Live: Israeli soldiers kill unarmed Palestinians as they surrender in Jenin

Israeli forces assaulted a young man during a raid on the town of Silat al-Harithiya near Jenin in the occupied West Bank early on Wednesday morning, according to Wafa news agency.

Local sources said that the soldiers stormed the town, raided and searched a house, and assaulted a young man, causing injuries and bruises that required his transfer to a hospital by ambulance.

The Israeli forces also seized a vehicle during a raid on the village of Jifna and closed the entrances to the village of Ni'lin, both located around Ramallah, the agency said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday that three people were killed and four were wounded in the past 24 hours.

The ministry said a total of 245 people have been killed, 627 wounded, and 532 recovered from the rubble since the ceasefire on 10 October 2025.

According to the ministry, the overall toll from the war since 7 October 2023 has risen to 69,185 dead and 170,698 wounded.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog received a letter from US President Donald Trump urging him to consider granting a pardon to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president's office said on Wednesday.

Netanyahu has been facing a long-running corruption trial, and Trump has repeatedly asked for a pardon for his close ally.

"While I absolutely respect the independence of the Israeli Justice System, and its requirements, I believe that this 'case' against Bibi, who has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran, is a political, unjustified prosecution," the letter says.

Israel’s defence minister said on Wednesday that he plans to shut down the publicly funded Army Radio station, in what he described as an attempt to preserve the military’s non-partisan character. 

Israel Katz said in a statement that he would soon submit a proposal to the country's government to close the station, and he expected it to end its broadcasts by 1 March.

Army Radio's chief, Tal Lev Ram, said the move was unexpected and not a professional process that prioritised the interests of Israeli soldiers.

"I intend to fight this grave decision by every means," he said.

Army Radio is one of two state-funded news outlets in Israel, the other being the public broadcaster Kan, which operates a television news channel and several radio news stations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has been critical of Army Radio and Kan, sometimes accusing them of being biased against state institutions.

Hello, Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Gaza and the wider region:

• French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank would be a "red line" and would provoke a European reaction.

• Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that Israel must withdraw from the territories it invaded after the fall of the Assad regime last year before any agreement can be signed between the two countries.

• Israeli forces have entered the village of Rasem al-Qata in the southern Quneitra countryside in Syria and established a military checkpoint, the Syrian News Agency reported.

• Israeli warplanes launched three air strikes on the northeast of Beit Lahia town, within the Green Line area, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Israeli authorities continue to prevent the entry of dozens of Unrwa vehicles into Gaza, including water tankers.

Our live blog will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning.

Here are the day's key developments:

- Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who played a key role in Gaza ceasefire negotiations and cultivated very close ties to US officials from his time as ambassador in Washington, has resigned from his position. 

- An Israeli official cited by the Times of Israel has denied a Yedioth Ahronoth report that the US and Israel have arrived at a plan to deport 200 Hamas fighters from Gaza. 

- Unicef said that Israel is blocking essential items, including 1.6 million syringes and solar-powered fridges used to store vaccine vials, from entering Gaza.

- The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said that 6,000 amputees require urgent rehabilitation. 

- With Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris on Tuesday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, the two sides have now announced the creation of a joint committee aimed at consolidating a Palestinian state.

- Mustafa Ayyash, the Palestinian journalist who founded the Gaza Now news outlet on social media, will be expelled by the Netherlands to Austria, raising fears he could then face a handover to Israeli authorities.

- Thirteen year old Aysam Mualla, who has been in a coma for the past month after inhaling tear gas from Israeli soldiers, has succumbed to his injuries in Beita, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. 

Yemen’s Houthis have suggested they would stop attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea following a ceasefire in Gaza, in a letter shared in a post on X that signalled the group is looking to move past the two-year conflict.

“You have presented to the entire world the greatest example of Islamic steadfastness,” a letter addressed to Hamas from the Houthi military’s chief of staff, Major General Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, said, adding that the group had defeated “the strongest empires of money, faith and technology”.

The undated letter, which was posted by the Houthis on Sunday, thanked Hamas for expressing condolences over the death of the Houthis’ military chief of staff, Major General Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari.

Read more: Houthis signal end of attacks on Israel and Red Sea vessels after Gaza ceasefire

The US is weighing a plan to build housing for thousands of "screened" Palestinians behind the so-called yellow line in Gaza, which is occupied by Israelitroops, according to a report by The Atlantic published on Monday. 

The US and Israeli officials working on the plan termed them as "Alternate Safe Communities". Palestinians would be screened for “anti-Hamas” sentiment before being granted entry into the compounds. 

The proposal was discussed in an email by US Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, who is heading the civil-military coordination centre overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, which has been marred by regular Israeli violations.

Read more: US plans 'temporary housing' in Gaza behind Israeli lines: Report

The Wafa news agency on Tuesday reported that 13-year-old Aysam Mualla, who has been in a coma for the past month after inhaling tear gas from Israeli soldiers, succumbed to his injuries in Beita, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. 

Mualla sustained his injuries when Israeli forces attacked Palestinian olive harvesters in the Jabal Qamas area of ​​Beita last month. 

An Israeli official cited by the Times of Israel on Tuesday has denied a Yedioth Ahronoth report that the US and Israel have arrived at a plan to deport 200 Hamas fighters from Gaza. 

Mustafa Ayyash, the Palestinian journalist who founded the Gaza Now news outlet on social media, will be expelled by the Netherlands to Austria, raising fears he could then face a handover to Israeli authorities, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

Ayyash was arrested in September and accused by prosecutors of funnelling money to Hamas. His lawyers deny the accusations. 

In a statement, Gaza Now said Ayyash "represents the free voice of Palestine, and any threat to his personal safety or press freedoms constitutes a violation of international laws concerning media freedom and journalist protection".

"The agency calls on the international community and human rights organizations to closely monitor his case and take necessary measures to ensure his safety and protection from any potential threat during the deportation process."

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who played a key role in Gaza ceasefire negotiations and cultivated very close ties to US officials from his time as ambassador in Washington, has resigned from his position, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with the US president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has resulted in a decision to "deport the 200 Hamas fighters trapped in the tunnels under Rafah". 

It's unclear whether Hamas was informed of the decision via mediators Egypt and Qatar. 

Kushner, who has been a close family friend of the Netanyahus since childhood, also reportedly met with Israeli-backed Palestinian militia leader Yasser Abu Shabaab during his stop at the joint US-Israeli command centre in Kiryat Gat, broadcaster Al-Arabiya said.

With Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris on Tuesday to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, the two sides have now announced the creation of a joint committee aimed at consolidating a Palestinian state, Reuters reported. 

Israeli settlers launched a large-scale arson attack this evening on industrial and agricultural areas east of Tulkarm, sparking major fires and injuring several Palestinians.

Witnesses told the Palestinian News and Information Agency that settlers set fire to multiple vehicles, including four trucks belonging to a dairy factory in Al-Lada’in industrial zone near Beit Lid, and caused damage to the facility itself.  Settlers also destroyed nearby farmland, metal sheds and tents used by a small Bedouin community living in the area.