Egypt has blocked activists taking part in a planned march to Gaza, halting their attempt to reach the border and challenge Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory before it could begin.

The United Nations said on Thursday that there was a full internet blackout in the Gaza Strip, likely due to military activity damaging the last cable into the enclave, that has paralyzed aid operations.

Israel’s use of aid as a weapon of war has provoked outrage. It has prevented essential supplies from entering Gaza. And yet its new effort to distribute aid is also proving deeply controversial. Hamas says it is a front for the idf. International aid organisations have decried it. What is this new network and what is it trying to do?

The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and the opening of all Israeli border crossings for deliveries of desperately needed food and other aid.

The killing of Mohammed Sinwar marks the end of the secretive group that planned the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.

The bodies of two deceased hostages were recovered from southern Gaza in a military operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet security agency announced Wednesday evening.

Yair Yaakov was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The other hostage will be named later, the Israeli military said.

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza and aid access, after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week.