At least 12 people were treated for injuries after Israeli settlers attacked two occupied West Bank villages north of Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The attacks came after newly-inaugurated US president Donald Trump rescinded Biden-era executive orders that sanctioned far-right Israeli settlers for undermining peace in the territory.
Trump also expressed scepticism about the truce between Israel and Hamas, saying it was “not our war”. He did say his administration “might” help rebuild Gaza, which he described as having strong real estate potential.
Gaza continued to receive an influx of aid and goods on Monday, day two of the ceasefire, with 915 trucks crossing into the territory according to the UN.
Earlier, the relatives of the first three Israeli women freed from captivity in Gaza issued public statements thanking those who made their release possible. They also pleaded with the Israeli government to keep up the phased ceasefire deal that led to their loved ones’ release, and warned their road to recovery could be long.
Key Points
- Families of first freed hostages to speak
- Palestinian rescue workers begin search for people under rubble
- UN chief says 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire
- In pictures: Tears of joy as 90 detained Palestinians return home
Unicef chief welcomes release of nine Palestinian children imprisoned in Israel
05:07
,
Namita Singh
Unicef chief Catherine Russell expressed her relief upon the release of Palestinian children who were among the 90 prisoners released from Israel.
Issuing a statement, she said: “Unicef welcomes the release of 9 Palestinian children who were reunited with their families overnight in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after being held in detention for over a year.”
UNICEF welcomes the release of 9 Palestinian children who were reunited with their families overnight in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after being held in detention for over a year. pic.twitter.com/zxLTeHtDaN
— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) January 20, 2025
Earlier on Monday, as the Gaza ceasefire took effect, 90 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas.
‘I’ve returned to my beloved life,’ freed British-Israeli hostage says after release from Gaza
05:00
,
Namita Singh
West Bank residents say Israeli settlers rampaged through two communities
04:54
,
Namita Singh
Residents of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank say Israeli settlers have rampaged through their communities and set a large fire.
Officials in Jinsafut and Al-Funduq, two villages roughly 50km north of Jerusalem, said that dozens of settlers had attacked homes and local businesses.
Jalal Bashir, the head of Jinsafut’s village council, said that settlers had burned three houses, a nursery and a carpentry shop located on the village’s main road. Northward in Al-Funduq, Louay Tayem, head of the local council, said dozens of Israeli settlers had fired shots, thrown stones at homes and burned cars, homes and shops.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it treated 12 people who were beaten by settlers. It gave no details on their conditions. Israel’s military said it dispersed the settlers and launched an investigation.
The West Bank has seen a surge in settler rioting and violence since 7 October 2023. Rights groups say that arrests for settler violence are rare, and prosecutions even rarer.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 1,432 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in casualties or property damage in 2024 and additional attacks in and near Nablus last week.
Major influx of aid into Gaza on second day of ceasefire, UN says
04:43
,
Namita Singh
Gaza has received a major influx of aid and goods, with 915 trucks crossing into the territory on the second day of the ceasefire, the United Nations said.
UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said colleagues in Gaza informed the UN that 915 trucks - significantly higher than the 600 trucks called for in the ceasefire - entered Gaza on Monday, based on information from Israeli authorities and the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Sunday the needs in Gaza are staggering and his office said Monday that aid workers are ramping up the delivery of food, clean water, shelter materials and other essential supplies.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the more than two million people in Gaza, about half of them children, depend on this aid, said Mr Haq.
The World Health Organisation, meanwhile, has a 60-day plan to increase beds and deploy overseas health workers to Gaza hospitals, but some 30,000 Palestinians have life-changing injuries and need specialized care, he said.
‘Glimmer of hope in a cycle of death’: Families in Gaza pray ceasefire brings an end to devastation
04:40
,
Namita Singh
After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza
04:15
,
Namita Singh
Palestinians begin search for those missing or buried under rubble in Gaza during ceasefire
04:00
,
Alexander Butler
Trump not confident ceasefire in Gaza will hold
03:26
,
Namita Singh
Donald Trump said Hamas was weakened, but that he was not certain that the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas would hold.
“I’m not confident,” Mr Trump told reporters. “That’s not our war. It’s their war.”
He said that his administration “might” help rebuild Gaza, which he compared to a “massive demolition site”.
“Some beautiful things could be done with it,” said Mr Trump, the real estate developer turned commander-in-chief, noting the territory’s coastline and “phenomenal” weather and location.
“Some fantastic things could be done with Gaza. Some beautiful things could be done with Gaza.”
Trump rescinds sanctions on far-right Israeli settlers
03:15
,
Namita Singh
Among other Biden-era executive orders that President Donald Trump rescinded on Monday is one that authorises sanctions on people who undermine peace in the occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration used the executive order to impose a handful of sanctions on extremist settlers accused of using violence against Palestinians who live in the West Bank after Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.
Settlers in the territory have celebrated the incoming Trump administration, believing it will take a more favourable approach to illegal settlements.
During his first term, Mr Trump took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims, including recognising Jerusalem as its capital and moving the US Embassy there, and recognising Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.
Everything we know about the Israel and Hamas ceasefire deal in Gaza
03:00
,
Alexander Butler
A year of war in Gaza: A timeline of key moments as ceasefire deal agreed
02:00
,
Alexander Butler
UN chief says 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire
01:00
,
Alexander Butler
More than 630 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said.
At least 300 of those trucks went to the enclave’s north, where the UN says famine looms.. The vehicles entered on the first day of a the ceasefire.
The average number of aid trucks entering Gaza in December, the month before the ceasefire, was 72, according to the OCHA. It was around 500 a day before the war started on 7 October.
Child ‘shot by Israeli sniper’ in Gaza
00:11
,
Alexander Butler
A Palestinian child has been shot dead by an Israeli sniper in Rafah, southern Gaza, despite a ceasefire coming into place on Sunday, according to reports.
Footage, which has not been verified, showed a man dragging the body of a child under the sound of gunfire, Al Jazeera reported.
Who are the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released under first phase of Gaza ceasefire?
00:01
,
Alexander Butler
The terrible cost of peace between Israel and Hamas: In numbers
Monday 20 January 2025 23:00
,
Alexander Butler
After 15 months of war, Hamas still rules over what remains of Gaza
Monday 20 January 2025 21:53
,
Alexander Butler
Palestinians begin search for those missing or buried under rubble in Gaza during ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 20:30
,
Alexander Butler
Netanyahu thanks Trump upon inauguration
Monday 20 January 2025 19:37
,
Alexander Butler
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thanked US president Donald Trump for helping free Israeli hostages.
Speaking after the 47th US president’s inauguration, Netanyahu said: “I believe that working together again we will raise the US-Israel alliance to even greater heights.”
“On behalf of the people of Israel, I also want to thank you for your efforts in helping free Israeli hostages.
“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.”
Mother of freed British-Israeli hostage personally thanks Trump
Monday 20 January 2025 18:34
,
Alexander Butler
The mother of freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, 28, has personally thanked US president Donald Trump for his role in overseeing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“On behalf of Emily and our family, there are so many people who deserve a special thank you for working to bring her home.
“To the soldiers who fought and gave their lives on 7 October and everyday since, to the Israeli government, President Biden and President Trump for making our dream come true,” Mandy Damari said.
Families of first freed hostages to speak
Monday 20 January 2025 18:19
,
Alexander Butler
The families of the first hostages released under the long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire are set to speak in a press conference for the first time since they returned to Israel.
British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, was freed on Sunday alongside Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, after what the family described as nearly 500 “tortuous days” in captivity.
Moving footage showed Ms Damari joyfully reuniting with her family as she held up her bandaged hand on a video call to other relatives.
Ms Damari’s family, as well as Ms Gonen and Ms Steinbrecher’s, will speak outside the South Building of Safra Children’s Hospital at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, at around 6.15pm GMT.
Watch live: Family of freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari speak for first time after her release
Monday 20 January 2025 18:17
,
Alexander Butler
Palestinians begin search for those missing or buried under rubble in Gaza during ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 17:30
,
Alexander Butler
Qatar pledges aid for Gaza as more trucks cross into the territory
Monday 20 January 2025 17:15
,
Tara Cobham
Qatar hasannounced plans to supply post-ceasefire Gaza with resources via a "land bridge" at Kerem Shalom, on the border between Egypt, Israel and the coastal Palestinian enclave.
After sending 25 fuel trucks to Gaza on Monday, Qatar plans to supply Gaza with 3.3 million gallons (12.5 million liters) of fuel over the next 10 days, its Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The fuel is intended to provide basic services and power hospitals and shelters.
Over the course of the 16-month war, the majority of aid has crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, although it has intermittently closed amid disagreements over what kind of aid can be allowed into the strip. Israel previously restricted entry of some equipment, arguing it could be used for military purposes by Hamas.
Allowing more aid into Gaza is a central tenet of the ceasefire deal's first phase and will be key to later reconstruction efforts. The deal allows for hundreds of trucks – more than Israel has previously allowed – to deliver aid to Gaza.
Egypt's state-run press center said Monday that at least 300 aid trucks entered Kerem Shalom and and the Nitzana crossing to the south since the ceasefire took effect, as well as 12 diesel trucks and four gas trucks.
However, some of those trucks have carried food aid labeled for UNRWA, the UN agency that Israel has vowed to ban from operating even as it remains the primary distributor of aid in Gaza.
Truck drivers told The Associated Press that throughout the war, vehicles have been turned back for minor bureaucratic infractions or not having aid properly packaged or wrapped.
"If items are approved, we unload them and head back to Egypt – Some trucks have to drive all the way back with packages they left with that contain expired food aid or that the driver's or truck information is not listed correctly," driver Hamdy Emad said.
Palestinians returning to Rafah find their homes destroyed
Monday 20 January 2025 17:00
,
Tara Cobham
Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah after the ceasefire found homes and neighborhoods flattened after eight months of Israel's military offensive.
"We found destruction, destruction," said Mohamed Abu al-Kheir, a Palestinian man who shelters in a tent in the city of Khan Younis. "There is nothing to live in. There is no furniture or anything."
Associated Press footage showed large swaths of Rafah turned into rubble. People were seen searching the remains of their homes. Others searched two military vehicles that Israeli forces left behind when they withdrew from the area.
"Who wants to live in such destruction? No one will come to live here," said Mahmoud Khamis, another Rafah resident whose house was destroyed.
Israeli soldier killed in West Bank
Monday 20 January 2025 16:45
,
Tara Cobham
The Israeli military has said a soldier has been killed and another seriously wounded in the West Bank.
The military declined to provide further details. Israeli media reported Monday that the soldiers' vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in the northern West Bank overnight.
Hezbollah praises Gaza ceasefire as victory for Palestinian people
Monday 20 January 2025 16:33
,
Tara Cobham
The militant Hezbollah movement has praised the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as a victory for the Palestinian people.
Hezbollah said in a statement issued on Monday that it was a partner in the Palestinian "victory," adding that the Lebanese group opened a front with Israel in which it paid a high price on top of losing its top commanders, including leader Hassan Nasrallah, and thousands of supporters.
Lammy tells Commons it was ‘deeply moving’ to see pictures of Briton’s reunion with her mother after release
Monday 20 January 2025 16:15
,
Tara Cobham
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has said it was "deeply moving" to see pictures of British-Israeli Emily Damari being reunited with her mother after she was released from Hamas’ captivity.
Speaking ahead of making a Commons statement on Ukraine, Mr Lammy told MPs: "I want to begin by welcoming the release of Emily Damari.
"After 471 days of captivity, she has been brought home. It was deeply moving to see those pictures of Emily and her mother Mandy reunited. I pay tribute once again to all those who campaigned so tirelessly for this moment.
"The Government will continue to work closely with our partners to secure the release of all the hostages, to get aid into Gaza, and to see this deal implemented in full."
Longest-serving Palestinian inmate among prisoners to be deported under swap
Monday 20 January 2025 15:50
,
Tara Cobham
The longest-serving Palestinian inmate in Israeli jail, revered by militants as the "dean" of their prisoners, is among more than 200 Palestinians set to be deported under the Gaza ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap.
Nael Barghouti, 67, has spent 44 years incarcerated by Israel, more than any other Palestinian. Jailed in 1978 for killing an Israeli bus driver, he was freed in 2011 in a previous swap but re-arrested three years later and held ever since.
Israel has said that Palestinians who have been convicted of killing Israelis must be permanently deported if they are freed under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and will not be allowed to return to homes in the occupied West Bank.
Barghouti is one of 217 prisoners on a list from the Israeli justice ministry, cited by the Palestinian prisoners' association, of those to be sent abroad.
His wife Eman Nafe, herself a former prisoner who spent 10 years in Israeli jail accused of plotting a suicide attack, said she thought he might reject release if it meant being sent abroad: "I am sure he will refuse this," she told Reuters.
UN chief says 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 15:33
,
Tara Cobham
More than 630 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council, with at least 300 of those trucks going to the enclave's north, where the UN says famine looms.
The trucks entered on the first day of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
Who was released on Sunday
Monday 20 January 2025 15:15
,
Tara Cobham
The first three hostages held by Hamas to be released were all women: Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
In exchange, 90 Palestinians were released from Israeli detention: 69 women and 21 teenage boys.
Many of the prisoners released on the first day of the ceasefire were recently detained by Israel and had not been tried or convicted.
Two killed including a child in Rafah, say Palestinian medics
Monday 20 January 2025 15:11
,
Alex Croft
Two people including a child have been killed in Rafah by Israeli forces, Wafa news agency cited medics as saying.
The two Palestinians were killed by Israeli snipers in the central and southern areas of Rafah city, in the southern Gaza Strip, the agency reported. Eight citizens, including children, were also injured in Rafah.
It comes despite a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip coming into effect on Sunday.
In pictures: Attention starts to shift to rebuilding of Gaza after devastating 15 months of conflict
Monday 20 January 2025 15:00
,
Tara Cobham
A year of war in Gaza: A timeline of key moments as ceasefire deal agreed
Monday 20 January 2025 14:45
,
Tara Cobham
Just days before US president Joe Biden is set to leave office, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal after 15 months of war in Gaza.
The Israeli cabinet approved the deal in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, which the Qatari prime minister announced as a three-phase agreement.
It took effect on Sunday and included the release of hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Three hostages held by Hamas have now been released, while 90 Paletinians held in Israeli jails were freed hours later.
The US, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly tried to secure a ceasefire ever since the conflict began on 7 October 2023, with both Israel and Hamas rejecting multiple draft proposals.
Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the most significant moments of the war since it began:
Watch: Released Palestinians say conditions in prison were ‘very difficult’ and ‘chaotic’
Monday 20 January 2025 14:30
,
Tara Cobham
Pictured: Palestinians rush to aid trucks making their way into Gaza after ceasefire takes effect
Monday 20 January 2025 14:13
,
Tara Cobham
Who are the 33 Israeli hostages set to be released under first phase of Gaza ceasefire?
Monday 20 January 2025 14:02
,
Tara Cobham
The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has come into effect after a delay in the list of 33 Israeli hostages due to be freed threatened to derail the truce.
Fighting finally stopped after an almost three-hour delay on Sunday, which saw continued airstrikes kill eight Palestinians and injure 25 others, according to medics in Gaza.
However peace began at 9.15am UK time, with the first three hostages freed later in the day amid emotional scenes.
On its official X account, the Israeli government posted a list of the 33 hostages it said were to be released. With 30 captives yet to be freed in the first phase, The Independent takes a look:
Daughter of hostage still held by Hamas says ‘there’s much more heartache to come'
Monday 20 January 2025 13:59
,
Tara Cobham
The daughter of an hostage who is still being held by Hamas has said “there’s much more heartache to come”.
Sharone Lifshitz, whose 84-year-old father Oded remains in captivity in Gaza, told the BBC that her father is on the list of 33 hostages who are set to be released under the first phase of the ceasefire deal – however, she does now know if he is alive, as she has heard no information about him for more than a year.
Speaking of the first thing she wants to say to her father, Ms Lifshitz said: “That I love him, that I miss him, that I am sorry that we could not get to him quicker.”
American journalist’s mother hopeful he will be found after he was captured in Syria
Monday 20 January 2025 13:51
,
Tara Cobham
The mother of American journalist Austin Tice has said she is hopeful that the new administrations in the US and Syria would help her find her missing son, who was taken captive during a reporting trip near Damascus about 12 years ago.
"Today, January 20, President (Donald) Trump will be sworn into office and I have great hope that his administration will work to bring Austin home," Debra Tice told a press conference in Damascus organized by the NGO Hostage Aid Worldwide.
Mr Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and other publications, was one of the first US journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and was first captured in the Damascus suburb of Daraya the following year.
US officials have expressed concerns that Tice may have been killed in recent Israeli airstrikes or could have suffocated after Bashar al-Assad's forces cut off power to prisons in Damascus before he was overthrow in December by Syrian rebels.
Full story: ‘I’ve returned to my beloved life,’ freed British-Israeli hostage says after release from Gaza
Monday 20 January 2025 13:17
,
Chief international correspondent Bel Trew, in Tel Aviv, and Tara Cobham
British-Israeli national Emily Damari – among the first three hostages freed from Gaza by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel – says she has “returned to my beloved life” in the moving first comments she has made since her release.
Ms Damari, 28, was freed from 15 months in captivity on Sunday as the truce deal came into effect, with authorities reporting she had lost two fingers when she was taken from her home during Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage.
In emotional remarks made hours after her release on Monday morning, Emily, who is a dual British-Israeli citizen, thanked her family and the large protest movement that campaigned for the release of the hostages.
Read the full story here:
Palestinian rescue workers begin search for people under rubble on day two of ceasefire
Monday 20 January 2025 13:00
,
Tara Cobham
A search is underway for thousands of Palestinians believed buried under rubble, the Palestinian Emergency Services has said, as Gaza's residents expressed shock at the devastation on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The truce in the 15-month-old war, which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East, took effect on Sunday with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.
Now attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave, which the Israeli military has demolished in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, 2023. That assault killed 1,200 people with around 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In the subsequent conflict, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza's health ministry says.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Services, said the search for as many as 10,000 bodies believed to be buried under rubble is underway in Gaza on Monday.
At least 2,840 bodies were melted and there were no traces of them, he said.
Displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa lost his brother and nephew in the war.
"It was a big shock, and the amount [of people] feeling shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes – it's destruction, total destruction. It's not like an earthquake or a flood, no n