The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they happen.
Senior Hamas official claims terror group abiding by ceasefire but still ‘fully prepared’ to resume war Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu claims in an interview with Al Jazeera’s Mubasher network that the release of Palestinian security prisoners to Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire-hostage deal proves that Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip even after more than 15 months of war with Israel. “The scenes of the prisoners’ handover prove that the popular front is rallying around the resistance,” al-Nunu says, referring to the three buses of Palestinian prisoners that arrived in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis on Saturday. The released prisoners were welcomed with blaring music, and a crowd of waving, cheering supporters. He claims that beyond showing support for Hamas’s leadership, the support for the prisoners will also deter Israel from restarting its fight against the Gaza terror group at the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. He says that the celebrations “send a message to those who imagine they can continue the war” that Hamas is “ready and prepared” to begin negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, but that at the same time, it is “fully prepared to continue the struggle” against Israel. Negotiations for the second phase are expected to begin Monday, on the 16th day of the ceasefire. In the same interview, al-Nunu tells Al Jazeera that Hamas plans to continue governing the Gaza Strip, and claims that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party have rejected the possibility of a power-sharing agreement with Hamas, which would see the two create a committee to jointly administer postwar Gaza.
Countering Trump tariff plan, Trudeau says Canada will impose 25% tariff on US goods Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will impose 25% tariffs on C$155 billion ($106.5 billion) of US goods in response to US tariffs. C$30 billion will take effect from Tuesday and C$125 billion in 21 days, Trudeau tells a news conference. Trump earlier signed an executive order imposing 25% tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico starting on Tuesday except Canadian energy products, which will be subject to a 10% duty. Trudeau warns the tariffs will hurt the United States, a long-time ally. He encourages Canadians to buy Canadian products and vacation at home rather than in the US. He says some non-tariff measures, including some relating to critical minerals, energy procurement and other partnerships are being looked at.
WHO chief says 34 children, 3 adults taken from Gaza to Egypt Saturday for medical treatment Thirty-seven patients were transferred from Gaza to Egypt on Saturday via the Rafah border crossing after it reopened for the first time since May 2024, the director-general of the World Health Organization says. The patients, 34 children and three adults, were transferred to Egypt for continued medical treatment, says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X. “We are grateful to the government of Egypt for their continued support and for providing specialised care to patients from Gaza,” he adds, calling for medical evacuations “to be expedited through all possible routes.” “Thousands of lives depend on it,” he adds.
Iran test-fires anti-warship cruise missile with a range of more than 600 miles Iran test-fired an anti-warship cruise missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) capable of reaching US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, Iranian state TV reports. “This is a Ghadr-380 mile type L. It has over 1,000 kilometers range. It has anti-jamming capability,” said Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, the head of the navy of the Revolutionary Guard, in a report that shows an underground missile facility on the southern coast of Iran. The report elaborates neither on the warhead that the missile carried, nor the time of the test. Tangsiri said the facility is “only one part of the missile systems of the Guard,” adding that the missiles can create “a hell for the enemy’s warships.” The report says the new weapon was a “sophisticated missile,” without elaborating, which could be launched from the underground facility. The missile was launched from central Iran into the Sea of Oman, it says. It claims the missile can be made ready and launched by one member of personnel in less than five minutes. Since 2011 Iran has occasionally announced the inauguration of underground missile facilities along with missile tests. It has boasted of underground facilities across the country as well as along the southern coast near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims to have missiles that can travel 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), placing much of the Middle East, including Israel, within range.
Cars and houses in Sydney vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in latest incident targeting Jews Cars and houses in Sydney have been daubed in antisemitic graffiti, police said early Sunday, the latest in a string of incidents targeting Jews in Australia’s biggest city. The spate of attacks in recent months has alarmed the country’s Jewish community, drawn criticism from Israel and placed pressure on the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who faces re-election in polls that must be held by May. In the latest incident, police say that vehicles and residences were damaged with antisemitic graffiti in Sydney’s east, an area with a significant Jewish community, overnight. “Crime scenes have been established,” police say in a statement, a day after they doubled to 40 the number of officers in a special task force set up in December to target antisemitic crime in the country’s most populous state of New South Wales. David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, says in the attack “cars and homes were defaced with hate speech for the sole purpose of intimidating and terrorizing the Jewish community and destabilizing Sydney’s social harmony.” On Thursday, antisemitic graffiti was sprayed on three sites including Mount Sinai College in the city’s east, one of almost a dozen incidents in the city of around 5 million in recent months that police say appeared to be coordinated. Police said on Wednesday they found explosives in a caravan, or trailer, in Sydney that could have created a blast wave of 40 meters (130 feet), and may have been intended for a mass casualty attack on Jews.
Biden welcomes Keith Siegel’s release from Gaza, hopes remaining hostages will be freed soon Former US president Joe Biden welcomes the release of American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel from Hamas captivity, and says he is looking forward to the rest of the hostages “being reunited with their families soon.” “I can only imagine the relief and joy that Keith’s family must be feeling today,” Biden writes on X, recalling the frequent meetings between himself, members of his administration and Siegel’s family as they advocated for his release. “I was continuously inspired by their strength and resilience as they did everything in their power to ensure he was not forgotten,” Biden adds. “My thoughts and prayers are with them and with all the families of the hostages today, all of whom have suffered so much.”
White House: Trump’s tariffs on Canada, China, Mexico to come into effect Tuesday US President Donald Trump orders 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China starting on Tuesday to address a national emergency over fentanyl and illegal immigrants entering the US, White House officials say. Energy products from Canada will have only a 10% duty, but Mexican energy imports will be charged the full 25%, the officials tell reporters. Trump has declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to back the tariffs, which allows sweeping powers to address crises. The White House officials say there will be no exclusions from the tariffs. Moreover, in the case of Canada specifically, they said the “de minimis” US tariff exemption for small shipments under $800 would be canceled. The moves follow through on a repeated threat Trump has made since shortly after winning last year’s presidential election, and they likely will trigger retaliation and risk igniting a trade war that could cause broad economic disruption for all countries involved. It is unclear if Trump, who golfed at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Saturday before signing the order, will speak to the media about the duties. Trump set the February 1 deadline to press for strong action to halt the flow of the opiate fentanyl and precursor chemicals into the US from China via Mexico and Canada, as well as to stop illegal immigrants crossing US borders.