Israel sends tanks into West Bank with Gaza ceasefire in doubt as first phase nears end – Middle East crisis live | World news

My colleague Bethan McKernan has written about the expansion of Israel’s deadly military operation in the occupied West Bank. Here is an extract from her piece:

The Israel Defense Forces said they were sending tanks to the northern city of Jenin for the first time since the height of the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in 2002.

Israel’s latest operation in the West Bank, launched two days after the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on 19 January, has killed more than 50 people and ripped up roads and infrastructure in the territory’s refugee camps, set up to house Palestinians displaced after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Today the camps resemble urban slums, and have long functioned as bastions of armed resistance to the occupation.

The Israeli army began large-scale operations in the West Bank in the spring of 2022 after a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis, and violence there has soared since the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 that ignited the latest war in Gaza.

Tensions in the West Bank have risen further since Thursday night after a series of bus explosions near Tel Aviv that appeared to detonate early, causing no casualties. In a Telegram post, a branch of Hamas’ military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, praised the attacks but stopped short of taking responsibility.

Welcome to our continuing live coverage of developments in the Middle East.

Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, but Israel suspended the handover of more than 600 Palestinians it was due to free from its prisons in exchange, putting the fragile ceasefire agreement in jeopardy.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the handover indefinitely as he is demanding Hamas stop what he called its “cynical use of hostages for propaganda”.

“It has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for Saturday until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies,” he said.

In response, Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters on Sunday that the Palestinian militant group will not hold talks with Israel through mediators on any further steps in the ceasefire agreement unless Palestinian prisoners are released as agreed.

As tensions over the ceasefire agreement rise, Netanyahu vowed yesterday to achieve the war’s stated objectives in negotiations “or by other means”.

“We are prepared to resume intense fighting at any moment,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than two decades, with raids reported in numerous locations such as Hebron and Qabatiya.

The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the latest raid across the West Bank was expanding, and that troops would remain in the area’s urban hotspots “for the coming year”, meaning approximately 40,000 people displaced by the assault will not be able to return to their homes.

• Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar will meet senior European officials in Brussels later today. He will co-chair a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022. The talks are set to focus on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza – caused by Israel’s assault on the territory – and changing regional dynamics.

• The White House said it supports Israel’s decision to delay releasing 600 Palestinian prisoners, citing the “barbaric treatment” of Israeli hostages by Hamas.
  Delaying the prisoner release is an “appropriate response” to the militant group’s treatment of the hostages, national security council spokesperson Brian Hughes said. Donald Trump is prepared to support Israel in “whatever course of action it chooses regarding Hamas,” he added.

• US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said he was headed to the Middle East this week to “get an extension of phase one” of the truce. “We’re hopeful that we have the proper time… to begin phase two, and finish it off and get more hostages released,” Witkoff told CNN. The first phase of the three-stage ceasefire agreement is due to end in just under a week’s time. Delayed talks on the second stage of the deal, which is supposed to involve a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, are due to start this week, but there is uncertainty about whether they will happen and if they do what kind of lasting result can be secured.