Israel, Hamas accuse each other of breaching Gaza ceasefire deal
Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israeli military have accused each other of breaching elements of the ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides.
The disagreements flared up on Saturday when the Israeli government announced it would prevent Palestinians’ passage to the north until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Ms Yehud “was supposed to be released” and not doing so was a breach of the truce.
Hamas later said that blocking returns to the north also amounted to a truce violation, adding it had provided “all the necessary guarantees” for Yehud’s release.
A Hamas official said the group had informed mediators that she was alive and would be freed on February 1.
Thousands of Palestinians wanting to return to their homes in Gaza’s north say they are being halted by Israeli forces. (Reuters: Hatem Khaled)
A ceasefire between the two sides came into effect last week, and since then six Israeli hostages captured by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attacks have been released.
Israel has in kind released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The snag resulted in Israel reportedly blocking access to the north of the disputed territory.
Crowds of displaced people were seen waiting at an open area in Wadi Gaza on Sunday, a day after four Israeli hostages and 200 Palestinians prisoners were exchanged as part of a Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Hundreds of people, including women and children, were seen waiting around with bags and other belongings as emergency vehicles passed through the crowds.
Trump says Gaza ‘a mess’
The disagreement between Israel and Hamas came as newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump weighed in on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Mr Trump told the press that he asked Jordan’s King Abdullah for his country to take more people from Gaza.
“I said to him I’d love you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess,” he said about a call with the monarch.
US President Donald Trump says Egypt and Jordan should take more people from Gaza. (Reuters: Leah Millis)
Mr Trump also expressed hope Egypt would take more people from Gaza and flagged he would be speaking with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
The remarks sparked concern from neighbours, who fear a large exodus would create regional instability.
Palestinians have long been haunted by what they call the “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when 700,000 of them were dispossessed from their homes when Israel was created in 1948.
Israeli forces kill 15 in south Lebanon
Israeli forces have killed 15 people and wounded 31 others trying to return to homes in south Lebanon where Israeli troops remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed on Sunday, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Israel has said it intended to keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in the US-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war with Hezbollah, and on Saturday ordered residents not to return until further notice.
The deal stipulated that Israeli forces should withdraw from the south as the Iran-backed Hezbollah’s weapons and fighters were removed from the area and the Lebanese army deployed, within a 60-day period that ended on Sunday morning.
Israel has, however, said the terms have not been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, while Lebanon’s US-backed military on Saturday accused Israel of procrastinating in its withdrawal.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar television, broadcasting from several locations in the south, showed footage of residents moving towards villages in defiance of Israeli orders, some holding the group’s flag and images of Hezbollah fighters killed in the war.
The Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed in the village of Houla, another in Aitaroun, and a third in Blida as a result of what it described as Israeli attacks on citizens while they were trying to enter their still-occupied towns.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the reported casualties.
People gather as Lebanese army members secure the area in Burj al-Muluk, near the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, where Israeli forces remained on the ground. (Reuters: Karamallah Daher)
An Israeli military spokesperson, in a post on X addressed to the people of south Lebanon, accused Hezbollah of trying to “heat up the situation” and said the Israeli army would “in the near future” inform them of places to which they can return.
Hezbollah, badly weakened by Israel during the war, has put the onus on the Lebanese state to ensure Israel’s withdrawal, describing Israel’s failure to withdraw on time as a violation of the agreement.
“We are in our land and the enemy is the one who turned against the agreement and violated the agreement, and thus the people are the ones who are liberating their land with their own hands and blood,” Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, speaking to the group’s al-Manar television, said.
“We want the state to play its role,” he added.
The White House said on Friday that a short, temporary ceasefire extension was urgently needed.
Wires
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