Gaza war rages as mediators study Hamas reply to truce plan

Deadly fighting rocked Gaza on Wednesday as US top diplomat Antony Blinken on a Middle East tour pushed for an elusive truce and hostage release deal to end the war raging since October 7.

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• HEZBOLLAH FIRES SCORES OF ROCKETS AT ISRAEL

Northern Israel meanwhile came under repeated barrages of rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon, a day after an Israeli air strike killed a senior commander of the militant group allied with Hamas.

And in Geneva, a UN investigation concluded on Wednesday that Israel has committed crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza, and that both parties to the bloody conflict were guilty of war crimes.

US Secretary of State Blinken arrived in the Gulf emirate of Qatar on his latest regional crisis tour, to promote a ceasefire deal outlined by President Joe Biden on May 31.