Updates: Gaza ceasefire 2nd-phase negotiations begin this week – Israel

To learn more about Israel refusing to fully withdraw from Lebanon despite a ceasefire deal, read this explainer.

Watch this video of a Palestinian bookseller detained after his store was raided by Israeli forces for allegedly “inciting terrorism”.

And take a look here at the harsh conditions facing Palestinians living in Gaza after 15 months of war.

This live page will soon close. Here’s a look at the main developments:

• Qatar highlighted a “positive atmosphere” to start negotiations for the second phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
• Lebanon’s responders recovered 23 bodies from several border towns after Israeli troops withdrew from some southern towns under a truce deadline.
• China announced it will deliver humanitarian relief to 60,000 families in war-ravaged Gaza.
• At least $50bn will be required to rebuild Gaza and the occupied West Bank after the 15-month Israeli war, the UN, EU and World Bank said.
• Two Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza fled the Netherlands, fearing war crimes charges, and returned to Israel after a pro-Palestinian organisation tracked them down on social media and circulated their photos.
• A conference in Germany addressing issues surrounding Palestine and the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza was forcibly relocated by police.

Lebanese residents returned to their villages near the border with Israel to see vast destruction from Israeli attacks.

“It’s a great feeling to return to our town. We can’t believe it. Even though we know there’s nothing left of our lives,” said Hussein Cheety, a Kfar Kila resident.

Many returning home say their villages are unrecognisable. Kfar Kila was among the hardest hit during the Israeli-Hezbollah war, with intense fighting and bombardment.

“We returned despite the destruction. What is important is that we came back and the Israeli enemy has left,” said Ali Chaheen, also from Kfar Kila.

Lebanese soldiers have moved into the areas from where Israeli troops pulled out and began clearing the roadblocks set up and checking for unexploded ordnance.

Clashes erupted in the town of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank as Israeli forces detained a group of young men, according to video verified by Al Jazeera.

Israeli army and settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have surged since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, with an average of four incidents of violence occurring daily.

Israeli forces should pull back from five positions in southern Lebanon as soon as possible in line with the November ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, says France.

The Foreign Ministry urged all parties to consider its proposal to deploy the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to these five locations to replace Israeli forces and ensure the security of the population there.

The ministry also praised the redeployment of the Lebanese army where Israeli forces withdrew. The positioning of Lebanese forces allows demining operations and ensures the return of residents in safety, it added.

Palestinians in Gaza have access to less than 7 percent of their pre-conflict water levels because of Israeli attacks, exacerbating the spread of waterborne diseases, a UK-based charity says.

Oxfam said more than 80 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure across the Gaza Strip has either been partially or entirely destroyed, including all six major wastewater treatment plants.

The resumption of crucial aid, including fuel and water trucks, after the ceasefire has helped increase water availability in some parts of Gaza, Oxfam said.

“But the picture remains extremely bleak and dangerously critical, especially in the north Gaza and Rafah governorates. Most vital water and sanitation networks are entirely lost or paralysed.”

The Gulf state of Qatar, a key mediator in Israel’s war on Gaza, says Palestinians must decide the war-battered territory’s future for themselves.

“It is a Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere,” said Foreign Ministry official Majed al-Ansari.

Israel, meanwhile, demanded on Tuesday the “complete demilitarisation of Gaza”, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying it would “not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist groups” in the Palestinian territory.

England’s top judge says she is “deeply troubled” by an exchange between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and main opposition leader Kemi Badenoch about a family from Gaza coming to the United Kingdom.

Chief Justice Sue Carr, head of the judiciary for England and Wales, expressed concern after Starmer said a judge made the “wrong decision” in letting a family from the Gaza Strip settle in the UK under a Ukrainian refugee scheme.

A mother, father and four children from Gaza were granted the right to live in the United Kingdom applying through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees.

Starmer’s remarks came during last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions and after the Conservative Party leader raised the issue, saying the decision was “completely wrong” and “cannot be allowed to stand”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper then said she has her team working on closing the “loophole”.

A family of six seeking to flee the war-devastated Palestinian enclave was allowed to join their brother in Britain after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application had breached their human rights.

The family made their application through the Ukraine Family Scheme, which was introduced in 2022.

Gaza residents have dismissed US and Israeli threats to seize the Palestinian territory and remove its 2.3 million people.

“We will not leave our country, no matter what happens,” said Muhammad Shaaban, a resident of Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Mohammad Bahjat, also from Jabalia, said Trump’s plans were “unacceptable” and he and his family would resist being expelled.

Meanwhile, Salim Halawa, another Palestinian man, said he supports the ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release the captives taken from Israel by Hamas, as well as Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

“We are peaceful people. We don’t support wars, bombings, or destruction. What we have seen during the year and a half that passed is enough for us.”

Beijing has announced that it would deliver humanitarian relief to tens of thousands of families in war-ravaged Gaza.

The China International Development Cooperation Agency said it would provide food packages to 60,000 families in Gaza.

“Regardless of how the situation evolves, China will continue to firmly support the Palestinian people in their just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights and promote an early and just resolution of the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution,” it said.

On Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, that the “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza must be brought to an end as soon as possible.

The UN urged Israel and Lebanon to fulfil their obligations under the ceasefire agreement following a partial Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

“Another delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen, not least because it continues a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,” said a statement by the UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Aroldo Lázaro.

“A sense of safety among communities of southern Lebanon, who are grappling with the wide-scale destruction of their villages and towns, as well as residents of northern Israel who had to leave their homes, will not be built overnight and cannot come from a continuation of military operations. Rather, sustained political commitment is the only way forward.”

Activists from the Palestine Action group targeted an Israeli-owned factory in the United Kingdom, accusing it of “aiding and abetting genocide in Gaza”.

The group, known for its direct actions against arms factories across the UK that supply military equipment to Israel, occupied the entrance of Pearson Engineering, a weapons factory in Newcastle owned by the Israeli government.

In a video shared on X, one activist is seen spraying blood-red paint onto the factory’s sign.

The footage also showed the presence of police officers at the scene. “This factory is owned by the Israeli state and is aiding and abetting genocide in Gaza and we want it gone,” said the activist in the video.

A global coalition of 232 civil society organisations has called on countries that build F-35 fighter jets to urgently end their arms exports to Israel because it has been accused of war crimes under international law.

The Australian Centre for International Justice, one of the groups, urged all government partners in the F-35 fighter jet supply chain – including the Australian government – to “immediately halt all direct and indirect transfers of F-35 parts and components to Israel in accordance with their international legal obligations”.

Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the US have so far “refused to cease exporting parts and components manufactured in their countries for use in F-35 fighter jets, despite their ultimate end use by Israel in aerial attacks that have caused devastating and irreparable harm to Palestinians in Gaza”, it said in a statement.

Two Israeli servicemen who fought in Gaza fled the Netherlands and returned to Israel after a pro-Palestinian organisation tracked them down on social media and circulated their photos.

The Israeli Genocide Tracker published images of the soldiers on X, saying: “After participating in the Gaza genocide, this Israeli tank commander from the 52nd Battalion, who was involved in kidnapping hundreds of civilians [especially in Jabalia] and who enjoyed taking selfies with them, landed in Amsterdam today for a vacation.”

Public broadcaster Kan reported the Israeli military decided the soldiers should cut their vacation short and return to Israel, and were told to delete all photos and footage related to the war in Gaza from their social media.

The Israeli army is said to have warned its personnel against travelling abroad over fears of prosecution for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

After participating in the Gaza genocide, this Israeli tank commander from the 52nd Battalion, who was involved in kidnapping hundreds of civilians (especially in Jabalia) and who enjoyed taking selfies with them, landed in Amsterdam today for a vacation. pic.twitter.com/ceNttIooo5

— Israel Genocide Tracker (@trackingisrael) February 16, 2025

A huge amount of medical aid is still needed inside the Gaza Strip as doctors scramble to treat patients with rudimentary equipment.

Dr Christopher Holden, a member of the Palestinian Australian and New Zealand Medical Association, described to Al Jazeera the situation on the ground.

“What I do see is the kid without the inhaler, the kid yesterday who had no insulin for his diabetes. I see people without their regular anti-epileptics. I see people with wounds that I cannot find the right antibiotic for,” Holden said speaking from Rafah, in the south of the enclave.

“I’m seeing shortages across the board, which are having here-and-now effects on the population right in front of me.

“What do we need? The quicker answer would be what don’t we need? We need everything.”

Two Israeli tourists in Miami were shot by a Jewish American man who reportedly told police he carried out the attack believing they were Palestinians.

A conference in Berlin addressing issues surrounding Palestine and the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza was forcibly relocated by German police.

The “Reclaiming the Discourse: Palestine, Justice, and Truth” event – featuring UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and prominent human rights figures – was moved after the original venue “faced coercion from German politicians and Berlin police”, Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) said in a statement.

The organisers, who planned for a larger audience, were forced to scale it down with the new venue holding just 200 attendees.

Albanese, who has faced repeated cancellations of her events in Germany, was again targeted by authorities, raising concerns over the country’s treatment of dissenting voices. “This is an outright attack on democracy and free speech,” DiEM25 said.

Al Jazeera is reporting from Jordan because it has been banned from Israel and the occupied West Bank.

If you ask families of Israeli captives where things stand right now when it comes to ceasefire negotiations, they say more pressure is needed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

That’s because they’ve repeatedly accused him of trying to sabotage the deal, of not going to phase two, of sacrificing the lives of the remaining captives because they’re soldiers.

He is more interested in keeping his coalition together – a coalition that by and large is not committed or happy about the idea of stopping the war and withdrawing from Gaza.

But we heard from the Prime Minister’s Office that Netanyahu will send his close confidante – Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer – to be in charge of negotiations on phase two.

That indicates how closely Netanyahu will be monitoring and controlling those talks. But at least we now have an announcement that phase two of the negotiations will begin at some point, starting with talks with the US envoy Steve Witkoff.