Middle East crisis live: Protests at Rafah crossing following Trump proposal to move people from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan | World news

Egyptians protest Trump’s Gaza proposal

Hundreds of people have gathered near Egypt’s borders with Gaza to protest US president Donald Trump’s suggestion that the people of Gaza should be moved into Egypt and Jordan.

Pictures showed hundreds of people gathered at the Rafah border crossing waving Egyptian and Palestinian flags.

Trump first made his proposal last week, and on Thursday, referring to Egypt and Jordan, said: “We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it”.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday said the “displacement of the Palestinian people from their land is an injustice that we cannot take part in”.

“If I were to ask this of the Egyptian people, all of them would take to the streets to say ‘no’,” he said.

He has in the past described the prospect as a “red line” that would threaten Egypt’s national security.

Since 2013, public protests have been banned in Egypt except for those approved by authorities.

Hundreds of people have gathered near Egypt’s borders with Gaza to protest US president Donald Trump’s suggestion that the people of Gaza should be moved into Egypt and Jordan.

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Pictures showed hundreds of people gathered at the Rafah border crossing waving Egyptian and Palestinian flags.

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Trump first made his proposal last week, and on Thursday, referring to Egypt and Jordan, said: “We do a lot for them, and they’re going to do it”.

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Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday said the “displacement of the Palestinian people from their land is an injustice that we cannot take part in”.

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“If I were to ask this of the Egyptian people, all of them would take to the streets to say ‘no’,” he said.

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He has in the past described the prospect as a “red line” that would threaten Egypt’s national security.

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Since 2013, public protests have been banned in Egypt except for those approved by authorities.

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  President Trump reinforced his argument that Palestinians from Gaza should be resettled in Egypt and Jordan, despite leaders of those countries rejecting the notion. When asked how the US would pressure Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians, Trump said: “We do a lot for them and they’re going to do it.”

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  Israeli officials confirm the three Israeli hostages slated to be freed from Gaza tomorrow are Ofer Calderon, Keith Siegel and Yarden Bibas.

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  Hamas has confirmed that its military chief, Mohammed Deif, has been killed. Israel’s military said it had killed Deif in July last year, but Hamas had not confirmed this until now.

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  The US military says it killed a senior terrorist in Al-Qaida’s Syria branch in an air strike on northwestern Syria on Thursday. “US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, a senior operative in the terrorist organisation Hurras al-Din, an Al-Qaida affiliate,” Centcom said in a statement.

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  Three Israelis and five Thai citizens held in Gaza have been freed. The handover on Thursday of seven hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, was delayed by a chaotic crowd surging towards the group, despite an escort of heavily armed militants, jostling and blocking their passage to waiting Red Cross vehicles.

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  Israel’s military confirmed that the Israelis Gadi Moses, 80, Arbel Yehoud, 29, and five Thai hostages – Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao and Surasak Rumnao – had all been handed over at about 1pm local time. Agam Berger, 20, the last female soldier held in Gaza, had been released earlier from northern Gaza.

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  Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, attacked the “shocking scenes” in Khan Younis and suspended the planned release of Palestinian prisoners “until the mediators guarantee the safe exit of the hostages” in future.

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  France and Germany on Friday reiterated their “grave concern” over Israel implementing a law forbidding any contact between its officials and United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, Reuters reports. “We urge the government of Israel to work with international partners, including the UN, to ensure continuity of operations,” a joint statement from the three nations, published by the British government, said.

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  Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, met hostages’ relatives, reportedly telling them he was optimistic the ceasefire would hold to allow the return of all the living and the dead.

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  UN secretary-general António Guterres has called for 2,500 children to be immediately evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment after meeting with US doctors who said the children were at imminent risk of death in the coming weeks.

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  The Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and Gaza may reopen for the passage of Palestinian civilians today, Kan broadcaster reports. The border was scheduled to open on Sunday under the hostage-ceasefire deal.

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R)”,”caption”:”German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R)”,”credit”:”Photograph: Mohammed Badra/AFP/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Britain, France and Germany on Friday reiterated their “grave concern” over Israel implementing a law forbidding any contact between its officials and United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, Reuters reports.

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“We urge the government of Israel to work with international partners, including the UN, to ensure continuity of operations,” a joint statement from the three nations, published by the British government, said.

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The law, drafted in October 2023, and implemented on Thursday, prohibits UNRWA from delivering support on Israeli land or having contact with Israeli authorities.

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Israel has accused the UN agency of having links with Hamas, even going as far to accuse them of being involved in the October 7 attacks.

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On Thursday, the UN said that UNRWA was continuing to provide aid on the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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• This post was amended on Friday 31 January to make clear the UK was involved in the joint statement

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Israeli officials confirm the three Israeli hostages slated to be freed from Gaza tomorrow are Ofer Calderon, Keith Siegel and Yarden Bibas.

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Calderon, 54, and his two of his children, Erez and Sahar, were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, and they were both freed during the last ceasefire.

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Bibas, 35, was kidnapped separately from his wife and children, Shiri, Ariel and Kfir, who were all taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Hamas claims that Shiri and the two boys were killed by an Israeli airstrike.

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Siegel, 65, a US national from North Carolina, was kidnapped with his wife, Aviva, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She was freed in November 2023.

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Donald Trump Washington, District of Columbia, United States – 30 Jan 2025″,”caption”:”President Donald Trump Washington, District of Columbia, United States – 30 Jan 2025″,”credit”:”Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/REX/Shutterstock”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

President Trump reinforced his argument that Palestinians from Gaza should be resettled in Egypt and Jordan, despite leaders of those countries rejecting the notion.

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When asked how the US would pressure Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians, Trump said: “We do a lot for them and they’re going to do it.”

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His latest outburst comes in the wake of his idea that Israel should “clean out” the population in Gaza. “You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday.

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Hamas spokesperson says Israeli hostages Ofer Calderon, Keith Siegel and Yarden Bibas will be released on Saturday.

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More to follow…

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The US military says it killed a senior terrorist in Al-Qaida’s Syria branch in an air strike on northwestern Syria on Thursday.

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The area was held by interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group before they defeated former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December.

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“US Central Command forces conducted a precision air strike in northwest Syria targeting and killing Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, a senior operative in the terrorist organisation Hurras al-Din, an Al-Qaida affiliate,” Centcom said in a statement.

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Britain based-war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Zabir was killed when his vehicle was destroyed by a drone strike on the Sarmada-Idlib road.

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The US strike comes days after Hurras al-Din announced its dissolution. The Observatory said Hurras al-Din “announced its dissolution so as not to enter into armed conflict with HTS.”

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The Israeli military said on Friday it struck several Hezbollah targets overnight in the Bekaa Valley and along the Syrian-Lebanese border. The army said the targets include a facility used for underground weapons development and another associated with the smuggling of arms into Lebanon.

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On Thursday, Israel said it intercepted a surveillance drone launched by Hezbollah calling it “a breach of the ceasefire agreement” between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in late November, ending a deadly conflict that began with the Gaza war in 2023.

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The US confirmed on Sunday that the agreement, which includes a 60-day period for Israeli troop withdrawal, will remain in effect until 18 February, extending the original 26 January deadline.

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Israel has carried out multiple strikes on Lebanese territory since the ceasefire extension killing and injuring more than 100 people.

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The most recent attack is a drone strike that injured at least five people in southern Lebanese town of Majdal Selm.

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It comes as …

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  Hamas has confirmed that its military chief, Mohammed Deif, has been killed. Israel’s military said it had killed Deif in July last year, but Hamas had not confirmed this until now.

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  Three Israelis and five Thai citizens held in Gaza have been freed. The handover on Thursday of seven hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, was delayed by a chaotic crowd surging towards the group, despite an escort of heavily armed militants, jostling and blocking their passage to waiting Red Cross vehicles.

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  Israel’s military confirmed that the Israelis Gadi Moses, 80, Arbel Yehoud, 29, and five Thai hostages – Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao and Surasak Rumnao – had all been handed over at about 1pm local time. Agam Berger, 20, the last female soldier held in Gaza, had been released earlier from northern Gaza.

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  Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, attacked the “shocking scenes” in Khan Younis and suspended the planned release of Palestinian prisoners “until the mediators guarantee the safe exit of the hostages” in future.

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  Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, met hostages’ relatives, reportedly telling them he was optimistic the ceasefire would hold to allow the return of all the living and the dead.

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  UN secretary-general António Guterres has called for 2,500 children to be immediately evacuated from Gaza for medical treatment after meeting with US doctors who said the children were at imminent risk of death in the coming weeks.

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  The Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and Gaza may reopen for the passage of Palestinian civilians today, Kan broadcaster reports. The border was scheduled to open on Sunday under the hostage-ceasefire deal.

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Key events

Emma Graham-Harrison

Hamas has announced it will release Yarden Bibas on Saturday, the Israeli father of a young family kidnapped to Gaza who have been one of the most enduring symbols of Israel’s hostages in the coastal strip.

The Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida said on its Telegram channel that Bibas would be released with Keith Siegel, a joint US citizen, and Ofer Calderon, who also has French nationality.

The release of Bibas, whose wife, Shiri, and children, Ariel and Kfir, remain unaccounted for amid “grave concerns” over their wellbeing, represents a painful moment for the large numbers of Israelis and other supporters around the world who have long campaigned for the Bibas family’s release…