Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

Switzerland has opened a criminal investigation into a "suspected Israeli war criminal on its soil," the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgium-based advocacy and accountability organisation, has said.

In a statement on X, HRF said the probe was based on a complaint it had filed.

“The complaint provides extensive evidence implicating the individual in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including attacks on civilians, destruction of homes and hospitals, forced displacement, and other grave violations of international law committed in the Gaza Strip,” it added.

🚨🚨 Switzerland has opened a criminal investigation into a suspected Israeli war criminal on its soil, following a complaint from the #HindRajabFoundation.
The HRF urges Swiss authorities to pursue this case with earnestness and vigour.
more info ⬇️https://t.co/AvutORpjBQ pic.twitter.com/ZblfN2gm90

— The Hind Rajab Foundation (@HindRFoundation) February 5, 2025

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned that the suffering of people in Gaza "is beyond imagination," with icy temperatures and lack of heating and winter clothing putting children at risk of respiratory illnesses.

Faten Abu Mousa, the aid agency’s child protection manager in the occupied Palestinian territory, said families are struggling to access basic needs with winter clothing sold at prohibitively high prices.

“Winter in Gaza has always been harsh, but this year’s suffering is beyond imagination for displaced families,” said Abu Mousa.

US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on whether the ceasefire deal in Gaza will reach the second stage, while his Middle East envoy has ruled out reaching stage three in its current conception. 

During a press conference on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump told reporters: “I can't tell you whether or not the ceasefire will hold. 

“We've done, I think, a very masterful job. We weren't helped very much by the Biden administration. I can tell you that. But we've gotten quite a few hostages out.”

He said that more Israeli captives would be released, but “we’re dealing with very complex people and we are going to see whether or not it holds”. 

The Israeli premier described the deal as a “temporary ceasefire” during the conference, and said Israel could not leave Hamas to “continue the battle to destroy Israel”. 

Read more: Gaza ceasefire in jeopardy as Trump casts doubt on phase two and three

Jordanians have unequivocally rejected Donald Trump's plans to forcibly expel Palestinians from Gaza, after the US president announced that his administration would "take over" the enclave, relocate its inhabitants elsewhere and turn the territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

In shocking remarks, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said: "We're going to take over that piece, we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs and it'll be something the entire Middle East can be very proud of.

"If we could find the right piece of land, pieces of land, and build them [Palestinians in Gaza] some really nice places ... I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza."

He later added that he was confident that US allies Jordan and Egypt would "open their hearts and give us the kind of land that we need to get this done".

Initially, it was unclear how the US would persuade Palestinians to leave voluntarily, who would ultimately benefit from the redevelopment efforts and whether Israel might eventually assume sovereignty over Gaza. The Geneva Conventions, which both the US and Israel have ratified, prohibit the forcible relocation of populations.

Read more: Jordanians reject Trump's plan to 'take over' Gaza and expel Palestinians

Gaza's death toll has risen after hospitals received 12 more bodies in the last 24 hours, the enclave's health ministry said today.

Eight of the bodies were retrieved from rubble and four were people who succumbed to injuries sustained in previous Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since 7 October 2023 now stands at 47,552, with another 111,629 injured.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has condemned US President Donald Trump's proposal for the US to "take over Gaza" and to displace Palestinians from their homeland, saying that international law is "very clear" and that any forcible transfer from the territory is "strictly prohibited".

"It is crucial that we move towards the next phase of the ceasefire, to release all hostages and arbitrarily detained prisoners, end the war and reconstruct Gaza, with full respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law," Turk said in a statement.

"The suffering of people in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel has been unbearable. Palestinians and Israelis need peace and security, on the basis of full dignity and equality," he added.

An Israeli political source told Reuters on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s White House visit exceeded expectations, calling it “highly successful.”

The source noted that Netanyahu’s ties with US President Donald Trump had never been stronger, adding that Trump had introduced "innovative solutions" to longstanding issues Israel has faced since its establishment.

US President Donald Trump's announcement that the US will "take over" Gaza has sparked confused and angry reactions across the globe. 

On Tuesday, at a joint press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that the US is looking into running Gaza for the foreseeable future and to displace Palestinians from their homeland.

“Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent,” Trump told reporters after a three-hour meeting with Netanyahu. 

Earlier in the day he insisted that Palestinians have no other alternative but to leave Gaza and go somewhere “good, fresh, beautiful” without the prospect of returning, and again called on Jordan and Egypt to take in the forcibly expelled Palestinians, along with other unnamed countries. 

Hamas has rejected Trump's surprise plans on Gaza, calling it "racist" and focused at eliminating the Palestinian cause.

Read more: World reacts to Trump's plans to 'take over' Gaza

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, criticised both Israel and the broader international community for disregarding international law.

Speaking at a news conference in Copenhagen, she voiced frustration over the lack of enforcement of court rulings against Israel’s war in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank.

“We are at a critical and dangerous moment,” Albanese said. “After 15 months, the ceasefire … brings a glimmer of hope, yet the situation on the ground remains dire.”

She argued that Israel had exploited the war to expand its control and forcibly displace Palestinians.

“Israel has carried out acts of genocide under the cover of war,” she said.

In a press release to Middle East Eye, Dr Basem Naim, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, condemned the US president's plans for ethnic cleansing in Gaza. This is what he had to say:

"President Trump's intention to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip outside it and the United States' control over the Strip by force is a crime against humanity, and a reinforcement of the law of the jungle at the international level, and we consider it an interference in a topic which should not be of his concern, and accordingly we emphasize the following:

• First: Over the course of 15 months, the previous administration [President Joe Biden] tried to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip with its unlimited support, especially militarily, for Netanyahu and his fascist government in carrying out genocide against our people, and failed to achieve this goal in the face of our people's steadfastness and adherence to their homeland. Hence, with the previous administration failing to accomplish, no upcoming administration will succeed in implementing.

• Second: Gaza is in urgent need of comprehensive reconstruction plans after the systematic destruction caused by the aggression against it during 15 months, but the problem of reconstruction is not in the presence of the Palestinian people on their land, but rather in the continuation of the Zionist occupation and the stifling siege of the Gaza Strip for more than 17 years with American support.

• Third: We demand urgent regional and international action to put an end to these malicious plans, because any attempts to implement such plans will destabilise security in the region and beyond.

• Fourth: We demand that the mediators, especially the United States, oblige the occupation to implement the ceasefire agreement in its three stages without procrastination or manipulation, as we are committed to implementing the agreement as long as the occupation commits to it, and any manipulation in implementing the agreement may cause it to collapse."

A Wall Street Journal report revealed that even President Trump’s closest aides were unaware that US control of Gaza was under consideration.

The plan, developed recently, was only shared with a select few advisors and allies in recent days, according to administration officials involved in Middle East policy.

The report also noted that Trump’s proposal shocked some of his strongest pro-Israel supporters.

A longtime fundraiser for the president, who has helped secure donations for years, dismissed the idea as “insane,” questioning its feasibility and pointing out that implementing such a policy would likely take more than a year, with too many unpredictable factors to ensure smooth execution.

Since assuming office, US President Donald Trump has relentlessly urged Egypt, Jordan, and other Muslim-majority countries to resettle Palestinians from Gaza.

Although Palestinians have firmly rejected Trump's proposal, it has continued to dominate the front pages of almost every Israeli newspaper.

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who last year argued that it was "justified and moral" to starve Palestinians in Gaza, has been outspoken in his support of the idea, stating: "After 76 years in which most of Gaza's population was forcibly held in harsh conditions to preserve the aspiration to destroy the State of Israel, the idea of helping them find other places to start a new and better life is a great one."

Yedioth Ahronoth's senior military correspondent, Yossi Yehoshua, has also been a staunch supporter, suggesting: "Perhaps the time has come to adopt Trump's proposal and discuss voluntary exile from Gaza."

On Tuesday, at a joint press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump went a step further and announced the US will be taking over and running Gaza, potentially for the foreseeable future.

Read more: Palestinians defy Trump's ethnic cleansing plan and return home

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares expressed strong opposition to the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, affirming, “Gaza is the land of Gazan Palestinians and they must stay in Gaza.”

He emphasised that Gaza is integral to the future Palestinian state, which Spain supports, and must coexist alongside Israel in a way that ensures the safety and prosperity of both states, reported Reuters.

A spokesperson for France’s foreign ministry echoed this stance, stressing that any attempt to forcibly displace Gaza’s population would violate international law and undermine Palestinian rights.

The statement also warned that such a move would destabilise the region, negatively impacting Egypt, Jordan, and neighbouring countries, and posed a significant threat to the viability of a two-state solution.

Israeli forces have arrested at least 30 Palestinians, including a child and former detainees, during ongoing raids across the occupied West Bank, as reported by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Prisoners’ Affairs Authority.

The arrests took place in cities including Tulkarem, Tubas, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya, and East Jerusalem, with some arrests followed by field interrogations in various towns and refugee camps. The organisations condemned these actions as "collective punishment," part of Israel’s longstanding policies.

Over 10,000 Palestinians from the West Bank are currently held in Israeli prisons, with figures for Gaza prisoners still uncertain. Among the detained are at least 365 children, 15 women, and 3,369 individuals under administrative detention without trial or charge.

According to the Jenin Camp Media Committee, 25 Palestinians have been killed during the ongoing Israeli military operation in the city, which has lasted 15 days.

Around 15,000 individuals, including 3,200 families, have been displaced. The committee highlighted the dire situation in Jenin, where basic services like water and electricity have been cut, and approximately 180 homes have been destroyed.

Schools have been forced to close, and four hospitals are now without essential services, including water.