Middle East crisis live: two Israeli hostages freed amid Rafah strikes that officials say killed at least 67 Palestinians | Israel-Gaza war

EU foreign policy chief ‘extraordinarily concerned’ about Israel’s planned Rafah offensive

Lisa O’Carroll

The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, has said he is “extraordinarily concerned” about Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats to launch attacks on Rafah with no evacuation plan and no prospect of refugee camps in Egypt.

He said:

I am happy to know that two hostages have been liberated but also very much worried by the situation in the border with Egypt where new military operations seem to be taking place by the Israeli defence forces.

Netanyahu has been asking for the evacuation of 1.7 million people without saying where these people could be evacuated.

The situation with Egypt is very tense and we are extraordinarily concerned about what can happen there.

Speaking on the way into a meeting of UNWRA commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, and the EU’s development ministers, he added: “Even in the US, which is the strongest supporter of Israel, President Biden himself considers that this action is disproportionate.”

“The toll of people being killed, civilians being killed is unbearable,” he said, adding that the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, had been “begging” Netanyahu “to stop killing people”.

“If they launch an offensive against a highly populated area with more than 1.7 million people, they will crash against a wall, they cannot escape,” he said.

On Donald Trump and Nato he was sharply critical. “Nato is not an a la carte alliance that depends on the humour of the US president,” he said after the former president said he would “encourage” Russia to attack any of the US’s Nato allies whom he considers to have not met their financial obligations.

We reported earlier that hospital officials told the Associated Press that at least 50 people had been killed in the Israeli airstrikes that accompanied the hostage rescue operation in Rafah.

Now, Palestinian health officials say the operation killed at least 67 Palestinians, including women and children.

A joint operation by the Israeli military, the domestic Shin Bet Security Service and the Special Police Unit in Rafah freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, the military said.

Lisa O’Carroll

Germany has said UNWRA’s work in Gaza must continue in parallel with the investigation into allegations that several workers were involved in Hamas’s October terrorist attacks on Israel.

Ahead of a meeting in Brussels with UNWRA chiefs, Germany’s development minister, Jochen Flasbarth, said it had paused additional new finance for UNWRA until the investigation into the allegations is concluded.

But he added:

This is not a payment stop and it does not include UNRWA outside the Gaza Strip.

We believe that the UN has taken the right steps, but I also say that UNRWA’s work is not replaceable in the Gaza Strip.

Many people are dying, but human aid is indispensable and we need UNRWA for that.

UK has duty to suspend the supply of arms to Israel, legal groups tell David Cameron

Patrick Wintour

The UK government has a duty not just to support the orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but to change UK policy by suspending the supply of arms to Israel, the foreign secretary, David Cameron, has been told by 30 UK-based organisations including legal and atrocity prevention groups.

The letter, sent last week, argues the government as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, “is bound to ensure it helps prevent and ensure it is not complicit in violations of the convention. The provisional measures issued by the ICJ therefore have immediate and urgent implications for UK policy.”

The Israeli government has been given until 23 February to report to the ICJ on what it has done to comply with six orders the court issued last month, including one relating to ending incitement to genocide and another requiring immediate steps to improve the supply of humanitarian aid.

Israel says it is allowing food and water into Gaza, and only making checks to stop items being diverted to Hamas. It has also denied it has any intention of committing genocide, and the ICJ has not ruled one is taking place. Civilian casualties are due to the close urban warfare, and Hamas refusal to release hostages.

The briefing from the UK-based organisations spelling out the implications of the orders issued to Israel by the ICJ for other signatories to the Genocide Convention has also been sent to the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, and to the UK special envoy for humanitarian aid in Gaza, Mark Bryson-Richardson.

The group claimed the government now “must ensure that it is in no way enabling or otherwise complicit in the commission of acts that the court has found could plausibly be in violation of the convention”.

They add: “In light of the court’s findings, there is now a clear risk, as set out under the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC), that British arms and military equipment transferred to Israel might be used to facilitate or commit violations of the Genocide Convention as well as violations of international humanitarian law”.

They also say the government “must become far more assertive in its condemnation” of any Israeli government statements and rhetoric that could be deemed to incite genocide.

Similarly, the UK must recognise the court’s finding that the withholding of basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza could violate the Genocide Convention and that Israel has therefore been ordered to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life”.

They say this requires Israel immediately to “reverse its decision to deprive water and electricity to Palestinians in Gaza both of which constitute urgently needed basic services”.

The authors argue the UK response to the ICJ ruling is central to Britain’s reputation. “The UK has long considered itself a leader in the realms of justice and accountability, supporting the process for the new crimes against humanity treaty, securing an investigative mechanism via the Human Rights Council for Sudan, intervening in the genocide case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar which is currently before the ICJ,” they write.

“The application of justice and accountability for international crimes can never be selective. Inconsistency is the enabler of impunity everywhere. The UK must be steadfast in its support of the ICJ as a competent and appropriate court to hear and investigate state disputes regarding the Genocide Convention, and ensure that the court’s decisions are respected and abided by. Failure to do so risks the lives of Palestinians and Israelis. It also risks unravelling the very foundations of the international rules-based system of international justice, and the UK’s role in the world – playing into the hands of actors who have everything to gain from a broken United Nations.”

In recent weeks the UK Foreign Office has stepped up its demands for both sides to back a humanitarian pause leading to a ceasefire. Cameron on Saturday said he was also deeply concerned by a possible attack on Rafah in Southern Gaza saying “half of Gaza’s population are sheltering there”.

Bryson-Richardson has been negotiating daily with Israeli authorities, urging them to restore water supply lines, reconnect electricity supplies and let in sufficient fuel to power critical infrastructure like bakeries.

But there has been no public statement from the UK government that Israel’s actions subsequent to the court judgment may be in breach of the ICJ order, or that the UK will take new steps to demand aid is delivered.

Dr Kate Ferguson, co-executive director of Protection Approaches and one of the letter’s authors, said:“I worry the UK is still conflating the armed conflict with Hamas and the campaign being waged against the Palestinian people. The order to evacuate and prepare for a ground offensive in Rafah is a brazen disregard of the ICJ order and must be taken as an urgent warning of further atrocity crimes against civilians.”

A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy said: “Israel is bound by international law and continues to act against a genocidal terrorist organisation, which commits war crimes as well as crimes against humanity.

“Israel is enabling the entrance of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and is facilitating the transfer of any amount of aid requested. The scope of incoming aid is limited only by the handling capabilities of the UN and other aid agencies within the Gaza Strip.

“Claims regarding the food situation in Gaza are inaccurate and are intended to divert the focus from the ongoing failure of these organisations in handling and managing the distribution of aid to the residents who need it.”

It’s 9:10am in Gaza and Tel Aviv and here are the latest developments:

• Hospital officials in Rafah say at least 50 people have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes that accompanied a hostage rescue operation, according to the Associated Press. Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of the Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital, said that the dead included women and children. An Associated Press journalist also counted the bodies brought to hospital.

• The bombing in Rafah caused widespread panic in the city as people were asleep when they started, according to residents contacted by Reuters. Some feared Israel had begun its ground offensive into Rafah. Israeli planes, tanks and ships took part in the strikes, with two mosques and several houses hit, according to residents.

• A joint operation by the Israel Defence Force (IDF), Israel’s domestic Shin Bet Security Service and the Special Police Unit in Rafah freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, the Israeli military said.

• Har’s son-in-law, Idan Bergerano, has told Israel’s Channel 13 TV that he and his wife were able to see the released captives at the hospital, according to Associated Press.

• Reuters is reporting that Hamas said in a statement that the strikes are a continuation of the ‘genocidal war’ and the forced displacement attempts Israel has waged against the Palestinian people.

• US president Joe Biden is hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Washington on Monday. The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing effort to free hostages held in Gaza, and growing concern over a possible Israeli military operation in the port city of Rafah, the Associated Press reports.

• New Zealand has urged Israel to rethink a planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, according to reports from Australian Associated Press. On Monday afternoon, New Zealand’s prime minister, Chris Luxon, said: “Palestinian civilians cannot pay the price of Israel trying to defeat Hamas … There are 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah at the moment. We are extremely concerned about that.”

• A vessel has reported coming under a missile attack off Yemen’s southern coast on Monday while transiting the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, security agencies have told Agence France-Presse.

Hospital officials in Rafah say at least 50 people have been killed in the Israeli airstrikes that accompanied a hostage rescue operation, according to Associated Press.

Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of the Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital, said Monday the dead included women and children. An Associated Press journalist also counted the bodies brought to hospital.

The Israeli military said it rescued two hostages held in the territory in a raid that was backed up by Israeli strikes.

This is a developing story and we will bring you more when we have it

US president Joe Biden is hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Washington Monday.

The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing effort to free hostages held in Gaza, and growing concern over a possible Israeli military operation in the port city of Rafah, Associated Press reports.

It is the first meeting between the allies since three American troops were killed last month in a drone strike against a US base in Jordan. Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for the fatalities.

It was reported by Reuters earlier that King Abdullah participated in an airdrop of humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to the state-owned Al Mamlaka broadcaster.

A video showed the monarch in military gear on board a plane in the latest mission by the Jordanian air force to drop urgent medical supplies to field hospitals it runs in the war-torn territory. According to official media, the latest airdrop was on 6 February.

Israel carried out a special forces operation that freed two Israeli hostages in Rafah while striking the southern city.

Local health officials from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry say airstrikes early on Monday killed 37 people and wounded dozens. The bombing caused widespread panic in Rafah as people were asleep when they started, according to residents contacted by Reuters using a chat app. Some feared Israel had begun its ground offensive into Rafah.

Israeli planes, tanks and ships took part in the strikes, with two mosques and several houses hit, according to residents.

A joint operation by the Israel Defence Force (IDF), Israel’s domestic Shin Bet Security Service and the Special Police Unit in Rafah freed Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, the Israeli military said.

The two men, who were kidnapped by Hamas from Nir Yitzhak kibbutz during the 7 October attacks were said to be in a good condition and taken to the Tel Hashomer Medical Complex, the military said.

“It was a very complex operation,” Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col. Richard Hecht said. “We’ve been working a long time on this operation. We were waiting for the right conditions,” reports Reuters.

The hostages were being held on the second floor of a building that was breached with an explosive charge during the raid, which saw heavy exchanges of gunfire with surrounding buildings, Hecht said.

At the same time, an airstrike was carried out to allow the forces to be extracted, he said.

US President Joe Biden told prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday that Israel should not launch a full military operation in Rafah without a credible plan to ensure the safety of the roughly 1 million people sheltering there, the White House said.

It’s 6:58am in Gaza and Tel Aviv. I’m Reged Ahmad and welcome to our latest blog on the continuing Middle East crisis, I’ll be with you for the next while.

Israel has carried out a special forces operation into Rafah that’s freed two Israeli hostages amid airstrikes, early on Monday. The airstrikes caused widespread panic in Rafah as many people were asleep when they started, Reuters reports.

Local health officials say 37 people were killed and dozens wounded in the southern Gaza city – which has been described as a ‘safe’ zone in the past.

More on that in a moment but first, here’s a summary of the main developments so far:

• Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, suggested that “enough” of the 130 or so remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza are alive to justify Israel’s ongoing war in the region. Asked how many of the hostages are still alive, Netanyahu said “enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we’re doing”. “We’re going to try to do our best to get all those who are alive back and, frankly, also the bodies of the dead,” he said in an interview with ABC’s This Week programme. Israel has previously said it believes 31 of the 136 hostages being held in Gaza are dead.

• Separately, Netanyahu told Fox News Sunday he had not spoken to Joe Biden since the US president made remarks earlier this week about Israel’s military response in Gaza being “over the top”. The comments come as Israel faces growing international warnings over its planned offensive in Rafah.

• The UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, said he was “deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area”.

• Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip over the past few days have killed two Israeli hostages and seriously injured eight others, Hamas’ armed-wing Al Qassam Brigades said over the group’s Telegram channel.

• Any Israeli ground offensive in Rafah on the Gaza border will “blow up” the hostage exchange negotiations, Hamas-run Aqsa television channel quoted a senior Hamas leader as saying.

• Israeli forces have discovered a tunnel network hundreds of metres long and running partly under the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine’s (UNRWA) Gaza headquarters, the military said, calling it new evidence of Hamas exploitation of the main relief agency for Palestinians.

• The cousin of a six-year-old Palestinian girl who died in Gaza after her family’s car appeared to come under fire from Israeli tanks has told how he spoke to her as she waited to be rescued and said he was haunted by her last words.

• The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Israeli forces have prevented oxygen from reaching the al-Amal hospital for over a week, resulting in the deaths of three patients. The PRCS said Israel has also not provided medical equipment, and continues to block the delivery of fuel for the hospital’s electricity generators, despite the fuel supply running out in two days, risking a shutdown. The IDF has now posted on its X account that it has allowed oxygen through.

• A total of 28,176 Palestinians have been killed and 67,784 have been injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Sunday. An estimated 112 Palestinians were killed and 173 injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.

• The US military said it struck more devices and missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.