������

A Hamas delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya met with the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, Major General Hassan Rashad, on Wednesday for several hours to discuss obstacles to the continuation of the ceasefire agreement and captive exchange.

Egyptian sources told ������'s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that things are heading towards a breakthrough.

Israel conveyed a message to Hamas on Wednesday via mediators saying that it would continue to implement the ceasefire if the Palestinian group releases the three Israeli captives who are due to be freed on Saturday, Hebrew news website Walla reported, citing an unnamed Israeli official.

Haaretz, meanwhile, reported that Israel's government believes that Hamas is interested in completing the first stage of the ceasefire.

Jordan's King Abdullah discussed on Wednesday "dangerous developments" in Gaza and the West Bank during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a post on X by the Jordanian royal court.

The phone call comes one day after the Jordanian king met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, where he reiterated his country's "steadfast position" against Trump's controversial Gaza displacement plan. 

Israel on Wednesday threatened to launch a "new" war on Gaza and implement US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from the territory if Hamas does not return Israeli captives by Saturday.

The remarks by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz came shortly after Hamas said it would not bow down to US and Israeli "threats" over the release of hostages under a fragile truce deal. 

On Monday, Hamas said it would be delaying further releases of Israeli captives due to Israel's ceasefire violations.

Qatar announced on Wednesday it would send an additional 15 million litres of fuel to the war-battered Gaza Strip, where a fragile ceasefire has halted the Israel-Hamas war.

The small energy-rich Gulf country would be "supplying the Gaza Strip with 15 million litres of fuel, bringing total Qatari fuel support to 30 million litres", the official Qatar News Agency said.

Hamas on Wednesday called for worldwide "solidarity marches" over the weekend to protest a US plan endorsed by Israel to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

"We... call on the masses of our people, our Arab and Islamic nation, and the free people of the world to go out in massive solidarity marches" from Friday through Sunday to denounce "the plans to displace our Palestinian people from their land", Hamas said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump believes it would be "more majestic" for Palestinians to be moved out of Gaza, the White House said Wednesday, while acknowledging that Jordan's King Abdullah II had rejected the plan during talks a day earlier.

"The king would much prefer that the Palestinians stay in place," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a news briefing. "But the president feels it would be much better and more majestic if these Palestinians could be moved to safer areas."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II affirmed Wednesday the "unity" of their countries' positions on Gaza during a phone call on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump reiterated his plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza during a meeting with the Jordanian monarch in Washington.

"The two leaders stressed the importance of starting the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip immediately without displacing the Palestinian people from their land," a statement from Egypt's presidency said.

"They also stressed the need to stop the practices carried out by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in the West Bank."

(AFP)

Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are planning to hold a five-way summit, an Egyptian source tells Al Araby, as countries in the region try to respond to Trump's shock plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

The meeting will take place before the Arab League meeting on 27 February, the source said.

Germany's cabinet has decided in principle to deploy police forces for a European Union civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday.

The exact timing as well as the size of Germany's contribution to secure the key entry and exit point for the Palestinian territory was yet to be decided, the source added.

The European Union last month restarted the civilian mission with personnel from Spain, Italy and France to secure the crossing, which is also the main passage for humanitarian aid.

(Reuters)

US President Donald Trump asked Jordan's King Abdullah to ensure Hamas understands the "severity of the situation" if Israeli prisoners are not released by Saturday's deadline, the White House said on Wednesday.

"The president reiterated that Hamas must release all hostages, including all Americans, by Saturday, and asked for the King's assistance in ensuring that Hamas, as well as the leaders of the region, understand the severity of the situation," the White House said in a statement.

(Reuters)

United Arab Emirates' ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, said on Wednesday that the US approach to Gaza was "difficult".

"But at the end of the day, we're all in a solution-seeking business, we just don't know where it's going to land yet," he said during the World Government Summit in Dubai.

President Donald Trump said last week that the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, expel its population, and develop it economically, triggering outrage across the region.

Asked whether the UAE and the United States could find common ground on Gaza, the ambassador said his country was going to try.

Otaiba said the two countries could still hold talks and coordinate even if they might disagree on a certain issue.

"We are agile, we make our voices heard and we are very outspoken and unapologetic about this, so just like any relationship, sometimes our friends listen to us, sometimes they don't, sometimes we agree on certain positions, sometimes we disagree, we've always strived to find common ground," he said.

Hamas said today it will not accept threats from the US and Israel over the Gaza ceasefire, amid an impasse between the parties over the implementation of the deal.

"Our position is clear, and we will not accept the language of American and Israeli threats. Israel must commit to implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement for the release" of the hostages, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said in a statement.

(AFP)

The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that the fate of hostages held in the Gaza Strip is linked to the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The fate of the prisoners (hostages) held by the resistance is directly tied to Netanyahu's actions, for better or worse," the Al-Quds Brigades said in a video statement posted on its Telegram channel, after Netanyahu threatened to resume fighting in Gaza if militants do not release Israeli captives held in the territory by Saturday.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has insisted that Israel withdraw from the country by the 18 February deadline.

The Israeli army said earlier today that it would remain in the country until 28 February without confirming whether this had been agreed with the Lebanese government or the committee overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire.

European countries should put pressure on Israel to comply with the ceasefire agreement and leave the country by the agreed date, Aoun was quoted as saying by the Lebanese state news agency.

A Hamas negotiating team has arrived in Cairo to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, according to a statement from the group.

The delegation is being led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya.

The Palestinian group said on Monday that it had suspended the release of prisoners held in Gaza because of Israel's violation of the ceasefire.

It reiterated its commitment to the truce yesterday after Israel and the US threatened to resume the war. 

The deadline for the implementation of the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement has been extended, allowing Israeli troops to remain inside the country beyond 18 February, the Israeli military has said.

"The period of implementation of the agreement has been extended and the Israeli army remains deployed on the ground, preventing movement to the south," IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.

Under a ceasefire deal agreed in November between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli troops had until 26 January to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

The deal had already been extended until 18 February but Reuters reported earlier today that the Israelis had requested permission to leave troops in five locations until 28 February.

إعلان عاجل إلى سكان لبنان وخاصة الجنوب اللبناني!
🔸تم تمديد فترة تطبيق الاتفاق ولا يزال جيش الدفاع منتشرًا في الميدان ولذلك يمنع الانتقال جنوبًا.
🔸جيش الدفاع لا ينوي المساس بكم. من أجل سلامتكم يحظر عليكم العودة إلى منازلكم في المناطق المعنية حتى إشعار آخر.
🔸كل من يتحرك…

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee)

Israel has requested to keep its troops in five posts in southern Lebanon until 28 February, a Lebanese official and foreign diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday.

Under a ceasefire deal agreed in November between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli troops had until 26 January to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

The deal has already been extended until 18 February but the sources said Israel had requested an additional extension through the committee overseeing the ceasefire.

(Reuters)

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has praised Jordan's King Abdullah for his "brave and fraternal" rejection of Donald Trump's plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

"الخارجية" تثمن مواقف جلالة الملك عبد الله الثاني في واشنطن ومواقف الدول الرافضة لتهجير شعبنا

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs appreciates the positions of His Majesty King Abdullah II in Washington and the stances of the countries rejecting the displacement of our people.

ترحب…

— State of Palestine - MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa)

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will not travel to Washington for talks at the White House if the agenda includes US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said.

In a call between Trump and Sisi on 1 February, the US president extended an open invitation to Sisi to visit the White House, the Egyptian presidency previously said. No date has been set for any such visit, a US official said.

The Egyptian presidency and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump has infuriated the Arab world with a plan to permanently displace the population of more than 2 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claim US control of Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East". He has demanded Egypt and Jordan take in the Palestinians who would be expelled.

He discussed the plan during a visit by Jordanian King Abdullah to the White House on Tuesday, where the monarch appeared uncomfortable.

Egypt, one of the largest recipients of US military aid, shares a border with the Gaza Strip. Sisi has repeatedly said that Egypt would never participate in a large displacement of Palestinians across the border.

(Reuters)

Hamas has praised Jordan and Egypt for "rejecting displacement" plans for Gazans as proposed by US President Donald Trump.

Hamas "appreciates the positions of our brothers in Jordan and Egypt in rejecting displacement of our people and affirming that there is an Arab plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents," it said in a statement.

Jordan and Egypt have both rebuffed Trump's demands for them to absorb Gaza's 2.2 million population under his plan to occupy and 'redevelop' the territory.

Egypt plans to present an alternative reconstruction plan to the White House that doesn't involve the expulsion of the Palestinians.

(AFP)

Thirty-four UN experts have condemned Donald Trump's threat to take over Gaza as a "manifestly illegal" plan that would "shatter the most fundamental rules" of the international system.

"It is manifestly illegal to invade and annex foreign territory by force, to forcibly deport its population, and to deprive the Palestinian people of their inalienable right to self-determination," they wrote in a joint statement.

"It would return the world to the dark days of colonial conquest."

UN experts: proposal to ‘take over’ would shatter fundamental rules of international order & embolden other predatory countries to seize foreign territories, with devastating consequences for peace & globally.

— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts)

China reiterated its opposition to the forced displacement of Palestinians on Wednesday when asked about US President Donald Trump's plan to take over Gaza.

"Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is an integral part of the Palestinian territory... We oppose the forced displacement of the people of Gaza," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.

(AFP)

Mediators from Qatar and Egypt were "working intensively" to resolve the crisis surrounding the Gaza ceasefire deal, a Palestinian source told AFP on Wednesday,

Israel on Tuesday threatened to resume fighting if Hamas fails to release captives at the weekend.

Hamas had accused Israel of violating the truce and said it wouldn't participate in the next prisoner swap, but has since said it is committed to the ceasefire.

"Mediators from Qatar and Egypt are in contact with the American side... They are working intensively to resolve the crisis and compel Israel to implement the humanitarian protocol in the ceasefire agreement and begin negotiations for the second phase," said the source, on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the Gaza ceasefire.

(AFP)

At least one Palestinian has been killed and nine others injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to local Health Ministry.

Two bodies were also recovered from the rubble, the ministry said on Telegram.

The three deaths raised the overall death toll from Israel's war on Gaza to 48,222, it said. Some 111,674 have been injured.

The Israeli military said it conducted an air strike on Wednesday in the Gaza Strip, targeting two people attempting to retrieve a drone that had crossed into the Palestinian territory.

The military said the drone had flown from Israeli territory and was subsequently targeted by an Israeli warplane in southern Gaza.

(AFP)

South Africa will continue its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice despite pressure from the Trump administration, its foreign minister told The Financial Times.

There is "no chance" of the country withdrawing its case from the court, Ronald Lamola told the British newspaper.

"Standing by our principles sometimes has consequences, but we remain firm that this is important for the world, and the rule of law," he said.

The US president last week signed an executive order punishing South Africa for its "aggressive" actions towards Israel.

Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Israel and Qatar this week, according to Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth.

The Houthis are "ready to launch a military intervention" should Israel resume its attacks in the Gaza Strip, the leader of the Yemeni rebel group said on Tuesday.

"We are ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza," said Abdul Malik al-Houthi in a statement.

The Houthis intervened on the side of Hamas during the 15-month conflict by attempting to impose a trade embargo on Israeli ports and launching drones and missiles into Israel.

(AFP)

Saudi Arabia has condemned what it described as "extremist statements" by Israel regarding the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

The cabinet expressed its "categorical rejection of the extremist Israeli statements regarding the displacement of the brotherly Palestinian people from their land" during a meeting chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman yesterday.

The Saudi government also emphasised "the centrality of the Palestinian cause" to the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency�������ǰ��ٱ��.

This comes after remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he said "the Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia. They have a lot of land over there."

Hamas expressed in a����yesterday its "categorical rejection" of Trump's statements on the displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza.

It described his statements as "racist and a call for ethnic cleansing, aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and denying the national rights of our people".

"The plan to displace our people from Gaza will not succeed, and will be confronted with a unified Palestinian, Arab, and Islamic stance that rejects all displacement plans," the statement said.

It reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire deal, and blamed Israel for "any complications or delays".

Hamas had announced yesterday that the release of Israeli hostages��would be suspended indefinitely.

The Israeli army is reinforcing its forces near the Gaza Strip following a series of contradictory messages on the release of Israeli hostages and the continuation of the ceasefire deal. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a  that the ceasefire would end and fighting would resume if  "does not return our hostages by Saturday noon [10:00 GMT]".

The message came after earlier statements from an unnamed official who had said the security cabinet supported US President Donald Trump's demand for Hamas to release all hostages on Saturday. 

Another statement from an unnamed official said Israel expects all nine hostages, set to be released in the first phase of the deal, be released "within days", according to reports.

Egypt plans to "present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction" of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land, the Egyptian foreign ministry said late Tuesday.

The statement came a day after US President Donald Trump said he could "conceivably" halt aid to Egypt and Jordan if they refuse to cooperate with his plan to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its population to their countries.

The foreign ministry said Egypt "hopes to cooperate" with Trump's administration on the matter, with the goal of "reaching a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause".

It said its plan would provide for the reconstruction of Gaza "in a clear and decisive manner that ensures the Palestinian people stay on their land, and in line with the legitimate and legal rights of this people".

Read more here.

(AFP)

Hamas said on Tuesday that it was committed to the ceasefire deal in Gaza but said Israel had failed to "abide by its commitments" under the agreement.

"Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement that the [Israeli] occupation also committed to," the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.

"We affirm that the occupation is the party that did not abide by its commitments and is responsible for any complications or delays."

(AFP)

Israel threatened Tuesday to resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if prisoners were not released this weekend.

Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF [Israeli military] will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated".

(AFP)