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°®Âþµº's live blog on developments in the Gaza Strip and the region has now concluded, and will resume at 0900 GMT.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday he had signed a declaration to expedite delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel.

The Trump administration, which took office on January 20, has approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel, Rubio said in a statement, adding that it "will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats."

A Palestinian man was injured by live fire fired by Israeli forces on Saturday evening near the town of Beit Ula, northwest of Hebron.

Medical and local sources told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that Israeli forces stationed themselves at the segregation barrier near Beit Ula and opened fire on civilians in the area.

One young Palestinian man was struck in the foot and subsequently taken to hospital, where his injuries were reported as moderate.

Israel will adopt the proposal by US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, the prime minister's office said early on Sunday, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire was set to expire.

Israeli protesters have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv, demanding the release of the remaining captives in Gaza and the completion of the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

Among the slogans chanted were "A deal now, everyone including everyone!!!" "We will not abandon them, we will bring them back!"

המפגיני� בשער בגין: " עסקה עכשיו, כול� כולל כול� !!!" "�נחנו ל� נפקיר �ות�, �נחנו כן נחזיר �ות� !!!" קרדיט �דר �יל

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit)

Israeli officers have reportedly entered the courtyard of the Old City of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, as Palestinians begin celebrations for the holy month of Ramadan, according to Al Jazeera.

Israel's defence minister on Saturday threatened action in Syria "if the regime harms the Druze" community, as a monitor reported a deadly clash between Druze gunmen and government-linked forces.

A defence ministry statement quoted Israel Katz as saying his country will not allow Syria's new rulers, who overthrew Bashar al-Assad in an Islamist-led uprising in December, "to harm the Druze", adding the military has been ordered "to prepare and to send a firm and clear warning: if the regime harms the Druze, it will suffer the consequences."

Israeli forces stormed the Al-Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron on Saturday, as Palestinians mark the first day of Ramadan, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

Witnesses said that Israeli troops stormed the camp and briefly detained several residents. The detained individuals were subjected to severe physical assault by the Israeli army.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office dismissed on Saturday as "Hamas propaganda" new footage released by the Palestinian group showing what appeared to be Israeli captives in Gaza alongside a ceasefire message.

"The Hamas terrorist organisation released another cruel propaganda video this evening, in which our hostages are forced to convey psychological warfare messages," Netanyahul's office said in a statement as the first stage of a ceasefire was due to expire, adding that "Israel will not be deterred by Hamas propaganda".

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday warned against a return to hostilities in war-torn Gaza, saying such an outcome would be "catastrophic."

As the first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce agreement drew to a close with uncertainty over the next steps, Guterres said in a statement that a "permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages are essential to preventing escalation and averting more devastating consequences for civilians."

US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday said it had carried out a precision airstrike in Syria, targeting and killing a senior leader in an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

CENTCOM said it killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

"As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and US, allied, and partner personnel in the region," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.

Hamas' armed wing on Saturday released footage showing what appeared to be several Israeli captives in Gaza, as the first phase of a fragile ceasefire neared its expiry amid uncertainty over the next steps.

The video released by the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, which AFP was unable to immediately verify, showed three people whose faces were visible, two of whom appeared to be captives released in February, with the third calling on the Israeli government to free him.

The video, which also showed two others with their faces blurred, was accompanied with the message: "Only a ceasefire agreement brings them back alive".

Hamas is ready to go ahead with the remaining stages of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, as the first phase drew to a close with uncertainty over the following stages, it said on Saturday.

"We affirm our keenness to complete the remaining stages of the ceasefire agreement, leading to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction and lifting the siege," the Palestinian group said in a letter to the Arab League summit due to be held in Cairo on 4 March.

"We categorically reject the attempt to impose any non-Palestinian projects or forms of administration or the presence of any foreign forces on the territory of the Gaza Strip," it added.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said the Egyptian plan for the reconstruction of Gaza is ready for implementation and "we have seen it," referring to Egypt’s counterplan to Trump’s shock proposal to displace the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and take it over.

"Our joint plan with Egypt will ensure that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not displaced," Mustafa said in a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo

He added that both sides decided to establish a committee to provide services and coordinate efforts in Gaza.

Abdelatty said the Arab summit in Cairo expected in the coming days would confirm the establishment of a Palestinian state and reject displacement.

Gaza’s health ministry said Saturday that the 23 bodies of people killed in Israeli strikes arrived at hospitals in the enclave in the past 48 hours.

It added that 23 wounded were also being hospitalised.

The latest round of talks on the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has made no progress so far, and it was unclear whether the talks would resume on Saturday, a senior Hamas official said.

Officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on the second phase in Cairo, with the goal of bringing an end to the war with the return of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Hamas did not attend the talks, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, told The Associated Press there had been "no progress" on finding a solution before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday.

It was unclear whether those mediators were going to return to Cairo to resume talks on Saturday as has been expected, and Naim said he had "no idea" when negotiations might start again.

Switzerland has invited 196 states who are parties to the Geneva Conventions to participate in a conference next week on the situation of Palestinian civilians living in territories occupied by Israel, a Swiss foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"Following this invitation from the UNGA (UN General Assembly), I confirm that a conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention will be held in Geneva on March 7," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nicolas Bideau said in an email in response to Reuters questions.

The Fourth Geneva Convention, part of a series of international treaties agreed in 1949 after World War Two, defines humanitarian protections for civilians living in areas of armed conflict or occupation.

The UN General Assembly asked Switzerland to organise the meeting last September when the Gaza war was still raging. Similar meetings have taken place in 1999, 2001 and 2014, the Swiss foreign ministry said.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said Friday that the occupied West Bank "is caught in a growing crisis of displacement and destruction, due to the Israeli Forces operation ongoing for five weeks".

"Access to education for children, healthcare and basic services is in jeopardy. Communities are struggling and fear is increasing. UNRWA remains on the ground, providing aid despite severe challenges".

The is caught in a growing crisis of displacement and destruction, due to the Israeli Forces operation ongoing for five weeks.

Access to education for children, healthcare and basic services is in jeopardy.

Communities are struggling and fear is increasing.

±«±·¸é°Â´¡â€¦

— UNRWA (@UNRWA)

The Trump administration has approved a major nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, bypassing a normal congressional review to provide the country with more of the 2,000-pound bombs that it has used in the war in Gaza.

In a series of notifications sent to Congress late Friday, the State Department said it had signed off on the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth $2.04 billion.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio "has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defence articles and defence services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements," the department said. Deliveries are set to begin next year, it said.

Using the same justification, the department also said Rubio had approved another munitions sale to Israel worth $675.7 million to be delivered starting in 2028.

In addition, it said Rubio had approved the emergency sale of D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers worth $295 million.

A group of 29 sick and wounded patients have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt for hospitalisation abroad, reported Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Israel's war battered the territory's healthcare system, leaving most hospitals completely destroyed or out of order.

Lebanese on Friday conducted a delayed burial in a southern border village for more than 90 civilians and Hezbollah fighters who died during the war with Israel that ended with a November ceasefire.

In the heavily damaged town square of Aitaroun, the coffins arrived on four trucks, some covered in the yellow flag of Iran-backed Hezbollah, others in the national flag.

The coffins were then transported to a cemetery where 95 graves were dug, each marked by a number.

The dead included 51 Hezbollah fighters, most of them killed in combat, and 31 civilians, including five children and 16 women, killed by Israeli strikes, according to a channel dedicated to the village on the Telegram app. It added there were 13 people who had died of natural causes.

شهداء بلدة عيترون الجنوبية
ابطالنا💛

— Louli (@Louli01647872)