American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food, according to accounts and videos obtained by The Associated Press.

Two U.S. contractors, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were revealing their employers' internal operations, said they were coming forward because they were disturbed by what they considered dangerous and irresponsible practices. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open license to do whatever they wished.

A Kurdish militant group that has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey announced Thursday its fighters in northern Iraq will begin handing over their weapons, marking the first concrete step toward disarmament as part of a peace process.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm.

Hamas and Israel staked out their positions Wednesday ahead of expected talks on a Washington-backed ceasefire proposal, with the militant group suggesting it was open to an agreement while the Israeli prime minister vowed that "there will be no Hamas" in postwar Gaza.

Both sides stopped short of accepting the proposal announced Tuesday by U.S. President Donald Trump. Hamas insisted on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.

Airstrikes and shootings killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said Thursday.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on the strikes.

Syrian state media reported Wednesday that statements on signing a peace deal with Israel were "premature", days after Israel said it was interested in striking a normalization agreement with Damascus.

"Statements concerning signing a peace agreement with the Israeli occupation at this time are considered premature," state TV reported an unidentified official source as saying.

Palestinian militant group Hamas said Wednesday it was discussing proposals from mediators for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza, after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed to a 60-day truce.

Israel's military said on Wednesday its had apprehended members of an Iranian-backed "terrorist cell" in southern Syria, where state TV reported three arrested by Israeli troops.

Authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza declared treason charges Wednesday against the leader of a rival armed group accused of working with Israel during its Gaza offensive, ordering him to turn himself in.

Hamas suggested Wednesday that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but stopped short of accepting a U.S.-backed proposal announced by President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.

Trump said Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The U.S. leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire, and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war.

Israel's top diplomat called on Wednesday not to miss any chance to free hostages held in Gaza, after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Palestinian group Hamas to agree to a 60-day ceasefire that he said had Israel's backing.