New push to salvage Israel-Hamas truce, says Palestinian source
Mediators Qatar and Egypt are pushing to salvage the Gaza ceasefire deal, a Palestinian source told AFP, after Israel and the US told Hamas to release hostages this weekend or face a return to war.
Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody.
So far, there have been five hostage-prisoner swaps, but the deal has come under strain, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it. Hamas said it was “committed to the ceasefire” after earlier saying it would postpone Saturday’s scheduled release.
Hamas delegation arrives in Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks
A Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to continue Gaza ceasefire talks with the second phase supposed to get underway, according to a Hamas statement.
Hamas said earlier this week it would stop the release of hostages scheduled for Saturday until further notice.
Israel will stay in Lebanon after extension of ceasefire deal
Israeli troops will remain in southern Lebanon after the implementation period for the ceasefire deal in Lebanon has been extended, said Israeli army’s spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a post on X.
Earlier Wednesday, a Lebanese official and foreign diplomat told Reuters that Israel has requested to keep
its troops in five posts in southern Lebanon until February 28.
Under a ceasefire deal agreed in November between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli troops had until January 26 to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
The deal has already been extended until February 18 but the sources said Israel had requested an additional extension through the committee overseeing the ceasefire.
Hamas praises Jordan, Egypt for ‘rejecting displacement’ in Gaza
Hamas has praised Jordan and Egypt for “rejecting displacement” plans for Gazans as proposed by US President Donald Trump.
Hamas “appreciates the positions of our brothers in Jordan and Egypt in rejecting displacement of our people and affirming that there is an Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents,” the Islamist group said after Jordan and Egypt, where Trump has suggested Gaza’s more than two million inhabitants could be relocated, voiced opposition to his plan.
China says ‘Gaza belongs to the Palestinians’, opposes ‘forced displacement’
China has reiterated its opposition to what it called “forced displacement” of Palestinians when asked about US President Donald Trump’s plan to move Gaza’s inhabitants elsewhere.
“Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is an integral part of the Palestinian territory… We oppose the forced displacement of the people of Gaza,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.
Moving Palestinians ‘unacceptable for Arab world’, says Arab League chief
Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit has rejected any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and West Bank, calling it “unacceptable” for the region.
“The focus today is on Gaza today and tomorrow it will shift to the West Bank with the objective of emptying Palestine of its historical inhabitants,” he said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.
“It’s unacceptable for the Arab world, which has fought this idea for 100 years.”
Aboul Gheit was commenting on US President Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza which has been widely condemned in the Arab world.
Israel air strike targeting drone hits two in Gaza
The Israeli military has said it conducted an air strike in the Gaza Strip, targeting two people attempting to retrieve a drone that had crossed into the Palestinian territory.
The military said the drone had flown from Israeli territory and was subsequently targeted by an Israeli warplane in southern Gaza.
“Recently, several attempts to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip using drones have been detected,” the military said in a statement.
“The IDF (military) struck the drone in southern Gaza, along with two additional suspects who were collecting it,” it said, without specifying their fate.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has says a 44-year-old man was killed in an Israeli strike near the southern city of Rafah on Wednesday, without providing further details.
On Tuesday, Munir al-Bursh, director general of the ministry, said at least 92 Palestinians have been killed and more than 800 wounded by Israeli fire since the fragile ceasefire took hold last month.
The Israeli military says it has fired upon people who approach its forces or enter certain areas in violation of the truce.
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