Live: Trump threatens Gaza residents with death as his team holds direct talks with Hamas about captives

Israeli troops arrested five Palestinians from Bal’a, east of Tulkarem, after storming their homes at dawn, Wafa news agency reported.

Meanwhile, early reports indicate that more Palestinians were seized in a fresh overnight raid on Qalqilya.

Footage also captures Israeli forces detaining two young men during an incursion into Beit Kahil, north of Hebron.

The leaders of South Africa, Malaysia, and Colombia have called for an end to Israel’s unchecked violations of international law, warning that failure to act could lead to its total collapse.

In a joint article for Foreign Policy, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro declared, “The choice is stark: Either we act together to enforce international law or we risk its collapse.”

They compared Israel’s assault on Palestinians to their own nations’ histories of colonial oppression, counterinsurgency, and apartheid.

“We may hail from different continents, but we share the conviction that complacency is complicity in such crimes,” they wrote, stressing that the struggle for Palestinian self-determination is a global responsibility.

The article was co-authored by Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, chair of The Hague Group, which unites eight countries working to hold Israel accountable, including South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

The Times of Israel, citing an unnamed Israeli official, reports that Israel is presenting Hamas with three options:

• Extend the ceasefire’s first phase and continue releasing Israeli captives.
• Move to a second phase, where Israel halts its assault in exchange for Hamas releasing all remaining captives, disarming, exiling its leaders, and surrendering control of Gaza.
• Reject these terms and face an intensified war.

The official warned that if Hamas refuses to comply, Israel will escalate its military campaign with increased support from Washington. “It would be different,” the source said, boasting of “a new defence minister, a new chief of staff, all the weapons we need, and full legitimacy, 100 percent, from the Trump administration.”

Reiterating Israel’s genocidal intent, the official added, “The gates of hell will be opened.”

Speaking at an event organised by the American Jewish Committee in Washington, Steve Witkoff revealed that the US plans to hold a summit with major real estate developers to discuss Gaza’s future, according to Bloomberg News.

He claimed the meeting would include top developers from the Middle East and “lots of master planners,” suggesting people would be “amazed” by the ideas presented.

His remarks follow Trump’s widely condemned proposal to seize Gaza and turn it into a beach resort after displacing Palestinians.

Critics argue this amounts to ethnic cleansing. While Witkoff denied the US was planning an “eviction” of Palestinians, he insisted it was unrealistic for them to remain in Gaza over the next decade as it is “rebuilt.”

He further suggested that unnamed countries were offering to help relocate Palestinians under the guise of “humanitarian” assistance.

Hamas has strongly denounced Israel’s latest airstrikes on Syria, calling them “a blatant attack on Syrian sovereignty.”

It described the raids as yet another act of aggression in Israel’s ongoing campaign against Arab nations.

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

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

• Israeli media reported that the remaining Palestinian detainees and bodies of captives set for release in the first phase of the Gaza deal could be exchanged as early as this evening after mediators intervened to resolve Israel’s delay.

• Unicef announced that health workers in Gaza have vaccinated over 586,000 children against polio in just four days, reaching 99 percent of their target.

• Israeli forces continued their assault on the occupied West Bank, wounding more Palestinians and threatening to demolish additional homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp.

• Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, praised progress in the Gaza truce talks and suggested he might join negotiations on Sunday “if it goes well.”

• The leaders of South Africa, Malaysia, and Colombia co-authored a joint article demanding an end to Israel’s impunity for its violations of international law.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

Hamas said on Tuesday it reached an agreement in Cairo on a solution to end the delay of releasing of Palestinian prisoners. 

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Egypt should control the Gaza Strip as part of his post-war plan for the enclave. Egypt later told a Saudi-backed news channel that it would not govern Gaza. 

Meanwhile, Two Palestinians were injured by Israeli military fire in Nablus in the occupied West Bank and Lebanese media reported two Lebanese killed by an Israeli strike. 

Here is what else you need to know: 

• The leaders of South Africa, Malaysia and Colombia issued a sharp rebuke of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians and breaking international law
• US President Donald Trump said that Qatar wants to "end this whole mess in the Middle East", and that Qatar and fellow Gulf state Saudi Arabia treat the US well
• The Israeli military opened fire at boats off the coast of Gaza, forcing them to return to the shore

The US reaffirmed on Wedneday that an Arab post-war plan for Gaza must remove Hamas from the enclave. 

“Hamas must be eliminated,” acting US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea said.

“Any plan for reconstruction in Gaza must ensure Hamas is fully removed from power and held accountable for its October 7 terrorist massacre," she said. 

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Qatar wants to "end this whole mess in the Middle East", and that Qatar and fellow Gulf state Saudi Arabia treat the US well. 

Trump also expressed satisfaction with the situation in the region, saying the Middle East is "doing relatively well".

He said the Gulf states want to end the "chaos" in the region. 

Hamas said on Tuesday it reached an agreement in Cairo on a solution to end the delay of releasing of Palestinian prisoners.

In a social media post on X, the group said it agreed that Palestinian prisoners will be simultaneously released with the bodies of the killed Israeli captives who were set to be handed over during the first phase of the ceasefire. 

US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was scheduled to go to the Middle East this week but cancelled those plans. 

According to the Times of Israel on Tuesday, Witkoff will travel to the region next week. 

Egyptian sources have told Saudi state-owned Al Arabiya news that they will not agree to a post-war plan floated by Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday that Cairo govern the Gaza Strip for eight years.

“Egypt will not be led by an attempt to administer Gaza," Al Arabiya reported, citing an Egyptian source. 

Egypt is working on a post-war plan for Palestinians to govern the enclave. 

The leaders of South Africa, Malaysia and Colombia issued a sharp rebuke of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians and breaking international law in a letter published by Foreign Policy magazine on Tuesday. 

"The assault against the Palestinian people echoes dark chapters in our own countries’ histories - South Africa under apartheid, Colombia during counterinsurgency, and Malaysia under colonial rule," they wrote. 

The leaders said Israel has "systematically violated" international law in Gaza. 

"Just as the international community once united to dismantle apartheid in South Africa - through similarly coordinated legal, economic, and diplomatic pressure - we must now unite to enforce international law and protect the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination," they added. 

The letter was also authored by Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the acting chair of the Hague Group.

The Israeli military on Tuesday said it opened fire at boats off the coast of Gaza, forcing them to return to the shore.

The Israeli military also said it opened fire on people who “posed a threat to them” in Gaza. 

A Palestinian man died from wounds he sustained during Israeli gunfire in an attack on Nablus in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Tuesday. 

Israeli soldiers shot the man during a raid on the city. Israeli forces fired live ammunition, tear gas, and sound bombs during the raid. At least, 11 people were injured.