Live: Israeli forces detonate 20 homes in Jenin

Aljazeera has reported at least four casualties across the West Bank as a result of Israeli forces firing on Palestinian civilians on Saturday. 

Among the dead are a two-year-old girl near Jenin, and a man just outside of Nablus. 

Two people were reported wounded near Nablus and Hebron. 

The Electronic Intifada announced on Saturday that its executive director Ali Abunimah has been arrested in Switzerland while in the country for a speaking tour.

"He is currently being detained and has had access to legal counsel," the site reported. 

"When he arrived at Zurich airport on Friday, Abunimah was questioned by police for an hour before being allowed to enter the country. [His] arrest appears to be part of a growing backlash from Western governments against expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people."

President Donald Trump has instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, a White House source told the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

Biden put a hold on the delivery of the bombs because of particular concern over their use in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than one million Palestinians had relocated after being forcibly expelled from their homes elsewhere in the enclave. 

The occupied West Bank city of Ramallah erupted in joy on Saturday afternoon as Palestinians welcomed 114 prisoners, including many serving life sentences, who were released from Israeli prison as part of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Israel released 200 prisoners on Saturday: 107 were sent to Ramallah, five to Jerusalem, one to Umm al-Fahm - a Palestinian city in Israel - and 16 to Gaza. An additional 70 prisoners were taken to Egypt, from where they will be deported to other countries.

The release of the prisoners to the West Bank took place from Ofer military prison, west of Ramallah, a few hours after Hamas freed four female soldiers as part of the second phase of captive release operations outlined in the ceasefire agreement.

Before the release of the Palestinian prisoners, Israel imposed strict measures to prevent any celebrations in the West Bank. Israeli forces raided Beitunia, the town nearest to Ofer Prison, and blocked Palestinians from approaching the area. They also raided the homes of several prisoners, warning families not to hold celebratory events.

Read more: Palestinians celebrated amid strict security measures imposed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority

The Arab American Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) said in a statement Saturday that is has received several reports of pro-Israeli groups targeting international students in a bid to have them deported from the US. This follows an Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday that makes reference to the extreme vetting and banning of foreign nationals if they appear to harbour negative feelings toward American interests or "culture". 

The ADC established a 24/7 legal hotline to report incidents of harassment last week: 1-844-232-9955. 

"Under this new Executive Order, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can deny or revoke visas based on ideological beliefs," the statement said. "A number of US-based extremist Zionist groups have begun harassing Arab, Palestinian students. These groups are directly contacting students and making threats to report them to DHS officials to be placed on a 'jihadi deportee list.' These groups are also pressuring universities across the country to report the names of international students to DHS and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), in hopes of having them removed from the US."
 
"Make no mistake - the actions taken by these radical third party groups have one intention, and that is to silence any students who show support for Palestine," the statement read.

"All Americans must reject any attempts to use ideology as a basis of removal of individuals from the US, or to deny visa applications for entry into the US. These actions, along with the actions of extremist Zionist organizations, strip away the First Amendment Rights of Americans."

Video shared by the Quds News Network on Saturday showed first responders transferring a wounded Palestinian to hospital in central Gaza, where Israeli forces opened fire on forcibly displaced Palestinians trying to return to their homes in the north. At least one person was killed and several others injured. 

A Palestinian was reported killed and several others injured as Israeli occupation forces opened fire on displaced Palestinians waiting to return to their homes in northern Gaza on Salah Al-Din Street in the center of the enclave. pic.twitter.com/qdwuech6QG

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 25, 2025

US President Donald Trump said he "secured the release" of the four Israeli soldiers freed by Hamas in Gaza in the second prisoner swap and that he will continue to pursue "peace throughout the region" in a statement released by the White House on Saturday.

Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is widely credited for pressuring the Israelis to accept the ceasefire deal. 

Crowds of Palestinians have gathered near the Netzarim Corridor, a crossing point created by the Israeli army that separates north and south Gaza, in hopes of eventually returning to the north.

Although they are expected to be allowed through on Sunday, the Israeli army has accused Hamas of violating the terms of the ceasefire and said it will not open the corridor.

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) raids on Jenin are a “betrayal” and could lead to the end of the PA’s governance in the occupied West Bank, a senior Hamas official told Middle East Eye. 

In a wide-ranging interview, Basem Naim, a key leader in Hamas’ political bureau, discussed the ceasefire agreement with Israel, the future of Hamas, escalating violence in the West Bank, Israeli ties with Saudi Arabia and the new Syrian government, among other topics. 

The conversation took place days after the Gaza ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel came into effect. 

Shortly after the ceasefire began, Israel launched a brutal offensive on Jenin and its refugee camp, killing at least 12 and wounding at least 50 others. It has also severely damaged infrastructure and displaced hundreds of residents. 

Read More: PA raids on Jenin are a 'betrayal', says senior Hamas official

Israel says it has freed 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of its ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Bus convoys carrying the released prisoners have arrived in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said that among those freed is Mohammed al-Tous, 69, who has spent the longest continuous period in Israeli detention.

حافلات الأسرى الفلسطينيين تصل إلى مدينة رام الله#الجزيرة #الأخبار pic.twitter.com/T5dAMZ5yap

— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) January 25, 2025

The Israeli army has warned Palestinians against returning to northern Gaza on Sunday through the Netzarim corridor, where its troops are still deployed.

"We confirm that all the instructions we issued are still in effect, especially the ban on approaching the Netzarim Corridor until it is announced that it is open," Avichay Adraee, the military's Arabic-language spokesperson, said on X.

"The instructions will remain in effect until new instructions are issued with the transition to the next stage of the agreement and after Hamas [carries out] its commitments," he added.

Israel says Hamas broke the ceasefire agreement by freeing Israeli female soldiers before releasing all the female civilians.

Meanwhile, Hamas says that Israeli civilian captive Arbel Yehud, who was expected to be released today, is alive and will be freed in a week.

Israel is expected to release Raed al-Saadi, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner from Jenin, on Monday as part of its ceasefire deal with Hamas, the Palestinian Prisoners Society says.

Detained in 1989 and sentenced to two life terms plus 20 years, Saadi would have served 36 years in prison.

The Lebanese army accused Israel of procrastinating in withdrawing troops from south Lebanon as required under a ceasefire that ended the war with Hezbollah, a day after Israel said its forces would remain beyond a Sunday deadline for their departure.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the army also urged Lebanese residents to wait before heading into the border region, citing the presence of mines and unexploded Israeli ordnance.

Under the US-brokered agreement, which took effect on 27 November, Hezbollah weapons and fighters must be removed from areas south of the Litani River and Israeli troops should withdraw as the Lebanese military deploys into the region, all within a 60-day time frame, meaning by Sunday at 4am (2am GMT).

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that the terms had not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state. The White House said a short, temporary ceasefire extension was urgently needed.

Reporting by Reuters

The Gaza European Hospital in southern Khan Younis is preparing to receive Palestinian prisoners expected to be released into the enclave, according to Middle East Eye correspondent Ahmed Abu Aziz, reporting from the hospital.

"We are preparing to receive Palestinian prisoners in coordination with the Red Cross. However, we still do not know the number of prisoners to be released into Gaza or the exact timing," Mustafa Bakri, the deputy managing director for the European hospital, told MEE.

Read More: Hamas hands over four Israeli captives to Red Cross in Gaza

Israel has released 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, Egypt's state-run Al Qahera News reports.

The network said the prisoners arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.

Israel is expected to release a total of 200 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas released four female soldiers from captivity.

Many of the released Palestinians are expected to be deported outside of the West Bank and Gaza.