TRANSCRIPT
For the first time in over two decades, Israeli tanks have moved into the occupied West Bank.
The move is the latest escalation of Israel's military assault on the West Bank,which started just days after a ceasefire deal was reached in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the latest escalation following explosions on buses close to Tel Aviv on Thursday, which his office described as an attempted mass attack.
Mr Netanyahu says troops will remain in refugee camps in the West Bank for as long as Israel deems necessary.
“In Judea and Samaria (West Bank), our forces are moving deep into the refugee camp. They destroy terrorist infrastructures, eliminate terrorists and they will stay there as long as necessary. Yesterday the Minister of Defence and I instructed our commanders to clear up the refugee camp in Qabatiya (village in West Bank). For the first time in decades in Judea and Samaria, tanks have entered. This means one thing, we fight terrorism by all means and everywhere."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has ordered the military to prepare for an extended stay in the camps, displacing the tens of thousands of Palestinian that live there.
Israel says it is targeting militant activity in the camps, with Mr Katz also ordering troops to increase the intensity of military activity in the Tulkarem refugee camp and all refugee camps in the West Bank.
Among the displaced from the Jenin refugee camp is Mohamed al-Sadi.
“Even if they stay (the Israeli army), we will return to the camp at the end. They can stay for a day, two days, a month, two months, a year, or even two years at the end. This camp is ours, we have no other place to go. The only other place that we are ready to go to is our land from 1948 and our country from 1948. If we are to leave the camp, we will go to our homes and our land from 1948. We will not go anywhere else, even if we die here.”
With Israeli tanks set to stay put in the camps, it remains unclear when the 40,000 Palestinian people forced out of the area will be allowed to return to their homes.
So far, the United Nations estimates that recent raids have killed at least 51 people, including seven children.
Also killed in a recent raid was 23-year-old Sondos Shalabi, who was eight months pregnant when an Israeli soldier fatally shot her.
The United Nations says the current Israeli military operation is the longest since the Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s.
Mohamed al-Sadi says the world has been silent on Israel's actions in the occupied territory.
" Nothing is strange from the occupation, especially during this period of time. The silence of the world about the atrocities being committed by the occupation, along with the silence of the Arab and Islamic nations and their betrayal to this extent, is what has allowed the occupation to continue with its tyranny.”
In Gaza, Hamas says talks on the next phase of a ceasefire deal are conditional on Israel's release of Palestinian detainees.
Following the weekend release of six Israeli hostages from Gaza, Israel is now delaying the agreed-upon release of 620 Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu says the release will only occur once the next Israeli hostage release is confirmed, adding that the next release must not include what he described as 'humiliating ceremonies'.
Hamas has received condemnation from Israeli and UN officials, who say the recent parading of hostages in front of crowds before their release is disrespectful.
Shelly Shem Tov is the mother of one of the hostages released by Hamas, she says Donald Trump is to thank for their freedom.
"President Trump, I met you at Mar-A-Lago right after you were elected. When we met, I looked into your eyes and I told you that you were chosen by God to rescue the hostages. Mr President, you did it but the mission is not yet complete. There are still hostages who need to be rescued.”
In Jerusalem, retiree Rena Fredman says while she doesn't agree with Israel violating the deal, the ceremonies were hard to watch.
“To my difficulty, I'm a very honest person. So if Israel agreed to something, it's hard for me if they do anything that isn't in keeping with the agreement. But this situation with the ceremonies is sickening. So the delay, I guess, does really not bother me unless it's majorly not in keeping with what we said we would do, because it's very important to me that I keep my word so it's important to me that my country do so also.”
Hamas says claims the ceremonies were humiliating are false and are being used by Israel as a pretext to evade obligations.
During a previous hostage release, many Palestinian captives were forced to wear shirts and wristbands with a Star of David alongside the Israeli Prison Service logo and slogans in Arabic such as "we will not forgive, we will not forget".
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which facilitated the exchange, has called for more “dignified” releases.
Meanwhile, hundreds of family members in Gaza are still awaiting the return of their loved ones.
Hussein Mousa's brother is among those scheduled for release, he says the wait is agonising.
“This was a tough decision. Hamas handed over the captives in time, why he didn’t release them in time? Why does he want to keep us waiting? Waiting is very difficult. I can’t express the feeling, families keep calling and we don’t know what to tell them. I stopped answering phone calls. We were happy that we will return home with them on Saturday.”
In Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Beirut for the funeral of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Mr Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike last September after leading Hezbollah for more than three decades.
During the funeral, women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Mr Nasrallah and his chosen successor Hashem Safieddine, also killed by Israeli strikes, slowly moved through the crowd.
Mona Arjoush was among those mourning his death.
"Frankly, it is an unfair feeling because at first you feel that you have lost a person who was a national figure. You have lost... Lebanon has lost a person who meant everything to Lebanon. He is a caring father, he is peace, he is security for us in every sense of the word.”
During the ceremony, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude over Beirut in what Mr Katz described as a clear message to anyone threatening Israel.
Despite a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, Israeli warplanes also carried out strikes in the south and east of Lebanon, injuring and hospitalising a young girl.
The funeral comes days after a deadline passed for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon's south, which it has still failed to do.
Mr Nasrallah's successor, Naim Qassem says the resistance is not dead.
" There are many questions about the future of the resistance. Many people are confused and perplexed and think that the resistance is over. That we are finished. No, the resistance is not over. The resistance continues with its presence, its readiness. The resistance is faith. No one can take away this faith. No one can take away this right from us.”
