Important Takeaways:
- Israel is celebrating the release of eight hostages and preparing to welcome three more on Saturday. However, the joy is tempered by the reality that terrorists are being freed from Israeli prisons, and there is still no clear plan for Gaza’s future.
- Israeli officials say the three hostages set to be released from Gaza on Saturday are Ofer Calderon, American-Israeli Keith Siegel, and Yarden Bibas. Bibas is the father of 2-year-old Kfir and 5-year-old Ariel, who remain in captivity in Gaza along with their mother, Shiri.
- The eight hostages released on Thursday returned to a hero’s welcome from family, friends, and the entire nation.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exclaimed, “Arbel, Agam, Gadi, Welcome Home! The entire State of Israel embraces you, as do my wife, Sarah, and I.”
- 80-year-old Gadi Moses, who endured captivity for 482 days, returned to Israel smiling as he reunited with his children. He had been abducted from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz, where his partner was killed and many of his family members were also taken hostage. All of them were freed a year ago in a previous deal — except him.
- Arbel Yehud reportedly spent her entire 482 days in isolation. Her chaotic exit from Gaza saw her surrounded by angry mobs of Gazans yelling and pushing as she made her way to safety.
- Her ordeal was so disturbing that Netanyahu temporarily suspended the release of Palestinian prisoners until he received assurances from mediators that such incidents would not happen again.
- The five Thai hostages, who have no family in Israel, were greeted at the hospital by Thailand’s ambassador. They appear to be in good health. “Thank you, thank you so much. I’m sure that they will feel at home here,” Thai Ambassador Pannabha Chandraramya told the Israeli crowd gathered to greet the hostages.
- Palestinian Prisoners Released; Terrorists Celebrated
- Among the 110 Palestinian prisoners released on Thursday in exchange for the hostages was Zakaria Zubeidi, a notorious West Bank terrorist leader responsible for numerous deadly attacks. He received a hero’s welcome in Ramallah, where he thanked Allah for his freedom.
- Despite suffering over a year of devastating losses, Hamas continues to project an image of victory. A senior Hamas official recently stated, “The Palestinian people were not defeated. The enemy did not achieve its goals.”
- In an interview with Iranian television, Mohammed al-Najjar, head of Hamas’ youth department, boasted, “October 7 will be repeated with attacks from the West Bank, Lebanon, Egypt — from the east and from all directions. We have achieved a great victory against an enemy that claimed to be invincible.”
- Hamas official Taher Nounou insists that Hamas will continue to govern Gaza…
- Negotiators will begin discussing the next phase on Monday, aiming for the release of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
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Important Takeaways:
- Eight of the 33 hostages intended for release during the first phase of the ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip are dead, according to a list provided by Hamas.
- Israeli government spokesman David Mencer confirmed that the terrorist group stated the remaining 25 hostages are alive. The list was delivered to Israel overnight on Sunday.
- After repeatedly violating the truce deal with Israel, Hamas is to release three additional captives on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem announced on Sunday night.
- The hostages to be released are civilian Arbel Yehud, Israel Defense Forces soldier Agam Berger and an unidentified man. Three more abductees are to be freed on Saturday, per the terms of the ceasefire.
- So far, seven hostages have been freed. Yet 87 of the 251 individuals taken by Hamas during the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, are still in Gaza. This includes the remains of at least 34 hostages, confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier killed in 2014. Another soldier’s remains were recovered earlier this month.
- Hamas failed to provide the list on Saturday, as required by the terms of the ceasefire, prompting Jerusalem to postpone the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.
- In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is to release 33 hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian terrorists, including many convicted of deadly attacks. So far, seven hostages have been released in exchange for more than 300 terrorists.
- The next two projected phases present greater challenges. Hamas has stated that it will not release the remaining 60 hostages unless Israel ends the war, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains committed to dismantling Hamas and ending its 18-year rule over Gaza. The future of negotiations remains uncertain as both sides prepare for difficult talks.
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Important Takeaways:
- “From Hamas’s perspective, they are making a major comeback as a dominant force in Gaza,” Dr. Michael Milshtein, a senior researcher at the Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University…
- “Their situation is not bad. It’s terrible for us to say this because we wanted to see a battered, beaten, and maybe even barely existing organization. Yesterday, the education system in Gaza announced that schools will soon reopen, even though 85% of schools no longer exist. 6,000 Hamas police officers have been deployed throughout the strip, making it clear to everyone who is in charge and signaling that there’s no point in talking about the ‘post-war era,'” he said.
- … in their view, the price was worth it. In their count, 50,000 died, and the destruction of Gaza is the justified price for the harm caused to Israel and for their national pride. I’m not justifying them, but that is their narrative, and it’s time we understand that,” he added.
- Blinken spoke about 4,000 new recruits to Hamas, and that’s just from the past few months. They will use the near future to rebuild. This means organization structures, new appointments of commanders, and attempts to locate weapons’ wherever possible.”
- Mission accomplished?
- Yesterday, Hamas waved one of the major symbols of this statement – the commander of Beit Hanoun, whom we thought we had killed, ended up being still alive.”
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Important Takeaways:
Letter from a terrorist to the world is written by Jerusalem Jane to reveal the horrendous reality and deep trauma facing the Jewish people and Israel.
- For years, we slaughtered thousands of Jews in horrific terror attacks, including Holocaust survivors and babies; then we slaughtered even more Jews because we are never satisfied with how much blood we shed in those attacks.
- In 2011, two of our terrorist brothers, armed with four knives, entered the Itamar community and entered the Fogel family home.
- They went from room to room and brutally murdered most of the family. They stabbed 10-year-old Yoav multiple times, then strangled and stabbed 4-year-old Elad.
- They proceeded to stab the parents to death, and in the act of killing them, these evil terrorists heard the cry of the Fogel’s three-month-old baby Hadas. With utter cruelty and no mercy, they murdered her with a strong stabbing to her head that penetrated her tiny skull from side to side. We celebrated their demise, and congratulated our jihadist brothers.
- Yes, our brothers also butchered Jewish fathers on Independence Day by chopping them down with axes in front of their small kids. We gleefully carry out attacks that include shooting, ramming, stabbing, rocket attacks, and everything possible that we can imagine to kill Jews.
- Over the years, we fired more than 40,000 rockets into Israel from Gaza; we have repeatedly set Israel on fire with hundreds of arson kites and balloons with the support and cheers of the civilians in Gaza.
- Then we attacked on October 7th, 2023, and commit war crimes that are the most heinous atrocities since the Holocaust by murdering more than 1200 people, burning people alive, decapitated hundreds of people, or mutilated many of them.
- Those we didn’t kill outright, we kidnapped and brought into Gaza. We also carried the bodies of other Jews as ransom or negotiation pawns in dealing with Israel.
- These captives were then tortured, starved and raped.
- How many of those captives are actually dead or dying? We won’t disclose that. We want the stress of uncertainty to take a toll on the family of these captives.
- Oh and yes, our fellow terrorists in Hezbollah helped out with over 15,000 rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel.
- We are also aided by hundreds of ballistic missiles launched from our friends in Yemen and Iran, which has sent Israelis running for their lives to bomb shelters over and over again.
- We drive 100,000 Israelis out of their homes, and cause them to be refugees in their own country while destroying many of their homes. We love bringing relentless terror and uncertainty against them, we believe they deserve every moment we rob them of their peace!
- Meanwhile, we play the victim and get people all over the world demonstrating in the streets of their own countries for us, and ultimately supporting us in our wholesale slaughtering of Jews. We have successfully convinced the UN and EU to pour billions of dollars into our hands to educate and train our children to murder the Jews.
- Many of our doctors, teachers, Imams, journalists and aid workers are actually terrorists being paid by UNRWA and among other sources, both in Gaza and The West Bank.
- As matter of fact, we are deeply embedded in UNRWA, and we use their facilities to serve our agenda. Our schools’ books are nothing but lies, hate and propaganda against Israel, which is subsidized and supported by UNRWA.
- Our heroes are terrorists who brutally murder Jews; and those who are martyrs for our cause; are honored by actually naming public squares and streets after them. We regard them as role models for our children, and we gladly glorify them.
- We pay them or their families (when they are martyred) to murder the Jews, we have paid billions of dollars with money streaming in from western countries who must be both deaf and blind to our hate against the Jews, since they are willingly sponsoring their murder.
- We glorify death while the Jews celebrate life, so we fully take advance of that. So, now we get thousands of our most esteemed and cold-blooded terrorists free for the exchange of innocent civilians that we kidnapped and sodomized for more than year.
- Meanwhile, the world is going to pour billions of dollars into Gaza so we can rebuild after the massacre we committed on October 7th. Yes, it pays to be terrorists murdering the Jews.
- We are grateful that we are always getting rewarded with billions of dollars, along with sympathy from the world while the Jews who are being attacked and murdered in the most horrific ways are always being blamed, condemned and charged for war crimes. This is in spite of the fact that we committed these war crimes while trying to commit a genocide on Oct 7th.
- Among our other efforts, we have stolen hundreds of trucks of aid in Gaza, actually more many tons of aid was delivered into Gaza but we lied to the world and said people were starving and Israel was blocking aid – just like we lied and didn’t disclose that about 20,000 of our terrorists brothers were killed in Gaza. Instead, we just told the world that all those casualties were civilians, which they believed.
- Just like when we lied about Israelis bombing hospitals, when in fact, one of our rockets misfired, yes all the lies we told from “The health Ministry in Gaza,” AKA Hamas was believed and shared by mainstream media around the world. We can tell them anything, and they believe us.
- We also turn the Gaza strip into the biggest terror nest in the world, thanks to all the hundreds of millions of dollars we received in aid that was used to build the most sophisticated tunnel system throughout the entire Gaza strip. Every other house had tunnel shafts in them and we store a lot of weapons and rockets in our children’s bedrooms. They are our future, can’t you see?
- Mosques, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, playgrounds, UNWRA facilities were all used to store our weapons and we had command centers in many of these places as well. We also use civilians as human shields, and most of the people in Gaza support us 100%. Conversely, we abuse and murder the people who don’t support us in Gaza.
- As for this battle we fight against our oppressive occupiers, we are actually shocked when we see how the Israeli Army is so humane and in advance of their military operations, tells people to evacuate and move to a safe zone before they come after us, the vile terrorists as they call us.
- Why in the world is the IDF caring about the civilians in Gaza when they are supporting us, the freedom fighters named Hamas, when we in fact don’t give a hoot about any civilians? We need them to be casualties so we can blame Israel.
- Oh well, thousands of our terrorists’ friends are now being set free for a small group of innocent civilians that we abused. We can’t wait to welcome among others our brothers from Hamas, such as Wael Qassem and Wisam Abbasi, they were responsible for attacks that caused dozens of casualties, including bombings at Café Moment in Jerusalem, the Sheffield Club in Rishon Lezion, and the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria at Hebrew University in the early 2000s.
- Yeah, we are actually very good at murdering the Jews whether they’re standing at a bus stop, shopping in the supermarkets, driving in busses and vehicles, or sitting outside a home for the elderly, like when we recently brutally murdered 83-year-old Ludmilla Lipovsky, she was actually a holocaust survivor.
- We are also good at murdering Jews in the privacy of their own homes like Dafna Meir, who was killed when a Palestinian teenager repeatedly stabbed her at the entrance to her home in Otniel in front of her 3 children.
- To top all this off, we also have 50,000 children inside Gaza at military boot camps every summer to learn how to liberate Palestine and murder the Jewish people, and yes, we are good at indoctrinating our children with pure hate towards the Jews. That’s why our children are reading “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler.
- Terror against the Jews pays off, big time, and with this investment in our children, it will keep on paying us well.
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Important Takeaways:
- Although the agreement may put an end to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, it does not, in any way, reflect a shift in the radical and dangerous ideology of the Islamist group, as outlined in its 1988 Covenant. The document quotes Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood organization (of which Hamas is an offshoot), as saying: “Israel will arise and continue to exist until Islam abolishes it, as it abolished what went before.”
- The main points of the Hamas Covenant state:
- The Palestinian issue is a religious-political Muslim problem, and the conflict with Israel is between Muslims and the Jewish “infidels.”
- All Palestine is Muslim land and no one has the right to give it up.
- An uncompromising Jihad must be waged against Israel, and any agreement recognizing its right to exist must be totally opposed.
- The ceasefire-hostage deal does not require Hamas to disarm or cede control over the Gaza Strip…. The terrorist group seems to be convinced that the deal will enable it to keep control of the Gaza Strip and prepare for more massacres of Jews.
- Shortly after the ceasefire-hostage deal was announced on January 15, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya made it clear that his group intends to pursue its Jihad against Israel.
- The new US administration, to avoid more violence and bloodshed, must insist that Hamas be removed from power.
- This can only be accomplished by applying pressure and sanctions on Hamas’s Qatari and Iranian sponsors.
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Important Takeaways:
- The IDF fired warning shots on Hamas forces operating in the vicinity of its new defensive ceasefire lines during the late morning, the Jerusalem Post learned on Monday.
- Although the IDF has not yet issued a public statement on the issue and generally all signs are that Hamas is seeking to maintain the conditions of the ceasefire which went into effect on Sunday at 11:15 a.m., not everything is quiet.
- According to the IDF, when the Hamas forces started to approach closer to their position and the IDF fired warning shots, the Gazans retreated and moved away from the Israeli forces without any counterfire or resistance.
- Further, the IDF said it remained committed to holding all defense lines set down by the ceasefire and would respond with force to any Gazans who approached those lines in any potentially threatening way.
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Important Takeaways:
- The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza took effect Sunday morning, and just hours later, Israel welcomed its first three released hostages back home.
- Joy and tears filled the air as Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, and Romi Gonen returned to Israel, reuniting with family and friends.
- As the three women arrived at Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, the crowd erupted in celebration.
- Juli Jerbi, a friend of released hostage Emily Damari, expressed the overwhelming emotion of the moment: “Our hearts are bursting, exploding. She looks just like she did when she left, as special and beautiful as she is.”
- Inside Sheba Medical Center, medical professionals took charge.
- Encouraging Israelis, he added, “Our mission is not over until every single hostage comes home.”
- Even in their final moments in Gaza, the three women endured psychological torment. Hamas gunmen, along with hundreds of Gazan civilians, surrounded their convoy, shouting at them.
- Before their release, Hamas handed them gift bags containing “Certificates of Release,” a map of Gaza, and photos of their time in captivity.
- The women were then transferred to the Red Cross, which transported them into the hands of Israeli forces.
- Meanwhile, the ceasefire also allowed Hamas to reassert control in Gaza. As soon as the agreement took effect, armed Hamas fighters emerged from hiding and flooded the streets, declaring their victory over Israel.
- Shortly after Hamas freed the three hostages, Israel began releasing 90 Palestinian prisoners, with hundreds more expected to be freed in the coming weeks. Among them are terrorists responsible for deadly attacks on Israeli civilians, one of the most frightening realities for many Israelis.
- However, Senator Lindsey Graham, (R) South Carolina, remains firm in his belief that Hamas’ victory declaration will not last.
- The head of Hamas’ military wing released a video urging Palestinians in the West Bank (biblical Judea and Samaria) to escalate attacks against Israel.
- Graham argues that Israel, with U.S. support, must act swiftly to confront an even larger danger: Iran’s growing nuclear ambitions.
- “I am hoping there will be an effort by Israel to decimate the Iran nuclear program, supported by the United States. And if we don’t do that, it’ll be a historical mistake.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Mediators reported Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal, pausing the 15-month war against the terrorist rulers of the Gaza Strip.
- Once the Netanyahu government approves the deal, 33 of the nearly 100 remaining hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones over the next six weeks. The hostages have been held in brutal conditions since October of 2023 with no access to medical inspection and no contact with the outside world. It’s unclear how many of them are still alive.
- The deal is being rolled out in three phases.
- The first phase is six weeks long:
- It allows 33 hostages to be returned to their families — although it’s unclear how many are still alive.
- The IDF would also pull back from population centers to allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes and receive an influx of aid.
- Phase two is considered the most difficult. It includes the release of all remaining hostages and the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza.
- The third phase calls for the start of major reconstruction inside the Gaza Strip.
- President Issac Herzog addressed the nation late Wednesday.
- “As the President of the State of Israel, I say in the clearest terms: This is the right move. This is an important move. This is a necessary move. There is no greater moral, human, Jewish, or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us—whether to recover at home, or to be laid to rest,” he said.
- Herzog continued, “Let there be no illusions. This deal—when signed, approved, and implemented—will bring with it deeply painful, challenging, and harrowing moments. It will also present significant challenges. This is not a simple situation; it is among the greatest challenges we have ever known.”
- “Today, as the President of the State of Israel, I pledge: We will continue to act with all our might until every stage of the deal is realized and the last captive returns. We will not rest or relent until all our sons and daughters are back home,” he added.
- Retired Israeli General Amir Avivi, founder and chairman of the Defense and Security Forum… believes it’s possible the deal could break down before all the hostages return.
- “But if this happens and we don’t get all the hostages, the pressure on Hamas needs to be huge,” he cautioned. “Stopping humanitarian aid, attacking, firstly, eliminating all the leaders of Hamas outside of Gaza, deporting them from Qatar.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Agreement says 33 hostages are expected to be released over 42 days
- Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal that also ensures the release of hostages, Fox News has confirmed.
- “A Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was reached following the Qatari Prime Minister’s meeting with Hamas negotiators, and separately Israeli negotiators in his office,” a source briefed on the matter told Fox News
- The conflict, which began with Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7, 2023, has left over 1,200 Israelis dead, more than 250 taken hostage, and thousands of others killed on both sides.
- President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened last week if a deal wasn’t struck before his Inauguration Day that “all hell will break out” in the Middle East, quickly offered his praise.
- The deal, brokered by Qatari negotiators and facilitated by Egyptian intermediaries, also saw significant involvement from the United States. Both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration applied strategic pressure to finalize the agreement, despite concerns about Hamas re-arming and internal tensions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
- The agreement calls for the release of three hostages on the first day, followed by weekly batches. Women, children, and men over 50 will be prioritized initially, with younger men in humanitarian cases included later. Updates on hostages’ statuses will alternate between announcements of survivors and confirmation of those who did not survive captivity.
- Approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners will be freed in exchange, with murder convicts barred from returning to the West Bank. Instead, they will be sent to Gaza, Qatar, or Turkey.
- The cease-fire will also facilitate significant humanitarian aid to Gaza, with up to 600 trucks of supplies entering daily. By the 22nd day, displaced residents will be allowed to return to northern Gaza. Qatari and Egyptian teams will manage vehicle inspections, while pedestrian crossings will not require checks. The IDF will withdraw from the Nitzarim corridor but maintain a limited presence along the Philadelphi Route.
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Important Takeaways:
- No final answer was given from Hamas regarding a hostage deal, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
- Earlier, the Associated Press reported, citing two officials involved in the negotiations, that Hamas has agreed to the proposed ceasefire deal in Gaza and the release of numerous hostages.
- According to the report, an Israeli official noted that while progress had been made, the final details were still under discussion.
- “We have handed over drafts of the ceasefire agreement to both sides, and talks are now ongoing on the final detail,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Tuesday.
- “We have overcome the major differences. This is the closest point we have been to a deal over the past months,” the statement added.
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