South African deputy minister describes ‘Hague Group’ initiative

Alvin Botes, South Africa’s deputy international relations minister, says a new movement seeking to block weapons transfers to Israel comes in response to the country’s failure to abide by provisional steps ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

South Africa – which brought a case before the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza – is among nine countries from the Global South that late last month launched the so-called Hague Group.

They have pledged to prevent the provision or transfer of weapons to Israel, including via vessels docking in their waters, among other measures.

“Our ambition as the Hague Group is that we should obviously be able to mobilise a broader constellation of countries that are conscious and are grieved by what has happened to the Palestine people,” Botes told Al Jazeera.

“Consistently, Israel was just not adhering to any of the provisional measures of the court. The question then comes up … what else can be done?” he said.

“That’s why this is a constellation of states that have said, we invoke our right in terms of international law to enforce global accountability in regards to the conduct of the State of Israel.”

G7 countries express support for ‘full implementation’ of Gaza deal

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) have expressed support for “the full implementation” of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

That includes “the release of all hostages and the expansion of humanitarian aid in Gaza”, they said in a statement on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that was also signed by the high representative of the European Union.

The G7 is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“The G7 members stand behind the ongoing efforts of Egypt, Qatar and the United States in continuing to work towards a permanent ceasefire,” the statement reads.

Pace of aid entering Gaza ‘unacceptable’, Arab League says

Hossam Zaki, the assistant secretary-general of the Arab League, has said “the pace at which aid is entering the Gaza Strip is not acceptable humanely and morally,” according to the Egyptian Al-Qahera News Channel.

Speaking at a news conference at the Rafah border crossing from the Egyptian side, Zaki also called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow the aid to enter.

Hamas has repeatedly complained about Israel’s obstruction of aid entering the Gaza Strip, particularly aid related to shelter.

Israel has effectively turned Gaza into the world’s largest open-air prison, maintaining an 18-year blockade – with the collaboration of Egypt – and forcibly displacing nearly 2 million of its 2.3 million residents since October 2023 amid dire shortages of food, water, and medicine due to deliberate restrictions.

Arab states must unite to stand up to Trump

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, says Arabs must unite in the face of threats posed by US President Donald Trump.

“[Trump] likes Putin and Xi because they are strong,” he said. “If the Arabs speak with one voice about Palestine, then they will be respected.

“Otherwise, he’s going to continue to bully and humiliate the Arabs as he does with the Europeans.”

He added that Trump is already trying to humiliate Egypt and Jordan by insisting they accept millions of Palestinians that he wants to displace from Gaza.

“[He’s] telling the Arabs what they can do in their own lands, and of course, supporting ethnic cleansing in Palestine, and wants to take it over just as he wants to take over Greenland,” Bishara said.

Arab Group Shocks the World: Palestinians Won’t Leave Gaza—No Matter What!



Not much of a shock really. The shock would be people actually thinking ethnic cleansing is a solution...

Owen Jones EXPOSES the Media’s Gaza Cover-Up, Political Hypocrisy & the War on Journalism

Is the media hiding war crimes? Are journalists being silenced for exposing the truth? In this explosive, unfiltered conversation, Owen Jones reveals how Western media manipulates narratives, protects the powerful, and punishes those who dare to challenge it.

Trump’s Gaza Ethnic Cleansing Plan: Disastrous ‘Domino Effect’ on the Middle East

Ashish Prashar, a Political strategist and former advisor to the Middle East peace envoy joins the show to discuss how Trump is pushing to ethnically cleanse Gaza by forcing the 2.3 million Palestinian residents into Jordan and Egypt. Both countries have rejected the plan, fearing it would destabilize their nations, but Trump is threatening to cut billions in US aid to pressure them. Prashar discusses Trump’s meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and the growing tensions in the region over Trump's genocidal plan.

Main events from February 15th

Ex-Israeli negotiator says truce deal could have been reached last March

Oren Setter has said Israel missed two opportunities to secure a Gaza truce and secure the release of captives from Gaza last year.

“In my view, we missed two opportunities to sign an agreement… in March and July”, said Setter, who resigned from the Israeli negotiating team in October, in remarks broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12.

“We did not do everything we could to bring them back as quickly as possible,” he said.

Setter also said he thinks there is only a “limited window of opportunity to reach an agreement now … and if we don’t take advantage of it, it will take months until another window of opportunity arises”.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office swiftly rebuked Setter’s claims in a reply to Channel 12, saying: “Setter’s claims that an agreement could have been reached earlier are devoid of any factual basis.”

It could have been reached December 2023, as that is when Hamas first proposed the current ceasefire deal. Heck the ceasefire in November should never have been aborted.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67589259

Throughout the week-long ceasefire, Mr Netanyahu has come under pressure, particularly from right-wing elements in his government, to re-start the war - something Israel has continually made clear it intended to do once the agreement had come to an end.

The right-wing pressure to restart the war is there again, as well as the intent not to proceed to phase 2, but this time no Biden to give the green light, the Israeli military and public are tired of the war and the world is now a lot more aware of what's actually going on in Gaza.

Likely phase 1 will be drawn out, Israel will keep some troops in Gaza, will keep destroying homes and infrastructure under the radar and will keep up the blockade while hindering aid as much as possible.

And Trump will keep on blaming the Arab countries for not coming up with a better plan than his ethnically cleansing plan for Gaza...

Where do talks for a second phase of the ceasefire stand?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security assessment with his defence minister on Saturday night to talk about how they are going to move forward with the ceasefire deal.

The country’s security cabinet is set to meet on Sunday to discuss that.

But reports within Israeli media indicate that Netanyahu wants to prolong and extend phase one of the deal, rather than moving on to phase two, for which negotiations have been largely stalled.

They were supposed to begin on day 16 of phase one, which was weeks ago, but have largely been stalled because of a lot of elements. These include Trump’s idea for the US to own Gaza and forcibly displace and expel the Palestinians who live there to Jordan and Egypt. Now, this suggestion has been rejected by both countries and all other countries in the region.

However, the US secretary of state is now in Israel for his first visit to the region since assuming the cabinet position, and he supports Trump’s idea, as does Netanyahu, and as do members of the far-right government.

But the families of the Israeli captives, and members of the Israeli public as well as the opposition say this deal needs to go through, that there cannot be a return to the fighting because the deal is the only way to ensure the release of Israeli captives.

UNRWA chief says agency carries out ‘government-like’ activities in Gaza, West Bank

Philippe Lazzarini has told reporters that the “core activities” of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are “government-like”, making it different to other UN agencies.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Lazzarini said, “Ultimately, the substitute of the agency would be functioning public institutions”.

He noted that most UNRWA staff have civil servant-like roles, such as teachers, nurses and engineers.

“There is absolutely no UN agency which is geared to provide, in the duration, at this scope, public-like services,” he said.

“Our core activities are government-like, and the ultimate substitute for UNRWA would be functioning public institutions."
At #MSC2025, @UNLazzarini stresses that, while UNRWA partners with other agencies for the humanitarian response in #Gaza, no other UN agency is equipped to… pic.twitter.com/NkHEp51ruj

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 15, 2025

Which is exactly why Israel wants to get rid of UNWRA, total destruction of infrastructure and public institutions to make life so miserable people will leave.

Osasuna fans call for Israel’s suspension from football at LaLiga match

Fans of the Spanish football club have unfurled a giant banner that read, “Show Israel the red card”, during a match between Osasuna and Real Madrid in Pamplona.

The protest comes days after fans of the Scottish Celtic football club displayed a similar banner during a UEFA Champions League match against Bayern Munich in Glasgow.


_{Palestinian flags are seen as Osasuna fans display a banner stating, ‘Show Israel the red card’ amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, February 15}

Protesters in London march against Trump’s Gaza plan

Hundreds of people have marched through central London – protesting against the US president’s plan to “take over” Gaza.

They marched to the US Embassy in the British capital in a show of solidarity with Gaza, saying Palestinians shouldn’t be forced out of their land.

Protesters rally against Trump’s Gaza plan in Morocco, Tunisia

Hundreds of protesters have marched in cities across Morocco, rejecting Trump’s proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza and build beach resorts there.

The protesters, who gathered in cities including Tetouan, Casablanca and Agadir, carried Palestinian flags and shouted chants such as “Gaza is not for sale”.

In the Tunisian capital, Tunis, dozens of people rallied in front of the US Embassy, shouting slogans in support of the Palestinian cause and rejecting Trump’s plan.

Freed captive says time running out for Israelis held in Gaza

Ohad Ben Ami, an Israeli who was freed from captivity in Gaza on February 8, has issued a video statement, urging supporters to continue demonstrations until all remaining captives are released.

In the video, aired at a protest in Tel Aviv, Ben Ami said that he and others held in Gaza were told by their captors that the Israeli government had abandoned them.

But he said he found hope when he learned that hundreds of thousands of people had joined protests calling for the captives to be brought home.

“What keeps you above ground is when you suddenly see that the people, your people, are fighting for you… You have no idea, no idea how much power that gives to those left behind,” he said in the prerecorded message.

Ben Ami warned that time was running out for the 73 captives still in Gaza.

“You see how people slowly change and how time takes its toll, and even people who had hope and faith suddenly start to lose that, and you constantly need to lift them,” he said.

Children wounded in Israel’s deadly attacks on Lebanon

We’ve been covering several deadly Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese National News Agency has additional details on the bombings. It said two people were killed in the attack on a car on the Jarjouh road in Iqlim al-Tuffah and five others, including two children, were wounded.

It said another person was killed in the town of Ain Qana after a building collapsed following the attack.

Hezbollah condemns attack on UNIFIL convoy in Beirut

The group says it rejects any targeting of UN peacekeeping forces after an attack on a UNIFIL convoy in Beirut injured the force’s outgoing deputy commander and another peacekeeper on Friday.

The Lebanese authorities have detained more than 25 people as part of an investigation into the attack.

Heavy US bombs held up by Biden arrive in Israel: Ministry

The Israeli defence ministry says the shipment arrived in Israel’s Ashdod Port overnight. The Israeli media reported, citing the ministry, that the shipment of MK-84 heavy munitions, which are 2,000-pound (900kg) aircraft bombs, was carried to airbases by trucks.

In late January, US President Donald Trump announced that he instructed the military to release a hold imposed by his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel.

Last May, Biden paused the shipment of the bombs in question over the situation in Gaza.

Israeli military chief to make three-day US visit

The Israeli military says its outgoing chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, will travel to the US on an official visit from Monday to Thursday.

Halevi, who is due to step down on March 6, will meet senior US commanders “to discuss key strategic and operational issues”, a military statement said.

He resigned in late January, citing “terrible” security and intelligence failures related to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Netanyahu blocks entry of mobile homes, equipment into Gaza: Report

Israeli broadcaster Kan, citing an anonymous political source, is reporting that Netanyahu has decided to block the entry of mobile homes and heavy machinery into Gaza.

“Following a security consultation chaired by the prime minister, it was decided that the issue of caravans will be discussed in the coming days. Israel is fully coordinating with the United States,” the source was quoted as saying.

That’s despite the ceasefire agreement stipulating that Israel must allow at least 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 tents into Gaza during the first 42-day phase. It also must allow entry of an agreed-upon amount of equipment for rubble removal.

Hamas has previously said Israel had so far permitted the entry of 20,000 tents, but none of the mobile homes havde made it past the border with Egypt.

There are now just two weeks left until the end of the first phase.

The move, if confirmed, could again put the fragile ceasefire in Gaza under strain. Hamas had threatened to suspend the release of Israeli captives last week after accusing Israel of delaying the entry of aid – including mobile homes and machinery – into the destroyed enclave, where displaced Palestinians are enduring a harsh winter in makeshift shelters.

But the Palestinian group went ahead with the release as planned on Saturday after mediators obtained from Israel a “promise … to put in place a humanitarian protocol” that would allow construction equipment and temporary housing into the devastated territory, according to AFP.

The Kan report comes after Trump welcomed the latest release of captives, and it is now up to Israel to decide what to do about the ultimatum he had issued to Hamas to release all of the captives held in Gaza by noon on Saturday.

Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a cabinet meeting today to discuss Israel’s positions.


Gaza authorities slam Israel for preventing entry of mobile homes, equipment

Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel’s refusal to allow the delivery of mobile homes and heavy equipment into the enclave is “a clear evasion of its pledges and obligations” in the ceasefire with Hamas.

“[It] is an explicit declaration of its failure to the agreement,” a statement by the office said on Telegram.

The statement said Palestinian groups in Gaza confirmed that they would “abide by their pledges in it as long as the occupation is committed” to the deal.

It added: “This [Israeli] refusal shows the whole world who is the party obstructing the agreement, which requires the guarantor mediators to intervene and pressure the occupation to fulfill what it signed.”

As we previously reported, an Israeli political source told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corp (Kan) that Netanyahu has refused to allow the entry of aid trucks carrying mobile homes and heavy equipment into the enclave after security consultations with authorities on Saturday  night.

Netanyahu’s move comes after Trump said on Saturday that Israel will have to decide what to do about an expired deadline for Hamas to release all the Israeli captives held in Gaza.

Kan’s unnamed source said the US president wants to change the agreement with Hamas so all the captives will be released together, earlier than the date set for phase two of the ceasefire. That phase has yet to be negotiated.

Israel’s expanded buffer zone in Gaza ‘poses deadly threat to Palestinians’

A US-based crisis monitor has said that despite the ceasefire in Gaza, the situation along the buffer zone “remains tense”, with Israeli forces maintaining a strong presence and continuing to target individuals in the area.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) said that Israeli forces stationed inside the zone, which now covers 10 percent of Gaza’s territory, have killed at least 12 Palestinians approaching the area since the start of the ceasefire.

“Even if the ceasefire progresses, an outcome far from certain, an [Israeli military] withdrawal from the buffer zone remains doubtful, as Israel considers it crucial for the defense of its civilian population near the border,” said Ameneh Mehvar, ACLED’s senior Middle East analyst.

“Not only does the buffer zone shrink the Palestinian territory, but the [Israeli military’s] targeting of individuals around these areas highlights the ongoing and future risks to civilians amid Israel’s continued security control over Gaza,” she added.