Live: Israeli forces detonate 20 homes in Jenin

The White House has called for an urgent extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as Israeli forces refuse to leave southern Lebanon by Sunday’s deadline.

Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the Trump administration’s National Security Council, said on Friday that “President Trump is committed to ensuring Israeli citizens can safely return to their homes in northern Israel, while also supporting President Aoun and the new Lebanese government.”

Despite the ceasefire terms, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the Israeli army would remain beyond the agreed timeframe, raising fears of further conflict.

Hughes said “all parties share the goal of ensuring Hezbollah does not have the ability to threaten the Lebanese people or their neighbours,” adding that “a short, temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed.”

He added that the US was “pleased” with Israel’s partial withdrawal but stressed that Washington would continue working with regional partners to finalise the extension.

At least seven Palestinian children have died from the cold in Gaza since the ceasefire began on Sunday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has reported.

Freezing temperatures and relentless rain have worsened the already dire conditions for displaced families, many of whom have been left without shelter due to Israel’s bombardment.

“Winter and displacement have taken a heavy toll,” Unrwa stated. “With very few homes left standing, displaced families continue to face these sub-human conditions.”

Despite Israel’s attempts to shut down Unrwa’s operations under controversial legislation set to take effect on 28 January, the agency vowed to continue delivering lifesaving aid to those in need.

The United Nations has called on Israel and Lebanon to uphold their commitments to the cessation of hostilities agreed in November, as Israeli forces continue to stall their withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq warned that delays risk escalating tensions and prolonging the suffering of civilians desperate to return to their homes.

“We continue to call for the full implementation of Resolution 1701 as a comprehensive path towards longer-term peace, security and stability on both sides of the Blue Line,” he said.

The plea comes as the Israeli military extended its occupation of the Lebanese towns of Aitaroun and Qantara, where local reports say forces have demolished homes and a mosque.

The latest incursion adds to the long list of Israeli violations - now at 633 - since the ceasefire took effect. The withdrawal was supposed to be completed within 60 days, a deadline that expires on Sunday.

The Lebanese army has deployed its forces in the southern towns of Sheheen and Al-Jbeen following the retreat of Israeli troops from the area. 

Israel will not completely leave Lebanese territory by the end of the 60-day truce with Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday.

The agreement, signed by both Israel and the Lebanese government, ended over a year of border clashes and two months of full-blown conflict on 27 November.

It gave Israel 60 days to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah is supposed to retreat to the north of the Litani River. Hezbollah is supposed to be replaced by the Lebanese army in the areas it leaves.

Hamas has criticised Washington’s decision to classify Yemen’s Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, calling it a politically motivated act of retaliation.

In a statement, the Palestinian group accused the US of enabling Israel’s expansionist policies while punishing those who resist oppression.

“The Zionist entity and its government are the real source of terrorism and instability in the region through their ongoing aggression and colonial ambitions,” Hamas said.

The group urged the US to reverse its “unjustified” ruling and end its unwavering support for Israel’s occupation and military actions.

Palestinian medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera Arabic that an Israeli air strike targeted a car in Qabatiya, south of Jenin, killing two Palestinians inside.

Alon Liel was a key part of Israel's foreign service for decades. At one point an adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Barak, he later became director general of Israel's foreign ministry in 2000, making him the country's most senior career diplomat.

In recent years, however, Liel has campaigned for the global recognition of a Palestinian state, and is a founding member of the Policy Working Group, a network of senior Israeli academics and former diplomats working to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Middle East Eye in London, the former diplomat, now 76, argued that the UK is "uniquely placed" to help bring about a Palestinian state. 

"I was for 31 years an official in the Israeli government," Liel told MEE. "I understand the thinking. If Britain does minor things, like banning specific arms that we're not dependent on, or putting sanctions on settlers that were already convicted in Israeli courts, Israel can tolerate it."

But recognising a Palestinian state, he argued, would be a much more significant move.

Read more: Former senior Israeli diplomat says UK support would secure Palestinian statehood

The US Treasury has officially rescinded all sanctions imposed on extremist Israeli settlers under President Joe Biden’s executive order.

Over the past 11 months, 17 individuals and 16 entities were blacklisted across eight rounds of sanctions, aimed at curbing settler violence against Palestinians.

At least 1,800 Palestinians have been driven from the Jenin refugee camp since Israel’s military launched its latest assault on the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli security officials speaking to Haaretz.

Many more are believed to have fled by other means, making this one of the largest forced expulsions during the army’s repeated raids on the city.

Israeli sources say the mass exodus was triggered by the army’s invasion at the start of the operation, coupled with a prior raid by the Palestinian Authority.

Estimates suggest that only around 2,500 of the camp’s original 7,000 residents remain, with many having already fled during the PA’s incursion.

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative Movement, has accused Israel of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" in Jenin’s refugee camp.

In a statement on Friday, he condemned the Israeli military’s brutal campaign, saying, “The occupation is conducting a dangerous ethnic cleansing operation in Jenin, forcing civilians and families to flee their homes on foot after subjecting them to degrading searches and repression.”

Israel will not completely leave Lebanese territory by the end of the 60-day truce with Hezbollah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday.

The agreement, signed by both Israel and the Lebanese government, ended over a year of border clashes and two months of full-blown conflict on 27 November.

It gave Israel 60 days to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah is supposed to retreat to the north of the Litani River. Hezbollah is supposed to be replaced by the Lebanese army in the areas it leaves.

The process is supposed to be completed on Monday at 4am local time (2am GMT).

Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s withdrawal is “contingent on the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani”.

Read more: Israel says it will continue to occupy Lebanon beyond ceasefire deadline

Hamas has released the names of four "female soldiers" set to be released on Saturday in a second round of exchanges for Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

"As part of the prisoners' exchange deal, al-Qassam Brigades decided to release tomorrow four women soldiers," said Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the the group's armed wing, on Telegram.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office confirmed shortly afterwards that it had received a "list of hostages" to be released via mediators without specifying whether they were members of the army.

Those to be released were named as Karina Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Elbag.

Israel's ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, which is set to come into force at the end of January, risks depriving around 50,000 Palestinian children of their education.

"Around 50,000 children who go to UNRWA schools are at risk of losing their access to education. If the Israeli Parliament’s ban on UNRWA is implemented at the end of January, what will be the fate of these children?" the body said on X.

"The ban on UNRWA must not be implemented. All children must continue to have education."

The Israeli forces arrested at least 22 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank between Thursday evening and Friday morning, according to the Wafa news agency citing a statement by prisoners' groups.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society said former prisoners and a woman were among those arrested across the governorates of Hebron, Tulkarem, Ramallah and Nablus, as well as occupied East Jerusalem.

The Israeli raid in Jenin has forced 1,800 Palestinian residents to leave the Jenin refugee camp through crossings put in place by the Israeli army since the army began its operation in the area, according to a report by Haaretz.

A security source cited by the outlet said more residents have left the area than in the Israeli military's previous raids in the city.

About 2,500 people remain in the refugee camp out of the 7,000 who live there, with some leaving during the Palestinian Authority's operation, the source said.

Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP on Thursday that the Israeli army used loudspeakers on drones and military vehicles to order camp residents to leave.