Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

Mediators Qatar and Egypt were "working intensively" to resolve the crisis surrounding the Gaza ceasefire deal, a Palestinian source told AFP on Wednesday after Israel threatened to resume war.

"Mediators from Qatar and Egypt are in contact with the American side," said the source on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the Gaza ceasefire.

"They are working intensively to resolve the crisis and compel Israel to implement the humanitarian protocol in the ceasefire agreement and begin negotiations for the second phase," the source added.

The health ministry in Gaza said it recorded three more deaths in the past 24 hours, including one person killed in that period and two bodies recovered from the rubble.

The three confirmed killings raise the total death toll since 7 October 2023 to 48,222, it said in a statement, adding that 111,674 people have been injured in Israel’s war on Gaza.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health called for the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, a paediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, along with all medical staff detained by Israel, the Wafa news agency reported.

The ministry's call came after the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported that Abu Safia met his lawyer for the first time on Tuesday evening at Ofer Prison, 47 days after being "abducted" by Israeli forces.

His lawyer said that Dr Abu Safia was kept in solitary confinement for 25 days, subjected to electric shocks, beaten with sticks, and lost about 12 kilograms. The doctor also suffers from an enlarged heart muscle but has not been provided with treatment in Ofer Prison.

🚨 Today, our lawyer visited Dr. Abu Safiya in Ofer Prison. He detailed the torture and severe abuses he has endured since his unlawful arrest and arbitrary detention by Israeli forces and authorities.

We demand his immediate and unconditional release.⬇️https://t.co/1ghcgSmHh2

— Al-Mezan الميزان (@AlMezanCenter) February 11, 2025

The Palestinian Ministry of Health called for the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, a paediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, along with all medical staff detained by Israel, the Wafa news agency reported.

The ministry's call came after the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported that Dr Abu Safia met his lawyer for the first time on Tuesday evening at Ofer Prison, 47 days after being "abducted" by Israeli forces.

His lawyer said that Dr Abu Safia was kept in solitary confinement for 25 days, subjected to electric shocks, beaten with sticks, and lost about 12 kilograms. The doctor also suffers from an enlarged heart muscle but has not been provided with treatment in Ofer Prison.

🚨 Today, our lawyer visited Dr. Abu Safiya in Ofer Prison. He detailed the torture and severe abuses he has endured since his unlawful arrest and arbitrary detention by Israeli forces and authorities.

We demand his immediate and unconditional release.⬇️https://t.co/1ghcgSmHh2

— Al-Mezan الميزان (@AlMezanCenter) February 11, 2025

Arab League secretary-general Ahmed Aboul Gheit rejected on Wednesday any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, calling it "unacceptable" for the region.

"The focus today is on Gaza and tomorrow it will shift to the West Bank with the objective of emptying Palestine of its historical inhabitants," he said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

"It's unacceptable for the Arab world, which has fought this idea for 100 years."

Aboul Gheit was commenting on US President Donald Trump's plan to forcibly move Palestinians out of Gaza which has been widely condemned by the Arab world.

China on Wednesday reiterated its opposition to US President Donald Trump's plan to forcefully move Palestinians in Gaza elsewhere, AFP reported.

"Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is an integral part of the Palestinian territory... We oppose the forced displacement of the people of Gaza," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing. 

The UN’s humanitarian agency (Ocha) said over 2,300 children have been admitted for outpatient treatment of acute malnutrition in Gaza since 1 January.

This includes 1,966 children diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition and 403 children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition, according to a report by report by the organisation.

"While acute malnutrition was almost nonexistent in Gaza before the escalation of hostilities, lack of access to nutritious food and essential services over 15 months has led to the spread of acute malnutrition, particularly among children under two years," the agency said.

Between 12,000 and 14,000 people, including about 5,000 children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.

At least 70 Palestinians were arrested during a new Israeli raid on Al-Arroub camp, north of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Information Center reported. The organisation said Israeli forces abused Palestinians during field interrogations in the camp.

The Wafa news agency, citing local sources, said at least 12 people were arrested across various towns and villages in the West Bank, including those around Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarm, and Bethlehem.

قوات الاحتلال تنكل بعشرات المعتقلين بعد أن حققت معهم ميدانيا خلال اقتحام واسع لمخيم العروب شمالي الخليل. pic.twitter.com/uAsT7c56yM

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) February 12, 2025

More than 30 independent UN human rights experts condemned "shocking" threats by US President Donald Trump to take over and own Gaza and move the Palestinian population elsewhere, using military force if necessary.

“It is manifestly illegal to invade and annex foreign territory by force, to forcibly deport its population, and to deprive the Palestinian people of their inalienable right to self-determination,” the experts said in a joint statement.

“Such blatant violations by a major power would break the global taboo on military aggression and embolden other predatory countries to seize foreign territories, with devastating consequences for peace and human rights globally”.

UN experts: #US proposal to ‘take over’ #Gaza would shatter fundamental rules of international order & embolden other predatory countries to seize foreign territories, with devastating consequences for peace & #HumanRights globally.https://t.co/HGXAW8bPz6 pic.twitter.com/SbenPh1x0T

— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) February 11, 2025

Israel asked the Trump administration on Monday to further extend its withdrawal deadline from southern Lebanon, but a US official told The Times of Israel that the request was denied.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said Washington plans to stick to the 18 February deadline for now.

Israel was originally set to withdraw by late January under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah but had secured an extension to 18 February from the US following a previous request.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

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

• Israeli forces have raided the Arroub refugee camp, near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, and are carrying out “large-scale” arrests there, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

• North Korean state media denounced US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over Gaza and forcibly move Palestinians to another country as bluster and accused Washington of robbery.

• Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the doctor who Israel detained by Israeli forces outside the Kamal Adwan Hospital, in northern Gaza in December, has experienced physical abuse and other forms of torture, his lawyers said.

• Lebanon’s new prime minister Nawaf Salam slammed Trump’s Gaza plan in an interview with state television and called for solidarity from Arab states.

• Israeli forces arrested several Palestinians in the city of Tulkarm and sent more reinforcements to the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank amid its siege of the north.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

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

• The health ministry in Gaza said it recorded 11 more deaths in the past 24 hours, including three newly killed and eight bodies recovered.

• This raises the confirmed death toll from Israel's war on Gaza since 7 October to at least 48,219 with 111,665 others wounded.

• The United Nations estimates that more than $53bn will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and address the dire humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s war on Gaza.

• Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, has dismissed US President Donald Trump's proposal for the expulsion of two million Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan, arguing that they should be forced to relocate to "more distant countries" instead, Haaretz reported.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will resume its military assault on Gaza if Hamas does not release captives by noon on Saturday, effectively ending the current ceasefire.

• Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to open “the gates of hell” on Gaza after Hamas said it would suspend the release of captives after Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.

• US President Donald Trump has suggested that Jordan could face cuts to US aid if it refuses to accept displaced Palestinians, reported Reuters.

• Israeli officials have privately acknowledged that Hamas was correct in accusing Israel of breaching the ceasefire agreement, The New York Times has reported.

• Egypt has announced plans in a post on X to present a comprehensive proposal for rebuilding Gaza, ensuring Palestinians remain in their homeland despite ongoing Israeli aggression.

• Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump must remember that the only way to bring home Israeli captives is to respect the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

• Israeli far-right politicians welcomed US President Donald Trump's call for the cancellation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement if Hamas doesn't free all remaining captives by Saturday.

• Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday that Arab states rejected US President Donald Trump's widely condemned plan to forcibly displace Palestinians and take control of Gaza.

• UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Hamas on Tuesday to proceed with the planned release of Israeli captives after Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal and postponed further captive-prisoner exchanges.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will convene an emergency meeting to reaffirm the Palestinian people's "inalienable rights," member states have confirmed.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry stated that the gathering will address Palestinians’ right to self-determination and their sovereignty over their land.

The meeting will follow an emergency Arab Summit set to take place in Cairo on 27 February.

French President Emmanuel Macron has criticised Israeli proposals for Gaza, dismissing them as a "real estate operation" rather than a legitimate political solution.

"You cannot say to 2 million people, 'okay, now guess what? You will move,'" Macron told CNN in an interview recorded last week at the Elysee Palace.

Reaffirming his opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Macron said, "I always reiterated my disagreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I don't believe, once again, that such a massive operation targeting sometimes civilian people is the right answer."