Five Arab foreign ministers and a senior Palestinian official sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Mark Rubio, opposing plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza and instead demanding that Palestinians be included in the reconstruction process, Axios reported today, as reported by Reuters.
The report quotes a copy of the letter.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Egypt and Jordan, as well as an advisor to the Palestinian president, Hussein al-Sheikh, met over the weekend in Cairo and decided to send a letter to Rubio, according to Axios.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has asked congressional leaders to approve new transfers of bombs and other military equipment worth about $1 billion to Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported today, Reuters reported.
The planned arms sale includes 4.700 bombs weighing about 453 kilograms, worth more than $700 million, and armored bulldozers made by Caterpillar, worth more than $300 million, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
United States President Donald Trump said today that there were no guarantees that the ceasefire in Gaza would hold, while his envoy said that the ceasefire was holding for now, Reuters reported.
Trump and US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff made the comments to reporters at the White House.
Majed Al-Ansari, spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held talks with Mark Bryson-Richardson, the British Foreign Secretary's representative for humanitarian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The talks in Doha focused on bilateral relations, as well as regional developments, including the situation in Gaza, the statement said.
Ofer Kassif, a member of the Israeli parliament from the Hadash party, said that the apparent delay in the start of negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire was a "frightening sign."
"I have been saying from day one that Netanyahu and the thugs around him in the coalition and government are not really interested in a ceasefire or rescuing Israeli hostages - let alone saving the lives of thousands of Palestinians," he told Al Jazeera.
"They are interested in two things: Netanyahu, as usual, is only interested in his own good. That's it, he wants to stay in power in order to stay out of prison. That's all he's interested in, and he doesn't care if it comes at the expense of the lives of thousands of people, Palestinians and Israelis," Kasif said.
"And the thugs around him in the coalition, mostly those who are part of fanatical, fascist parties, want to use human blood as a carpet for the Messiah - they really believe that the continuation of the genocide in Gaza and more violence in the West Bank - as we have seen just in the last few days - will be part of their dream, which is actually a nightmare, they believe that it will lead to the Messiah and the Third Temple and so on, and all that nonsense. They don't care about human lives," Kassif said.
The organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that the blockade caused by the Israeli military operation in the Jenin refugee camp, in the northern occupied West Bank, is leading to shortages of key supplies.
"Since the ceasefire came into effect in Gaza, there has been an escalation of extreme violence across the West Bank, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas. This is unacceptable," the statement said.
The organization noted that it is supporting the hospital in Jenin with fuel and water, as well as providing hygiene kits, food and mattresses for residents of camps in Jenin and Tulkarem.
Hamas 'ready' for talks on second phase of Gaza ceasefire
Two Hamas officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the group was ready to begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
“Hamas informed the mediators, during ongoing communications and meetings with Egyptian mediators last week in Cairo, that we are ready to begin negotiations on the second phase,” one official said.
"We are waiting for the mediators to launch the next round of negotiations," added another.
Qatar has launched an airlift from Jordan to Al-Qarara in Khan Yunis to deliver crucial medical supplies to Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
Helicopter flights departing from King Abdullah II Air Base complement the land bridge previously established by the Gulf state.
The launch of the airlift was attended by numerous Qatari officials, including Minister of International Cooperation Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad.
Separately, the Qatar Humanitarian Organization and the Jordanian Hashemite Humanitarian Organization signed an agreement to facilitate the entry of Qatari humanitarian aid by land via Jordan.
In her speech, the minister stated that Qatar has sent 65 trucks of humanitarian aid across the Jordanian border since the start of the ceasefire.
The Palestinian presidency condemned what it said was ethnic cleansing committed by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, in a statement to the Wafa news agency, condemned Israeli military operations in recent days, especially in the northern part of the West Bank, Radio Free Europe reports.
He assessed that their goal is to implement plans for forced displacement and ethnic cleansing and called on the US administration to "intervene before it is too late."
If the violence continues, he said, it could lead to "an uncontrolled explosion of the situation for which the whole world will pay the price."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently visiting the United States.
Israel carried out a major military operation in the northern occupied West Bank on February 2, during which several buildings were destroyed, according to the Israeli army, which reported that it had killed more than 14, what it called, "terrorists" in the territory since January 50, according to Radio Free Europe.
Israeli forces, backed by bulldozers, drones and armored vehicles, launched the operation against fighters affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad on January 21. This was two days after a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas came into effect.
"The Palestinian people will not accept any plan of forced relocation," the Palestinian presidency added, referring to US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer Palestinian residents from Gaza to "safer places" such as Egypt or Jordan. The proposals have drawn widespread criticism around the world.
Bonus video:
