By Guardian-Amy Sedghi /Martin Belam -Thu 23 Jan 2025 12.49 GMT

US secretary of state Marco Rubio stresses 'need to continue implementation' of Gaza ceasefire deal. Marco Rubio discusses ‘significance of agreement for regional security and stability’ in calls to regional leaders. Middle East crisis live:

New US secretary of state Marco Rubio has stressed “the need to continue implementation” of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza during calls to regional leaders.

Read-outs from the US government indicate that during a call with UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed, Donald Trump’s top diplomat “discussed the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the release of the hostages and humanitarian aid for Gaza” and Rubio “reinforced the significance of this agreement for regional security and stability and the need to continue implementation.”

Middle East foreign ministers take part in a Davos panel on the region's future. (video)

Rubio also spoke to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. In 2021 a US intelligence report found bin Salman approved the murder of US journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, but Joe Biden’s administration declined to take direct action against the crown prince.

In the call with bin Salman, Rubio is said by the state department to have “conveyed that he looked forward to advancing shared interests in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and beyond” and “also stressed the threats posed by Iran and its proxies.”

Share31m ago12.49 GMT

The Norwegian Refugee Council has issued a statement about increased violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect. It said:

We are seeing disturbing patterns of unlawful use of force in the West Bank that is unnecessary, indiscriminate and disproportionate. This echoes the tactics Israeli forces have employed in Gaza.

Under international law, Israel must bring its occupation of Palestinian territory to an end as rapidly as possible. Until then, it must fully comply with its obligations as an occupying power, including the protection of civilians.

Share39m ago12.41 GMT

Israel’s military has issued a statement on its continued operations inside southern Lebanon, which it invaded in October 2024.

In the statement the IDF claims to have “dismantled several underground routes that were used as shelters and weapon storage facilities by the Hezbollah terrorist organization” and “located numerous weapons, including Kornet missiles, grenades, and AK-47 rifles.”

The claims have not been independently verified.

The IDF said “troops of the 7th Brigade … continue their defensive activities in southern Lebanon to uphold the security of the state of Israel, and the residents and communities of the Galilee in particular.”

Tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel have been forced to flee their homes due to near constant fire between Israel and Hezbollah since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Under terms of the ceasefire agreed in November 2024, Israel’s troops are scheduled to withdraw by the end of this weekend, with the Lebanese army deploying alongside UN-peacekeeping troops to create a buffer zone between Israel and any Hezbollah forces, which are obliged to move north of the Litani River.

Share44m ago12.36 GMT

An Israeli tank killed two Palestinians west of Gaza’s Rafah on Thursday, Reuters reports, citing the Gaza civil defence.1h ago12.24 GMT

Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi, Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein, Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Qatari minister of state for international cooperation Maryam Al Misnad are taking part in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss “How to Lower the Temperature in the Middle East”. You should be able to watch a video feed of the session, which is in English, above and also in this post.

Share1h ago11.51 GMT

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that Israel’s security operation in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has “burned several houses belonging to citizens” and that Israeli security forces have forced several families to “evacuate their homes and turned them into military barracks.”

Wafa at least 12 Palestinians have been killed. Earlier an Israeli military source said the operation had led to 13 Palestinian gunmen being killed. The claims have not been independently verified.

Share2h ago11.17 GMT

Benny Gantz, chair of the National Unity party in Israel, has said today he will continue to provide “a safety net” by backing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in its efforts to return hostages from Gaza, despite some of Netanyahu’s former coalition partners opposing the deal.

The Times of Israel quotes Gantz saying:

My colleagues and I promised a safety net for the return of the hostages and we will stand by it. There is no need to enter the government to ensure that it does not fall. A safety net can also be provided outside the government.

As long as the return of the abductees is really at the centre of the action, we will find the solutions so that the government does not fall.

However, Gantz still had criticism for Netanyahu’s broader approach to the war, saying:

It has been over a year and a solution has still not been found on how to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza without some kind of mediation by Hamas.

At the beginning of the war, I laid down principles for the establishment of an international administration that will operate in Gaza on behalf of the moderate Arab countries.

We have an opportunity to implement this plan together with the Trump administration. We must not miss it.

Share3h ago10.32 GMT

Hebrew media outlet Ynet reports that Israel’s security cabinet will convene tonight at 6.30pm local time (4.30pm GMT). It said ministers have not been briefed on the subject of the discussion.

Share3h ago10.22 GMT

The governing body of the International Criminal Court on Thursday said it had deep concerns about sanctions against the court, after moves by the new Donald Trump administration in the US to sanction the institution in protest at its arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Reuters reports.

In November 2024 the court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes relating to the Gaza war. Israel claims to have killed Deif in an airstrike in July 2024, but the court’s pre-trial chamber said it would “continue to gather information” to confirm his death.

The chamber ruled there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility as co-perpetrators for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.

At the time, then-president Joe Biden described the warrants as “outrageous” and Netanyahu’s office denounced the chamber’s decision as “antisemitic”.

In March 2023 the court also issued arrest warrants for Russian president Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, over the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children. At that time Biden said Putin had clearly committed war crimes and the ICC’s decision was justified.

Share3h ago10.09 GMT

Israeli media reports that the IDF has claimed to have killed 13 Palestinians during its operation in and around Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since Tuesday.

The IDF has said it is carrying out Operation Iron Wall against operatives in Jenin it says are linked to Hamas and to Islamic Jihad.

Reporting for the Times of Israel, military correspondent Emanuel Fabian writes:

Israeli troops carrying out a major raid in the Jenin area in the northern West Bank since Tuesday morning have killed 13 Palestinian gunmen, a senior IDF officer in the West Bank division says.

Several special forces units are operating in the Jenin refugee camp, along with Border Police officers and other IDF units. The officer says troops are scanning homes, capturing weapons, and eliminating terror operatives.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since seizing the territory during the six-day war in 1967.

Share3h ago09.59 GMT

A commercial plane from Turkey landed in Damascus for the first time in 13 years on Thursday, Associated Press reports, citing Syrian state.

The Turkish Airlines plane flew from Istanbul to the Syrian capital two weeks after the first international commercial flight, from Qatar, landed since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Share4h ago09.26 GMT

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that since last night Israeli security forces have made at least 22 further arrests in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Citing the Prisoners Club and the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Authority, it reports “occupation forces are continuing their military operation in Jenin governorate and its camp, and are carrying out arrests of dozens of citizens, accompanied by field executions, abuse and destruction of infrastructure, and vandalism and destruction of citizens’ home.”

Israel’s military in an earlier statement said it had killed two men in the occupied West Bank it said carried out a shooting attack on 6 January which had killed three Israelis and wounded several others, labelling them as members of the militant group Islamic Jihad.

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