Ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon appeared at risk on Sunday as disputes continued over key deadlines, and local health officials said that Israeli forces opened fire on both fronts.
In Gaza, of violating the ceasefire there by changing the order of hostages it has released. Citing that, Israel has stopped thousands of Palestinians from returning to the northern part of as expected by Sunday. Local health officials said that Israeli forces fired on the crowd, killing two.
Israel said civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud should have been released . Mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt were working on the issue.
In Lebanon, health officials said that on protesters in the south who demanded that Israel withdraw in line with the ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22.
Separately, officials with Hamas and Jordan rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that most of Gaza鈥檚 population , including in Egypt and Jordan.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel in an attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and abducted around 250. Israel鈥檚 retaliatory military operation has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of the and women, according to Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry, which doesn鈥檛 distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Here is the latest:
Relatives of 4 female Israeli soldiers freed from captivity in Gaza expressed joy at their release
TEL AVIV, Israel鈥 In their first public comments since reuniting with their loved ones, relatives of the four female Israeli soldiers freed from captivity in Gaza expressed joy and gratitude at their release but said their struggle will not end until all the hostages are back home.
鈥淥ur Liri is home, but there are 90 more hostages, and they should have already been freed,鈥 said Eli Albag, father of released hostage Liri Alabg, in a statement to the press at the hospital where the women are still undergoing medical evaluations. He said he has contempt for the ministers who voted against the ceasefire deal.
Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, were released by Hamas on Saturday after more than 15 months in captivity. In exchange, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners. Hospital officials have described the four women鈥檚 condition as stable.
Orly Gilboa, Daniella鈥檚 mother, said her daughter 鈥渃ame back thin and pale,鈥 but that she was 鈥渟till the same wonderful kid.鈥
The families expressed their gratitude to everyone who made the release possible, singling out U.S. President Donald Trump and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff for special thanks.
鈥淏ecause of your powerful actions, we have our lives back,鈥 said Sasha Ariev, sister of Karina Ariev, addressing Trump directly, in English. 鈥淵ou made this deal possible after so many months, when it felt like all hope was gone.鈥
Earlier on Sunday, the first three women freed from Gaza in the current ceasefire were released from the hospital, a spokesman for the Sheba Medical Center said.
Palestinian president condemns Trump's suggestion to 鈥榗lean out鈥 the Gaza Strip
RAMALLAH, West Bank 鈥 The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sharply condemned U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 suggestion to 鈥渃lean out鈥 the Gaza Strip and request that Egypt and Jordan take in more Palestinians.
In a statement, the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, says the prospect of mass displacement from the Gaza Strip 鈥渃onstitutes a violation of the red lines that we have repeatedly warned against.鈥
鈥淥ur people will not leave,鈥 the statement said. 鈥淲e warn of the repercussions of such a dangerous Israeli policy that contributes to severing the ties of the Gaza Strip, and displacing its people, which will lead to destabilization and security.鈥
Trump鈥檚 remarks suggesting that Palestinians be encouraged to leave Gaza gets at the core of Palestinian fears that they will be driven from their remaining homeland.
The Palestinian presidency said it was 鈥渞eady to assume its full duties in the Gaza Strip鈥 in hopes of eventually establishing an independent Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, briefly controlled Gaza after Israeli troops withdrew in 2005, only to be driven out by its rival Hamas two years later.
France will consider allowing Israeli companies to take part in Paris Air Show
PARIS 鈥 France will consider allowing Israeli companies to participate in the Paris Air Show in June, thanks to ceasefire agreements in Gaza and Lebanon, the French president鈥檚 office said Sunday.
That was among the results of a conversation Sunday between French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Macron said France hopes to help speed up the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, two of whom are French citizens. Macron also urged Israel to allow for a 鈥砿assive鈥 facilitation of aid to Gaza鈥檚 population, and to fulfill its promises to withdraw troops from Lebanon under a truce brokered by the U.S. and France.
Netanyahu asked about Israeli participation in the upcoming Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, a major industry event. The French president said Israeli participation 鈥砪ould be favorably considered, as a consequence of the cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon,鈥 according to Macron's office.
Tensions surrounded Israel鈥檚 participation in two last year, Eurosatory and Euronaval. The French government did not want Israel displaying any weapons used in its wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
Islamic Jihad group says the dispute over a hostage has been settled
RAMALLAH, West Bank 鈥 A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad, Gaza鈥檚 second-largest militant group, says the dispute over an Israeli hostage that has kept Palestinians from returning home to northern Gaza has been settled.
Mohamed al-Hajj Mousa added in a statement that the group told mediators that the hostage, Arbel Yehoud, will be released before Saturday, when the next exchange of hostages from Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody is set to take place.
There is no immediate comment from Israel, which has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released. It expected Yehoud to be freed this weekend, and it has put the movement of Palestinians into northern Gaza on hold.
UNRWA warns of far-reaching consequences if Israel goes ahead with its closure
RAMALLAH, West Bank 鈥 The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says that if Israel carries out its threat to close its east Jerusalem headquarters on Thursday, the outsize effects will be felt acutely and immediately by tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The agency, known as UNRWA, runs 12 facilities that provide critical public services across east Jerusalem, including schools enrolling at least 1,200 children and free clinics serving over 70,000 people.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing, it has an impact on people鈥檚 lives,鈥 Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, said of the potential closure.
In the Shuafat refugee camp, an impoverished neighborhood, 鈥減eople today can walk just a few meters and they鈥檙e in an excellent clinic,鈥 Touma said. But if it's shuttered, she said, tens of thousands of Palestinians would have to cross a difficult checkpoint, pay for transport and, even if they鈥檙e eligible for Israeli primary health care, also pay for medicine in order to see a doctor or get a blood test.
鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about the poorest of the poor,鈥 Touma said. 鈥淩ight now, they have no alternative.鈥
The closure of UNRWA schools would raise all sorts of problems given that there are already too few classrooms in the overcrowded Palestinian areas of east Jerusalem, she said.
Touma said much remains unclear about the Israeli order, including whether the closure would apply to operations in east Jerusalem only or to the entirety of the Palestinian territories.
Israel says the agency has allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas, allegations denied by the U.N.
Israeli far-right leaders back Trump's suggestion to resettle Palestinians
TEL AVIV, Israel 鈥 Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former 春色直播 Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, both want Israel to establish Jewish settlements in Gaza, supported Trump's remarks, calling it 鈥渧oluntary emigration."
Palestinians and many of their supporters view it as code for ethnic cleansing.
In a post on X Sunday, Smotrich called the idea of 鈥渉elping (Palestinians) find other places to start new, good lives鈥 great and said he would work with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to that end.
Ben-Gvir, who quit Netanyahu鈥檚 government over the current ceasefire in Gaza, said Trump鈥檚 remarks gave Israel the green light to move ahead on 鈥渧oluntary emigration.鈥
鈥淲hen the president of the world鈥檚 largest superpower brings it up himself, the government of Israel should implement it,鈥 he said in a statement.
Netanyahu has said building Jewish settlements in Gaza is not realistic. Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintains a blockade with Egypt on the territory.
UNRWA says Israel ordered it to vacate Jerusalem headquarters
JERUSALEM 鈥 The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees says its staff was directed to vacate the premises by Thursday.
Israel cutting all ties with the agency and barring it from operating in its territory. It says the agency, which is the main provider of aid in the Gaza Strip, has allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas, allegations denied by the U.N.
In a statement Sunday, the agency, known as UNRWA, said the order to vacate 鈥渋s in contradiction to international law obligations of U.N. member states,鈥 including Israel. 鈥淯nited Nations premises are inviolable and enjoy privileges and immunities under the United Nations Charter."
UNRWA closed its east Jerusalem headquarters last May after Israeli protesters set fire to its perimeter.
Senior Hamas official rejects Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip 鈥 Bassem Naim said that 鈥渆ven if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction," the Palestinian people will never agree to such a proposal.
He also said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza 鈥渆ven better than before鈥 .
Israeli forces kill 2 Palestinians in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip 鈥 Israeli forces fired on the crowds on three occasions overnight and into Sunday. Those killed included a child, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has pulled back from several areas of Gaza as part of the ceasefire, which came into force last Sunday, but the military has warned people to stay away from its forces, which are still operating in a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border and in the Netzarim corridor.
