At least six killed in Israeli strikes on Anti-Lebanon mountain range at Syrian border | LIVE

The health of the two Israeli hostages free today from Gaza is "poor," according to hospital sources quoted by AFP. Haaretz also reported that the director of Israel's Sheba Hospital said the conditions of Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, raises a deep concern for the wellbeing of those who remain in captivity. "Our most important duty as doctors, humans, and as a society, is to work for the return of all hostages, until the very last one," she said. "The long time in captivity can be seen in a significant deterioration" in the hostages' condition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dispatched a delegation to Doha for the next phase of cease-fire talks, Israeli media reported this evening. However, AFP has also reported on a statement from Netanyahu, in which he says, “We will eliminate Hamas and bring back our hostages."

Eliminating Hamas has long been Israel's primary goal in its devastating war against Gaza that has killed at least 61,709 people, but Hamas' resurfacing during the facilitation of the hostage exchange during this last month of cease-fire appears to be a testament to Israel's failure to carry out this goal.

🔴 Lebanon

Three people have been killed, according to a preliminary toll, in an Israeli air strike on the so-called “Shaara” area in Anti-Lebanon mountains, on the border between Lebanon and Syria, our Bekaa correspondent Sarah Abdallah reports. Ambulances and rescue workers have been dispatched to the scene.

According to the government formation decree signed by Aoun and Salam, and in line with previous announcements, the new cabinet will consist of 24 members.

Lebanese-Syrian Border

Two members of the Syrian armed forces have been captured by fighters from Lebanese "clans," our correspondent in the Bekaa reported. Meanwhile, drones coming from Syria are flying over the Bekaa region.

Amid this extreme tension at the border, the Lebanese Army has begun deploying in Wadi Feisan, the area where the clashes are taking place, and has called for reinforcements, according to our correspondent’s information.

Gaza

The German foreign minister has condemned Hamas for parading the three released Israeli hostages, including Israeli-German citizen Ohad Ben Ami, as part of a fifth exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

"It is [...] unbearable that Hamas once again displays the three men in public, even at the last moment, and forces them to give 'interviews'," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, while welcoming their release, on the social network Bluesky.

Lebanon-Syria border

A statement issued by “Lebanese clans” declared that “in defense of Lebanon, its people, and the border villages,” their fighters had “targeted an enemy tank, which was attempting to infiltrate through our borders [Lebanese] at 1:30 p.m. today, with a missile,” claiming to have inflicted “casualties on its crew, including deaths and injuries.”

Gaza

Hamas denounces “the slow murder” of Palestinians detained by Israel.

Gaza

The Gaza Health Ministry reported a new death toll of at least 48,181 people in the Palestinian territory during the war with Israel. Despite a fragile cease-fire taking effect on Jan.19, the death toll reported by Gaza’s Ministry of Health continues to rise as bodies found under the rubble are identified or as people die from their injuries.

In the last 48 hours, 26 additional deaths were recorded, with the Ministry estimating the number of war casualties at 111,638. Over 570 names were added to the list of the deceased in 48 hours after being “approved by the committee” investigating the “missing persons” and cross-referencing the information.

Cease-fire in Gaza

Israel confirms the release of 183 Palestinian prisoners.

Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam has arrived in Baabda Palace.

Lebanon-Syria Border

Since the resumption of clashes along the Lebanon-Syria border between Syrian armed forces fighters and members of clans from the Hermel region, around fifty shells have fallen on Lebanese border towns, injuring eight people. These victims were transported by the Red Cross to hospitals in the region. A shell was also fired from Qoussair near a Lebanese army barracks, according to our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.

Tensions have escalated following the downing of a Syrian drone over Lebanon. Among the targeted localities is Safaoui, located in a strategic mountainous area facing Hawik and predominantly inhabited by members of the Jaafar clan. The villages of Qalaat el-Sabeh, Dhikba and Sahlat el-Maa, in the Baalbek district, were also targeted.

Syria

Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed yesterday France’s “support” for “the unity and sovereignty of Syria” and emphasized “the need to continue the fight against Daesh” during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to the Élysée. “The two heads of state discussed regional issues, particularly regarding Syria,” the French presidency explained, adding that Emmanuel Macron had stressed to his counterpart “the importance France places on an inclusive transition that respects all components of Syrian society.”

The French president also stated that Paris “continues to stand by the families of the victims and the entire Turkish people,” two years after the devastating double earthquake that struck the country.

Lebanon-Syria Border

More than five rockets and mortar shells struck homes and forests in the Hermel highlands, fired from Syria by the new Syrian army, which includes former members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.

This follows earlier shelling of the Lebanese towns of Jarmash and Qanafez, in the same district, launched from the adjacent Syrian region of Qusayr earlier in the morning. The operation, initiated by the new authorities in Damascus, is now in its third consecutive day.

Meanwhile, residents of the Hermel district managed to shoot down a “Shaheen”-type drone originating from Syria, our correspondent reported. A video sent to her shows the moment the drone was brought down.

Gaza

A bus from the ICRC arrived in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, carrying Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons as part of the Gaza truce deal, according to Al Jazeera. A large crowd surrounded the bus, cheering as the prisoners stepped off one by one.

These are the first dozens of prisoners released, out of more than 180 scheduled to be freed throughout the day.

Southern Lebanon

Several municipalities in the western and central sectors of the border strip in southern Lebanon have advised residents, journalists and visitors to remain vigilant due to landmines left behind by the Israeli army in villages that have now been liberated, according to a statement released Saturday by the National News Agency (NNA, official).

Gaza

Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the images of the three Israeli hostages, visibly frail and physically exhausted after their release by Hamas this morning, as a “crime against humanity” staged in front of several hundred people.

“This is what a crime against humanity looks like,” Herzog wrote on social media platform X. “The whole world must see [these three men], starving with emaciated faces, suffering while being exploited for a cynical and cruel spectacle by vile murderers,” he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also condemned the “shocking” images of the release, stating that they “will not go unanswered.”

Gaza truce

A bus carrying Palestinian detainees left Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank around midday as part of an exchange for Israeli hostages released from Gaza, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.

Israel is set to release a total of 183 Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian Prisoners Club, an NGO handling the matter, told AFP on Friday. Among those to be freed are “18 serving life sentences, 54 sentenced to lengthy prison terms, and 111 arrested in Gaza after Oct. 7,” the NGO detailed.

Gaza

Forum of Israeli Hostage Families has called for the return of all hostages held in the Gaza Strip following what it described as “shocking” images of three captives released in the morning by Hamas.

“The shocking images of the release of Ohad [Ben Ami], Eli [Sharabi], and Or [Levy] are further undeniable proof: there is no time to waste for the hostages,” the Forum said in a statement. “We must get them all out, every last hostage, now,” the statement added.

Lebanon-Syria Border

Residents of Haour Taala, in the Bekaa region, announced in a statement that they are ready to “defend the border area” with Syria, particularly in the Hermel region, located several dozen kilometers to the north, amid rising tensions in recent days between Lebanese clans and members of the new Syrian security forces (formerly HTS).

“We, the residents of the Haour Taala district, declare ourselves ready to defend the Hermel border region and any other area where our presence is needed to repel aggression. Our participation stems from a deep conviction of the importance of protecting our land and our people from any threat posed by criminal groups that do not hesitate to resort to violence,” the villagers stated.

Members of the Syrian security forces fired shells at the town of Jarmash on the Lebanon-Syria border near Hermel this morning, according to our correspondent in the Bekaa. Several shells also landed in the mountainous areas around Hermel, near the Syrian border, originating from the countryside of the Syrian city of Qusayr, our correspondent reported.

Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, who were released by Hamas in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, have crossed into Israeli territory accompanied by Israeli military and intelligence officers, according to a statement by the army.

They are now on their way to a facility near the Gaza fence for an initial check-up and to meet their family members, the statement said.

Gaza

The Israeli army announced late this morning that the Red Cross had handed over three Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip after their release by Hamas. Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy are "currently being escorted by special forces" to Israeli territory, according to a military statement.

Palestinian Hamas fighters escort Or Levy before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Feb. 8. (Credit: Eyad Baba/AFP)

Gaza

Salama Maarouf, director of the Gaza government's media office, announced that two young girls from the same family were killed and a third child was injured in Gaza City after a concrete wall of a house, previously bombed by Israeli airstrikes, collapsed.

Iran

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met in Tehran with Hamas’s interim leader, Khalil Hayyeh, along with two other senior officials of the Palestinian movement, according to Iran’s official news agency, as reported by Reuters. No details were provided on the content of the meeting, but photos were published showing Khamenei alongside Khalil Hayyeh, Mohammad Darwich, head of Hamas’s leadership council, and Nizar Awadallah, a senior Hamas official, the news agency added.

Lebanon-Syria Border

Mortar shelling carried out by the new Syrian security forces (former fighters of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham group) targeted the village of Jarmach, on the Lebanon-Syria border, according to information from our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah.

Gaza

Before being handed over to the ICRC, the three hostages were paraded by Hamas on a stage in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, as observed by AFP journalists on-site. Surrounded by masked and armed men, Or Lévy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami were forced to speak in Hebrew before a crowd of onlookers.

Find Ghadir Hamadi’s analysis here on the reasons behind the staging of these releases.

Gaza

Hamas has handed over the three Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip, according to live footage broadcast on Al Jazeera.

South Lebanon

The Israeli army has set fire to houses in several neighborhoods of Odaisseh, a village in the Marjayoun district that it still occupies, according to eyewitnesses cited by our correspondent in South Lebanon, Muntasser Abdallah. Israeli soldiers are deployed in the streets of the locality.

Syria

The head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global nonproliferation agency, will meet Syrian officials in Damascus today, three sources familiar with the visit told Reuters.

Director General Fernando Arias was expected to meet Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, two of the sources said, in a sign of political willingness to cooperate with the agency after years of strained relations under now-toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.

Gaza

The second phase of the agreement, still under negotiation, is expected to lead to the release of all hostages and the definitive end of the war in Gaza, before a final stage dedicated to rebuilding the Palestinian territory. However, the continuation of the process remains uncertain after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s shocking announcement of a proposed American takeover of the Gaza Strip and the relocation of its population, notably to Egypt or Jordan, to facilitate reconstruction.

Gaza

This will be the fifth such exchange since the cease-fire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, after 15 months of war sparked by Hamas's attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will oversee the process from the United States, where he began a visit on Monday, according to his office.

Since the truce began, 18 hostages and 582 Palestinian prisoners, along with one Egyptian, have been released. The first six-week phase of the agreement provides for the return of 33 hostages to Israel — at least eight of whom are deceased — in exchange for 1,900 Palestinians.

Gaza

The Times of Israel, citing an anonymous Israeli defense official, reported that authorities now expect the transfer to take place later than initially planned, at 10:00 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT).

The Israeli hostages will be handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross before being escorted out of Gaza by soldiers to a military facility near Re’im. There, they will undergo an initial physical and mental evaluation before reuniting with their families.

Gaza

Israel and the Forum of Families have confirmed that Or Levy, 34, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Israeli-German Ohad Ben Ami, 56, are set to be released after 16 months of captivity in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced the planned release of 183 Palestinian detainees. According to spokesperson Amani Sarahneh, these include “18 prisoners serving life sentences, 54 with heavy sentences, and 111 arrested in Gaza after Oct. 7.”

Gaza

Israel and Hamas are set to carry out the fifth exchange of hostages for Palestinian detainees as part of the cease-fire agreement in Gaza, with three Israelis and 183 Palestinians expected to be released. Uncertainty had initially surrounded the operation following the shockwave caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for an American takeover of Gaza, but those doubts were dispelled on Friday night.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, three weeks after the Gaza truce took effect, temporarily ending a 471-day war that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

We will also be following the latest developments in Lebanon, where the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, reached on Nov. 27, has been extended by 22 days. Additionally, we will cover the situation in Syria, exactly two months after the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, 2024.