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

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is ready to present its Gaza reconstruction plan that ensures Palestinians remain on their land. 

Abdelatty said Egypt will present its plan to the emergency Arab summit on 4 March. 

The Egyptian counter-reconstruction plan, according to Abdelatty, will not be purely Egyptian or Arab but will gain international support and funding to ensure its successful implementation.

"We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit," Abdelatty said in a presser with the European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.

Abdelatty said Europe’s role, especially in the economic aspect of rebuilding the war-torn enclave, is critical.

When asked about the second phase of the ceasefire deal, Abdelatty said Egypt will continue its intensive efforts to ensure the ceasefire is maintained and negotiations for the second phase can begin.

He stressed the importance of safely executing the ceasefire agreement signed in January, emphasising its commitment to ensuring its proper implementation.

"The first phase has concluded successfully, and now we must shift to discussions on the second phase, which is key to sustaining the ceasefire," he said.

"Naturally, it will be difficult, but with goodwill and political determination, it can be achieved."

The Israeli military claimed responsibility for an air strike in northern Gaza targeting people it suspected of "planting an explosive device" near its soldiers. 

Earlier, the Shehab News Agency reported that an Israeli drone attack in northern Gaza killed one person and injured another. 

This latest attack comes after Israel and Hamas failed to agree on the next phase of the ceasefire deal. 

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed for Palestinians and wounded five others on Sunday. 

The Palestinian Shehab News Agency said an Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. 

The agency added that another Israeli strike killed a woman in the town of Abasan al-Kabira in southern Gaza, with another Palestinian killed in the city of Rafah. 

Hamas said Israel's decision on Sunday to suspend goods shipments into Gaza affects the ceasefire negotiation track, adding that the Palestinian group does not respond to pressure.

"This decision complicates matters and affects the negotiation process, and Hamas doesn't respond to pressures," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement on Sunday morning confirming that Israel had blocked the entry of all goods into Gaza. 

The move, which coincides with the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, came after Hamas refused to accept the extension of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. 

“With the end of phase one of the hostage deal, and in light of Hamas’ refusal to accept the [US envoy Steve] Witkoff outline for continuing the talks – to which Israel agreed, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that starting this morning all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease.

“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences."

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed the decision by Israel to suspend humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

Describing the move as the "right decision", Smotrich also called for renewed fighting in the besieged enclave "until total victory" against Hamas. 

“The decision … to completely stop the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are freed is an important step in the right direction,” he wrote on Telegram.

Israel’s military should “open [the] gates [of hell] as quickly and violently as possible against the merciless enemy until total victory”.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers,

Israel has agreed to adopt a proposal by Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.

The news came as the first phase of the ceasefire was set to expire on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan. 

But an agreement has not yet been reached between Israel and Hamas.

Here is what else has happened:

• Israeli drones and fighter jets were flying at a low level over the Jabalia refugee camp and other areas in northern Gaza.

• The European Union expressed "grave concern" over Israeli military action in the occupied West Bank, which has destroyed "vital civilian infrastructure".

• Israeli soldiers entered the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque as Palestinians performed their evening prayers.
   

Israel has agreed to adopt a proposal by US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, the prime minister's office has announced.

"On the first day of the plan, half of the living and deceased hostages will be released," it said, adding that the remaining captives would be freed "if an agreement on a permanent ceasefire is reached."

The news has come as the first phase of the ceasefire was set to expire on the first day of Ramadan. 

Netanyahu's office said Hamas has so far refused the proposal, but the Palestinian group has not yet issued a statement on it.

The temporary ceasefire would last for the Ramadan and Passover periods.

Israeli settlers have launched an attack in the town of Bruqin in the occupied West Bank, attacking homes and vehicles.

The governorate of Salfit in the West Bank said that dozens of settlers attacked the town's outskirts under the protection of the Israeli military, which fired live bullets.

No injuries have been reported.

Israeli soldiers have entered the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem as Palestinians perform evening prayers, according to local media. No clashes have been reported so far.

This comes after Hamas called on Friday for a a "large mobilisation" to resist Israeli restrictions in the Al-Aqsa compound during Ramadan.

In a statement published on the group's Telegram channel, senior Hamas Member Abdul Rahman Shadid urged Palestinians not to "surrender to the expected restrictions of the occupation" and "confront them with all our strength and adhere to our historical and religious right to the blessed mosque".

Israeli officials involved in ceasefire negotiations have insisted it is possible to reach an agreement on the next stages with Hamas, Israeli media has reported.

They said a mutually agreed-upon framework between Israel and Hamas for phase two of the ceasefire will require significant involvement from mediators, particularly Qatar and the US, according to Haaretz.

US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will not be visiting the region early next week as had been expected, according to Israel's army radio.

This adds further uncertainty to the status of the ceasefire in Gaza, with the first phase having finished on Saturday with no agreement on a second phase reached between Israel and Hamas. 

Israeli drones and fighter jets have been flying at low level over the Jabalia refugee camp and other areas in northern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

The drones and jets reportedly scared Palestinians in those areas as they broke their fast.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold a security cabinet meeting as uncertainty looms over the status of the ceasefire in Gaza. 

This comes as UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has urged all parties to work to find a way forward on the next phase of the ceasefire.

"A permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages are essential to preventing escalation and averting more devastating consequences for civilians," Guterres said.

"As Ramadan – a time of peace and reflection – begins, the secretary-general calls on all sides to spare no efforts to end all violence. The United Nations stands ready to support all such endeavours."

Israeli negotiators returned home from Cairo on Friday after no progress was reportedly made on talks surrounding the second phase.

Hamas has said it is ready to proceed with the next stages of the ceasefire - as the first phase has ended with uncertainty over what is to come.

"We affirm our keenness to complete the remaining stages of the ceasefire agreement, leading to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction and lifting the siege," Hamas said in a letter to the Arab League summit that will be held on Tuesday.

It added: "We categorically reject the attempt to impose any non-Palestinian projects or forms of administration or the presence of any foreign forces on the territory of the Gaza Strip," saying it the group is willing "to cooperate with any initiative that would counter attempts to displace our people from the Gaza Strip and reconstruct the Strip without prejudice to Palestinian rights".