Heads of US CENTCOM, Israeli army discuss boosting defense cooperation
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US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper and Israeli army Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir have discussed boosting defense cooperation between the two sides, Anadolu reports.
The talks took place during an extended meeting held on the sidelines of Cooper’s visit to Israel, which began on Saturday, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement on Sunday.
Adraee said Adm. Cooper held “a lengthy personal meeting” with Zamir, followed by a broader session attended by senior commanders.
He said the meeting served as “an additional factor strengthening the personal relationship between the two commanders, the close strategic relationship between the Israeli and US militaries, and the continued enhancement of defense cooperation between the two countries.”
During his visit to Israel, whose duration has not been specified, Cooper is also scheduled to meet Israeli Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, according to Israel’s Channel 12.
The visit comes amid growing concerns in Israel over the possibility that Iran could carry out a preemptive attack, alongside rising fears that Tehran may be close to being targeted by a potential US military strike, as the US continues to build up its forces in the region.
READ: Egypt calls for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, reopening Rafah crossing
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2 children among 3 killed in Israeli army attacks in Gaza despite ceasefire
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Three Palestinians, including two children, were killed and several injured Saturday in attacks carried out in various parts of the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire.
A medical source told Anadolu that two teenagers from the Al-Zawara family, Salman Zakaria, 14, and Mohammed Youssef, 15, were killed when an Israeli bomb exploded near Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Beit Lahia project area.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli drone dropped a bomb on the two boys in an area from which the Israeli army had previously withdrawn under the terms of the agreement.
Earlier, a source in ambulance and emergency services told Anadolu that several Palestinians were injured in an Israeli strike targeting Old Gaza Street in the town of Jabalia in northern Gaza, an area the Israeli army had also withdrawn from under the agreement.
In another incident, a medical source said a Palestinian man was injured by Israeli gunfire in the Al-Salateen area of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian was killed in an Israeli strike that targeted the Qizan al-Najjar area, south of Khan Younis, according to medical sources who spoke to Anadolu.
READ: Hamas: We remain committed to ceasefire as Israel continues violations in Gaza
On Saturday morning, a medical source reported that a Palestinian man was injured in the head by Israeli gunfire in central Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Witnesses said an Israeli quadcopter drone opened fire near the Jasser Building intersection in the city center.
The Israeli army has killed more than 71,600 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,300 in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that left Gaza in ruins.
Despite a ceasefire that began on Oct. 10, Israel has continued carrying out attacks, killing 481 Palestinians and wounding 1,313, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
READ: Egyptian president rejects attempts to divide region, undermine Gaza ceasefire deal
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US envoy, Trump son-in-law set to arrive in Israel to meet Netanyahu
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US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is set to arrive in Israel on Saturday evening, accompanied by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, according to Israeli media.
Channel 12 reported that Witkoff and Kushner will arrive in Tel Aviv in preparation for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Friday, Channel 12, citing unnamed sources, reported that Netanyahu is expected to meet Witkoff and Kushner in Jerusalem to discuss the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The sources added that Israel’s security and political Cabinet will convene on Sunday to review developments related to the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, Netanyahu’s office announced that the Cabinet would discuss early next week the issue of reopening the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The crossing was scheduled to reopen in October as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on Oct. 10, but Israel did not comply.
READ: Head of US Central Command arrives in Israel
While Ali Shaath, head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, announced that the Rafah crossing would reopen next week during a televised speech following the signing of the “Board of Peace” charter in Davos, the Israeli side has not confirmed this.
An Israeli official linked the reopening of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing to the recovery of the remains of their last captive from Gaza, said to belong to a police officer, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
The second phase of the agreement also stipulates the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions, an additional withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the launch of reconstruction efforts, which the United Nations estimates will cost about $70 billion.
The first phase included a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange involving the release of Israeli captives in return for Palestinian prisoners. However, Tel Aviv has continued to violate the agreement on a daily basis.
The Israeli army has killed more than 71,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000 in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that left Gaza in ruins.
Despite a ceasefire that began Oct. 10, Israel has continued to carry out attacks, killing 481 Palestinians and wounding 1,313, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
READ: Gaza power plant on track to resume operations after 2-year-plus shutdown: Administrator
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West Bank facing worst humanitarian crisis since 1967 amid Israeli operations in refugee camps: UN refugee agency
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The occupied West Bank is experiencing its most severe humanitarian crisis since 1967, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned Friday, citing large-scale displacement and extensive destruction in refugee camps amid Israeli military operations, Anadolu reports.
In a statement on the US social media company X, Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, said 33,000 people remain forcibly displaced from northern refugee camps one year after the launch of Israel’s “Iron Wall” operation.
“Israeli forces have been demolishing swathes of the camps, reducing the chances for these communities to recover,” he added.
Lazzarini said UNRWA teams “are assisting newly displaced Palestine refugees who have been pushed deeper into poverty and have no viable alternatives for healthcare, education and welfare.”
He stressed that the agency’s ability to continue operations depends on “continued political & financial support from member states.”
Since beginning its genocide in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Israel has intensified its crimes to annex the West Bank, particularly through demolition, displacement of Palestinians and expansion of settlements, according to Palestinian authorities.
Israeli forces and illegal settlers have since killed at least 1,108 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and injured nearly 11,000, while it has detained 21,000.
READ: UN rapporteur says Israeli demolition of UNRWA compound reflects broader attack on UN system
Separately, illegal Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque Friday in the northern West Bank, the latest in a string of attacks on places of worship and Palestinian property.
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, cited local land defense coordinator Thaer Hanani, who said illegal settlers stormed the Beit al-Sheikh Mosque in the Khirbet Tana area, east of Nablus, smashing its contents and forcing worshippers to hold Friday prayers outdoors.
Hanani said illegal settlers also destroyed orchard fencing to allow cattle to graze, damaging Palestinian olive trees. He described the attack as part of repeated assaults on the mosque and worshippers to prevent residents from accessing Khirbet Tana after its population was forcibly expelled early last year.
According to Israel’s Peace Now, more than 500,000 illegal settlers live in the West Bank, in addition to over 250,000 in settlements built on occupied East Jerusalem land.
The UN considers Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory illegal under international law and said they undermine the viability of a two-state solution.
Palestinian officials have repeatedly urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt settlement activity.
READ: Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank
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