Israel eases Gaza aid blockade as mediators move to shore up fragile truce

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.
 

An elderly Palestinian detainee from Gaza has died in Israeli custody, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs confirmed on Monday.

Kamel al-Ajrami, 69, was arrested on 25 October 2024 and was being treated at Soroka Hospital in southern Israel before his death. He was later transferred to the Negev prison hospital.

Al-Ajrami, a married father of six, is the 80th Palestinian to die in Israeli detention since October 2023, according to the Commission and the Palestinian Prisoner Society.

The organisations held Israel “fully responsible” for his death and urged international human rights bodies to take “effective measures” to hold Tel Aviv accountable.

His death came shortly after Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to block government bills unless a death penalty law for Palestinian prisoners is passed within three weeks.

US Vice President J.D. Vance will not enter the Gaza Strip during his upcoming visit to Israel due to security concerns, Israeli broadcaster KAN reported on Monday.

Earlier reports suggested that Vance would travel to Gaza on Tuesday to assess the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

However, KAN later clarified that he "will only monitor the situation in the Strip remotely," using special screens at Israel’s Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.

According to Israel Hayom, Vance will instead observe the situation in Gaza "via a drone" rather than entering the enclave in person.

Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.

The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.

"From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context," Aston Villa said in a statement.

"We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future."

A Palestinian was injured after being shot by Israeli soldiers at the Qalandiya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank near East Jerusalem, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said.

The incident occurred amid a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank, despite the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza.

The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to bolster a fragile ceasefire in Gaza after a flare-up of violence, with Vice President JD Vance due in Israel on Tuesday hot on the heels of two high-level envoys.

Despite incidents over the weekend, both warring parties have said they are committed to the US-backed truce, and Donald Trump himself said Monday that he would give Hamas a chance to "behave" or else be "eradicated".

The ultimatum came as fighters qreturned the body of another dead hostage under the ceasefire deal, with the Israeli military confirming the remains were back in Israel where they would be positively identified.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Netanyahu on Monday to discuss recent developments, Shosh Bedrosian, spokeswoman for the prime minister's office, told journalists.

And Netanyahu later told parliament that Vice President Vance would arrive in Israel on Tuesday for discussions on "two things... the security challenges we face and the diplomatic opportunities before us".

Israel is pressuring the United States to postpone the start of Gaza’s reconstruction until Hamas fully disarms, according to a report by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority on Monday.

The report added that Israel also intends to seal tunnels across the Gaza Strip, including those in areas it does not occupy. Israeli forces reportedly still control more than half of the enclave.

Discussions between Israel and the US have included plans to close the tunnels, the broadcaster said.

Doctors and healthcare workers gathered in London to demand the release of more than 100 Palestinian medical professionals reportedly being held without charge or trial in Israeli prisons.

Among them is Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a senior hospital director in Gaza, who was detained by Israeli forces in December 2024. He

remains imprisoned amid mounting appeals for his release and reports from his lawyer that he was tortured in custody.

Hamas has urged the international community to pressure Israel to uphold its ceasefire obligations in Gaza.

The Palestinian faction said it is attempting to transfer the remains of Israeli captives despite “major challenges because of the extensive destruction” across the enclave. So far, Hamas has freed 20 Israeli hostages alive and returned the remains of 13 others.

Hamas “abides by all details of the ceasefire in Gaza, especially in the first phase by handing over all living captives at once,” spokesman Hazem Qassem said on the group’s Telegram channel.

“One of the main obstacles we face in delivering the remains is the absence of heavy machinery needed to remove the rubble. We have made this clear to the mediators,” Qassem added.

He called on “all parties that want calm in the region” to pressure Israel to meet its obligations, accusing it of continuing its “policy of starvation” against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel said it had received on Monday the remains of another Gaza hostage handed over as part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal.

"Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the coffin of a missing hostage who was handed over to the IDF (Israeli military) and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

The military and Shin Bet later confirmed the remains were back in Israel, and were being sent to "the National Institute for Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out".

A senior Hamas official told AFP news agency that the group's armed wing had handed over the captive's remains to the Red Cross after receiving them from the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades -- the armed wing of the Marxist-Leninist movement the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

A statement from the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said: "In fulfillment of our national responsibility, we... announce that we are handing over the body of one of the Zionist soldiers in implementation of the terms of the agreement."

Prior to this handover, Hamas had returned 12 bodies of hostages to Israel, out of the 28 it had pledged to return as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

After more than a year trapped in a dark tunnel under Gaza, Eli Sharabi is determined to move forward with his life, even as he knows that pain and grief will be constant companions.

"It's impossible to forget even a single moment of my captivity," the 53-year-old Israeli former hostage told AFP news agency in an interview on Monday.

"But it does not define who I am."

Sharabi was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Beeri during the unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

While in captivity, Eli Sharabi learned of his brother's death, but he remained unaware that the attackers had killed his wife and daughters until he was freed during a ceasefire earlier this year that ultimately collapsed.

Yossi Sharabi's remains were returned to Israel just days ago under a new truce brokered by US President Donald Trump.

"The extended Sharabi family has been waiting for this for two years," Sharabi said calmly.

"We needed closure. It's important to us. But it's clearly a very sad ending."

The Israeli military said on Monday that the Red Cross had received the body of a hostage held in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal.

"According to information provided by the Red Cross, a coffin of a deceased hostage has been transferred into its custody and is on the way to IDF (Israeli military) troops in the Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement.

Gaza's civil defence agency said four people were killed by Israeli forces Monday in Gaza City, with the army saying it fired at fighters who crossed a ceasefire line.

The people were killed in two separate incidents Monday morning, both times "by Israeli gunfire as they were returning to check on their homes in the Al-Shaaf area, east of Al-Tuffah neighborhood, in the east of Gaza City", said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the rescue service.

Israel's military said it had fired at fighters who crossed the so-called "Yellow Line" and approached troops in the Shujaiya neighbourhood, which is adjacent to Al-Tuffah.

The Yellow Line is the boundary behind which Israeli troops pulled back and remain stationed under the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Several such incidents have taken place since a fragile US-brokered ceasefire began on October 10, with 80 people killed in total, according to Gaza's health ministry.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he would give Hamas a "little chance" to honor the Gaza truce deal with Israel but warned the group would be "eradicated" if it fails to do so.

"We made a deal with Hamas that they're going to be very good, they're going to behave," Trump told reporters. "And if they're not, we're going to go and we're going to eradicate them. If we have to, they'll be eradicated."

(AFP)

Iran has scrapped a cooperation deal that it signed with the UN nuclear watchdog in September, its Supreme National Security Council Secretary said on Monday, according to state media.

The statement came around three weeks after Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said Tehran would scrap the agreement - which let the International Atomic Energy Agency resume inspections of its nuclear sites - Western powers reinstated UN sanctions.

Those were reinstated last month.

The confirmation will be a setback for the IAEA which has been trying to rebuild cooperation with Tehran since Israel and the United States bombed the nuclear sites in June.

The Red Cross is preparing for Hamas to hand over the body of a deceased captive tonight at 2000 Gaza time (1800 GMT), a senior official at the charity has told The Times of Israel.

Hamas's armed wing said earlier it would hand over the remains after they were found yesterday.

Israeli forces dropped 153 tonnes (337,307 pounds) of bombs on Gaza on Sunday in response to what it claimed was a ceasefire breach by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament Monday.

Israel launched a wave of air strikes against in Gaza after it said that two of its soldiers were killed in an attack by Hamas.

The Palestinian group denied any knowledge of the attack.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Hamas's armed wing has issued a statement announcing it will this evening hand over the body of another deceased captive found yesterday.

The handover with the Red Cross will take place at 2000 local time (1800 GMT), the Al-Qassam Brigades said.

This would be the 13th captive body returned to Israel since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.

The Israeli military has confirmed striking Lebanon, saying in a statement that it hit "Hezbollah terror infrastructure" in the Nabatieh area.

Lebanese media earlier reported strikes in three towns in the south of the country.

No casualties have been reported.

Gaza hospitals received 57 bodies over the past 24 hours, the local health ministry said earlier.

Of the dead, 45 were killed directly by Israeli fire and 12 were found under the rubble.

The death toll since 7 October 2023 has risen t0 at least 68,216, while 170,361 others have been wounded by Israeli attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Monday to discuss developments and updates in the region.

The Israeli premier will meet with US Vice President JD Vance as well.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels held a funeral Monday for their military chief of staff who was killed in a recent Israeli strike, with more than 1,000 people gathered for the ceremony in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

The Iranian-backed group acknowledged last week that one of their senior officers, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with other top rebel leaders. The Houthis did not say when the strike took place but this death further escalating tensions between the rebels and Israel.

The funeral comes as a fragile U.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war is holding in the Gaza Strip and nearly two months after Israeli airstrikes killed senior Houthi government officials in Sanaa, including their prime minister, Ahmed al-Rahawi, and several other rebel ministers.

The Houthis said al-Ghamari was killed along with his 13-year-old son Hussain and "several of his companions," according to the rebel-controlled SABA news agency, which didn’t provide further details.

Hundreds attended funeral prayers at a mosque in Sabeen Square in Sanaa, with many more gathered outside as the caskets were brought out. A poster of al-Ghamari was was held by the crowd in tribute and several mourners wore sashes bearing his image and the Yemeni and Palestinian flags.

Acting Prime Minister Mohamed Muftah praised al-Ghamari, saying on Monday he had inspired his troops with the highest level of dedication.

Dozens of aid trucks have reportedly entered Gaza through the Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) and the al-Karara crossings, according to Al Jazeera.

The crossings were closed yesterday by Israel before a series of attacks on Gaza in a ceasefire violation, which killed dozens.

The Israeli military has launched airstrikes in several towns in southern Lebanon, according to the country's state news agency.

The National News Agency said there were strikes in Aaichiyeh, Mahmoudiyeh, and Jarmaq in Jezzine district. 

No casualties were immediately reported.

A Hamas delegation is expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday to discuss the continuation of a fragile Gaza ceasefire, a source close to negotiations told AFP.

The Israeli military launched dozens of airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday in response to what it claimed was a Hamas attack on Israeli troops.

Hamas denied any knowledge of an attack and accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal in place since 10 October.

The source said that the delegation, headed by Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, would discuss "the dozens of airstrikes that killed dozens in the Gaza Strip".

Egypt and Qatar have long played a mediating role in indirect talks between the two sides, aiming to bring about an end to Israel's devastating two-year war on Gaza.

Hamas' delegation will also meet Egyptian officials to discuss an upcoming intra-Palestinian dialogue hosted by Egypt and aiming "to unify the Palestinian factions," the source told AFP.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected on Monday an assertion by US President Donald Trump that the United States has destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities.

"The US president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran's nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!" Khamenei said on X.

(Reuters)

Israeli forces have detained almost two dozen Palestinians during raids in the occupied West Bank, according to Al Jazeera.

Twenty-two people were arrested on Sunday night and early Monday morning in various locations across the territory.

Russia is prepared to expand cooperation with Iran in all areas, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Moscow has close relations with Tehran and condemned Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year.

Asked by reporters how Russia saw the development of events around Iran's nuclear programme and if Moscow would deepen ties with Tehran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

"Russia is definitely ready to expand cooperation with Iran in all areas. Iran is our partner, and our relations are developing very dynamically."

(Reuters and TNA staff)

Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza reopened for aid on Monday, an Israeli military official said, a day after Israel closed it.

Following a decision at the political level, aid flowed through Kerem Shalom "in full compliance with the signed agreement", the official said, adding that Gaza's Rafah crossing to Egypt "will remain closed until further notice".

Hamas has denied breaching the truce agreement and in turn accused Israel of violating the deal.

(AFP and TNA staff)

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser son-in-law Jared Kushner have returned to Israel, a US embassy spokesperson confirmed Monday.

The pair are Washington's top negotiators overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan and are expected to meet members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

(AFP)

The Israeli military has issued a statement confirming it shot and killed two Palestinians in Gaza City on Monday morning.

It claimed that they crossed the so-called 'yellow line' and "posed an immediate threat" to Israeli forces.

Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in Gaza City on Monday, according to Wafa.

A medical source at the Baptist Hospital said the two people were killed in the Al-Tuffah suburb in the east of the city, the Palestinian news agency reports.

Israel has killed 97 Palestinians and wounded 230 others since the ceasefire came into effect 10 days ago, according to the Gaza government media office.

Almost half of the deaths came on Sunday when Israel bombarded the territory in response to what it claimed was a Hamas attack on its troops in southern Gaza.

Israeli forces have regularly fired on civilians who they said crossed the so-called 'yellow line' demarcating Israel-occupied Gaza. The UN last week said these actions amount to war crimes committed by the Israeli military.

Israel will allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza on Monday, hours after of authorities reimposed a blockade on the Palestinian territory, an anonymous Israeli official told the Associated Press.

The Israeli military launched waves of deadly airstrikes and blocked aid from entering the strip on Sunday after alleging that Hamas had violated the fragile nine-day-old ceasefire.

Israel has begun allowing more aid into Gaza since the truce came into effect on 10 October, but aid agencies say that less than half of the 600 trucks needed every day are entering the territory.

(Associated Press and TNA staff)

Gaza's civil defence agency and hospitals said the dozens of Israeli air strikes carried out on Sunday killed at least 45 people, updating an earlier toll of 33.

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, in violation of the nine-day-old ceasefire agreement.

"At least 45 people were killed as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip," Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, told AFP.

(AFP and TNA staff)

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza was still holding after Israel carried out deadly strikes on the territory and temporarily blocked aid.

The dozens of strikes Israel carried out on Hamas positions in southern Gaza Sunday came after it claimed that the group had targeted its troops.

Asked by reporters whether the truce was still in effect, Trump said: "Yeah, it is".

The US president, who helped broker the deal, also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches, instead blaming "some rebels within".

"We want to make sure that it's going to be very peaceful with Hamas," Trump said. "It's going to be handled toughly, but properly."

(AFP and TNA staff)