Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

Oxfam says there has been an explosion of waterborne and infectious diseases in Gaza amid the lack of safe water and untreated sewage overflowing in the enclave’s streets.

It cited a study by the World Health Organization, which found that 88 percent of environmental samples surveyed across Gaza were found contaminated with polio, “signalling an imminent risk of outbreak”. It said infectious diseases, including acute watery diarrhoea and respiratory infections – now the leading causes of death, are also surging, with 46,000 cases, mostly children, being reported each week.

Chickenpox and skin diseases such as scabies and impetigo are also spreading rapidly, particularly among displaced populations in northern Gaza, facing severe water shortages.

“Rebuilding water and sanitation is vital for Gaza to have a path to normalcy after 15 months of horror. The ceasefire must hold and fuel and aid must flow so that Palestinians can rebuild their lives,” said Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator in Gaza.

The deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from areas across southern Lebanon has now passed, as postulated by the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement reached in November. 

Hours before the deadline, Israel's military said on Monday it would remain temporarily "in five strategic points" dotted along the length of the shared border in order to "continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat".

These areas  include a hill near Labbouneh, across from the Israeli border town of Shlomi; the Jabal Blat peak, across from Zar’it; a hill across from Avivim and Malki;, a hill across from Margaliot, and a hill across from Metula.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

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

• The deadline for all Israeli troops to leave southern Lebanon expires today under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, hours after Israel said it planned to remain in "five strategic locations".

• Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is “developing a comprehensive, multi-stage vision for early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza” that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.

• Israel is preparing to be given four bodies of captives on Thursday morning, as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Israeli media.

• Saudi Arabia's Riyadh will be the host to an Arab summit on Friday to discuss the response to Trump's proposal for a US takeover of Gaza and the forced displacement of its more than two million people.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

Our blog will soon be closing for the day. Here are some of today's main developments:

• Israeli forces are beginning to withdraw from southern Lebanon except from ‘five strategic locations’, hours before the deadline for its complete pullout from Lebanon as per the ceasefire deal reached last November.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh and discussed the Gaza ceasefire deal. He said that any deal on the future of the Strip must boost regional security.
• Families of Israeli captives have marched across Israel to mark the 500 days of captivity and call for a 500-minute fast in solidarity with the captives.
• Israeli troops stormed the town of al-Khader, located in the south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, firing sound bombs and toxic gas at nearby homes and shops.
• Israeli media reported that Israel is preparing to receive four dead bodies of captives from Gaza on Thursday, as part of the ceasefire deal.
• Israel has continued to block the entry of temporary housing into the Gaza Strip despite an agreement to allow it as part of the ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday, as the 39-year-old Saudi leader is catapulted to the intersection of a ring of conflicts stretching from Ukraine to Gaza that the Trump administration wants to turn a page on.

In Ukraine, Saudi Arabia has emerged as a convenient mediator for the Trump administration, a reflection of how quickly US foreign policy has pivoted in eastern Europe.

Saudi Arabia welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit in 2023 when the Biden administration was lobbying partners to shun the Russian leader.

Now, with Trump in office and the US’s Nato allies sidelined, Riyadh is the preferred neutral ground for the Kremlin and Washington to begin discussing an end to the war in Ukraine, historic talks that analysts say could rewrite the security architecture of Europe.

Read more: As Trump looks to turn page on Gaza and Ukraine, all roads lead to Riyadh

Israeli forces are beginning to withdraw from southern Lebanon, hours before the deadline for its complete pullout from Lebanon as per the ceasefire deal reached last November.

“Israeli forces are beginning to withdraw from border villages, including Meiss el-Jabal and Blida, as the Lebanese army advances,” an unnamed official was quoted as saying to AFP news agency on Monday.

Earlier, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani said that “based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon”.

This comes after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had raised concerns that a complete withdrawal would not be achieved.

On Monday, Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said that the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that any deal on the future of Gaza must boost regional security, during his meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman in Riyadh, according to the US State Department.

Rubio is currently visiting the Middle East after US President Donald Trump proposed to “own Gaza” and forcibly displace Palestinians in Gaza in different Arab countries. He has arrived from Israel accompanied by national security advisor Mike Waltz and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

He met with the Saudi crown prince ahead of talks expected on Tuesday with a Russian delegation in the Saudi capital.

According to a State Department statement, the 500-day-old Israel’s war on Gaza dominated discussions between the two leaders.

It added that the two leaders “reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring that Hamas releases all hostages, including American citizens”.

“The secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” the statement added.

Earlier, a Saudi official statement said that Rubio and the crown prince “discussed regional and international developments” and “efforts to assure security and stability in the region”.

Israeli troops stormed the town of al-Khader on Monday, located in the south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reported.

The agency said that sound bombs and toxic gas have been fired at nearby homes and shops.

No casualties have been reported so far.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has discussed with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans for Gaza.

In their meeting in Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh, the two leaders discussed “regional and global developments and efforts to achieve security and stability”, according to the Saudi news agency.

“The secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

They both reaffirmed their commitment to the Gaza ceasefire deal reached last month between Israel and Hamas and also talked about Syria, Lebanon and the Red Sea.

Rubio is currently visiting the Middle East after US President Donald Trump suggested that Palestinians be forcibly displaced to other Arab nations and that the US would “own” Gaza.

Israel is preparing to be given four bodies of captives on Thursday morning, as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Israeli media.

Hamas is meant to name the dead captives on Thursday morning, and then ambulances will meet where the bodies will be transferred for identification.

Three living captives are planned to be freed on Saturday as per the deal's first stage.

A man has been wounded by live ammunition in confrontations with the Israeli forces, south of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

Israel has launched an operation called “Operation Iron Wall” with the aim of tightening its grip on resistance strongholds in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli military attacks in the occupied West Bank have intensified since the Gaza ceasefire was implemented last month. An estimated 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the operation began, according to the UN.

Widespread support for the idea of transferring the population of Gaza to other countries, alongside the notion that “there are no innocent people” in the Palestinian enclave, constitute a betrayal of every moral principle that should guide a people who endured the Holocaust.

All those who support the “voluntary migration” proposal should understand: the Palestinian people are not going anywhere.

The fact that polls show overwhelming support among Jewish Israelis for the idea of expelling Palestinians from Gaza is horrifying, and it demands deep soul-searching - especially for a people who suffered the barbarities of the Holocaust, racism and mass murder.

Their willingness today to adopt a concept that echoes these horrors reflects a serious moral distortion.

Read more: Gaza transfer plan: The banality of ethnic cleansing

Protesters in Israel have taken to the streets in different parts of the country, asking for an extension for the ceasefire in Gaza so that more captives could be released.

Demonstrators have blocked main intersections in Tel Aviv. Some protesters have planned to fast for 500 minutes (8.3 hours) to express solidarity, as 500 days have passed since the captives were taken on 7 October 2023.

“All I care about, all I want, is for my friends to return. There were six of us living in unbearable conditions in a 6-square-metre (65-square-foot) space. I got out, but they are still there,” said Ohad Ben Ami, an Israeli captive who was released last week.

Israel said its forces would stay in five strategic points in southern Lebanon along its northern border. 

The announcement comes one day before the Israeli army was to fully withdraw from Lebanon under the terms of the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire agreement.

"Based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so we can continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists on Monday.

Iran condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to "finish the job" against the country as a breach to international law and the UN Charter in a press conference on Monday. pic.twitter.com/dDaplG9g2w

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