Israel partially reopens Gaza's Rafah crossing following Saturday bloodshed

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Gunfire has been heard near the southern Lebanese town of Yaroun, with local media suggesting Israeli forces are opening fire near the border.

Israeli military vehicles have opened fire after being reported to be positioned in areas east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to Palestinian media.

Israel has issued demolition orders for 14 homes in al-Bustan neighbourhood of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem.

Roughi Fattouh, the head of the Palestinian National Council, called it "a legal and political crime, and a blatant violation of the rules of international law".

Armed Israeli settlers attacked the town of Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and fired shots at its residents earlier on Sunday evening, security sources have told Wafa news agency.

No injuries were reported.

The EU's Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness, and Crisis Management has condemned Israel’s "repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement" a day after more than 30 people were killed in Gaza on Saturday.

Hadja Lahbib wrote on her X channel that "International humanitarian law must be upheld. Civilians must be protected everywhere, at all times".

The Lebanese health ministry said that the earlier Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in Harouf has injured at least six people.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military claims to have targeted an alleged Hezbollah member.

In a statement posted on their X channel, the Israeli army claims the individual was Ali Dawood Amich, alleging he was the "head of a branch in the engineering department of Hezbollah".

Israeli soldiers operating in Tuqu, southeast of occupied Bethlehem, have closed all entrances to the town amid an ongoing raid, according to the town's mayor speaking to Wafa news agency. 

The Israeli military is conducting a raid in the town of Bani Na'im, east of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian media.

Israeli military says it has completed construction of checkpoint complex at Gaza's southern Rafah crossing ahead of the planned resumption of limited movement of Palestinians on Monday.

Syrian Kurdish authorities imposed curfews in Hassakeh and Qamishli as a deal with Damascus begins to be implemented, including a ceasefire and the gradual integration of Kurdish forces and institutions into the state.

The agreement has sparked anxiety among Kurds, who fear losing autonomy despite assurances that SDF fighters will remain present in Kurdish areas.

Read the full story here.

Israeli forces have stormed Shuqba village west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

According to a Wafa news correspondent, the Israeli army used tear gas as they raided the town. No injuries have been reported so far.

Soldiers are reported to have set up a military checkpoint in the middle of the town. No residents have been arrested yet.

One of the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of the Iranian drama "It Was Just an Accident", Mehdi Mahmoudian, was arrested in Tehran just weeks before the Academy Awards.

His detention came days after he signed a statement condemning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the state’s violent crackdown on protesters; two other signatories were also arrested.

Read the full story here.

UNRWA says water and electricity were cut off at their installations in Shu'fat Camp in occupied East Jerusalem on January 27 and 28 after "anti-UNRWA Israeli laws amended in December 2025 came into effect".

In a statement posted on their X channel, the agency urges that "suspension of UNRWA services must be prevented" as "more than 200,000 registered Palestine Refugees in East Jerusalem, including thousands of vulnerable families, depend on [them]".

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he hoped to agree a deal with Iran after the country's supreme leader warned that any US attack on the Islamic republic would trigger a regional war.

Asked about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's warning, Trump told reporters: "Of course he is going to say that.

"Hopefully we'll make a deal. If we don't make a deal, then we'll find out whether or not he was right".

Israeli drones have targeted a vehicle near the southern Lebanese town of Harouf, according to Hezbollah-linked al-Manar news outlet.

President Donald Trump said he hoped Washington could reach a deal with Tehran amid soaring tensions.

Iran has warned the US of a "regional conflict" if it comes under attack.

"Hopefully we'll make a deal," Trump said Sunday.

The top U.S. and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between U.S. General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.

The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran's leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the U.S. were to attack it.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Sunday that Israel's decision to terminate the medical charity's operations in Gaza was a "pretext" to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-devastated Palestinian territory.

"This is a pretext to obstruct humanitarian assistance. Israeli authorities are forcing humanitarian organisations into an impossible choice between exposing staff to risk or interrupting critical medical care for people in desperate need," MSF said in a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it was terminating the humanitarian operations of MSF in Gaza, citing the organisation's failure to provide a list of its Palestinian staff as demanded by the authorities.

Iraq's parliament has again postponed the election of the country's new president, state media reported on Sunday, amid intense political horse-trading and US pressure over the new prime minister.

It was the second time parliament has delayed the presidential vote, which had first been due last week.

An AFP correspondent in the parliament said the required quorum was not reached on Sunday. The vote was therefore delayed, according to the official INA press agency, which did not say whether a new date had been agreed.

The parliament's media office said the speaker will now meet the heads of party blocs to set a final date.

On the presidential front, Kurdish parties have yet to agree on a candidate, who must be endorsed by other blocs and win a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Iranian protester Erfan Soltani has been released on bail, his lawyer told AFP, after the United States warned he was due to be executed though Tehran denied he had been sentenced to death.

The 26-year-old "was released yesterday (Saturday) and received all of his belongings including his cellphone", said lawyer Amir Mousakhani, adding that a bail of "two billion tomans" (around $12,600) was paid for his release.

⚠️ Important

Iranian protester Erfan Soltani, who was supposed to be executed on Jan, 14, has been released on bail pic.twitter.com/KmbF3Y5osw

— Open News© (@OpenNewNews) February 1, 2026

Lebanon said one person was killed and several others wounded in Israeli strikes in the country's south on Sunday, as Israel said it struck Hezbollah targets.

Lebanon's health ministry said one person was killed and three others wounded, including a 16-year-old boy, in an Israeli strike in Ebba in the Nabatiyeh district, which is located in the country's south.

The state-run National News Agency said the strike targeted a vehicle whose driver was killed, reporting a boy was among the wounded when his family's car passed at the time of the raid and crashed.

The Israeli military claimed it struck a Hezbollah operative in the Dweir area, near Ebba, "in response to Hezbollah's repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings".

السيارة المستهدفة في بلدة الدوير-وادي عبا جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/fPUKbK4Zon

— Sawt Beirut International (@SawtBeirut) February 1, 2026

Egypt and Jordan's leaders on Sunday renewed their rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians as Israel announced that it was partially reopening the Rafah crossing between the devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt.

During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II "renewed their affirmation of Egypt and Jordan's firm stance rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land", according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

The naval forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards have no plan to carry out live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz as reported by some media outlets earlier this week, an Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday.

Iran's state-run Press TV reported on Thursday that the force would carry out the exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 1 and February 2.

"There was no plan for the Guards to hold military exercises there and there was no official announcement about it. Only media reports which were wrong," the official said.

Thousands of Syrian Kurds rallied in the northeast city of Qamishli on Sunday in a show of solidarity ahead of the implementation of a recent deal with the government.

Damascus and Kurdish forces reached a comprehensive agreement on Friday to gradually integrate the Kurds' military and civilian institutions into the state, after under-pressure Kurds ceded territory to advancing government forces in recent weeks.

Thousands of men, women and children filled the streets, waving Kurdish flags and holding up pictures of fighters who were killed.

بمشاركة #فنانين_كرد... مظاهرة حاشدة بـ #قامشلي في اليوم العالمي للتضامن مع #روج_آفا#قناة_اليوم pic.twitter.com/zPufHblav5

— قناة اليوم (@alyaum_news) February 1, 2026

Syria's interior ministry said Sunday that its forces had dismantled a cell that was responsible for recent attacks targeting Damascus's Mazzeh district, saying the weapons came from Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Security forces carried out operations that "targeted a terrorist cell involved in several attacks on the Mazzeh area and its military airport", a statement said, reporting that the cell was dismantled and its members arrested.

Forces also "seized a number of drones that were prepared for use in terrorist acts", it said.

"Preliminary investigations with those arrested revealed their links to foreign entities, and that the source of the rockets and launch platforms used in the attacks, as well as the seized drones, goes back to Lebanese militia Hezbollah," the statement added.

Preparations to reopen Gaza's main border crossing in Rafah were underway on Sunday though it was uncertain any Palestinians would pass through it before the day's end, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

COGAT, the Israeli military unit that oversees humanitarian coordination, said the crossing will reopen in both directions for Gaza residents on foot only and its operation will be coordinated with Egypt and the European Union.

A European source close to the EU mission confirmed the details and a Palestinian official said the crossing was expected to open for passengers on Monday. The Egyptian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Airline KLM is resuming flights to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, it said late on Saturday, after previously announcing it would avoid flying over large parts of the Middle East due to rising regional tensions.

"Based on the current security situation and operational feasibility, we have decided to resume our flights to Tel Aviv on February 2 and 3 with an adjusted schedule. From February 1 through 6, we will also operate flights to Dubai, also with an adjusted schedule", KLM said.

KLM, the Dutch arm of airline group Air France KLM , added that it had already resumed flights to other destinations in the region, such as Riyadh and Dammam.

Last week, the airline said it would not fly over large parts of the Middle East until further notice due to rising tensions there.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said Sunday that recent anti-government protests that saw killings and vandalism were akin to "a coup".

"They (rioters) attacked the police, government centres, IRGC centres, banks, and mosques, and burned the Quran... It was like a coup," Khamenei said according to Tasnim news agency, adding that "the coup was suppressed."

Activists accuse Iranian authorities of killing thousands of protesters.

Israel said Sunday it was terminating the humanitarian operations of the international charity Doctors Without Borders in Gaza after the organisation allegedly failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

"The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said.

The decision follows "MSF's failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations operating in the region", it added, stating that the group will cease its work and leave Gaza by February 28.

Israeli settlers erected a tent on Sunday morning in Khirbet Samra in the northern Jordan Valley, northeast of the occupied West Bank, in a preliminary step toward establishing a new settlement outpost.

Human rights organisation, Al-Baidar, said in a statement that settlers set up the tent near the tents of Palestinian residents in the area, in an attempt to provoke them and increase pressure on them, particularly as the area has been subjected to repeated attacks by settlers backed by the Israeli army.

The erection of a tent or a tin structure is considered an initial step in establishing a settlement outpost, which typically expands over time to encompass larger areas of Palestinian land.

Mark Savaya, named by U.S. President Donald Trump as special envoy for Iraq in October, is no longer in that role, sources familiar with the move said.

The move comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Baghdad over Washington's push to curb Iranian influence in Iraqi politics.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Savaya's departure or whether a replacement would be appointed.

One of the sources pointed to Savaya's "mishandling" of key situations, including his failure to prevent the nomination of former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to be the country's next premier, a move Trump openly warned Baghdad against.

Iran has declared European countries' armies "terrorist groups", its parliament speaker said Sunday, following the EU's decision to apply the same designation to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Lawmakers wore the green uniform of the Guards in a display of solidarity at the legislative session, where they chanted "Death to America", "Death to Israel" and "Shame on you, Europe", state television footage showed.

Slamming the bloc's "irresponsible action", speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that under "Article 7 of the Law on Countermeasures Against the Declaration of the IRGC as a Terrorist Organisation, the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups".

It remained unclear what immediate impact the decision would have.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday of a "regional war" if the United States attacked following heavy military deployments by Washington in the Gulf.

"The Americans should know that if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

Tehran has warned it will strike American bases and allies in the region if the US and Israel attack, amid flaring tensions over Iran's nuclear and missile programmes.