Main events from February 14th
- Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have named Alexander Trufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Yair Horn as the Israeli captives to be released in Gaza later today as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
- Some 369 Palestinians are to be released in exchange, including 24 prisoners serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis and who will be sent into exile in Egypt.
- Hamas expects indirect negotiations with Israel for the second phase of the ongoing truce in Gaza to begin “early next week”, an official from the Palestinian group has said.
- A Palestinian NGO has said Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, is being held by Israel under a law allowing for detention without charge. Abu Safia’s lawyers allege he has been tortured in custody.
- A United Nations peacekeeping commander in Lebanon was injured when Hezbollah supporters, protesting a decision to stop Iranian planes landing in Beirut, set fire to a UN vehicle.
- Dozens of Israeli settlers, wielding clubs and rifle butts, have attacked the occupied West Bank village of al-Maniya, injuring at least 16 Palestinians, in the latest incident in a growing trend of settler attacks.
- The UN Human Rights Office has condemned Israel’s intensifying operations in the northern occupied West Bank and called for an immediate halt to the “alarming wave of violence and mass displacement”.
Arab plan for Gaza being developed; Jordan can’t take more Palestinians: Minister
As we previously reported, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has said there is an Arab-supported Egyptian plan in the works to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents, offering an alternative to US President Trump’s Riviera of the Middle East proposal.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, Safadi emphasised his country is unable to take in any more Palestinian refugees, as has been proposed by Trump.
“Just to answer you unequivocally, 35 percent of our population are refugees, we cannot afford any more, we cannot have Palestinians coming to Jordan,” Safadi said.
“We are working on an Arab proposal that will show that we can rebuild Gaza without displacing its people, that we can have a plan that will guarantee security and governance,” Safadi said.
“Israelis also have to think long-term. For it to live in peace and security, its neighbours need to live in peace and security,” he added.
Israeli troops withdrawal – US says Israel will remain in some parts of Lebanon
US authorities have informed the Lebanese government that Israeli troops are set to leave villages along Lebanon’s southern border to comply with a withdrawal deadline, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
But the US added that some Israeli soldiers will remain stationed in strategic positions just inside Lebanese territory.
The Lebanese government has rejected this decision.
Palestinian death toll mounts as West Bank under most intense Israeli military attack in decades: UN
Israeli forces have killed 44 people, including an eight-month pregnant woman, in their longest military offensive in the occupied West Bank in 20 years, the UN said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reports that 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced from four refugee camps as well as areas surrounding the Palestinian cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.
On top of the dozens of killings, systematic destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, and forced dislocation of large sections of the West Bank’s population, Israeli forces carried out 694 attacks on Palestine’s healthcare sector between April and December 2024, the UN said.
In its latest situation report on the West Bank, OCHA notes that Israeli forces killed five Palestinians between February 4 and 10, including a child, while eight other children were among 49 Palestinians injured.
Between February 11 and 13, they killed two more Palestinians in Hebron and Nablus, one of whom died in an exchange of fire and another in “unclear circumstances”.
Israeli settlers were also involved in 15 incidents of assault or causing damage to Palestinian property during the latest reporting period, injuring three Palestinians, including one child.
