Live: Israel delays release of 602 Palestinian prisoners

The Palestinian presidency has issued a stark warning against Israeli efforts to “escalate aggression” in the occupied West Bank, accusing Tel Aviv of plotting to forcibly displace Palestinian families from their homes.  

In a statement, officials condemned what they called a “dangerous expansion of the conflict”, urging the US administration to step in and halt the violence before it triggers an "explosion” across the region.

An Israeli negotiator has slammed Benjamin Netanyahu for “flagrantly violating” the terms of a fragile truce after the prime minister delayed critical peace talks set to begin on Monday.

According to CNN, the negotiator claimed Netanyahu’s refusal to send a delegation to Doha on the agreed date has thrown the ceasefire into jeopardy.  

Under the terms of the Hamas-Israel agreement, negotiations for the second phase of the deal were scheduled to start on the 16th day of the ceasefire – which fell on Monday. However, Netanyahu reportedly postponed dispatching his team until after his return from Washington, sparking outrage among mediators and negotiators.  

“Israel demands that Hamas adhere to all the terms of the agreement, while simultaneously violating it in a significant way. Once again, Netanyahu is abandoning the hostages and endangering them,” the Israeli negotiator told CNN.

Tehran has launched an attack on President Donald Trump after he demanded Palestinians be uprooted from Gaza – branding the idea a "sinister scheme to erase a nation".  

Esmail Baqaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, blasted the controversial suggestion as a violation of international law, declaring: "This is ethnic cleansing in disguise." He demanded global powers "stop appeasing Zionist greed" and instead protect Palestinians’ "sacred right to defend their ancestral lands". 

Dozens of Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli police, stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, carrying out provocative tours.

The Palestinian News Agency reported that occupation forces imposed strict restrictions on Palestinian worshippers at the gates of the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Since Israel’s assault on Gaza and the West Bank began in October 2023, more than 68,000 settlers have stormed the holy site amid intensified Israeli measures, reported Al Jazeera Arabic.

Authorities in Gaza have updated the death toll from Israel’s war to over 61,700, following a reassessment that included thousands previously listed as missing under the rubble.

Last week Gaza's death toll was considered to be 47,487, widely believed to be a underestimate.

The official death toll from the Palestinian Health Ministry stands at 47,487.

On Monday, the head of Gaza's information office stated that at least 14,222 people are missing and presumed buried under the rubble.

While these figures have been included in the overall death toll, they have not been officially confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

With the enforcement of the Gaza ceasefire deal and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Netzarim Corridor, both the Israeli government and the opposition find themselves in a complex position. 

For the past year and three months, there has been an Israeli consensus - encompassing the government’s supporters and opponents alike - around the rhetoric of genocide in Gaza and the need to ethnically cleanse the territory.

Now, unexpectedly, the new Trump administration in the US has forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a ceasefire agreement, creating a crisis among the political elites and within Israeli society itself.

On one hand, the Israeli public was surprised to find that Hamas still maintains control over Gaza, despite a 15-month campaign in which the Israeli media relentlessly echoed state propaganda about the army’s tactical successes above and below ground, including complex underground combat strategies. 

On the other hand, Israeli society is paying a heavy price for the war economically, psychologically and in human lives. After 15 months of combat and countless bombings, as well as the military’s inhumane practices, Israel has still failed to eliminate Hamas. 

Read more: Gaza ceasefire: Israel's failure has the nation in crisis mode

Palestinian civil defence teams have recovered the remains of 20 people killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported.

Many remains were badly decomposed or dismembered, with some reduced to just a few bones, which rescue workers placed into small bags.

Israeli forces detained five Palestinians in the city of Hebron and the nearby town of Halhul in the occupied West Bank, on Monday.

Troops raided several homes in Halhul, detaining four young men - Muhammad Rateb Abu Ramishan (18), Malek al-Baba (21), Ayman Mujahid Masalma (37), and Anas Muhammad al-Bu - after conducting searches, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Israel may have been unable to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, but it is pressing ahead with its plan to eradicate another declared enemy: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), UN officials and humanitarian workers tell Middle East Eye. 

On Thursday, two laws took effect that effectively limit Unrwa’s ability to work in the war-ravaged enclave. One prohibits the agency's work within “areas under Israeli sovereignty", while the other bans any contact with the agency. COGAT, the Israeli military unit responsible for coordinating aid deliveries to Gaza, has said it will comply with the law.

Israel pilloried the UN agency for years. 

Its first attempt to ban Unrwa began at least two decades ago when Unrwa built a complex in Jerusalem. Palestinians insist that Israel sees Unrwa as an existential threat because the organisation recognises Palestinian refugees, and has stated its support for the right of return of their descendants.

After 7 October, Israel accelerated its campaign against Unrwa. The organisation, which provides aid, health and education to millions in the Palestinian territories and neighbouring Arab countries was dealt several body blows.

Read more: Unrwa decries 'disinformation campaign' as Israeli ban sets in

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to embark on a three-day diplomatic tour of the Middle East starting on Monday, his office has confirmed.

Originally scheduled for November, the trip was delayed due to political turmoil in Berlin following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left coalition.

Steinmeier will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Talks are expected to focus on Syria, the Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and Washington’s evolving Middle East strategy under the second Trump administration.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an urgent UN Security Council session to halt what he described as Israel’s relentless assault on the Palestinian people and the destruction of entire residential areas in the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank.

A statement from Abbas’ office accused Israeli forces of forcing civilians from their homes in Tammun and the al-Faraa refugee camp in Tubas, systematically dismantling infrastructure, and committing widespread atrocities—including killing dozens, injuring hundreds, detaining thousands, and enabling settler violence that has torched Palestinian homes and property in an attempt to drive them from their land.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using his Washington summit with US President Donald Trump to push for full American support in eliminating Hamas, according to a member of his delegation.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the Israeli source made it clear that Israel is not committing to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which requires a full withdrawal from Gaza and the Philadelphi Corridor, unless Hamas is completely defeated.

A Trump-appointed board member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council launched a vitriolic attack on Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, saying they are "fundamentally evil" and not worthy of "any mercy".

In an editorial in The Jerusalem Post newspaper, Martin Oliner, who was elected to the council just days before the January 6 riots, defended the US president's recent remarks calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza to Arab countries such as Egypt and Jordan.

Oliner, who serves as chairman of Religious Zionists of America, president of the Culture for Peace Institute and is also a frequent columnist with The Jerusalem Post, said those concerned with the plight of the Palestinian people should be "gushing with praise for the president for caring enough to find them a positive resolution to their current problems".

He then added: "And those like myself who do not believe Gazans are worthy of any mercy should welcome it as well.

"Let's not mince words here. The people of Gaza are collectively guilty," he wrote, adding: "The actions of the Gazan people prove they need detoxifying education before the reconstruction should even be able to begin. They are fundamentally evil, and they must pay a price for their actions."

Read more: Trump appointee: Palestinians are 'fundamentally evil' and not worthy of 'any mercy'

The UN special rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has condemned Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank, calling them "criminal" and warning they indicate a clear intent for genocide against Palestinians.

Speaking to the Palestinian News Agency, Albanese said Israel’s campaign of destruction is expanding beyond Gaza to encompass the entire occupied Palestinian territory.

She stressed that she had foreseen this escalation in her October 2024 report to the UN General Assembly.

Albanese urged the international community to take immediate action, insisting that intervention is long overdue to halt the devastation.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, 

Here are some of the latest updates from the Israeli war on Gaza:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington and is set to meet US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Monday.

• The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that their discussions will focus on negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

• Israeli military vehicles are advancing toward Kafr Aqab, a neighbourhood north of occupied Jerusalem, ahead of an imminent raid.

• Israeli troops are preparing to storm Halhul, north of Hebron, and Tamoun, south of Tubas, both in the occupied West Bank.

• The Financial Times quoted a source close to the Israeli government saying that US President Donald Trump’s comments about displacing Gaza residents were unsurprising.

• The source claimed Trump did not come up with the idea spontaneously and that Israel was aware he would bring it up, adding that the US and Israel are aligned and coordinating on the issue