Israeli tank shelling also killed two Palestinian brothers near their home in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry said. Israel's military said troops fired on armed Palestinians that posed a threat.
In the days since the fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Israeli soldiers and vehicles were fanned out in the muddy streets Thursday as displaced Palestinian families left the area — some carrying suitcases, pets and other belongings.
Israel says it's seeking to stamp out militancy in the area. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 10 people have been killed in Jenin.
___
Here's the latest:
UN says aid is now getting to hard-to-reach areas in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS — Large volumes of aid are entering Gaza and getting to areas that were hard to reach before the ceasefire, the U.N. humanitarian office reported Thursday.
“The surge in supplies entering Gaza each day and the return of law and order has allowed aid organizations to significantly scale up the delivery of life-saving assistance and services,” the U.N. said.
At least 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA.
All of the aid is entering Gaza via crossings from Israel, OCHA said, as the direct Egypt-Gaza crossing remains closed under Israeli forces’ control. The aid itself is supplied by the U.N., nongovernmental organizations, other countries and the private sector.
Seven trucks of fuel were delivered to northern Gaza by U.N. humanitarian partners for the first time since the ceasefire, OCHA said.
“This included 23,000 liters of fuel delivered to 20 health facilities in Gaza City — enough to keep them up and running for about a week,” it said.
Fuel deliveries in central and southern Gaza are keeping water wells, desalination plants and sewage pumps running, OCHA said, and U.N. partners in those areas have resumed monthly food distributions with full rations.
Since the ceasefire, OCHA said most trucks entering Gaza carried food, but more medicine, shelter materials, water and sanitation supplies are expected in the coming days.
On Wednesday, organizations in Gaza transported 118 trucks of food parcels and flour from U.N. warehouses to more than 60 distribution points in the south.
Across southern Gaza, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF is giving out high-energy biscuits and ready-to-use food — enough for thousands of infants.
Also Wednesday, U.N. partners in southern Gaza distributed medical items and kits for trauma management kits to 14 hospitals, as well as sexual and reproductive health kits to 28 health facilities – enough for 58,000 people.
US Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet.
The Texas Republican was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA, the nation's premier spy agency.
Ratcliffe's predecessor, William Burns, played a key role in brokering the Israel-Hamas ceasefire ceasefire in Gaza.
The head of the Arab League slams Israel's occupation of a Syrian buffer zone
UNITED NATIONS – The head of the Arab League is warning against Israel’s “expansionist greed” in Syria and the exploitation of the current “delicate moment” following the ouster of Syria's President Bashar Assad.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged the U.N. Security Council on Thursday to remain committed to the 1974 Israel-Syria truce following the 1973 Mideast war. The truce established a U.N.-patrolled demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries.
After Assad’s ouster on Dec. 8, Israeli forces occupied the buffer zone inside Syria, calling it a temporary move to block hostile forces.
Aboul Gheit emphasized that “the occupation of the Golan is illegal and unjustified except by the expansionist desires of Israel.”
The Arab League secretary-general said the 22-member organization supports the Syrian people’s aspirations “for a better life after long suffering at the hands of the previous regime.”
“We hope that Syria will undergo a successful transition that will pave the way to an end of the crisis without any foreign intervention, while preserving the Syrian unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
A Hamas militant who died in Israeli prison was tortured, Palestinian officials say
JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials say that the autopsy of a Hamas militant held by Israel who died in prison last month suggests that he had been tortured.
The alleged abuse likely caused intracranial bleeding, a wound that can result from a serious head injury, the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs said in a statement Thursday.
A new autopsy determined that 45-year-old Mohammad al-Aref suffered lacerations that pointed to “physical assault and excessive use of restraints” and blood clots in the left side of his head, limbs, chest and abdomen, according to the commission.
Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the medical report.
Al-Aref, from the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank, spent 20 years in Israeli prison on charges related to national security and was released in 2021. He was arrested again last November. Less than a week later, on Dec. 4, he was transferred to a hospital in northern Israel and pronounced dead.
Hamas released a statement condemning his death and claiming him as a member of the militant group.
The Palestinian Authority says that Al-Aref is one of dozens of Palestinian prisoners who have died in detention during the war in Gaza. Human rights groups have increasingly raised alarm about the treatment of Palestinian detainees and called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians in Israeli custody.
Israel has announced several investigations into the deaths of detainees. Its Prison Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the number of those who had died in Israeli custody since Oct. 7.
Israel’s Netanyahu says Elon Musk is being unfairly criticized over his straight-arm gesture
JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister says Elon Musk is being unfairly criticized over his straight-arm gesture earlier this week that many social media users said the gesture looked like a Nazi salute.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Musk has been “falsely smeared.” He described the world’s richest man as a “great friend of Israel.”
Musk has lashed out at the criticism of his gesture, although right-wing extremists embraced the salute.
Israel hints it wants to keep forces in Lebanon past the ceasefire deadline
JERUSALEM — Israel may seek to delay pulling all of its troops out of southern Lebanon, which would violate the terms of a ceasefire it signed with the militant group Hezbollah.
An Israeli government spokesperson said Thursday that Israel wants the ceasefire agreement to endure, however he hinted that the Lebanese army wasn't deploying fast enough to secure areas.
"There is movement but it is not moving fast enough,” said David Mencer.
Under the ceasefire deal from November, Hezbollah and Israel are both supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by Sunday to allow the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers to provide security.
Israel's military also said Thursday it was still finding Hezbollah arms caches in southern Lebanon, including rockets, rifles and ammunition.
Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement hundreds of times and has said that the Lebanese army has been unable to enter many areas to hold up its end of the deal because the Israeli troops have not vacated on schedule.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels release crew of a commercial vessel seized in the Red Sea in November 2023
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday released the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.
The move by the Iranian-backed Houthis marks their latest effort to de-escalate their attacks following the ceasefire in Gaza. However, it came as U.S. President Donald Trump moved to reinstate a terrorism designation he made on the group late in his first term that had been revoked by President Joe Biden, potentially setting the stage for new tensions with the rebels.
The Houthis said they released the sailors after mediation by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that’s long been an interlocutor with the Houthis. A Royal Air Force of Oman jet took a flight to Yemen earlier Wednesday and took off again about an hour after the Houthi announcement with the crew, who smiled as they stepped off into freedom in Muscat.
The Houthis also said Hamas separately requested the release of the ship's crew of 25, who included mariners from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico.
Israeli tank fire kills 2 brothers in southern Gaza, Palestinian health ministry says
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli tank fire killed two Palestinians near the southern border town of Rafah, days after a ceasefire in the war-battered territory took hold.
The Health Ministry said Thursday that Israeli shelling hit the Tel al-Sultan district west of Rafah, killing two brothers near their home. It said the firing apparently targeted a residential building, without elaborating. The Palestinian Civil Defense confirmed it had recovered the two bodies.
The Israeli military, which has forces deployed at the nearby border between Gaza and Egypt, said that its troops "operated against threats posed to them in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement."
In Rafah, the army said its forces fired on armed Palestinians “moving suspiciously” near its positions. Troops also fired at “an armed individual operating within a structure," it said, while emphasizing Israel was fully committed to the truce deal.
Palestinians intensify efforts to recover bodies in Gaza, with over 120 found in the past day
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — With Israeli shelling and bombardment otherwise halted since the ceasefire took effect on Sunday, rescue workers have intensified their attempts to find and recover bodies trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.
In some cases, the bodies have languished for weeks or months, inaccessible because of the danger.
Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants, reported Thursday that at least 120 dead bodies had been recovered and registered at hospitals across the Gaza Strip.
The overall Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 47,000 people, according to the Health Ministry.
At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, Palestinian families looked for dead relatives among the body bags laid out in a sandy courtyard. Some people who were able to locate their missing loved ones knelt down to mourn, resting their hands atop the white plastic body bags.
Hezbollah says the Lebanese state needs to make sure Israeli forces withdraw by ceasefire deadline
BEIRUT — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Thursday that any delay in Israeli forces' withdrawal from southern Lebanon “would necessitate a firm response from the state.”
Under the terms of the U.S.-and French-brokered ceasefire, Israeli troops are expected to pull out of Lebanon by Sunday. Israeli media has recently reported that Israel is seeking to postpone the completion of its withdrawal.
Hezbollah had warned it could resume rocket and drone fire if Israel failed to withdraw on time. However, in a statement on Thursday addressing these reports, the group called on the Lebanese state to take action in response to potential violations.
“We call on all parties, especially the Lebanese political authorities, to exert pressure on the countries sponsoring the agreement to ensure the final days of the deadline are monitored effectively,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah and Israel are both supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon by Sunday to allow the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers to provide security.
Lebanese return to a southern town after Israeli forces withdraw
NAQOURA, Lebanon — Residents returned Thursday to the town of Naqoura near the Lebanon-Israel border, which hosts the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.
Long lines of cars, some waving Hezbollah flags, inched along the coastal road. The Lebanese Army and U.N. peacekeepers had reopened roads, cleared mines and removed unexploded ordnance from residential neighborhoods.
Residents of the southern town were among over 1.2 million Lebanese displaced during the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Returning residents found their homes and businesses along the main road completely destroyed, some looted. Water and electricity networks lay in ruins. Mosques, health centers and the municipality building were damaged. Some residents sifted through the wreckage, searching for anything salvageable.
Rabab Yazbeck, surveyed the collapsed remains of her home. “Thank God — the most important thing is that we’re back to our land.”
On the ruins of one destroyed home, a group of young men hoisted a yellow banner that read, “Even if all our homes are destroyed, we will never abandon the choice of Islamic resistance.”
The UN migration agency sends its first shelters and sanitation supplies into Gaza
AMMAN, Jordan — The U.N.’s migration agency said Thursday it sent its first convoy of trucks into the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began, carrying materials for shelters as well as water, sanitation and hygiene supplies to provide relief for approximately 10,000 people.
The International Organization for Migration said it sent trucks from Jordan to Gaza carrying 13,000 sleeping mats, 11,000 mattresses, 11,000 blankets, 10,000 pillows with pillowcases, 2,000 plastic sheets, and 1,200 hygiene kits.
Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced by the war, and the United Nations estimated last month that 69% of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including over 245,000 homes.
24-year-old Hamas attack survivor will represent Israel at Eurovision
TEL AVIV — A survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack will represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Switzerland in May.
Yuval Raphael, 24, won first place in a singing contest on Israeli television that determines Israel’s entry to Eurovision, a pan-continental pop extravaganza. She won with a performance of the Swedish group ABBA’s pop hit “Dancing Queen,” which she dedicated to the victims of the attack.
Raphael survived the Nova music festival in southern Israel as Palestinian militants stormed the event, killing hundreds and taking many hostage during Hamas' cross-border raid. She has testified in the Israeli parliament about her experience on Oct. 7. She described hiding from gunmen under piles of dead bodies for eight hours, and said "I'm going to deal with this thing for the rest of my life."
Last year's Eurovision was overshadowed by the war in Gaza, with large demonstrations protesting Israel's participation. Israel's representative, Eden Golan, who ended up taking fifth place in the competition, was kept under tight security.
Israel will not compromise on dismantling Hamas, foreign minister says
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday that Israel would not compromise on its objectives of dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and that there were no guarantees for the success of the three-phase cease fire in the war in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking alongside his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest, Hungary, Saar said Hamas leaders had declared their intent to carry out more attacks on Israel similar to the deadly raids on Oct. 7, 2023, and could therefore not be allowed to retain any military capabilities.
“They are committed to the idea of eliminating the Jewish state,” Saar said. “Israel will not accept Hamas’ rule in Gaza. As long as Hamas remains in power, there will be no peace, security or stability in the Middle East.”
“We hope that the framework for the hostage release will continue until its end, but of course I cannot guarantee that,” he continued. “We will not abandon our objectives.”
Heavy rain and floods worsen misery for Palestinians displaced in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Although the ceasefire in Gaza has brought an influx of humanitarian aid and a rare respite from Israeli bombardment, it has done little to change the miserable conditions endured by most of the 2 million people displaced by fighting.
The winter weather has compounded the hardships of those eking out an existence in tattered tents and makeshift shelters. Heavy rains were flooding tents across the territory, leaving Palestinians shivering in the cold.
At one makeshift camp in the central city of Deir al-Balah, the downpour Thursday quickly soaked through flimsy tents that seemed to float on pools of muck. Some used sandbags to keep their tents from washing away, while others tried to clear the huge puddles of mud outside their shelters. Barefoot children trod through paths that had become filthy rivers. A cacophony of coughs emanated from every corner, raising concerns about the spread of illness.
Tareq Deifallah, a displaced resident in Deir al-Balah originally from Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, said water was seeping through his tent from all sides. He said “the truce is useless” when it came to changing his living conditions.
“Before the truce we were suffering, after the truce we are suffering, from the rain and the winter,” Deifallah said.
Monira Faraj, a mother of two young girls, said rain flooded her tent and soaked through her mattress as her family was sleeping.
“We’re afraid we’re going to drown if it becomes too much,” she said.
Residents of the tent camp said they had no choice but to stay put. Even though the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that took effect Sunday allows Palestinians displaced by the fighting to return to their homes, those who set out to check on their houses in recent days said they found only ruins.
Commercial plane from Turkey lands in Damascus for first time in 13 years
DAMASCUS, Syria — A commercial plane from Turkey landed in Damascus for the first time in 13 years on Thursday, Syrian state media said.
The Turkish Airlines plane flew from Istanbul to the Syrian capital, SANA reported, two weeks after the first international commercial flight landed, from Qatar, since former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s fall.
Ankara backed opposition groups in northwestern Syria that fought against Assad and his allies during the uprising-turned-conflict and never restored ties, even when most Mideast countries did in 2023.
Now Turkey, a key ally of the new authorities under the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, has expressed its intention to invest in Syria’s economy and help its ailing electricity and energy sectors.
Israel's ambassador to US says the 2 countries are discussing Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon
JERUSALEM — Israel's ambassador to the United States says the two countries are in talks about the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as a deadline in the ceasefire with Hezbollah militants approaches. Israeli media have reported that Israel is seeking to postpone the completion of its pullout.
Michael Herzog said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio on Thursday that he believed Israel would “reach an understanding” with the Trump administration, without elaborating.
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended more than a year of fighting linked to the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces are supposed to complete their withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday.
Israeli media have reported that Israel reached an understanding with the Biden administration on staying longer but that President Donald Trump is urging it to withdraw on time.
There was no immediate comment from the United States.
Israeli officials have said Lebanese troops are not deploying fast enough in the areas Israeli troops are supposed to vacate. Under the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to patrol a buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside United Nations peacekeepers.
Hezbollah has threatened to resume its rocket and drone fire if Israel does not withdraw on time.
Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinian militants who carried out West Bank bus attack
JERUSALEM — Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian militants who carried out a deadly attack on a bus in the West Bank earlier this month.
The Israeli military said Thursday that the two men barricaded themselves in a structure in the West Bank village of Burqin and exchanged fire with Israeli troops before they were killed overnight. The army said a soldier was moderately wounded.
The military said Mohammed Nazzal and Katiba al-Shalabi were operatives with the Islamic Jihad militant group.
The Hamas militant group released a statement claiming the two men were members of its armed wing and praising the bus attack. Hamas and the smaller and more radical Islamic Jihad are allies that sometimes carry out attacks together.
The Jan. 6 attack on the bus carrying Israelis killed three people and wounded six others.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters
The Al Jazeera news network says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters after preventing him from covering an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank.
The Qatar-based news network reported Thursday that its reporter, Mohammed al-Atrash, was arrested from his home.
It said Palestinian security forces had earlier prevented him from reporting on a large Israeli military operation in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority launched its own crackdown on militants in the city late last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
Both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera last year. Israel accuses it of being a mouthpiece of Hamas over its coverage of the war in the Gaza Strip and says some of its reporters are also militants.
The pan-Arab broadcaster has rejected the allegations and accused both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of trying to silence critical coverage.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. It is unpopular among Palestinians, with critics portraying it as a corrupt and authoritarian ally of Israel.
Israel’s Netanyahu will probably visit Trump in the next few weeks, official says
UNITED NATIONS – Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington to meet President Donald Trump “in a few weeks.”
Danny Danon told reporters Wednesday: “I’m sure he would be one of the first foreign leaders invited to the White House.”
Danon said he expects their discussions to include the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP