Region

PARIS — France, the United Kingdom and Germany Wednesday urged Israel to ensure the "unhindered" delivery of humanitarian supplies to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory of Gaza, warning against using aid as a "political tool".

A fragile ceasefire since January 19 saw an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, before Israel on Sunday announced it was blocking deliveries until Palestinian militant group Hamas accepted its terms for an extension of the truce.

"We call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza," the countries said in a joint statement.

"A halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza such as that announced by the government of Israel would risk violating international humanitarian law," they said.

"Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool."

The three European nations described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic".

The Gaza ceasefire deal's first phase ended over the weekend after six weeks of relative calm. They included exchanges of Israeli hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the deal's second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.

Of the 251 hostages taken on that date, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

"It is vital that the ceasefire is sustained, all the hostages are released, and continued flows of humanitarian aid to Gaza are ensured," the three European nations said.

"All hostages must be unconditionally released and Hamas must end their degrading and humiliating treatment," they added.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM/JENIN – New Israeli armed forces chief Eyal Zamir said during his inauguration Wednesday that Israel's mission to defeat Palestinian group Hamas was "not accomplished".

"I accept command of the [Israeli military] with modesty and humility... Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished," Zamir said, amid deadlock in negotiations on next steps in a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

Speaking before Zamir at the ceremony at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that Israel is "determined" to achieve victory in the multi-front war that began with Hamas's October 2023 attack.

The Israeli military announced Tuesday it had expanded its weeks-long offensive in the occupied West Bank to more areas of Jenin city, saying troops killed three although Palestinian officials reported two dead.

On its 43rd day, Israeli forces "expanded the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria to additional areas in Jenin", the military said, using the Biblical name for that part of the West Bank.

It said that a local Hamas leader and another Palestinian militant were killed in an exchange of fire with troops during an overnight raid in Jenin. 

Jenin governor Kamal Abu Al Rub told AFP that two Palestinians were killed during the raid in the eastern neighbourhood of the city.

"Two citizens were martyred, and many young men were arrested", he said.

The military said troops had arrested three Palestinian suspects.

The Palestinian health ministry identified one of the dead as Aser Saadi, matching the name of the Hamas leader in the Israeli army statement.

The health ministry said the 21-year-old's body was taken away by troops after he was shot.

The head of the Jenin government hospital, Wisam Baker, told AFP that a man identified as Jihad Alawneh was declared dead on arrival at the facility early on Tuesday.

Baker said that Alawneh, 25, had bled out after being shot in the thigh.

Governor Abu Al Rub said the raid had caused "devastation and massive destruction" in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood, "which has not experienced an Israeli assault like this before".

He said that the main electricity line was cut off, dozens of families were forced to leave, and army bulldozers had left behind a trail of damage.

 'Massive destruction' 

The Israeli offensive in the northern West Bank began on January 21 around refugee camps regarded as bastions of Palestinian militancy, but has since expanded to more areas, displaced tens of thousands of people and saw the first deployment of Israeli tanks in the territory in 20 years.

On Tuesday afternoon, an AFP journalist said Israeli troops and armoured personnel carriers were still in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood.

Firefighters worked to extinguish a fire in an apartment hit during the raid, its facade charred and some of its walls destroyed.

Pools of blood had accumulated in several rooms of the apartment, the journalist said.

Abu Al Rub said that "more than 50 families were forced to flee and evacuate their homes because the Israelis took over their houses and buildings, turning them into military barracks".

"All the streets in the eastern neighbourhood were bulldozed", said the governor, including areas that before Tuesday did not see army bulldozers ripping through roads in what the military says aims to clear explosives.

Bassem Hardan, a resident of the neighbourhood, told AFP that after initially ignoring army calls for his family to leave, "they called our neighbours and told them to get out within two minutes before they demolish the building".

Dubbed "Iron Wall" by the Israeli military, the operation in the northern West Bank began days after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops carry out regular raids there.

The ongoing operation has involved raids in multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas, where Palestinian armed groups have a strong presence.

CAIRO — Arab leaders called Tuesday to unify Palestinian ranks under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, a move that could sideline Islamist militant group Hamas which is not a member.

A final statement of the Arab League summit in Cairo, seen by AFP, welcomed "the Palestinian decision to form a Gaza administration committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government, made up of competent individuals from the [Gaza] Strip for a transitional period in parallel with working to enable the national [Palestinian] Authority to return to" the war-battered territory, ruled by Hamas since 2007.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said Tuesday that Arab leaders endorsed his country's plan for the reconstruction and development of war-torn Gaza.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would reassume control over the Gaza Strip under a post-war plan announced by Arab leaders.

Abbas said in his opening remarks at an Arab League summit in Cairo that his administration could assume "its duties in the Gaza Strip through its governmental institutions, and a working committee has been formed for this purpose".

Syria's interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa was in Cairo Tuesday for the Arab League summit on Gaza, his first such meeting since ousting longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad nearly three months ago.

Sharaa arrived "to attend the extraordinary Arab summit in Cairo on developments on the Palestinian issue", state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian presidency published images of Sharaa meeting with senior officials including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Abbas and European Union chief Antonio Costa on the sidelines of the summit.

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said Tuesday that Arab leaders endorsed his country's plan for the reconstruction and development of war-torn Gaza at a Cairo summit of the Arab League.

"It has been endorsed," Sisi told the closing session of the summit, which had aimed to adopt a plan for Gaza reconstruction without the displacement of Palestinians, an alternative to what US President Donald Trump had proposed.

President Mahmoud Abbas said his Palestinian Authority was ready to reassume control over Gaza, as Arab leaders in Cairo on Tuesday hammered out a plan for rebuilding the devastated territory to counter a widely condemned proposal by US President Donald Trump.

The prospect of the PA governing Gaza was far from certain, however, with Israel having ruled out any future role for the body, and Trump having closed the Palestine Liberation Organization liaison office in Washington during his first term while stepping up support for Israel.

Shortly after returning to power in January, Trump triggered global outrage by suggesting the United States "take over" the Gaza Strip and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East.“

Tuesday's Arab League summit in Cairo aimed to offer an alternative to that vision, a day after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Trump plan "visionary and innovative".

In his opening remarks on Tuesday, Al Sisi said his country's plan for Gaza would ensure Palestinians "remain on their land", but was careful not to criticise Trump.

Calling for "a serious and effective political process that leads to a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause", he added: "I am confident that President Trump is capable of doing that."

Sisi said that under the Egyptian plan, Gaza would be run by a committee of Palestinian technocrats, "paving the way for the return of the Palestinian Authority to the Strip".

Abbas, also addressing the summit, said a working committee had been formed to prepare for the PA resuming its role in Gaza and taking up security "responsibilities after restructuring and unifying its cadres present in the Gaza Strip.”

The PA had previously governed Gaza before losing power there in 2007 to Islamist militant group Hamas -- whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the latest war in the territory.

Draft plan

Palestinians, Arab states and many European governments have rejected Trump's proposal for US control of Gaza, opposing any efforts to expel its people.

Trump has recently appeared to soften his stance, saying he was "not forcing" the plan, which experts have said could violate international law.

A draft version of the Egyptian plan seen by AFP lays out a five-year roadmap with a price tag of $53 billion -- about the same amount the United Nations estimated Gaza's reconstruction would cost.

A proposed early recovery phase, expected to last six months and cost $3 billion, would focus on clearing unexploded ordnance and debris, and providing temporary housing, according to the draft.

That would be followed by a $20 billion initial reconstruction stage running until 2027 and focusing on rebuilding essential infrastructure and permanent housing.

The next stage of reconstruction, extending to 2030 at an estimated cost of $30 billion, aims to build more housing, infrastructure, and industrial and commercial facilities.

The plan proposes an internationally supervised trust fund to ensure efficient and sustainable financing, as well as transparency and oversight.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who was also in Cairo on Tuesday, gave his strong endorsement to "the Arab-led initiative" to rebuild Gaza, adding the UN was prepared to "fully cooperate".

Ceasefire impasse

Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has left the territory largely in ruins and created a dire humanitarian crisis that.

A fragile ceasefire since January saw an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, before Israel on Sunday announced it was blocking any deliveries.

"We look forward to an effective Arab role that ends the humanitarian tragedy... and thwarts the [Israeli] occupation's plans to displace" Palestinians, Hamas said in a statement as the Cairo summit was convening.

The talks are taking place as Israel and Hamas find themselves at an impasse over the future of the ceasefire.

The truce's first phase ended at the weekend, after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

While Israel said it backed an extension of the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.

Israel announced on Sunday that it was halting "all entry of goods and supplies" into Gaza, and that Hamas would face "other consequences" if it did not accept the truce extension.

Hours before the summit opened Tuesday, Israel's top diplomat Gideon Saar said it demanded the "total demilitarisation of Gaza" and Hamas's removal in order to proceed to the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri rejected the demand, telling AFP: "The resistance's weapons are a red line for Hamas and all resistance factions."