The Hamas militant group said Thursday it would as planned this weekend in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, raising the prospect of resolving a major dispute over in the Gaza Strip.
Israel, with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, has said it will resume fighting if the hostages are not freed, but did not immediately comment on the statement by Hamas.
Hamas had said it was going to delay the hostage release because Israel wasn't keeping up its side of the ceasefire agreement. Hamas said Israel wasn't allowing enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble into Gaza, among other alleged violations of the truce.
The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19, freeing and over 730 so far during the . The war could resume if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages captured in Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and an indefinite extension of the truce.
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Here's the latest:
Lebanese protesters block airport road after a flight from Iran is cancelled, possibly due to Israeli pressure
BEIRUT 鈥� Protesters blocked the road to Lebanon鈥檚 only commercial airport with burning tires on Thursday after a passenger plane from Iran wasn鈥檛 allowed to fly to Beirut, Lebanon鈥檚 state-run National 撸奶社区 Agency reported.
It appeared the protesters鈥� ire was directed at the Lebanese government and airport authorities for allegedly capitulating to Israeli pressure to cancel the flight.
An Israeli military statement said Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were 鈥渆xploiting Beirut Airport and civilian flights to smuggle funds intended to strengthen the terrorist organization and support terror activities against the State of Israel.鈥�
Lebanon鈥檚 civil aviation agency later said 鈥渁dditional security measures鈥� meant that some flights were temporarily rescheduled until Feb. 18 鈥� the same day as a deadline for Israel and Hezbollah to fully implement their ceasefire.
A member of parliament from , Ibrahim Moussawi, said in a statement that the plane was prevented from flying 鈥渁s a result of an Israeli threat鈥� to target it.
Netanyahu is a no-show as chief justice is sworn in, prompting a rebuke from Israel's president
JERUSALEM 鈥� Israel鈥檚 largely ceremonial president criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition for not attending the appointment of the country's new chief justice.
鈥淚n a democratic country, where respect for state institutions is a guiding light, there is no place for boycotts of one branch of government by another,鈥� Isaac Herzog said Thursday.
Before the outbreak of the war against Hamas, a threatened to trigger a constitutional crisis, sparking mass protests in Israel and rattling the cohesion of the powerful military.
Netanyahu鈥檚 justice minister, Yariv Levin, was a key architect of the planned overhaul and had held up the appointment of Isaac Amit as chief justice for over a year.
Supporters say the changes aim to strengthen democracy by circumscribing the authority of unelected judges and turning over more powers to elected officials. But opponents see the overhaul as a , who is on trial for corruption charges, and an assault on a key watchdog.
Palestinians in Gaza say they hope the ceasefire holds
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip 鈥� Palestinians in central Gaza say they are hopeful the ceasefire deal holds, as Israel and Hamas appear back on track for the next hostage release.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want a return of the war. We鈥檝e been through enough already, and more than that would be an injustice,鈥� said Mohamed Abu Ghaiaz from the Nuseirat refugee camp.
AP footage showed people walking in the streets Thursday outside Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, with some stopping to buy food and other items from a makeshift kiosk.
鈥淎s civilians, we paid a hefty price due to this war, and we hope it ends as soon as possible,鈥� said Saed Abu Attia, a displaced man from northern Gaza.
Israel says a rocket was fired from Gaza but landed inside the territory
JERUSALEM 鈥� The Israeli military said a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip on Thursday but landed inside the territory, as the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to hold.
This appeared to be the first rocket fired from within Gaza since the ceasefire began Jan 19.
The Israeli military said it struck the launcher that fired the projectile, and published a video of what it said was the rocket鈥檚 brief arc over the Gaza skyline. But the brief statement didn鈥檛 specify where the rocket was fired from.
Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group did not immediately comment on the Israeli military report.
Although militants were once firing volleys of rockets each day out of Gaza, that dwindled to nearly zero over the course of the 15-month war.
Since the ceasefire went into effect, Israeli fire has killed at least 92 Palestinians and wounded more than 800 others in Gaza, according to Munir al-Bursh, director general of the territory's Health Ministry. The Israeli military says it has fired on people who approach its forces or enter certain areas in violation of the truce.
Turkey's Erdogan makes rare criticism of Trump
ANKARA, Turkey 鈥� In a rare rebuke of the U.S. president, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke out against what he called Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥渃hallenges鈥� to the world 鈥� including a proposal to expel Palestinians from Gaza 鈥� saying his actions pose a threat to global peace.
Erdogan and Trump had formed a close personal relationship during Trump鈥檚 first term and referred to each other as friends, despite the often-strained ties between the two NATO countries.
鈥淭o tell the truth, I do not find Mr. Trump鈥檚 behavior in the past period and his current statements and challenges to many countries in the world to be right, and I do not see these as a positive development,鈥� Erdogan said.
The Turkish president was in Jakarta on Wednesday and was interviewed by Indonesian television anchor Najwa Shihab, which aired on YouTube on Thursday.
Israeli military says more than 90 militants arrested over the past week in the West Bank
TEL AVIV, Israel 鈥� The Israeli military said on Thursday that it arrested over 90 Palestinian militants during an expanded operation in the West Bank over the past week.
The military also said it seized weapons and illegal vehicles, and detonated a booby-trapped vehicle targeting Israeli soldiers.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army鈥檚 operations in the West Bank are expanding, in an attempt to stop Iran 鈥� an ally of Hamas 鈥� from opening up a new front in the occupied territory.
Palestinians are worried by the trend toward more lethal, warlike Israeli tactics in the West Bank, including the use of heavier military vehicles that are flattening areas of the West Bank in scenarios that are similar to the devastation in Gaza.
This week, two women, including one who was eight months pregnant, were .
Israeli military says it shot at a Palestinian suspect in northern West Bank; Palestinians say a man was killed
JERUSALEM 鈥� The Israeli military says it opened fire on a Palestinian who approached a base in the north of the occupied West Bank and was acting suspiciously.
The army statement did not elaborate on Thursday鈥檚 shooting. The Palestinian Authority鈥檚 Health Ministry said Israeli authorities informed it that Issa Jabali, 28, was killed. The ministry did not provide further information.
in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Across the , at least 905 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since Hamas鈥� Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Many appear to have been militants killed in gunbattles during Israeli raids. But rock-throwing protesters and uninvolved civilians 鈥� including a 2-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy and 73-year-old man 鈥� have also been killed in recent weeks.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies wants to expand its reach in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria 鈥� The head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said during a visit to Damascus on Thursday that he hopes to expand its reach in Syria after the fall of former President Bashar Assad.
During nearly 14 years of civil war, the country was divided between government and opposition-controlled areas, and its emergency services were also divided. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent at the time worked in government-controlled areas and a separate civil defense organization known as the White Helmets in opposition areas.
IFRC Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain said his organization 鈥渨ill support the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to work across Syria鈥� including in formerly rebel-controlled enclaves like Idlib in the northwest, while 鈥渃ollaborating with all other humanitarian organizations.鈥�
Chapagain said the group hopes to be able to move beyond handing out food boxes to more sustainable aid as the country rebuilds.
Many humanitarian organizations have been reeling from the Trump administration鈥檚 freeze on U.S. foreign assistance. Chapagain said that USAID is a 鈥渧ery crucial partner for us.鈥�
鈥淲e are in very constructive discussion with the new administration,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have received waivers for some of our lifesaving programs and we continue to engage with them.鈥�
The Associated Press
