“The Israeli army said seven soldiers were killed in southern Gaza, in Khan Younis. They say a bomb was planted on an armoured combat vehicle. This vehicle caught fire and the seven soldiers inside were killed,” Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reports from Amman.

“That means 879 Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in Gaza since the start of the war after October 7.

“Now we’ve had more than 24 hours of this ceasefire between Iran and Israel, and the focus in Israel is expected to move quickly to Gaza.”

“Various people have said it’s time to bring the captives back. Netanyahu [has said he] wants to bring them back. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has said it’s time to bring the captives back. Donald Trump, of course, has also called on Israel to end the war in Gaza.

“Netanyahu has been accused of prolonging it for his own political ends to avoid facing a reckoning for October 7, which happened on his watch.

Qatar suggested yesterday that there would be indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in the next couple of days. Israel hasn’t said yet whether it’s going to take part, Smith said.

“There is, of course, still pressure from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners who want a long-term occupation of Gaza and even the reintroduction of Jewish settlements, but now we wait to see whether Netanyahu will be able to resist those demands.”