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Israel's military has announced that its forces will stay in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon, despite the deadline for their withdrawal under the Hezbollah ceasefire, reports AP. This has frustrated the Lebanese government, which is calling for the withdrawal to occur. Similarly, a separate ceasefire in Gaza is at risk as Israel's war with Hamas marks its 500th day. Israel threatens 'all hell will break loose' on Hamas in latest Gaza ceasefire crisis Tensions have also emerged over whether Israel and the United States want to continue the truce. Negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have yet to commence. Israel's military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, explained that the five locations in Lebanon provide key vantage points and are situated near northern Israeli communities, where many residents remain displaced. The U.S.-led body monitoring the ceasefire has approved a temporary extension. The agreement involves Israeli forces withdrawing from a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, which will be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers. Despite the ceasefire holding since November, Israel has emphasised the importance of a gradual withdrawal to ensure the security of its civilians. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun insists the ceasefire must be honoured, with Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem asserting that no excuses should delay the Israeli pullback. Tensions in Lebanon are rising, with Hezbollah launching rockets, drones, and missiles into Israel following Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, which led to a larger conflict in the region. In Gaza, protests in Israel call for an extension of the ceasefire to secure the release of more hostages taken during the October 7 attack. Israeli officials believe several of the 33 people slated for return are already dead, and Hamas is slowly releasing hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Hamas' threat to delay the next release of Israeli hostages raises fears for Gaza ceasefire The first phase of the ceasefire is nearing its end, but talks for the second phase, which could involve the release of more hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, have not begun. Amidst these developments, U.S. and Israeli officials remain committed to eradicating Hamas, though this objective is seen as incompatible with the goal of bringing all hostages home. Meanwhile, proposals for the future of Gaza, including a controversial plan for its permanent relocation, have drawn significant opposition from Palestinians and Arab nations. Meanwhile, Israel is accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank, with plans for nearly 1,000 new homes, further intensifying tensions over territorial disputes.

Syrian authorities have arrested three men suspected of involvement in the execution of hundreds of civilians by government forces in Damascus in 2013, two years into the country’s 13-year civil war, reports AP. Security forces, accompanied by dozens of police and security trucks, carried out the arrests in Tadamon, a Damascus suburb near the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp. The operation took place in the same streets that once witnessed mass executions, now lined with hollowed-out buildings—remnants of a war that turned the district into a battleground between government forces and opposition fighters. A Russian spy ship caught fire off Syria's coast, officials say A leaked video from 2022, dated April 16, 2013, allegedly depicted chilling footage of the executions. The nearly seven-minute clip showed members of Syria’s notorious Military Intelligence Branch 227 leading approximately 40 blindfolded prisoners, hands tied behind their backs, into an abandoned building in Tadamon. The gunmen then pushed or kicked each prisoner into a trench filled with old tyres, shooting them as they fell. Among those arrested was Monzer Al-Jazairi, a former operative with military security and a resident of the Zahira neighbourhood. Speaking to The Associated Press, Al-Jazairi described how detainees were brought from checkpoints, executed under buildings, and then buried beneath rubble when the structures were detonated. It was unclear whether his statements were made voluntarily or under duress. “Each batch consisted of around 25 people,” he said, adding that there was a gap of approximately a week between executions. He estimated that he and his colleagues killed about 500 people. Lt. Col. Abdul Rahman Al-Dabbagh, Damascus Security Chief, confirmed this figure, citing confessions from those arrested. Car bomb blast in northern Syria leaves at least 15 dead “Many of those executed were detained at checkpoints and security centres before being transported to Tadamon for execution,” Al-Dabbagh told the AP. The other two suspects arrested were identified as Somer Mohammed Al-Mahmoud and Imad Mohammed Al-Mahmoud. Despite years passing since some of the Syrian war’s most brutal massacres and mass disappearances, many crimes remain uninvestigated and unpunished. Following Assad’s removal from power, Syrian security forces—now under the leadership of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham—have been actively tracking and arresting former government and military officials across the country. “The operation to apprehend all those responsible for violations and massacres against Syrians is ongoing,” Al-Dabbagh stated.

Monday is the 500th day of the war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel. A tenuous ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has held for nearly a month. But the current phase of the truce is set to expire in early March and it is unclear if the sides will extend it, begin negotiations for a more lasting ceasefire or resume fighting. Here are some numbers that show the scale of death and devastation. Sources include the Israeli government, the Gaza Health Ministry and U.N. agencies. People killed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023: Around 1,200 Hostages taken into Gaza: 251 Hostages remaining in Gaza: 73, including 3 taken before Oct. 7, 2023 Hostages in Gaza believed to be dead: 36, including one from before Oct. 7, 2023 Who are the Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli hostages? Palestinians killed in Gaza: Over 48,200 (This figure from the Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead were women and children) Palestinians wounded in Gaza: Over 111,600 Israeli soldiers killed since Oct. 7, 2023: 846 Rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023: Over 10,000 Percentage of Gaza’s population displaced: Around 90% Palestinians who have crossed into northern Gaza since the ceasefire began: 586,000 Israelis displaced by attacks from Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon at their peak: Over 75,500 Hamas says it will release more Israeli hostages as planned Housing units damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 245,000 Primary roads damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 92% Health facilities damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 84%

Israel issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank, an anti-settlement watchdog said Monday. Peace Now says the development of 974 new housing units would allow the population of the Efrat settlement to expand by 40% and further block the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Hagit Ofran, who leads the group's settlement monitoring, said construction can begin after the contracting process and issuing of permits, which could take another year at least. Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state and view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, a position with wide international support. President Donald Trump lent unprecedented support to the settlements during his previous term. Israel has also steadily expanded settlements during Democratic administrations, which were more critical but rarely took any action to curb them. US State Secy Rubio in Israel says Hamas must be eradicated Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully-developed communities that resemble small towns and suburbs, with apartment blocks, malls and parks. Over 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to some 3 million Palestinians. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while Palestinians live under military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. Major human rights groups have described the situation as apartheid, allegations rejected by the Israeli government, which views the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Peace Now, which favors a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of pressing ahead with settlement construction while dozens of hostages captured in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack languish in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Who are the Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli hostages? “While the people of Israel (set) their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” it said in a statement.

Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Saturday in the latest exchange for Israeli hostages captured by Hamas, as a fragile ceasefire held. Israel views the prisoners as terrorists. Palestinians often see them as freedom fighters resisting a decades-long Israeli military occupation. Nearly every Palestinian has a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel for militant attacks or lesser offenses such as rock-throwing. Some are incarcerated for months or years without trial in what is known as administrative detention, which Israel says is needed to prevent attacks and avoid sharing sensitive intelligence. Among those newly released, 36 had been sentenced to life for involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis. Twelve of those were allowed to return to homes in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. Palestinian medics said that four were hospitalized for urgent care. The 24 others with life sentences were being sent into exile. The rest of the 333 Palestinians released had been detained in Gaza after Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Israeli forces have arrested hundreds of people in Gaza and held them without trial. As part of the ceasefire, Israel committed to releasing more than 1,000 of them on the condition that they hadn't participated in the Oct. 7 attack. A look at some prominent prisoners released since the truce took effect on Jan. 19: Ahmed Barghouti, 48 Among the most prominent prisoners released is a close aide of militant leader and political figure Marwan Barghouti, who is still imprisoned. The two aren't closely related. Ahmed Barghouti was given 13 life sentences for dispatching assailants to carry out attacks that killed Israeli civilians during the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in the early 2000s. As a commander in Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah Party, he was also convicted of possession of firearms and attempted murder. He was sent to Egypt. The Sarahneh brothers Three brothers from east Jerusalem were released after more than 22 years in prison for their involvement in suicide bombings that killed Israelis during the second intifada. Israeli authorities brought Ibrahim, 55, and Musa, 63, to their homes in the West Bank. The third brother, Khalil, 45, who was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in 2002, was sent to Egypt. Ibrahim Sarahneh's Ukrainian wife, Irena, had been sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for organizing with her husband a suicide bombing that killed two people in the Israeli city of Rishon Lezion. She was released in 2011 as part of a swap for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas. “The conditions of detention are more difficult than you could imagine,” Ibrahim Sarahneh told The Associated Press as he stepped off a bus in the West Bank village of Beitunia. “There is beating, insults, cursing.” The Israeli Prison Service says it ensures “all basic rights” of prisoners and detains them according to the law. The Aweis brothers Hassan Aweis, 47, and Abdel Karim Aweis, 54, from the occupied West Bank, were released on Saturday after nearly 23 years in prison. Hassan Aweis was sentenced to life in 2002 on charges of voluntary manslaughter, planting an explosive device and attempted murder. He was involved in planning attacks during the second intifada for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. “It's an indescribable feeling of pain mixed with joy,” Aweis said. Abdel Karim Aweis — sentenced to the equivalent of six life sentences for throwing an explosive device, attempted murder and assault, among other charges — was transferred to Egypt. Iyad Abu Shakhdam, 49 Abu Shakhdam was sentenced to the equivalent of 18 life sentences over his involvement in Hamas attacks that killed dozens of Israelis during the second intifada. They included a suicide bombing that blew up two buses in Beersheba in 2004, killing 16 Israelis, including a 4-year-old. Abu Shakhdam was arrested in the West Bank in 2004 following a gunfight with Israeli security forces in which he was shot 10 times. During 21 years in prison, his family said, he finished high school and earned a certificate for psychology courses. He was released on Feb. 8. Jamal al-Tawil, 61 Al-Tawil, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank, spent nearly two decades in and out of Israeli prisons, in part over allegations that he helped plot suicide bombings. Most recently, the Israeli military arrested al-Tawil in 2021, saying he had participated in riots and mobilized Hamas political activists in Ramallah, the seat of the semiautonomous Palestinian Authority, Hamas’ main rival. He was held without charge or trial. Too weak to walk, al-Tawil was taken to a hospital after his release in Ramallah on Feb. 8. Mohammed el-Halabi, 47 The Palestinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a Christian aid organization, was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to Hamas in a case that drew criticism from rights groups. He was freed on Feb. 1. El-Halabi and World Vision denied the allegations and independent investigations found no proof of wrongdoing. Zakaria Zubeidi, 49 A prominent militant leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade during the second intifada, Zubeidi later became a theater director in the Jenin refugee camp, where he promoted what he described as cultural resistance to Israel. His jailbreak in 2021 — when he and five others used spoons to tunnel out of one of Israel’s most secure prisons and remained at large for days before being caught — thrilled Palestinians and stunned the Israeli security establishment. In 2019, after Zubeidi had served years in prison for attacks in the early 2000s, Israel arrested him again, accusing him of being involved in shooting attacks that targeted buses of Israeli settlers but caused no injuries. Zubeidi had been awaiting trial when he was sentenced to five years in prison for his jailbreak. He was released on Jan. 30 into the West Bank. Mohammed Odeh, 52, Wael Qassim, 54, and Wissam Abbasi, 48They hail from east Jerusalem and rose within the ranks of Hamas. Held responsible for deadly attacks during the second intifada, they were handed multiple life sentences in 2002. They were accused of plotting a suicide bombing at a pool hall near Tel Aviv in 2002 that killed 15 people. Later that year, they were found to have orchestrated a bombing at Hebrew University that killed nine people, including five American students. All were transferred to Egypt on Jan. 25. Mohammad al-Tous, 67 Al-Tous held the title of longest continuously held prisoner in Israel until his release on Jan. 25, Palestinian authorities said. First arrested in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces along the Jordanian border, the Fatah party activist spent a total of 39 years behind bars. Originally from the West Bank, he was sent into exile.  

Hamas said Thursday it would release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned, apparently resolving a major dispute that threatened the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The militant group said Egyptian and Qatari mediators have affirmed that they will work to “remove all hurdles,” and that it would implement the ceasefire deal. The statement indicated three more Israeli hostages would be freed Saturday. There was no immediate comment from Israel after Hamas’ announcement. Hamas' move would allow the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to continue for now, but its future remains in doubt. Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Here's why the idea is rejected Hamas had threatened to delay the next release of Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel, with the support of US President Donald Trump, had threatened to renew its offensive if hostages were not freed. Hamas said its delegation held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar’s prime minister about increasing the entry of shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble into Gaza. Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV, which is close to the country’s security services, reported that Egypt and Qatar had succeeded in resolving the dispute. The two Arab countries have served as key mediators with Hamas and helped broker the ceasefire, which took effect in January, 15 months into the war.

Jordan's King Abdullah II once again rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians after meeting with President Donald Trump, who has called for the Gaza Strip's roughly 2 million residents to be removed from the war-ravaged territory. Trump has suggested they could be resettled in Jordan and Egypt, both of which are vehemently opposed to any such scenario. The Palestinians also reject Trump's plan, which they view as an attempt to forcibly displace them from part of their homeland. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have also rejected such plans. Israel's leaders have welcomed Trump's proposal, which Human Rights Watch and others have said would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” the forcible displacement of the civilian population of a national group from a geographic area. During his meeting with Trump, Abdullah volunteered to accept up to 2,000 children from Gaza who have cancer or otherwise require medical treatment. But in a post on X after the meeting, he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank," adding that it was a "unified Arab position.” Here's a look at why Jordan and Egypt refuse to accept large numbers of Palestinian refugees. A history of displacement Before and during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation, some 700,000 Palestinians — a majority of the prewar population — fled or were driven from their homes in what is now Israel, an event the Palestinians commemorate as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. Israel refused to allow them to return because it would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within its borders. The refugees and their descendants now number around 6 million, with large communities in Gaza, where they make up the majority of the population, as well as the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 300,000 more Palestinians fled, mostly into Jordan. The kingdom hosts the largest population of Palestinian refugees, with over 2 million, most of whom have been granted Jordanian citizenship. Some Israeli soldiers traveling abroad targeted for alleged war crimes in Gaza The decades-old refugee crisis has been central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that last broke down in 2009. The Palestinians claim a right of return, while Israel says they should be absorbed by surrounding Arab countries. Many Palestinians view the latest war in Gaza, in which entire neighborhoods have been shelled to oblivion and 90% of the population have been forced from their homes, as a new Nakba. They fear that if large numbers of Palestinians leave Gaza, then they too may never return. Steadfastly remaining on one's land is central to Palestinian culture, and was on vivid display in Gaza last month, when thousands of people returned to the most heavily destroyed part of the territory. A red line for countries that made peace with Israel Egypt and Jordan fiercely rejected the idea of accepting Gaza refugees early in the war, when it was floated by some Israeli officials. Both countries have made peace with Israel but support the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. They fear that the permanent displacement of Gaza's population could make that impossible. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has also warned of the security implications of transferring large numbers of Palestinians to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza. Hamas and other militant groups are deeply rooted in Palestinian society and are likely to move with the refugees, which would mean that future wars would be fought on Egyptian soil. That could unravel the historic Camp David peace treaty, a cornerstone of regional stability. That's what happened in Lebanon in the 1970s, when Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, the leading militant group of its time, transformed the country's south into a launchpad for attacks on Israel. The refugee crisis and the PLO's actions helped push Lebanon into a 15-year civil war in 1975. Israel invaded twice and occupied southern Lebanon from 1982 until 2000. Jordan clashed with the PLO and expelled it under similar circumstances in 1970. Israeli ultranationalists have long suggested that Jordan be considered a Palestinian state so that Israel can keep the West Bank, which they view as the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Jordan's monarchy has vehemently rejected that scenario. Can Trump force Egypt and Jordan to accept refugees? Israeli police raid Palestinian bookstore, seize conflict-related books That depends on how serious Trump is about the idea and how far he is prepared to go. U.S. tariffs — one of Trump's favorite economic tools — or outright sanctions could be devastating for Jordan and Egypt. The two countries receive billions of dollars in American aid each year, and Egypt is already mired in an economic crisis. Trump has suggested he might withhold aid but declined to repeat the threat in his meeting with Abdullah on Tuesday, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.” Allowing an influx of refugees could also be destabilizing for both countries. Egypt says it is currently hosting some 9 million migrants, including refugees from Sudan's civil war. Jordan, with a population of less than 12 million, is hosting over 700,000 refugees, mainly from Syria. Trump's Gaza plan could also complicate efforts to broker diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which says it won't forge ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.

At least 16 Pakistanis died and 10 others are unaccounted for after a boat carrying dozens of Europe-bound migrants sank at the weekend off the coast of Libya, officials said Tuesday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that 33 of the 37 survivors were in Libyan police custody and one was being treated at a hospital. An estimated 65 people were on the boat, it said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep grief and sorrow for those lost in the capsizing in Marsa Dela port in the western city of Zawiya. Sharif ordered the Foreign Ministry to complete the process of identifying the victims and provide assistance to those affected. He also ordered action against those involved "in heinous acts like human trafficking,” according to a statement. Most of the victims came from Kurram, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in sectarian clashes. Hamas' threat to delay the next release of Israeli hostages raises fears for Gaza ceasefire "People try to travel to Europe through illegal means because of unemployment” at home, said Javed Hussain, a nephew of Shehzad Hussain, one of the victims. He said mourners were gathering at the homes of those who perished in the latest tragedy. In January, authorities said dozens of Pakistanis died when a boat capsized off West Africa. Some of the survivors later accused smugglers of killing 43 migrants in a dispute over payment. Pakistan has since confirmed the deaths of 13 of its nationals. Hundreds of Pakistanis die every year while trying to reach Europe by land and sea with the help of human smugglers. They also use dangerous land and sea routes to reach Europe in an effort to find jobs. Libya, which has borders with six nations and a long shore on the Mediterranean, was plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Since then, the oil-rich country has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East for Europe. At least 674 migrants were reported dead and more than 1,000 missing off Libya in 2024, according to the International Organization for Migration’s missing migrants project. More than 21,700 migrants were intercepted and returned to the chaos-stricken country. In 2023, the IOM reported 962 migrants dead and 1,563 missing off Libya. Around 17,200 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya that year, it said. Those who are returned are held in government-run detention centers rife with abuses, including forced labor, beatings, rapes and torture — practices that amount to crimes against humanity, according to U.N.-commissioned investigators. The abuse often accompanies attempts to extort money from the families of the imprisoned migrants before releasing them or allowing them to leave Libya on traffickers’ boats to Europe.

An Israeli army reservist's dream vacation in Brazil ended abruptly last month over an accusation that he committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Yuval Vagdani woke up on Jan. 4 to a flurry of missed calls from family members and Israel's Foreign Ministry with an urgent warning: A pro-Palestinian legal group had convinced a federal judge in Brazil to open a war crimes investigation for his alleged participation in the demolition of civilian homes in Gaza. A frightened Vagdani fled the country on a commercial flight the next day to avoid the grip of a powerful legal concept called “universal jurisdiction,” which allows governments to prosecute people for the most serious crimes regardless of where they are allegedly committed. Vagdani, a survivor of Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on an Israeli music festival, told an Israeli radio station the accusation felt like “a bullet in the heart.” The case against Vagdani was brought by the Hind Rajab Foundation, a legal group based in Belgium named after a young girl who Palestinians say was killed early in the war by Israeli fire as she and her family fled Gaza City. Aided by geolocation data, the group built its case around Vagdani's own social media posts. A photograph showed him in uniform in Gaza, where he served in an infantry unit; a video showed a large explosion of buildings in Gaza during which soldiers can be heard cheering. Judges at the International Criminal Court concluded last year there was enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for crimes against humanity for using “starvation as a method of warfare” and for intentionally targeting civilians. Both Israel and Netanyahu have vehemently denied the accusations. Israeli police raid Palestinian bookstore, seize conflict-related books Since forming last year, Hind Rajab has made dozens of complaints in more than 10 countries to arrest both low-level and high-ranking Israeli soldiers. Its campaign has yet to yield any arrests. But it has led Israel to tighten restrictions on social media usage among military personnel. “It’s our responsibility, as far as we are concerned, to bring the cases," Haroon Raza, a co-founder of Hind Rajab, said from his office in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It is then up to authorities in each country — or the International Criminal Court — to pursue them, he added. The director general of Israel's Foreign Ministry, Eden Bar-Tal, last month said fewer than a dozen soldiers had been targeted, and he dismissed the attempted arrests as a futile public relations stunt by “terrorist organizations.” Universal jurisdiction is not new. The 1949 Geneva Conventions -- the post Second World War treaty regulating military conduct — specify that all signatories must prosecute war criminals or hand them over to a country who will. In 1999, the United Nations Security Council asked all U.N. countries to include universal jurisdiction in their legal codes, and around 160 countries have adopted them in some form. “Certain crimes like war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity are crimes under international law," said Marieke de Hoon, an international law expert at the University of Amsterdam. "And we’ve recognized in international law that any state has jurisdiction over those egregious crimes.” Israel used the concept to prosecute Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Holocaust. Mossad agents caught him in Argentina in 1960 and brought him to Israel where he was sentenced to death by hanging. Hamas releases 3 more Israeli hostages for dozens of Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire More recently, a former Syrian secret police officer was convicted in 2022 by a German court of crimes against humanity a decade earlier for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail. Later that year, an Iranian citizen was convicted by a Swedish court of war crimes during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. In 2023, 16 people were convicted of war crimes through universal jurisdiction, according to TRIAL International, a Swiss organization that tracks proceedings. Those convictions were related to crimes committed in Syria, Rwanda, Iran and other countries. In response to Brazil's pursuit of Vagdani, the Israeli military has prohibited soldiers below a certain rank from being named in news articles and requires their faces to be obscured. It has also warned soldiers against social media posts related to their military service or travel plans. The evidence Hind Rajab lawyers presented to the judge in Brazil came mostly from Vagdani’s social media accounts. "That's what they saw and that's why they want me for their investigation," he told the Israeli radio station Kan. “From one house explosion they made 500 pages. They thought I murdered thousands of children.” Vagdani does not appear in the video and he did not say whether he had carried out the explosion himself, telling the station he had come into Gaza for “maneuvers” and “was in the battles of my life.” Social media has made it easier in recent years for legal groups to gather evidence. For example, several Islamic State militants have been convicted of crimes committed in Syria by courts in various European countries, where lawyers relied on videos posted online, according to de Hoon. The power of universal jurisdiction has limits. Trump's Gaza plan shocks the world but finds support in Israel In the Netherlands, where Hind Rajab has filed more than a dozen complaints, either the victim or perpetrator must hold Dutch nationality, or the suspect must be in the country for the entirety of the investigation — factors likely to protect Israeli tourists from prosecution. Eleven complaints against 15 Israeli soldiers have been dismissed, some because the accused was only in the country for a short time, according to Dutch prosecutors. Two complaints involving four soldiers are pending. In 2016, activists in the U.K. made unsuccessful attempts to arrest Israeli military and political leaders for their roles in the 2008-09 war in Gaza. Raza says his group will persist. “It might take 10 years. It might be 20 years. No problem. We are ready to have patience.” There is no statute of limitations on war crimes.

Israeli police have conducted a raid on a long-standing Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem, detaining the owners and seizing books related to the protracted conflict, reports AP. Authorities stated that the books contained material inciting violence. Erdogan again rejects US proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza The Educational Bookshop, which has been in operation for over 40 years, serves as a centre for intellectual activity in east Jerusalem. Israel captured the area in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it to its capital—a move not internationally recognised. The majority of Jerusalem’s Palestinian population resides in the east, and Palestinians aspire to establish their future state’s capital there. The three-storey bookstore, raided on Sunday, offers a vast collection of books, primarily in Arabic and English, covering the conflict and broader Middle Eastern affairs, including works by Israeli and Jewish authors. It also hosts cultural events and is particularly frequented by researchers, journalists, and foreign diplomats. According to May Muna, wife of co-owner Mahmoud Muna, police detained bookstore owners Ahmed and Mahmoud Muna, confiscated hundreds of books concerning the conflict, and ordered the shop’s closure. She described how the soldiers selected books based on Palestinian titles or flags, using Google Translate to interpret Arabic titles before taking them away in plastic bags. A similar raid took place last week at another Palestinian-owned bookstore in east Jerusalem’s Old City. In a statement, police claimed the two owners had been arrested for “selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism.” Palestinian Crisis: Egypt to host emergency Arab Summit on Feb 27  As an example, police cited an English-language children’s colouring book titled From the River to the Sea, a phrase referring to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing present-day Israel, the occupied West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Both Palestinians and hard-line Israelis consider the entire territory as their rightful homeland. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government opposes Palestinian statehood, has asserted that Israel must retain indefinite control over all land west of the Jordan River. Israeli-Palestinian tensions have intensified since Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023 from Gaza triggered the ongoing war. A ceasefire has temporarily halted hostilities, leading to the release of several Israeli hostages taken in the attack and hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel. Meanwhile, tensions remain high in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted approximately 250 others in the 7 October assault. The ensuing war has resulted in over 47,000 Palestinian deaths, more than half of whom were women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not specify how many casualties were fighters. Israel claims to have killed over 17,000 militants but has not provided evidence. Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and Palestinians seek all three territories for their future state. The last significant peace negotiations collapsed after Netanyahu returned to office in 2009.