Middle East updates: Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extended to Feb. 18

Israel, Lebanon and the U.S. are negotiating the release of Lebanese prisoners.

Last Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:39 AM GMT

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect a week ago. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have started to be released under the multi-phased deal.

Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.

Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.

Jan 21, 2025, 8:07 PM GMT

4 injured in Tel Aviv stabbing attack

At least four people were injured in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency services organization, said in a release.

Two men, ages 28 and 24, are being treated with upper-body stab wounds and are in moderate condition. Two other patients, ages 24 and 59, are in mild condition, the MDA said.

A man uses his phone as Israeli emergency services work at the scene of a suspected attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 21, 2025.
Itai Ron/Reuters

The injured are being taken to Ichilov Hospital.

The stabbing occurred on Nahalat Binyamin Street in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Police Spokesperson's Unit said. The attacker, a 28-year-old "foreign national," has been killed by police, the spokesperson's unit added.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Nasser Atta

Jan 21, 2025, 6:21 PM GMT

At least 21 Palestinians injured in West Bank settler violence

At least 21 Palestinians were injured, 11 severely, after dozens of Israeli civilians, some of whom were masked, arrived at the area of Al Funduq, in the West Bank, and "instigated riots, set property on fire and caused damage," according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Three homes were burned down and five cars were torched as well, the IDF said.

A Palestinian man checks the site of an attack by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Jinsafut in the north of the occupied West Bank, on Jan. 21, 2025.
Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images

The civilians hurled rocks and attacked the security forces dispatched to the scene, according to the IDF.

Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz, despite freeing settlers who committed the same types of crimes, said he condemns the violence.

Jan 21, 2025, 9:23 AM GMT

Over 1,500 aid trucks entered Gaza on day 1 and 2 of ceasefire, UN says

More than 1,500 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip in the first two days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

That includes more than 630 trucks on Sunday and 915 trucks on Monday, according to OCHA. Of the ones that crossed into Gaza on Sunday, OCHA said at least 300 trucks went to the north, which the U.N. has warned is facing imminent famine.

OCHA cited “information received through engagement with Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement.”

“There is no time to lose,” the U.N.’s aid chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement Monday. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

Jan 20, 2025, 10:49 PM GMT

IDF says riots in the West Bank have dispersed

Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police Forces were dispatched to Al Funduq in the West Bank after reports of rioting in the area, the IDF said on Monday.

The alleged incident occurred shortly after Israel's defense minister released all settlers being detained under administrative detention orders, though it cannot be certain that any of those settlers were involved in the reported riots. ABC News was able to confirm that fires had ignited in that location.

Shortly thereafter, the IDF confirmed that it had successfully dispersed rioters.

There have been no confirmed reports as to the extent of the damage or any injuries. Israeli officials are expected to conduct a formal inquiry in the area tonight.

-ABC News' William Gretsky

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