Updated at 13.28 GMT10h ago 16.00 GMT Closing summary It is 6pm in Rafah, Tel Aviv and Beirut, and 7.30pm in Tehran. We will be closing this blog soon, but you can stay up to date on the Guardian’s Middle East coverage here. He also insisted that Israel must free Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences in any upcoming swap deal. The US president, Joe Biden said he doesn’t expect an offensive on the densely populated Rafah region of Gaza . Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will give a press conference this evening at 7.30 pm (5.30pm GMT) , said the Times of Israel.

Source: The Guardian February 18, 2024 02:01 UTC