Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told CGTN that a two-state solution remains the only option to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Speaking a year on from the attacks of October 7, he also warned of the risks to the wider region of the failure to reach a negotiated settlement to end the cycle of violence. 

Ehud Olmert, who served as Israel's leader from 2006 to 2009, described the current state of his country to CGTN, saying Israel "is in the middle of a military, violent, brutal confrontation, the like of which we haven't experienced for many, many years." 

He added "the question is, where is it (the conflict) going to? Is it going to relax somehow or is it going to expand or become a major all-out war that will involve the major powers?"

Olmert, who is also a former mayor of Jerusalem, has presented a joint peace plan to end the fighting alongside the Palestinian Authority's former foreign minister Nasser al-Qudwa. The proposals include release of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, the withdrawal of IDF troops from the region, a five-nation trusteeship of Jerusalem's Old City and a land swap that would return part of the West Bank to Palestinian control. However, he stressed to CGTN that that the plans would depend on the demilitarization of Gaza.

"Let's assume that we have successfully destroyed the military capacity of Hamas, in that Gaza can be controlled by a more moderate force," he said. "The Palestinian Authority in cooperation with more… moderate Arab countries. What is next for us and what is next for them?"

He added that a two-state deal will involve the difficult task of restoring a level of trust between both sides. "There are still six million Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank. What do we want to do in order to change the balance that has characterized relations (between) us for years?"

Nonetheless, the proposals which involve the creation of a corridor linking Gaza to the West Bank have been dismissed by Israel's current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said on U.S. television last month "There's not a deal in the making, unfortunately. It's not close."

The Israeli and U.S. leaders are expected to speak by phone on Wednesday, ahead of an Israeli Cabinet vote on a response to Iran's missile attack last week. Joe Biden has previously told Benjamin Netanyahu the U.S. would not support a strike on Iranian nuclear sites.

Israeli police have shot a suspected terror attacker after six men were stabbed in the northern city of Hadera. Two of the victims are said to be in a critical condition. In a statement the authorities said the 36 year-old suspect had been "neutralized".

Israel's military claims to have destroyed Hezbollah weapons facility in Beirut. On X, the IDF said targeted strikes had hit the base in the Da'ahiya area of the Lebanese capital. 

Cross border fire between Israel and Lebanon has continued, with Hezbollah saying its fighters have pushed back advancing Israeli troops in clashes along the length of the border.

Five people are reported killed in the Hezbollah rocket fire on the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona. The Israeli Defense Forces claim forty missiles were also intercepted in the Haifa area, with five people injured by falling shrapnel.

The European Union said it is creating a "humanitarian air bridge" to fly aid to Lebanon. Three initial flights are due to arrive in Beirut from Italy and Dubai on Friday. Last week, the EU said it was ramping up spending on humanitarian assistance to Lebanon by $32 million.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees claims 400,000 civilians in northern Gaza have been trapped by the latest Israeli offensive. The group's Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X there was "No end to hell" in northern Gaza, with people at the main Jabaliya refugee camp cut off from aid. The Israeli army claims the operation is aimed at preventing Hamas from regaining strength in the area.

Türkiye's President has called Israel a "Zionist terrorist organization" after its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Tayyip Erdogan, who recently claimed that Israel had territorial ambitions towards Turkish soil, claimed the recent cross-border fire between Israel and Iran had heightened the risk of a regional conflict.

At least 18 people including five children and two women have been killed in the latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza, according to officials. An 11-month-old boy was reportedly among those that lost their lives when tents for displaced people were struck in the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camp.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned that up to 51,000 children in Gaza are living unaccompanied by an adult or carer, triple previous estimates. In a report the IRC claimed children have been found living alone in hospitals and other areas in Gaza, at risk of exploitation, neglect and starvation