‘Huge challenge’ to deliver aid to many thousands heading to north Gaza: UNICEF

International humanitarian organisations are trying to ramp up efforts in northern Gaza as tens of thousands of Palestinians are going back to their homes.

“Since the beginning of the ceasefire, a lot of aid has entered the north. UNICEF has brought in a range of items like hygiene kits and high-energy biscuits to address malnutrition for young children,” said Jonathan Crickx, chief of communications for UNICEF Palestine.

“When I see how many people are moving north – and I was in the north in September and saw the level of destruction there – it’s going to be a huge challenge to support them,” he told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

Crickx said basic services are missing, and water remains “a scarce commodity”. He pointed out that there is a desalination plant in Deir el-Balah, but the Israeli military has left no such infrastructure operating in the north.

“What’s really important when you see the scale of destruction is that everything is done to allow as much supplies in order to rebuild homes in Gaza and reestablish water systems.”

‘The most important thing is we returned’

Massive crowds of Gaza residents walking with their belongings along the main road running next to the coast represented a stunning reversal of the mass exodus from the north at the start of Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.

The scenes unfolded after Israel’s army lifted its closure of Gaza’s north for the first time in the 15-month war, following a fragile ceasefire.

Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked 6km (4 miles) to reach her home in Gaza City, where she found it damaged but still habitable. She also saw her younger sister for the first time in more than a year.

“It was a long trip but a happy one. The most important thing is that we returned,” Abu Amshah said.


_{War-displaced Palestinians make their way from southern to northern Gaza along al-Rashid Street}

Return to Gaza’s north a ‘clear response’ to those who plot to uproot them: Palestinian official

Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, has shared online a video of displaced Palestinians returning to the north of the Gaza Strip.

“There is only one direction of travel ahead of the Palestinian people after a 100 years of forced displacement and oppression: liberation and return!” he wrote.

A million Palestinians returning to their destroyed homes and towns in the north of #Gaza this morning is the crystal clear response to those who still plot to uproot us from our homeland. There is only one direction of travel ahead of the Palestinian people after a 100 years of… pic.twitter.com/PsU7ip89jq

— Husam Zomlot (@hzomlot) January 27, 2025

General’s Plan general: ‘We are at the mercy of Hamas’

A former army general who proposed a “surrender-or-starve” strategy for northern Gaza says “the war has ended very badly” for Israel.

General Giora Eiland spoke to Israeli Army Radio as tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to widespread destruction in the north in accordance with a ceasefire Israel reached with Hamas.

Eiland said by opening the Netzarim Corridor – an Israeli military zone bisecting the territory – Israel lost leverage over Hamas and wouldn’t be able to restore it, even if it resumes the war. “We are at the mercy of Hamas,” he said.

The general added that Israel failed to achieve its stated war goals, including destroying Hamas, removing it from governance and safely returning dozens of captives to Israel. Hamas, by contrast, “has largely achieved everything it wanted”, he said.

Eiland was the main author of the “Generals’ Plan”, which called for declaring northern Gaza a closed military zone, sealing it off from humanitarian aid and declaring anyone remaining a combatant.

In September, the plan was presented to Netanyahu’s government, which has not said whether it adopted parts of it. The Israeli military has denied carrying it out.

Smotrich says he is working on turning Trump’s proposal to ‘clean out’ Gaza into policy

The Times of Israel is reporting that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has praised Trump’s proposal to clear Palestinians out of Gaza and move them to Jordan and Egypt and is working to turn this idea into an “operational plan”.

The newspaper said Smotrich made his comments to reporters before his Religious Zionism party’s weekly meeting in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

Palestinians ‘need to stay in Gaza’, says Spain’s foreign minister

Jose Manuel Albares has rejected US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “clean out” Gaza and relocate its population to Egypt and Jordan.

“Our position is clear: Gazans need to stay in Gaza. Gaza is part of the future Palestinian state, which needs to be controlled by a single government,” the Spanish foreign minister told reporters in Brussels.

Albares also insisted that the European Union should be focused on immediately helping “the humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza with aid for food, health, and education needs and guaranteeing the presence of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Spain would increase its financial aid to Palestine and UNRWA to 50 million euros ($52m), Albares announced.

“We have a window of hope in Gaza, a ceasefire that isn’t permanent, but we need to work to make it so”, he stated.

Germany disagrees with Trump’s idea to resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt

The German Foreign Ministry has said the Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza in comments made following the remarks by Trump that Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians.

A spokesperson said the German government shared the view of “the European Union, our Arab partners, the United Nations … that the Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or recolonised by Israel”.

Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt. Both countries and other Arab nations reject the idea of Palestinians in Gaza being moved to their countries.

Palestinians have also roundly condemned Trump’s proposal, which has raised concerns of ethnic cleansing.

Italy’s PM Meloni downplays Trump’s ‘clean out’ Gaza comments

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she doesn’t believe Donald Trump has a “defined plan” to move Palestinians out of Gaza but welcomes a debate on the territory’s reconstruction.

Meloni, who attended Trump’s inauguration and hopes to position herself as a bridge between the US administration and the European Union, said the situation is “complex”.

“Trump is right when he says the reconstruction of Gaza is obviously one of the main challenges we face, and that to succeed, however, a great deal of involvement from the international community is needed,” she told reporters during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

“As for the issue of refugees, I don’t think, here again, that we are faced with a defined plan. I think we are rather faced with discussions with regional actors, who certainly need to be involved in this.”

Trump said on Saturday he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take people from Gaza, suggesting “we just clean out that whole thing” – an idea quickly rejected by Palestinian leaders, the Arab League, Jordan and Egypt.

Jordan denounces Trump’s ‘liquidation of the Palestinian cause’

Jordanian officials have rejected US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “clean out” Gaza and move 1.5 million Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said:

Arab League supports Egypt and Jordan’s stance on Palestinian displacement

The secretary-general of the 22-member organisation representing the Arab world says the Arab League stands “firmly and principled in support” of Egypt and Jordan’s positions against US President Trump’s proposed displacement of Palestinians.

The Arab position is “unwavering” concerning Palestinians, whether in the occupied West Bank or in Gaza, said Ahmed Aboul Gheit, according to the Wafa news agency.

He said resistance by the Palestinian nation, with backing from other Arab countries, will “thwart any plans to liquidate the Palestinian cause”.

Solution lies in rebuilding Gaza, not deportation of Palestinians: Surgeon

Dr Mohammed Taher, a British volunteer surgeon, spoke to Al Jazeera on al-Rashid Street as tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians traversed back to northern Gaza.

“I want to congratulate the Palestinian people, the people of Gaza, on this auspicious day. The day of return after 15 months of forcible displacement, hardship, and suffering of all kinds, and they have finally been allowed to try to find some semblance of life and rebuild the future,” Taher said, highlighting the physical wounds that need to heal.

“There are thousands of people who are in need of complex surgery; there needs to be a plan to address those needs. There needs to be a plan to rebuild homes, rebuild universities, schools, and infrastructure that’s been wiped out.

“I tell you, what’s not going to be acceptable to these people is forceful evacuation. So, the solution lies in rebuilding, not deportation.”

Hamas says 25 out of 33 Israeli captives to be released are alive: Report

Hamas has handed over a list of 25 Israeli captives who are still alive among the 33 scheduled for release to mediators.

An unnamed Hamas official told Reuters that Israel received the list from the mediators of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israel has long demanded to know the fate of captives still held in the enclave.

The ceasefire’s initial phase will last six weeks, with Israeli captives being exchanged for Palestinian prisoners every Saturday. Israel will also withdraw its forces from Gaza’s population centres to areas no more than 700 metres (765 yards) inside Gaza’s demarcation with Israel.

Captive families pressure Netanyahu for ceasefire deal to hold

The latest hold-up in the deal was all centred around one Israeli, Arbel Yehud, who has been held captive by Islamic Jihad. The group hasn’t been involved in these negotiations, and it considered her a soldier from the beginning.

Yehud’s relatives say it’s an incredibly complex and worrying time, and they’re just waiting for her to be freed. She will now be released with an Israeli soldier and another unnamed person.

Of course, the family members of those being held captive have been waiting in Tel Aviv for 15 months. They’ve been protesting weekly, trying desperately to pressure Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to strike this deal.

They did stop protesting for a couple of weeks but small demonstrations have been ongoing, blocking some streets in Tel Aviv since Saturday evening. They want to see the first phase of the truce continue and more captives released in the second and third phases.

Gaza contingency plan impossible if Israeli ban implemented: UNRWA

We have some more comments from our interview with Sam Rose, UNRWA’s director of planning.

Asked about Israel’s ban on UNRWA, which is due to come into force at the end of January, Rose said the UN agency was preparing for this “with massive trepidation”.

“Not for UNRWA but for the relief effort as a whole here, on which so much depends right now,” he told Al Jazeera from Khan Younis in southern Gaza. “Not just for the people who are suffering but for the overall ceasefire effort.”

Rose said for now, UNRWA is able to continue operations in Gaza – but it remains to be seen for how long that would be the case.

“We have thousands upon thousands of staff who continue to be able to work in Gaza – doctors, medics, health workers, sanitation labourers …  but if the bill is implemented in full, we will not be able to bring our supplies in.”

Rose went on to say that it is not possible to replicate an aid effort as large as UNRWA’s in Gaza.

“We are two-thirds of the primary healthcare; we are 60 percent of the emergency shelter response right now, alongside all the food aid and other things that we bring in,” he explained.

“It simply isn’t possible to put a contingency plan like that in place – there aren’t the resources around, the capacity, there isn’t the time, and there aren’t the organisations that are mandated to do this.”

Death toll from Israel’s Sunday attacks on southern Lebanon rises

The Lebanese Health Ministry says the death toll in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon yesterday has increased to 24, while 134 others, including 12 children, were wounded.

The attacks came while people were attempting to return to their villages after Israeli forces failed to withdraw from southern parts of the country under a ceasefire agreement. That agreement has been extended until February 18, the US and Lebanon announced earlier today.

Israel tempted to ‘remain in Lebanon rather than withdrawing’

Filippo Dionigi, a lecturer of international relations at the University of Bristol, says it remains extremely uncertain what will happen in the next 20 days of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

On Sunday, 24 Lebanese were killed and 134 wounded in attacks by Israeli troops.

“It’s possible we’ll see a continuation of tensions — possibly even more deadly incidents like the ones we witnessed yesterday,” Dionigi told Al Jazeera.

“Hezbollah does not have much of an incentive to escalate the situation,” Dionigi said, adding the group’s military capacity has been assessed as being reduced by 50-70 percent. “They may not have an appetite for reigniting the conflict.”

On the other hand, Israel has demonstrated over the past year-and-a-half it can do what it wants “without facing much consequences”, Dionigi noted.

“[Israel] is probably tempted to simply remain there [in Lebanon] and try to put pressure on the implementation of the conditions of the ceasefire through its presence, rather than withdrawing from Lebanese territory.”

One killed, many wounded in south Lebanon by Israeli troops

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says one person was killed by Israeli gunfire in Odaisseh town.

The ministry said many others were wounded. They included:

Lebanese again try to return home after deadly Israeli attacks

Southern Lebanon residents accompanied by the army tried to return to their villages a day after Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing 24 people and wounding 134 others. Dozens of vehicles carrying families headed towards border towns a day after hundreds of residents tried unsuccessfully to get back into their homes.

In the village of Burj al-Muluk, dozens of men, women and children gathered behind a dirt barrier, some holding yellow Hezbollah flags, hoping to reach the border town of Kfar Kila, where the Israeli military is still deployed.

The official National News Agency reported that Lebanese “army reinforcements” arrived near the border town of Maiss el-Jabal, where people started to gather at “the entrance of the town” in preparation for entering alongside the military.

Israel’s military has refused to withdraw despite agreeing to do so in a November ceasefire.

Commitment to renewed Lebanon ceasefire deadline essential: UN

The top UN official in Lebanon says the formal extension of the ceasefire until February 18 could be a good sign.

“The formalisation of the extension of the timetable for the withdrawal of the Israeli army and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon renews hope for those displaced from their homes and villages,” Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert wrote in a post on X.

“A firm commitment by all parties to meet the agreed deadlines and to the effective implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 is of utmost importance,” said the UN special coordinator for Lebanon.

At least 24 people were killed in Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon starting on Sunday, the day that the Israeli army’s forces were due to withdraw from the area.

Hezbollah politician warns Lebanese ‘ready to liberate’ the south

A Hezbollah lawmaker warned his group, alongside the Lebanese army, is prepared to liberate villages where Israeli troops remain after ignoring a ceasefire pledge to withdrawal forces from the south by Sunday.

“The residents of these villages where the occupation remains are getting ready with our national army to liberate it,” Hassan Fadlallah said, speaking at an event in the southern city of Bint Jbeil, where Hezbollah’s reconstruction arm launched a rebuilding project.

At least 25 people have been killed and 140 wounded over the past two days as Israeli soldiers open fire on Lebanese villagers determined to re-enter their homes in southern Lebanon.

Israel’s deadly assault on Jenin enters 7th day

The Wafa news agency is reporting that the large-scale Israeli military operation on the occupied West Bank city has killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens. The latest victim was 26-year-old Abdul Jawad al-Ghoul, who died late on Sunday after being shot by Israeli forces, according to Wafa.

The agency added that Israeli forces destroyed the Cinema Roundabout in the centre of Jenin, as well as shops in the area overnight. They also continued blowing up and burning homes in the Jenin refugee camp, and have razed large parts of the al-Dam and al-Bishr neighbourhoods, it added.

Two killed in Israeli attack on West Bank’s Nur Shams camp

At least two people have been killed and three others moderately wounded by Israeli fire in an attack on the Nur Shams camp in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

It said the five were brought to Tulkarem Governmental Hospital following the Israeli bombing of a vehicle in the camp.

Israeli forces raid homes, arrest 20 Palestinians near Hebron: Report

The Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that Israeli forces have rounded up some 20 Palestinians, including four children, during a raid on the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The report said Israeli soldiers raided and vandalised dozens of Palestinian homes.

Separately, Wafa said Israeli forces detained seven Palestinians, including a female university student, from the town of Beit Awwa, southwest of Hebron.

What is happening in Tulkarem?

Jewish Writer Exposes How History Is Rewritten To Justify Palestine's Oppression - w/. Peter Beinart

You can check out Peter Beinart's crucial work here:  https://peterbeinart.substack.com/

Egypt, Jordan Reject Trump Plan to "Clean Out" Gaza; Palestinians Return to N. Gaza in Historic Day

As survivors in Gaza begin to return to their homes during the first ceasefire in over a year, we speak to Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Drop Site News about the future of those who have been displaced. As Palestinians are "returning to a devastated landscape … determined not to leave their land" in defiance of "plans of ethnic cleansing that have dated back to the 1950s for Israel," President Trump told reporters that he wants to "clean out" Gaza, suggesting that Palestinian Arabs should be ethnically cleansed into Egypt and Jordan. Both countries have "rejected this, and they've done so since the beginning of this genocidal assault," says Kouddous.

Media office in Gaza says more than 300,000 people return to the north

The Government Media Office in Gaza says “more than 300,000 displaced” Palestinians have returned to the territory’s north after Israel’s military authorised the returns from this morning.

The brief statement on Telegram said they “returned today … to the governorates of the north” of Gaza.

What happens at the checkpoints located at the Netzarim Corridor?

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians returning to northern Gaza have passed through checkpoints in a central zone of the enclave where scanners check their cars and vehicles.

Here is how the system works, according to witnesses who have passed through:

Child killed as Israel attacks horse cart in central Gaza

Several other civilians were wounded in the incident as well, the Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli troops shelled the cart in the west of Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing Nadia Mohammed al-Amoudi and wounding three others. This is one of many incidences of troops opening fire on displaced Palestinians as they move throughout the Strip in the wake of the ceasefire.

Al-Awda Hospital confirmed to Wafa that it received the body of the child and the three wounded people.

One killed following second Israeli attack in central Gaza

We have been reporting on the Israeli military’s attacks on displaced Palestinians moving throughout Gaza since the ceasefire came into force, including firing on a horse cart in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing a young child.

The Wafa news agency now reports that a Palestinian man has been killed and several more people injured after Israeli forces bombed a bulldozer as it was attempting to remove a vehicle stuck in Nuseirat.

Israeli military says slain child ‘posed a threat’ to its troops

As we have reported, Israeli forces have shot and killed a child and wounded three others after attacking a horse-drawn cart in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, in one of several incidents of displaced Palestinians being fired on as they move throughout the Strip following the ceasefire.

In a statement, the Israeli military has now claimed they attacked the group as they “posed a threat” to its troops.

“In central Gaza, an [Israeli military] aircraft fired to distance several suspicious vehicles that were moving northward in an area that is not authorised for passage according to the agreement, and without inspection, in violation of the terms of the agreement,” the military claimed.

Israeli forces also fired on a Palestinian man in north Gaza who “posed a threat to them”, it said.

“[Israeli forces] fired warning shots to distance him. The suspect did not move away, and since he continued to pose a threat to the troops, additional shots were fired in order to remove the threat,” it said.

Long-term support for Gaza critical: UN

The UN says hundreds of thousands of displaced families are returning to northern Gaza, walking for hours through rubble to find what is left of their homes and reunite with loved ones.

UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, provides “life-saving aid”, which is central to the long-term support that the enclave requires after most of its infrastructure was destroyed by the Israeli military.

Israel plans to ban UNRWA in a bid to dismantle it, with the agency maintaining that only a sovereign Palestinian state could replace its work.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced families are returning to northern Gaza, walking for hours through rubble, trying to find what’s left of their homes & reunite with loved ones.@UNRWA is delivering life-saving aid.

Amid immense needs, long-term support is critical. pic.twitter.com/RlMJ3zcbKp

— United Nations (@UN) January 27, 2025

‘Unacceptable’: Spokesman slams Israel’s decision to halt UNRWA’s operations

Tens of thousands of people in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem are set to lose education, healthcare and other services provided by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

An Israeli ban on the organisation takes effect on Thursday.

“It’s an unacceptable decision,” said Jonathan Fowler, a spokesperson for UNRWA, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. “The people that we serve… we are not able to tell them what is going to happen to our services as of the end of this week,” Fowler also said.

UNRWA has for decades run schools and clinics in the occupied East Jerusalem, the eastern part of the city that Israel has occupied since a 1967 war, for tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees who have no nationality.

Israel has not announced provisions to replace UNRWA’s activities.