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

Evening recap

20 February 2025 23:48 GMT

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

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

  • Gaza's health ministry said that 22 bodies were recovered over the past 24 hours and brought to hospitals, bringing the total number of killed in Israel's war to 48,319.

  • Additionally, 16 injured people were hospitalised, bringing the total to 111,749 since 7 October, 2023.

  • Israeli forces are dropping leaflets across Gaza in an attempt to spread fear and intimidation among the civilian population and cause psychological distress. The messages are direct threats of mass displacement and Trump’s plan to "ethnically cleanse" Gaza.

  • Over 590,000 children in Gaza are set to receive polio vaccinations, as Save the Children says "tens of thousands of children have missed routine immunizations" due to Israel's war.

  • Amy Pope, head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), condemned the devastation inflicted on Gaza after visiting the southern part of the enclave on Thursday.

  • The Israeli military said a convoy carrying the coffins of four captives, including what Hamas reported as the bodies of the Bibas family, entered Israel from Gaza on Thursday.

  • Hamas said that al-Qassam and other groups in Gaza "did everything in their power" to protect the captives, but Israel's bombing campaign on the strip "prevented the rescue" of all the captives, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

  • US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, expressed cautious optimism on Thursday regarding negotiations for the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire despite significant obstacles.

  • Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen outlet has reported that Israeli air strikes hit near Homs in Syria and the Aakar District in northern Lebanon, close to the Syrian border. The Israeli army has yet to comment.

  • The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has adopted a resolution supporting Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, revealred The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

  • The resolution followed extensive discussions between CPAC leaders and Yesha Council head Israel Ganz, who likened the move to the historic "Balfour declaration".