TRANSCRIPT
- Aid trucks enter Gaza as hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire deal
- Taliban says 58 Pakistani soldiers killed in border clashes amid rising tensions
- Socceroos eye 11-game unbeaten streak ahead of clash with United States
Dozens of aid trucks have entered Gaza amid hope for a surge in humanitarian relief, as Hamas is expected to release Israeli hostages.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says they are ready to receive all hostages held in Gaza.
It comes ahead of their exchange for Palestinian prisoners under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Khaled Qaddoumi, Hamas's representative in Iran, expressed optimism about the fulfillment of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan.
"This deal has a lot of green signs. If they will be exploited positively, we will arrive at good results and good outcomes where it will grant our people a good life, prosperous life, peaceful life. If not, again and again, I am saying, that will only lead to a lot of frustration, and you will never know where it will end."
A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating team says it will not participate in post-war Gaza governance.
This comes as tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to their neighbourhoods, and Israelis cheered the expected release of remaining hostages.
An international summit will be held in Egypt today to finalise an agreement aimed at ending the war.
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Thousands of people have condemned the Australian government's position on the Gaza conflict during marches around the nation, as skepticism over a Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire grows.
Despite the New South Wales Court of Appeal banning a rally at the Sydney Opera House, the protesters headed down Sydney's George Street while others marched in capitals such as Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth and regional towns around the country.
Among the protesters were Australians back home after being detained in Israel for seeking to deliver aid to Gaza during a naval blockade.
Abubakir Rafiq who was a member of the Global Sumud Flotilla, was among speakers addressing the crowd in Sydney.
He shared his experiences after being detained and spoke about how he was released out of prison."I was freed alongside the activists. But what about the 10,000 Palestinian hostages that are being held in prisons? Innocent mothers, innocent children, innocent fathers that have been stripped off their right of humanity, that have been stripped off everything."
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Thousands of people from Sydney's Jewish community gathered at Dover Heights in the city's east last night for an official commemoration marking the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
There were prayers, the lighting of candles, a minute of silence, songs, speeches by community leaders and video addresses by state and federal MPs, in honour of the victims.
Geoffrey "Danny" Majzner is the brother of Australian citizen Galit Carbone, who died in the attack.
Mr Majzner was at his home in Israel's Kibbutz Be’eri - about four kilometres from the eastern border of Gaza - when the attacks by Hamas took place.
He recounts his phone call with his late sister.
"She says I can hear them in my house, I don't know what to do, I don't know if I lock the door. So I said first of all let's whisper so they won't hear us, and soon the army will come and rescue and everything will be fine. Nothing was fine, the army didn't come. In fact it probably took seven hours for the army to come and that was way too late."
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The Taliban government says it has killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory border attacks, in response to what it claimed are repeated violations of its territory and airspace.
Afghan authorities had earlier accused Pakistan of bombing the capital, Kabul, and a market in the country's east.
Pakistan did not claim responsibility for the attack.
In a statement, Pakistan's military said that 23 of its troops were killed while 29 were wounded and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated fighters on the Afghan side have been "neutralised" in border clashes.
Both countries share a 2,611 kilometer border known as the Durand Line, but Afghanistan has never recognised it.
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The Socceroos have made the trip from Canada's Montreal to Denver, Colorado as they prepare to face the United States on Wednesday morning.
Saturday's win over Canada has given Tony Popovic's side a seven game unbeaten run.
Midfielder Connor Metcalfe says it's a run of form they don't want ending anytime soon.
"Like I've said previously, it's just about taking it game by game and continuing on that momentum and there's no better feeling than realising you've gone 11 games unbeaten. It's a really nice feeling and we're obviously going to try that again on Tuesday."
