Updates: 4 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Trump launches ‘Board of Peace’

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For more on Trump’s “Board of Peace” launch at Davos, read our story here.

To learn more about the Palestinian journalists killed by Israel on Wednesday, go here.

And for all our coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, look here.

We will be closing this live page shortly, but before we do, here’s a recap of the day’s major developments:

• Medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital say at least four people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza.
• The Palestinian Civil Defence has reported the death of an infant from hypothermia in the central Gaza Strip during an ongoing cold snap.
• President Trump has unveiled what he calls the “Board of Peace”, which is being billed as an international conflict-resolution body and offers permanent membership for a fee of $1bn.
• According to Trump’s son-in-law Kushner, the Board of Peace’s development plans in Gaza include working with Hamas on demilitarisation, shifting Gaza’s dependence on foreign aid and dividing Gaza into “residential” and “coastal tourism mixed” zones.
• The Palestinian Health Ministry says 11 bodies and seven wounded people were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 48 hours.
• The Israeli military has arrested at least six Palestinians overnight after raiding towns in Jericho, Bethlehem and Tubas governorates of the occupied West Bank.

Manal al-Qouqa, a displaced mother in Gaza said the “so-called peace council they talk about does not exist in reality”.

“Every time they announce something regarding the Palestinian people, our suffering only increases,” she said.

“What peace are they talking about, when on the ground there is neither peace nor security? We are living a real tragedy. I wish it were like the 1948 Nakba that we once lived through – this is a new, modern Nakba, advanced in every aspect of life. There are no basic necessities for living.”

Suhail al-Hanawi, another displaced Palestinian said Netanyahu and Trump, both part of the board, “are the ones behind wars worldwide”.

“Regarding the Board of Peace and us, the displaced in the camp, there’s nothing tangible that makes us feel that anything will actually be fixed or that our suffering will be eased.”

For Sanaa Salah, who lives in a tent with her husband and six kids, starting a fire is a critical daily chore to cook and stay warm.

Her family has barely enough clothes to keep warm. She said the family cannot afford to buy firewood or gas, and that they are aware of the dangers of burning plastic but have no other choice.

“Life is very hard,” she said as her family members threw plastic and paper into a fire to keep it burning. “We cannot even have a cup of tea.

“This is our life. We do not sleep at night due to the cold.”

Another Gaza resident, Aziz Akel, said firewood was too expensive. His family has no income, and they could not pay the seven or eight shekels (about $2.5) it would cost.

“My house is gone, and my kids were wounded,” he said. His daughter, Lina Akel, said he leaves the family’s tent early each morning to look for plastic in the rubbish to burn.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief, has said that the UN remains the “only international organisation with universal membership”.

“We’ve obviously saw … the announcements made in Davos yesterday and again today,” he added.

“Secretary-general’s work continues with determination to implement the mandates given to us all, underpinned by international law, by the charter of the UN, I mean, our work.”

Palestine’s President Mahmoud has met Putin in Moscow where he reiterated his rejection of all attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land, according to the Wafa news agency.

The report, quoting the Kremlin, said that “the Palestinian people are holding onto their land, and we categorically oppose attempts by the Americans and Israelis to expatriate Palestinians beyond Palestinian territory. The Palestinian people are resolved that they will not abandon their land, whatever the cost”.

It added that Putin “affirmed Moscow’s principled and consistent approach” to the Palestinian question.

Israel has steadily moved to dismantle the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in occupied East Jerusalem with Israeli forces now using bulldozers inside its headquarters compound.

According to UNRWA, here’s a timeline of key developments:

• May 9, 2024: An arson attack targets UNRWA’s headquarters in East Jerusalem with Israelis setting fire to the perimeter, forcing a temporary closure.
• October 28, 2024: Israel’s parliament passes legislation banning UNRWA operations inside what it defines as sovereign Israeli territory, a designation Israeli authorities apply to East Jerusalem.
• January 30, 2025: Anti-UNRWA laws enter into force, prompting UNRWA to vacate its East Jerusalem compound over staff safety concerns.
• April 8: Israeli authorities issue closure orders for six UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem.
• May 8: Israeli forces and officials enforce the closures, ending in-person education for about 800 Palestinian children.
• December 8: Israeli police forcibly enter UNRWA’s headquarters compound in East Jerusalem, remove the UN flag and seize property.
• December 29: Israel’s parliament passes amendments allowing authorities to cut water, electricity, fuel and communications to UNRWA facilities and seize land where two UNRWA compounds are located, including its headquarters.
• January 12: Israeli police forcibly enter UNRWA’s Jerusalem Health Centre, ordering its closure for 30 days and notifying staff of upcoming utility cuts.
• January 20: Israeli forces accompanied by bulldozers begin demolishing structures inside UNRWA’s headquarters compound in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says 11 bodies and seven wounded people were brought to hospitals across the enclave in the past 48 hours.

It added that “a number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets, as ambulance and civil defence teams have been unable to reach them at this time”.

According to the ministry, since the October 10 ceasefire, 477 Palestinians have been killed and 1,301 injured, while 713 bodies have been recovered.

Cumulative figures since October 7, 2023, stand at 71,562 killed and 171,379 wounded, the ministry said.

More than 230,000 girls and women, including nearly 15,000 pregnant women, in Gaza are facing limited access to reproductive health services because of Israeli military operations despite a ceasefire deal, the UN has said.

The spokesperson for the UN chief cited the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which warned that “there is an increased risk of gender-based violence, child marriage, and exploitation of women and girls”.

Stephane Dujarric added that damage to health facilities, safe spaces and clinics, combined with displacement and flooding, has “sharply limited access to psychosocial support and medical care”.

If Trump’s “Board of Peace” is narrowed down to focus on Gaza, European ⁠leaders can work with the plan, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.

“We want to work for the ⁠peace in the Middle East, and we want this Board of Peace to be limited to the UN Security Council resolution as ‌it was foreseen,” Kallas said before a summit of EU leaders where ‌Trump’s proposal was among items ‌to be discussed.

“So if ⁠we narrow it down to Gaza like it was meant ‌to be, then we can work with it.”

Yesterday’s killings of three more journalists in an Israeli attack have brought the total death toll of media workers to 293 since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Photojournalists Anas Ghunaim, Abdul Ra’ouf Shaath and Mohammad Qeshta were documenting events on the ground in central Gaza when they were hit in an Israeli strike, colleagues and medical officials told Al Jazeera.

Here’s the full list:

The United Kingdom’s PM Keir Starmer says he “obviously” had concerns about Vladimir Putin being on Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace”.

Trump said on Wednesday that Putin had accepted his invitation to join the initiative, but the Russian leader said the ⁠invitation was only under consideration.

“I obviously have concerns about Putin being on a Board of Peace,” Starmer said. “He is waging ‌war on a European country. They’re raining down bombs on Ukraine.

“We mustn’t let the ‌events of the last week or ‌so deflect from the ⁠focus. We need to work with the Americans. It’s going to be allies ‌and others to defend and support Ukraine in a conflict which is not of their making.”

A pro-Palestine activist on hunger strike plans to start refusing fluids as well as food, telling Al Jazeera that he hopes his “drastic action” pressures the government into engaging with his protest demands.

Umer Khalid, a Palestine Action-linked remand prisoner, stopped eating 13 days ago. He is currently receiving fluids with electrolytes, sugars and salts but said he will stop drinking altogether from Saturday.

While the body can survive for weeks without food, dehydration is certain to have fatal consequences in a far shorter time.

The escalation comes days after three other hunger-striking remand prisoners affiliated with Palestine Action ended their protests, claiming victory.

Read the full story here.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that reopening the Rafah crossing would facilitate the movement of cargo and people, underscoring that additional access points are critical to expanding humanitarian operations in Gaza.

“We have seen the media reports. As we said before, we hope to see Rafah re-open soon to enable the movement of cargo and people,” OCHA’s spokesperson in Gaza, Olga Cherevko, was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency.

Her remarks came after the head of Gaza’s new transition committee announced that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would reopen next week for two-way travel.

Cherevko underlined that the opening would significantly increase the amount of aid entering Gaza.

“Reinstating the movement of cargo via Rafah crossing would increase the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza, which in turn would expand the scale-up of the humanitarian response,” she said.

The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film inspired by the final moments of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Israeli fire in Gaza, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category.

Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film is based on the true story of Rajab, who was trapped in her family car on January 29, 2024, after it came under Israeli army fire in Gaza City. She was later found dead after nearly two weeks of uncertainty.

Rajab was travelling with her family, including 15-year-old cousin Layan Hamadeh, fleeing fighting in northern Gaza when they came under Israeli fire, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The film centres on the real audio recording of Hind’s final phone call to the PRCS in which she pleaded for help.

The recording, widely shared on social media after her death, sparked international outrage and renewed calls for justice. Two paramedics who attempted to reach her were also killed when their ambulance was hit by Israeli strikes.

Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network in Gaza, says Palestinian civil society and official bodies are nowhere to be seen at discussions surrounding the newly formed “Board of Peace”.

“We were surprised, as Palestinian actors on the ground, after 10 years of work, and especially the last two years of work in Gaza, that no one consulted us about the plans for Gaza and its future,” he said before warning that, while leaders focus on ceremonies, conditions inside the Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate.

“At the time these leaders are holding ceremonies, Israel is using this period to continue its actions in Gaza.”

Shawa called on the US to exert real pressure on Israel to lift the blockade and allow crucial goods, particularly construction materials, into Gaza to enable early economic and social recovery.

There are very serious red flags with Trump’s “Board of Peace”, Ireland’s deputy premier has said, adding that he could not see a scenario in which Ireland takes part in the group as it is currently constructed.

The board was initially expected to be a small group of figures overseeing the ceasefire in the Middle East, but appears to have evolved into something more wide-reaching, in which dozens of countries have been invited to participate.

Simon Harris said that the proposal has very serious red flags, including no mention of Gaza and the involvement of Putin. He said the original plan was to create a board to oversee a peace plan for Gaza, which was endorsed by the UN in November.

“Let me also be very clear, what we are seeing today at this signing ceremony could not be further removed from that original conversation,” he said.