Live: At least 137 people killed by Israel recovered from rubble in Rafah
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The Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his government that US President-elect Donald Trump will fully support Israel's return to war if the ceasefire agreement with Hamas is violated.
That agreement is set to go into effect on Sunday in Gaza.
Netanyahu also told lawmakers that Trump is set to release to Israel any previously suspended weapons shipments.
In May, President Joe Biden suspended shipments of 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs to Israel over concerns about an invasion of Rafah, but just last week, the administration approved $8bn in arms transfers to Israel, and in August also approved the sale of fighter jets.
As Joseph Biden’s US presidency comes to an end, many on social media this week are saying that his legacy boils down to one thing: his active role in Israel’s fifteen-month war on Gaza, which has been widely defined as a "genocide" by human rights organisations, international bodies and scholars.
Biden’s last day as president, on 19 January, is also the first day of the planned Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal that was reportedly pushed to the finish line by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, though both Biden and Trump took credit for the deal.
This has raised more significant criticism of Biden’s role in Israel’s bombing campaign on Gaza, with the US providing $17.9bn in military aid since 7 October 2023 after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel and the subsequent war.
His unfaltering support for Israel led to the infamous nickname given by pro-Palestinians and social media users: "Genocide Joe".
Read more: As Trump's inauguration approaches, pro-Palestine social media users say their final goodbyes to 'Genocide Joe'
US Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent who typically aligns with Democrats on policy matters, issued a statement on Friday saying that the US must learn from its role in the "mass atrocity" in Gaza over the last 16 months.
Sanders went after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for rejecting back in May the very same ceasefire deal he agreed to now. He added that Israel "chose not to go to war with Hamas" but with tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
"As Americans, we must grapple with our role in this dark chapter. The United States allowed this mass atrocity to continue by providing an endless supply of weapons to Netanyahu and failing to exert meaningful leverage," he wrote.
"This blanket military support took place in clear violation of US and international law. This must not happen again. Future political leaders should learn from this terrible lesson and restore respect for our own laws and moral principles."
My hope is that the war in Gaza will now end, and the hostages will finally return to their families.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 17, 2025
But let's be clear: the US enabled this mass atrocity by providing an endless supply of weapons to Netanyahu and failing to exert real leverage.
This must not happen again. pic.twitter.com/hRol7zreVa
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to continue Israel's war on Gaza in a bid to stop far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from exiting his coalition, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
The Israeli outlet reports that Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism party and one of the staunchest opponents to a deal that would end the war, felt like his demands were met following the latest meeting with Netanyahu.
Israel’s security cabinet approved the ceasefire proposal on Friday, which now awaits approval from the full cabinet.
The cabinet was intended to meet on Thursday, but Netanyahu accused Hamas of adding last-minute conditions to extract concessions.
The Palestinian group denied the accusations, saying it had submitted its written agreement to the proposal.
Read more: The Israeli prime minister is attempting to prevent his government from collapsing amid far-right resignation threats
The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Friday that it is fully prepared to assume immediate responsibility in Gaza after the ceasefire agreement goes into effect Sunday, the Reuters news agency reported.
Earlier this week, the US said that a "reformed PA" along with international partners should take over the running of the Gaza Strip.
The PA remains deeply unpopular among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, with frequent accusations that it is doing Israel's bidding by cracking down on dissent just to remain in power.
In his presidential exit interview with the broadcaster MSNBC on Thursday, US President Joe Biden revealed that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to "carpet bomb" Palestinians as he retaliated for the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks.
That messaging came just 10 days into Israel's war on Gaza, when Biden, a longtime self-described Zionist, personally visited Israel.
Biden says Netanyahu told him that the US carpet-bombed Germany and dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan during the Second World War, suggesting that Americans cannot lecture Israelis on military tactics.
Biden also expressed his amazement at the depth and breadth of the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, saying he was not previously aware of their scale.
Biden on Netenyahu:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 17, 2025
I said, “Bibi, you can't be carpet bombing these communities.” And he said to me, “well, you did it, you carpet bombed.” “You carpet bombed Berlin. You dropped a nuclear weapon.”
Israel cannot ensure its security while ignoring the security needs of… pic.twitter.com/s4fqviO7KW
United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres on Friday named former Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag as the new UN Middle East envoy, a UN spokesperson said.
Kaag will also continue in her current role as the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, said deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq.
Reporting by Reuters
The Israel Prison Service said on Friday that it was taking measures to prevent any "public displays of joy" when Palestinian prisoners are released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
It said in a statement that it was preparing for the release of prisoners in exchange for Israeli captives held in Gaza, which the prime minister's office said could begin on Sunday.
The prison service said that two jails, one near Jerusalem and another near the southern city of Ashkelon, had begun preparations for the releases by gathering prisoners to be freed.
"The commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Major General Kobi Yakobi, instructed that.. to prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon and other areas of Israel, the escort from 'Shikma' Prison will not be handled by civilian buses of the (International Committee of the) Red Cross," the statement said.
Reporting by AFP
Russia hopes the ceasefire in Gaza will lead to long-term stabilisation of the region, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Pezeshkian said he hoped the ceasefire would be implemented.
Putin said it was important not to weaken efforts towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, leading to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
The complex ceasefire accord between Israel and the group Hamas, which controls Gaza, emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US and 15 months of bloodshed that devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East.
Reporting by Reuters
The World Health Organisation (WHO) plans to set up a number of field hospitals in Gaza.
Rik Peeperkorn, a representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, announced on Friday that the organisation aims to address the medical needs in the besieged enclave, whose healthcare system has been pushed to the "point of almost complete collapse", according to a UN report in late December.
In a press statement issued in Geneva, Peeperkorn added that aid deliveries to Gaza could be significantly increased under the ceasefire deal, with approximately 600 trucks expected to enter the enclave daily.
The European Union's top diplomat says the bloc is ready to redeploy a monitoring mission to Rafah after a ceasefire agreement to end Israel's war on Gaza.
Foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told journalists on Friday “we are ready to do it”, following a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in Brussels.
According to Kallas, the bloc would need an invitation from the two sides as well as approval from Egypt before the assistance mission could go ahead.
The EU border assistance mission to the Rafah crossing point, EUBAM Rafah, has been closed since Israel invaded Rafah on 7 May.
EUBAM Rafah was previously in charge of monitoring the crossing from 2005 to June 2007, when it announced a temporary suspension of operations after Egypt closed the crossing following Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has stipulated that there must be peace for 48 hours before the truce deal is set to begin in order for it to hand over Israeli captives, sources tell Al Jazeera.
The agreement between the Palestinian movement and Israel is expected to come into effect on Sunday.
Israel's security cabinet has approved the ceasefire deal with Hamas, which is expected to go into effect this Sunday.
Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have threatened to step down from the government amid discussions on the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners.
The deal, which was welcomed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, is awaiting official approval of Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.
On Saturday, Gaza ceasefire talks were down to the wire, and President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy wanted to hash out the deal once and for all with Benjamin Netanyahu, but the Israeli leader’s office said he could not be roused during Shabbat.
Steve Witkoff allegedly gave a “salty” reply, making it clear he didn’t care if it was the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest.
In the words of one report from Haaretz, Witkoff said Trump expected Israel to agree to the ceasefire, and “things that Netanyahu had termed life-and-death issues…suddenly vanished”.
So, who is Witkoff, Trump’s new man in the Middle East?
Witkoff is a Republican and a billionaire Jewish-American real estate developer. His soft, slightly nasally voice masks his reputation as a hard-charging negotiator who developed the nerve for leveraged loans as a teenager betting at the racetrack. When he was starting off in the cut-throat world of New York City real estate in the 1990s, he wore a handgun strapped to his ankle, according to a Wall Street Journal expose from the time.
Read more: Steve Witkoff: The real estate investor who sealed the Gaza ceasefire
