Thank you for joining us for our live coverage for today. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the latest updates.
Goodnight!
Jordan's King Abdullah said he reiterated his country's position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.
“Achieving a just peace based on the two-state solution is the path to ensuring regional stability. This requires American leadership. President Trump is a man of peace. He was instrumental in securing the ceasefire in Gaza. We count on the United States and all stakeholders to ensure that it holds,” the Jordanian king said on X.
Hamas reiterated its commitment to the Gaza cease-fire deal, saying it holds Israel responsible for any "complications or delays," according to a statement from the group.
The statements come after a warning from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who threatened to resume the Israeli offensive in Gaza if Hamas did not release the Israeli hostages by noon Saturday.
Jordan's King Abdullah II told Donald Trump that his country was ready to take in 2,000 sick children from the Gaza Strip.
Speaking from the White House, the king also said that Cairo was preparing a cooperation plan with the American president, who proposed moving Gazans to Jordan and Egypt. Trump said that he would not participate in a private capacity in the real estate development of Gaza.
The Israeli army announces the mobilization of reservists as part of the troop buildup around Gaza, Haaretz reports. According to the Israeli army, "the buildup of forces and the mobilization of reservists are being carried out in order to prepare for various scenarios."
Egypt is preparing a cooperation plan with Trump, according to Jordanian King Abdullah II, received at the White House by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would resume "intense fighting" in Gaza if Hamas did not return the hostages by noon Saturday, without specifying whether he was referring to all the captives.
"If Hamas does not return our hostages by noon Saturday, the truce will end and the Israeli army will resume intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated," Netanyahu said in a statement released after a meeting with his security cabinet.
U.S. President Donald Trump does not believe that Hamas will meet the Saturday deadline to release the hostages, which he himself set for Saturday noon.
Israel threatened Hamas with "intense fighting" if hostages are not returned by Saturday, AFP reports.
Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his Saturday deadline for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
"Yes," the American president replied to a journalist who asked him if this ultimatum still stood, while he welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan to the White House.
The raising and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip devastated by more than a year of war will require more than $53 billion, including more than $20 billion over the first three years, according to a U.N. estimate released on Tuesday.
"The sums needed for the short, medium and long-term recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip are estimated at $53.142 billion. Of this amount, the short-term funding needed for the first three years is estimated at about $20.568 billion," according to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a report to the General Assembly.
The Houthis are prepared to launch attacks on Israel if it resumes strikes on Gaza and does not respect the cease-fire agreement, their leader, Abdel Malek al-Houthi, said in a televised speech. Since November 2023, the Houthis, rebels who control large swathes of Yemeni territory including the capital Sanaa, have been carrying out attacks off the coast of Yemen against ships they believe to be linked to Israel, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom. They say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the war in the Gaza Strip.
South Lebanon
The Israeli army set fire to several houses in Markaba, in the Marjayoun district, according to a correspondent in southern Lebanon.
Gaza
The Israeli army announced the death of an Israeli hostage in his 80s whose body is being held in Gaza, stating that he was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas attack before the assailants took his remains with them.
South Lebanon
The Israeli army has built makeshift roadblocks in Tallet al-Hammames, on the outskirts of Khiam, according to information from our correspondent in the South. It also blew up a house in Aita al-Shaab.
South Lebanon
The Israeli army blew up several houses in Yaroun, in the Bint Jbeil district, which it continues to occupy.
Municipality chairman Ali Tehfeh called on the new government and Lebanese officials to task over the explosions. “Every day, the Israeli enemy moves explosives into the village neighborhoods and detonates them in the evening,” Tehfeh told our correspondent in the South.
Every day, “between five and six houses” are destroyed, and have been for the past week, according to the municipal official. “Why hasn't the cease-fire monitoring committee acted? Where is it?” he added.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on Hamas to resume the release of hostages after it had threatened to postpone the next operation under the current truce in Gaza.
“We must avoid at all costs a resumption of hostilities in Gaza, which would lead to an immense tragedy. I call on Hamas to proceed with the planned release of the hostages,” wrote Guterres on X.
“Both sides must fully respect their commitments under the cease-fire agreement and resume serious negotiations,” he added.
President Donald Trump's statements threatening Gaza with “hell” if the hostages are not released by Saturday are “worthless and only complicate matters," a Hamas leader told AFP on Tuesday.
“Trump must remember that there is a [truce] agreement that must be respected by both sides and that this is the only way to get the prisoners back. The language of threats is worthless and only complicates matters,” said Hamas leader Sami Abou Zouhri.
An Israeli hostage in his 80s held by Hamas has died in captivity in the Gaza Strip, the Kissoufim kibbutz in southern Israel, where the hostage lived, announced on Tuesday.
“It is with a heavy heart that we, the members of the kibbutz, received this morning the news of the murder of our dear friend, 86-year-old Shlomo Mansour, who was kidnapped from his home on Kibbutz Kissoufim during the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023,” according to a Kibbutz statement.
Israel/Hamas
The United Nations has urged Israel and Hamas to ensure the "humane treatment" of all detainees, saying recent images of "emaciated" former Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners were "deeply disturbing."
"The images of emaciated Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees, released as part of the first phase of the Gaza cease-fire agreement, are deeply disturbing," said Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, in a statement. "We are also deeply concerned about the public parading of hostages released by Hamas in Gaza, including statements apparently made under duress during their release," he added.
Lebanese-Syrian border
Regarding the clashes along the Lebanon-Syria border between "Lebanese clans" and the new Syrian security forces, the new authorities in Damascus have accused Hezbollah of attacking Syrian security forces and sponsoring smuggling activities at the border, according to the state-run SANA news agency.
"Most of the smuggling groups at the Lebanese border are linked to Hezbollah militants, whose presence now poses a threat at the Syrian border as they support drug and arms traffickers," said Lt. Col. Moayed el-Salama in a statement cited by the agency.
Gaza
Last night, the Israeli army announced it was "significantly reinforcing the area" around the Gaza Strip after Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered troops to be ready "for all scenarios."
"Following a situational assessment (...), it was decided to significantly reinforce the area with additional troops for defensive missions," the army said in a statement. Earlier, Katz accused Hamas of violating the cease-fire agreement by announcing a delay in the next release of Israeli hostages, which was expected to take place Saturday.
Gaza
U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering halting aid to Egypt and Jordan if they refuse to take in Palestinians from Gaza, as outlined in his plan. Both countries firmly reject the idea at this stage.
Gaza
Donald Trump called Hamas' threat to postpone the next hostage release "terrible," vowing a real "hell" if they are not "all returned by noon on Saturday."
For the U.S. president, Israel should "cancel" the cease-fire agreement with the Palestinian group if the deadline is missed. "As far as I'm concerned, if all hostages are not returned by noon on Saturday — I think that's a reasonable date — I would say: 'Cancel it and let hell break loose,'" he told reporters at the White House.
Good morning. Thank you for joining us for today's live coverage of the cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza and the events in the region.
Make sure to read today's Morning Brief to catch up on what you missed.
You have reached your article limit
The future of Lebanon is being written.
Read it here first for $0.5/month the first 3 months!
This article is only available to L’Orient Today subscribers.
Already have an account? Login here