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:
- 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:
- US special envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler has been holding direct talks with Hamas officials in Qatar on the possibility of releasing hostages, including Americans, in Gaza, a source familiar with the details confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
- Israel has been updated on these talks.
- Bohler met with Hamas “because his role allows it,” the source told the Post.
- “The talks focused on releasing American hostages – but also all hostages. The message to Hamas: Show goodwill – to enable discussions about the second phase as well.”
- On Tuesday, officials estimated that if no agreement is reached between Israel and Hamas, Israel would return to fighting in Gaza in about a week and a half.
- “Hamas is currently rejecting [US Middle East envoy Steve] Witkoff’s proposal, so it is very difficult to make progress,” one official said.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Hamas returned four more hostage bodies and Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners following a day of mourning as Israel buried the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two little boys – the youngest hostages murdered and held by Hamas for more than 500 days.
- In the very early Thursday morning hours, without any fanfare, Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, who passed them over to the Israeli police and the Israel Defense Forces.
- The bodies of Tsachi Idan from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Itzhak Elgarat and Ohad Yahalomi, both from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and 85-year-old Shlomo Mantzur from Kibbutz Kissufim were identified by morning.
- President Isaac Herzog posted on X, “In this painful moment, there is some solace in knowing that they will be laid to rest in dignity in Israel.”
- Israel freed more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, including 71 who were serving life sentences and 60 with long prison sentences.
- The overnight releases complete the first phase of exchanges of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners for 33 hostages, leaving 59 hostages in Hamas captivity. It’s believed approximately 20 of the 59 are still alive.
- However, President Donald Trump’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, who has postponed his arrival in the region, says he believes he can get an extension of Phase One and the release of more hostages.
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:
- The U.S.-born Ron Dermer is a Cabinet minister who’s widely seen as Netanyahu’s closest adviser.
- He previously served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. and is a former Republican activist with strong ties to the Trump White House.
- Dermer currently serves as Israel’s strategic affairs minister, where he has been a key player in relations with the U.S. as well as Gulf Arab countries.
- Talks have not yet started on the second stage, which is meant to include an end to the war, return of all hostages and Israeli pullout from Gaza.
- Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory.
- In a phone call with U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday, Lebanon’s president insisted that Israeli forces withdraw from five strategic hilltops inside Lebanon.
- Israel is keeping its forces on Lebanese soil even after a deadline spelled out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The initial phase of the ceasefire deal, which includes a 42-day truce and the return of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, has remained on track despite a series of setbacks and accusations of violations that had threatened to derail it.
- But negotiations over the second stage, aimed at securing the release of the remaining 64 hostages, are expected to be tough, because they include issues like the administration of post-war Gaza, where there are large gaps between the sides.
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said “We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza”
- But he added that if the negotiations are constructive, Israel will remain engaged and may prolong the ceasefire.
- “If we will see there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon of getting to an agreement (then) we will make this time-frame work longer,” Saar said.
- So far, 19 Israeli hostages have been returned in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. If the six living hostages and four bodies are returned this week, as announced, four more would remain. Based on information from Hamas, all four are thought to be dead.
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday he will set up a new unit in his ministry dedicated to facilitating the exit of Gaza residents who want to move to a third country, after reviewing an initial plan for it.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Hamas on Tuesday said that it will release the dead bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest people held by the group, Kfir and Ariel Bibas.
- The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached during negotiations in Cairo for “four slain hostages” to be handed over on Thursday and “six living hostages” to be released on Saturday.
- It added that “four additional slain hostages are expected to be handed over to Israel next week.”
- It is clearest indication that the Bibas children – who were just nine months and four years old, respectively, when they were kidnapped in October 2023 – are indeed dead.
- Israel has not yet confirmed their deaths and has not yet commented on Hamas’ announcement.
- Hamas’ announcement came on the day Israel said it would begin talks on the second phase of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire agreement.
- Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said negotiations could begin “this week” following discussions with “our American friends”.
- He committed to aiming to reach an agreement by the 42nd day of the truce, as stipulated in the original deal, and said the possibility of a longer-term agreement was an “option”.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Their meeting follows a heart-wrenching Saturday when the Hamas terror group released three more hostages to their families. Monday also marks 500 days since the October 7th, 2023, attacks
- After their meeting, Rubio and Netanyahu agreed that Hamas must be destroyed.
- “Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force,” Rubio stated. “And frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer, or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.”
- Netanyahu once again backed President Donald Trump’s plan to help all Gazans leave their war-torn, devastated region while others rebuild it under U.S. control. He believes many Palestinians want to leave but Hamas won’t let them.
- “Everybody says this is the largest open-air prison in the world. Not because of us,” Netanyahu declared. “We tried to get the population to leave – to get them out of harm’s way. And Hamas – with rifles, with gunfire – try to prevent them from leaving.”
- Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff recently visited Gaza and saw why people can’t reasonably live in much of it now.
- “It’s completely devastated,” Witkoff observed. “And that begs the question: should people be allowed in there in those dangerous conditions? Thank God we’ve had no incidents. But, there’s 30,000 unexploded shells throughout Gaza, and the buildings are all down. It’s utter destruction.”
- Netanyahu also indicated this weekend he and the Trump administration see eye-to-eye on the threat from Iran.
- “Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” he claimed. “We agree that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons.”
- “Them getting a bomb is devastating to the region,” Witkoff said. “It’ll force every other country in that region to get a bomb, too. We’ll have a nuclear arms race, and that simply can’t happen.”
- Rubio concurred, saying, “Behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home is Iran. And by Iran, I mean the ayatollahs. By Iran, I mean its regime, a regime who, by the way, its people don’t support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
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.
Read the original article by clicking here.
