Hamas calls out Israel over Gaza truce as deal set to expire
Lebanon village buries dozens of dead after Israeli withdrawal
People in Lebanon conducted a delayed burial in a border village for more than 90 civilians and fighters from Hezbollah who died during the war with Israel that ended with a November ceasefire.
In the heavily damaged town square of Aitaroun, the coffins arrived on four trucks, some covered in the yellow flag of Hezbollah and others in the national flag.
Sobbing women, dressed in black, gathered around the vehicles holding photos of the Hezbollah fighters or the movement’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed by an Israeli air strike during the war.
One of the mourners, Atef Khouzeirat, said an Israeli strike on a building killed his son Hussein, a volunteer with the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee.
“My son stayed for 56 days inside the building after his death, without rescuers being able to recover his body,” Khouzeirat said. “Where is the humanity? Where are the human rights?”
Khouzeirat added his son studied radiography at university. “He was not a terrorist,” but a volunteer “in the service of his country”.
Palestine asks ICJ for advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations
The State of Palestine has submitted a written plea to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking it for an advisory opinion regarding Israel’s obligations not to obstruct humanitarian and development assistance in the territories it occupies.
In the submission, Palestinian officials affirmed the responsibility of Israel, as an occupying power, to not obstruct the work of the UN, international organisations, and third states so they can provide essential services, humanitarian aid, and development assistance to the Palestinian people.
Many states, as well as international groups, have submitted written pleas to the ICJ ahead of oral proceedings set to start in April. Last July, the ICJ issued a historic advisory opinion determining Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.
Lebanese PM calls for complete Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, during a tour of southern Lebanon, reiterated the urgent need for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
“Any delay in this constitutes a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, Resolution 1701, and the arrangements for the cessation of hostilities as agreed to by the previous government,” he said in a post on X.
A ceasefire deal agreed in November 2024 halted more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war in which Israel’s relentless bombing killed more than 4,000 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.
Israel announced just before the deadline it would temporarily keep troops in “five strategic points” near the border.
Israel set to pass ‘metropolitan Jerusalem’ bill annexing settlements: Report
Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation is set to approve a bill paving the way for the annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank into what Israeli officials are calling a “metropolitan Jerusalem” under Israeli control.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports the settlements to be annexed include Maale Adumim, Givat Ze’ev, Efrat, and Maale Mikhmas.
The Israeli rights group Ir Amim condemned the bill, which it said “seeks to promote an illegal annexation under international law” and “further isolate East Jerusalem and its residents from the Palestinian space”.
Palestinians prepare for Ramadan at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
Palestinians waited for Ramadan to begin at the Al-Aqsa compound in East Jerusalem. Members of the Palestinian Astronomical Society and Waqf team used a telescope to look for a crescent moon.
