Updates: Israeli army acknowledges ‘complete failure’ over October 7 attack

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To know more about how Israel is violating the Gaza ceasefire deal, go here.

Watch the story of Nael Barghouti, the longest-held Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails, here.

And here’s a Palestinian prisoner recounting the torture and leg amputation he suffered in an Israeli jail.

But before it does, let’s have a look at the latest developments:

• Iran’s Foreign Ministry has slammed Israeli threats as “outrageous” after Israel’s foreign minister warned a “military option” might be needed to halt Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
• At least 13 people were injured in a car ramming attack in Israel, police have said.
• An Israeli drone air attack hit the town of Deir Qanoun en-Nahr in southern Lebanon, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent has said.
• Egypt says negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo.
• Israel’s army chief has said he takes full responsibility for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, after the findings of an internal military probe released today.
• According to the investigation, the military misread Hamas’s intentions, believing that the Palestinian group did not pose a significant threat and was not interested in a large-scale war with Israel.
• Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, kept at arm’s length by Washington under former President Joe Biden, will meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington next Wednesday.
• Benny Gantz, Israeli opposition politician and former member of the country’s war cabinet, says Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu wants to drag out phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal for “political interest”.

A Palestinian man has been arrested by Israeli forces in Yabad, located southwest of Jenin, the Wafa news agency reports.

Radwan Muhammad Zaki Hamdan’s arrest was confirmed by family members, who said he was arrested while passing through a checkpoint, situated north of Ramallah, Wafa added.

During Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians come to occupied East Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam.

“The usual restrictions for public safety will be in place as they have been every year,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said in an online briefing to journalists.

Last year, amid the Gaza war, Israeli authorities imposed restrictions on the number of visitors coming to Al-Aqsa, particularly on those Palestinians coming from the occupied West Bank.

In recent years, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been an annual flashpoint during Ramadan.

In May 2021, Israeli forces stormed the compound using tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades against worshippers during Ramadan.

Hundreds of Palestinians were injured, drawing international condemnation.

Talks on Phase 2 of the Gaza ceasefire agreement are meant to negotiate an end to the war, including the return of all remaining hostages in Gaza who are alive, and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the territory.

Return of remaining deceased hostages would happen in Phase 3.

According to Israel, there are 59 remaining captives – 24 of whom are still believed to be alive.

It will be difficult to reconcile a deal with the war objectives of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has called for dismantling Hamas’ governing and military capabilities.

After suffering heavy losses in the war, Hamas has nonetheless emerged intact during the ceasefire, and the group says it will not give up its weapons.

Hours before talks began in Cairo, an Israeli official said the country would not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for under the ceasefire, a refusal that could severely complicate negotiations with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce.

The municipality in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, has started clearing rubble from streets in a bid to reopen roads and allow people to return to their homes.

Israel has allowed some heavy machinery to enter Gaza, but only a small fraction of what is needed.

Watch our video report below:

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says it has made “unparalleled progress” in providing humanitarian aid since the ceasefire in Gaza began last month.

In a statement, the agency revealed it provided food assistance to some two million people and restored health services for nearly 180,000.

“This reflects UNRWA’s commitment to supporting families in Gaza through this unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” Sam Rose, UNRWA acting director of Gaza affairs, said.

Moreover, the UN agency said it distributed vital supplies, including blankets, mattresses and tents, to more than 500,000 people.

“For the first time since the war began, UNRWA has been able to deliver aid and services at scale, reducing the suffering of 2 million people,” Rose added.

UNRWA teams have delivered critical food assistance to around 2 million people in #Gaza. This includes food parcels for estimated 2 million people and flour for an estimated 1.3 million people.

Even with the ongoing challenges, UNRWA remains committed to supporting those in… pic.twitter.com/UhdsZvJ9F2

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 27, 2025

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his government had good talks on Gaza and that he thought it was coming up with solutions to problems in the Middle East.

Trump made the comments at a joint White House news conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he was asked whether phase two of the ceasefire in Gaza would come to fruition.

“I think we’re going to come up with some pretty good solutions, but phase one is almost complete,” Trump said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has slammed Israeli threats as “outrageous” after Israel’s foreign minister warned a “military option” might be needed to halt Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

In an interview with Politico, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Iran had enriched enough uranium to build a “couple of bombs” and that time was running out.

“I think that in order to stop a nuclear Iranian program before it will be weaponized, a reliable military option should be on the table,” he said in the article published on Wednesday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described the remarks as “outrageous and irrational”.

“The Israeli regime’s FM and other officials keep threatening Iran with military action while the West continues to blame Iran for its defence capability,” he said in a post on X.

Baqaei added that in a “region scourged by an occupying entity,” referring to Israel, “it is only responsible and essential to maximise our defence capabilities”.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said that more than 100,000 students have enrolled in school across the Gaza Strip since the new academic year began on February 23.

“To date, 165 public schools have reopened in Gaza. For most students, this will be their first time returning to in-person learning in 16 months,” he said at a news conference.

Gaza’s Media Office said at least 12,800 students and 800 teachers and administrative staff were killed, and 1,166 educational establishments destroyed, in the war since October 2023, estimating the damage in the education sector at more than $2bn.

Palestinian officials say 85 percent of schools in Gaza have been rendered unusable because of Israeli bombardment.

Earlier, we reported that a car rammed into a group of pedestrians near Israel’s Karkur Junction, north of Tel Aviv, injuring 10 people.

Police now say 13 people including a police officer were wounded, and that two of them were in “serious” condition.

The suspect was a “53-year-old Palestinian from the Jenin area, [who] was residing in Israel unlawfully with his family”, the police statement said.

“The circumstances of his presence in Israel are under investigation,” the police said, adding that “preliminary findings indicate that he deliberately targeted civilians waiting at a bus stop”.

Israel’s first responders, Magen David Adom, said a team treated injured people at the site of the incident, including a 17-year-old girl who was in critical condition.

A Palestinian man has been wounded by Israeli gunfire in the town of Beit Rima, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency has reported.

According to Wafa, the man was shot in the foot with a bullet.

Israeli forces detained him for a period of time before allowing an ambulance to transport him to hospital for treatment, it added.

Israeli emergency services have reported that 10 people were injured, including two in serious condition, following a car ramming attack near Haifa in northern Israel.

Watch our video report below:

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned Israeli attacks on Syria and urged the international community to take “urgent and decisive action” to stop the “blatant violations”.

In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi denounced the Israeli military’s air attacks on Tuesday, which targeted Syrian military sites, vehicles, and ammunition depots.

Albudaiwi strongly condemned the attacks, calling them “a flagrant violation of international agreements and laws that threaten regional security and stability”.

He asserted that Israel’s ongoing aggression undermines peace efforts and fuels instability.

An Israeli drone air attack hit the town of Deir Qanoun en-Nahr in southern Lebanon, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent has said.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported that one person was killed and another injured in two Israeli air strikes that hit a car in the city of Hermel, in the east of the country.

In the past weeks, Israel has been striking areas in south and east Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah that came into force in late November.

The attacks have been less frequent compared with more than a year of cross-border hostilities, including two months of an all-out war, but recently they have been recurring more often.

Egypt says negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo.

Earlier today, Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said a delegation would travel to Egypt to see whether there was common ground to negotiate an extension to the first phase of the truce due to expire in two days.

Two government officials told the Reuters news agency that Israel was seeking to extend the initial phase, with Hamas freeing three captives each week in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.

The warring sides have not spelled out what would happen beyond Saturday if the first phase of the ceasefire expires with no agreement. Egypt and Qatar are mediating between Israel and Hamas, with the backing of the US.

Israel’s government faces public pressure to stick to the ceasefire to free remaining captives, while some within the right-wing government want to return to war to fulfil their objective of eradicating Hamas.

One boy released back to Gaza, 17-year-old Mohamed Abu Sahloul, said his Israeli captors kept him constantly bound in detention.

“I swear, I could not believe that they [the restraints] were removed from my hands. Twenty-four hours! You sleep with your hands and feet tied,” he told a group of people welcoming him home, The Associated News agency reported.

Rights groups and freed prisoners say Palestinians in Israeli military detention have been tortured, beaten frequently, deprived of adequate and food and water, and held blindfolded and handcuffed.

“Bad things happened to me, not just me,” said Abu Sahloul. “Every young man who was arrested, ask him about the situation, he will tell you. No one can describe what happened to him.

“I was in a nightmare, I was in hell, and finally, I got out of the hell that I was in,” he said.

Alaa al-Bayari told Al Jazeera that he witnessed “torture, beating, humiliation and everything you can imagine” while in Israeli prison.

He met his one-year-old daughter for the first time on his return to Gaza.

“We were kept naked, water was thrown on us and then they used electricity [to torture us]”, he said.

Read our full story here.