Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

Egypt and Jordan believe they have successfully dissuaded US President Donald Trump from backing a forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and that the US has gotten behind an Egyptian post-war plan for the enclave, a senior Egyptian official told Middle East Eye.

“This will be an Egyptian plan adopted and supported by the Arabs,” the official said. “That is what Trump has agreed to.”

The Egyptian official, speaking to MEE on the condition of anonymity on Tuesday, said King Abdullah II of Jordan’s visit to Washington was critical to convincing Trump to ditch his plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians. Cairo and other Arab states viewed the outcome of Abdullah’s meeting as a win. 

“The closed meeting was very good,” the Egyptian official told MEE.

King Abdullah did not confront Trump publicly on his proposal to "take over" the Gaza Strip, but the Egyptian official said the king privately warned Trump his plan would provoke “Islamic extremism” and lead to the collapse of pro-US governments across the region.

Read more: Egypt says Trump backs its Gaza plan, convinced by Jordan's king

For the first time, an Israeli minister has admitted that Israel’s campaign to remove Palestinians from Gaza will rely on force rather than so-called "voluntary migration."

Far-right Likud Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi called the scheme a “deportation plan” in an online post, attacking attorney general Gali Baharav-Miara for allegedly demanding a legal review of the initiative.

This contradicts previous claims by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jewish Power leader and former government minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who have tried to present what critics condemn as "ethnic cleansing" as "voluntary migration."

The Israeli military said it attacked multiple weapons storage sites linked to the former Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad in southern Syria.

Footage released by Israel shows strikes on armoured vehicles and Syrian tanks reportedly used for storing weapons. The attack took place around 20 kilometres from Israel’s border.

Israel has repeatedly targeted military assets in Syria, saying it aims to prevent weapons from reaching groups it considers threats.

Princeton University receives millions of dollars worth of contracts from the US Department of Defence as well as weapons manufacturers, tying it to several sites of conflict around the world, including Gaza and Sudan, a new report released by an anti-war group has revealed. 

Several sources told Middle East Eye this week that the report is one of the first to showcase how modern American academia thrives as a US war machine service provider.

The report, published in early February and produced by a new anti-war group made up of independent researchers, comes on the heels of a student movement around the country that has called for universities to disclose and divest from companies purportedly profiting from the Israeli occupation and war on Gaza, which has been called a "genocide" by legal experts, human rights bodies and political leaders.

The student movement, considered by many observers as the largest since the anti-Vietnam War protest movement in the sixties and seventies, continues to face a severe crackdown from administrators, culminating in arrests, suspensions, as well as ongoing surveillance as university leadership leaned on a US political establishment determined to crush protests they label as antisemitic.

Read more: Princeton University implicated in Gaza and Sudan wars, report says

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has condemned Israel’s raids on schools operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in occupied East Jerusalem, calling them a violation of international law.

“The secretary-general condemns the breach of the inviolability of United Nations premises in occupied East Jerusalem, including the Unrwa training centre and the attempt to forcibly enter three Unrwa schools and seek their closure,” his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said at a press briefing.

Unrwa commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini said Israeli forces fired tear gas and sound bombs while 350 students and 30 staff members were inside.

“The use of tear gas and sound bombs in educational environments while students are learning is both unnecessary and unacceptable,” Dujarric added, stressing that Israel’s actions violate its legal obligations.

He also reiterated that “the inviolability of United Nations premises must be respected at all times”.

China has condemned attempts to use Gaza and the occupied West Bank as “bargaining chips in political trade-offs”, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations Security Council.

"China supports all efforts conducive to peace talks," Wang said, warning that the crisis in Gaza must not be sidelined while global attention remains on Ukraine.

Beijing has repeatedly criticised Israel’s actions, accusing it of far exceeding “self-defence” by killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and rendering Gaza uninhabitable.

Lebanon plans to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strike a deal on the country’s financial default and public debt, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Beirut’s move to the US-backed lender reflects how Lebanon’s new government is breaking with years of positions that Hezbollah advocated for, pulling the impoverished Mediterranean country away from Iran and Hezbollah’s grasp and towards the US. 

On Monday, Lebanon's government indefinitely suspended flights to and from Iran after Israel warned it could shoot them down, alleging Iran was using them to resupply Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army fired tear gas on Saturday at Hezbollah supporters protesting the move. 

The UN said a convoy of its peacekeepers was attacked going to Beirut's airport. The attack was blamed on Hezbollah supporters. The group appeared to try and distance itself from the attack. 

Read more: Lebanon going back to IMF, sidelining Hezbollah: Report

Two Israeli conscripts on holiday in Amsterdam were flown back to Israel after pro-Palestinian activists learned of their trip and sought to initiate legal action against them, the Times of Israel reports.

This marks the first time active-duty soldiers have faced such a situation, as past cases primarily involved reservists.

The pair had allegedly posted images on social media from their deployment in northern Gaza, some depicting blindfolded Palestinian detainees - evidence of crimes. They also shared updates about their trip to the Netherlands.

Once their identities were exposed online, Israeli authorities instructed them to stay in their hotel, fearing potential legal action or threats to their safety. The soldiers were quickly extracted and have since returned to Israel.

Lebanon’s Civil Defence has announced the recovery of 23 bodies from southern towns following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

"We recovered the bodies of 23 martyrs from towns in the south of the country after the Israeli forces withdrew from them," the Civil Defense stated.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned a US-Israeli proposal to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza, calling it a "foolish" scheme.

Speaking in Tehran alongside Ziyad al-Nakhalah, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, Khamenei dismissed the plan as doomed to fail.

“The idiotic American plans or some other plans regarding Gaza and Palestine will go nowhere,” he said, adding that no decision could be made without the consent of Gaza’s people and resistance forces.

His remarks follow reports that former US President Donald Trump suggested a US-led "takeover" of Gaza, which would see its Palestinian population expelled to Egypt or Jordan.

The proposal has been met with widespread condemnation, including from Arab governments and the UN, which warned against "ethnic cleansing".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set rigid conditions for the next phase of ceasefire negotiations, demanding Hamas’s disarmament, its removal from Gaza, and blocking the Palestinian Authority from any post-war role, according to the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu has sidelined the heads of Mossad, Shin Bet, and the Israeli army ceasefire coordinator, instead appointing his ally, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, to lead the Israeli delegation to Doha. Security officials have argued that a deal could have been reached sooner but was delayed due to political considerations.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will lead the next phase of negotiations over a captive release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported on Tuesday.

Previous talks were overseen by Mossad chief David Barnea. However, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that no approval has been given for an Israeli delegation to travel to Qatar for the negotiations.

Israel has permitted two bulldozers, bearing Qatari and Egyptian flags, to enter Gaza on Tuesday, an Al Jazeera reports.

This marks the first instance of heavy machinery reaching the devastated enclave since the mid-January ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

However, Israel has faced mounting criticism for obstructing essential reconstruction efforts by preventing the entry of vehicles needed to clear debris and restricting access to 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents.

Rebuilding Gaza and the West Bank after Israel’s devastating military assaults will require more than $50bn, according to a joint assessment by the United Nations, European Union, and World Bank.

The Interim Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment estimates that $53.2bn will be needed over the next decade, with at least $20bn required in the first three years.

France and the United States are trying to encourage Israel to fully withdraw from south Lebanon by suggesting the deployment of a peacekeeping force or even private security companies in strategic areas.

All Israeli troops were due to leave Lebanese territory by Tuesday, as the deadline passed for the full implementation of the ceasefire deal that brought an end to a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

While residential border towns are now free of Israeli soldiers, they nonetheless remain in five key areas of the south.

According to an American diplomatic source, Israel proposed to maintain control over these five points at least until 28 February to “supervise the safe return” of Israelis to their communities near the Lebanese border.

However, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has strongly rejected this proposal.

Read more: US proposes deploying military contractors in bid to make Israel leave Lebanon