Live Updates: Pope Francis Reportedly Reprimanded Israeli President for 'Terror' Response

Palestinian movement Hamas has published a new list of 30 Palestinians who are expected to be released on Thursday from Israeli prisons.

US citizens are almost evenly split over Israel's military action in Gaza, with 50% expressing support for its operation and 45% voicing disapproval, a new Gallup poll showed on Thursday.

Public opinion on Israel's military actions in Gaza varies significantly by gender, age, race and party affiliation, with Republicans, older adults and White individuals showing more support for Israel's actions, as Democrats, younger adults, people of color and women express more disapproval, Gallup said.

Broken down by party, 71% of Republicans approve of Israel's actions in Gaza, while 63% of Democrats disapprove. Meanwhile, 59% of men said they back Israel's military action while a more slight majority or 52% of women said they approve.

When accounting for age, 63% of adults over 55 approve of Israel's actions, while 67% of adults under 35 disapprove. Among White adults, 61% expressed approval of Israel's military actions, while 64% of people of color voiced disapproval.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and told him that he would continue to press for full accountability regarding extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout of the conversation on Thursday.

In addition, Blinken spoke about ongoing efforts to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Miller said.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Thursday that Prosecutor Karim Khan has arrived in Israel, after which he will visit Ramallah.

Egypt and Qatar are continuing their efforts to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for another two days to facilitate the release of more hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said on Thursday.

Pope Francis reprimanded Israeli President Isaac Herzog over a phone call in late October for responding "to terror with terror," The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing a senior Israeli official.

The official also said that the exchange was considered too damaging to be made public and also led Israeli officials to read the pope’s November 22 public statement that the war had "gone beyond war. This is terrorism" as an echo of his private reprimand.

Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi on Thursday dismissed as "absolutely false" reports in the Arab media that Israel had opened fire in the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire.

"Absolutely false. We are strictly observing the ceasefire and the hostage exchange format. So that does not make any sense. It is absolutely not true," he told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster when asked if Al Arabiya's reports of the Israeli military opening massive fire to the east of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip were true.

The departure of Palestinian movement Hamas from the Gaza Strip and the enclave's initiative to normalize relations with Israel would create conditions for dialogue on resolving the conflict, the ambassador also said.

The truce between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas is bringing results and the United States hopes that this will continue to be the case, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Bahrain and Jordan have signed four agreements on a package of development projects for the benefit of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including the construction of a field hospital, a residential complex and a school, Bahraini Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Saati told Sputnik.

Russia is grateful to the Hamas leadership for the release of two Russian hostages, and will seek the speedy release of the remaining detained citizens, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the military wing of Hamas said that it freed two Russians in response to Moscow’s request.

A 24-year-old woman was killed and at least five people were injured as a result of a shooting attack near the entrance to Jerusalem, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, media reported that seven people were injured and a 16-yera-old girl was killed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced early on Thursday that the humanitarian pause with Palestinian movement Hamas, which was about to expire, will continue in light of efforts to continue the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has released the sixth group of 30 Palestinian prisoners under the humanitarian pause agreement with Palestinian movement Hamas, the Al Jazeera broadcaster reported.

China calls for an end to the blockade of Gaza to ensure the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave to meet basic needs of civilians, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters.

Russia would like to see that a collective diplomatic mechanism is established to achieve a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians and that UN military observers are deployed in the Gaza Strip, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzya said.

The Russian ambassador said one of the options to proceed could be by expanding the mandate of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO).

The World Health Organization (WHO) is not engaged in negotiations on securing access to hostages held in the Gaza Strip, as only the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is dealing with this issue, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Sputnik.