The Israeli army has reported that soldiers from the Givati brigade killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in combat in the north of the Palestinian enclave, according to Haaretz.
The troop claimed that he was “responsible for the group's rocket division” in the northern Gaza Strip, and that he had entered Israel during the October 7 attacks. It also claimed to have killed another Palestinian fighter during the raid.
In addition, Al Jazeera reports that three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombardment on Sunday evening in the Khirbet al-Adas area, near the southern Palestinian town of Rafah, adding to the more than 100 Palestinians reported dead in the last 24 hours by the Gaza Ministry of Health.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refuted recent claims that a list of Israeli hostages to be freed has been forwarded by Hamas, according to Haaretz.
As part of the recently resumed negotiations in Doha for a cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian movement had announced earlier on Sunday that it had approved a list of 34 people still being held hostage in the Palestinian enclave.
However, a few minutes after the publication of this information by Reuters, the Israeli PM's office indicated that such a list “has not yet been transferred” to Tel Aviv.
Hamas has approved a list of 34 hostages presented by Israel to be exchanged as part of a possible cease-fire agreement, an official of the group told Reuters on Sunday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also reiterated that any deal was conditional on an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent cease-fire, adding that the Palestinian movement had seen “no progress” on either.
“Don't test us,” the Israeli army's Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Hezbollah.
In a video posted on social networks showing what is presented as a “seizure of important weapons” belonging to the party by Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, Adraee said Israel will not allow Hezbollah to reconstitute its capabilities in Lebanon.
“We will not let Hezbollah rearm, rebuild its capabilities and threaten our national security again. Don't cross the line and don't test us,” he warned.
Gaza
The death toll from the latest Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 88, with 208 others injured in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Gaza has been bombarded more than 100 times over just three days, killing over 200 people across Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, 45,805 people have been killed and 109,064 injured in the Palestinian territory, while thousands remain missing, according to the announcement.
Lebanon/Israel
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Likud member Ze’ev Elkin announced Sunday during a press conference that residents of northern Israel are expected to return to their homes by March 1, according to Israeli Army Radio.
Meanwhile, Haaretz reported that the Israeli military is set to issue a decision on whether threats remain that could prevent these residents from returning after the 60-day cease-fire agreement in Lebanon ends in late January. While Israeli troops are expected to withdraw from southern Lebanon by the end of this period, officials have suggested in recent days that forces might extend their presence north of the Blue Line.
Approximately 60,000 residents of northern Israeli towns fled their homes at the start of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on Oct. 8, 2023.
Syria's new Foreign Minister, Assaad al-Chibani, called for the lifting of international sanctions against his country during his first official visit to Qatar, AFP reported.
Chibani, accompanied by Syrian Defense Minister Mourhaf Abou Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
The Qatari prime minister "reiterated Qatar’s position in favor of Syria’s unity, sovereignty, and independence," according to a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar, which supported the opposition during the Syrian war, has never restored diplomatic ties with the Assad regime, which was overthrown on Dec. 8 by a coalition of rebel factions led by the radical Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
South Lebanon
The Israeli army is conducting a large-scale sweep operation in Mais al-Jabal, according to our correspondent. It is firing machine guns at houses in various parts of the village.
Syria
The French Foreign Minister said it is "essential that no power" takes advantage of Syria's regime change to weaken the country, as his Syrian counterpart began an official visit to Qatar, AFP reported.
"Syria will obviously need help, but it is essential that no foreign power comes, as Russia and Iran have done for too long, under the pretext of supporting the authorities or supporting Syria [...], to weaken it further," he told the private radio station RTL.
Gaza
Rescue services in Gaza reported at least 23 fatalities from Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli army claims to have targeted around 100 "terrorist sites" over the past two days, according to AFP.
According to Gaza’s Civil Defense, at least 11 people, including women and children, were killed in a dawn airstrike on a house in northern Gaza.
"Rescuers are still searching for five people trapped under the rubble," said Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal. "They are working with their bare hands due to the lack of proper equipment."
Several other Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed an additional 12 people, according to Civil Defense reports.
"The [Israeli] occupation uses the false pretext of the presence of fighters to carry out violent airstrikes on homes sheltering dozens of displaced people," Mahmoud Bassal said.
Syria
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, said that determining the fate of people who went missing during Syria’s civil war will be a “huge challenge” that will take years to address.
“Identifying the missing and informing families of their fate will be a huge challenge,” Spoljaric told AFP in an interview.
In 2024, Israeli forces destroyed 815 mosques and partially damaged another 151, the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs has said in a report.
According to the report, 19 cemeteries were also destroyed, with graves desecrated and bodies exhumed, the Wafa news agency reported.
Three churches in Gaza City were also hit and destroyed in the Israeli attacks.
Gaza
Gaza’s Health Ministry announced that 88 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the Palestinian territory to 45,805 since the start of the war.
In a statement, the ministry added that 109,064 people have also been injured in Gaza since the war began, following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7, 2023. In response, Israel launched a devastating military campaign in the besieged Palestinian territory.
🔴 Lebanon/Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Hezbollah of failing to comply with the terms of the ceasefire agreement and warned that his country would act "with force" if necessary.
Katz claimed that Hezbollah fighters have yet to withdraw north of the Litani River, in southern Lebanon, about 30 kilometers from the Israeli border.
"If this condition is not met, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be forced to act unilaterally to ensure the safe return of northern residents to their homes," he added.
Syria
The Pentagon denied reports on Friday, including online videos, claiming that the United States is building a military base in the Kobani region of northern Syria, also known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic.
During a press briefing, Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated there are "no plans" to construct such a base, adding that she was unaware of the origin or context of the online videos.
"As you know, we have certainly encouraged and welcomed the cessation of violence between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, Kurdish-led) and other forces in that region," Singh said. "We remain focused on our mission, which, as you know, is to ensure the enduring defeat of the Islamic State."
Syria
Syrian security forces have arrested around 40 individuals linked to the former Assad regime during operations in Homs, central Syria, according to Syria TV, as cited by online media outlet The New Arab.
Among those arrested is Mohammad Noureddine Chalhoum, who was reportedly responsible for operating the surveillance cameras at Saydnaya prison, near Damascus. Chalhoum is accused of turning off the cameras and stealing documents while fleeing during the rebel advance on Damascus in early December.
Chalhoum and a relative, a high-ranking officer in the Presidential Guard, are also accused of shooting at relatives of detainees who went to Saydnaya after the regime's fall.
Some of those arrested are reportedly implicated in a massacre committed by the Assad regime in Homs in 2012.
South Lebanon
Israeli soldiers raided several neighborhoods in Taybeh, in the Marjayoun district. Explosions and bursts of gunfire were heard in the area.
According to our correspondent, the Israeli army blew up three houses in the village this morning.
Syria
Syria’s new foreign minister, Assaad al-Chibani, began an official visit to Qatar today, marking his first trip to the Gulf country since the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad.
The minister arrived in Doha this morning for meetings, a Syrian diplomat in Doha and a Qatari official told AFP. Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in Damascus following the fall of Assad’s regime.
South Lebanon
The Israeli army bulldozed fields on the outskirts of Aitaroun, according to our correspondent.
Gaza
The Israeli army said it struck more than 100 “terrorist targets” in the Gaza Strip over the past two days.
“The air force hit over 100 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip and eliminated dozens of Hamas terrorists on Friday and Saturday,” the army said in a statement. It also reported targeting several sites used by Palestinian fighters to launch projectiles toward Israel in recent days.
Israel
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid welcomed the Biden administration’s $8 billion increase in military aid to Israel.
“U.S. support over the past 15 months has allowed us to defend ourselves and wage war,” Lapid said in a message posted on X.
Yemen
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile fired at Israel overnight, according to a statement by their spokesperson, Yahya Saree. In a declaration posted on X, Saree said the Houthis "launched a ballistic missile at Israel," adding that the target was Israel's largest power plant, Orot Rabin, located in the central city of Hadera. He added that "the strikes will continue until the aggression in Gaza ends."
Syria
More than 100 fighters have been killed in the past two days during clashes in northern Syria between Turkey-backed armed factions and Kurdish forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
Since Friday evening, fighting in villages around the city of Manbij has left 101 dead, including 85 members of pro-Turkey Syrian factions and 16 members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), SOHR director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. In a statement, the SDF said they had repelled "all attacks by Turkish mercenaries supported by drones and Turkish airpower."
More details here.
Syria
On one of the slopes of Mount Qasyun overlooking Damascus, an underground tunnel network connects the Republican Guard's military complex — responsible for defending the Syrian capital — to the presidential palace, according to an AFP correspondent who visited the site on Saturday.
What did these tunnels contain? More details here.
South Lebanon
Around 10 p.m. last night, the Israeli army launched flares over the towns of Mazraat Bastarat (one of the Shebaa hamlets), Kfarchouba (Hasbaya district) and Halta (Hasbaya), according to our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah.
Israeli soldiers swept and searched the area between Aita al-Shaab and Rmeish (Bint Jbeil) before withdrawing to their positions south of the Blue Line.
Israel
Early this morning, the Israeli army announced it intercepted "a missile launched from Yemen" before it entered Israeli airspace. Sirens had earlier sounded in Talmei Elazar in northern Israel.
United States
The Biden administration announced an $8 billion arms sale to Israel.
Gaza
Gaza's civil defense reported that five security personnel escorting humanitarian convoys were killed by an Israeli airstrike while traveling in a vehicle in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. "All those targeted in this strike were involved in terrorist activities," the Israeli army said. It claimed to have fired "at a distance from humanitarian convoys" but did not comment on the strike that hit the al-Ghoula family's home.
Local rescuers reported 15 more fatalities throughout the day from strikes across northern, central, and southern Gaza.
Gaza
Gazan rescue services said at least 31 people were killed and many others wounded on Friday in multiple Israeli airstrikes across the coastal strip. One strike reportedly destroyed the al-Ghoula family's house in Gaza City, killing 11 people, including seven children.
"A loud explosion woke us up, everything was shaking. I was shocked to see it was our neighbors' house, the al-Ghoula family. No one there was wanted or posed any threat," said Ahmed Moussa.
AFP footage from the Shuja'iyya neighborhood shows residents sifting through smoking rubble and bodies wrapped in white sheets lying on the ground.
Gaza
Israel confirmed late Friday the resumption of indirect talks with Hamas in Qatar to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed more than 30 people in the enclave, according to local rescue services.
Hamas's armed wing released a video showing Liri Albag, a 19-year-old Israeli woman abducted during the group's unprecedented Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed her family "of ongoing efforts to free the hostages, including the Israeli delegation that left yesterday [Friday] for talks in Qatar."
More details here.
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, including the Gaza war, now in its 457th day, and its regional repercussions, particularly in Lebanon and Yemen. We'll also follow developments in Syria nearly a month after the fall of the Assad regime.
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