Important Takeaways:
- At Governor Mike Huckabee’s confirmation hearing, what stood out was his depth of knowledge and understanding of Israel, Gaza, and the Middle East. Huckabee, a great friend of Israel, said he wouldn’t push his own agenda but would represent that of President Trump.
- Huckabee, President Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel, testified that October 7 clearly shows why Hamas has to go.
- “This was not simply a cold-blooded murder in which people came across the borders and shot innocent people. They massacred them,” Huckabee said. “Hamas is not a government. It is not a standing army. It is a terrorist organization, and they acted like it. And they must be treated as such.”
- Huckabee says America and Israel are tied to each other spiritually.
- “We ultimately are people of the Book. We believe the Bible. And therefore, that connection is not geopolitical. It is also spiritual.”
- The former Arkansas governor suggested it’s ridiculous to insist that Israeli land is the only place there can be a Palestinian state.
- “Israel is a tiny, little strip of land. You know that. We all do. It’s the size of New Jersey. But Muslim countries control 644 times the amount of land that Israel has,” he said emphatically. “The Palestinians were given the opportunity in the year 2000, when Ehud Barak from Israel put everything on the table, virtually said, ‘Here it is. You get it all,’ and the Palestinian Liberation Organization walked away from it.”
- America, he insists, must face the fact that the Iranian regime is as much a danger to the U.S. as it is to Israel.
- If confirmed, he vows to work with the Trump administration in securing peace in the Middle East.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Israel’s defense minister said on Friday he has instructed the military to “seize more ground” in Gaza and threatened to annex part of the territory unless Hamas releases the remaining hostages it holds.
- “I ordered [the army] to seize more territory in Gaza,” Katz said. “The more Hamas refuses to free the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed by Israel.”
- Katz also threatened “to expand buffer zones around Gaza to protect Israeli civilian population areas and soldiers by implementing a permanent Israeli occupation of the area,” should Hamas not comply.
- He said the army “will intensify the fight with aerial, naval and ground shelling as well as by expanding the ground operation”, which he said would include implementing Donald Trump’s proposal to turn Gaza into a resort after the relocation of its Palestinian inhabitants to other Arab countries.
- The Trump administration reiterated this week its support for Israel. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying, “The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages there would be all hell to pay.”
- Netanyahu said that the strikes were “only the beginning” and that future negotiations with Hamas “will take place only under fire”.
- “Hamas has already felt the strength of our arm in the past 24 hours. And I want to promise you – and them – this is only the beginning,” the Israeli prime minister said in a video statement.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Sharabi, who was released from captivity on February 8, told members of the security council that, “Hamas eats like kings while hostages starve,” at a special session on the issue of the hostages.
- “I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNWRA emblems on them into the tunnels, dozens and dozens of boxes, paid for by your government,” Sharabi continued.
- “They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it,” Sharabi said.
- According to Sharabi, hostages received “one bath a month” with a bucket of cold water, were fed “a piece of pita, maybe a sip of tea,” at best, and endured brutal beatings and ridicule at the hands of their captors.
- He described the psychological and physical torture he endured in captivity, including being held “50 meters underground” in “chains so tight they ripped my skin.”
- Sharabi told the Security Council that just before his release, Hamas terrorists showed him a picture of his older brother, Yossi, laughing as they told him that he had been killed in captivity. “It was like they brought a massive hammer down on me,” said Sharabi.
- Yossi’s body is still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
- “Where was the UN? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world?” Sharabi asked. “Every day [Hamas] told us: The world has abandoned you, no one is coming.”
- Sharabi described the moment he discovered, after returning to Israel in February, that his wife Lianne and their daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel 13, had been murdered by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023, in their home’s safe room at Kibbutz Be’eri.
- “I am not a diplomat. I am a survivor,” he told the UN officials, after the gruesome account.
- “If you stand for humanity, prove it,” he concluded. “Bring them all home.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The Israeli security cabinet convened an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss a culmination of alerts over the past few weeks that indicate that Hamas has been making preparations for another invasion into Israeli territory, N12 reported.
- Separately, Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated these concerns in a meeting with the Otef Israel Forum, a group primarily composed of residents from the Gaza border region, on Tuesday morning
- “There are constant preparations being made by Hamas for an invasion [into Israel], similar to October 7,” Katz said in the meeting.
- Hamas published a statement on Tuesday saying that Israel’s allegations regarding Hamas’s preparations to launch an attack on IDF forces “are baseless and merely flimsy pretexts to justify its return to war and escalation of its bloody aggression.”
- Israel, however, has publicly said that the ongoing strikes in Gaza are not related to fears of an impending attack but are instead in response to Hamas’s unwillingness to release the hostages and refusal to advance talks.
- Eisenkot claimed that Hamas currently has over 25,000 armed terrorists, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad has over 5,000, adding that the government has not advanced the war’s objectives.
- Hamas is reportedly increasing recruitment drives in Gaza and training the new recruits for combat against the IDF. In January, sources told the Jerusalem Post that Hamas is making a substantial comeback by recruiting new forces, with an increase of about 12,000 at the time.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Hamas has warned that Israel’s return to war has imposed a ‘death sentence’ on the remaining hostages held captive in Gaza.
- Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza overnight, ending the fragile two-month ceasefire as Benjamin Netanyahu vows to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.
- At least 413 Palestinians were killed in the strikes, including Hamas prime minister Issam al-Da’alis, the terror group has claimed. At least four other Hamas officials were reportedly killed in Israel’s attack.
- Medical facilities in the region are ‘overwhelmed’ as hundreds of injured people seek care.
- The Israeli military said it hit dozens of targets overnight and warned the attacks would continue for as long as necessary and extend beyond airstrikes, raising the prospect that Israeli ground troops could resume fighting.
- Netanyahu has ordered Israeli forces to take ‘strong action’ against Hamas and threatened terror chiefs with ‘increasing military strength’.
- His office accused Hamas of rejecting ceasefire proposals and ‘repeated refusal’ to release the remaining hostages in Gaza. The terror group still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
- Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the terms of the ceasefire agreement and claimed to be ‘working with mediators’ to stop the bombardment. The terror group also blamed what it described as ‘unlimited’ United States for giving the ‘green light’ for the attack and alleged America ‘bears full responsibility’ for the Gaza ‘massacre’.
- Netanyahu’s office said the operation was ordered after ‘Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators’.
- ‘Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,’ the statement said.
- ‘We will not stop fighting as long as the hostages are not returned home and all our war aims are not achieved,’ Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The Hamas terror group on Thursday dismissed President Donald Trump’s latest threat and refused to release more Israeli hostages without a permanent ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip.
- Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is through negotiations on a second phase of the ceasefire agreement.
- Hamas’ response comes after Trump met with eight former hostages in Washington and posted what he called a “last warning” to Hamas on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
- “‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye – You can choose,” the president’s post began. “Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you.”
- Trump added that he is “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job,” and that “not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say.
- “Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages,” the president wrote. “If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”
- Hamas is believed to still have 24 living hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that led to the ongoing war. It is also holding the bodies of 34 others who were either killed in the initial attack or in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in the 2014 war.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The White House is supporting the Israeli government’s decision to block aid to Gaza until Hamas leaders agree to a ceasefire extension, according to a newly-released statement.
- In a statement obtained by Fox News on Sunday, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said that Israel has “negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists.”
- “We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas has indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire,” Hughes added.
- Earlier on Sunday, Israeli officials announced that they are stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and warned Hamas it would face “additional consequences” if it does not accept a new proposal for an extended ceasefire.
- “With the conclusion of the 1st stage of the hostages deal and in light of Hamas’ refusal to accept the [U.S. Mideast envoy Steve] Witkoff framework for the continuation of the talks, to which Israel agreed, PM Netanyahu decided: as of this morning, entry of all goods & supplies to the Gaza Strip be halted,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on X.
- “Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences,” the post added.
- An Israeli official said the decision to suspend aid was made in coordination with the Trump administration.
- Israeli officials said earlier on Sunday that they support a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, or April 20. They said the proposal came from the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
- Under that deal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the remainder when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, according to Netanyahu’s office.
- In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel also pulled back forces from most of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid to enter the region.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- One of the group’s senior officials, Osama Hamdan… also threatened that Hamas would not allow any non-Palestinian party to enter the Gaza Strip.
- Iran’s ruling mullahs have already lost their strategic ally with the collapse of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Losing the Gaza Strip would therefore be another severe blow to the Iranian regime, whose declared goal is to annihilate the “Zionist entity.”
- Similarly, Hamas’s longtime patrons and funders in Qatar will do their utmost to ensure that the terrorist group remains in power.
- Hamdan’s statements are a clear indication that Hamas intends to maintain its control of the Gaza Strip at any cost. They are also a sign that Hamas is determined to continue its terror attacks against Israel.
- Any deal that allows Hamas to remain in power would be disastrous for Israel, the Palestinians, and Arab states threatened by the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance.”
- It would also undermine the Trump administration’s credibility in the eyes of many in the Middle East. The Trump administration will appear as if it is only good at making empty threats.
- There should be no reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as long as Iran’s proxies remain in power. The idea of allowing the Palestinian Authority to return to the Gaza Strip as a civilian body that pays salaries and funds projects should be rejected by the Trump administration.
- Even if the PA is permitted to deploy its own security forces in the Gaza Strip, it does not mean that they would be able to disarm Hamas and other terrorist groups. The PA did not do so when it was in control of the Gaza Strip between 1994 and 2007, and the assumption that it would do so now is catastrophically wrong.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The United Nations human rights chief said on Thursday that the parading of the bodies of hostages through Gaza before they were handed over to Israel is abhorrent.
- “The parading of bodies in the manner seen this morning is abhorrent and cruel, and flies in the face of international law,” said the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “We urge that all returns are conducted in privacy, and with respect and care.”
- In the statement, UN rights chief Volker Turk added that “under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families.”
- Hamas said that it returned on Thursday the bodies of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two young redheaded boys, Kfir and Ariel, as well as that of Oded Lifshitz, who was kidnapped at age 83.
- Lifshitz’s family said Thursday that they received confirmation from Israeli authorities that his remains were returned. Israel has said it is still testing the other three bodies before providing the Bibas family with confirmation.
- Before they were handed to the Red Cross, the coffins were placed on a stage, with armed Hamas gunmen wearing black and camouflage uniforms surrounding the area, and cruel psychological propaganda adorning the stage, including plaques on the coffins declaring the dates of their “arrest” and slogans blaming Israel for their deaths.
- Since the start of the latest ceasefire last month, Hamas has freed 24 hostages in handovers featuring large public ceremonies and terrorist propaganda, forcing the hostages to wave and praise their captors before being freed.
- 66 of the hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Arab leaders will gather in Saudi Arabia on Friday to counter US President Donald Trump’s plan for American control of Gaza and the expulsion of its inhabitants, diplomatic and government sources said.
- The plan stirred rare unity among Arab states which roundly rejected the idea, but they could still disagree over who will govern the enclave and who will pay for reconstruction.
- Meeting with Trump in Washington on February 11, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Egypt would present a plan for a way forward.
- The Saudi source said the talks would discuss “a version of the Egyptian plan” the king mentioned.
- Friday’s summit was originally planned for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan. However, it has been expanded to include the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Palestinian Authority.
- Egypt has not yet announced its counter-initiative, but Egyptian former diplomat Mohamed Hegazy described a plan “in three technical phases over a period of three to five years.”
- The last phase would include “launching a political track to implement the two-state solution and so that there is… an incentive for a sustainable truce.”
- However, even if all these obstacles are overcome, the proposal is likely to be rejected out of hand by Israel, whose government has consistently ruled out any Palestinian Authority role in managing Gaza after the war.
Read the original article by clicking here.
