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Israel's top general has resigned, citing the security failures that allowed Hamas' 7 October, 2023, attack as at least six Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli raid in the West Bank.
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has become the most prominent Israeli official to resign over the militant group’s attack when he announced his resignation today.
Meanwhile, the major operation launched by Israeli forces on the city of Jenin left at least six dead and dozens more wounded, Palestinian health officials said, just days into a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. It comes as Donald Trump said he is “not confident” that the temporary truce will hold.
The newly-inaugurated US President also rescinded Biden-era executive orders that sanctioned far-right Israeli settlers for undermining peace in the territory.
Meanwhile, Hamas official Taher al-Nunu has said four female Israeli hostages will be released on Saturday in return for Palestinian prisoners in the second such exchange under the truce, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Guardian reported.
The devastated Strip continued to receive an influx of aid and goods on the second day of the ceasefire, with 915 trucks crossing into the coastal enclave, according to the UN, as shocked Palestinians began returning to what is left of their homes.
Hamas emerges after ceasefire despite 15 months of war
As a ceasefire brought calm to Gaza’s ruined cities, Hamas was quick to emerge from hiding.
The militant group has not only survived 15 months of war with Israel — among the deadliest and most destructive in recent memory — but it remains firmly in control of the coastal territory that now resembles an apocalyptic wasteland. With a surge of humanitarian aid promised as part of the ceasefire deal, the Hamas-run government said on Monday that it will coordinate distribution to the desperate people of Gaza.
For all the military might Israel deployed in Gaza, it failed to remove Hamas from power, one of its central war aims. That could make a return to fighting more likely, but the results might be the same.
Palestinians stand near destroyed homes, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia Refugee Camp (Reuters)
There was an element of theatre in Sunday’s handover of three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, when dozens of masked Hamas fighters wearing green headbands and military fatigues paraded in front of cameras and held back a crowd of hundreds who surrounded the vehicles.
The scenes elsewhere in Gaza were even more remarkable: Thousands of Hamas-run police in uniform re-emerged, making their presence known even in the most heavily destroyed areas.
Palestinians rush to collect aid taken from moving trucks entering Rafah, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the southern Gaza Strip, 20 January 2025 (Reuters)
“The police have been here the whole time, but they were not wearing their uniforms” to avoid being targeted by Israel, said Mohammed Abed, a father of three who returned to his home in Gaza City more than seven months after fleeing the area.
“They were among the displaced people in the tents. That’s why there were no thefts,” he said.
Far-right Israeli leaders welcome Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on settlers
Former Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have welcomed US president Donald Trump’s decision to revoke sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
“I welcome the historic decision of incoming US President Donald Trump to lift the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration,” Ben-Gvir, former national security minister, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrives to attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem (AP)
“This is a righting of an injustice of many years, in which distorted policies were pursued by the American administration and also by local elements who confused lovers with enemies,” he said. “Now, all that remains is to hope for a change in policy towards the terrorist organisation Hamas, in a way that will not allow them oxygen and deals that help them continue their activities.”
Mr Smotrich, former finance miniter, hailed the move as he called the sanctions “a serious act of blatant foreign interference in the internal affairs of the State of Israel”.
-He said that the decision “harmed the principles of democracy and the mutual relationship between the two friendly countries”.
Israel hopes Trump will lift ban on 2,000-pound bombs
Israel expects president Donald Trump to lift the Biden administration’s restriction on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs, outgoing Israeli ambassador to the US Mike Herzog told Axios.
Joe Biden had decided to halt the delivery of the weapons last May as a marker of protest against Israel’s ground offensive in Rafah, leading to a crisis in the relationship between the two countries.
A 2,000-pound bomb, previously used by the US in the Vietnam War, is an air-dropped munition that can carry a higher payload because it doesn’t have an engine.
A combination picture of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Donald Trump (AFP via Getty Images)
It’s one of the larger munitions in the US inventory, Ryan Brobst, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ Center on Military and Political Power, earlier told AP.
The 2,000-pound bomb has multiple variants – some are designed to penetrate deep, underground targets while others detonate above ground and cause widespread damage. Depending on the variant, and whether the munition is dropped in an open or urban area, its blast radius can be as far as a quarter mile away or a much more confined area.
The bombs are “dumb” or unguided bombs but can be turned into more precise weapons with the addition of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits which add a tail fin and navigation.
Hamas hands ‘gift bags’ to hostages in bizarre release ceremony
Three Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Sunday night were handed “gift bags” adorned with the Qassam Brigades’ logo as they entered a Red Cross vehicle in Gaza City.
The first three hostages released as part of a ceasefire deal – Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher, and Emily Damari – were each presented with a paper bag by a masked Hamas militant before boarding the vehicle. Footage released by the Israel Defense Forces later that evening showed the hostages carrying the bags, though the Qassam Brigades’ logo had been blurred out.
Release of hostages as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel (Reuters)
Inside the bags were certificates, necklaces, and photos, according to a family representative of Ms Gonen, who spoke to CNN. The materials were reportedly confiscated by Israel’s Internal Security Agency, the Shin Bet, and their exact content remains undisclosed. However, Israeli media reported that the photographs depicted the hostages’ time in captivity.
A certificate presented by the militants read “release decision” in both Hebrew and Arabic. The exchange was formalised with a Red Cross representative signing an Arabic-language document titled “Acknowledgment of Receipt of Israeli Prisoners.”
It stated: “I, the representative of the International Red Cross, acknowledge that I have received from the Izz Eddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, a total of three prisoners, who are…” followed by the names of the hostages.
Anti-Defamation League welcomes Wikipedia action against ‘anti-Israel editors’
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organisation, issued a statement welcoming the disciplinary action taken against multiple “anti-Israel” editors by the Wikipedia arbitration committee.
Wikipedia has topic-banned editors Iskandar323, Selfstudier, Nableezy, Levivich and Nishidani from engaging in Israel-Palestine discussions.
Issuing a statement, the chief executive of the organisation welcomed the decision, saying: “We’re pleased that the Wikipedia arbitration board has taken disciplinary action against some editors who, in our view, have spread malicious, false and biased information about Zionism and Israel across the platform.
“It’s worth noting that several of the chief instigators of the campaign against ADL are among those now facing topic bans or outright bans for their behaviour.”
He also demanded Wikipedia “begin work immediately to undo the harm caused”.
In June last year, the editors of Wikipedia concluded that the ADL, long a trusted outlet for research on hate and extremists of all kinds, was no longer “generally reliable” as a source of information about antisemitism and the Israel-Palestine crisis.
The decision was a major blow to the ADL, which has been advocating for civil rights for more than 100 years, as it put the organisation on par with tabloids like the National Inquirer and right-wing outlets like Newsmax in the eyes of the online encyclopaedia.
Many Palestinians hesitant to leave shelters to return to wrecked homes
Palestinians on Monday said they felt hesitant about leaving the shelters they fled to after being displaced by war and returning to the wreckage of their former homes in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
“We wanted to come back to put up a tent during the ceasefire. As you can see it has become a ghost town. There is no water. There is nothing. There is even no levelled ground you can stay on,” said Hussein Barakat.
Internally displaced Palestinians walk along a street among the rubble of destroyed buildings (EPA)
Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 20 January 2025 (EPA)
Mohammed al-Ballas, another displaced Rafah homeowner, said without basic necessities – including water and electricity – it would be difficult to return home in Rafah for good.
Pointing at collapsed buildings, piles of rubble, and destroyed roads, he said he would remain in his shelter for now because there wasn’t even space to erect a tent in the ruins of his former neighbourhood.
“Even if you tried to tie up an animal here, it will not live,” he said.
Unicef chief welcomes release of nine Palestinian children imprisoned in Israel
Unicef chief Catherine Russell expressed her relief upon the release of Palestinian children who were among the 90 prisoners released from Israel.
Issuing a statement, she said: “Unicef welcomes the release of 9 Palestinian children who were reunited with their families overnight in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after being held in detention for over a year.”
Earlier on Monday, as the Gaza ceasefire took effect, 90 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas.
West Bank residents say Israeli settlers rampaged through two communities
Residents of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank say Israeli settlers have rampaged through their communities and set a large fire.
Officials in Jinsafut and Al-Funduq, two villages roughly 50km north of Jerusalem, said that dozens of settlers had attacked homes and local businesses.
Jalal Bashir, the head of Jinsafut’s village council, said that settlers had burned three houses, a nursery and a carpentry shop located on the village’s main road. Northward in Al-Funduq, Louay Tayem, head of the local council, said dozens of Israeli settlers had fired shots, thrown stones at homes and burned cars, homes and shops.
Relatives comfort the mother of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Rushdi, who was killed during an Israeli military operation in the village of Sebastia in the north of occupied West Bank, as she mourns during his funeral in Sebastia on 20 January 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated 12 people who were beaten by settlers. It gave no details on their conditions. Israel’s military said it dispersed the settlers and launched an investigation.
The West Bank has seen a surge in settler rioting and violence since 7 October 2023. Rights groups say that arrests for settler violence are rare, and prosecutions even rarer.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 1,432 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties or property damage in 2024 and additional attacks in and near Nablus last week.
Major influx of aid into Gaza on second day of ceasefire, UN says
Gaza has received a major influx of aid and goods, with 915 trucks crossing into the territory on the second day of the ceasefire, the United Nations said.
UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said colleagues in Gaza informed the UN that 915 trucks - significantly higher than the 600 trucks called for in the ceasefire - entered Gaza on Monday, based on information from Israeli authorities and the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Sunday the needs in Gaza are staggering and his office said Monday that aid workers are ramping up the delivery of food, clean water, shelter materials and other essential supplies.
A Palestinian sits near destroyed homes, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia Refugee Camp, northern Gaza Strip, 20 January 2025 (Reuters)
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the more than two million people in Gaza, about half of them children, depend on this aid, said Mr Haq.
The World Health Organisation, meanwhile, has a 60-day plan to increase beds and deploy overseas health workers to Gaza hospitals, but some 30,000 Palestinians have life-changing injuries and need specialized care, he said.
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