Live: Israeli forces detonate 20 homes in Jenin

The European Union has resumed its civilian mission to monitor the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed.

“The EU’s civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah Crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis. It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care,” she said on X.

Europe is here to help: the EU’s civilian border mission deploys today to the Rafah Crossing at the request of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

It will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care pic.twitter.com/vDXVG0T43B

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) January 31, 2025

Israel is to release 90 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday in exchange for three Israeli captives in the fourth swap of the Gaza ceasefire, a Palestinian advocacy group said.

"Ninety prisoners will be released tomorrow in exchange for the three Israeli detainees, nine of whom are serving life sentences and 81 of whom have long sentences," Palestinian Prisoners' Club spokeswoman Amani Sarahneh told AFP on Friday.

Israel has received a list from Hamas with the names of three captives set to be released tomorrow in Gaza, according to a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

Here's what we know about the three men on the list:

Keith Siegel: A 65-year-old US citizen from North Carolina, Siegel was taken from Kfar Aza kibbutz alongside his wife, Aviva, during the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023. She was released in November 2023.

Ofer Kalderon: A 54-year-old French-Israeli, Kalderon was taken from Nir Oz kibbutz along with his children, Erez and Sahar, who were freed during the last ceasefire.

Yarden Bibas: A 35-year-old Israeli-Argentine, Bibas was taken separately from his wife, Shiri, and their children, Ariel and Kfir, who were also taken from Nir Oz kibbutz. Hamas says Shiri and the boys died in captivity.

Britain, France and Germany on Friday reiterated their "grave concern" over Israel's enforcement of a law prohibiting any contact between its officials and Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

"We urge the government of Israel to work with international partners, including the UN, to ensure continuity of operations," the three nations said in a joint statement from the three nations published by the British government.

The law, adopted in October and took effect on Thursday, bans Unrwa from operating on Israeli land and prevents the agency from having any contact with Israeli authorities.

Gadi Mozes, an 80-year-old Israeli released yesterday,  read English books and took daily walks outside during his 482 days of captivity in Gaza, Kan broadcaster reported.

Mozes was held alone throughout his captivity and kept a diary to track time, the report said.

His partner, Efrat Katz, was killed by Israeli fire during the Hamas-led 7 October attack. His family described his return as "a miracle" in a statement yesterday.

“No one in the world is happier than we are. Light has returned to our lives thanks to this life-saving deal,” they said.

“We received a miracle - our father and grandfather, Gadi, has returned to us healthy and whole after a year and four months of uncompromising struggle filled with fear, terror, despair, worry and lack of air.”

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas' paramilitary wing, announced on Telegram that three Israeli captives - Ofer Kalderon, Keith Siegel and Yarden Bibas - will be released tomorrow.

A 19-year-old Palestinian, Saher Walid al-Quran, was killed today by Israeli naval gunfire near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians in recent weeks despite the ongoing ceasefire.

A 19-year-old Palestinian, Saher Walid Al-Qur'an, was killed today by Israeli naval gunfire near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Wafa news agency.

Israeli forces have repeatedly fired at Palestinians in recent weeks despite the ongoing ceasefire.

With the Hamas-Israel ceasefire continuing to hold, another tranche of Palestinian detainees have been released in exchange for Israeli captives.

Arguably the most high-profile figure to be included this time is Zakaria Zubeidi.

Zubeidi was the head of the Jenin branch of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed group founded by Fatah during the Second Intifada in 2000.

Long a symbolic figure of the occupied West Bank's resistance against Israel, Zubeidi was jailed in 2019, breaking out in a five-day prison escape in 2021 before being recaptured.

Over the years he became iconic for his work not just as a resistance fighter but through his involvement in Jenin's Freedom Theatre, a world-famous cultural centre in the city's refugee camp.

Read more: Zakaria Zubeidi: From refugee theatre kid to Palestinian resistance fighter

Israeli air strike on the town of Yanta in Lebanon’s Beqaa killed two people and injured 10, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, citing the health ministry.

A 17-year-old was among 10 people killed in a double Israeli drone attack in Tammun in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday night, Defence for Children International (DCI) said.

The child rights organisation said the slain teenager, Jihad Nasser Yousef Bani Matar,  had “shrapnel wounds and burns all over his body” when he was brought to hospital after the attack.

His death brings the number of Palestinian children killed in the occupied territory this year to 10, six killed in drone attacks and four shot dead by Israeli forces, DCI said.

Israel now routinely carries out air strikes “in densely populated areas with no regard for Palestinian children’s lives”, the organisation added, noting: “No one has been held responsible for killing these ten children.”

Israel's Maariv newspaper released a survey by Lazar Institute, revealing that 57 percent of Israelis believe the country’s war objectives have not been "fully achieved", while 32 percent think they have "not been achieved at all".

Just 4 percent of respondents said Israel's war goals in Gaza have been "fully achieved".

US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that Egypt and Jordan would accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza, despite both nations dismissing his plan to move Palestinians from the territory.

Trump's comments came a day after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians following Israel's war on Gaza.

"They will do it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Egypt and Jordan’s refusal, as well as the possibility of imposing tariffs to pressure them.

"They're going to do it. We do a lot for them, and they're going to do it."

Israeli forces committed 15 ceasefire violations on Thursday alone, bringing the total number of breaches since the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah came into effect on November 27 to 823, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

The latest violations took place in the southern districts of Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil and Hasbaiyya, as well as the Nabatieh and Tyre governorates.

Good morning, Middle East Eye readers,

Here are some of the latest updates:

• Israel’s army said it bombed “several targets of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation” overnight in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa valley despite a ceasefire deal since November.

• The Israeli military continued its raid in the Jenin and Tulkarm governorates of the occupied West Bank, besieging several homes and making arrests overnight.

• The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that an Israeli air strike left three women injured by shrapnel in the Jenin refugee camp.

• Israeli forces opened fire on two individuals they accused of throwing firebombs at a highway near the Palestinian village of al-Khader, west of Bethlehem.

• The UN reported that 171 Palestinian bodies were recovered from the rubble in Gaza between 22 and 28 January.

• Israeli doctors confirmed that five Thai nationals, released from Gaza in a recent prisoner exchange, were in "fair" health.

• Media reports from Israel and New Zealand stated that Israeli soldiers travelling to New Zealand were asked about their military service, with at least one denied entry as a tourist.