Live Blog Update| Israel's genocide in Gaza
This is an entry from: Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

Evening recap

8 February 2025 23:42 GMT

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

Our blog will soon be closing for the day. Here are some of today's main developments:

  • The Palestinian health ministry reported 26 fatalities, including four newly killed and 22 bodies recovered, as well as five wounded people arriving at hospitals in the past 48 hours, according to Al Jazeera.

  • Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with acting Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and two other leaders of the Palestinian group for the first time since the Gaza ceasefire, Iranian state media reported on Saturday.

  • Seven Palestinian prisoners who were among those freed by Israel on Saturday as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal were admitted to hospitals upon arriving in Ramallah, the Palestinian Prisoners Society told AFP.

  • The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has reported that most detainees freed under the ongoing ceasefire deal are suffering from serious health complications due to their treatment in Israeli prisons.

  • Egypt on Saturday condemned the "irresponsible" statements made by Israeli officials suggesting the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory, according to a statement from Egypt's foreign ministry.

  • Hamas has condemned US sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying the move reflects the Trump administration's approach to "promote the law of the jungle".

  • Unexploded bombs and shells buried beneath the ruins of Gaza could kill or injure thousands of people in the future, an aid organisation has warned.

  • An Israeli drone strike on a Hezbollah site in eastern Lebanon has killed six people and wounded two others, according to Lebanese state media.

  • The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has accused Israel of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in the northern occupied West Bank and urged the international community to take decisive action to halt its crimes against refugee camps.

  • Hamas has handed over three Israeli captives to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, as shown on live TV.