The day so far
Donald Trump plans to convene world leaders for a summit on Gaza during his visit to Egypt next week, Axios reported. Among those expected to participate are representatives from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia. According to a US official, Benjamin Netanyahu will not be present. The summit will likely take place in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday morning, but it could be moved to Monday
Former British prime minister Tony Blair would not be welcome in any post-war role for Gaza, a senior Hamas official said, while praising Donald Trump in securing a peace deal. Speaking to Sky News, Dr Basem Naim said a ceasefire would not have been possible without Trump but said the US president must continue to apply pressure to Israel to ensure the agreement is not violated. On Blair, he criticised plans for the former UK PM to play a role in the future of Gaza, owing to his role in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Israel released a list of the Palestinian detainees that it plans to release as part of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement made with Hamas. Of the 250 Palestinian prisoners, 15 will be released in East Jerusalem, 100 to the West Bank, and 135 will be deported. Initially, when Hamas officials submitted a list of proposed prisoners to be released to mediators in Egypt, they called for the release of high-profile Palestinian political figures such as Marwan Barghouti. But Netanyahu’s office confirmed it refuses to release Barghouti.
Unicef called for all aid routes into Gaza to open and warned that child deaths may spike if not. “The situation is critical. We risk seeing a massive spike in child death, not only neonatal, but also infants, given their immune systems are more compromised than ever before,” said spokesperson Ricardo Pires. Nutrition support is the main priority, according to Unicef, with 50,000 children at risk of acute malnutrition and in need of immediate treatment.
Unicef also said it has evacuated two of 18 newborn babies from a north Gaza hospital to be reunited with their parents in the south of the region. “I hope this is just an example of what will come after the ceasefire is fully implemented,” Pires said.
Thousands of Palestinian people in Gaza began heading north in the territory after the Israeli military announced that a ceasefire came into effect on Friday. In a statement released on Telegram, the IDF said troops “began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines” from midday local time. It marked the first stop in fighting since March. Nearly half a million Palestinians living in north Gaza were displaced by Israel’s military advance into Gaza City, and many were eager to return to their homes. But with more than 90% of homes in Gaza and almost all its infrastructure destroyed or damaged, many who have done so have found their homes and neighbourhoods in ruins.
Updated
Hostage and prisoner release will be a huge challenge, says Red Cross
In an interview with the Associated Press, the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the expected hostage and prisoner release will be more challenging than previous ones given the scale and speed of the operation.
Christian Cardon, chief spokesman for the ICRC, said on Friday that while the group is expected to play a role as hostages are released from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israel, it has not been given details in terms of when, how or where the releases would occur.
“Our colleagues are preparing themselves for all possible scenarios,” said Cardon.
He added that the terms of the deal, which call for the hostages to be released from Gaza within 72 hours, was an “extremely” tight time frame.
The ICRC was involved in prisoner and hostage releases in the two previous ceasefires during the war.
