Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across the enclave, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence by Israeli forces.

Medics said one Palestinian was killed in the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City, in an area under Palestinian control, while two others were killed in the town of Bani Suhaila east of Khan Younis, an area Israel still occupies.

A Hamas official told Reuters that the group urged mediators to intervene to stop "daily Israeli killings that aim to derail the ceasefire deal."

At a hospital in Gaza, wards are filled with patients fearing they will be left without care if Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is forced out under an Israeli ban due to take effect in March.

AFP spoke with patients and relatives at Nasser Hospital, all of whom expressed the same fear: that without MSF, there would be nowhere left to turn.

MSF says it currently provides at least 20% of hospital beds in Gaza and operates around 20 health centres.

In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations and over 10,000 deliveries.

"It's almost impossible to find an organisation that will come here and be able to replace all what we are doing currently in Gaza," Nicolet told AFP, noting that MSF not only provides medical care but also distributes drinking water to a population worn down by a prolonged war.

"So this is not really realistic."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X, adding they discussed protests in Iran along with Gaza and Syria.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke over the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X, adding they discussed protests in Iran along with Gaza and Syria.

Bangladesh said it has told the United States that it wants to join the international stabilisation force that would be deployed in Gaza.

Bangladesh said its national security adviser, Khalilur Rahman, met US diplomats Allison Hooker and Paul Kapur in Washington.

Rahman "expressed Bangladesh's interest in principle to be part of the international stabilisation force that would be deployed in Gaza," a Bangladeshi government statement added. It did not mention the extent or nature of its proposed involvement. The State Department had no immediate comment.

A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized a so-called Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza where a ceasefire began in October.

Israeli aircraft carried out a raid on the eastern areas of Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, the Quds News Network reported.

Renowned Palestinian poet and professor Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in December 2023, has finally been laid to rest with a proper grave nearly ten months after his death. 

Alareer, celebrated for his literary contributions and outspoken voice on Palestinian identity, had remained without a permanent burial site due to the challenges of accessing cemeteries and securing construction materials in the war-torn enclave.

Former Gaza Municipality official Asem Alnabih explained that reaching Ibn Marwan cemetery and gathering basic supplies near the “yellow line” took months, underscoring the severe restrictions and logistical hurdles faced by grieving families.