“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said./ Photo: AA

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

1344 GMT — Palestinian medics recovered 20 more bodies from the rubble in Gaza, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 47,540, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said that six wounded people were also admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of the wounded to 111,618 in the Israeli onslaught.

"Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them," the ministry said. According to the ministry, medical teams removed the bodies of 526 people from the rubble since a ceasefire agreement took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19.

1457 GMT - UN agency for Palestinian refugees warns its ‘very bad’ financial health expected to worsen

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said its financial health is "very bad" and warned that it is expected to worsen amid the anticipated decision of US President Donald Trump to extend the halting of funding.

"When the executive order and if the executive order is issued, we will be able to comment on that. Having said that the financial health of UNRWA is very, very bad. It got worse over the past few months, and is expected to continue to worsen," UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma said in a UN briefing in Geneva.

Touma noted that the agency is "not able to plan ahead too much."
"In January, we were able to pay the salaries," she said, but added: "It's very, very difficult for us to have an understanding over the financial situation of the agency. And this is nothing new."

1444 GMT Hamas confirms start of negotiations on 2nd phase of Gaza ceasefire deal

Palestinian resistance group Hamas confirmed that negotiations for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement have started.

"The second-phase negotiations and contacts have started, and we are focused on shelter, relief, and rebuilding for our people in Gaza," group spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanoua said in a statement.

Read more here

1348 GMT Israel says gunman kills two soldiers at West Bank checkpoint

A gunman attacked an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, fatally wounding two soldiers before troops shot him dead, the military said.

The shooting took place in the morning at a military post in Tayasir in the northern part of the West Bank, the military said in a statement.

Two other soldiers were "severely injured" in the attack, while six were slightly wounded.

1340 GMT 380 Palestinians arrested by Israel in occupied West Bank since Gaza ceasefire: rights group

The Israeli army has detained 380 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza ceasefire agreement on Jan. 19, a prisoners' affairs group said on Tuesday.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society said that the highest number of arrests were reported in the northern city of Jenin and its refugee camp where 110 people were taken into custody.

The new arrests brought the number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since October 2023 to over 14,300, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

The figure does not include those arrested from Gaza whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.

1154 GMT — Turkish FM warns against Netanyahu restarting Gaza attacks

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the international community to take a unified stance and prevent Netanyahu from restarting genocide for political gains.

He also stated that there are questions worldwide about how the Netanyahu government will behave after the release of Israeli prisoners.

1154 GMT — Turkish FM warns against Netanyahu restarting Gaza attacks

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the international community to take a unified stance and prevent Netanyahu from restarting genocide for political gains.

He also stated that there are questions worldwide about how the Netanyahu government will behave after the release of Israeli prisoners.

1150 GMT Israel to send delegation for ceasefire talks in Doha

Palestinian government forms committee to run post-war Gaza

The Palestinian government formed a "working committee" to oversee Gaza following Israel’s genocidal war.

"The Palestinian government, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, has decided to form a working committee to manage the affairs of Gaza," Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa told a Cabinet meeting.

"The government…is working to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid, open roads, remove rubble, and provide suitable gatherings to shelter those whose homes were destroyed, in preparation for comprehensive reconstruction," he added.

1132 GMT — Israel said it was sending a team to negotiate the next phase in its fragile ceasefire with Hamas, signalling possible progress ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to meet Trump in the White House since his return to power last month, and will likely face some pressure to honour the ceasefire the US leader has claimed credit for.

Hours before their meeting, Netanyahu's office said Israel would send a delegation to the Qatari capital Doha later this week for negotiations.

Hamas has said it is ready to negotiate the second stage of the ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, and which should focus on a more permanent end to the war.

1123 GMT Arabs ready to work with US to achieve peace based on two-state solution: Jordan

Jordan's foreign minister said an Arab ministerial meeting last week sent a message that Arabs are ready to work with the US to achieve peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution.

"There are positive developments in the region that we need to build on,” Ayman Safadi told a joint press conference in Amman with his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis.

He called the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza a priority to ensure that the ceasefire is maintained.

0918 GMT EU urged to ban all business with Israel's illegal settlements

More than 150 human rights organisations, trade unions and civil society groups have called on the European Commission to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs).

In a letter sent to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the groups said that banning trade with illegal settlers is "essential" for the EU and its member states to comply with their obligations under international law.

Reminding last year's International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, they stressed all states have "the obligation ... to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the [OPT] or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory."

"The EU’s current policy of distinguishing between goods produced in Israel and those produced in settlements falls short of these obligations," read the letter.

09:00 GMT — Israeli army arrests 15 Palestinians in West Bank amid raids

The Israeli army has arrested 15 Palestinians, including a child, during raids into areas across the occupied West Bank.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said the Israeli army's arrests were concentrated in East Jerusalem, Ramallah, Tubas, and Tulkarem.

It added that the Israeli army raided Silwad town, east of Ramallah city, in the central West Bank, broke into several commercial stores, and arrested a 15-year-old boy.

08:17 GMT — 8 Israeli soldiers injured in armed attack in northern occupied West Bank

Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded in an armed attack on an Israeli army checkpoint in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth daily said the attack took place at an Israeli army checkpoint near the Palestinian village of Tayasir in the Tubas Governorate.

Israel's ambulance service Magen David Adom said that two of the injured soldiers are listed in critical condition, while the five others are moderately and lightly injured.

07:27 GMT — Trump to stop US engagement with UN Human Rights Council, UNRWA

US President Donald Trump is expected to stop US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council and continue a halt to funding for the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, a White House official said.

The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long been critical of UNRWA, accusing the agency of anti-Israel incitement and its staff of being "involved in terrorist activities against Israel."

06:15 GMT — Freed Palestinians recount torture, horror they faced in Israeli prisons

Palestinians from Gaza held in Israeli prisons faced severe mistreatment, including torture and humiliation, two rights groups said.

The findings were based on accounts from prisoners visited by lawyers, according to a joint statement by the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner's Society.

Palestinians held at the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert in southern Israel, along with those in Negev Prison in southern Israel, the Naftali Camp in northern Israel and the Anatot Camp in occupied Jerusalem, described enduring various forms of torture and abuse during detention and interrogation.

05:57 GMT — Arab nations oppose removing Palestinians from Gaza in letter to US

Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza, as suggested by President Donald Trump in late January.

The letter was sent and signed by the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, as well as Palestinian presidential adviser Hussein al-Sheikh.

It was reported first by Axios, which said the top diplomats met in Cairo over the weekend. "Reconstruction in Gaza should be through direct engagement with and participation of the people of Gaza. Palestinians will live in their land and help rebuild it," the letter said.

04:58 GMT — Qatar launches air bridge from Jordan to deliver medical aid to Gaza

"Complementing this land bridge, two helicopter flights carrying vital medical aid will arrive in North Khan Younis," she added.

04:10 GMT — Israel obstructs relief efforts in Tulkarem

Israel forces carried out an aggressive raid in Tulkarem, occupied West Bank, wounding a young Palestinian and obstructing relief efforts, the Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

The agency said Israeli forces raided a home in the town of Dhinnaba east of Tulkarem, where they interrogated family members and fired gunshots in the vicinity of the house.

The forces also stormed the emergency department of the Martyr Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital and detained two Palestinians.

03:43 GMT — US seeks congressional approval for $1B arms sales to Israel

The Trump administration has requested congressional approval for the transfer of roughly $1 billion in bombs and other military equipment to Israel, even as Washington seeks to uphold a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials familiar with the sale, reported that the proposed arms transfers include 4,700 1,000-pound bombs valued at over $700 million, along with Caterpillar-built armoured bulldozers worth more than $300 million.

The report added that the request would be paid from the annual US military aid allocated to Israel, which totals $3.3 billion in foreign military financing.

For our live updates from Monday, February 3, 2025, click here.

TRT Afrika and agencies