Hamas: 'Ready to transfer power to the Palestinian Committee'

Croatia declines the invitation for the time being. This was stated today by the Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković, pointing out that he had briefly spoken about the issue with the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, with whom, according to the Constitution, he defines the lines of the country's foreign policy. "I can say that the position of the government, after a thorough analysis, and the parliamentary majority is that, at this stage, Croatia does not intend to join the Peace Committee for a number of reasons," Plenković said. According to Croatian President Milanović, the Board of Peace "has a legal basis - Security Council Resolution 2803, which defines the content and structure of this project in a detailed article - and those who are now complaining that it is outside the UN system are not right", but "the question of whether it is a good thing is another matter altogether.

The Turkish president, who has already joined the Board, heard from Trump. In the conversation - Ankara reports - Erdogan said he was convinced that 'Ending the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and rebuilding Gaza will pave the way for lasting peace in our region'.

On the day of the funeral for the last Israeli hostage on 7 October 2023 - 24-year-old policeman Ran Gvili- From Washington, former US President Joe Biden's advisers respond to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims that Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip because of a US embargo that depleted Israel's ammunition supply. "The heroes fell" because they did not have the ammunition they needed, the Israeli prime minister accused, adding that "part of that lack of ammunition was due to the embargo".

"Netanyahu's statement is categorically false" - Biden's Middle East adviser Brett McGurk told Axios - "Biden left office with a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages, a ceasefire in Lebanon with the defeat of Hezbollah, Iran in its weakest position since 1979 after two failed missile attacks thanks to the deployment of US military forces and a coordinated response that destroyed Iranian air defences.

His commitment to Israel's security, which included US military assistance, was unwavering throughout the crisis'. He was echoed - via social media - by another advisor to the former US president, Amos Hochstein.

"After more than $20 billion in military support, the largest in Israel's history, two aircraft carriers arrived in the region, averting a massive regional war, repelling an Iranian missile and drone attack, defending Israel in its most vulnerable moments," he wrote on X. "Having SAVED countless Israeli lives, the only acceptable responseto US President Biden and the American people is THANK YOU," Hochstein concluded.

From Tehran meanwhile comes news that a man, arrested in April 2025 on charges of espionage on behalf of Israeli intelligence services, has been executed. "Hamidreza Sabet Esmailpour, convicted of passing information to a Mossad agent, washanged at dawn," the Mizan news agency, which reports on the judiciary, reported. This rekindles fears - expressed by several human rights groups - that protesters arrested during this month's wave of protests may also be executed. Twelve people had been hanged on similar charges in the aftermath of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, these associations report.

Gaza, after yet another night in the cold, awaits indications of thereopening of the Rafah crossing, which will happen "early next week" writes Al Arabiya on X. Anyone wishing to enter or leave the Gaza Strip will have to obtain a permit from Egypt, which will send the names to the Shin Bet for approval, the Israeli army says. It will be the first time in almost two years that the crossing will beopen to the passage of people into the Gaza Strip.

"Since the ceasefire was reached in early October, more than 100 children have been reported killed" in the Gaza Strip, where "despite the progress made on food security, 100,000 children continue to suffer from acute malnutrition and require long-term care". This was said by Unicef Deputy Director-General Ted Chaiban on his return from a mission to Gaza and the West Bank with World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau.

"One million 300,000 people, many of them children, are in urgent need of adequate shelter," stressed the Unicef deputy director, pointing out that "families are living in tents and bombed-out buildings, exposed to heavy rains, violent winds and freezing temperatures".

"I met parents burning pieces of plastic and wood to warm their children. Unfortunately, since the beginning of winter, we have received reports of at least 10 children dying of hypothermia. The situation is still extremely precarious and survival is at risk," Chaiban testified following his visit to the Strip.

The authorities in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have brought to 492 dead the death toll from Israeli attacks conducted since 10 October, when the ceasefire came into force. A Health Ministry statement also spoke of 1356 wounded. With the new death toll rises to 71,667 the number of dead in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli offensive after the attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023, while over 170,000 people have been injured.

Regarding the Strip, Netanyahu returned to reiterate his absolute hostility to the recognition of a Palestinian state. "I have heard that I will allow the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, but this has not happened and will not happen," Netanyahu said during a press conference in Jerusalem.

'The last thing' Israel needs right now is to hold elections, Netanyahu later clarified in response to a question about whether the next national vote will be held as scheduled. Asked whether the elections will be held according to schedule, Netanyahu replied: 'This is both my aspiration and my hope. And I think everyone knows what a sensitive and unusual situation we are in. The last thing Israel needs in this situation is an election".

During the funeral ceremony for Ran Gvili, the last hostage returned to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled that the sergeant saved many lives on 7 October 2023 before being killed by Hamas. "He defended kibbutz Alumim and killed 14 terrorists. His exemplary fight to the last bullet will be remembered for generations," the premier said. Netanyahu then stated that his government will promote the creation of a new settlement in the Negev - Israel's southern region, ndr - commemorating the young man: "The settlement of 'Renanim', east of Be'er Sheva," he announced.

On Wednesday 28 January 2026, the shekel reached its highest level in 30 years against the dollar, ‍as the Israeli currency continues to be supported by a weak global dollar and an improving geopolitical environment that ‍is contributing to the post-war economic recovery. In 2026, the shekel gained about 3% against the dollar and 18% over the past 12 months.

In Silwan, East Jerusalem, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Kayed Rajabi and his neighbours received eviction orders in favour of an Israeli settler organisation that has already taken control of parts of the Palestinian district.

Rajabi's house is surrounded by buildings that have hoisted large Israeli flags, a sign that they are owned by settlers who, according to him, started buying houses in 2004 and who have now obtained ‍approximately 40 buildings in Silwan, many of them through forced evictions.

The settler group of the Yeshiva Ateret Cohanim - a Jewish educational institution based on the study of texts - had offered to buy his house and that of other Palestinians, he said, but most of them refused.

Rajabi told Reuters news agency that he was among the 32 families in the neighbourhood who were ordered to leave; he and his siblings were given until the end of Ramadan - in mid-March - to leave under an Israeli Supreme Court order he showed Reuters. "They want to force me to leave the house where I was born, where my eyes were first opened to life," Rajabi said, explaining that his family has lived there since 1967 and had bought the land ‍ from a Jordanian official.

Daniel Luria, executive director of Ateret Cohanim, called the Palestinians of Silwan 'illegal squatters', claiming that the land was owned by Yemeni Jews before 1929 and that going back would be tantamount to redressing a historical injustice. Kayed Rajabi denies that this is true. The Supreme Court, questioned by Reuters on the matter, made no statement.