Middle East Crisis

Gaza War
Expert on Gaza move: Depends on what Trump means

Donald Trump's statement about temporarily or long-term emptying Gaza of people to "clean up" is getting reactions. Middle East expert Anders Persson says it is "astonishing" if Trump would want to expel the population of Gaza in the long term.

- If it were temporary, that they are evacuated while their homes are rebuilt and that they are then allowed to return, then it is not so astonishing, he tells TV4 Nyheterna.

The statement has met with criticism from Hamas and the terrorist group's ally Islamic Jihad, who believe that Trump is calling for war crimes.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, meanwhile, praises the move and calls it a "great idea".

Trump Wants to Empty Gaza of People: “Something Has to Happen”

Donald Trump believes that neighboring countries Egypt and Jordan must take in more Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip. The president told reporters who traveled with him on Air Force One between Las Vegas and Miami last night.

Trump has already made the request to the king of Jordan and on Sunday he will speak to the president of Egypt.

“It’s about a million and a half people, and we’re clearing that whole place out and saying, ‘You know what, it’s over,’” Trump said, according to the AP.

Such a mass movement of people could be temporary or long-term, he continued.

“Something has to happen. It’s literally a demolition site right now.”

During the interview, he also confirmed that he is lifting the ban on sending large MK84 bombs to Israel, which Axios had source information about earlier in the evening.

Ceasefire
Analysis: It becomes clear how fragile the ceasefire actually is

Saturday's events made it clear how fragile the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas really is. This is what Nadeen Ebrahim and Dana Karni write in an analysis in CNN.

The writers are referring to both sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire, while Israel has prevented Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza until hostage Arbel Yehoud, who was supposed to be released yesterday, is actually released.

"This raises questions about how well the ceasefire, which took 15 months to reach, will last," write Ebrahim and Karni.

In an analysis in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Amos Harel also writes about Yehoud. The fact that she was not included in yesterday's release represents a serious obstacle to the continuation of the ceasefire, he writes.

According to Harel, Hamas tried to turn Saturday's release of the hostages into a show of its own power.

“Hamas’ armed presence throughout the Gaza Strip shows that they are determined to demonstrate their recovery,” writes Harel.

West Bank
Two-year-old girl shot dead in Jenin – Israel investigates

A two-year-old Palestinian girl was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the city of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday. Palestinian health authorities reported this, writes TT.

This means that at least eleven Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its offensive in the West Bank less than a week ago.

Israel says that it opened fire on an armed group and that it has received reports that a civilian has been injured. It will now investigate the incident.