Main events from Januari 26th
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will allow displaced Palestinians to return home to northern Gaza on Monday after mediators helped resolve a dispute over the release of a civilian captive, Arbel Yehoud.
- The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said Yehoud will be freed before Friday. Netanyahu said Israeli soldier Adam Berger and another captive would also be released.
- Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned statements by US President Donald Trump, in which he proposed cleaning out the war-torn enclave and urged Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians from the Strip.
- Both Egypt and Jordan have firmly rejected Trump’s suggestion, saying it amounted to forced displacement of Palestinians.
- The White House says the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has been extended until February 18, amid tensions over the Israeli killing of 22 people in southern parts of the country. Israeli forces had been due to fully withdraw from Lebanon by Monday.
UN says tens of thousands of Palestinians waiting at checkpoint in central Gaza
The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) says that aid organisations and local charities have been helping tens of thousands of people gathered at a checkpoint central Gaza, seeking to return home or reunite with their loved ones.
OCHA, in a post on X, said that aid groups have been providing food and medical care to the crowds.
Palestinians have been gathering at the so-called Netzarim corridor, which separates north Gaza from the rest of the enclave, since Saturday. Israel was supposed to allow the displaced people to cross into the north on Sunday, but blocked their return following a dispute over the release of a female Israeli captive.
But as we’ve been reporting, Netanyahu has now confirmed that Palestinians will be allowed to cross the Netzarim corridor on Monday morning. According to Palestinian officials, there are some 650,000 displaced people waiting to return to the north.
Lebanon commits to truce extension with Israel
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says Lebanon has agreed to extend the ceasefire agreement with Israel until February 18.
The move came after a day of violence in which Israeli forces shot at Lebanese people trying to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, killing at least 22 and wounding dozens more.
According to the ceasefire deal announced between Israel and Hezbollah in November, Israeli troops had been due to withdraw from southern Lebanon on Sunday.
“The Lebanese government reaffirms its commitment… to continue implementing the ceasefire agreement until February 18, 2025,” Mikati said in a statement, according to the AFP news agency.
Earlier, we reported that the White House had said an agreement had been reached to extend the Israel-Lebanon deal until February 18.
Israeli forces storm Jenin Government Hospital
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic, citing Palestinian sources, are reporting that Israeli forces are conducting searches of patients and doctors at the Jenin Government Hospital in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The raid comes as Israeli forces continue a large-scale military operation against Palestinian fighters in and near the city of Jenin and its refugee camp.
The offensive, dubbed Iron Wall, began days after the ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli soldiers have since killed at least 14 people, including a two-year-old girl, and demolished roads and other infrastructure in the Jenin refugee camp.
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