Tel Aviv

Zurich and Singapore are the most expensive cities in the world ahead of New York amid the ever-rising cost of living, according to rankings published Thursday by The Economist magazine.

The British weekly estimated that prices have increased an average of 7.4 percent over the past year in 173 major cities, a slight slowdown compared to a record 8.1 percent inflation in 2022.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Macedonian capital late last night, an hour before the arrival of Russia's No. 1 diplomat, Sergey Lavrov. Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel also left Skopje on Wednesday evening to avoid attending today's OSCE meeting, which is also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Israel said minutes before 7 a.m. this morning - the deadline for the temporary truce with Hamas - that it would be extended, taking into account the efforts of mediators to continue the process of releasing prisoners. Hamas also confirmed that the ceasefire will be respected today.

A group of Israeli families who have had their relatives held hostage by Hamas have penned a letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, seeking humanitarian intervention in the ongoing crisis.

The letter dated Nov. 3 bears the signatures of Meirav Leshem Gonen and Malki Shem-Tov, representing the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Israel will help evacuate babies from the main hospital in the Gaza Strip and provide a corridor for anyone who wants to leave. Tel Aviv reiterated that it was not attacking the health facility, but acknowledged that there was fighting in its area with fighters from the radical group Hamas.

When I spoke with the writer Etgar Keret at home in Tel Aviv earlier this week, he was in anguish.

TEL AVIV - Flights between Serbia and Israel will resume next Friday, with Israeli airline Arkia to fly to Belgrade twice a week, Serbia's Honorary Consul to Israel Aleksandar Nikolic said on Friday.

The IDF claims it has completely surrounded Gaza City and says a ceasefire is not currently on the agenda.
On the other hand, Hamas stated that more than 11,000 people were killed or disappeared under the ruins due to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Intense exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the IDF.

Irish Prime Minister: "It looks like revenge"

The Israeli army reported night fighting and intense airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Gaza City was previously declared under complete siege as part of the military operation against Hamas, which began after the October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people.

According to the Palestinian side, the victims of the Israeli attacks exceed 9 thousand people.

Israeli ground troops encircled Hamas stronghold Gaza City on Friday, after close ally the United States urged "concrete steps" to minimise civilian casualties.

Ahead of top US diplomat Antony Blinken's scheduled visit to Israel Friday, the country's military said it had "completed the encirclement" of Gaza's largest city -- signalling a new phase in the month-long war against Hamas.