Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

A Palestinian church committee on Sunday warned that illegal Israeli settler attacks are endangering the historic Christian presence in Palestine and urged churches worldwide to take urgent, public action to protect Palestinian civilians, including Christians, in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu reported.

In a letter addressed to churches globally, the Palestinian Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs said settler assaults have intensified across several areas, including Birzeit, Taybeh and Ein Arik in the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate, as well as al-Makhrour and Ash Ghurab in the Bethlehem governorate.

The committee said the attacks include physical assaults and arrests, land seizures and the expansion of settlement outposts, describing them as part of what it called a systematic policy aimed at altering the demographic and geographic character of the area and forcibly displacing residents.

“These are not isolated incidents,” it said, alleging the violence occurs under the protection of Israeli forces and in a climate of impunity.

The European Union on Sunday condemned what it described as repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Gaza and urged full respect for international humanitarian law, Anadolu reported.

Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, said Israel’s continued strikes in the Gaza Strip had killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians over the weekend.

“We condemn the repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza, where hundreds of Palestinians were killed and injured by Israeli strikes over the weekend,” Lahbib said in a statement shared on X.

She said international humanitarian law must be upheld and stressed that civilians must be protected everywhere and at all times.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued its attacks, killing 524 people and injuring 1,360 others since Oct. 10, 2025, according to Gaza’s media office.

Israel announced Sunday it was terminating Doctors Without Borders' humanitarian operations in Gaza after the charity failed to provide a list of Palestinian staff, a move MSF said was a "pretext" to obstruct aid to the war-devastated territory.

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organisations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

"The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said on Sunday.

The decision follows "MSF´s failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations operating in the region", it added.

The ministry had earlier alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the charity has vehemently denied.

Lebanon said one person was killed and several others wounded in Israeli strikes in the country’s south, as Israel said it struck Hezbollah targets.

Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and three others wounded, including a 16-year-old boy, in an Israeli strike in Ebba in the Nabatiyeh district, which is located in the country's south.

The state-run National News Agency said the strike targeted a vehicle whose driver was killed, reporting a boy was among the wounded when his family's car passed at the time of the raid and crashed.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hezbollah operative in the Dweir area, near Ebba, "in response to Hezbollah’s repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings".

Egypt and Jordan’s leaders renewed their rejection of any attempts to displace Palestinians as Israel announced that it was partially reopening the Rafah crossing between the devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt.

During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II "renewed their affirmation of Egypt and Jordan’s firm stance rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land", according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

Pakistan and several other Muslim-Arab nations have warned that Israel's repeated violations of the ceasefire in Gaza pose a risk to the region’s peace and stability.

In a statement, the Foreign Office mentioned that Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar — all founding members of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace — condemn Israel's repeated violations of the ceasefire, which have resulted in the killing and injuring of more than a thousand Palestinians.

Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday with some of its most deadly airstrikes since the October ceasefire, killing more than 30 people, including three girls from one family, in attacks on houses, tents and a police station.

Israel said it reopened the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday, but only in a limited capacity, allowing passage solely for Palestinian residents of the territory.

"In accordance with the ceasefire agreement and a directive of the political echelon, the Rafah Crossing was opened today for the limited passage of residents only," Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body coordinating Palestinian civilian affairs said.

"As part of this, an initial pilot phase began today, conducted in coordination with the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM), Egypt, and all relevant stakeholders."

JERUSALEM: Israel has said it was terminating the humanitarian operations of the international charity Doctors Without Borders in Gaza after the organisation failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

"The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism is moving to terminate the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said.

The decision follows "MSF's failure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations operating in the region", it added, stating that the group will cease its work and leave Gaza by February 28.

Israel is set to partially reopen the Rafah crossing between the war-devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt today, following months of urging from humanitarian organisations, though access will be limited to the movement of people.

The Rafah crossing is a vital gateway for both civilians and aid, but has remained closed since Israeli forces seized control of it in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, aside from a brief and limited reopening in early 2025.

"The Rafah Crossing will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only," COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Friday.

Entry and exit "will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission", it added.

A source at the border told AFP that would be largely devoted to preparations and logistical arrangements.

The crossing is set to open on a trial basis to allow the passage of wounded individuals, ahead of a regular reopening scheduled for Monday, three sources at the crossing said.

However, no agreement has yet been reached on the number of Palestinians permitted to enter or exit, the sources added, noting that Egypt plans to admit "all Palestinians whom Israel authorises to leave" the territory.

Qatar condemned Israel for what it called repeated violations of a fragile US-brokered ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after the Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency reported 32 people killed in Israeli strikes.

"The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation of the repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip [...] in a dangerous escalation that will inflame the situation and undermine regional and international efforts aimed at consolidating the truce," the Qatari foreign ministry said.