Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners
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Karim al-Madhoun, an 8-year-old Palestinian child suffering from severe malnutrition and cerebral palsy, died in Gaza on Sunday, according to an Instagram post by Eye on Palestine.
"Karim left this world without receiving the treatment he desperately needed," the publication said.
Footage shared by journalist Hassan Salih on the blog’s post shows Karim’s emaciated body as his mother appealed for help before his death.
"He has been suffering from malnutrition for a long time due to being displaced from one area to another since the beginning of the war," she said.
Karim required a special nutritional diet, along with formula, daily medication, and vitamins, to stabilise his condition.
Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after US President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defence ministry said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said he lifted a Biden-era block on the export of the bombs to Israel despite a ceasefire agreement being in place because he believed in "peace through strength."
"They contracted for the weapons a long time ago with the Biden administration, and then Biden wouldn't deliver the weapons. But I look at it differently. I say, 'peace through strength,'" Trump told reporters after returning to West Palm Beach, Florida, after a short trip to Daytona Beach.
"They were sitting there. Nobody knew what to do with them. They bought them."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Palestinians should be given the choice to leave Gaza.
Speaking to Jewish American organisations gathered in Jerusalem, Netanyahu again praised US President Donald Trump's plan to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza.
"Give them a choice. Not forcible eviction. Not ethnic cleansing," he said.
Human rights groups warned that Trump's plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from Gaza and transform the territory into a luxury development project indicates an intent to escalate ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
The Hind Rajab Foundation said on Sunday that it has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar ahead of his Brussels visit.
"Sa’ar is a co-perpetrator alongside Netanyahu, responsible for mass displacement, starvation, and persecution of Palestinians," the human rights organisation said on X.
"He is visiting Brussels on Feb 18, Belgium must act under international law. No impunity for war criminals!"
The Belgium-based rights group has been pursuing war crimes charges against Israeli state officials, senior commanders, as well as lower-ranking soldiers across the globe.
🚨 🚨 The #HindRajabFoundation has filed an ICC complaint against Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar ahead of Brussels visit.
— The Hind Rajab Foundation (@HindRFoundation) February 16, 2025
Sa’ar is a co-perpetrator alongside Netanyahu, responsible for mass displacement, starvation, and persecution of Palestinians.
He is visiting Brussels… pic.twitter.com/BE4de4Ln00
The Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a petition to publish the full text of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, ruling that the government is entitled to conduct secret diplomacy, The Times of Israel reported.
The court said publishing the details would endanger the deal’s implementation and that the public’s right to know was not absolute.
The Israel Democracy Guard (IDG) filed the petition, arguing that Israeli citizens have the right to know the nature of the agreement, which was only partly made public.
IDG also argued that security risks regarding the deal’s publication are irrelevant since Hamas is already fully aware of the terms of the agreement it signed.
Sagui Dekel Chen, a dual US-Israeli citizen who was held captive in Gaza, is now back home after being released by Hamas, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a tweet.
“Sagui is home!” Rubio said. “American Sagu2i Dekel Chen and two more hostages were released by Hamas in Gaza thanks to POTUS’ strength and leadership".
Hamas released three Israeli captives on Saturday and Israel released over 300 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange, in the latest swap under a fragile ceasefire deal.
Sagui is home! American Sagui Dekel Chen and two more hostages were released by Hamas in Gaza thanks to @POTUS' strength and leadership. STAY STRONG EDAN - we will have you home soon!
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) February 16, 2025
Israeli forces raided part of Israel’s Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank and attacked prisoners after a riot, according to a statement by the Prisoners Media Office.
“Prisoners were beaten and sprayed with gas,” the Prisoners Media Office said.
Ofer Prison is the only Israeli prison in the West Bank and the central release point for Palestinian prisoners who are freed as part of the ceasefire deal.
Prisoner rights groups say Adnan al-Brush, a Palestinian surgeon and professor of orthopaedic medicine arrested at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, was killed by torture at the Israeli prison.
The head of Hezbollah said on Sunday that Israeli troops must withdraw from Lebanese territory in full by 18 February deadline, saying it had "no pretext" to maintain a military presence in any post in southern Lebanon.
Under a truce brokered by Washington in November, Israeli troops were granted 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
That deadline was later extended to 18 February, but Israel's military requested that it keep troops in five posts in southern Lebanon, sources told Reuters last week.
In a recorded televised speech, Hezbollah secretary general Naim Qassem said: "Israel must withdraw completely on 18 Feb, it has no pretext, no five points or other details... this is the agreement."
At least 20 Palestinians, including four schoolchildren, were wounded by Israeli fire on Sunday during a military raid of Nablus and al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank.
The raids took place in the afternoon, a time when streets were crowded and students were getting ready to return home from school.
Israeli special forces stormed the Old City of Nablus and surrounded a house, backed by additional military reinforcements in the area.
A widely circulated video shows a student, wearing his backpack, wounded on the ground and unable to get up. He is then seen crawling across the floor, while another person drags a bleeding individual past him.
Journalist Samer Khuwaira, from the city, told Middle East Eye that Israeli forces raided the eastern market, immediately occupying more than 20 houses.
Read more: Four Palestinian schoolchildren wounded by Israeli fire in Nablus raid
An Israeli negotiating team will fly to Cairo on Monday to discuss continuing the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday.
The security cabinet will assemble on Monday and will update the delegation with instructions regarding the second phase of the ceasefire, the statement read.
An Israeli air strike hit near the village of Harbata in the Baalbek District in northeastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, This is Lebanon reported.
Earlier today, The National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli forces shot and killed a woman in a southern Lebanese border town, as residents were returning home.
الطيران الحربي الاسرائيلي شن غارة على #البقاع الشمالي pic.twitter.com/NT2PMowye4
— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) February 16, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a meeting of the security cabinet on Monday to discuss the second phase of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal, his office said.
Netanyahu informed US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, about the meeting, the office said in a statement on Sunday, adding that "he will convene the security cabinet meeting tomorrow to discuss the second phase of the agreement".
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that talks on phase two of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would continue this week "at a location to be determined" to figure out how to reach a successful conclusion.
He told Fox News that he had "very productive and constructive" calls on Sunday with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt's director of intelligence.
Witkoff said they spoke about "the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand ... where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully."
Reporting by Reuters
Gaza's interior ministry issued a statement condemning the Israeli strike on Rafah that killed three Palestinian policemen.
“The ministry … condemns this crime and calls upon the mediators and the international community to compel the occupation to stop targeting the police force, which is a civil apparatus,” it said in a statement.
The officers were killed while trying to secure the entry of aid trucks into Gaza.
The Israeli army said it had targeted armed individuals who were approaching soldiers deployed in the area. It added that "hits were identified".
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories during a call on Sunday.
Macron reaffirmed his rejection of calls to displace Palestinians from Gaza and the two discussed the importance of boosting humanitarian aid flows to the strip, securing the ceasefire, installing the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and plans for reconstruction.
