remarks relayed by his office.
“What we’re doing in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut.”