°®Âþµº

Al-Baqa’a ash-Sharqiya has been stormed by Israeli troops, the Wafa news agency reports.

Local sources told the agency that soldiers deployed in the streets, specifically in the Ras al-Zard neighbourhood, and searched vehicles, without any arrests being reported.

Drones were heard flying at low altitudes over the community, Wafa added.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said that his country would seek backing from Muslim nations for its Gaza reconstruction plan at an emergency summit of Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers scheduled for Friday in Jeddah.

"On the 7th of March... in Jeddah, there will be an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and we will also seek to endorse this plan so that it becomes both an Arab plan and an Islamic plan," Abdelatty said.

Shortly after a summit of Arab leaders in Cairo, the Israeli foreign ministry said the reconstruction plan "failed to address" the 7 October attack on Israel.

"Hamas' brutal terrorist attack, which resulted in thousands of Israeli deaths and hundreds of kidnappings, is not mentioned, nor is there any condemnation of this murderous terrorist entity," the foreign ministry said.

Hamas, however, called for providing the means to ensure the plan's success and considered the summit a "step forward" for Arab and Islamic support behind the Palestinian cause.

The Palestinian group urged Arab leaders to compel Israel to commit to its ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

"We value the Arab stance rejecting the attempts to displace our people," Hamas added.

The White House says it welcomes input from Arab nations, but that Hamas can not remain in power in the the Strip.

"President [Donald] Trump has been clear that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza," White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said.

"While the President stands by his bold vision for a post-war Gaza, he welcomes input from our Arab partners in the region. It's clear his proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis."

Trump's proposal, which has been roundly rejected by the international community, called for Palestinians to be permanently removed from Gaza, and for the development of the territory into a "Riviera" resort.

Egypt’s foreign minister said during a press conference that the individuals who will lead the committee managing the Gaza Strip for six months have been chosen.

Hamas welcomed on Tuesday Egypt's Gaza re-construction plan and called for providing means for its success, following an emergency summit in Cairo where Arab states adopted the Egyptian proposal.

Arab leaders have agreed to establish a trust fund that would finance the reconstruction of war-battered Gaza, urging international contribution to speed up the rebuilding process.

According to the final communique of the Arab League summit in Cairo, the fund would "receive financial pledges from all donor countries and financing institutions" to carry out reconstruction projects in the Palestinian territory.

Jordan evacuated the first group of Palestinian children in need of medical treatment from the war-battered Gaza Strip under a plan the king presented to US President Donald Trump last month.

Images aired by state TV channel Al-Mamlaka showed Jordanian military helicopters arriving at a military airport in Amman carrying four injured children and their families.

The children, two of them amputees, were taken to hospital upon arrival.

Government spokesman Mohammad Momani told a news conference that the first group "of the Gazan children suffering various illnesses began arriving".

Momani said it was the start of the "implementation of the initiative that the king spoke about in Washington".

Syria's interim PresidentÌýAhmed al-SharaaÌýon Tuesday called on the international community to pressure Israel to "immediately" withdraw its troops from the south, as he attended his firstÌýArab summitÌýsince assuming office.

"We urge the international community to uphold its legal and moral commitments by supporting Syria's rights and pressuring Israel to immediately withdraw from southern Syria," Sharaa told a summit of Arab leaders in Cairo.

The "hostile (Israeli) expansion is not only a violation of Syrian sovereignty but also a direct threat to security and peace in the entire region", he said.

Lebanese officials have rejected claims by the US news site Axios that Tel Aviv, Washington, and Beirut have reached an agreement allowing Israeli forces to remain in southern Lebanon for an extended period.

On Tuesday, Axios reported that US and Israeli officials had described a "quiet understanding" between the US, Israel, and Lebanon, permitting Israeli forces to maintain control over five positions in Lebanon for "several weeks or months" until the Lebanese army stabilises the region and ensures Hezbollah no longer poses a threat.

Lebanese officials dismissed these claims, asserting that no such arrangement exists and emphasising the need for Israel's immediate withdrawal.

Read the full story here.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed efforts to extend the ceasefire in Gaza and threats posed by Iran during a call today, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

Egypt has proposed a $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza over five years, focusing on emergency relief, infrastructure restoration and long-term economic development, according to a draft document seen by AFP.

The proposal was being discussed at an Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday, to counter a plan floated by US President Donald Trump last month to assume control of war-torn Gaza and displace its Palestinian population, including Egypt and Jordan.

Palestinians, along with Arab states and many governments around the world, have condemned Trump's proposal, rejecting any efforts to expel Gazans.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that presidential and legislative elections for the Palestinian Authority could be held next year, about two decades since the last general vote.

"We are fully prepared to hold general presidential and legislative elections next year, provided that the appropriate conditions are met in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem," Abbas said in his opening remarks at a summit of Arab leaders in Cairo.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told an Arab League summit on Gaza's reconstruction on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump could help achieve peace in the Middle East.

Sisi mentioned the historic, US-brokered 1979 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, saying it had transformed "enmity, war and the desire for revenge into lasting peace and reciprocal diplomatic relations. The time has come to adopt and launch a serious and effective political process that leads to a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause... I am confident that President Trump is capable of doing that."

The Israeli army announced that it has killed senior commander of Hezbollah's Radwan Force Hashem Khader in a strike in the Qana area of south Lebanon. According to Israel, Khader was responsible for bring weapons into Lebanon via maritime routes.

The UN envoy for Syria on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel's "military escalations, including airstrikes", in the country.

"Such actions are unacceptable and risk further destabilising an already fragile situation, heightening regional tensions, and undermining efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable political transition," Geir Pedersen said in a statement.

The US State Department on Tuesday said it was designating Yemen's Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, as a "foreign terrorist organization," after US President Donald Trump's call for the move earlier this year.

(Reuters)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday he welcomed an Egyptian plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip and urged US President Donald Trump to support such a plan that would not involve displacing Palestinian residents of the enclave.

Speaking at an Arab League summit that aims to counter Trump's "Gaza Riviera" plan, Abbas also said he was ready to hold presidential and parliamentary elections if circumstances allow, adding his Palestinian Authority was the only legitimate governing and military force in the Palestinian Territories.

Abbas said that he would issue a general amnesty for all those dismissed from the Fatah movement which rules the West Bank.

(Reuters)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he supported an Arab-led initiative to mobilise support for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt presented a plan for reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday at an Arab League summit in Cairo. The plan, seen by Reuters, aims to counter US President Donald Trump's proposal to build a Middle East "Riviera" in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the Cairo summit, Guterres also called for the resumption "without delay" of negotiations on continuing a ceasefire in Gaza, and he expressed concern over an escalation of violence in the West Bank.

(Reuters)

Egypt's President Al Sisi ensures Palestinians would "remain on their land" after welcoming Arab leaders and officials for the Arab summit.

"Humanity lost its virtue in Gaza," he said. "The people in Gaza who lost loved ones, those who were widowed orphaned are looking up to you to restore hope and last and permanent peace."

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man in Jenin as the army continues its assault in the region.

Ayser Abdul Halim Al-Saadi, 21, was killed after being shot after the army expanded to the eastern neighbourhood.

The Ministry says the Israeli army is withholding his body.

Hamas urged Tuesday's Arab League summit in Cairo to "thwart" the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza as regional leaders meet to counter US President Donald Trump's widely condemned proposal.

"We look forward to an effective Arab role that ends the humanitarian tragedy created by the occupation in the Gaza Strip... and thwarts the (Israeli) occupation's plans to displace (Palestinians)," a statement by the militant group said.

The Israeli military said Tuesday it had expanded its offensive in the occupied West Bank currently in its 43rd day to new parts of the northern city of Jenin.

Israeli forces "expanded the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria to additional areas in Jenin", the military said, using the Biblical name for that part of the West Bank, adding it killed two Palestinians including a local Hamas leader during the overnight raid.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not attend Tuesday's Arab League summit on Gaza in Cairo, with his top diplomat heading the delegation instead, state media said.

"On behalf of... King Salman... Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, arrived today in Cairo to head the Kingdom's delegation participating in the extraordinary Arab summit," the Saudi Press Agency said.

Russia has agreed to assist US President Donald Trump’s administration in communicating with Iran on various issues, including on Tehran's nuclear programme and its support for regional anti-US proxies, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The report, which was picked up by Russian state media, quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that "Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations" and that Moscow "is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this."

Trump last month restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iran denies any such intention.

Russia has deepened its ties with the Islamic Republic since the start of the Ukraine war, and signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Iran in January.

(Reuters)

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri on Tuesday rejected Israeli and US calls for the group to disarm, saying its right to resist was not negotiable.

"The weapon of the resistance is a red line, and it is not negotiable," he told Reuters. "We will not accept (any deal) to trade it for reconstruction or the entry of aid."

(Reuters)

An Arab summit draft communique on Tuesday adopted an Egyptian plan for Gaza's future and called on the international community and financial institutions to provide support for the plan quickly.

An Arab plan for Gaza would counter US President Donald Trump's ambition for a Middle East Riviera in the enclave.

Trump enraged the Arab world by declaring unexpectedly that the United States would take over Gaza, resettle its over 2-million Palestinian population and develop it into the "Riviera of the Middle East." 

(Reuters)

Egypt's reconstruction plan for Gaza will cost $53 billion, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The 112-page plan includes maps showing how Gaza's land would be re-developed and dozens of colourful AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens and community centres.

The plan includes a commercial harbour, a technology hub and beach hotels. 

(Reuters)

Lebanese official media said Israel carried out a drone strike in the south on Tuesday, the latest such raid amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

"An enemy drone launched a strike" in Tyre district, the National News Agency said, publishing an image of a burning, mangled car.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP Tuesday that disarming is a red line for his movement and other Palestinian militant groups in negotiations to extend the fragile Gaza ceasefire.

"Any talk about the resistance's weapons is nonsense. The resistance's weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions," Abu Zuhri said shortly after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar demanded the "full demilitarisation" of Gaza to proceed to the second stage of the January truce.

The UN's agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has condemned Israel's blockade of Gaza, saying that aid and basic services "must never be used as weapons of war."

In a statement on X, Philippe Lazzarini said that "Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we’ve seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began. This brought respite & relief to people in need."

"The vast majority of the people in Gaza rely on aid for their sheer survival. Lifesaving water [plus] hospitals [and] health centres and electricity are essential to complement basic food assistance," he added.

The decision of Israel to stop aid into threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 16 months of brutal war.

Humanitarian aid must continue to flow at scale similar to what we’ve seen over the past six weeks when the ceasefire began.
This brought respite & relief to…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini)

A video published by outlet Levant24 shows Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa arriving in the Egyptian capital of Cairo for an emergency Arab summit.

In Video | Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to participate in the emergency Arab summit.

— Levant24 (@Levant_24_)

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday Israel was ready to continue to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal but needs an agreement on the release of captives held by Hamas to extend the framework.

Saar accused the Palestinian militant group of using aid to continue fighting Israel, saying this could not continue.

"Humanitarian aid became the number one source of income of Hamas in Gaza," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said. "With that money they use for terror to restore their abilities and to get more young terrorists into their organisation."

(Reuters & Agencies)

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Cairo on Tuesday to attend an Arab League summit on countering US President Donald Trump's widely condemned plan for Gaza, Syrian state media reported.

Sharaa arrived "to attend the extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo on developments on the Palestinian issue", state news agency SANA reported.

Israel has cut off power to two desalination plants in Rafah, according to Al Jazeera, which noted that 70 percent of the water supply for the governorate of Rafah comes from the plants. 

The decision to cut of power to the plants comes after Israel reimposed a blockade on the enclave.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has condemned Israel's blockade of Gaza, noting that "International Humanitarian Law prohibits the denial of humanitarian aid to an entire population".

PRCS also called on the international community to "act effectively to ensure that the needs of Palestinians are met and their dignity restored."

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who supports the annexation of the occupied West Bank, said on Tuesday that he was travelling to the United States for a brief visit.

"The goal of this visit is to strengthen economic cooperation between Israel and the United States... and deepen the strategic alliance between our two countries," Smotrich wrote on social media platform X.

"In my meetings, I will emphasize Israel's determined stance in the fight against terrorism and the need for clear American backing for the continuation of our security activities in the war," Smotrich added.

Smotrich said he would meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as well as other US government officials.