Middle East: UN says Israel violating Lebanon ceasefire deal

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says Israel has ordered the closure of three of its schools and a training center in east Jerusalem.

Israel has cut off all ties with the agency and since January it has been banned from operating in Israeli territory.

Israel accuses UNRWA of allowing itself to be infiltrated by Gaza-based militant group Hamas — allegations the agency denies. A UN-appointed independent panel found in March of last year that Israel had not provided evidence for the claims.

UNRWA said Israeli security forces forcefully entered the Qalandiya Training Center on Tuesday and ordered its evacuation.

"At least 350 students and 30 staff were present and impacted. Tear gas and sound bombs were fired," agency head Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

He added that three schools with 250 children in total were also ordered to shut down.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli authorities.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, described the raids on the schools as an "unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities," and a "denial of the right to education for children and trainees."

Hamas lead truce negotiator, Khalil al-Haya, has announced that the Palestinian militant group will release six more Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday.

This is three more people than were originally agreed to in the ceasefire deal struck between Israel and Hamas.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the details of the announcement, adding that the bodies of four deceased hostages were to follow. Three of the deceased are expected to be Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, whose fates struck a particular chord in Israel.

The news comes after Hamas threatened to suspend hostage releases last week, citing Israeli strikes in violation of their truce agreement. They later walked these statements back.

According to the Miami Herald and Israeli news outlet Haaretz, a Jewish man in Florida shot two vacationing Israelis and is now being held on attempted murder charges.

The suspect told police that he "saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both." However, the victims were Jewish Israelis and survived the shooting, one being grazed in the forearm and the other being struck in the shoulder.

The reports further stated that one of the victims had written "death to Arabs" after the attack on social media, saying he and his father had been the victims of antisemitic violence, apparently unaware of the background of the suspect.

The head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Florida chapter called for hate crime charges over the shooting, while CAIR national Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote on social media site X that it was "deeply ironic and telling that both the alleged pro-Israel perpetrator and the pro-Israel victim in the Miami Beach shooting reportedly hold racist anti-Palestinian views."

The United Nations has said that Israel is violating an agreement to end hostilities in Lebanon following the announcement that the IDF would remain in the country in "five key positions."

"Another delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen, not least because it continues a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," the UN's Lebanon envoy and peacekeeping force said in a joint statement.

Villagers reported that what they had returned to mostly rubble after more than a year of clashes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced that the second phase of truce negotiations will begin soon, including the further release of Palestinian detainees and Israelis held by Hamas.

He said that one key stipulation for Israel would be the total demilitarization of Gaza.

Saar added that he was aware of reports from an Egyptian newspaper that other regional powers were working on an alternative proposal for redeveloping Gaza, but did not comment on the situation further.

A Liberian-flagged cargo ship carrying liquified natural gas (LNG) is passing through the Red Sea for the second time this year.

Most companies have halted LNG shipments through the waterway due to strikes by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have expressed their solidarity with Palestinians and with Hamas.

Last summer, the Houthis sank an LNG vessel headed for the Suez Canal.

The government of Egypt is preparing a proposal for the rebuilding of devastated Gaza that would not displace any more Palestinians, following President Trump's call for the US to annex the area.

State-run newspaper Al-Ahram said the plan would create "secure areas" where Palestinians could live while international construction firms rebuild the communities that have been leveled by more than year of bombing campaigns.

The report said that Egyptian authorities have been in contact with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to collaborate on the plan and discuss funding.

Israeli Defense Force (IDF) troops have left several Lebanese villages, but remain in the country in five positions after a deadline passed for their total withdrawal.

Under an agreement with Hezbollah militants, the IDF was supposed to leave the country entirely by Tuesday morning.

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the remaining troops, and promised to take action if there was any "violation" of a ceasefire agreementwith Hezbollah.

Lebanon's army said it was stationing soldiers in the villages Israel had vacated.

A longstanding opponent of Israel, Hezbollah declared its support for Hamas after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israeli civilians and the invasion of Gaza that followed. Hezbollah then launched strikes on Israeli military targets, leading to a back and forth over the course of months that killed dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians and some 3,000 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians.

This blog will have all the latest developments in the Middle East region. DW also will bring you an in-depth analysis and video of events happening in the region. 

Monday saw Israel announce a "voluntary departure" proposal in which Palestinians in Gaza who wish to leave will be allowed to do so. The move was seen as commitment to a suggestion by President Donald Trump that the US help rebuild and settle the territory.

"Defense Minister Israel Katz held a meeting today (Monday) on the voluntary departure of Gaza residents, at the end of which he decided that a directorate for the voluntary departure of Gaza residents would be established within the Ministry of Defense," a statement read.

However, a group of both Republican and Democratic US senators on a visit to Israel told reporters there was scant enthusiasm in Congress for Trump's plan, and that regional powers should decide what happens in Gaza.