Updates: Israel kills Hamas commander in Lebanon as Gaza truce falters

For more on how Israel’s continuing attacks on Gaza have complicated efforts to rebuild the Palestinian territory, see here.

Here is the moment a 13-year-old boy was wounded by bullet shrapnel outside a school as Israeli forces raided the occupied West Bank.

And here is a photo gallery on life for Palestinians in Gaza after the territory was reduced to rubble.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here is a recap of today’s main events:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is “committed” to a US proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its Palestinian residents, as Washington’s top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia to push the plan, which is opposed by Arab states.
• An Israeli drone strike killed a Hamas commander in southern Lebanon’s port city of Sidon as attacks continue despite a ceasefire.
• Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said a special army directorate will be established for the “voluntary departure” of Gaza residents.
• An Israeli military spokesman said troops would remain inside Lebanon despite a truce deadline for all to withdraw from the country.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said any deal on the future of war-torn Gaza must “boost regional security”.
• Israel issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

Senator Richard Blumenthal says he expects Arab states to put forward a workable alternative to Trump’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip, calling it a “non-starter”.

Blumenthal said Jordan’s King Abdullah had convinced him that Arab states would present a plan that covers normalising ties with Israel, self-determination for the Palestinians, regional defence arrangements and security for Israel.

“If those components are part of a realistic plan, it could be a game changer for the region,” he said.

Earlier, Senator Lindsay Graham – a longtime ally of Trump and a key Republican in Congress with influence on foreign policy and national security matters – told reporters there was little appetite in the Senate “for America to take over Gaza in any way, shape or form”.

The pro-Palestinian Hind Rajab Foundation issued a call for action ahead of Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s scheduled visit to Brussels on Tuesday, calling on Belgian authorities to ensure he “does not evade justice while on European soil”.

“Allowing a suspected war criminal to visit Brussels unchallenged would be a betrayal of international legal commitments and the fundamental principles of justice,” the foundation said.

It emphasised Belgium’s legal obligation to take action against international crimes as a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The foundation, established in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, previously filed a complaint with the ICC against 1,000 Israeli soldiers for “war crimes” in the Strip.

Israel has destroyed dozens of homes in Rafah, in southern Gaza, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, satellite imagery shows.

As part of the ceasefire, which began on January 19, Israel agreed to reduce its forces in the area before completely withdrawing troops by the 50th day of the agreement.

However, an analysis carried out on satellite images taken between January 19 and February 1 shows the Israeli army has continued demolishing more than 60 buildings within the city.

Read the full story here.

Diaa Ahmed Sabaaneh, 15, has died in the occupied West Bank following wounds he sustained two weeks ago from an Israeli air strike.

The attack occurred in Qabatiya, in the Palestinian territory’s north, where an Israeli military assault has been ongoing for weeks.

Israel’s raid on the occupied West Bank has killed more than a dozen Palestinians and displaced at least 40,000, while causing widespread destruction to critical infrastructure.

More details are emerging after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the establishment of a new army agency tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave Gaza.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit presented Katz with an initial proposal for the removal of Palestinians.

“The plan includes extensive assistance that will allow any Gaza resident who wants to emigrate to a third state, to receive support that includes special departure arrangements through the sea, air, and land, among other things,” Katz’s office said.

Israeli forces conducted indiscriminate strikes during their war on Gaza. A home in Beit Lahiya, which housed more than 200 people, was just one of many residential buildings destroyed.

Watch our video report below:

The Israeli troop movement comes hours before a deadline for their complete withdrawal from Lebanon as stipulated in a ceasefire agreed in November with Hezbollah.

“Israeli forces are beginning to withdraw from border villages, including Meiss el-Jabal and Blida, as the Lebanese army advances,” an unnamed official told the AFP news agency.

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani earlier said that “based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon”.

Earlier, we reported that Israel issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank.

Peace Now, which favours a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of pressing ahead with settlement construction while dozens of captives languish in Gaza.

“While the people of Israel [set] their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” it said in a statement

Israel has built more than 100 illegal settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully developed communities. About 500,000 settlers live in the occupied territory, which is home to 3 million Palestinians.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said any deal on the future of war-torn Gaza must boost regional security.

Rubio, who arrived from Israel accompanied by National Security adviser Mike Waltz and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, met Prince Mohammed ahead of talks expected on Tuesday with a Russian delegation in the Saudi Arabian capital.

But Israel’s 500-day-old war on Gaza dominated discussions, according to a State Department statement.

Rubio and the crown prince “reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring that Hamas releases all hostages, including American citizens”, it said.

Israeli soldiers stormed al-Khader, a town south of Bethlehem, the Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli troops fired sound bombs and toxic gas at nearby homes and shops. No casualties have been reported so far, the agency said.

The wife of an Israeli captive says she has received the first “sign of life” of her husband in more than a year.

Sharon Alony Cunio told Israel’s Channel 13 TV that abductees released in the current ceasefire told her David Cunio was still alive. She said the news has given her “lots of air to breathe”.

Cunio herself was taken captive with her husband in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war in Gaza. She was released in a November 2023 ceasefire and said she had not received news about him since.

David Cunio is not among the 33 Israeli captives scheduled for release during the current phase of the ceasefire. The release of the remaining captives is to be negotiated as part of the second phase, but substantive talks have not begun.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society says Israeli soldiers assaulted one of its ambulance staff in the besieged Jenin camp.

The attack occurred after the crew tried to reach a person in need of medical assistance.

Last month, Israel’s army launched a major assault in the Jenin area, dubbed the “Iron Wall”, almost immediately after a ceasefire was declared in Gaza.

Earlier we reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed plans for Gaza during a meeting in Riyadh.

Saudi state news agency SPA reported they discussed “regional and global developments and efforts to achieve security and stability”.

Rubio is visiting the Middle East after US President Donald Trump infuriated the Arab world with a proposal for the Palestinian residents of the war-torn Gaza Strip to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the US “to own” Gaza and lead reconstruction efforts.

“The secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire agreed last month between Israel and Hamas and discussed Syria, Lebanon and the Red Sea, Bruce said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is “committed” to a US proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its Palestinian residents, as Washington’s top diplomat is in Saudi Arabia to push the plan, which is opposed by Arab states.

Netanyahu said he supports US President Trump’s plan for “the creation of a different Gaza”.

Human rights groups have slammed the Trump administration’s push to take over Gaza and forcibly displace Palestinians as a violation of international law that would amount to ethnic cleansing.

Read the full story here.