This live blog has ended, thank you for following us.

Israel had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity vehemently denies.

"If Israel has any evidence of such things, then they should share that evidence," MSF secretary-general Christopher Lockyear told AFP in an interview at the charity's Geneva headquarters., insisting that "there's been no proof given to us".

He decried "an orchestrated campaign to delegitimise us", calling on other countries to defend efforts to bring desperately-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"They should be speaking to Israel, pressuring Israel to ensure that there is a reverse of any banning of humanitarian organisations."

Israel's ban on Doctors Without Borders' humanitarian operation in Gaza spells deeper catastrophe for the Palestinian territory's people, the head of the medical charity told AFP on Monday.

Israel announced on Sunday that it was terminating all the activities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank by the organisation, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"This is a decision that was made by the Israeli government to restrict humanitarian assistance into Gaza and the West Bank at the most critical time for Palestinians," MSF secretary-general Christopher Lockyear warned in an interview with AFP at the charity's Geneva headquarters.

"We are at a moment where Palestinian people need more humanitarian assistance, not less," he said. "Ceasing MSF activities is going to be catastrophic for the people of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he hoped a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) would be implemented without any delays or stalling.

The deal foresees Syria's Kurdish-run regions being merged with Damascus. Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan added that the agreement had opened a "new page" for the people of Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi plan to meet on Friday in Istanbul to discuss a possible nuclear deal and other issues, a U.S. official said on Monday.

"The president's been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say," the official said.

An Iranian foreign ministry official earlier said Tehran was weighing the terms for resuming talks with the United States soon, after both sides signalled readiness to revive diplomacy over a long-running nuclear dispute and dispel fears of a new regional war.

Friday's planned meeting was first reported by Axios.

A senior regional diplomat has told Reuters that some regional countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, and Egypt are expected to attend a meeting in Istanbul that is expected to happen on Friday between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Palestinians patients and war-wounded began arriving in Egypt via the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Monday, an Egyptian health official told AFP.

"They have begun arriving in Egyptian ambulances, accompanied by several escorts," the official at the border said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

"Three ambulances have arrived so far carrying a number of the sick and injured, who were immediately screened upon arrival to determine to which hospital they will be transferred."

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet in Istanbul on Friday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Tensions have soared between Washington and Tehran, with Iran warning it will hit US interests in the region if it comes under attack.

Britain on Monday added 11 new designations under its Iran sanctions regime, including 10 individuals and one entity, according to a notice on the government's website.

Britain's foreign office sanctioned officials and a state security body for serious human-rights violations, including the suppression of freedom of expression, restrictions on peaceful assembly and, in some cases, breaches of the right to life, the notice said.

The measures impose an asset freeze, a director disqualification sanction, and a travel ban on those designated.

Jordan's top diplomat on Monday assured his Iranian counterpart that the kingdom would not allow its territory or airspace to be used to launch attacks on the Islamic republic.

"Jordan will not be a battleground in any regional conflict or a launching pad for any military action against Iran," Ayman Safadi told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call, according to a Jordanian foreign ministry statement.

Safadi added that Amman "will not permit any party to violate its airspace or threaten its security and the safety of its citizens", amid US threats of a possible attack on Iran.

Israeli forces on Monday demolished six shops and a stable in the occupied West Bank, in an area northeast of Bethlehem. 

The demolitions were carried out near an Israeli military checkpoint, on the basis that the shops were in Area C- an area that falls under Israeli control but accounts for 60 percent of the occupied territory. 

The Israeli military struck a building in the south Lebanese village of Ain Qana, following warnings it will hit what it claimed were Hezbollah sites.

That attack followed an earlier airstrike on the village of Kfar Tibnit.

Videos shared on social media showed massive plumes of smoke billowing from the targeted site in Ain Qana, with widescale damage reported.

📍 عين قانا
ألوية الدخان تتصاعد من المنزل المستهدف بغارة عنيفة pic.twitter.com/nZrm3MifzQ

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) February 2, 2026

The head of a Palestinian technocratic committee established to oversee the day-to-day governance of Gaza said Monday that Israel's reopening of the Rafah border crossing offered a "window of hope" for Palestinians in the territory.

"This step is not merely an administrative measure; rather, it marks the beginning of a long process to reconnect what was severed and to open a genuine window of hope for our people in the Gaza Strip," Ali Shaath said in a statement.

The crossing - the main gateway between Gaza and Egypt - was reopened in a limited capacity earlier on Monday.

Israel struck a building in the south Lebanese village of Kfar Tibnit following an earlier evacuation warning, in the latest violation of the November 2024 ceasefire.

The military claimed it was targeting a site used by Hezbollah.

Another warning was issued for a building in the village of Ain Qana.

غارة إسرائيلية تستهدف المبنى المهدد في كفر تبنيت pic.twitter.com/jde7n6pECc

— Elsiyasa | السياسة (@elsiyasa) February 2, 2026

At least 150 Palestinians will be allowed to exit Gaza through the Rafah crossing on Monday, and 50 will be allowed to enter the enclave, Egyptian officials have said.

The European Union said it rejected Iran's decision to consider as "terrorist groups" the armies of EU countries after the EU listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the bloc's list of terrorist organisations.

"We reject the announcement of the listing of EU armies and the accusation of terrorism," said European Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.

Iran's move came after the EU last Thursday marked a symbolic shift in its approach to Iran's leadership by designating the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, following what turned out to be the Islamic Republic's bloodiest crackdown of protests since its establishment in 1979.

Britain's foreign minister said on Monday that she welcomed the reopening of Gaza's main border crossing in Rafah, which will allow Palestinians to cross in both directions on foot, but emphasised that much more still needed to be done.

"I welcome Rafah reopening for people to cross both ways on foot, allowing some in desperate need to access medical care in Egypt," Yvette Cooper said on X. "But much more still needs to be done.

"Aid must flow in, restrictions on essential supplies must ease, and aid workers must be allowed to operate."

Syrian government security forces entered the Kurdish stronghold of Hassakeh city on Monday, AFP correspondents said, under an integration deal agreed with the Kurds last week.

An AFP correspondent saw a convoy of security force vehicles cross a Kurdish forces checkpoint into the northeastern city, as part of Friday's agreement to gradually integrate the Kurds' military and civilian institutions into the state.

Israel's military warned on Monday it would soon strike "Hezbollah targets" in southern Lebanon, issuing evacuation warnings for buildings in two villages.

The army "will, in the near future, strike military infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, in response to its prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area," its Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X, telling residents of certain buildings in Kfar Tibnit and Ain Qana "to evacuate them immediately".

#عاجل ‼️ إنذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان وتحديدًا في القريتيْن التاليتيْن:
⭕️كفر تبنيت
⭕️عين قانا
🔸سيهاجم جيش الدفاع على المدى الزمني القريب بنى تحتية عسكرية تابعة لحزب الله الإرهابي للتعامل مع محاولاته المحظورة لإعادة إعمار أنشطته في المنطقة
🔸نحث سكان المبنييْن المحدديْن… pic.twitter.com/RbIpwS5UNj

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) February 2, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump's senior envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's military chief, two senior Israeli officials said on Monday.

The officials said Witkoff's visit to the country was expected to begin on Tuesday. It comes amid heightened regional tensions with Iran, and as the Trump administration presses ahead with its plan to end the Gaza war.

An Israeli drone strike on Monday targeted a car near the Phoenicia University campus in Ansariya in south Lebanon, killing one person, according to preliminary reports.

The Israeli army said that it targeted a Hezbollah member.

السيارة المستهدفة في الغارة على أنصارية جنوب لبنان

الجيش الإسرائيلي: استهدفنا قبل قليل عنصراً من ح/زب الله في منطقة الأنصارية جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/FzeEJ5VYWm

— Beirut Time (@beiruttime_leb) February 2, 2026

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was still trying to de-escalate tensions around Iran, and that it had long ago offered its services to process or store Iran's enriched uranium.

The EU's foreign policy chief on Monday welcomed the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt as a "lifeline" for sick and wounded Palestinians in the territory and a step forward in the peace plan.

"The opening of the Rafah crossing marks a concrete and positive step in the peace plan," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas posted online.

"The EU's civilian mission is on the ground to monitor crossing operations and support Palestinian border guards," she wrote.

Emirates is preparing to resume its flights to Israel after a two-year pause, Bloomberg News has reported.

Emirates is preparing to resume flights to Tel Aviv, ending a two-year hiatus prompted by wars between Israel and its enemies in the Middle East https://t.co/8wN9tDo1C1

— Bloomberg (@business) February 2, 2026

Iranian authorities have arrested four foreigners of undisclosed nationalities for "participation in riots", state television reported Monday following a deadly protest movement last month.

"These individuals were apprehended during a raid on their hideout" in Tehran province, national television said, without specifying the date of the arrests.

"During a search of one suspect's bag, four homemade stun grenades, used during the riots and unrest in the area, were discovered," it added.

Iran denied on Monday it had received an ultimatum from President Donald Trump to reach a nuclear agreement, after the US leader said he had given the Islamic republic a deadline to enter talks and threatened military action.

Asked at a news conference whether Iran had received a precise ultimatum from the United States, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran "is a country that always acts with honesty and seriousness in diplomatic processes, but it never accepts ultimatums. For that reason, such a statement cannot be confirmed."

Fifty people are expected to cross the border between Gaza and Egypt in each direction in the first days of the reopening of the Rafah crossing, Egyptian state-linked media reported Monday.

Al Qahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, reported citing an unnamed source that "fifty people will depart Egypt for Gaza and fifty people will come from Gaza, in the first days of the operation of the Rafah crossing".

A source at the border told AFP a few dozen people arrived on the Egyptian side on Monday awaiting entry into Gaza.

Iran said Monday it had summoned European ambassadors stationed in Tehran after the EU's designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.

On Sunday and Monday, "representatives of all EU member states that have an embassy in Tehran were summoned to the foreign ministry", foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.

"This is the smallest of measures" before other moves are announced, Baqaei told a foreign ministry press briefing that AFP journalists attended.

Iran said Monday it expected a framework for negotiations with the United States would be ready in the coming days, as President Donald Trump threatens military action against Tehran.

"Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, without giving details on the content of any prospective negotiations.

"Several points have been addressed and we are examining and finalising the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days. This concerns the method and framework," the spokesman said.

Iraq's judiciary announced on Monday it has begun its investigations into more than 1,300 Islamic State group detainees who were transferred from Syria as part of a US operation.

"Investigation proceedings have started with 1,387 members of the Daesh terrorist organisation who were recently transferred from the Syrian territory," the judiciary's media office said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

"Under the supervision of the head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, several judges specialising in counterterrorism started the investigation."

They include Syrians, Iraqis and Europeans, among other nationalities, according to several Iraqi security sources.

Northeast Syria's Hassakeh was under a curfew on Monday as government forces were expected to enter parts of the city under an integration deal with the Kurds.

AFP correspondents saw Kurdish security forces deployed in Hasakeh city while streets were empty and shops closed, after the curfew came into effect early on Monday. It will remain in force until 6pm (3pm GMT).

Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had said the deal would be implemented on the ground from Monday, with both sides to pull forces back from frontline positions in parts of the northeast, and from the town of Kobane in the north.

He said a "limited internal security force" would enter parts of Hassakeh and Qamishli, but that "no military forces will enter any Kurdish city or town".

A curfew is set for the city of Qamishli on Tuesday.

Israel's Supreme Court is considering a petition by the Foreign Press Association that demands foreign journalists be allowed to enter Gaza from Israel.

Government lawyers have said that letting journalists into Gaza could pose risks to Israeli soldiers, while also highlighting potential risks to reporters.

The FPA rejects this, saying the public is being deprived of a vital source of independent information. It also points to the fact that many aid and United Nations workers have been allowed to enter the enclave since the war started.