Israel’s military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday’s deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group, as Lebanon’s government expressed frustration over another delay.
A separate ceasefire in Gaza was also in doubt as the region marked 500 days of Israel’s war with Hamas, while Israel and the United States send conflicting signals over whether they want the truce to continue. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis are still displaced. He said the “temporary measure” was approved by the U.S.-led body monitoring the truce, which earlier was extended by three weeks.
Under the agreement, Israeli forces should withdraw from a buffer zone in southern Lebanon that would be patrolled by the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers. The ceasefire has held since taking effect in November.
Israel is committed to a withdrawal in “the right way, in a gradual way, and in a way that the security of our civilians is kept,” Shoshani told reporters.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters the ceasefire “must be respected,” saying “the Israeli enemy cannot be trusted.” He said Lebanese officials were working diplomatically to achieve the Israeli withdrawal, “and I will not accept that a single Israeli remains on Lebanese territory.”
Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into all-out war in September as Israel carried out massive waves of airstrikes and killed most of the militant group’s senior leaders.
Earlier on Monday, an Israeli drone targeted a car in Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon, the deepest strike inside Lebanese territory since the ceasefire took effect. Israel said it targeted Muhammad Shaheen, the head of Hamas’ operations in Lebanon. AP video there showed a charred vehicle.
“Now the fear has come back to people,” said Ahmed Sleim, a Sidon resident, who worried about a return to war.
500 days of war in Gaza
Israelis held protests across the country calling for the Gaza ceasefire to be extended so that more hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack can be freed.
The ceasefire’s first phase ends in less than two weeks, and negotiations on the more difficult second phase — which would release more hostages and see the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza — should have started two weeks ago.
“All I care about, all I want, is for my friends to return. There were six of us living in unbearable conditions” Ohad Ben Ami, a hostage released a week and a half ago, told Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Families have wept as they described hungry loved ones barefoot or in chains.
Hamas is gradually releasing 33 hostages in the current phase in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have pulled back from most parts of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.
In the second phase, Hamas would release over 70 remaining hostages — around half believed to be dead — in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners and a lasting ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump ‘s administration say they are committed to the eradication of Hamas and the return of all hostages. Those goals are widely seen as incompatible.
The militant group, though weakened, remains in control of Gaza. Hamas has said it is willing to relinquish power to other Palestinians but will not accept any occupying force.
Israel welcomes Trump’s proposal
Now Trump has called for Gaza’s population of over 2 million to be permanently relocated to other countries and for the United States to take ownership of the territory. Israel has welcomed the plan, while Palestinians and Arab nations have rejected it. Rights groups and experts say the proposal, if implemented, would likely violate international law.
Hamas-led militants in their Oct. 7 attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. More than half of the hostages have been returned, while eight have been rescued in military operations.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The war destroyed vast areas of Gaza and at its height had displaced around 90% of the population.
“Everything is destroyed, nothing is left in Gaza, Gaza is not fit for life,” one resident, Mohammed Barash, said while reflecting on 500 days of war.
Settlement expansion is set to accelerate
A watchdog opposed to Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory said Israel has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank.
The anti-settlement group Peace Now said the 974 new settler 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.
There was no immediate Israeli government comment.
500,000 settlers in the West Bank
Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully developed suburban communities. Over 500,000 settlers live in the West Bank, home to about 3 million Palestinians.
The settlers have Israeli citizenship. Palestinians live under military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want them for their future state and view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, a position with wide international support.
Trump lent unprecedented support to the settlements during his previous term. Israel also steadily expanded settlements during Democratic administrations, which were more critical but rarely took any action to curb them.
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Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Associated Press reporter Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Israel’s military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday’s deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group.
JERUSALEM – Israel has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank, an anti-settlement watchdog said Monday. Israelis and Palestinians meanwhile marked the 500th day since Hamas’ attack into Israel ignited the war in the Gaza Strip.
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.
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There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government.
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.
The war in Gaza was paused last month when a fragile ceasefire took hold. The first phase of the truce is set to end in early March, and it’s unclear whether it will be extended to allow the release of dozens more hostages, or if Israel will renew its military offensive against Hamas with U.S. support.
An Israeli strike in Lebanon killed a senior Hamas leader there a day before Israel is to complete its withdrawal from the country under a separate ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group.
Settlement expansion is set to accelerate with Trump in office
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.
Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully developed suburban communities, 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.
The Israeli government views the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood, while human rights groups have accused Israel of discrimination against and oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank.
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.
“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.
Israelis mark 500 days of war and captivity
Israelis held protests across the country on Monday calling for the ceasefire to be extended so that more hostages can be released. Demonstrators blocked a main intersection in Tel Aviv, and some protesters planned to fast for 500 minutes in a show of solidarity with the captives.
“All I care about, all I want, is for my friends to return. There were six of us living in unbearable conditions, in a six-square-meter (65-square-foot) space. I got out, but they are still there,” Ohad Ben Ami, a hostage who was released a week and a half ago, told Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday. He added that hostages don’t count days while in captivity, they count minutes and seconds.
Hamas is set to continue the gradual release of 33 hostages during the current phase of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have pulled back from most parts of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid.
But the two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas would release more than 70 remaining hostages — around half of whom are believed to be dead — in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire.
Netanyahu and the Trump administration have given conflicting signals over whether they want to continue the ceasefire or renew the war. Both they say are committed to the eradication of Hamas and the return of all the hostages, but those goals are widely seen as incompatible.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and abducted around 250. More than half of the hostages have been returned in agreements with Hamas or other deals, while just eight have been rescued in military operations.
The militant group, though weakened, remains in full control of the territory. Hamas has said it is willing to relinquish power to other Palestinians but will not accept any occupying force.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The war destroyed vast areas of Gaza and at its height had displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million.
Trump has called for Gaza’s population to be permanently relocated to other countries and for the United States to take ownership of the territory and rebuild it for others. Israel has welcomed the plan, while Palestinians and Arab nations have universally rejected the idea.
Rights groups and experts say the proposal, if implemented, would likely violate international law.
The proposal has meanwhile cast further doubt over the future of the ceasefire. Hamas may be unwilling to release the remaining captives — its only bargaining chips — it if believes Israel is going to resume the war with the goal of expelling the Palestinian population.
Israel kills senior Hamas official i
n Lebanon
An Israeli drone strike targeted a car in Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon, the deepest strike since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in November.
Israel said it targeted Muhammad Shaheen, the head of Hamas’ operations in Lebanon. Footage circulating online showed a car engulfed in flames. The strike occurred near a Lebanese army checkpoint and Sidon’s municipal sports stadium.
The original withdrawal deadline was in late January, but under pressure from Israel, Lebanon agreed to extend it to Feb. 18. It remains unclear whether Israeli troops will complete their withdrawal by Tuesday.
Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it is targeting military sites containing missiles and combat equipment. Each side has accused the other of violating the truce.
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Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report. Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut.
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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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