President Trump has signed an executive order authorising economic and travel sanctions against people who work on International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations of US citizens or US allies, such as Israel.

    Egypt has said Trump’s plan to displace millions of Palestinians from Gaza will “incite a return of fighting”, while Jordan has warned it will spread chaos in the Middle East and jeopardise its peace with Israel.

    Trump said Israel will hand over Gaza to the US after the fighting is over and the enclave’s population was resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no US troops would be needed on the ground.

    Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has ordered the country’s military to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s residents.

    Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 47,583 people and injured 111,633 others, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. The Gaza Government Media Office has updated the death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands of people who were missing are now presumed dead. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.

    Countries, rights groups condemn Trump’s ICC sanctions

    We have been reporting on President Trump’s decision on Thursday to authorise sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its employees, as he signed an executive order accusing it of “malign conduct” over its pursuit of charges against Israeli officials.

    Countries and rights groups are responding to that move, with the Netherlands saying it “regrets” that the US has taken the step. The Netherland’s foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, described the court’s work as “essential in the fight against impunity”.

    “The Netherlands actively contributes to strengthening the international legal order and multilateral cooperation and will, in good faith, fulfil binding international law and treaty obligations,” he said.

    Amnesty International’s secretary-general Agnes Callamard has also condemned the decision, describing Trump’s order as a “reckless”, “vindictive” and “aggressive”, saying it undermines the court’s “independent pursuit of international justice”.

    “Governments around the world and regional organisations must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of President Trump’s sanctions. Through collective and concerted actions, ICC member states can protect the Court and its staff. Urgent action is needed, like never before,” Callamard said.

    Pro-Israel groups provide names of Palestine supporters to US immigration: Report

    Pro-Israel groups in the US are compiling lists of pro-Palestine activists to hand to immigration authorities for deportation, according to a new report by The Intercept.

    The US outlet investigated groups attempting to assist President Trump’s recent executive order demanding “the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws”.

    The order – issued in response to pro-Palestine college campus protests across the US in 2024 – is intended to “quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities”.

    The Intercept report says that Betar US, Mothers Against College Antisemitism, the Chicago Jewish Alliance, and the Shirion Collective have taken steps to compile lists of pro-Palestine supporters to share with immigration authorities, or harass them directly with a “bounty system”.

    Barcelona fans chant for Palestine during basketball match against Maccabi Tel Aviv

    Barcelona fans broke out into a chants of support for the Palestinian people during their EuroLeague basketball match against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday.

    Maccabi Tel Aviv and other Israeli sports clubs have been the target of repeated protests in response to Israel’s war on Gaza.

    In January, Parisian fans released a stink bomb on the court during a basketball match between Paris and Maccabi Tel Aviv, even as 1,000 police officers were deployed to the game due to concerns over protests.

    In December, a group waving Palestinian flags ran onto the court during a match between French basketball side Nanterre 92 and Israeli side Hapoel Hakon.

    In November, large-scale riots also broke out in the Dutch capital Amsterdam when Maccabi Tel Aviv’s football team played Ajax.

    Israeli military confirms strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

    As we reported earlier, Israeli fighter jets carried out two air attacks on the Iqlim al-Tuffah region in southern Lebanon on Thursday night, while they also bombed Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria.

    The Israeli military has now confirmed those attacks, saying it hit a pair of sites where it claims Hezbollah was storing weaponry in violation of the ceasefire agreement reached in November.

    The strikes were “targeted”, the Israeli military said in a statement, as it pledged to “prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terror organisation to rearm, in accordance with the understandings of the ceasefire agreement”.