Crowds have started gathering ahead of a massive pro-Palestine[1] protest that will see hundreds of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of London today to call for the Israel-Hamas[2] ceasefire to be made permanent.
The first few protesters have been seen filtering into the capital this morning, many clutching placards ahead of the march, the 32nd of its kind and first since the ceasefire was agreed last week.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said his group would “never stop” supporting Palestinians to “achieve a free Palestine”, and vowed the “work will go on”, adding: “Because we know Israel is capable of breaking the ceasefire at any time, as it has done on every previous occasion”.
Gazans continue search for bodies as hospitals prepare for hostage arrivals
As Israeli hospitals prepare to receive the first hostages from Gaza, Gazans have launched a major operation to recover the bodies of slain locals from the rubble.
The Hamas-run Civil Defence Agency has launched a major operation in the territory’s north, to where hundreds of thousands of people are returning following the ceasefire signing. Rescue and relief missions have so far recovered the bodies of 150 people, it said earlier today.
Anadolu via Getty Images)
First pro-Palestine protesters take to streets of London
The first pro-Palestine protesters have been seen on the streets of London this morning bearing placards ahead of the scheduled 2.30pm demonstration time.
PA)
UN has enough food to feed Gazans for months
The UN aid agency responsible for feeding Gazans impacted by the war has said there is enough food to feed every Palestinian living on the Strip for three months.
Juliette Touma, the communications director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) which is back in charge of aid, has said distributing supplies is “absolutely critical in controlling the spread of famine”.
The terms of the Israel-Hamas deal will allow up to 600 loads a day of aid to enter the Strip.
AFP via Getty Images)
US troops arrive in Israel ahead of hostage release
US troops have arrived in Israel as the tense countdown to the long-awaited and dramatic hostages-prisoner swaps continues.
Some 200 American soldiers will help oversee the release of 20 living and 28 dead hostages as close to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners get released, including 250 life sentence servers.
More than 100 bodies recovered from Gaza rubble following ceasefire
Gaza medical sources speaking to a local outlet have said that at least 135 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble in Gaza less than 24 hours after the ceasefire came into effect.
Wafa has said the bodies were recovered as part of a major operation, with dozens of people taken to hospitals across the city.
Latest pictures show massive continued movement of Palestinians as they return home
Columns of thousands on thousands of Palestinians continue to march back to their homes in Gaza, with streets thick with locals making the post-ceasefire trip.
Anadolu via Getty Images)
Among the throng, smiling locals – some of whom have piled into the backs of trucks – can be seen carrying their belongings as they continue the long journey home.
Massive post-ceasefire pro-Palestine protest to take place in London
Hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather in central London today, a day after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect.
It will be the 32nd national demonstration in support of Palestine since October 2023, according to organiser Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and will see protesters setting off from Embankment at midday for a march ending in a rally in Whitehall from 2.30pm.
They will call for the ceasefire to become a permanent agreement.
Children in Gaza reveal dreams in heartbreaking drawings ahead of ceasefire
One has hopes of being a globe-trotting famous writer. Another wants to be a doctor[3]. A third longs for pizza and ice cream.
These are the heartbreaking dreams expressed by children in wartorn Gaza[4]. They were penned by kids helped by charity Save the Children’s psychosocial support programme in the famine-stricken enclave. It is a place where children can play, offering a space to escape the devastating reality of conflict.
The pictures, published by the Mirror[5], offer a window into the hopes and dreams of Palestinian children. It comes as Israel[6] and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners.
Children in Gaza reveal dreams in heartbreaking drawings ahead of ceasefire[7]
Israel Defense Forces carries out strike in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a strike in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, clearly sending a message that a ceasefire in Gaza does not mean that the Israeli military is halting operations across the region.
“A short a while ago, the IDF struck and dismantled Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area of southern Lebanon, where engineering machinery used to reestablish terrorist infrastructure in the area they were located,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The presence of the machinery and Hezbollah activity in the area constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will continue to operate in order to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.”
Donald Trump shares his hope about the ceasefire
Donald Trump expressed optimism about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at a gathering of reporters in the Oval Office. Asked about the ceasefire, Trump said, “I think it’ll hold. Yeah, I think it’ll hold. They’re all tired of the fighting.”
Trump also said he will be speaking at the Knesset in Israel and will travel to Egypt.
Thousands of people could be seen moving north in Gaza after the ceasefire was announced today.
AP)
Palestinian people will not be stripped of their weapons
A senior Hamas official, Mousa Abu Marzouk, told Al Jazeera in an interview today that the Palestinian people will not be stripped of their weapons because they are under Israeli occupation.
He did not explain if that was the official position of the group.
The disarmament of Hamas is a key part of the peace plan that Trump has proposed and will likely be one of the most difficult issues to resolve in any future negotiations.
Hamas says it rejects ‘foreign guardianship’
Hamas has said tonight that it rejects “any foreign guardianship” for the region, adding they believe Gaza’s governance should be an “internal Palestinian matter”.
In a joint statement with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the militant group said: “We are working, in cooperation with generous Egyptian efforts, to convene an urgent comprehensive national meeting for the next step after the ceasefire. This will unify the Palestinian position, formulate a comprehensive national strategy, and rebuild our national institutions on the foundations of partnership, credibility, and transparency.”
Foreign secretary says ceasefire ‘must be end of the war’
The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of the end of the war, the Foreign Secretary has said.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme, Yvette Cooper said: “This has to be the beginning of the end of the war, and the delivery of a just and lasting peace, of security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.
“We’ve had two agonising years of suffering, tens of thousands of lives lost, hostages being held far away from their families for two years.”
David Miliband says ceasefire ‘is being honoured’
The former Labour Foreign Minister – now CEO of the International Rescue Committee charity – told the BBC this evening that aid workers on the ground in Gaza were describing a “mass movement” of people, with the ceasefire appearing so far to be honoured by both sides.
He added that he “deeply realistic about what needs to be done” in the territory, and that it would take a “gigantic effort” by humanitarian agencies like his own in coming days and weeks to ensure everyone who needs aid is able to recieve it.
AFP via Getty Images)
Melania Trump says she has ‘open channel of communication’ with Putin
Melania Trump said eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families after months of direct talks between her and Vladimir Putin.
The First Lady wrote to the Russian dictator in August and had her husband, Donald, hand-deliver it during their summit in Alaska.
As many as 20,000 children are thought to be held inside Russia following Putin’s illegal invasion.
Read more: Melania Trump says eight Ukrainian children reunited with families after she talked to Putin[8]
Getty Images)
Cheers heard along road as Gazans head back home
Thousands of Palestinians have been heading along the Al-Rashid road towards Gaza City from Nuseirat today as they return to their homes following the ceasefire announcement.
Some of the crowds were heard chanting “God is great,” cheering and whistling in as they walked on the road along the Mediterranean seafront.
Ibrahim al-Helou, a 40-year-old man from Gaza City displaced in the central refugee camp of Al-Maghazi, told AFP that he “waited for a while” after hearing gunfire along the route yesterday – but was now determined to get home.
He said: “Now, the road has been opened and we have all continued on our way back to Gaza to check on our homes and assess the situation.”
Read more:‘I’m at the Gaza border – an eerie calm falls as Hamas readies crucial hostage release’[9]
AFP via Getty Images)
‘Let’s hope it is peace’
One Israeli onlooker on Camel Hill, where we initially viewed Gaza on Friday, said: “Peace? Let’s hope it is peace. This is the moment we have all prayed for for so long.”
His children stood by beaming, sensing the occasion, although they were too young to appreciate how this war has brought the region to the brink of hell and a wider war.
The man continued: “We came here to see it for ourselves. It seems the bombs and shooting have stopped.”
UN aid to begin flowing into Gaza tomorrow after Israel gives green light
A UN official says Israel has now given the green light for authorities to begin delivering aid into Gaza starting Sunday.
The official was granted anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.
The aid will include the 170,000 metric tonnes currently stored in neighbouring countries like Jordan and Egypt as humanitarian officials awaited permission from Israeli forces to restart their work.
Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hostages will be ‘deeply scarred’, says doctor
Professor Hagai Levine, who will help lead the reception team for the hostages said they may be deeply scarred – both physically and mentally.
He said: “They may be well enough to walk to freedom but underlying medical conditions are likely, possibly including long term cardiac and renal issues.
“We are talking about a lifetime of recovery.
“The psychological and physical stress they have been under for such a long time is also likely to have speeded up the ageing process in some cases.
“We will also have to take care of relatives who have also endured unbearable pressure while waiting for news of their loved ones. Some are close to collapse.”
White House blasts Nobel Peace Prize committee over Trump snub
The White House has blasted the Nobel Peace Prize Committee for snubbing Donald Trump.
Steven Cheung, the White House Communications Director, said the committee “proved they place politics over peace” by overlooking the US President for the honour.
“He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” Cheung wrote on social media.
Asked about Trump’s desperate campaigning for the gong, Juergen Warne Frydnes of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said: “In the long history of the Nobel Peace Prize I think this committee has seen any type of campaign, media attention and we receive thousands of letters every year, from people wanting to say what to them means peace.
“This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates and that room is filled with courage and integrity. We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”
Read more: White House blasts Nobel Peace Prize committee over Donald Trump snub[10]
AFP via Getty Images)
‘I’m at the Gaza border – an eerie calm has fallen’
The Mirror’s defence editor Chris Hughes writes from the Gaza border:
As the guns fell silent across Gaza an eerie peace marked the enclave finally entering an uneasy and tense ceasefire.
Thousands of Palestinians are making the long walk back to homes in stricken northern Gaza as peace fell upon the blighted territory. Hamas now has until midday Monday (10am BST) to hand over 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed still to be alive but in an unknown condition. Israel will begin handing over hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, eventually releasing almost 2,000, including 250 life sentence servers.
As we viewed the Strip on Friday, from within a mile of the border, it was the first time we had seen an absence of black and grey plumes of smoke there.
Israeli troops are said to have pulled back to agreed lines as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20 point peace plan, which will end Hamas’s grip on Gaza.
Read more: ‘I’m at the Gaza border – an eerie calm falls as Hamas readies crucial hostage release’[11]
Gazans returning to homes attempt to pull down fences
Palestinians returning to their homes today have attempted to remove the fence and barriers at the so-called “Netzarim corridor” near Nuseirat, a military zone separating the north of the Gaza strip from the south.
Gaza’s civil defence agency confirmed that Israeli forces have begun pulling back from parts of the territory today, particularly in Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
AFP via Getty Images)
UN agency waiting to deliver urgent aid into Gaza
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says it has no details about the role it could play in the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza as a ceasefire plan is implemented.
Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for UNRWA, told reporters in Geneva on Friday any distribution will be “difficult, if not impossible” to carry out without its 12,000 workers in Gaza, adding that aid had been stored in Egypt and Jordan since March this year.
Anadolu via Getty Images)
Hamas given 72 hours to return hostages
Now the ceasefire deal has been ratified by the Israeli cabinet, Hamas has been given 72 hours to return the hostages still held in Gaza.
Of the 251 hostages taken by the militant group on October, 20 are still believed to be alive, with another 26 presumed dead.
Putin hails ‘historic’ Trump deal
Vladimir Putin has praised Donald Trump for helping broker the ceasefire deal for Gaza – and said that Russia stands ready to help implement it.
Putin said that if the agreement is successfully implemented, it would mark a major achievement and a “historic event.”
He added that Russia has close ties with the Palestinian authority and could help carry out the deal if asked.
“Bearing in mind the level of trust that exists between Russia and our Arab friends, and especially Palestinian friends, of course, I believe our participation could be in demand.
He told reporters on a trip to Tajikistan: “We will, of course, always be ready to participate. We have been involved in this for decades, and I think Russia has something to say and something to offer to address the issues that will arise, one way or another, during the implementation of the agreements reached.”
AP)
Putin says he backs Trump’s Gaza plan
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said Moscow supported Trump’s deal to end the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
The evil warmonger said Trump “does a lot for peace” adding that he could get involved in the peace process himself, according to Al Jazeera. Putin said this would be the case becasue Russia has strong relations with many Arab countries, including the Palestinians.
Despite this, it appears Trump and Putin are no closer to brining peace to Ukraine after their Alaska summit – which Zelensky and Kyiv were kept out of.
Getty Images)
Pictured: Families return to destroyed north
Tens of thousands of people have made the long journey from southern Gaza to their homes in the north.
Families were seen carrying their belongings and small children after a ceasefire in the deadly war came into effect this morning.
AFP via Getty Images)
Israel publishes list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed
The Israeli justice ministry has put out a list of 250 Palestinian prisoners it says will be released as part of the peace agreement.
Israel said Palestinian prisoners will freed after all 48 hostages are released by Hamas – which is expcted to happen before noon on Monday.
Out of these people, 15 people will be sent East Jerusalem, 100 to the West Bank, and 135 are due to be deported.
This list however does not include the names of several senior Palestinian leaders, including Marwan Barghouti – Netanyahu’s office has confirmed they have denied his release from prison.
Despite this, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said there has not been an offical agreement on this list between the two sides.
In a Telegram post, it said: “If the final agreement is reached, the official lists will be published on the Prisoners’ Media Office platforms.”
72-hour countdown to release hostages has begun, US says
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the US has “confirmed” the first phase of IDF troops withdrawing from Haza has been completed.
Soldiers were moved to a withdrawl line away from major areas like Gaza City.
Witkoff said: “The 72-hour period to release the hostages has begun.”
Gazans return to rubble and destroyed homes
Tens of thousands of people returning to Gaza City, after the IDF moved out, have been seen standing among rubble and buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes.
Anadolu via Getty Images)
References
- ^ Palestine (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Hamas (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ doctor (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Gaza (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Israel (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Children in Gaza reveal dreams in heartbreaking drawings ahead of ceasefire (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Melania Trump says eight Ukrainian children reunited with families after she talked to Putin (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ ‘I’m at the Gaza border – an eerie calm falls as Hamas readies crucial hostage release’ (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ White House blasts Nobel Peace Prize committee over Donald Trump snub (mirror.co.uk)
- ^ ‘I’m at the Gaza border – an eerie calm falls as Hamas readies crucial hostage release’ (mirror.co.uk)