Live blog: Israel launches air strike on Gaza despite ceasefire agreement

Thursday, February 13, 2025

1811 GMT — The Israeli army launched an air strike in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

A military statement claimed that the strike targeted a rocket launcher used to fire a rocket from inside the enclave.

According to witnesses, an Israeli drone fired a missile at an agricultural area east of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

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1726 GMT — Israel destroys several sites in Lebanon in new truce violation

The Israeli military said it destroyed several sites in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv.

A military statement alleged that the sites housed stockpiles of missiles, rockets, mortar shells, grenades, explosives, and firearms.

"During additional scans, concealed hideouts and multiple-barrel launchers aimed at Israeli territory were located," the army said.

1652 GMT — Two Palestinians, including child, killed by Israeli gunfire, unexploded ordnance in Gaza

Two Palestinians, including a child, were killed in central Gaza amid a ceasefire agreement in the enclave, a medical source said.

The source said a Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli snipers and his body was recovered in the Bureij refugee camp in Deir al-Balah city.

A child also lost his life when an unexploded ordnance left behind by Israeli forces exploded in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the source added.

1611 GMT — 'Humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues' despite truce: UN official

A humanitarian catastrophe continues in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement that brought a "much-needed respite", the head of the United Nation's infrastructure agency warned.

"In addition to immense human suffering, I also witnessed an unimaginable degree of the destruction of infrastructure and houses, and an overwhelming volume of rubble," Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said following a visit to Gaza where a truce between Israel and Hamas has been in effect since January 19.

1600 GMT — Hamas urges Arab summit, OIC meeting to reject Trump's Gaza plan

Palestinian resistance group Hamas called on the upcoming Arab summit and a pan-Islamic ministerial meeting to reject US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem urged the upcoming Arab summit on February 27 and a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) "to take a firm stand against Trump's plan and develop a joint Arab-Islamic strategy to block its implementation."

"Trump’s remarks on displacement reflect his alignment with the far-right in the Israeli government," Qassem added.

1502 GMT –– US encouraging Israel to violate Gaza ceasefire deal: Houthis

Yemen's Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, has accused the US of encouraging Israel to stall and violate its obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

In a televised speech, al-Houthi warned of military action, including missile strikes, drone attacks, and naval operations, if the US and Israel attempted to displace Palestinians from Gaza forcibly.

"The US is encouraging Israel to renege on its obligations, even though they are primarily humanitarian," al-Houthi said. "The provision of tents and caravans to Gaza is essential, as most homes in the territory have been completely destroyed," he added.

1443 GMT –– UN experts urge Israel to stop killing civilians returning to south Lebanon

The UN experts have called on Israel to respect the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, urging Tel Aviv to immediately end housing demolitions, ensure the safety of civilians returning to their homes, and fully withdraw its military from south Lebanon.

"We are gravely concerned about the continuing toll on civilians in Lebanon. Within 60 days of the ceasefire coming into force, at least 57 civilians have been killed, and 260 properties have been destroyed," the experts said in a statement.

The ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on Nov. 27, required Israeli troops to withdraw completely from South Lebanon within 60 days.

1433 GMT –– Trump's Gaza plan is 'major threat' to world peace: Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza posed a major threat to world peace.

Speaking on Indonesian television broadcaster Narasi, Erdogan addressed Trump's plan to remove the more than two million Palestinians from Gaza, claim US control of it and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

"I view Trump's decision to make such an agreement with a murderer like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his threats as a major threat to world peace," Erdogan said. "At the moment, nobody can take Gaza away from Palestinians. Daring to do something like is, firstly, a very different threat to world peace."

Erdogan also said he doesn't find Trump's statements, amounting to what he called "challenges to many countries in the world", to be correct. "My hope is that such mistakes are reversed as soon as possible, and for a global giant like the United States to rapidly turn back from these errors so that global peace can find a way to come out," he said.

1233 GMT –– Israeli army kills three more Palestinians in West Bank assault

Three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli army forces in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, the military said.

A military statement said the three were killed during a clash in the camp in Tulkarem city.

According to the Doctors Without Borders aid group, the Israeli onslaught in Jenin and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank has displaced over 38,000 Palestinians.

1226 GMT –– Gaza authorities find more bodies in rubble as death toll nears 48,250

Palestinian medics and rescue teams retrieved 14 more bodies from the rubble in Gaza, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 48,239, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said that the toll also included three Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire in the last 24 hours.

According to the ministry, two injured people were also admitted to hospitals, taking the number of the injured to 111,676 in the Israeli onslaught.

1156 GMT –– Egypt, Bahrain discuss arrangements for upcoming Arab summit on Gaza

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Bahrain held talks to discuss arrangements for holding an upcoming emergency Arab summit on Gaza.

This came during a meeting between Badr Abdelatty and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif Al-Zayani in Paris, France, on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting on Syria.

Talks between the two ministers dwelt on developments in Gaza and Egypt's efforts to maintain a ceasefire agreement in the enclave between Hamas and Israel, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

1117 GMT –– Hamas to release Israeli captives as planned under Gaza truce

Palestinian resistance group Hamas said that it will release Israeli captives as planned under a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

In a statement, the group said the move came after talks with mediators Egypt and Qatar who pledged to work to "remove obstacles and fill gaps."

0826 GMT — Trump’s Gaza plan a ‘major war crime’: German chancellor’s aide

US President Donald Trump’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza would be a war crime, according to Nils Schmid, one of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s closest aides.

“We reject this possibility. This would constitute a major war crime,” Schmid, a senior German lawmaker, told Anadolu. “Instead of that, we should aim at establishing a two-state solution through negotiations.”

Schmid said the German Social Democrats (SPD) have always supported Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism, but they also expect the Israeli government to respect human rights and international law.

“The Palestinian people have a right to self-determination and a right to live in dignity in their own state,” he said, stressing that there is no military solution to the Gaza conflict and diplomatic efforts must be revived.

0741 GMT — Palestinian sources report progress in Gaza truce crisis talks

Palestinian sources close to negotiations have reported progress in efforts to salvage the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, with a view to ensuring that a captive-prisoner exchange goes ahead this weekend as planned.

"There is progress," one source told AFP, adding that mediators had obtained from Israel a "promise... to put in place a humanitarian protocol starting from this morning".

"Hamas has confirmed to Egyptian officials its commitment... to conducting the sixth exchange of prisoners on time, on Saturday, as soon as Israel honours its commitment," another source said.

0232 GMT — Israel-Hamas prisoner swap nearing resolution: media

The crisis arising from a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas seems to be heading toward a resolution, Israeli media reported late Wednesday.

"After Hamas announced that it would suspend the release of prisoners, the crisis that erupted in the prisoner swap agreement appears to be on the path to being resolved," said Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

The report also said that three Israeli prisoners are expected to be released on Saturday.

An unnamed Israeli official was quoted as saying that both Israel and Hamas want the first phase of the agreement to succeed and Hamas has sent messages indicating its willingness to continue the deal.

The official also said US President Donald Trump's threat that "all hell is going to break out" if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages by noon Saturday "put Israel in a dilemma."

0203 GMT — Israel may ask Hamas to free more prisoners in 1st phase of ceasefire

Israel may ask Hamas to expand the list of Israeli prisoners to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in Gaza, a report has said.

Israel is exploring the possibility of making the request to the Palestinian group through intermediaries Egypt, Qatar and the US, said Channel 12.

The request reportedly comes after some prisoners were found to be sick and injured.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, 33 Israeli hostages are to be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

0019 GMT — Israel expulsion of Palestinians from Jerusalem 'unjust': Hamas

Hamas condemned a decision by Israel to expel three Palestinian prisoners who were released as part of a recent prisoner swap.

The group condemned the expelling, which also involved their family members.

"The Israeli decision to deport prisoner Tasnim Odeh, prisoner Mohammad Abu Halwa and freed prisoner Zeina Barbar, who was released in the latest prisoner exchange, along with their families from Jerusalem, is a barbaric and unjust decision," it said in a statement.

The group added that the decision was part of a broader Israeli strategy to "empty the holy city of its people" and further "Judaisation and settlement expansion plans" in occupied East Jerusalem.

2327 GMT — Majority of Americans oppose Trump's plan to occupy Gaza: poll

A recent survey found that 64 percent of Americans oppose President Donald Trump's proposal for the US to occupy besieged Gaza and transform it into what he described as the "Riviera of the Middle East."

A significant portion of those polled expressed strong opposition, with 47 percent saying they "strongly" oppose the plan and 17 percent saying they "somewhat" oppose it, revealed the survey, conducted by progressive think tank and polling firm Data for Progress.

Among Democratic voters, 85 percent opposed the idea, while 43 percent of Republicans were against it. Meanwhile, 46 percent of Republican respondents supported the proposal.

2121 GMT — UNICEF decries soaring violence against children in West Bank

Violence against children has surged in recent months in the occupied West Bank, where Israel is conducting brutal raids, UNICEF warned as it called for an end to the aggression.

UNICEF's regional director Edouard Beigbeder said Israel killed 13 Palestinian children in the West bank since the start of the year alone, including seven killed following the launch of a raid by Israel in the north of the territory on January 19.

The casualties include a two-and-a-half-year-old child, whose pregnant mother was also wounded in the shooting, according to the United Nations children's agency.

"UNICEF condemns all acts of violence against children and calls for the immediate cessation of armed activity across the occupied West Bank," Beigbeder said in a statement.

2028 GMT — 801 trucks deliver critical humanitarian aid to Gaza amid ceasefire: UN

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported efforts to ramp up aid to the people in the Gaza Strip, with at least 801 trucks entering.

"The UN and its partners seize every opportunity afforded by the ceasefire to scale up the provision of water, food, shelter, health, sanitation, hygiene, clothing, education and other assistance to the people of Gaza," OCHA said in a statement, adding that 801 trucks entered the enclave.

Noting that the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) "reached 1.2 million people with food" in the first two weeks of the ceasefire, OCHA said: "The agency opened 37 new shelters for people returning to the north, providing tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and warm winter clothing."

"As of last week, UNRWA was hosting about 120,000 people in 120 shelters, including more than three dozen that opened since the ceasefire," it added.

For our live updates from Wednesday, February 12, 2025, click here.