US envoy Witkoff kickstarts Israel visit to oversee Gaza ceasefire

 Israeli troops will remain in the Palestinians' Jenin refugee camp once the large-scale raid they launched last week is complete, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday as a crackdown in the occupied West Bank extended into a second week.

"The Jenin refugee camp will not be what it was," Katz said during a visit to the refugee camp. "After the operation is completed, [Israeli] forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terrorism does not return."

He did not provide further details.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned what it called Katz's "provocative" statement and called for international pressure on Israel to stop the operation, which has already been condemned by countries including France and Jordan.

Israeli forces went into Jenin immediately after the start of a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, saying it aimed to hit groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of which receive support from Iran.

At least 17 Palestinians, including six members of armed groups and a two-year-old girl, have been killed in Jenin and the surrounding villages during the operation, according to Palestinian officials.

Air France will resume services to Beirut this Saturday after suspending them due to a conflict between Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah operatives, the airline announced.

The French carrier will start with five weekly flights and Transavia, the low-cost subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group, will resume services to the Lebanese capital on February 13, starting with three a week.

Both airlines had ceased serving Beirut in September as tensions rose in the region, with the Israeli military bombarding Hezbollah targets in the city. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has tenuously held since November.

A spokesman for Air France said the airline will progressively return to running seven flights a week to Beirut with widebody Airbus A330s and A350s. Transavia intends to be running six weekly flights by early March.

"The resumption, as well as the continuation of operations, will be the object of a regular assessment of the situation," he added.

Wednesday's announcement comes eight days after Air France and Transavia said they would be resuming their service to Tel Aviv.

The director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon said on Wednesday that the agency had not been affected by US President Donald Trump's halt to US foreign aid funding or by an Israeli ban on its operations.

"UNRWA currently is not receiving any US funding so there is no direct impact of the more recent decisions related to the UN system for UNRWA," Dorothee Klaus told reporters at UNRWA's field office in Lebanon.

US funding to UNRWA was suspended last year until March 2025 under a deal reached by US lawmakers and after Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in Gaza of participating in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023.

The U.N. has said it had fired nine UNRWA staff who may have been involved and said it would investigate all accusations made.

Klaus said that UNRWA Lebanon had also placed four staff members on administrative leave as it investigated allegations they had breached the Un principle of neutrality.

One UNRWA teacher had already been suspended last year and a Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed in September in an Israeli strike - allegedly had an UNRWA job.

Klaus also said there was "no direct impact" on the agency's Lebanon operations from a new Israeli law banning UNRWA operations in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and that "UNRWA will continue fully operating in Lebanon."

 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Hamas leader Muhammad Ismail Darwish in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan's office said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin also attended the meeting, as well as other Hamas officials.

Jordan's King Abdullah II said Wednesday that Palestinians must remain on their land, after US President Donald Trump floated an idea for Palestinians in Gaza to move to Jordan and Egypt.

The king stressed during meetings in Brussels "Jordan's firm position on the need to keep the Palestinians on their land and to guarantee their legitimate rights, in accordance with the Israeli and Palestinian two-state solution", the royal palace said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday on the deportation non-citizen college students and other resident non-US citizens who took part in pro-Palestine protests, a White House official said.

A fact sheet on the order said Trump would order the Justice Department to "aggressively prosecute terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews.”

"To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you," Trump said in the fact sheet.

"I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathisers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met visiting US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday, his office said in a statement.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting in his office with the special envoy of the President of the United States to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff," Netanyahu's office said. Witkoff had been credited with pushing forward a ceasefire in Gaza that took effect on January 19 after months of fruitless talks.

Israel said that a total of eight captives, three Israelis and five Thais, were to be freed from Gaza on Thursday.

The three Israelis were Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger and Gadi Moses, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday, adding that five Thai citizens held in Gaza would also be freed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that three men being held hostage by Hamas were due to be released in a fourth exchange on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

"According to the agreement, the next phase, in which three additional hostages (living men) are expected to be released, will take place on Saturday. The families will be informed of the names of those to be released on Friday," the prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israel’s government has been provided with a list of Israeli captives due to be released from Gaza tomorrow, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, as reported by Israeli media.

Three captives are expected to be freed in the third exchange of prisoners under the ongoing Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Further details on the exchange will be provided as soon as possible.

Israel alleged on Wednesday that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is full of Hamas operatives and reaffirmed its commitment to end ties with the agency this week.

"UNRWA equals Hamas. Israel has made public, irrefutable evidence, UNRWA is riddled with Hamas operatives," government spokesman David Mencer told journalists as Israel prepares to cut its ties with the agency on Thursday.

"Israel makes clear... if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists.

"UNRWA employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre," Mencer alleged. "This isn't aid, it's direct financial support for terror."

Egypt will not participate in the displacement of Palestinians, which would be an "act of injustice", President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump said Egypt and Jordan should take in residents of the Gaza Strip.

According to a statement by the president's office on Wednesday, Sisi said Egypt would work with Trump to reach peace between Israel and Palestinians based on a two-state solution.

Israel on Wednesday dismissed accusations by Hamas officials of causing delays to aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip under a ceasefire deal.

"It's totally fake news," a spokesperson for COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry agency that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said after two Hamas officials told news agency AFP Israeli actions were slowing down the delivery of key aid items

The Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli forces killed two people in separate overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, including one in Jenin, where the Israeli military is conducting a major offensive.

The Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement that a 25-year-old man it identified as Osama Abu al-Hija was killed late on Tuesday in Jenin "as a result of an Israeli air strike".

The Israeli military launched an intensive military assault in the Jenin area, now in its eighth day.

Abu al-Hija is the 16th person killed during the operation which has caused many residents of Jenin refugee camp, the focus of the operation, to flee the area after the army urged citizens to evacuate last week.

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, the ministry of health also announced that a 23-year-old Palestinian man it identified as Ayman Naji was killed in the northern city of Tulkarem "after being shot" by Israeli forces.

A Turkish ship docked at Egypt's El-Arish on Wednesday, delivering the first aid destined for Gaza through the port since a fragile ceasefire went into effect, a Turkish official and Egyptian sources said.

"We are prepared to heal the wounds of our Gazan brothers and sisters and to meet their temporary shelter needs," Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on X on Wednesday.

The ship was loaded with 871 tons of humanitarian aid, including 300 power generators, 20 portable toilets, 10,460 tents and 14,350 blankets, according to Yerlikaya.

A team from the Egyptian Red Crescent received the Turkish aid to make the necessary arrangements for its delivery to the Strip, a source at the port, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, said.

Two staff from the Egyptian Red Crescent also confirmed its arrival.

Since the start of the truce in the Palestinian territory, hundreds of truckloads of aid have entered Gaza while some has been airlifted in.

Two Hamas officials on Wednesday accused Israel of delaying the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to Gaza, as agreed in the ceasefire deal, and warned that it could impact the release of hostages.

"We warn that continued delays and failure to address these points (delivery of key aid) will affect the natural progression of the agreement, including the prisoner exchange," a senior Hamas official told news agency AFP, while another official said the group had asked mediators to intervene in the issue.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the past 24 hours, while two others died from their wounds. Additionally, 59 bodies were recovered from the rubble of previous Israeli attacks.

The latest figures bring the total death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza to 47,417, with at least 111,571 wounded since October 7, 2023, according to a statement on Telegram.

US senator Bernie Sanders has denounced President Donald Trump's recent comments after calling to "clean out" Palestinians in Gaza, by stating the leader's position promoted "ethnic cleansing" in the devastated enclave.

"Trump said he wants to “clean out” Gaza and push the millions of Palestinians living there into neighboring countries," Sanders said in a statement on X.

"There is a name for this - ethnic cleansing - and it’s a war crime," he added.

Five people were injured in an Israeli drone strike targeting the southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selm on Wednesday, the Lebanese health ministry said.

On Tuesday night, Israeli airstrikes injured 24 people in Nabatieh, a major town in south Lebanon.

The Israeli military said in a statement it had struck Hezbollah vehicles that were transporting weapons on the edge of Nabatieh.

Following the strikes on Nabatieh, senior Hezbollah official Mohammad Raad said that the Lebanese people's right to resist Israeli attacks is a "sacred and legitimate right.

He emphasized that this right should be exercised at the time and place deemed necessary to protect the country's security.

Israeli forces have gone to demolish six homes, one restaurant and a prayer hall in the occupied West Bank since dawn on Wednesday, in several cities including Jericho, east Jerusalem, Salfit and Bethlehem.

Four of those homes were destroyed in Jericho alone.

Two Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip have died in Israeli detention, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said on Wednesday.

They said that 35-year-old Palestinian detainee Hamad Sharif al-Asali was arrested from al-Shifa Hospital in March 2024., and was being held at Ashkelon Prison. 

The other victim was Ibrahim Adnan Ashour who was detained in February last year from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Gaza to monitor the enforcement of the ceasefire agreement, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.

Israeli media reports that Witkoff will visit the Netzarim corridor today before meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the next phase of the deal with Hamas.

Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain have told the UN Security Council they "deeply deplore" Israel’s decision to shut down UNRWA’s operations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

In a joint statement, they condemned Israel’s withdrawal from its 1967 agreement with UNRWA and any efforts to obstruct its UN-mandated work.

The group also called for the suspension of Israeli laws banning the agency, arguing they violate international law and the UN Charter.

Reaffirming their humanitarian commitment, the countries stressed their support for UNRWA and the protection of international law.

The "non-suspenders" - 🇧🇪🇮🇪🇱🇺🇲🇹🇳🇴🇸🇮🇪🇸 - in #UNSC meeting on #UNRWA:
We deeply deplore the adoption by the Israeli Knesset of legislation aimed at abolishing UNRWA's activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
UNRWA remains more essential than ever.
➡️https://t.co/Ihp5pmdf3z pic.twitter.com/SSBiaYlZAT

— NorwayUN (@NorwayUN) January 28, 2025

Germany is preparing to deploy border management experts to Gaza’s southern Rafah Crossing with Egypt, according to a report by the DPA news agency.

To facilitate the move, the German government plans to amend a 2005 cabinet decision that previously restricted deployments to unarmed personnel.

The amendment would allow the deployment of Germany’s armed forces, citing heightened security risks in Gaza.

The mission could be part of the European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah), which is set to resume operations after years of suspension.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that Italy, Spain, and France are the first EU nations sending personnel to assist with managing the Rafah Crossing, which is expected to reopen soon.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Egypt's foreign minister on Tuesday it was important to ensure Hamas can never govern Gaza again, the State Department said, with their call coming after President Donald Trump suggested Egypt and Jordan should take more Palestinians.

"He (Rubio) also reinforced the importance of holding Hamas accountable," the State Department said after Tuesday's call.

"The Secretary reiterated the importance of close cooperation to advance post-conflict planning to ensure Hamas can never govern Gaza or threaten Israel again."

Rubio held a call a day earlier with Jordan's King Abdullah and the US statement after that call, too, did not mention Trump's remarks on Palestinian displacement.

Trump on Saturday floated a plan to "clean out" Gaza, where Israel's war has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis, in comments that echoed long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes.

The latest casualty was reported in Irtah, south of Tulkarem, where 23-year-old Ayman Naji was killed yesterday during an Israeli raid, according to Al Jazeera English.

In Tulkarem, Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian suspect killed in an attack that left an Israeli dead in November 2023.

Another home, belonging to a Palestinian declared wanted by Israel, was also blown up in the Tulkarem refugee camp.

For the second consecutive week, Israeli forces have been carrying out a large-scale operation in Jenin, which expanded to Tulkarem three days ago.

Raids continue to force more families from their homes, with local officials estimating that over 1,000 Palestinians have been displaced.

Since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank has left 884 Palestinians dead, 7,370 wounded, and at least 14,400 detained, according to the latest reports.