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Israeli fire injures civilians in southern Lebanon as forces miss ceasefire withdrawal deadline

Israeli fire injures civilians in southern Lebanon as forces miss ceasefire withdrawal deadline
By Lyndal Rowlands, Urooba Jamal, Mersiha Gadzo, Nils Adler and Federica Marsi
Published On 26 Jan 2025

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27 Jan 2025 - 18:50
 (18:50 GMT)

Palestinians wounded by unexploded Israeli ordnance in Gaza

Video verified by Al Jazeera shows the arrival of a wounded man at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

According to local sources, the injuries were caused by the explosion of a suspicious object left by the Israeli army on al-Rashid Street during Palestinians’ return to the northern Gaza Strip.

26 Jan 2025 - 23:55
 (23:55 GMT)

Thank you for joining us

Before you go, you can read the stories of Palestinians eager to return to northern Gaza, here.

You can also watch our video about what is behind Hamas’s slogans and ‘gift bags’ on display during the captive releases, here.

And you can follow all our coverage of the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, here.

26 Jan 2025 - 23:45
 (23:45 GMT)

Here’s what happened today

We are about to close this live page. Before we go, here’s a quick recap:

  • Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu has confirmed that Israeli troops will allow Palestinians to cross into northern Gaza on Monday after the release of three captives, including Arbel Yehud and Israeli soldier Agam Berger.
  • Hamas says it handed over to mediators the list of captives to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
  • Gaza’s Government Media Office has condemned statements by US President Donald Trump, who said he would like to “just clean out” Gaza and urged Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians from the Strip.
  • Jordan and Egypt have firmly rejected any displacement of Palestinians, saying their resolve is “firm and unwavering”.
  • At least 22 Lebanese people were killed in southern Lebanon after the Israeli army opened fire on residents who wanted to return to their homes. Israel was due to withdraw its forces from Lebanon under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah today.
26 Jan 2025 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

Qatar confirms agreement on Arbel Yehud’s release

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an understanding has been reached between Israel and Hamas on the release of Arbel Yehud and two other captives before next Friday.

Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said in a post on X that Hamas would also hand over three additional captives on Saturday in line with the agreement.

In return, Israeli authorities will allow the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza starting tomorrow morning.

Al-Ansari added that Hamas has agreed to hand over the list of captives to be released in the first part of the deal, while Israel would hand over a list of 400 people arrested since October 7, 2023.

26 Jan 2025 - 23:15
 (23:15 GMT)

Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal extended until February 18: White House

The White House said Sunday that the ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel had been extended until February 18, as Israel missed a previous deadline to pull troops out.

“The arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025,” the White House said in a brief statement.

A ceasefire agreement reached in November had originally stated that Israel’s forces were supposed to withdraw from Lebanon by 02:00 GMT on Sunday.

However, on that day, Israeli forces killed 22 people in southern Lebanon, according to health officials.

In a statement, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that at least 124 people had also been wounded as the Israeli army opened fire as people tried to return to their homes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had blamed Lebanon for the delay, saying Hezbollah had not pulled back sufficiently from the border region. Lebanon denied that claim and urged Israel to respect the deadline.

26 Jan 2025 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

Hamas to release Israeli captive Arbel Yehud and two others before Friday: Qatar

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has released a statement in which it said Hamas would hand over 29-year-old Arbel Yehud and two other captives before Friday.

The ministry also said that Israel would, in return, allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday morning.

26 Jan 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Arab League says Palestinian displacement would be ‘ethnic cleansing’

The Arab League has warned against “attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land”, after Trump suggested moving its population to Egypt and Jordan.

“The forced displacement and eviction of people from their land can only be called ethnic cleansing,” the regional bloc’s general secretariat said in a statement.

26 Jan 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)
Analysis

Trump’s words on Gaza’s displacement do not reflect planned policy

The US president’s suggestion that he would want to “clean out” Gaza of Palestinians likely does not reflect a planned policy, Rami Khouri, from the American University of Beirut, said.

“He’s repeating slogans by pro-Israelis and others. I wouldn’t take this too literally,” Khoury said. “But he has immense power and sometimes he pushes for things he wants done.”

“The Palestinians can be shot, can be pushed out, but they cannot be voluntarily displaced,” he added.

26 Jan 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)

One Palestinian killed, two injured by Israeli forces at Qalandiya checkpoint

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says a man was killed and two others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on them at the Qalandiya checkpoint located between the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

Qalandiya was built more than a decade ago as part of Israel’s separation barrier, which was deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004.

26 Jan 2025 - 22:14
 (22:14 GMT)
Houthi

Israel to allow Palestinians to cross into northern Gaza on Monday

Netanyahu has confirmed that Israeli troops will allow Palestinians to cross into northern Gaza on Monday, after the release of three captives, including Arbel Yehud.

Netanyahu’s office said Yehud, soldier Agam Berger and another captive will be released by Hamas.

The Palestinian group said it handed over to mediators the list of captives to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

26 Jan 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Shin Bet diverts Israeli flights from Cyprus city

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz is reporting that Shin Bet has instructed Israeli airlines not to land in Paphos, Cyprus, citing security concerns.

Israel’s Shin Bet, or Shabak as it is known in both Hebrew and Arabic, is the internal intelligence service and one of the three branches of the Israeli General Security Service.

Haaretz said that flights to and from Cyprus will be redirected to Larnaca airport due to “various security considerations”.

26 Jan 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Fatah rejects attempt to displace Palestinians from Gaza

The Fatah movement has firmly rejected any attempt to empty Gaza, saying that “Palestine belongs to the Palestinians who will not leave it”, after Trump suggested Palestinians could be relocated to Egypt and Jordan.

The people of Gaza “will not give up their land and the rubble of their homes, which they are waiting with great longing to return to”, it said in a statement.

It added that implementing the two-state solution and ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories “will expand the scope of peace to all neighbouring countries and the world”.

26 Jan 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Newly appointed US defence secretary pledges support for Israel in call with Netanyahu

Netanyahu has congratulated US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on his appointment, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“Hegseth noted his long-standing support for the State of Israel and his friendship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and assured that the United States will stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel, with a total commitment to its security,” it said.

26 Jan 2025 - 21:15
 (21:15 GMT)

Photos: Funeral for 2-year-old girl killed in Israeli raid held in Jenin

The grandfather of Laila Al-Khatib carries her body during the funeral near Jenin [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]
Taima, Laila’s mother, embraces the body of her daughter during the funeral [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]
A family member shows the hole in the window left by the bullet that killed two-year-old Laila Al-Khatib  [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]

26 Jan 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

If you’re just joining us

If you’re just joining us:

  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad has agreed to release Israeli captive Arbel Yehud before the next scheduled prisoner swap on Saturday after Israel blocked hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza.
  • Gaza’s Government Media Office has condemned statements by US President Donald Trump, who said he would like to “just clean out” Gaza and urged Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians from the Strip.
  • Jordan and Egypt have firmly rejected any displacement of Palestinians, saying their resolve is “firm and unwavering”.
  • At least 22 Lebanese people have been killed in southern Lebanon after the Israeli army opened fire on the day its forces were due to withdraw under a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.
  • UN human rights experts and activists have condemned the arrest of American pro-Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah in the Swiss city of Zurich, saying it raises concerns about freedom of speech.
26 Jan 2025 - 20:45
 (20:45 GMT)

‘Laila was the joy of the house’: Family mourns two-year-old killed by Israeli snipers

The family of two-year-old girl Laila al-Khatib, who was killed by Israeli sniper fire last night while she was eating at home, has been held in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin.

The child’s grandmother, Ghada Asous, said Israeli snipers shot through the window without any warning.

“Laila was the joy of the house,” she told Al Jazeera. “She used to always ask for rice pudding, she loved it. But now she is gone.”

Ghada Asous, Laila’s grandmother, holds a blood-stained blanket at her house in Jenin [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]
26 Jan 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

Israeli army says warning shots fired at Hezbollah vehicle in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army has said it fired warning shots in southern Lebanon as a vehicle with Hezbollah flags approached an area where its troops were stationed.

“The troops operated in order to remove the threat,” it said in a statement, without mentioning any injuries.

It added that shots were also fired to disperse “rioters”.

Despite “Hezbollah’s attempts to return to southern Lebanon”, the Israeli military is determined to act in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire deal, it said.

The statement comes after Israeli forces killed 22 people and wounded dozens as they attempted to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed today.

26 Jan 2025 - 20:15
 (20:15 GMT)

Date for return to northern Gaza to be announced, ministry says

Gaza’s Ministry of Interior has issued a statement saying work is ongoing to ensure the safe return of displaced Palestinians to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

It said the ministry was working on this and “if the final procedures are completed and a date is set, this will be officially announced”.

26 Jan 2025 - 20:00
 (20:00 GMT)

‘I’d crawl if I have to’: Palestinians eager to return to northern Gaza

By Maram Humaid

At al-Nuwairi Hill, the closest point in Nuseirat to the al-Rashid coastal road, Ansaf Khadra sits on the ground with her family for the second consecutive day, waiting to be allowed to return to her home, or whatever is left of it, in northern Gaza.

Ansaf, a mother of four, was one of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza who immediately headed for al-Rashid on Sunday after the release of four Israeli captives as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal the day before.

The plan was to head to al-Rashid and try to get through Israel’s Netzarim checkpoint, then, beyond that, to Gaza’s north.

“I’ve been here since early morning with my husband and children,” Ansaf told Al Jazeera as she handed out sandwiches to her children sitting on the ground.

“Last night, I prepared whatever belongings we could carry and left many things to make it easier to walk,” she added. “We couldn’t even wait a minute. We want to return to our land in the north immediately.”

Read more here.

Palestinians have gathered at al-Nuwairi Hill near the Netzarim checkpoint, hoping to return to their homes in northern Gaza [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
26 Jan 2025 - 19:45
 (19:45 GMT)

At least one of the released Israeli soldiers asked to stay in captivity: Report

The Times of Israel, citing Israel’s Channel 12, reports that at least one of the four female Israeli soldiers whom Hamas released on Saturday asked to be allowed to stay in captivity along with their colleague Agam Berger, who is also being held captive in the Gaza Strip.

Berger is expected to be released in the next round of exchanges scheduled for Saturday.

Soldiers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy were all released yesterday. The Times of Israel did not state which soldier or soldiers had made the request.

All four were taken captive from Nahal Oz military base, just a kilometre (less than a mile) from the Gaza border, during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.