According to a draft of a final statement to be issued following this week's G7 summit, the group's leaders will express deep concern over the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border and support US efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The statement added that the group's leaders reaffirmed their firm commitment to a two-state solution "for Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace."

In addition, they will call on Israel to refrain from launching a large-scale attack on Rafah "in line with its obligations under international law."

Results of the UN Independent Investigation

A United Nations independent international commission of inquiry has held Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel rejected the findings of the UN's "independent investigation" that concluded it had committed crimes against humanity, accusing it of being biased.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the committee is "biased and has an anti-Israel agenda," noting that the report is "full of false accusations and blood libel against IDF soldiers."

On the ceasefire proposal, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that Israel supports the ceasefire proposal for the eight-month war in the Gaza Strip, adding that the goal is to bridge the gaps with Hamas and reach an agreement soon.

A senior Hamas leader told Reuters on Thursday that the amendments the group had requested to the US ceasefire proposal were "not major" and included the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

The leader said that the movement is demanding the selection of a list of 100 Palestinians sentenced to long prison terms to be released from Israeli prisons, and the addition of a provision related to reconstruction.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 37,232 Palestinians have been killed and 85037 injured in the war on Gaza since Oct. 7

International organizations warn of dangerous living conditions in northern Gaza due to Israeli restrictions on crossings

Hezbollah's largest attack on northern Israel since the start of the Gaza war

In detailing the findings of the independent investigation, conducted by the UN, the commission concluded that the Israeli authorities are responsible for war crimes such as starvation as a method of warfare, wilful killing, deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention, and outrages upon personal dignity.

The report also found that statements by Israeli officials amounted to incitement and may constitute other serious international crimes, and that Israel imposed a "total siege" that amounted to collective punishment against the civilian population.

In the West Bank, the commission said Israeli forces committed sexual violence, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity, all of which are war crimes, and the Israeli government and forces authorized and incited a campaign of violent attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, according to the report.

Regarding the October 7 attack on southern Israel, the commission said that the military wing of Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups were responsible for war crimes such as deliberately directing attacks against civilians, wilful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destruction and seizure of enemy property, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages, including children.

The indiscriminate firing of thousands of rockets into Israeli neighborhoods and cities, resulting in the death and injury of civilians, is also a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Members of Palestinian armed groups, assisted by a number of Palestinians in civilian clothes, killed, wounded, tortured, took hostages, including children, and committed sexual and gender-based violence against civilians and members of the Israeli security forces, including soldiers, some of whom were considered incapable of fighting and should not have been targeted.

Recommendations of the UN Commission of Inquiry: "Hold all those who committed crimes accountable"

Navanethem Pillay, chair of the Commission of Inquiry, called for "accountability for all those who have committed crimes," noting that "the only way to stop the recurrence of cycles of violence involving aggression and retaliation by both sides is to ensure strict compliance with international law."

In its recommendations, the committee called on the government of Israel to immediately implement a ceasefire, end the siege on Gaza, ensure humanitarian access and stop targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The report also called on Palestinian factions in Gaza to immediately cease all rocket attacks on Israel, the unconditional release of all hostages, and the thorough and impartial investigation and prosecution of violations.

The commission's report, published Wednesday, is the UN's first comprehensive investigation into the events of October 7, 2023, and what has happened since, based, according to the UN, on remote interviews with victims and witnesses, thousands of open-source information corroborated by advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of reports received following the call for information, written statements, satellite imagery, and forensic reports.

"A Violent Night in Rafah"

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said its fighters were engaged in street fighting against Israeli soldiers west of Rafah, where witnesses reported Apache helicopter fire.

Soldiers "continue their targeted operations in the Rafah Strip," the army said, adding that they "eliminated a number of terrorists in direct combat" on Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses told AFP of a "very violent night" in Rafah due to shelling and incursions by Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli army launched a ground assault on Rafah on May 7, forcing one million Palestinians to flee, according to the United Nations, and they are now gathered in the coastal area of Mawasi, which Israel describes as a "humanitarian zone."

Eyewitnesses said the Israeli army bombed al-Mawasi, which the latter denied on Thursday.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, a non-governmental organization, condemned Thursday "the use of the unilaterally declared humanitarian zone as a battlefield last week."

Israel considers the assault on Rafah necessary to eliminate Hamas, but fighting has resumed in recent weeks in several other areas, especially in the center of the Gaza Strip.

On Thursday, the army said it was continuing its operations in central Gaza, where the Civil Defense recovered three bodies from a house hit by Israeli shelling in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

BBC