JERUSALEM -- Israel has halted all military offensive operations to capture Gaza City, shifting its forces to defensive operations only, Israeli leading media outlets reported Saturday morning.

Israel's move followed U.S. President Donald Trump's demand that Israel immediately stop bombing Gaza, after Hamas responded to the U.S. president's 20-point plan by saying it was ready in principle to release all 48 Israeli hostages held in Gaza. (Israel-Gaza-Ceasefire)

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TOKYO -- Japan's former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi won Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election on Saturday, making her likely to become Japan's first female prime minister.

LDP parliamentarians cast 295 votes in the first round of voting, while another 295 votes were allotted to rank-and-file members. Takaichi, who took the lead with 183 votes in the first round, entered the runoff with Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who won 164 votes. (Japan-LDP-Election)

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GAZA -- The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has surpassed 67,000, Gaza's health authorities said on Saturday.

According to their statement, a total of 67,074 people have been killed and 169,430 wounded since the outbreak of the war. In a separate statement, the authorities reported that two children had died in the past 24 hours from starvation and malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths linked to food shortages to 459, including 154 children. (Gaza Strip-Hamas-Israel)

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PRAGUE -- The Czech Republic's opposition ANO party, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babis, has won the country's parliamentary election, according to official results from a near-complete vote count on Saturday.

With over 99 percent of the voting districts counted in the election, ANO had garnered nearly 34.6 percent of the vote, while the ruling center-right SPOLU coalition came in second place with 23.3 percent. (Czech Republic-Election-Result) Enditem