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

Morning Update

19 February 2025 05:50 GMT

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the latest updates on Israel's war on Gaza:

  • The director of Unrwa affairs for the occupied West Bank said the UN agency "stands firm in the face of intimidation" against its services in East Jerusalem and committed to stay and deliver and to continue critical services for Palestine refugees.

  •  Israeli forces have destroyed 50 homes and 300 shops in the Tulkarm refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and forcibly displaced 11,000 of the camp’s 15,000 population in just 23 days, an official from the camp, told Wafa news agency.

  • An investigation by The Associated Press found that the Israeli military’s use of AI tools from Microsoft and OpenAI “skyrocketed”, but that the way these systems select targets can go wrong because of faulty data or flawed algorithms.

  • A Hamas spokesman, Hazem Qassem said the group is ready to free all Israeli captives "in one go" within the criterion of reaching "an agreement that leads to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from the Strip" in the second phase of the ceasefire.

  • Hamas rejected Israel’s call for its disarmament and removal from the Gaza Strip, calling the demand an "unacceptable" and "ridiculous psychological war" in a statement.

  •  A group of nine human rights experts have denounced Hamas for a “degrading public display” of Israeli captives and condemned Israel’s "inhumane" mistreatment and abuses of Palestinian detainees.