Ceasefire nears: Netanyahu discusses truce amid Gaza strikes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first remarks on the Gaza ceasefire deal reveal Israel’s conditions amid its offensive in Gaza.
14 min read

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech on Saturday following the announcement of the ceasefire, stating that Israel has US support to resume military operations in Gaza "in new, forceful ways" if the second phase of the ceasefire fails.

"We reserve the right to resume the war if necessary, with American support," Netanyahu said in a televised statement, a day before a ceasefire is set to take effect.

"We are thinking of all our hostages ... I promise you that we will achieve all our objectives and bring back all the hostages.

"With this agreement, we will bring back 33 of our brothers and sisters, the majority (of them) alive," he said.

He said the 42-day first phase, which starts on Sunday, was a "temporary ceasefire."

"If we are forced to resume the war, we will do so with force," Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had "changed the face of the Middle East" since the war began.

Netanyahu's speech this evening follows the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will take effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday morning.

12:01 AM

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again at 0800 GMT for updates from the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Houthis warn of 'consequences' for any attacks on Yemen
11:55 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels warned "enemy forces in the Red Sea" on Sunday that there would be "consequences" for any attacks on the country during the coming Gaza ceasefire.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces warn the enemy forces in the Red Sea of the consequences of any aggression against our country during the ceasefire period in Gaza and that they will confront any aggression with specific military operations against those forces without a ceiling or red lines," the Houthis said in a statement.

PSC claims head of Stop the War Coalition arrested in London
11:27 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has stated that Chris Nineham, the head of the Stop the War Coalition, was "violently arrested" by police in London while organising an event to remember "children slaughtered by Israel in Gaza."

Israeli raid in Hebron injures four Palestinian children
11:01 PM
The New Arab Staff

An Israeli military raid in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, left four Palestinian children wounded on Saturday evening, according to Wafa news agency.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces stormed the town, using live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, and toxic gas against Palestinian residents.

Three children were hit by live gunfire in their lower limbs, while a fourth child sustained hand injuries from shrapnel.

The children were transported by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to hospitals in Hebron for medical treatment.

Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo to monitor ceasefire
10:49 PM
The New Arab Staff

According to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN), an Israeli delegation has arrived in Egypt's capital, Cairo, to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

The network confirmed that their arrival is part of the framework set out by the terms of the deal.

Egypt-Israel border crossing declared 'closed military zone'
10:13 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Israeli military has announced that the Nitzana Border Crossing between Egypt and Israel will be designated a closed military zone starting at midnight (22:00 GMT), as part of preparations to implement the final stages of the ceasefire agreement.

Located 40km (25 miles) southeast of the convergence of Israel’s borders with Egypt and Gaza, the Nitzana crossing will remain restricted.

Additionally, the military stated that the kibbutzim Yad Mordechai and Kerem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) will also be closed military zones until 24 January.

Gaza municipality says road to reopen as ceasefire begins
9:45 PM
The New Arab Staff

The Gaza municipality has unveiled a plan to gradually reopen key roads as the ceasefire agreement takes effect on Sunday.

The initiative will be implemented in coordination with various partners, according to the municipality.

In a statement, officials emphasised the importance of strengthening collaboration with local and international organisations to ensure the delivery of essential services and support reconstruction efforts across the city.

Ben-Gvir urges Smotrich to resign over ceasefire deal
9:12 PM
The New Arab Staff

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government earlier today, has urged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to follow suit in protest against the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

"The truth is that Hamas has not yet been defeated, so it is clear that returning to war is inevitable," Ben-Gvir asserted.

He criticised Netanyahu’s speech, claiming it revealed no genuine intention to resume the war, despite the prime minister's assertions of readiness.

Ben-Gvir called on Smotrich to join him in blocking the second stage of the ceasefire by stepping down from the government and returning only if military operations resume.

Extremist Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir [Getty]
Houthis claim strikes on southern Israel targets
8:37 PM
The New Arab Staff

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced that the group’s armed forces conducted two operations targeting "key sites connected to the Israeli enemy" near Eilat in southern Israel.

Saree stated that the first strike involved a ballistic missile, while the second used a cruise missile, claiming that both operations "successfully hit their targets."

Earlier, the Israeli military reported that air raid sirens were triggered in Eilat and Arava in southern Israel, following the interception of a missile by the Israeli air force.

Over 70 arrested at London pro-Palestine rally: AFP
8:04 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Thousands of people gathered and over 70 were arrested at a pro-Palestine rally in central London Saturday, on the eve of the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The majority were detained on suspicion of breaching the authorised perimeter for the protest near key government buildings in central London.

The ceasefire, which comes into effect Sunday morning, involves the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid deliveries to the war-ravaged region.

The 70 arrests at the demonstration were the largest number since the rallies began in London in October 2023, according to the Metropolitan police.

The demonstration was set to be a static rally in Whitehall, site of the main British government offices, after police rejected the route initially proposed by organisers -- which the Met police said would have been in the vicinity of a synagogue.

However, police said there was a "coordinated effort" by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) to breach the conditions, after some protesters moved away from Whitehall and towards Trafalgar Square.

"This is the highest number of arrests we have seen, in response to the most significant escalation in criminality," police commander Adam Slonecki said in a statement.

"Investigations are now underway and we will make every effort to bring prosecutions against those we identify."

The PSC has previously called the policing restrictions "repressive".

What did Netanyahu say in his speech?
7:21 PM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delivered his first speech following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement. Here are the key points:

  1. The initial phase of the agreement includes a temporary ceasefire.
  2. Israel reserves the right to resume its military campaign in Gaza, with the backing of the United States, if the second phase of the ceasefire proves ineffective. Netanyahu emphasised that if war resumes, Israel will act "in new, forceful ways."
  3. Prior to accepting the deal, Israel set specific preconditions, such as maintaining access to the Philadelphi Corridor (a narrow strip along Gaza’s border with Egypt) and establishing a buffer zone near Gaza’s border. The Israeli military will retain control over these areas and strengthen its presence.
  4. The ceasefire was achieved because Hamas shifted its stance, which Netanyahu attributed to the weakening of the Iran axis after Israeli forces eliminated senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. As a result, Hamas conceded to terms it had previously rejected.
  5. Netanyahu claimed that Israel has reshaped the Middle East's landscape and reality.
Netanyahu: Israel retains right to resume Gaza fighting
7:03 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel reserves the right to resume fighting in Gaza with US support, as he pledged to bring home all hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

"We reserve the right to resume the war if necessary, with American support," Netanyahu said in a televised statement, a day before a ceasefire is set to take effect. He added that Israel had "changed the face of the Middle East" since the war began.

Israeli cabinet convene for approval of ceasefire accord with Hamas [Getty]
Iran Guards unveil underground naval base
6:38 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The naval arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards unveiled an underground base housing dozens of assault boats equipped with missile launchers in footage aired by state television on Saturday.

The broadcaster did not reveal the location of the base, saying only that it served Iran's strategic "southern waters" -- the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.

"This facility, which houses missile assault boats, lies 500 metres (1,650 feet) underground on the southern waters of Iran," the report said.

Guards chief General Hossein Salami toured the base with naval arm commander, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, the footage showed.

Salami's visit comes just days before Donald Trump's inauguration as US president on Monday for a second term of office.

During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran, abandoning a landmark nuclear agreement and reimposing sweeping sanctions.

State television said some of the vessels kept at the base unveiled on Saturday were "capable of destroying US warships and destroyers".

Young Palestinian killed in Khan Younis
6:00 PM
The New Arab Staff

A young Palestinian man was killed after Israeli forces opened fire east of the Al-Fukhari area in Khan Younis, while several others were also injured.

Israeli forces also opened fire in Rafah, injuring several civilians.

Thousands join London pro-Palestinian rally on eve of truce
5:30 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters gathered in central London Saturday, on the eve of the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, hoping to put "pressure" to ensure the ceasefire holds.

Participants held up placards bearing slogans including "Stop arming Israel" or "Gaza, stop the massacre" amid regular chants of "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

Netanyahu: Israel won't proceed until it gets captive list
5:00 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israel will not proceed with the Gaza ceasefire until it receives a list of the 33 captives who will be released by Hamas in the first phase of the deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

"We will not move forward with the agreement until we receive the list of hostages who will be released, as agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas," Netanyahu said in a statement.

(Reuters)

Egypt says Israel to free over 1,890 Palestinians
4:30 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Mediator Egypt said Saturday that Israel is to release more than 1,890 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 33 Israeli captives in the first phase of a Gaza truce.

The foreign ministry said the prisoners would be freed during the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire which is set to begin at 0630 GMT on Sunday.

US pledges $117m in aid to Lebanon military
4:02 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The United States announced Saturday it would donate more than $117 million in security assistance for Lebanon's armed forces, as the crisis-hit country seeks to implement a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The State Department said in a statement that it had convened a "virtual donors meeting" on Thursday "with partners and allies to discuss critical security assistance needed for Lebanon to fully implement the cessation of hostilities."

It said the new assistance to Beirut would support both the country's armed forces and internal security forces "as they work to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country."

One killed in Israeli drone strike in Khan Younis
3:30 PM
The New Arab Staff

One Palestinian was killed, and others were injured after an Israeli drone strike targeted the town of Al-Fakhari, east of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip - Wafa reports.

 

Israel police say several injured in Tel Aviv shooting
3:05 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israeli police said that several people were injured in a shooting in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday without specifying details of the attack.

"There are injuries at the scene, and at this stage, large police forces are on their way to the location. The circumstances are currently unclear," the police said in a statement, adding that the shooting occurred on Levontin Street in Tel Aviv.

Egypt says 50 fuel trucks to enter Gaza per day
3:03 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said 50 fuel trucks are set to enter the Gaza Strip when the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas starts on Sunday.

Abdelatty, whose country mediated the deal with Qatar and the United States, said it provides for "the entry of 600 trucks per day to the Strip, including 50 trucks of fuel".

Hundreds of trucks have lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, previously a vital entry point for aid that has been closed since May, when Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side.

At a joint news conference on Saturday with his Nigerian counterpart, Abdelatty said "we hope that 300 trucks will go to the north of the Gaza Strip," where thousands are trapped in what aid agencies say are apocalyptic conditions.

Israel commits three attacks in Gaza in 24 hours
2:30 PM
The New Arab Staff

Gaza's Health Ministry revealed that 23 people were killed and 83 were injured in the Palestinian territory in the previous 24 hours.

Wafa reports the Israeli army committed three attacks against Palestinian families over 24 hours.

Sirens southern Israel over second Houthi fired missile
1:55 PM
The New Arab Staff

Sirens are reported to have been sounded in Israel's southern city of Eilat in what the Israeli army says was a second missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel. 

The announcement comes after the Israeli army announced it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards central Israel today.

Houthis say will deal with Israel in case of Gaza violations
1:25 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Yemen's Houthis said they will coordinate closely with the Palestinian resistance to deal with Israel in case of any violations to the Gaza ceasefire deal, the militant group's military spokesperson said on Saturday.

(Reuters)

Israeli army claims conducted strikes on 50 'terror targets'
1:06 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The Israeli army claims it conducted strikes on 50 "terror targets" across the Gaza Strip on Friday, according to a statement by the army on Saturday.

(Reuters)

FM says Syria looking forward to return to Arab league
12:30 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Syria's foreign minister said on Saturday he was looking forward to the return of Syria to the Arab League as the country's new rulers seek a place in the regional political landscape.

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani made his statements during a joint press conference in Damascus with Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki, who said the Arab League was working with member states to activate Syria's participation.

(Reuters)

Lebanon president says Israel must withdraw by 26 January
12:00 PM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Lebanon's new president said on Saturday that Israel must withdraw from his country's south by the 26 January deadline set to implement an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreed last year fully.

President Joseph Aoun told visiting United Nations chief Antonio Guterres that it was necessary for "Israeli forces to withdraw from occupied territories in the south within the deadline set by the agreement reached on November 27".

"Israel's continued violations on land and in the air... blowing up homes and destroying border villages, completely contradicts what was stated in the ceasefire agreement," a statement from Aoun's office added.

Under the 27 November ceasefire deal, which ended two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside peacekeepers from the UNIFIL mission in south Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.

Islamic Jihad: Captives families ask Israel to stop attacks
11:30 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israeli captives' families should ask the Israeli military to stop intensified strikes in the final hours before a ceasefire takes effect as this "would be reason for killing their children," a Palestinian spokesperson said on Saturday.

The spokesperson, Abu Hamza, is with the al Quds Brigades armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza, which also holds Israeli captives in addition to the enclave's dominant movement, Hamas.

(Reuters)

Hamas says Israel 'failed to achieve its aggressive goals'
11:05 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Hamas said on Saturday that Israel had "failed to achieve its aggressive goals" in Gaza, a day before the start of a ceasefire and captive release deal it agreed with Israel.

Israel "only succeeded in committing war crimes that disgrace the dignity of humanity," the group said in a statement.

GHM: 46,899 killed & 110,725 injured since 7 Oct 2023
10:31 AM
The New Arab Staff

At least 46,899 Palestinians have been killed and 110,725 have been injured since the start of Israel's war on Gaza on 7 October 2023 - The Gaza Health Ministry revealed.

Israeli attacks kill several across south Gaza
10:03 AM
The New Arab Staff

Israeli attacks across southern Gaza killed several Palestinians as the ceasefire is set to take effect on Sunday.

Israeli shelling killed five civilians from the same family while the forces were targeting a tent sheltering displaced people in the Mawasi area north of Khan Younis

A woman was also injured by Israeli gunfire.

Missile fired from Yemen intercepted over central Israel
9:33 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The Israeli military said sirens sounded in central Israel on Saturday as it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

(Reuters)

Hezbollah chief says Gaza ceasefire deal shows 'persistence'
9:00 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem congratulated Palestinians on Saturday for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying it proved the "persistence of resistance" against Israel in his first comments since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.

"This deal, which was unchanged from what was proposed in May 2024, proves the persistence of resistance groups, which took what they wanted while Israel was not able to take what it sought," the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group said in a speech.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in a conflict parallel to the war on Gaza in November.

(Reuters)

Gaza truce to take effect 0630 GMT Sunday
8:30 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will take effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday morning, Qatar, which helped mediate the deal, said on Saturday.

"As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 am on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on X.

"We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official sources."

The exact time of the ceasefire's start had been unclear, though Israel, whose cabinet earlier on Saturday approved the hostage and prisoner exchange deal, had said no prisoners would be freed before 1400 GMT.

Israeli government approves Gaza ceasefire deal
8:00 AM
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

Israel's cabinet voted to approve a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal on Saturday, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, ending days of uncertainty about whether the truce would go into effect this weekend.

The ceasefire, set to begin Sunday, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza's deadliest-ever war.

It would also enable the release of captives held in the territory since 7 October in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

"The government has approved the hostage return plan", Netanyahu's office said early Saturday morning after the cabinet held its vote.

Israel's justice ministry has said 737 prisoners and detainees will be freed as part of the first phase of the deal, none before 4:00 pm local time (1400 GMT) on Sunday.