Wednesday, February 26, 2025
06:15 GMT — Hamas, Israel agree to resolve delay in release of Palestinians
Hamas has said it has agreed during a visit to Cairo on a solution to end the delay of releasing Palestinian prisoners.
In a statement, Hamas said its delegation, led by senior official Khalil al Hayya, met with Egyptian officials to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement as well as preparations for the next phase of negotiations.
Hamas added that a solution has been reached ensuring that the release of Palestinian prisoners would occur simultaneously with the handover of Israeli remains, as previously agreed to under the first phase of the deal, along with additional Palestinian women and children detainees.
05:30 GMT — Gaza ceasefire talks back on track after prisoner agreement
Israel has agreed to release Palestinian prisoners who were due to be freed last week in exchange for the bodies of four Israeli captives, Egyptian state-linked media reported, as Washington's top Middle East envoy said talks for a second phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal remained on track.
04:15 GMT — Israel conducts air strikes in Damascus, southern Syria
Israel carried out air strikes late Tuesday on several locations in the Damascus countryside and Daraa province in southern Syria.
Israeli warplanes targeted the Al-Kiswah area south of Damascus and Izraa in Daraa with at least four airstrikes, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
03:50 GMT — US envoy says Israel heading to Gaza talks after exchange deal
Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal following an agreement on prisoner exchange between Palestinians and Israelis, a US envoy said.
Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's point person on the Middle East, repeated that he was also ready to head back to the region to boost diplomacy.
"We're making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Witkoff told an event in Washington for the American Jewish Committee.
03:35 GMT — Israeli opposition leader says Egypt should temporarily control Gaza
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid proposed that Egypt assume administrative control of besieged Gaza for up to 15 years in exchange for receiving relief for its more than $150 billion worth of foreign debt.
The plan would have Egypt take responsibility for managing the enclave for eight years, with the option to extend it to 15 years.
Neither Egypt nor the Palestinian Authority and resistance factions have responded to his proposal.
03:27 GMT — Israeli army blocks Palestinians from returning to Jenin refugee camp
The Israeli army barred displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank and threatened to kill a Palestinian journalist during her coverage of events.
The army continued its brutal raid on the city of Jenin and its camp for the 35th day, the city of Tulkarem and its camp for the 29th day, and its invasion into the Nour Shams camp for the 16th day as part of a larger onslaught on the northern West Bank.
In a related incident, Israeli forces detained Palestinian journalist Nour Al Fares on the outskirts of the Jenin camp and threatened to shoot her if she continued reporting on the ground.
02:20 GMT — UN envoy accuses Israel of trying to 'get rid of Palestinian demography', plays audio recording of Hind Rajab before she got killed
Palestine's envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, denounced Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians, accusing Israel of pursuing a deliberate strategy to "get rid of Palestinian demography."
"Israeli's plan is clear in Gaza, in East Jerusalem and in the rest of the West Bank, get rid of Palestinian demography, to seize Palestinian geography," Mansour told the UN Security Council, affirming that it "will never happen."
Mansour stressed that "there is no military solution to this conflict, only a political one." Mansour also played an audio recording of Hind Rajab in which she was asking a dispatcher for help before she was killed by Israel.
For our live updates from Tuesday, February 25, 2025, click here.
