TRANSCRIPT:
Israel says it is delaying holding a cabinet meeting to ratify a ceasefire with Hamas, blaming the militant group for the hold-up, as Palestinian authorities say Israeli air strikes overnight have killed 77 people in Gaza.
The Israeli cabinet was set to meet on Thursday morning to ratify the deal, with the ceasefire scheduled to take effect from Sunday.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is accusing Hamas of attempting to obtain what it calls last-minute concessions on some aspects of the deal.
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq has since issued a statement saying the Palestinian group is committed to the ceasefire agreement as announced.
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Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she hopes momentum from a ceasefire deal will deliver longer term peace in the Middle East.
It comes as political leaders from across the spectrum welcome the news of the deal.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says the news is positive but says it's important to ensure all hostages are released before looking to the future.
Greens leader Adam Bandt says the deal is long overdue and that Labor must now take more action to call for a permanent ceasefire and recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Wong says she hopes the ceasefire means political tensions in Australia will also tone done.
"It's been a really difficult conflict for not just for those in the region, for the many people who've lost their lives, tens of thousands of people, but people around the world, and we're, you know, unfortunately, also here in Australia, we've had very different views about about this conflict. I think this is really important opportunity for us to take the temperature down, and you know, political leaders have a role in that, Mr Dutton has a role in that, so does Mr Bandt."
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A woman has been charged over allegations she gave her one-year-old child unnecessary prescriptions to grow her social media profile and gain $60,000 in donations.
Police are alleging the child was admitted to a hospital in Brisbane for a genuine and serious medical condition when staff raised concerns the 34-year-old woman was poisoning her.
Investigators say she allegedly filmed and posted videos of her child in pain and emotional distress before setting up crowdfunding pages to obtain donations.
Detective Inspector Paul Dalton says the child and her siblings are now in a safe situation.
"There are no words to describe the just how repulsive offensive this nature are. Child protection investigators regularly have to deal with, investigate offences against children of very serious and distressing ways. There is no excuse for hurting a child, particularly one so young that is totally dependent on adults too care for and love them. "
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Emergency services in New South Wales are warning that more severe storms and flooding could hit Australia's east coast.
Authorities are predicting up to 200 millimetres of rain within a 48-hour period could be on the way for parts of the New South Wales north coast.
SES crews are urging people to stay out of dangerous areas.
They say they have already responded to over 3,000 incidents since Wednesday morning.
Sarah Scully, from the Bureau of Meteorology, says up to 100 millimetres of rainfall is predicted in some areas on Friday.
"We have issued a severe weather warning for both damaging winds and heavy rainfall extending from the mid north coast all the way down into the Sydney Metro area. So if you or anyone you know lives within eastern parts of the country, it's really important that they stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings."
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Indian Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan has been stabbed in a scuffle with an intruder at his home and had surgery at a hospital.
The 54-year-old actor was taken to the hospital from his home in Mumbai where he lives with his movie star wife Kareena Kapoor and two sons.
Indian media quoted police as saying the intruder barged into the house early on Thursday and fled after stabbing Khan.
A female employee at Khan's home was also injured during the attack and was being treated, they said.
To the tennis now: injury forced Australian tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis off the court on Thursday night.
James Duckworth and Aleksander Vukic took the first set 7 to 5, before the Aussie pair retired in the second set.
The Aussie duo have been called the Special K's and Kokkinakis admitted he was fighting off a “horrendous” injury coming off the back of his five-sets loss in the singles the day before.
He will be seeking medical treatment for the issue, which was made worse by his brief time on the court.
Meanwhile, an also-injured Kyrgios has not ruled out a return to next year's Australian Open in a doubles team.
