Hamas ready to free remaining hostages in single exchange during second phase of truce | LIVE

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The Israeli Hostage Families Forum said it was informed of the deaths of the Bibas children and their mother, AFP reported.

"We have received the devastating news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us," the forum, a collective of families of hostages kidnapped in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 during the Hamas attack, wrote in a statement.

Shiri Bibas, 32, and Yarden Bibas, 34, were captured with their children, Kir (2) and Ariel (5). Yarden Bibas was released on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, without his family.

Israel officially received the names of the four hostages whose remains are to be handed over by Hamas on Thursday, AFP reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday would be a "shattering day" for Israel, which is due to receive the remains of four hostages held in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel, a day of upheaval, a day of mourning. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages, dead," Netanyahu said in a statement from his office.

The Lebanese Civil Defense announced that it had recovered 11 bodies in several border villages on Wednesday, after the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

"Specialized teams managed today ... to recover seven bodies in Mais al-Jabal, one in Khiam, another in Markaba and two in Deir Serian," the Civil Defense said. The remains were transferred to hospitals in the region for DNA testing.

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it would hand over the body of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz on Thursday.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that its military units "continue to deploy in all border villages in south Lebanon in coordination with the committee responsible for supervising the cease-fire and the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) following the Israeli withdrawal."

It also said that the Israeli army has not fully withdrawn from south Lebanon in accordance with Resolution 1701, denouncing the fact that it is still "stationed at several border points and continues to go back on its commitments and violate Lebanese sovereignty." The army stated that its specialized military units have " intensified their efforts to support the return of the Lebanese to their villages by removing rubble, opening roads after the massive destruction caused by the Israeli aggression and dealing with unexploded ordnance and suspicious objects that represent an imminent danger to the lives of citizens."

The Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli army said that the Israeli military"carried out an airstrike to eliminate a threat," killing a member of Hezbollah in Aita al-Shaab, after he was "spotted using combat means."

In his post, Avichay Adraee claimed that "the army continues its operations to eliminate any threat in accordance with the agreements between Israel and Lebanon."

South Lebanon

An Israeli bulldozer has advanced from Misgav Am in Israeli territory towards Khallet al-Mahafer in Lebanon, near Odaisseh (Marjayoun), reported our correspondent. Israeli troops erected makeshift blocks along the road leading to Khallet al-Mahafer, which is also a residential area.

South Lebanon

Israeli forces threw two stun grenades near a gathering of residents in Kfar Kila, without causing any injuries, reports our correspondent.

Gaza

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez have once again affirmed their total rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian population from Gaza, as was previously called for by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Reading a statement to the press alongside Sánchez after a meeting in Madrid, Sissi stressed that the two had agreed on “the need for the reconstruction of Gaza without forced displacement. I repeat: without the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from their land, to which they cling, and from their homeland, which they do not consent to abandon.”

Sánchez emphasized “the categorical refusal of Spain and its government [to give their approval] to the plan to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza.”

He also declared that he “obviously supports” the proposal for the reconstruction of the Strip without the displacement of its population, which will be submitted to an Arab League summit, to be held in Cairo on March 4.

Gaza

A new mass polio vaccination campaign will begin on Feb. 22 in Gaza, where the virus is still present and “still a risk” for children, the World Health Organization announced.

The campaign, which is due to last until Feb. 26, aims to cover more than 591,000 children under the age of 10, WHO said in a statement.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained on X that the campaign “follows the recent detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples, revealing its circulation in the environment, putting children at risk.”

Gaza

Hamas is ready to release all remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip during the second phase of the truce, one of its officials said.

“We informed the mediators that Hamas was ready to release all hostages at once during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages as during the first phase,” Taher al-Nounou, told AFP.

Occupied-West Bank

A woman in her 50s was hospitalized after being shot in Jenin by the Israeli army, Haaretz reported citing Palestinian sources.

The man killed in the drone strike on Aita al-Shaab is Youssef Mohammad Srour, according to our correspondent.

South Lebanon

After the drone strike on Aita al-Shaab, the Lebanese Ministry of Health announced one killed. The morning's machine-gun fire in the Wazzani area left two people wounded, according to the Ministry.

Aita al-Shaab strike

The son of Aita al-Shaab's municipal president was killed in the Israeli drone strike on his car, which also wounded his wife.

South Lebanon

🔴 The driver of the targeted car succumbed to his wounds, according to our correspondent.

South Lebanon

🔴 An Israeli drone strike targeted a car in Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil district), one person critically injured, according to our correspondent in the South

South Lebanon

The Israeli army fired shots at the banks of the Wazzani river, in the Marjayoun district. According to our correspondent's sources, one person was wounded.

South Lebanon

The Lebanese Army announced that it would be detonating unexploded munitions in the Qlaya field in Marjayoun from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

South Lebanon

The French Foreign Ministry reiterated Tuesday night “the necessity” of a full Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon “as soon as possible,” as the Israeli army continues to occupy five positions despite the cease-fire deadline. Paris also noted the effective withdrawal of Israeli forces from the rest of Lebanese territory following the expiration of the cease-fire agreement’s timeframe.

France reaffirmed its proposal to deploy French peacekeepers to the five positions where Israeli troops remain.

Lebanon/Israel

Four ultra-Orthodox Israelis were arrested by the Israeli army after illegally crossing the border into Lebanon on Tuesday night, Israeli media reported. According to Haaretz, they allegedly threw stones at approaching Israeli soldiers. The newspaper said they were attempting to reach what is traditionally considered the tomb of the Babylonian rabbi Rav Ashi, near the Manara settlement.

According to The Times of Israel, the site is located along the Blue Line, within a militarized zone wedged between an Israeli army post and a U.N. peacekeeping base. It faces the Lebanese village of Houla, in the Marjayoun district.

This is the second such incident this week. Between on Saturday night, almost 20 ultra-Orthodox Israelis also illegally entered Lebanon before being arrested by Israeli soldiers for a similar reason, according to Yedioth Ahronoth. Crossing the Lebanese border is punishable by up to four years in prison under Israeli law.

Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday that the bodies of four hostages held in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, would be returned to Israel on Thursday, ahead of the release of six living hostages scheduled for Saturday, as previously announced by Hamas.

During indirect negotiations in Cairo between Israel and Hamas, “agreements were reached under which the six living hostages [to be released in] the first phase [of the Gaza truce] will be freed Saturday. This Thursday, Israel will receive the bodies of four deceased hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said. Four more deceased hostages are expected to be returned to Israel next week.

South Lebanon

A day after Israeli troops withdrew from border villages, Israeli drones were flying over the Nabatieh region at medium altitude Wednesday morning, according to our correspondent in the South.

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 yesterday's main events.