Gaza Updates: Israel security cabinet set to discuss next phase of Gaza truce

Monday, February 17, 2025

0604 GMT –– Israel's security cabinet was set to discuss the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, after top US diplomat Marco Rubio and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united front against Hamas and Iran.

Rubio was in Israel on his first Middle East trip as President Donald Trump's secretary of state, and was slated to leave for Saudi Arabia on Monday.

"Hamas cannot continue as a military or a government force... they must be eliminated," Rubio said of the Palestinian Islamist group that fought Israel for more than 15 months in Gaza until a fragile ceasefire took effect on January 19.

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0822 GMT — Israeli army continues with raids in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army staged a new raid into the occupied West Bank city of Nablus amid escalating tensions, witnesses said.

Israeli forces stormed the old town of Nablus and searched several homes in the area, they added.

Israeli military also seized a Palestinian vehicle before withdrawing from the area, the witnesses said.

The raid came hours after the Israeli army concluded a military incursion in the old town of Nablus on Sunday, wounding 14 Palestinians, including four children.