Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Israel’s ban on Doctors Without Borders’ humanitarian operation in Gaza spells deeper catastrophe for the Palestinian territory’s people, the head of the medical charity told AFP.

"This is a decision that was made by the Israeli government to restrict humanitarian assistance into Gaza and the West Bank at the most critical time for Palestinians," MSF secretary-general Christopher Lockyear warned in an interview with AFP at the charity’s Geneva headquarters.

"We are at a moment where Palestinian people need more humanitarian assistance, not less," he said. "Ceasing MSF activities is going to be catastrophic for the people of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank".

Israeli soldiers have turned the home of a Palestinian man into military barracks after storming the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported, citing Wafa news agency.

Ali Muhammad Othman Abu Al-Hilu, the owner of the house, has been forced to evacuate home with family during a raid in the town.

The town of Hizma has been subjected from time to time to frequent incursions by Israeli forces, including raids on homes and its conversion into military barracks, constituting a violation of its citizens' rights.

Israel's ban on Doctors Without Borders' humanitarian operation in Gaza spells deeper catastrophe for the Palestinian territory's people, the head of the medical charity told AFP on Monday.

Israel announced on Sunday that it was terminating all the activities in Gaza and the West Bank by the organisation, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"This is a decision that was made by the Israeli government to restrict humanitarian assistance into Gaza and the West Bank at the most critical time for Palestinians," MSF secretary-general Christopher Lockyear warned in an interview with AFP at the charity´s Geneva headquarters.

"We are at a moment where Palestinian people need more humanitarian assistance, not less," he said. "Ceasing MSF activities is going to be catastrophic for the people of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank".

US President Donald Trump's senior envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's military chief, two senior Israeli officials said.

The officials said Witkoff's visit to the country was expected to begin on Tuesday. It comes amid heightened regional tensions with Iran, and as the Trump administration presses ahead with its plan to end the Gaza war.

A third Israeli official said Witkoff's meetings will be preparatory ahead of the talks possibly resuming and would follow up on a weekend meeting by Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir with his US counterpart General Dan Caine in Washington.

Fifty people are expected to cross the border between Gaza and Egypt in each direction in the first days of the reopening of the Rafah crossing, Egyptian state-linked media reported Monday.

AlQahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, reported citing an unnamed source that "fifty people will depart Egypt for Gaza and fifty people will come from Gaza, in the first days of the operation of the Rafah crossing".

A source at the border told AFP a few dozen people arrived on the Egyptian side on Monday awaiting entry into Gaza.

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.