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Israel Sends Dozens of Drones to Gaza, Lapid Cancels his Vacation

A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)
A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)
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Israel Sends Dozens of Drones to Gaza, Lapid Cancels his Vacation

A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)
A Palestinian worker was unable to return to Gaza after Israel closed crossings (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid canceled his vacation due to the security situation in the south of the country, according to the Hebrew Channel 14.

Lapid's office said in a statement that the prime minister canceled his leave and will assess the situation at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

Israel sent dozens of drones into Gaza Strip amid the state of alert among its forces in the vicinity of the Palestinian enclave.

Tel Aviv is expecting a possible response after its brutal arrest and assault of the leader of the Islamic Jihad movement in Jenin, Bassam al-Saadi.

Hebrew media said that the Israeli Air Force attacked the Gaza Strip's borders to "target armed cells" that might launch anti-tank missiles or rockets or carry out sniping operations toward Israeli targets.

Meanwhile, the Chief of the General Staff, Aviv Kohavi, visited the Gaza Division and held an operational-security situational assessment with the Commanding Officer, Nimrod Aloni.

Kohavi ordered the Israeli forces to increase readiness for escalation and expand defensive and intelligence efforts.

Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Makan) announced that the area near the Gaza Strip witnessed a state of alert. Roads were shut and train stations were closed.

Israel closed Kerem Shalom commercial crossing and the Beit Hanoun crossing.

Based on a new assessment of the security situation, the Israeli army sent a letter to Gaza residents announcing the extension of the state of alert for another day.

According to Israel's Channel 14, the army will not tolerate maintaining the state of alert in the Gaza Strip for a long time and may replace this with economic sanctions, such as banning fishing in the Gaza sea and keeping the crossings closed, in an attempt to put financial pressure.

The Israeli army confirmed it has a strong intelligence warning that Islamic Jihad plans to operate on the border between Israel and the Strip soon.

The Ynet website said these attacks might include anti-tank missiles, snipers, or missiles.

Islamic Jihad official Khaled al-Batsh said that the movement responded to the Egyptian efforts, given that attacks and arrests stopped in the West Bank.

Israel refused and arrested 20 Palestinians on Thursday.

Later, a Hamas delegation left for Egypt to contain the situation. The movement does not want an escalation from Gaza, but it will not prevent the Islamic Jihad if an agreement is not reached, according to Israeli estimates.

The Israeli Minister of Tourism, Yoel Razvozov, said that the relevant authorities are working at the military and political levels to end the current tension.

Razvozov stressed that the decision to restrict movement in the region was taken after carefully studying the situation and in consultation with intelligence agencies.

He made it clear that Israel wants to calm the situation and will not allow the Islamic Jihad to escalate the situation or impose its conditions, warning that Tel Aviv will continue to respond to any breach from the Strip.

The Israeli minister tried to calm the Jewish settlers in the communities surrounding the Gaza Strip, who expressed anger at the continued Israeli restrictions. The settlers demanded compensation from the Israeli government, and some had to leave their homes.

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Arab World

Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
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Germany Moves Troops Out of Iraq, Citing Mideast 'Tensions'

FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
FILE PHOTO: German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen visits the Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 (Transporthubschrauberregiment 30) at the Hermann-Koehl-Kaserne in Niederstetten, Germany, August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski

Germany's military has "temporarily" moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of "escalating tensions in the Middle East," a German defense ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

Dozens of German soldiers had been relocated away from the base in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

"Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not specify the source of the tensions, but US President Donald Trump has ordered a major build-up of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.

German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.

The spokesman said the German redeployment away from Erbil was "closely coordinated with our multinational partners".

Arab World

UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
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UN: At Least 15 Children Killed in Sudan Drone Strike

The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)
The war in Sudan, ongoing since mid-April 2023, has caused extensive destruction across the country (AFP)

A drone strike on a displacement camp in Sudan killed at least 15 children earlier this week, the United Nations reported late on Wednesday.

"On Monday 16 February, at least 15 children were reportedly killed and 10 wounded after a drone strike on a displacement camp in Al Sunut, West Kordofan," the UN children's agency said in a statement.

Across the Kordofan region, currently the Sudan war's fiercest battlefield, "we are seeing the same disturbing patterns from Darfur -- children killed, injured, displaced and cut off from the services they need to survive," UNICEF's Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

Arab World

MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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MSF Will Keep Operating in Gaza 'as Long as We Can'

(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
(FILES) A Palestinian man walks on his crutches to the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on new year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.

In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can," Filipe Ribeiro told AFP in Amman, but said operations were already facing challenges.

"Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank," he said.

Ribeiro added that MSF's ability to bring medical supplies into Gaza had also been impacted.

"They're not allowed for now, but we have some stocks in our pharmacies that will allow us to keep running operations for the time being," he said.

"We do have teams in Gaza that are still working, both national and international, and we have stocks."

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

It had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

MSF says it did not provide the names of its Palestinian staff because Israeli authorities offered no assurances regarding their safety.

Ribeiro warned of the massive impact the termination of MSF's operations would have for healthcare in war-shattered Gaza.

"MSF is one of the biggest actors when it comes to the health provision in Gaza and the West Bank, and if we are obliged to leave, then we will create a huge void in Gaza," he said.

The charity says it currently provides at least 20 percent of hospital beds in the territory and operates around 20 health centers.

In 2025 alone, it carried out more than 800,000 medical consultations, treated more than 100,000 trauma cases and assisted more than 10,000 infant deliveries.