Israel and the US were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its ‘aggression’ in the Middle East, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Hamas released Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov in Gaza on Saturday and Israel freed about 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange, after mediators helped avert a collapse of the fragile ceasefire.
The outgoing head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, would travel to the US on an official visit from 17-20 February said the Israeli military on Sunday.
Netanyahu says ‘we can finish the job’ against Iran after meeting Rubio
Israel and the US were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its “aggression” in the Middle East, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Speaking after meeting Rubio in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said they had held a “very productive discussion” on several issues, “none more important than Iran”.
“Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” he said. “We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons and also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region must be rolled back.”
Rubio said: “Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home is Iran.”
Israeli-Iranian enmity stretches back decades through a history of clandestine wars and attacks by land, sea, air and cyberspace.
Iran, which says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, has also backed groups across the Middle East that describe themselves as the “Axis of Resistance” to Israel and US influence in the region.
The Axis includes not only Hamas, the Palestinian group that ignited the Gaza war by attacking Israel in October 2023, but also the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, the Houthi movement in Yemen and Shi’ite armed groups in Iraq and Syria.
Over the 16 months since the Gaza war erupted, Israel has assassinated top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and Israel and Iran have exchanged limited retaliatory attacks.
Netanyahu said Israel had dealt a “mighty blow” to Iran since the start of the war in Gaza and with the support of US President Donald Trump, “I have no doubt we can and will finish the job.”
Thanking Rubio for “unequivocal backing” for Israel’s policy in Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel and the US under Trump shared a common strategy in the Palestinian enclave, where a fragile ceasefire is in effect.
“I want to assure everyone who’s now listening to us, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us,” he said.
Rubio added: “Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force and as long as it stands as a force that can govern or administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 48,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory’s 2.3 million prewar population has been displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say.
Trump has angered the Arab world and surprised the US’s allies by declaring that the US will take over Gaza, resettle its Palestinian inhabitants and redevelop it into an international beach resort.
His ambitions have fuelled Palestinian fears of a repeat of the 1948 “Nakba”, or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were dispossessed of their homes in the war at the birth of the state of Israel.
Rubio described Trump’s plan as “not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that is bold ... and something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline.
“It may have shocked and surprised many but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and end in the same place.”
Arab states are working to present an alternative vision for Gaza, which was plagued by poverty and unemployment even before the war between Israel and Hamas erupted.
Rubio was cautious on the subject of Syria, which was torn apart by a civil war and will need billions of dollars to rebuild after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Iran.
Assad was toppled by rebels led by Islamist Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda affiliate and leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Sharaa was declared president for a transitional phase in late January, tightening his hold on power less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Assad.
“While the fall of Assad is certainly promising and important, if Syria is replacing one destabilising force for another, it’s not a positive development,” said Rubio.
“This is something we will watch very carefully as we seek to craft our own strategy in regards to how to approach the events in Syria.”
Israel releases 369 Palestinians in exchange for three hostages
Hamas released Israeli hostages Iair Horn, Sagui Dekel Chen and Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov in Gaza on Saturday and Israel freed some 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange, after mediators helped avert a collapse of the fragile ceasefire.
The three Israelis were led onto a stage with Palestinian Hamas militants armed with automatic rifles standing on each side of them at the site in Khan Younis, live footage showed, before they were taken back into Israel by Israeli forces.
Shortly afterwards, buses carrying freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees departed Israel’s Ofer jail in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The first bus arrived in Ramallah to a cheering crowd, some waving Palestinian flags.
“We didn’t expect to be freed, but God is great, God set us free,” said Musa Nawarwa (70) from the West Bank town of Bethlehem, who was serving two life terms for killings of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.
Buses carrying some of the hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees, some flashing victory signs as they hung from the windows, arrived later at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Some of the Palestinians were serving long prison terms for involvement in suicide bombings and other attacks that killed dozens of Israelis during the second Palestinian uprising in 2000. Others were jailed for killing Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank.
Some, like Hassan Ewis, will be allowed to return to their homes. Others, such as his brother, are expected to be deported to Egypt.
Ewis’ charge sheet in the Israeli Justice Ministry records includes the planting of explosives and attempted murder and intentional homicide. He said prison conditions were difficult and Palestinians were deprived of sufficient food.
Some of the Israeli hostages who have returned since January 19 have reported being deprived of food, held in tunnels for months and not seeing daylight, and being subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
Some freed Palestinians are returning to an enclave they have not seen for years, before it was blasted into rubble by Israeli airstrikes and shelling in 15 months of war. But most were rounded up after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The ceasefire’s second phase is meant to usher in negotiations to return the remaining living hostages among the 251 seized that day, and complete an Israeli military withdrawal before an end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Argentina-born Iair Horn (46) was taken captive together with his younger brother Eitan. Horn appeared to have lost considerable weight in captivity.
"Now, we can breathe a little. Our Iair is home after surviving hell in Gaza. Now, we need to bring Eitan back so our family can truly breathe," Horn’s family said in a statement.
Israeli military chief to visit US
The outgoing head of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, would travel to the US on an official visit from 17-20 February said the Israeli military on Sunday.
Halevi, who is due to step down on 6 March 6, would meet senior U.S. commanders “to discuss key strategic and operational issues”, said the statement.
Israel receives shipment of heavy bombs cleared by Trump
Israel had received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the US after Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defence ministry said on Sunday.
The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000-pound bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
The Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The Biden administration sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the 7 October 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants from Gaza but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month.
“The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States,” said Defense Minister Israel Katz late on Saturday.
Phase two of Gaza talks to continue this week
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that talks on phase two of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas would continue this week “at a location to be determined” to figure out how to reach a successful conclusion.
He told Fox News that he had “very productive and constructive" calls on Sunday with Netanyahu, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s director of intelligence.
Witkoff said they spoke about “the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand ... where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.”
Israeli strike kills three Palestinian police officers in Gaza
An Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian police officers east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, said the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, calling it a breach of the fragile ceasefire that took effect on 19 January.
Palestinian officials said Israel was also violating the truce terms by blocking the entry of equipment to clear the rubble and build shelters for displaced people in the enclave. Patients were also being stopped from leaving for hospital treatment in Egypt, they said.
The Interior Ministry said the three policemen who were killed had been deployed to the area to secure the entry of aid trucks into Gaza.
“The ministry ... condemns this crime and calls upon the mediators and the international community to compel the occupation to stop targeting the police force, which is a civil apparatus,” it said in a statement.
Israel’s military said the strike had targeted several armed individuals who were moving towards Israeli forces deployed nearby and “hits were identified”.
In Gaza, a health ministry official said Israel had prevented the departure of dozens of patients and wounded Palestinians, who were supposed to leave for treatment at hospitals in neighbouring Egypt.
The official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Israel had not given permission for them to pass through the Rafah border crossing.
There was no immediate Israeli response to the health official’s comments.
Head of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office Salama Marouf said Israel was still blocking the entry of mobile homes being brought in to shelter tens of thousands of displaced Gazans and heavy machinery to clear rubble and open roads.
“This refusal shows the world who is obstructing the [ceasefire] agreement, necessitating the intervention and pressure from the guarantor mediators to ensure the occupation fulfils its commitments,” said Marouf.
Israel has denied criticism by Hamas on the issue and says it has facilitated the entry of shelter materials.
Tear gas fired at protesting Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon
The Lebanese army fired tear gas on Saturday at Hezbollah supporters protesting around Beirut airport against Lebanon blocking an Iranian flight to Beirut this week after the Israeli military accused Tehran of using civilian aircraft to smuggle cash to Beirut to arm the Lebanese group.
Hezbollah legislator Hassan Fadlallah called on the army to hold those who fired at the protesters to account.
The Lebanese army and government “should have held immediate meetings to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates on the airport and from continuing its occupation of Lebanese territory ... instead of using force against a peaceful sit-in on the airport road,” added Fadlallah.
Iran barred Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Iran on Friday, in a standoff between the two countries following what Tehran described as an Israeli threat to attack it.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke to his Lebanese counterpart by phone on the matter and both “declared their readiness for constructive talks”, said state media, without elaborating.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday said that Israel had threatened a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens from Tehran, disrupting flights to Beirut airport. He condemned the alleged Israeli threat as a violation of international law.
Hezbollah condemns attack on UN peacekeeping mission convoy
Hezbollah on Sunday condemned an attack on a United Nations Interim Force (Unifil) convoy in Beirut on Friday which the US State Department has said was reportedly carried out by supporters of the militant group.
Unifil said on Friday its outgoing deputy force commander was injured when the convoy, which was taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport, was “violently attacked”.
Lebanese authorities have detained more than 25 people as part of an investigation into the attack, which the US State Department said was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”.
In Sunday’s statement, the Iran-backed militant group expressed firm rejection of any targeting of Unifil forces.
Arab proposal for Gaza in the works, says minister
Arab countries were putting together a plan that would rebuild Gaza without displacing its people while guaranteeing security and governance, said Jordan’s foreign minister on Friday, adding that his country could not take more Palestinians.
Arab countries were dismayed earlier this month after Trump announced a plan to “clean out” Palestinians from Gaza and resettle most of them in Jordan and Egypt, an idea immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and seen in most of the region as deeply destabilising.
“Just to answer you unequivocally, 35% of our population are refugees, we cannot afford any more, we cannot have Palestinians coming to Jordan. They don’t want to come to Jordan and we don’t want them to come to Jordan,” said Ayman Safadi at the Munich Security Conference.
Jordan’s King Abdullah travelled to Washington on 11 February 11, where he reiterated his country’s “steadfast position” against Trump’s plan.
According to two European diplomatic sources aware of the meeting, the king told Trump that the Arab plan would be “cheaper and faster” than Trump’s proposal, something that the US leader seemed receptive to. DM
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