Middle East updates: Talks start on 2nd phase of Gaza ceasefire

Hamas accused Israel of disrupting the humanitarian protocol in the agreement.

ByMark Osborne and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: February 4, 2025, 3:49 PM EST

Residents of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon are returning to their homes, with most of the fighting in both areas paused under Israeli ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah.

Several Israeli hostages have been released from Gaza, including American Keith Siegel, who was freed over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington, D.C., as negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to continue amid the first phase of the deal, which was slated to last about six weeks.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Feb 03, 2025, 2:24 PM EST

70 people have been killed in the West Bank in 2025

Seventy people have been killed in the West Bank since the beginning of 2025, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Monday.

Doctors Without Borders said it's observed a “surge of violent attacks and blockades all over the West Bank,” since the first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect Jan. 19.

Mourners attend the funeral of seven Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli army raid in the past two weeks, at a cemetery in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.
Majdi Mohammed/AP

The ongoing Israeli operation in the West Bank, known as the “Iron Wall,” has caused “severe damage of an estimated 150-180 homes,” Doctors Without Borders said in a release Monday.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Feb 03, 2025, 9:10 AM EST

Netanyahu to meet with House speaker

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he’s meeting with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in the speaker's suite at the U.S. Capitol.

"We need to be supporting Israel right now as strongly as ever. It's a critical time in the Middle East, and they've got a real dilemma on their hands. So, I think President Trump is going to echo that," Johnson told "Fox and Friends" Monday morning.

Johnson added, "Everyone in the world needs to know that America stands with Israel, and we will. Hamas can't stay in power."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an Israeli soldier memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, July 16, 2024.
Abir Sultan/AP, FILE

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Feb 01, 2025, 1:26 PM EST

15,000 displaced from Jenin camp, mayor says

As the Israeli military operation in Jenin continues, the mayor of the Palestinian city says 15,000 people have been displaced in Jenin camp so far. At least 100 homes have been destroyed and Israel has destroyed water lines to four hospitals, according to the mayor.

The Israel Defense Forces said it continues to disperse "celebratory gatherings and riots" in reaction to the release of Palestinian prisoners as a result of the ceasefire deal.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta

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