Live: Israel launches military operation in occupied West Bank city of Jenin

Qatar says ‘confident’ in deal for ceasefire in Gaza

Qatar is confident that the deal it helped mediate for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas addressed all the major issues at stake in the war, the foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday.

“We are confident in the deal when it comes to the language of the deal, when it comes to the fact that we hashed out all the major issues on the table”, Majed al-Ansari told a press conference, adding that Qatar believes both parties would implement the deal.

“Any breach from either side or a political decision… could obviously lead the deal to collapse,” the spokesman said.

Qatar, with fellow mediators the United States and Egypt, announced last week a deal that came into effect Sunday after 15 months of war in Gaza.

US President Donald Trump, who had claimed credit for the agreement, said he was “not confident” it would hold. 

Israeli strike in West Bank kills two people, Palestinian Health Ministry says

An Israeli strike on a built-up refugee camp in the occupied West Bank has killed two people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday, as a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip entered a third day. 

The Israeli military said in a statement that “forces have initiated a counter-terrorism operation” in the area. The identity of those killed in the Jenin refugee camp, where militants are active, was not immediately clear.

Throughout the 15-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Jenin has been a focus of Israeli raids into the occupied territory. The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, launched its own raid into the area late last year, hoping to position itself as a serious player in governing postwar Gaza.

Ceasefire holds for third day but ‘immense problems to be dealt with’ in Gaza

Although the Israel-Hamas ceasefire appeared to be holding as it entered its third day Tuesday, FRANCE 24 chief foreign editor Rob Parsons reports from Jerusalem that the vast scale of the destruction in Gaza means the efforts to rebuild and supply vital aid are facing “immense problems”.

Israeli far-right minister thanks Trump for revoking US sanctions on settlers

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich thanked Donald Trump on Tuesday for his “unwavering support” after the newly inaugurated US president lifted sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“Mr. President, your unwavering and uncompromising support for the State of Israel is a testament to your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historical right to our land,” the minister wrote on X.

Trump, inaugurated for a second term on Monday, swiftly revoked his predecessor Joe Biden’s executive order from February 2024.

The order had paved the way for the designation of settlers and groups accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

The US Treasury and State departments used it to designate several far-right individuals and groups, including an individual accused of leading a riot in the town of Huwara in which Palestinian homes were torched and a Palestinian civilian was killed.

Israeli military begins operation in West Bank city of Jenin

The Israeli military said Tuesday it had launched a “counterterrorism” operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, which the Palestinian ministry of health said had killed one person.

In a joint statement, the army and Israeli Security Agency said that, along with the Israeli Border Police, they had launched an operation in the city, a stronghold of Palestinian militant groups.