Live blog: More bodies recovered from rubble as Gaza death toll tops 47,300

Sunday, January 26, 2025

1609 GMT — The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023 has reached 47,306, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said that the toll surged after 14 bodies were recovered from the rubble, five died of their injuries and four lost their lives in Israeli attacks.

The ministry added that 11 more people were injured, taking the number of injuries to 111,483 in the Israeli onslaught.

“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

The first six-week phase of a ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

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1650 GMT — Palestinian sources say Gaza captive to be released as demanded by Israel before next swap

Two Palestinian sources told AFP that an Israeli woman held captive in Gaza, and whose release Israel has demanded before allowing the return of displaced Palestinians, will be handed over within days.

"Arbel Yehud is expected to be freed before the next exchange" scheduled for February 1, said a source from the Islamic Jihad group.

Another Palestinian source familiar with the issue said Yehud is expected to be released by Friday.

"The release of Arbel Yehud will happen most likely by next Friday in exchange for 30 prisoners serving life sentences," the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter publicly.

1630 GMT — Lebanon ministry says Israeli fire kills 22 in south: new toll

Israeli forces opened fire in south Lebanon as war-displaced residents were trying to return home, killing 22 people and wounding 124 others, the Lebanese health ministry said.

"The aggression of the Israeli enemy against our citizens who were trying to return to their villages that are still under occupation has led to 22 dead, including six women and a soldier, and 124 wounded" across 19 border towns and villages, said a ministry statement, revising an earlier toll of 15 killed.

1340 GMT — 2 killed, 7 injured by Israeli army fire in Gaza in violation of ceasefire

Two Palestinians were killed and seven others, including a child, injured by Israeli gunfire in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement in the enclave, medics said.

A young Palestinian was killed and two others were injured west of the Nusairat refugee camp in central Gaza, a medical source said.

A young man was also shot and killed by Israeli forces in central Rafah in southern Gaza, he added. Israeli army forces also opened fire on a group of displaced civilians waiting to be allowed to return to northern Gaza, injuring five people, including a child, another medical source said.

According to witnesses, hundreds of displaced civilians had spent the night in the open in the cold winter as they waited Israeli permission to return to their areas in northern Gaza.

1230 GMT — Israel violates ceasefire by blocking return of displaced Gazans: Hamas

Palestinian resistance group Hamas accused Israel of violating a ceasefire agreement by blocking the return of displaced civilians to northern Gaza.

"The Israeli occupation is delaying the implementation of the terms of the agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.

Israel said it will not allow the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza until Israeli captive Arbel Yehud is released.

Hamas said that it informed mediators that Yehud is alive and has provided all necessary guarantees for her release.

1207 GMT — Israeli gunfire kills at least 15 people in south Lebanon

The Lebanese health ministry said the Israeli army opened fire on residents of southern Lebanon trying to return to their villages, killing 15 people and wounding over 80 others, according to an updated toll.

The number of casualties has risen from 11, as announced earlier by the ministry.

"The aggressions of the Israeli enemy against citizens trying to return to their villages that are still under occupation have left 11 people dead including a soldier of the Lebanese army and two women, as well as 83 wounded so far," the health ministry said earlier, raising an earlier toll of three dead civilians.

1137 GMT — Another Palestinian killed in Jenin as Israeli army continues assault in West Bank city

Another Palestinian died from Israeli army fire in the West Bank city of Jenin, taking the death toll from a military raid in the area to 16, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said that a 26-year-old man breathed his last to serious injuries sustained on Tuesday from Israeli fire in the Jenin refugee camp.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 16 Palestinians have been killed and 50 others wounded in an Israeli military raid in the Jenin camp since Tuesday.

1051 GMT — One killed, five wounded by Israeli army fire in Gaza

One Palestinian was killed and five others, including a child, were wounded by Israeli gunfire in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement in the enclave, medics said.

According to witnesses, Israeli military vehicles positioned along the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern and southern Gaza, opened fire on a group of displaced people as they waited for the army to withdraw and allow them to return to the north under the ceasefire agreement.

1033 GMT — Israeli fire kills one Lebanese soldier in southern Lebanon, army says

Israeli fire killed one Lebanese soldier and wounded another in Mais al-Jabal village in southern Lebanon, according to a statement by the Lebanese army.

1023 GMT — Israeli fire kills three in south Lebanon

At least three people were killed and 44 others injured by Israeli gunfire as hundreds of residents tried to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, according to local media.

The state news agency NNA said that one person was killed in the town of Aitaroun, another in Hula and a third in Blida.

The escalation came as the Israeli army remained in the Lebanese territory after a 60-day deadline for its withdrawal from southern Lebanon passed on Sunday.

1012 GMT — Israel violating truce by blocking return to north Gaza — Hamas

Hamas has accused Israel of violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement by preventing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern part of the territory.

"The occupation is stalling under the pretext of prisoner Arbel Yehud, despite the movement informing mediators that she is alive and providing all the necessary guarantees for her release," Hamas said in a statement.

"Hamas holds Israel responsible for the delay in implementing the agreement," it added.

0906 GMT — Several Palestinians injured in central Gaza as Israeli forces open fire in violation of ceasefire

Five Palestinians, including a child, were injured when Israeli forces opened fire on a group of displaced persons gathered in central Gaza, according to medical sources and eyewitnesses.

The incident took place on Al-Rashid Street, near the Taba Al-Nawari area west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, as the displaced Palestinians were waiting to be allowed to return to Gaza City and northern Gaza in line with a ceasefire agreement.

A medical source at al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp confirmed the arrival of the five injured individuals, including the child.

0839 GMT — Trump's idea of relocating Palestinians in Gaza encourages 'war crimes': Islamic Jihad

Palestine's Islamic Jihad group condemned US President Donald Trump's idea to relocate Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, calling it an encouragement of "war crimes".

Describing Trump's idea as "deplorable", the group, which fought a deadly war with Israel in Gaza alongside Hamas until a January 19 ceasefire, stated: "This proposal falls within the framework of encouraging war crimes and crimes against humanity by forcing our people to leave their land."

0832 GMT — Israeli troops open fire at returning south Lebanon residents

Israeli troops fired at residents of south Lebanon, killing at least two and wounding 32 others, health officials said, as hundreds of people tried to return to their homes on the deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from the area.

Israel was all but certain to miss Sunday's deadline, which is part of a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah group two months ago.

The deal that took effect on November 27 said the Lebanese army was to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period.

That period ends on Sunday.

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli forces had opened fire in at least two border towns on "citizens who were trying to return to their villages".

The ministry had previously said the "aggression" had centred on the two villages of Houla and Kfar Kila.

0658 GMT — Israeli fire wounds five in south Lebanon as residents return

Israeli fire wounded five people in south Lebanon, Lebanese media and security sources said, as residents sought to return to homes in the border area where Israeli forces remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed.

Israel said on Friday it intended to keep troops on the ground beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in the US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year's war with Hezbollah.

Israel did not say how long its forces would remain.

The deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from south Lebanon and the Lebanese army deployed, within in a 60-day period which ended on Sunday morning.

2316 GMT — Lebanon accuses Israel of 'procrastination' in ceasefire withdrawal

The Lebanese army said it was ready to deploy its forces in the country's south, accusing Israel of "procrastination" in its withdrawal under a ceasefire, a day before the pullout deadline.

Under the terms of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire that came into effect on November 27, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period that ends Sunday.

"There has been a delay at several stages as a result of the procrastination in the withdrawal from the Israeli enemy's side," the army said in a statement.

2046 GMT — Israel kills Palestinian toddler in occupied West Bank

A Palestinian toddler succumbed to her wounds due to Israeli army gunfire south of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said.

The ministry, in a brief statement, identified the girl as Laila al-Khatib, Two and half years old, who was shot in her head in the village of Muthalath al-Shuhada, south of the city of Jenin.

2041 GMT — Hamas delegation heads to Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials

Hamas has announced that a senior delegation from the group, led by the chairman of the Shura Council, will head to Cairo for an official visit.

"The senior delegation, led by Mohammed Darwish, will meet with Egyptian officials during the visit," said spokesman Hazem Qassem.

Qassem added that the delegation will also receive exiled prisoners who are expected to arrive as part of the second phase of the exchange process.

1947 GMT — Over 1,000 march in Geneva to demand an end to genocide in Gaza

Over 1,000 demonstrators marched peacefully through Geneva in a protest demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza.

The "Big Geneva Protest" began at Lake Geneva and concluded in front of the UN Geneva Office, with protesters urging international action to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

With police standing by, protesters chanted slogans such as "Free Palestine", "Palestine will be free from the river to the sea", "Apartheid state Israel", "End genocide" and "Boycott Israel", as they waved Palestinian flags and carried banners criticizing Israel and its attacks on civilians and health care facilities and workers.

For our live updates from Saturday, January 25, 2025, click here.