The US Senate confirmed Mike Huckabee to be the ambassador to Israel by a vote of 53-46.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted in favour, and Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin did not vote.

Huckabee pledged to carry out President Donald Trump's policies on Gaza, maintaining that Hamas will have no future in the Palestinian enclave.

The UN reported Wednesday that Israeli authorities have denied at least 68 percent of its attempts to coordinate humanitarian access into Gaza since March 18.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric described humanitarian operations in Gaza as "severely constrained".

"That is due to the expansion of military operations, as well as the ongoing blockade of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, which has lasted for more than five weeks," he said at a news conference.

He said there have been "deadly attacks on aid workers and humanitarian facilities".

The Israeli Air Force warned 970 of its pilots of dismissal over a letter that urged the end of the Gaza war, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, reaffirmed support for the Palestinian Authority during a phone call with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.

"I confirmed Italy’s full support for the Palestinian Authority, also with a view to strengthening its collaboration with the EU," Tajani said on X.

Tajani emphasised Italy’s commitment to strengthening ties with the Palestinian Authority, particularly in the context of enhancing cooperation between the Palestinian leadership and the EU.

He said Italy continues to push for "an urgent return to a ceasefire in Gaza" and called for "the release of all hostages."

He also underlined Italy’s humanitarian role, saying the country “is at the forefront in providing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population”.

The US warned it would not "tolerate" countries or commercial entities providing fuel or other support to Yemen's Houthi-controlled ports.

"The United States will not tolerate any country or commercial entity providing support to foreign terrorist organisations, such as the Houthis, including offloading ships and provisioning oil at Houthi-controlled ports," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. "Such actions risk violating US law.”

The warning follows the State Department's designation on March 5 of Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), fulfilling what Bruce called "one of President (Donald) Trump's first promises upon taking office".

Almost 40 MPs and peers have backed a letter organised by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn calling for an independent inquiry into the UK government’s role in the ongoing war in Gaza.

The letter, signed by 37 lawmakers from a range of political backgrounds, argues that the UK's involvement in the conflict, including arms sales, intelligence sharing, and the use of Royal Air Force bases in the Greek Cypriot Administration, warrants a thorough investigation.

It asserts that the government’s actions may have contributed to breaches of international law and calls for a comprehensive, public, and independent inquiry with the legal authority to uncover the truth.

Signatories to the letter, which include members from the Labour Party, Sinn Fein, the Greens, Scottish National Party, the Welsh Plaid Cymru and several independents, urge serving and past ministers from both the former Conservative and current Labour governments to cooperate fully with the proposed investigation.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed concern about the “silence” of global powers on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Condemning the latest spate of bombing on the besieged enclave, Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the “just” struggle of Palestinians and announced plans to speak out against Israeli brutalities at “each and every” international forum.

Sharif made the new reaffirmation during a meeting with a delegation from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country’s mainstream religiopolitical party, at the Prime Minister's Office, according to a statement.

JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman has announced a nationwide protest against Israeli aggression, which includes a “Gaza million march” in the port city of Karachi and rallies near US consulates across the country on April 13.

Up to 8,300 workers in the field of technology have left Israel since the launch of its destructive war on Gaza in October 2023, new data revealed.

A report by the Israel Innovation Authority said that 8,300 tech employees departed the country between October 2023 and July 2024, representing 2.1 percent of the entire workforce of the technology sector in Israel.

According to the report, the Israeli high-tech industry experienced a decline in the number of employees, with about 5,000 employees leaving the industry in 2024, marking the first time in at least a decade.

Figures showed that the overall number of high-tech employees in Israel fell to 390,847 in 2024, down by 1.2 percent from 2023, which affirms the departure of 5,000 tech employees.

Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes on 45 targets across Gaza in the last 24 hours, the military said.

“Israeli army forces continued its ground operation in Gaza as warplanes struck more than 45 targets across the strip in the last 24 hours,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his X account.

The spokesman claimed that Israeli forces destroyed tunnel openings and infrastructure in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood and along the Morag Axis in Rafah in southern Gaza.