By Abdul Adil
(AA, Al Jazeera, Wafa, NNA, The Muslim News):
Six people were killed and two others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting Lebanon’s eastern Baalbek district; 22 more bodies found from the rubble in the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s war since October 2023 to 48,181; Israeli army launched a series of raids across the occupied West Bank targeting the homes of Palestinian detainees set to be released as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal under the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
LEBANON
Six people were killed and two others injured on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Shaira area in Lebanon’s eastern Baalbek district, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).
“Six people were martyred and two others were wounded due to an Israeli airstrike on the Shaira area, adjacent to the town of Janta,” NNA reported.
The state-run Lebanese News Agency (NNA) said the raid which was carried by “an enemy drone on the Shaira [al-Shaara] area adjacent to the town of Jennata [Janta], on the slopes of the eastern Lebanon mountain range, resulted in the killing of six people and the wounding of two others”.
The Israeli army said that earlier on Saturday Israeli warplanes conducted what it described as “an intelligence-based strike on Hezbollah operatives in the area of Bekaa in Lebanon”.
The attacks come amid a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which was agreed in November last year and recently extended until February 18.
A fragile cease-fire has been in place since Nov. 27, ending months of mutual shelling between Israel and Hezbollah that escalated into full-scale conflict last September.
Despite the truce, Israel has committed over 840 violations, killing and injuring dozens in Lebanon, including women and children.
Under the cease-fire deal, Israel was supposed to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam formed a new government on Saturday, the first since 2022.
President Joseph Aoun said in a statement that he had accepted the resignation of former caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and signed a decree with Salam to form the new government.
GAZA
Palestinian medics and rescue teams recovered 22 more bodies from the rubble in the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s war since October 2023 to 48,181, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
A ministry statement said that the toll included four Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the last 48 hours.
According to the ministry, five injured people were also admitted to hospitals, taking the number of the injured to 111,638 in the Israeli onslaught.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that names of 572 Palestinians have been added to the overall death toll after checking their details by relevant authorities.
The Government Media Office has updated the death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands of people who were missing under the rubble are now presumed dead.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Two Palestinian girls were killed in the collapse of a concrete wall of a house struck by Israeli warplanes in Gaza City, local authorities said on Saturday.
Another child was injured in the collapse that took place as the children were playing near the house, Salama Marouf, who heads Gaza’s government media office, added on his X account.
“To stop the martyrs’ death toll, it is crucial to expedite the entry of heavy machinery and equipment, provide fuel, and allow specialized technical teams to access the rubble and debris to assess partially destroyed homes,” Marouf said.
According to local authorities, over 500,000 houses have been damaged by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 203.
WEST BANK
The Israeli army launched a series of raids across the occupied West Bank early Saturday targeting the homes of Palestinian detainees set to be released as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal under the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
According to eyewitnesses, Israeli forces stormed multiple homes, ransacked belongings, and issued warnings to families against celebrating their loved ones’ release.
One of the targeted homes was that of senior Hamas leader Jamal Al-Tawil in Al-Bireh, where Israeli soldiers threatened his family with arrest if they held any celebrations.
His daughter, journalist Bushra Al-Tawil, confirmed to Anadolu that Israeli troops explicitly warned them of repercussions should they welcome their father with any form of public rejoicing.
Similar raids took place in the town of Kobar, north of Ramallah, where Israeli forces stormed the home of Shadi Fakhri Al-Barghouti, a Palestinian prisoner who has been jailed since 2004 and sentenced to 27 years behind bars.
Israeli troops also targeted the families of detainees Raafat Hamed and Atef Al-Salihin in Silwad, east of Ramallah, issuing the same threats.
A Palestinian official confirmed Saturday that 400 Palestinians have been displaced from the Al-Fara’a refugee camp in southern Tubas in the northern West Bank, on the seventh day of an Israeli assault on the camp.
Tubas and Northern Jordan Valley Gov. Ahmed Al-As’ad told Anadolu that “About 400 Palestinians from Al-Fara’a camp have been displaced so far amid the ongoing Israeli military operation.”
“The occupation forces have designated what they call a safe passage, set up a military checkpoint at the camp’s entrance, and are calling citizens in groups,” he said.
“Each group consists of five people, and they are subjected to searches, their IDs are checked, and some are arrested. Today, they even opened fire and injured one displaced person.”
The official further stated that “citizens are gathering in the passageway in the hundreds since the morning, waiting for their IDs to be checked.”
He noted that “there are circumstances forcing residents to leave, including home demolitions, invasions, gunfire and causing terror among the residents.”
Al-As’ad also mentioned that “water has been cut off for the seventh consecutive day for the camp’s estimated 8,000 residents.”
Regarding the fate of those who are displaced, Al-As’ad confirmed that “schools in Tubas city have been opened and apartments have been rented for the displaced, while some are seeking refuge with relatives outside the camp.”
He noted that the Israeli army “continues its assault on Al-Fara’a camp, causing significant damage to infrastructure and the water and electricity networks.”
According to the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), the registered population of the Al-Fara’a camp is about 11,000, originally from 30 villages in the northeastern part of Jaffa, from which their inhabitants were displaced with the establishment of Israel in 1948.
The Israeli army withdrew from the West Bank town of Tammun on Saturday after a week-long incursion, a local official said.
“The army withdrew its forces suddenly and quickly, and evacuated all the houses that it had turned into military barracks after expelling their inhabitants,” Tammun Mayor Najeh Bani Odeh told Anadolu.
He said the Israeli forces have left a trail of destruction after its military operations in the town.
According to witnesses, the Israeli army pulled out from the town, but its forces are still deployed around the area.
Tubas
Meanwhile, Israeli army forces are still operating in Al-Far’a refugee camp south of Tubas in the northern West Bank, according to a local activist.
“The occupation forces continue to storm the camp, raid homes, evict Palestinian residents, and turn their homes into military barracks,” Khaled Mansour told Anadolu.
He said Israeli forces also maintained roadblocks around the camp effectively sealing it off and preventing movement.
A group of illegal Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian man on Saturday evening near the village of Al-Aqaba, located to the east of Tubas in the northern West Bank, according to local sources.
Mahdi Draghmeh, a local Palestinian official, reported that several settlers stormed the home of Ali Mohammed Awad, a local resident. The settlers physically assaulted Awad and attempted to steal his tents.
Tulkarm
Israeli occupation forces have continued their wide-scale assault on Tulkarm city and its refugee camp for the thirteenth day in a row, targeting local citizens and their properties during their ongoing offensive.
Israeli military deployed additional reinforcements, particularly infantry soldiers, to the city and refugee camp. These forces spread across the streets and neighborhoods, intensifying restrictions on the movement of residents, creating a daily routine of oppression since the beginning of the attack.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces pursued Palestinians in the city center, forcing several shops to close their doors. They deployed military vehicles in the streets, obstructing movement of vehicles, and conducted raids on a number of homes in the eastern part of the city. During the raids, the soldiers searched the homes, damaged their contents, and interrogated residents, seizing surveillance camera footage in the process.
At the same time, the occupation forces also positioned infantry units along Nablus Street, which runs parallel to the entrances of the Tulkarm refugee camp. They conducted searches in agricultural lands, residential areas, and facilities, while also seizing a residential building in the area, converting it into a military outpost and sniper positions.
Meanwhile, the siege on Thabet Thabet Government Hospital continued, with Israeli soldiers stationed at the hospital entrances, obstructing ambulance and medical staff movements. The forces are still occupying nearby commercial buildings surrounding the hospital.
Within the refugee camp, Israeli forces remain heavily deployed across all its streets and alleys. They have continued to raid homes, most of which are now empty and destroyed after their residents were forcibly displaced. The forces also seized high-rise buildings, converting them into military barracks and sniper posts, while indiscriminately firing live ammunition into the streets.
The ongoing military onslaught has forced the remaining residents, especially those on the outskirts of the camp, to flee towards the city, with surveillance drones continuing to fly at low altitudes over Tulkarm and the refugee camps.
The situation for those still remaining in their homes—mainly the elderly, sick, women, and children—has worsened, as they face severe shortages in food, medical supplies, drinking water, and baby formula.
Earlier today, civil defense teams, the Palestinian police, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society were able to enter the camp to provide assistance as part of a campaign to support families in the camp. They ensured that essential supplies, including food, medicine, and drinking water, were delivered to the affected families.
The humanitarian crisis in Tulkarm refugee camp remains dire, as the occupation has completely or partially destroyed homes and commercial establishments, while also detonating and setting many buildings on fire.
Along with the full destruction of infrastructure, the camp is suffering from a total lack of water, electricity, communication, and internet services. Access for specialized repair teams from the municipality and other services is blocked by the Israeli military.
The Israeli occupation forces raided at dawn several Palestinian homes in the villages and towns of Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate.
Local sources reported that the occupation forces raided the homes of the families of prisoners expected to be released today as part of the fifth batch of the ceasefire agreement and verbally threatened them with punitive measures against them if they held gatherings or celebrations for the release of their sons.
P
They added that the occupation forces assaulted the released prisoner Fakhri Al-Barghouthi from Kober, causing him bruises throughout his body.
Israeli occupation forces shut down the Ibda’a Center today in Dheisheh refugee camp, located south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
According to Khaled Al-Sayfi, the Executive Director of the center, Israeli forces raided his home in the camp and handed him an official notice ordering the closure of the center for six months. The notice provided no explanation for the action taken.
Al-Sayfi emphasized that the Ibda’a Center is dedicated to academic, cultural, artistic, and sports affairs, serving as a key institution in promoting the intellectual and creative development of the Palestinian community.
He described the closure as an attack on the cultural and scientific awareness of the Palestinian people.
Israeli occupation forces blew up a warehouse near Fatayer Street in the city of Nablus at dawn on Saturday.
Security sources reported that the occupation forces stormed the city of Nablus, raided a building under construction, blew up a warehouse in the area, and raided the home of prisoner Ahmed Abu Al-Hayat, searched it, and destroyed its contents.
In a related context, the occupation forces stormed the Askar Al-Jadeed camp, raided several homes, and arrested citizen Saif Ahmed from his home.
SYRIA
Israel claimed Saturday to have struck a weapons storage facility for the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Syria.
In a brief statement, the army said the weapons depot was hit in the Deir Ali area in southern Syria, claiming that the weapons were stored to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.
There was no comment from Syrian authorities or Hamas on the Israeli claim.
Israel has mounted a massive air campaign against Syrian military sites since the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December.
[Photo: Palestinian child manages to get small amount of food distributed by volunteers after the ceasefire in Rafah, Gaza on February 07, 2025.
Photojournalist: Abed Rahim, Khatib/AA]
