Middle East updates: Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended to Feb. 18
Israel, Lebanon and the U.S. are negotiating the release of Lebanese prisoners.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect a week ago. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have started to be released under the multi-phased deal.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Latest headlines:
Death toll rises to 15 in southern Lebanon
Fifteen people were killed by the Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to an updated statement from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Another 83 people were injured, the ministry said.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and Somayeh Malekian
3 killed, 44 wounded by IDF in southern Lebanon, ministry says
Three people were killed and another 44 were injured by Israel Defense Forces troops in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said on Sunday.
The ministry added in a post on X that Israeli forces opened fire in at least two border towns on "citizens who were trying to return to their villages which are still occupied."
IDF forces had been expected to withdraw from the area on Sunday under the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel.
The Lebanese Armed Forces have intensified their presence in the region. The LAF stated that Lebanese military units have been deployed in several towns after the IDF's withdrawal, in coordination with the committee overseeing the ceasefire.
Hezbollah parliament member Hassan Fadlallah said in an interview with Al-Manar TV that since the IDF has opened fire on civilians in the south, the Lebanese people should not be blamed if they retaliate in self-defense.
On the Israeli side, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee criticized Hezbollah in a video message posted on X, claiming the group has been escalating tensions, and urged Lebanese civilians to avoid returning to certain areas for their safety until further notice.
Israel's delay in fully withdrawing from the south puts the new Lebanese government and its new president in a difficult position, as he works to establish his government's domestic and international policies.
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian, Ghazi Balkiz and Nasser Atta
Trump says Jordan, Egypt should take in more Palestinians from Gaza
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday evening on his way from Las Vegas to Miami. Trump elaborated on his talk with King Abdullah II of Jordan, saying he spoke to him about taking more Palestinians from Gaza.
“I’ve gotten along with him over the years very well. He’s done a wonderful job. He really houses, you know, millions of Palestinians, and he does it in a very humane way and I complimented him. But he really – Jordan’s done an amazing job of housing largely Palestinians," Trump said.
He continued, "I said to him that I’d love you to take on more 'cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess."
Asked for clarification, Trump indicated that he’d like Jordan and Egypt to take more Palestinians from Gaza.
“They can take people. I’d like Egypt to take people. I’m meeting with ... I’m talking with General El-Sisi tomorrow sometime. And I’d like Egypt to take people and I’d like Jordan to take people. I can -- you’re talking about a million and a half people and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump said.
Trump resumes shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, reversing Biden-era hold on the weapons
President Donald Trump has ordered that the U.S. resume shipments of the 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that former President Joe Biden halted, according to a White House source and a U.S. government official.
"The President has ordered the hold to be lifted on the 2000-pound bomb shipment to Israel,” a U.S. government official told ABC News.
Biden halted the shipment of the 2,000-pound bombs in May of 2024. At the time, he cited the fact that the weapons were being used in areas with high concentrations of civilians, leading to civilian deaths.
"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden said in May, during a sit-down interview with CNN.