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Israel confirmed that it was consulted by the United States on direct contacts between the American special envoy for the hostages held in Gaza, Adam Boehler, and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, designated as a "terrorist" organization by Washington.
"In consultations with the United States, Israel expressed its opinion on direct discussions with Hamas," the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief statement after the White House confirmed secret contacts directly with Hamas.
The U.S. confirmed direct contacts with Hamas, adding that Israel was "consulted," according to the White House.
Israel Ir Amim, an Israeli rights group, said Israel demolished a record number of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem last year, with 181 buildings destroyed, Haaretz reports.
A residential building and three apartments were destroyed last week.
Human rights groups say discriminatory policies make it nearly impossible for Palestinians to expand or redevelop their neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, forcing many to build without permits, the daily said.
The Trump administration held secret negotiations with Hamas over the release of American hostages held in Gaza, a source familiar with the discussions confirmed to Reuters. The report was first reported by Axios.
U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler has been conducting these direct discussions with Hamas in recent weeks in Doha. According to the source, the discussions have focused primarily on the release of the American hostages still being held in Gaza, while also exploring the possibility of a broader agreement to free all remaining hostages and reach a lasting truce.
The United States had previously avoided direct contact with Hamas, with the State Department having listed the movement as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
The Civil Defense found the remains of a person killed by Israeli bombings in Markaba (Marjayoun), according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.
The United States is holding secret talks with Hamas over hostages held in Gaza, according to the American news website Axios, cited by Reuters.
The United States sanctioned senior officials ofthe Yemeni Houthi rebel group, AFP reported.
Israel must respect its international obligations to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza "fully, quickly, safely and without hindrance," the German, British and French foreign ministers urged in a joint statement on Wednesday.
"A disruption of the entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip, as announced by the Israeli government, could constitute a violation of international humanitarian law," they warned, adding that "the provision of humanitarian aid cannot be made conditional on a cease-fire, nor can it be used for political purposes."
Qatar denied Shin Bet claims that its funding to Gaza was a key factor in Hamas planning the Oct. 7 attack, saying the claims make Qatar a "scapegoat for its political longevity," Haaretz reported.
Hezbollah held the funeral in the Nabatieh district of two of its members killed during the conflict between the party and the Israeli army, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon.
Jamal Obeid was buried in Doueir, at the end of a popular ceremony, while the burial of Hamza Diab Bitar took place in Habboush, in the presence of a crowd of sympathizers. The party paid a sustained tribute to its two "martyrs," parading their coffins in the streets of the villages.
The Israeli army claimed responsibility for the drone attack on a van that injured two people in southern Lebanon, near Ras al-Naqoura earlier today, according to a message published on X by its Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee.
Without providing any concrete evidence, he said "a certain number of suspects identified loading weapons into vehicles in the Naqour a region," adding that the Israeli army had "struck" them.
Israel is still occupying several sites in south Lebanon, in violation of the conditions of the cease-fire that came into force on Nov. 27.
The World Food Program (WFP), the U.N. food agency, said it only has enough food in the Gaza Strip to keep public kitchens and bakeries open for less than two weeks after Israel cut off the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies, the Associated Press reported.
Israel has been "using famine as a weapon of war" in Gaza by blocking humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave since Sunday, South Africa denounced in a statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
"By preventing the entry of food into Gaza, Israel continues to use starvation as a weapon of war," said Pretoria, which is behind a complaint for genocide against Israel before the International Court of Justice.
Israeli authorities on Wednesday destroyed the homes of two Palestinians in Hebron, in the southern occupied West Bank, accused of carrying out a deadly attack in Tel Aviv in October 2024, the Israeli army announced, quoted by AFP.
The army "destroyed in Hebron the homes of the two terrorists who carried out the attack at the Jaffa light rail station in which seven Israeli and foreign residents were killed and 15 other civilians were injured," a military spokesperson said in a statement. The attack occurred on Oct. 1, shortly before Iran launched an attack on Israel, firing some 200 missiles.
An Israeli drone is currently flying low over the western Bekaa, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent.
Israeli soldiers fired machine guns from the position of al-Assi towards areas located southeast of the Lebanese town of Mais al-Jabal, to scare away citizens inspecting their destroyed homes, L'Orient Today's correspondent reported.
A civilian vehicle belonging to a citizen was damaged by the gunfire, but no injuries were reported.
The Maronite bishops welcomed President Aoun's visit to Riyadh, describing it as a trip "that strengthened relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia," according to a statement relayed in the press. The bishops also welcomed the head of state's participation in the Arab League summit held Tuesday in Cairo.
The Israeli army's mission against Hamas in the Gaza Strip "is not over," the new chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, said on Wednesday at an official ceremony on the sidelines of his inauguration.
"Today, I accept command [of the Israeli army] with modesty and humility," he said during this televised ceremony, reports AFP.
"This is not a handover like any other, it is a historic moment. Hamas has suffered a severe blow, but it is not yet defeated," he added. "The mission is not yet over."
"Our moral duty is clear: To bring [all the hostages] home, by any means possible and as quickly as possible," he added, according to comments reported by the Times of Israel.
According to Al-Mayadeen, the passengers of the van targeted in Ras sl-Naqoura survived and the Lebanese army and the Red Cross were able to reach them.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday told the new army chief of his determination to lead the country to victory after nearly 17 months of a multi-front war sparked by the unprecedented Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
"A very heavy responsibility rests on your shoulders," Netanyahu told Gen. Eyal Zamir in a televised ceremony, "the results of the war will have significance for generations, we are determined to [achieve] victory."
"We have changed the face of the Middle East, and the next step will come," the Israeli head of government continued.
Four people were killed in a security operation in Latakia, a former stronghold of ousted President Bashar al-Assad in northwestern Syria, launched after two soldiers were killed in an ambush, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday.
Latakia province, along with neighboring Tartus, is home to a large part of the Alawite community, a minority from which Assad hails. The Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based NGO with extensive sources in Syria, said the four dead included two "school guards" from the Daatour neighborhood of Latakia.
The van hit by the Israeli drone belongs to a Rapid vehicle owned by two brothers from the al-Jahir family, who were inspecting their land in Ras al-Naqoura and were injured.
For the third time, the Israeli drone dropped bombs near the targeted vehicle in Ras al-Naqoura, after the Lebanese army attempted to reach the vehicle.
After firing a missile, the Israeli drone dropped bombs near the targeted vehicle in Ras al-Naqoura to prevent anyone from approaching it. The attack caused at least some injuries.
An Israeli drone fired a missile at Ras al-Naqoura (Sour), according to L'Orient Today's correspondent. According to initial reports from residents, a car was targeted.
An Israeli drone launched a stun grenade at a civilian on the road leading to Tal al-Nahas, in the village of Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon.
A drone also flies over Naqoura (Sour) at low altitude, according to the state-run National News Agency.
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The Trump administration rejected a long-awaited Gaza reconstruction plan endorsed by Arab leaders, saying the president is sticking to his own vision, which includes expelling Palestinian residents from the territory and transforming it into a U.S.-owned "riviera," according to multiple U.S. and Israeli media reports.
U.S. National Security Spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement released overnight Tuesday that the proposal adopted by Arab states regarding the reconstruction of Gaza "does not take into account the fact that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and that residents cannot live with dignity in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance."
Hughes added that "President Trump stands by his vision of rebuilding a Gaza Strip free of Hamas" and that the United States "looks forward to continuing talks to bring peace and prosperity to the region."
For more on the Arab League meeting, read the article here.
The Arab League summit was held amid a deadlock over the continuation of the cease-fire in place since Jan. 19, between Israel, which on Tuesday demanded the "total demilitarization" of Gaza, and Hamas, which insists on remaining there.
"The State of Palestine will assume its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip," Mahmoud Abbas, 89, told the summit. The Palestinian president said he was ready to organize presidential and legislative elections in the Palestinian Territories "next year," "provided that the conditions are met."
The plan presented by Egypt was already rejected by Israel, which has vowed to eliminate Hamas but also rules out any future role for the Palestinian Authority, based in the occupied West Bank, in the territory.
Hamas "welcomed" the Arab project as well as the creation of a committee responsible for managing the territory after the war.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also present in Cairo, said his organization "firmly supported" the Arab plan.
President Joseph Aoun met his Syrian counterpart Ahmad al-Sharaa on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Arab summit on Gaza in Cairo, the Lebanese presidency said, adding that they stressed the "necessity" of controlling their common border. This is the first meeting between the two men.
Lebanon shares a 330-kilometer border with Syria with no official demarcation at several points, making it porous and conducive to smuggling.
"President Aoun and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa discussed several pending issues," the Lebanese presidency said on X, publishing a photo of the meeting.
"It was agreed on coordination through joint commissions that will be formed after the formation of the new Syrian government," she continued, adding that it was also "agreed on the need to control the borders between the two countries."
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad Al-Shaibani announced that he would attend a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague on Wednesday, nearly three months after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
"I am participating today for the first time in Syria's history in the meeting of the executive council" of the OPCW, Shaibani told X, stressing "Syria's commitment to international security and the memory of those who lost their lives by asphyxiation at the hands of the Assad regime."
L'Orient Today's correspondent in south Lebanon said that Israeli planes were periodically flying over south Lebanon.
The Arab summit statement in Cairo devoted a paragraph to Lebanon, stressing "the need to implement the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon in its entirety, to respect Security Council resolution 1701, to condemn Israeli violations of this agreement, to demand that Israel withdraw completely from Lebanon to the internationally recognized borders, to release prisoners captured during the last conflict, and to return to the implementation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel of 1949, while supporting the Lebanese Republic, its security, stability and sovereignty."
Israeli attacks in Lebanon on ambulances, rescue workers and health facilities during the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah should be investigated as war crimes, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Find the details here.
From Touline (Marjayoun), where he participated in the funeral of several people killed by the Israeli bombings organized in the village, the Hezbollah MP Ali Fayad called for "the unity of Lebanon at a time when Israel is trying to divide the country" and urged the government to accelerate the reconstruction process by freeing it from any political condition.
He also said that the maintenance of the Israeli army on several strategic points in south Lebanon constituted a violation of the cease-fire agreement which came into force on Nov. 27, and whose period of application, initially 60 days, had been extended until Feb. 18, according to a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency.
The Israeli army launched a new X account in Turkish, a move taken in light of new geopolitical developments, particularly in Syria, Haaretz reported. The account is already online.
President Joseph Aoun left Cairo to return to Beirut, ending his first official trip, which began with a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, according to a statement published on X.
Before his departure, the Lebanese head of state sent a message of thanks to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
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