Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

A White House official reiterated US President Donald Trump's opposition toward Israel annexing the West Bank.

"A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region," the official said.

An immigration judge has rejected the Trump administration's efforts to deport Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested last year as part of its targeting of pro-Palestinian campus activists, her lawyers said on Monday.

Lawyers for the Turkish student detailed the immigration judge's decision in a filing with the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which had been reviewing a ruling that led to her release from immigration custody in May.

An immigration judge on January 29 concluded the US Department of Homeland Security had not met its burden of proving she was removable and terminated the proceedings against her, her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union wrote.

Her immigration lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, said the decision was issued by Immigration Judge Roopal Patel in Boston.

That ended, for now, proceedings that began with Ozturk's arrest by immigration authorities in March on a street in Massachusetts after the US Department of State revoked her student visa.

The sole basis authorities provided for revoking her visa was an editorial she co-authored in Tufts' student newspaper a year earlier criticizing her school's response to Israel's war in Gaza.

"Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system's flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government," Ozturk said in a statement.

WASHINGTON: A Palestinian woman, who lost dozens of family members in the Gaza war, has been hospitalised following a seizure in US immigration detention, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Kordia, a 33-year-old Muslim Palestinian woman living in the US and whose mother is an American citizen, was detained by US immigration authorities early last year.

She was detained during a meeting with immigration officials at the Newark Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office, where she was accompanied by her attorney. At the time of her detention last year, Kordia was in the process of securing legal residency.

In a weekend statement cited by media, her family and legal team said they have not received communication from US authorities about her health. The family could not immediately be reached for comment. DHS says ICE will ensure she receives proper medical care.

Kordia has said she was targeted for pro-Palestinian activism and cast the conditions in her detention facility as "filthy, overcrowded and inhumane."

Britain on Monday called on Israel to reverse its decision to expand control over the West Bank, joining Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in criticising the move.

"The UK strongly condemns the Israeli Security Cabinet’s decision yesterday to expand Israeli control over the West Bank," the British government said. 

Critics have said Israel's move to ease settlement expansion and widen its powers in the West Bank went in the direction of annexing occupied land.

"Any unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic make-up of Palestine is wholly unacceptable and would be inconsistent with international law. We call on Israel to reverse these decisions immediately," the British government added.

Israeli forces killed four people, including a child, in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's National News Agency reported, citing the health ministry, in two separate strikes that the Israeli military said targeted members of the armed group, Hezbollah.

In a third incident, Israeli forces seized an official from Jama'a Islamiya, a Lebanese group, during a raid, according to the group and Hezbollah. The Israeli military described him as a "senior terrorist" and said he was transferred to Israel for questioning.

Three of the fatalities, including a three-year-old child were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the village of Yanouh, NNA reported, citing the health ministry.

The Israeli military said it had killed a Hezbollah fighter in a strike in the area of Yanouh, identifying him as the head of Hezbollah's artillery in the area, and saying he carried out numerous attacks on Israel during the war, and was working to rehabilitate Hezbollah's artillery capabilities.

The Israeli military said it was "aware of the claim that uninvolved civilians were killed", that steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians including use of precise munitions and surveillance, and that it regretted harm to uninvolved civilians. "The incident is under review," it said.

The fourth fatality was in the border village of Aita al-Shaab, where the Lebanese health ministry said a man was killed by Israeli gunfire, NNA reported.

The Israeli military said its troops "eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist" in Aita al-Shaab, saying he was "involved in gathering intelligence on IDF troops and operated to rehabilitate Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure".

Hezbollah, in a statement, said the incidents marked a "dangerous escalation" and "signals the beginning of a new phase of Israeli aggression."

The Israeli military claimed targeted a Hezbollah member in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al Shaab, Al Jazeera reported.

In a statement, the military said the victim was gathering intelligence on Israeli troops and working to rehabilitate the group’s infrastructure in the area.

At least 20 Palestinians, including two children and two women, were arrested in the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces carried out an overnight raid, Al Jazeera reported, citing Wafa news agency.

In a statement on Telegram, the military claimed that accused detainees of involving in purchase and possession of arms and planning to harm Israeli troops and civilian.

The European Union slammed Israel over the latest measures of land annexation in the West Bank, declaring it another step towards wrong direction, Al Jazeera reported.

In a statement, the European Union said new measures to expand its control of the West Bank pave the way to increase illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel’s security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.

“This move is another step in the wrong direction.”