LIVE DEVELOPMENTS — updated Wednesday, March 26, 2025 

Ignoring Protesters, Huckabee Respectfully Pushes Back On Dem Challenges At Senate Hearing

TRUSTED ANALYSIS

Day 537 — Wednesday, March 26 

Though he was interrupted some half a dozen times by anti-Israel protesters, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee appeared to emerge from a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, during which Republicans embraced him and Democrats challenged him on some of his controversial positions, with few hiccups.

“I am not here to articulate or defend my own views or policies but to present myself as one who will respect and represent the president, whose overwhelming election by the people will hopefully give me the honor of serving as ambassador to the state of Israel,” Huckabee said in his opening statement on Tuesday.

A strident supporter of Israel who has routinely said that the Palestinians are not entitled to a state and who has voiced approval for wide-ranging Israeli settlement in, and sovereignty over, Judea and Samaria, Huckabee told the committee that it wouldn’t be his “prerogative” to carry out his views.

“If confirmed, it will be my responsibility to carry out the president’s priorities, not mine,” he said, in response to a question from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Huckabee appeared to correct the senator after Merkley referred to annexing the “West Bank.”

“I have previously supported it, yes sir, Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee said, referring to the region by its biblical and historical name.

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), told JNS outside the committee hearing room that Huckabee should meet any harsh questioning head on during the confirmation.

“I think he just needs to be honest and talk through whatever the concerns are,” Boozman said. “He has a very strong track record supporting Israel. He was a great governor in Arkansas. He’s very well respected in our state, and I think he will be a tremendous representative for the United States as ambassador to Israel.”

The former presidential hopeful laid out his case for the U.S.-Israel relationship, [pointing to] of what he said was a 50-year affinity for Israel.

“There is no country across the globe that more mirrors our own struggle and our own level of democracy than does the State of Israel,” Huckabee said.

“We are ultimately people of the book. We believe the Bible,” added Huckabee, one of more prominent U.S. evangelical Christians. “That connection is not geopolitical. It is also spiritual.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) asked Huckabee during the hearing why U.S. defense of Israel is so critical. Huckabee discussed the overarching threat from Tehran.

“As expressed by the Iranian government, Israel is the appetizer and we are the entrée,” he said. “This is not just about Israel. It is about us, and if we don’t stand with them, they stand alone. And if they fall alone, we fall next.”

Huckabee challenged the belief that it is up to the United States to continue pushing for a two-state solution. He noted the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to commit to living side-by-side with Israel peacefully and its pay-for-slay policy.

“Compensation is given to those who murder Jews, parks and streets are named for those who do it, pensions are given to families of those who are killed in the line of killing Jews,” Huckabee said. “That’s a difficult pathway to peace.”

He dismissed the “the notion that everyone is going to live together, toast marshmallows around the campfire singing kumbaya and it’s going to happen in our lifetime.”

Huckabee is widely expected to be approved by the Republican-led panel.

The committee has not yet set a date for a vote. Should it approve Huckabee’s nomination, the full Senate would then meet to vote on his confirmation.

JNS

Day 537 — Wednesday, March 26 

Hundreds of Palestinian Arabs took to the streets in northern Gaza on Tuesday, voicing strong opposition to the Hamas terror group and calling for an end to the ongoing war with Israel, reported The Guardian.

The demonstration was reportedly the largest of its kind in the Strip since Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Videos circulating on social media showed protesters—mostly men—gathered in Beit Lahia, chanting “Hamas out” and “Hamas terrorists.”

The protest erupted near the Indonesian hospital, just days after the IDF resumed its operations against Hamas following a temporary ceasefire.

Some demonstrators carried banners with messages such as “Stop the war” and “We want to live in peace.” Calls for the protest had reportedly been circulating on Telegram, encouraging civilians to take a stand.

“I don’t know who organized the protest,” one participant told AFP. “I took part to send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war,” he said, further claiming that “members of the Hamas security forces in civilian clothing [were] breaking up the protest.”

Another protester, identified only as Majdi, said the suffering of Gaza’s residents has reached a breaking point.

Additional footage showed demonstrators burning tires in Jabalia, with crowds chanting, “We want to eat.”

Past demonstrations against Hamas have been violently suppressed by the terror group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.

Arutz Sheva

Day 536 — Tuesday, March 25 

The United Nations is once again under the microscope for blaming Israel for an attack on a compound as it opts to curb its footprint in Gaza, according to the world body.

The spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement noting the U.N. had “taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza” even as “humanitarian needs soar.” 

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric claimed that “information currently available” indicated that a strike on the U.N.’s Deir al Balah compound on March 19 was “caused by an Israeli tank.” One U.N. employee was killed in the incident, and six others were wounded, Dujarric said. 

On the date of the incident, the Israel Defense Forces Tweeted that “contrary to reports, the IDF did not strike a U.N. compound in Deir el Balah.” The IDF asked media outlets “to act with caution regarding unverified reports.”

The IDF told Fox News Digital Monday that the U.N.’s claim was “absolutely not accurate.” 

While his statement named Israel, it stopped short in naming the terrorist group Hamas or other extremist groups operating in Gaza. “The location of this U.N. compound was well known to the parties to the conflict,” Dujarric continued. “I reiterate that all parties to the conflict are bound by international law to protect the absolute inviolability of U.N. premises. Without this, our colleagues face intolerable risks as they work to save the lives of civilians.” Dujarric added that the “Secretary-General strongly condemns these strikes and demands a full, thorough and independent investigation on this incident.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oren Marmorstein blasted the U.N. statement, saying in part, “The U.N. inquiry team itself hasn’t even arrived at the scene. Yet the U.N. is quick to publish another baseless slander against Israel. No standards, no professionalism – nothing stands in the way of the U.N. Secretary General in another attempt to smear Israel.” 

Foundation for Defense of Democracies research analyst Joe Truzman told Fox News Digital that Dujarric’s statement gave the “impression… that the United Nations has deliberately avoided criticizing Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza for fear of creating friction with the armed groups. This failed strategy has only emboldened Hamas and its allies, allowing them to exploit UNRWA facilities in Gaza with impunity. Time and again, authorities have uncovered terrorist infrastructure connected to UNRWA facilities, including agency employees who were members of terrorist groups and committed atrocities on October 7.”

Fox News

Day 536 — Tuesday, March 25 

The Hamas terrorist group released video footage on Monday showing signs of life of Israeli hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana, 535 days after they were taken captive during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Bohbot, 35, an Israeli-Colombian dual national from Mevaseret Zion near Jerusalem, and Ohana, 24, from Kiryat Malachi in southern Israel, were taken to Gaza as hostages by Hamas terrorists during their cross-border onslaught on the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7.

Bohbot was last seen in video footage of the terror attacks, in which he lay crumpled on a floor with his face bloodied and eyes wide with fear.

His nephew, Menashe Harush, told JNS last April that he had been living and sleeping in Tel Aviv’s “Hostage Square” since Oct. 8, 2023, to raise awareness for Bohbot’s plight at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.

“The video shows he is in poor condition, having lost a significant amount of weight due to persistent starvation,” his relatives said in a response published by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Monday. “He suffers from skin and breathing problems in addition to being asthmatic, and has not seen daylight for almost a year and a half!

“This video is further proof that Elkana must return home to his family, to his wife Rivka and his son Ra’am David. Elkana is crying out for help, begging us not to forget him in the tunnel hell,” added the family.

Ohana was kidnapped from the festival as he and a friend attempted to provide aid to wounded fellow partygoers amid Hamas’s massacre. Last month, his family told Hebrew media they received a “clear indication” that their loved one was still alive after more than 500 days in captivity.

Fifty-nine abductees remain captive in Gaza, according to official Israel Defense Forces figures. At least 35 of them are believed to have died.

JNS

Day 535 — Monday, March 24 

An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital killed a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau Sunday night as the military moved to expand its renewed offensive across the Strip.

Israel said it used precision weaponry to target and kill Ismail Barhoum at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, referring to him as a “key Hamas terrorist,” as the Palestinian terror group confirmed his death and said he had been undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in a previous strike.

The strike was one of dozens reported across the territory Sunday and into the early morning hours of Monday, with a separate strike in the Khan Younis area reportedly killing a senior Hamas education official. The Israel Defense Forces also indicated it was preparing to expand ground operations, redeploying an armored division that had been stationed on the border with Lebanon.

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the widening of the offensive in a statement hailing the killing of Barhoum.

He described the Hamas official, a member of the terror group’s political bureau previously involved in financing its activities, as “the new Hamas prime minister in Gaza, who replaced Issam Da’alis, the previous prime minister who was eliminated a few days ago.”

He was at least the fourth member of Hamas’s political bureau killed since Tuesday, when Israel resumed airstrikes in the territory after an impasse over continuing a ceasefire. Earlier Sunday, an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis killed Salah al-Bardawil, another senior member of its political bureau.

Out of the 20 members of Hamas’s political bureau elected in 2021, 11 have been assassinated during the war in Gaza. Seven are either certain or highly likely to be outside the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said the strike was carried out following “an extensive intelligence-gathering process,” and that a “precision munition” was used to mitigate harm to civilians.

Times Of Israel

Day 535 — Monday, March 24 

A man of about 70 was murdered Monday morning and a second man was injured in a terror attack at Hatishbi Junction near Yokne’am in northern Israel.

A Magen David Adom (MDA) spokesperson said first responders are providing medical treatment to a man of about 20 who is in moderate condition and conscious. A second man, aged about 70, was critically injured and unconscious, and was soon declared dead at the scene.

The terror attack took place at a bust stop, when the terrorist attempted to ram civilians and then exited his vehicle with a rifle and opened fire at civilians.

According to the police, the terrorist opened fire at civilians and was immediately neutralized by police officers at the scene.

Security forces are searching the area for others potentially involved in the attack.

MDA paramedic Moshiko Amsalem said: “This was a difficult incident. We were called to the scene of a bus stop terror attack at Hatishbi Junction. When we arrived at the scene, we immediately saw two injured victims, one aged 75 in critical condition with penetrative wounds, and another victim aged 20 in moderate condition and also suffering penetrative wounds. We immediately began providing them with medical treatment, which included stopping the bleeding and bandaging them.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 534 — Sunday, March 23 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is beefing up the U.S. Navy’s presence in the Middle East, ordering a second aircraft carrier to the region to bolster efforts against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists targeting shipping in the Red Sea.

A U.S. official told U.S. Naval Institute News that Hegseth ordered the USS Carl Vinson, which was in the Pacific participating in drills with South Korea, to the region to join the USS Harry S. Truman, which has been there since September 2024. Hegseth also signed orders Thursday to keep the Truman in the Middle East for at least another month.

It will be the second time in six months that the U.S. has kept two carrier strike groups in the region. The push for two aircraft carriers came amid the Trump administration’s recent airstrikes against Houthis operating in Yemen. It will take the Carl Vinson two to three weeks to reach the region, meaning the carriers will overlap for a period of time, USNI News reported.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial shipping and U.S. warships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Iranian-backed Hamas’ terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip. But the Houthis had not attacked any ships since a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began Jan. 19.

The Houthis, though, began to target the Truman and its escort ships following the U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.

In a post Wednesday on Truth Social, President Donald Trump warned that Iran must stop arming the Houthis “IMMEDIATELY” and vowed that the Houthis “will be completely annihilated!”

The Truman left Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia at the end of September and was nearing the end of its planned deployment when Hegseth extended its mission, USNI News reported. After operating in the North Sea for NATO exercises at the beginning of its deployment, the Truman sailed to the eastern Mediterranean and has spent much of its time since then operating in the Red Sea. The carrier briefly stopped in Souda Bay, Crete, last month for emergency repairs following a collision with a merchant ship near Port Said, Egypt.

The Carl Vinson deployed in mid-November from Naval Station North Island in San Diego and has been operating in the Indo-Pacific for the past few months, according to USNI News. The carrier, which has F-35C Lightning II joint strike fighter jets on board, drilled last week with U.S. Air Force and South Korea Air Force F-35s.

The next West Coast-based carrier expected to deploy to the Indo-Pacific is the USS Nimitz, which has been doing pre-deployed work off the coast of California, according to USNI News.

Newsmax

Day 533 — Saturday, March 22 

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to seize more territory in Gaza if Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages. Earlier this week, the IDF resumed the war in Gaza after a nearly two-month-long ceasefire that saw the release of 33 hostages.

“If the terrorist organization Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population, and to expand the security zones around Gaza for the benefit of protecting Israeli communities and IDF soldiers, through permanent Israeli control of the territory,” Katz said in a statement. “As Hamas continues its refusal, it will lose more and more territory that will be annexed to Israel.”

If Israel follows through on Katz’s threat of partial annexation, it would be the biggest shift to the status quo in Gaza in almost 20 years. In 2005, Israel evacuated Gaza and even sent in the IDF to physically take Israelis out of their homes. A year later, Hamas took control and has ruled over the Strip ever since.

Katz also said that Israel will continue Operation “Strength and Sword” with increasing intensity until Hamas releases the hostages. Additionally, he affirmed Israel’s adherence to the proposal put forth by U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, which involves getting all hostages, alive and dead, out of Gaza in two phases.

The Trump administration is standing by Israel’s military decisions. This is a very different approach than the one taken by the Biden administration.

Fox News

Day 533 — Saturday, March 22 

Three rockets were fired from Lebanon a short while ago at the northern border community of Metula.

According to the IDF, all three rockets were intercepted by air defenses. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Sirens had sounded in Metula amid the rocket attack, the first from Lebanon since December.

Three rockets were fired from Lebanon a short while ago at the northern border community of Metula.

According to the IDF, all three rockets were intercepted by air defenses. There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Sirens had sounded in Metula amid the rocket attack, the first from Lebanon since December.

“The Lebanese government bears responsibility for any fire from its territory. I have instructed the IDF to respond accordingly,” he adds.

Times Of Israel

Day 532 — Friday, March 21

Eli Sharabi, 53, a former hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that the terror group exploits aid from the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees for its own enrichment.

“I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the U.N. and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnel,” Sharabi told the global body. “Dozens and dozens of boxes, paid by your government, feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family.”

“They would eat many meals a day from the U.N. aid in front of us, and we never received any of it,” he testified. “When you speak of humanitarian aid, remember this. Hamas eats like kings while hostages starve.”

Hamas terrorists brutalized hostages in captivity, according to Sharabi.
“I have come back from hell,” he said. “I have returned to tell my story. For 491 days, I was kept underground in Hamas terror tunnels, chained, starved, beaten and humiliated.”

“The chains they kept me in tore into my skin from the moment I entered until the moment I was released,” he told the Security Council. “I was treated worse than an animal. I had to beg for food, beg to use the bathroom.”

“Begging became my existence,” he said.

Sharabi lost more than 66 pounds in captivity in Gaza and weighed just 97 pounds upon his release on Feb. 8. His wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Yahel and Noiya, were murdered in Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, criticized the international organization for enabling the Gazan terror group’s abuse of international aid.

“The cruelty here is not just from Hamas,” he told the Security Council. “It is also from the silence of the world. Since Oct. 7, you have passed 77 resolutions in this room. Yet you have not passed a single resolution condemning Hamas.”

“For 530 days, you have erased the hostages and you have spoken about Gaza without mentioning the crimes of Hamas,” he said. “You have debated humanitarian assistance without acknowledging the humanitarian catastrophe Hamas is deliberately inflicting on the hostages.”

Danon told the Security Council cannot that “no one can dispute the testimony of a hostage survivor, who saw with his own eyes Hamas benefiting from U.N. humanitarian aid.”

“You can no longer turn a blind eye,” he said. “UNRWA supports Hamas’s murderous terror enterprise that is starving our hostages and perpetuating the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”

Dorothy Shea, acting U.S. representative to the United Nations, said at the Security Council meeting that the Trump administration will continue to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages being held in Gaza.

“It is important for the council to hear directly from hostages who were kept in Hamas captivity,” she said. “They are witnesses and they are survivors, whose testimony provides evidence of the barbarity of Hamas.”

“President Trump has been clear that Hamas must release all 59 hostages immediately—including American citizens Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Judith Weinstein, Gad Haggai and Omer Neutra—or pay a steep price,” she said.

JNS

Day 532 — Friday, March 21

The BBC has apologized after making a clear request to interview Israeli military personnel who are “critical of Netanyahu” and the Israeli ground offensive against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

The incident occurred when Orly Goldschmidt, spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy in the UK, had shared a screenshot of a message she received from the British corporation and wrote, “Today, my team received this remarkable message from a BBC producer. They don’t want to interview someone knowledgeable, nor someone relevant, just someone who fits the predetermined narrative. There is nothing balanced or impartial about this.”

The message, which was sent via WhatsApp, stated that the BBC presenter was seeking to interview an “Israeli military voice” critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ground offensive. The message also provided examples of the types of criticism they were looking for, such as “concern about remaining hostages, stretching IDF capacity, destruction of Gaza or any other reason.”

The screenshot blurred the names of the BBC producer, presenter, and the intended recipient.

Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former spokesperson for the IDF, shared Goldschmidt’s post and wrote, “This explains why the BBC and several other major networks won’t have me on anymore. I’m not willing to trash Israeli decisions or do my dirty laundry to feed their hatred of Israel.”

Eylon Levy, former spokesman for the State of Israel, responded to the exchange with one word, “Wow.”

The BBC later issued an “unreserved apology” to the Israeli Embassy in London over the bizarre request, saying it was a “serious mistake” that “clearly falls well below our standards.”

This incident comes as the BBC has repeatedly been criticized for the blatant anti-Israel bias in its reporting. This criticism has increased since Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.

In November of 2023, the corporation published an apology after falsely claiming that IDF troops were targeting medical teams in battles in and around the Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Before that, the BBC falsely accused Israel of being responsible for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which the IDF proved was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket. The network later acknowledged that “it was false to speculate” on the explosion.

In September, a report found that the BBC violated its own editorial guidelines more than 1,500 times during the first four months of the war between Israel and Hamas, and noted “deeply worrying pattern of bias” against the Jewish state during that period.

More recently, the BBC was criticized for using the son of a senior Hamas official as a narrator in its documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.”

The BBC has acknowledged that there were “serious flaws” in the program. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer later said he is “concerned” by the documentary.

Last week, the British corporation issued an apology after using footage of the Israeli city of Tiberias – located well within Israel’s internationally recognized borders – while discussing “settlements” in the Golan Heights.

Arutz Sheva

Day 531 — Thursday, March 20

“The leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will,” according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warned that such tactics are being used against right-wing leaders in both Israel and the United States.

In a post shared on X on Wednesday, the Israeli Premier suggested that judicial institutions are no longer acting independently but are instead being manipulated to serve a political agenda.

“In America and in Israel, when a strong right-wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will,” Netanyahu declared, emphasizing that such tactics are being used both in Israel and the United States.

“They won’t win in either place! We stand strong together,” he added, reinforcing solidarity between right-wing movements in both nations.

Netanyahu’s remarks slamming the use of legal institutions to target political opponents rather than uphold justice come as he faces ongoing legal battles in Israel, along with clashes with the Attorney General and the head of Israel’s internal security service, whom he seeks to dismiss over a lack of confidence.

His comments, comparing his legal troubles and struggles against entrenched bureaucracies in Israel, and President Trump’s legal battles in the U.S., also align with a broader sentiment among conservatives concerned over judicial and bureaucratic institutions being co-opted to stifle right-wing political leaders.

In response, billionaire tech entrepreneur and X owner Elon Musk appeared to support Netanyahu’s message, replying with a simple “100” emoji.

Musk has previously voiced concerns about government overreach and political weaponization of institutions.

Breitbart

Day 531 — Thursday, March 20

For the first time in two months, sirens were sounded early Thursday morning in central Israel, the Shfela region, and in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, following the firing of a missile from Yemen.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. The sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.

Magen David Adom reported that at this stage, no reports of impacts or physical injuries have been received.

It added that MDA medics and paramedics provided medical treatment to approximately 13 people injured while heading to shelter and to three individuals suffering from anxiety.

During the sirens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was evacuated from the Knesset plenum, where discussions on the Arrangements Law were taking place overnight, to the Knesset shelter.

The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for launching the missile toward Israel, asserting they fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attack was carried out in response to “massacres against our brothers in the Gaza Strip.”

For the first time in two months, sirens were sounded early Thursday morning in central Israel, the Shfela region, and in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, following the firing of a missile from Yemen.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. The sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.

Magen David Adom reported that at this stage, no reports of impacts or physical injuries have been received.

It added that MDA medics and paramedics provided medical treatment to approximately 13 people injured while heading to shelter and to three individuals suffering from anxiety.

During the sirens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was evacuated from the Knesset plenum, where discussions on the Arrangements Law were taking place overnight, to the Knesset shelter.

The Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for launching the missile toward Israel, asserting they fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attack was carried out in response to “massacres against our brothers in the Gaza Strip.”

The sirens were heard in Be’er Sheva, Dimona, Yeruham, Nevatim, Segev Shalom, Tel Sheva, and other nearby localities.

The IDF stated, “Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central and southern Negev, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 530 — Wednesday, March 19

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday night blasted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over his latest criticism of Israel’s strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Guterres had written in a post on X, “I am outraged by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. I strongly appeal for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be reestablished and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally.”

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote, “We are outraged that you, Antonio Guterres, are the Secretary-General of the UN.”

“Not a word about the fact that Hamas rejected two American proposals to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages—two proposals that Israel accepted,” added Marmorstein.

“Not a word about the fact that Hamas exploits the transfer of goods to Gaza to rebuild its war machine in order to further attack Israel.”

“Not a word about UNRWA, which, under your leadership, employs Hamas terrorists, and whose facilities were used by Hamas to hold hostages. Indeed, we are outraged by your moral bankruptcy,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson concluded.

Israel launched the surprise strikes early Tuesday morning after Hamas refused to release more hostages and rejected US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation on Tuesday evening following the surprise strikes, saying, “We returned to fighting with strength, on the recommendation of security officials.”

“This is just the beginning. We will continue to fight to achieve the goals of the war and the promise that Gaza will not pose a threat to Israel,” he said. “From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire.”

“We extended the ceasefire in the weeks in which we did not receive any hostages, we sent delegations to Doha, we accepted the proposal of US envoy Witkoff, but in contrast, Hamas rejected every proposal. I accepted the recommendation of the IDF and the security establishment to return to fighting,” Netanyahu added.

Arutz Sheva

Day 530 — Wednesday, March 19

The Israel Defense Forces shot down a missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from Yemen on Tuesday night, triggering air-raid sirens in the south of the country, according to an IDF statement.

The incident marked the first time that the Jewish state’s air defenses were activated against a threat from Yemen since the start of the ceasefire with Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Jan. 19.

Sirens sounded following “projectile fire from Yemen,” the IDF said in the statement, confirming that alerts were triggered in the Negev area.

“The Air Force intercepted one missile launched from Yemen,” added the military in Hebrew. “The missile was intercepted before it crossed into the country’s territory; alerts were activated according to policy.”

Israel’s Magen David Adom medical response group said it did not receive any calls about shrapnel impacts or casualties in the missile assault, “with the exception of isolated [cases of] panic victims.”

Following the attempted strike, Houthi official Hazam al-Asad tweeted in Hebrew, “The Yemeni people will not leave Gaza alone! The Zionists will pay for their crimes against children, women, and civilians.”

Since Hamas initiated the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel’s south, Yemen’s Houthis have supported the terror organization, firing more than 350 drones and missiles at the Jewish state, in addition to countless attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea area.

JNS

Day 529 — Tuesday, March 18

The Israeli military conducted “extensive” strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Monday, the Israel Defense Forces announced early on Tuesday morning.

“This follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” the Israeli prime minister’s office stated.

The IDF is “attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” the statement continued. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Jerusalem had consulted the Trump administration before launching the operation.

U.S. President Donald Trump “has made it clear: Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel but also the United States of America will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose,” Leavitt said.

All of “the terrorists in the Middle East” should take Trump “very seriously when he says he is not afraid to stand for law-abiding people … and our friend and our ally Israel,” she added.

Other Arab media reported that Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a deputy minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry, was among several senior Hamas figures killed in the strikes.

Egyptian television station Sada El-Balad reported that Abu Obeida al-Jamasi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau and head of its emergency committee, was also killed.

Several outlets, including Saudi news channel Al Hadath, reported the death of Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of central operations in the Gaza Interior Ministry.

Meanwhile, the IDF Home Front Command has instructed municipalities near the Gaza border to close schools until further notice.

“Following a situation assessment, it was decided that the Gaza envelope will move from a full activity level to a reduced activity level, which does not allow for educational activities,” according to the statement.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon stated on Monday night in New York that the U.N. Security Council would convene on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza.

“It is time for the countries of the world to take seriously our unwavering commitment to bring back all our hostages home and defeat the enemy,” the Israeli envoy stated. “Nothing will stop us from fighting to free our hostages, who have been held in brutal Hamas captivity for 527 days. We will show no mercy against our enemies while our hostages languish in Hamas terror tunnels.”

An Israeli official “claimed that in recent days during the ceasefire Hamas has been preparing to carry out new attacks against Israel and has taken steps to rearm,” Axios reported. “The official said the IDF kept the operational plan top secret and within a relatively small circle in order to surprise Hamas.”

JNS

Day 529 — Tuesday, March 18

As Iran nears the finish line to obtain nuclear weapons, US President Trump is warning that the world is down to its “final moments” to intervene. While expressing his preference for a peace deal over military action, Trump maintained that significant developments are imminent.

“U.S. President Donald Trump hinted [earlier this month] that the United States could take military action against the Iranian nuclear program ‘very soon’ if the Islamic Republic does not strike a deal with the United States,” The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reported. “Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said that there would be ‘interesting days ahead’ with respect to Iran.”

President Trump went on to tell reporters: “We’re down to final strokes with Iran. We’re down to the final moments. We’re at the final moments. Can’t let them have a nuclear weapon. We have a situation with Iran that something’s going to happen very soon—very, very soon. Hopefully, we could have a peace deal. I’m not speaking out of strength or weakness. I’m just saying, I’d rather see a peace deal than the other, but the other will solve the problem.”

Iran is the main reason for what’s happened in Gaza, Lebanon, and throughout the Middle East. Tehran is the number one state sponsor of terror, which issues an ongoing call for the death of America and the death of Israel.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in a speech last November, insisted: “The enemy did not win in Gaza. The enemy did not win in Lebanon. The enemy will not win in Gaza and Lebanon. What they have done is no victory. It is a war crime. They issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. This is not enough. [He deserves] the death sentence. A death sentence should be issued for these criminal leaders. As wide as the resistance axis is today, it will expand several times more tomorrow.”

The crowd, which included top Iranian Generals, enthusiastically responded to Khamenei’s statements, repetitively chanting: “Allah Akbar! Khamenei is the Leader! Death to those who oppose the rule of the Jurisprudent! Death to America! Death to England! Death to the hypocrites and the infidels! Death to Israel!”

This is the mindset of this demonic regime. To make matters worse, they are hellbent on their desire to build a nuclear bomb. According to reports, Iran already has enough 60% enriched uranium, which can very quickly be converted to a weapons-grade 90%. They also reportedly have enough of that material to build six nuclear warheads. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump have vowed that that will never happen. It seems the world is witnessing a countdown—to either a peace deal with Iran, which is not likely, or a military strike on their nuclear program.

Israel, with the backing of the United States, can, at the very least, set Iran back decades through military action. Even if Israel doesn’t destroy everything, it can certainly destroy the ability of Iran to access their nuclear facilities, which are all hidden deep underground.

Everything is in order to carry out these military actions—from the bunker-busting bombs that Israel has received from the United States to the planes with refueling capabilities. Most importantly, Israel now has the backing and maybe even the assistance of the United States. The only question remaining is: when?

Day 528 — Monday, March 17

The United States will keep attacking Yemen’s Houthis until they end attacks on shipping, the U.S. defense secretary said on Sunday, as the Iran-aligned group signaled it could escalate in response to deadly U.S. strikes the day before.

The airstrikes, which killed at least 31 people, are the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. One U.S. official told Reuters the campaign might continue for weeks.

The Houthi movement’s political bureau described the attacks as a “war crime” and said Houthi forces were ready to “meet escalation with escalation,” while Moscow urged Washington to cease the strikes.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News: “The minute the Houthis say we’ll stop shooting at your ships, we’ll stop shooting at your drones, this campaign will end, but until then it will be unrelenting.”

“This is about stopping the shooting at assets … in that critical waterway, to reopen freedom of navigation, which is a core national interest of the United States, and Iran has been enabling the Houthis for far too long,” he said. “They better back off.”

The Houthis, who have taken control of most of Yemen over the past decade, said last week they would resume attacks on Israeli ships passing through the Red Sea if Israel did not lift a block on aid entering Gaza.

They had launched scores of attacks on shipping after Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.

Trump also told Iran, the Houthis’ main backer, to stop supporting the group immediately. He said if Iran threatened the United States, “America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”

Newsmax

Day 527 — Sunday, March 16

President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to a fiery Truth Social post published on Saturday.
In the post, Trump wrote that he had “ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen.”

“They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones,” Trump wrote.

Trump also criticized his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, writing that the Democratic president’s response to the terrorist group “was pathetically weak, so the unrestrained Houthis just kept going.”

“It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden,” Trump continued. “The last American Warship to go through the Red Sea, four months ago, was attacked by the Houthis over a dozen times….These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk.”

“To all Houthi terrorists, YOUR TIME IS UP, AND YOUR ATTACKS MUST STOP, STARTING TODAY. IF THEY DON’T, HELL WILL RAIN DOWN UPON YOU LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” HIS POST CONCLUDED.”

The latest military action comes three weeks after the Houthis fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) at a U.S. F-16 fighter jet. Three senior U.S. defense officials told Fox News that the Feb. 19 incident marked the first time the Houthis  had fired SAMs at a U.S. jet.

The missiles did not impact the F-16, and the Houthis unsuccessfully fired another SAM at an American MQ-9 Reaper drone on the same day.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), four years after his first administration made an identical move that the Biden administration later reversed.

“Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), which arms and trains terrorist organizations worldwide, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform,” the order noted.

Fox News 

Day 527 — Sunday, March 16

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday slammed as “nuts” the terms being demanded by Hamas in hostage-ceasefire negotiations, while insisting the Trump administration was committed to freeing all of the 59 captives held by the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza.

“We care about all the hostages, we want all the hostages released. … But we’re also talking about bodies. And these trades that are being made, they’re ridiculous trades—400 people for three. These are nuts,” Rubio said at a press conference during the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec.

“On top of that, you see the condition these people are being released in. … We’re sitting around as the world, sort of accepting that it’s normal and okay for you to go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people who have nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers … and taking them and putting them in tunnels for almost a year and a half,” he continued.

“The whole world should continue to say that what Hamas has done is outrageous, it’s ridiculous, it’s sick, it’s disgusting. … We’re just dealing with some savages. That’s it. These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such,” added Rubio.

JNS

Day 526 — Saturday, March 15

US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces eliminated ISIS’s second-in-command Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, also known by his alias “Abu Khadijah,” on Thursday in western Iraq, the organization announced in a post on X/Twitter on Saturday morning.

Khadijah was the group’s Chief of Global Operations in Iraq.

CENTCOM conducted the strike in cooperation with Iraqi intelligence; US President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that it was also done in coordination with the Kurdish Regional Government. Another ISIS terrorist was killed in the strike.

Khadijah was responsible for ISIS’s operations, logistics, and planning conducted by the terrorist organization globally, according to CENTCOM.

Trump spoke about Khadijah in his post, stating that he was “relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters. His miserable life was terminated, along with another member of ISIS. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!”

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said that “Abu Khadijah was one of the most important ISIS members in the entire global ISIS organization.

“We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland and US, allied and partner personnel in the region and beyond.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani initially announced al-Rifai’s death in a statement on Friday, noting that he was “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world.”

Both Iraqi and CENTCOM forces arrived at the site after it was struck. The team used the ISIS leader’s DNA to confirm his death, which they had previously collected on a different high-stakes mission.

They found his body and the body of the other ISIS terrorist; both were killed wearing unexploded “suicide vests” and had multiple weapons.

Jerusalem Post

Day 526 — Saturday, March 15

Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the United States, is persona non grata in Washington, and “we have nothing to discuss with him,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Friday.

The South African envoy said at a seminar earlier in the day that U.S. President Donald Trump is leading a white supremacist movement, Breitbart reported. “What Donald Trump is launching is an assault on incumbency, those who are in power, by mobilizing a supremacism against the incumbency, at home,” Rasool told attendees at the event.

“South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” Rubio stated. “Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates President Trump.”

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Ebrahim,” wrote Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.).

South Africa has led international efforts accusing Israel of genocide, and its envoy has praised Hamas.

“Worth noting Rasool owns a keffiyeh signed by the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was indicted by the U.S. government on terrorism charges,” wrote Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran.

Rasool’s social media account refers to him as “ex-South African ambassador to United States of America.”

In 2018, he wrote that “I do not support Israel as ‘Jewish’ just as I do not support any religiously exclusive state. Zionism is in danger of making itself a pejorative term through its morality-free unconditional support for any and all actions by Israel.”

That same year, he wrote that “all justice-loving people must enforce over all Jews a distinction between the noble religion of Judaism and the cruel ideology of Zionism, for their own dignity and our own humanity.”

JNS

Day 525 — Friday, March 14 

A controversial new UN report accused Israel of committing “genocidal acts” against Palestinians in Gaza and using sexual violence as a strategy in the war against the Hamas terrorist organization.

“Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention,” the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry claimed.

The report, which did not provide credible evidence, also accused Israel of systematically destroying women’s healthcare facilities. The report ignored the well-documented and extensive efforts by Israel Defense Forces to protect Gazan civilians during battles with Hamas terrorists. Hamas uses civilians as human shields and embeds its operatives in hospitals and other civilian structures, a flagrant violation of international law.

Israel has strongly rejected and condemned a UN Human Rights Council report as a “blood libel” for accusing the Israeli military of committing sexual violence during the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the UN report as “an anti-Israel circus.” He stated, “The so-called UN Human Rights Council has long been exposed as an antisemitic, corrupt, and pro-terror body that has no legitimacy.”

“It is no coincidence that Israel withdrew from this body about a month ago. This is not a Human Rights Council – it is a council of blood libel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “Once again, the UN chooses to attack Israel with false accusations, including outrageous and baseless claims of sexual violence.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry also blasted the UN report as a modern-day “blood libel.”

“This is one of the worst cases of blood libel the world has ever seen (and the world has seen many). It blames the victims for the crimes committed against them. Hamas is the organization that committed horrific sexual crimes against Israelis. This is indeed a sick document that only an antisemitic organization like the UN could have produced,” stated the Foreign Ministry

“The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) has concrete directives … and policies which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct,” the Israeli UN Mission in Geneva said.

Israeli UN envoy in Geneva, Daniel Meron, argued that the latest UN report “is yet another example of the blood libel that actors within the UN perpetuate against Israel in a futile attempt to accuse it of acts that were never committed, while diverting attention from the war crimes of terrorist organizations and the states that support them.”

“Instead of fabricating accusations, it is time for the UN to explicitly condemn Hamas for its actions and to expose in its discussions the horrific sexual violence committed against Israelis on October 7 and afterward,” Meron emphasized.

Israeli women’s groups also condemned the anti-Israeli UN report.

Cochav Elkayam-Levy, who heads the “Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes Against Women and Children,” condemned the UN report, arguing that it perpetuates the “efforts to create a false comparison between Israel and Hamas, especially in the context of sexual violence.”

“Sadly, this pattern has repeated itself across various UN bodies since October 7th,” Elkayam-Levy said. “This moral comparison is painful and wrong because its purpose is to establish false historical narratives and inflicts irreparable harm both on the victims and on justice.”

The accusation of genocide in Gaza has also been leveled against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Last January, Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the “genocide” case against Israel. “There is something shocking about seeing how the ‘post-truth’ phenomenon permeates even the most important institutions,” he said, referring to the World Court.

All Israel News

Day 525 — Friday, March 14 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in the traditional reading of the Book of Esther during the holiday of Purim at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Thursday evening.

Addressing the police officers, the prime minister drew a comparison to the story of Purim, in which the Jewish people were saved from annihilation in Persia, now present-day Iran, to the modern Jewish state’s conflict with the Islamic Republic.

“Two thousand five hundred years later an enemy of the Jewish people arose in that land. He, too, wants to destroy and annihilate the seed of the Jews from the face of the earth,” Netanyahu said.

“Heroes like you have arisen—the heroes of our people. And with stratagem, heroism and courage we turned the tables upside down, and we are breaking the Persian axis,” he said, referring to Iran.

“That’s what’s happening these days. If history repeats itself, at least the people are the same people. This is the new miracle of Purim. This miracle is thanks to you; thanks to our heroic soldiers, our heroic fighters, the policemen and women, who stopped the disaster with endless heroism, and fought back,” he said, referring to the actions of the police on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded the western Negev.

“We won our state; we won it with you. I am sure that each and every one of you will do your duty in performing the new miracle of Purim in our days. Happy Purim to all of you,” Netanyahu said.

JNS

Day 524 — Thursday, March 13 

Reports that surfaced on Wednesday suggesting Israel and Lebanon were pursing “normalization” ties have been “overblown” and risk hurting actual hard-fought discussions, a U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital.

Israeli reports, citing an anonymous senior Israeli official, claimed that renewed talks with Lebanon were aimed at reaching a standard diplomatic relationship between the two nations, just months after a ceasefire agreement was reached following Jerusalem’s offensive against Hezbollah. 

But the U.S. official, who also requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the Israel-Lebanon talks, said border security is the main priority at this moment.

The “current focus is ridding Lebanon of Hezbollah and corrupt officials,” the U.S. official emphasized.

“Normalized” ties between Israel and other nations in the Middle East were a cornerstone of the first Trump administration, which looked to bring security to Israel by establishing diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and its Arab neighbors. 

But relations in the Middle East have drastically shifted since 2021, when Trump left office.

Not only is Israel staring down the glaring issue of Hamas – which still holds 59 hostages, 58 of whom were taken by the terrorist group during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks – but the “day after” plan for the Gaza Strip remains unclear. 

As negotiations between the U.S., Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas continue, the threat posed by other Iran-backed terrorist networks remains – particularly when it comes to the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Despite the end of the ceasefire in late January, the security situation in southern Lebanon has remained relatively stable, though it continues to be a precarious situation. 

Working groups that will encompass U.S., Israeli and Lebanese officials, are being established to renew talks on unresolved issues relating to prisoner releases, border disputes and the presence of IDF troops in southern Lebanon – which currently remain in a move to safeguard Israelis living in the country’s north.

Talks between officials from Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut are not expected to begin until April and will focus on removing the threat Hezbollah poses to Israel and regional stability.

The U.S. official familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital that any suggestion of establishing formal diplomatic ties, like those forged with the UAE and Bahrain, were “premature.”

Fox News

Day 523 — Wednesday, March 12 

The presence of the IDF on the Syrian Mount Hermon – and in the general buffer zone – protects Israel from a range of Syrian, Hamas, and Iranian threats, Defense Minister Israel Katz told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, as he stood next to a Syrian outpost taken by the IDF in December, following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

“There are a series of threats. This regime is a jihadist regime. It put on a mask, but then it removed its mask. It tries to get a following” around the world to reduce economic sanctions and become re-accepted into the good graces of Western nations, Katz told the Post.

The defense minister said, “We knew about this in advance and we got ready,” justifying the IDF’s presence in Syria, though Israel has emphasized it has no territorial claims to the country.

On December 7-8, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, leading Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, toppled the Assad regime. Since then, it has actively promoted itself as a more tolerant, moderate, and Western-looking Syria, which respects Syrian minorities – and would never threaten Israel.

However, Israel quickly seized a buffer zone in southern Syria as Sharaa was taking power, out of concern that he, as a former member of al-Qaeda, along with some of his jihadist allies, might talk sweetly to the West for the moment, but then attack Israel in the future once it would let its guard down.

Katz stated, “There are also attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to smuggle weapons” through Syria to reconstruct the Lebanese terror group’s arsenal to return its ability to attack and threaten Israel.

The defense minister and military officials have given indications that the IDF could remain in Syria for years, with a withdrawal date from the buffer zone depending on threat conditions on the ground.

Katz said of Sharaa, “every morning he opens his eyes in the presidential palace in Damascus, he will see the IDF observing him from the heights of the [Syrian] Hermon and will remember that we are here and in the entire southern Syria area.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 523 — Wednesday, March 12 

Columbia University is refusing to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identify students from a list of individuals, who have “engaged in pro-Hamas activity” on campus, the White House said Tuesday.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a briefing that the department has gathered the names of other individuals it believes have fallen afoul of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to combat antisemitism.

“They have been using intelligence to identify individuals on our nation’s colleges and universities—on our college campuses—who have engaged in such behavior and activity, and especially illegal activity,” Leavitt said.

“I don’t have a readout on how many arrests will come, but I do know that DHS is actively working on it,” she said. “I also know that Columbia University has been given the names of other individuals, who have engaged in pro-Hamas activity, and they are refusing to help DHS identify those individuals on campus.”

“As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that,” she said.

JNS sought comment from Columbia. A spokesman for the university pointed JNS to a statement from Columbia’s interim president saying that the school has and will continue to “follow the law” and that it has a longstanding policy of denying law enforcement access to non-public campus areas unless they have a warrant.

JNS

Day 522 — Tuesday, March 11 

The Israeli Air Force attacked military sites and Syrian regime military headquarters containing weapons in southern Syria on Monday night, the army said on Tuesday.

The army said that the operation targeted night radars and detection equipment, which could be used to build an aerial intelligence picture. 

The presence of such equipment constitutes a threat to the State of Israel and IDF operations, the military explained, and the targets were attacked in order to eliminate future threats.

According to Syrian reports, these were military targets of the previous Assad regime in the villages of Jabab and Izra, in the Daraa province of southern Syria. Syrian reports claimed that these were targets that previously belonged to the 12th Brigade and the 89th Battalion in Bashar al-Assad’s army.

According to local residents, the IAF struck the targets 28 times.

Through intermediaries, Israeli security officials conveyed a strong message to the new Syrian regime, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, that Israel will not allow the Sunni rebel organization HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) to establish itself in Syrian outposts or to build new ones in southern Syria.

The officials made it clear that any such establishment would be attacked by the IDF, which would enforce by all means necessary the demilitarization of the region from armed organizations that could threaten Israel.

Jerusalem Post

Day 521 — Monday, March 10

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday weighed in on the Trump administration’s crackdown on supporters of Hamas.

Rubio shared on X a link to a report on the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian Arab graduate student who played a key role in last year’s anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.

“We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” he wrote.

Khalil’s arrest follows through on a commitment by President Donald Trump’s administration to expel international students who took part in anti-Israel demonstrations. US officials have stated that those who participated in the campus protests effectively forfeited their right to remain in the country by aligning with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.

His arrest also comes two days after the Trump administration officially announced that it would revoke $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia’s handling of antisemitism.

The funding cuts followed a recent “comprehensive review” of Columbia’s federal grants, conducted by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Justice (DOJ), Education (DoE), and the US General Services Administration (GSA). The agencies cited an ongoing investigation by the Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which is looking into whether Columbia violated the Civil Rights Act by failing to address the harassment of Jewish students.

“For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated. “Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”

Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators at Columbia set up dozens of tents in April of last year, demanding that the university divest from its Israeli assets. The university administration called in police to dismantle the encampments.

On April 30, at the request of university leaders, hundreds of officers with the New York Police Department stormed onto campus, gaining access to the building through a second-story window and making dozens of arrests of the pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators who had taken over Hamilton Hall.

In August, three Columbia University deans resigned from the school, after it was discovered that they had exchanged “very troubling” texts that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes”.

The university has seen a resurgence of anti-Israel activity in recent weeks. In January, anti-Israel students disrupted an Israeli history class by banging drums, chanting “Free Palestine,” and distributing fliers that depicted a boot stomping on a Star of David.

The students were later expelled, prompting protests at Barnard College. The demonstrations escalated when protesters took over the Barnard College library, leading to multiple arrests.

Former Columbia University President Dr. Minouche Shafik announced her resignation last summer, following months of criticism for her handling of campus antisemitism.

Arutz Sheva

Day 521 — Monday, March 10

In a series of targeted raids over the last week, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have made significant strides in dismantling military equipment in Syria. Troops from the Paratroopers Brigade, the Armored Corps, and the elite special forces Yahalom unit, under the command of Brigade 474, successfully confiscated and destroyed rifles, ammunition, missiles, and additional military materials. These operations were conducted at strategic points across Syria to prevent potential threats to Israel.

The IDF’s actions, including these raids, are part of a broader defensive operation. A military spokesperson reiterated that the IDF is committed to continuing its operations aimed at neutralizing threats, thereby ensuring the safety of Israel and its citizens. The statement emphasized the military’s determination to bolster Israel’s defense and to mitigate any risks posed by hostile entities in the region.

The escalation comes amid ongoing violence in Syria. In the last two days alone, over 340 civilians, mostly from the Alawite minority, were killed by Syrian security forces and affiliated gunmen. These deaths mark a horrific new chapter in Syria’s long-running civil war. While some sources report slightly fewer casualties, the situation remains dire. As the violence continues to escalate, the IDF has focused on countering potential incursions into Israel by Syrian jihadists.

The timing of these military operations coincides with the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS), a jihadist group that took power in Syria in early December under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa. HTS has sparked concerns over the potential persecution of minorities, particularly in light of its roots in jihadism. Despite efforts by Sharaa to rebrand HTS as a more tolerant governing authority, the group’s ties to al-Qaeda and ISIS remain a matter of concern. These developments have led the IDF to preemptively act to prevent an invasion of Syrian jihadists.

Meanwhile, Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa has called for peace and national unity amidst escalating violence in coastal regions. Sharaa, speaking from his childhood neighborhood in Mazzah, Damascus, reassured the public that Syria “has the characteristics for survival” and urged citizens to “live together.” He acknowledged that the country was facing expected challenges but emphasized the importance of preserving national unity.

The recent violence erupted after coordinated attacks and ambushes between forces linked to the new Islamist government and supporters of the Alawite sect, which was previously loyal to Assad. Syrian security sources reported that at least 200 members of the security forces were killed, and violence quickly escalated into revenge killings. Thousands of armed supporters of the new regime flooded the coastal areas, exacerbating the clashes and leading to mass violence.

Authorities have blamed summary executions and deadly raids on the militias that came to assist the new government, accusing them of targeting villages and towns inhabited by the Alawite minority. These areas were once strongholds for Assad’s supporters, and resentment over past crimes appears to be fueling much of the bloodshed.

The situation in the coastal provinces, including Latakia, has grown more dire with overnight clashes continuing throughout various towns. Armed groups have targeted key infrastructure, including power stations, water pumping stations, and fuel depots, attempting to create chaos and disrupt daily life. The attacks have left large parts of the province without electricity, and security forces have set up new checkpoints in an effort to quell the unrest.

TBN Israel

Day 520 — Sunday, March 9

Tehran will not be bullied by the United States over its nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to the Iranians asking to negotiate a deal.

“The insistence of some bully governments on negotiations is not to resolve issues, but to dominate and impose their own expectations,” Khamenei said in a meeting with senior Iranian officials in Tehran, Reuters reported.

“Talks for them is a path to have new expectations, it is not only about Iran’s nuclear issue. Iran will definitely not accept their expectations,” the dictator added, seemingly ruling out a path to negotiations.

Trump, in an interview with the Fox Business channel on Friday, said that his letter conveyed the message, “‘ I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran.’

“I think they want to get that letter,“ he continued. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Speaking to reporters on the same day in the Oval Office, Trump said that there would be “interesting days ahead“ with respect to the Islamic Republic.

“We’re down to final strokes with Iran,“ Trump said, using a golf metaphor. “We’re down to the final moments. We’re at final moments. Can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”

Tehran has significantly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium, enough to build six nuclear bombs, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters.

In Khamenei’s remarks on Saturday, he also accused Western media of not allowing denial of the Holocaust.

No one can “protest the crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon, or deny what Hitler is claimed to have done to the Jews, on Western-run social media,“ he said.

Khamenei further slammed European nations for criticizing Tehran’s noncompliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement on its nuclear program, signed in 2015 during the Obama administration.

France, Britain and Germany “are issuing statements, claiming that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA! Someone should ask them: Have you fulfilled yours? You never did from the very beginning!“ he said.

Iran’s supreme leader stressed that during the administration of President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021), the Islamic Republic “tolerated“ the deal for a year, until the Iranian parliament approved a bill prohibiting the country from renewing the JCPOA agreement.

“There was no other way. And now, the same holds true: There is no other way to stand against coercion and bullying,“ Khamenei said.

JNS

Day 519 — Saturday, March 8 

US federal authorities on Friday announced the cancellation of $400 million in grants and contracts with New York’s Columbia University due to campus antisemitism.

The cuts marked the most significant action yet taken by the Trump administration in its planned crackdown on anti-Jewish discrimination at universities.

The US Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the General Services Administration — all involved in the Trump Administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism — announced the cancellations in a statement citing Columbia’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

The statement said the cuts were the “first round of action” and more cancellations are expected, noting that the university has more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments.

“Freezing the funds is one of the tools we are using to respond to this spike in anti-Semitism. This is only the beginning,” said Leo Terrell, the head of the antisemitism task force, in a statement.

The agencies said they will issue stop-work orders for the grants and contracts that will immediately freeze Columbia’s access to the funding. There were no details about the programs that will lose funding.

The White House published a graphic labeled “Shalom Columbia” on its X account.

The task force warned Columbia about potential cuts earlier this week and said on Friday that “chaos and anti-Semitic harassment have continued on and near campus in the days since.”

Times Of Israel

Day 518 — Friday, March 7

The Trump administration is ramping up sanctions on Iran in an attempt to dismantle its oil industry and bring its struggling economy to the brink, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.

Speaking at the Economic Club of New York and quoted by CNBC, Bessent emphasized that Washington is enforcing sanctions with “immediate maximum impact.” The ultimate goal, he stated, is to slash Iran’s daily oil exports—currently at 1.5 million barrels—down to a mere fraction.

“We are going to shut down Iran’s oil sector and drone manufacturing capabilities,” Bessent declared, adding that the administration is working to sever Tehran’s access to the global financial network.

“Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy,” said Bessent, a former global investment manager. “If I were an Iranian, I would get all my money out of the rial now,” he warned, referring to the Iranian currency.

Last month, Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, imposing new sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The policy mirrors the aggressive sanctions strategy his administration enforced during his first term in office.

Despite the escalating sanctions, Trump has reiterated his willingness to engage in nuclear negotiations with Iran. “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper,” the president stated in a social media post on February 5.

He has also said that he would rather reach a deal with Iran on its nuclear program than have Israel attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Despite the President’s comments, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has cautioned the Iranian government against engaging in talks with Washington, describing such a move as “reckless.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 518 — Friday, March 7

Israeli security forces were preparing on Friday morning for tens of thousands of Muslims to ascend the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City for the first mass prayers of Ramadan.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced on Thursday night that government ministers “approved the recommendation of the security establishment for the entry of a limited number of Muslim worshippers from Judea and Samaria to the Temple Mount on the Fridays during Ramadan, in a similar format to that which existed last year.”

Last week, the Israel Police recommended that 10,000 Muslims at a time from Judea and Samaria will be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount—Judaism’s holiest site—which is also home to the Al-Aqsa mosque.

According to the framework approved by the government, Palestinian men aged 55 and over, women aged 50 and over and children up to the age of 12 will be able to enter the Israeli capital “subject to receiving a permit and an advance security assessment, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday.

The statement stressed that there are no entry limits for Arab Israelis.

The Israel Police is deploying around 3,000 personnel, including Border Police officers, in Jerusalem on Friday, it announced earlier this week.

On Friday, security in the capital will be tightened to “prevent attempts by hostile elements to exploit the days of the Ramadan month for incitement, disorder, terrorism or any form of violence,” it added.

Terrorists released from prison as part of the current hostage deal with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza and who were allowed to return to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria have been banned from Temple Mount.

JNS

Day 517 — Thursday, March 6

The White House on Wednesday night published an additional video from President Donald Trump’s meeting at the White House with eight Israelis who were freed from Hamas captivity – Eli Sharabi, Keith and Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, and Noa Argamani.

In the video, the freed hostages tell Trump of some of the horrors they experienced during captivity.

Aviva Siegel told Trump, “It was the worst thing that anybody can go through. One of the days, they handcuffed one of the boys that was with us, and then he came, and he pulled a cutter, and he cut his hand and smiled. They used to eat in front of us while they starved us.”

Doron Steinbrecher told the President that “it’s a miracle” that she is still alive.

Eli Sharabi said, “I was kidnapped on the 7th of October. My wife and my two daughters were murdered on the same day. I was held in captivity for 491 days. I suffered from starvation, violence, and humiliations daily. One time, they broke my ribs, and it hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe for one month. Thanks to President Trump, I’m a free man. I can hug my mother again. I can hug my brothers and sisters.”

“I was moved 33 times, spent time in tunnels with no air to breathe, barely food, hardly any water, saw horrific torturing of hostages that I spent time with, and I am so grateful and thankful to be here because of President Trump and the administration’s great efforts,” said Keith Siegel.

Iair Horn pointed out that his younger brother, Eitan, is still being held by Hamas.

Trump told the hostages, “I’ve never had anything like this. I mean, I’ve saved a lot of people, but I’ve never seen anything like this where you lived under those conditions. Horrible stories. Not even believable. We’ll get them out. Watch.”

Shortly after his meeting with the freed hostages, Trump issued an ultimatum to Hamas, demanding that the group release all the remaining hostages immediately, “or it is over for you”.

“‘Shalom Hamas’ means Hello and Goodbye – You can choose. 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. Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!” Trump wrote on his social media channels.

“I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don’t do as I say,” he continued. I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning!”

“For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance. Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!” the President wrote.

Arutz Sheva

Day 517 — Thursday, March 6

The Israeli and U.S. Air Forces this week conducted a significant joint military exercise over the Mediterranean Sea, in their first collaboration on this scale in two years.

Dozens of fighter jets, strategic B-52 bombers and refueling aircraft participated, simulating coordinated strikes on shared targets, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported on Tuesday.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized collaboration with Washington to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that diplomatic efforts are faltering, leaving military action as a possibility.

Iran is bracing for an Israeli strike, with The Telegraph citing sources who claim Tehran is on high alert, strengthening defenses at undisclosed sites following recent Israeli attacks.

JNS

Day 516 — Wednesday, March 5

The U.S. State Department officially reclassified the Houthis in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization on Tuesday. This move comes a little more than a month after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on the department to issue the reclassification.

“Today’s action taken by the State Department demonstrates the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting our national security interests, the safety of the American people and the security of the United States,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

“Since 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as U.S. service members defending freedom of navigation and our regional partners,” per the department. “Most recently, the Houthis spared Chinese-flagged ships while targeting American and allied vessels.”

The department also announced an up to $15 million reward and possible relocation for “information leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms” of the Houthis.

“I commend the decision by President Trump and Secretary Rubio to designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” wrote Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli minister of foreign affairs. “The Houthis, an Iranian proxy, unprovokedly launched hundreds of missile and drone attacks at Israeli citizens and communities, disrupted international shipping routes and upended global stability. Terrorism must be eradicated!”

“We appreciate President Donald Trump’s designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization,” AIPAC wrote. “The Houthis pose an ongoing terrorist threat to American troops, our allies and international commerce.”

JNS

Day 516 — Wednesday, March 5

Several senior Russian missile specialists have visited Iran over the past year, deepening the defense ties between Moscow and Tehran, according to a Reuters review of travel records and employment data. Seven experts were identified traveling from Moscow to Tehran on April 24 and September 17, 2024, aboard two group flights.

The booking records reveal that the men were traveling with passports designated for official state business, a sign of their roles in the Russian government or military. The experts, whose expertise spans air-defense missile systems, artillery, and advanced weaponry, reportedly visited Iranian missile production sites, including some underground facilities.

A senior Iranian defense ministry official confirmed that Russian missile specialists made several visits to Iranian missile bases, including one close to Amirabad, located near the Caspian Sea. These visits occurred against the backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East, with Iran and Israel engaged in escalating military strikes.

Despite efforts to reach the specialists for comment, five of them denied any involvement with Iran, and the Russian defense ministry did not respond to requests for information. However, the nature of these visits underscores the growing military cooperation between Russia and Iran, particularly in light of their 20-year military pact signed earlier this year.

Iran’s reliance on Russian-designed drones in the ongoing war in Ukraine further highlights the importance of this partnership, which is likely to influence the trajectory of regional security dynamics in the years ahead.

TBN Israel

Day 516 — Wednesday, March 5

China isn’t the only nation pushing a two-state solution on Israel. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emanuel Macron, the former Biden Administration, and many other world leaders also hold the same agenda, insisting that if Israel went back to pre-1967 borders, there would be peace and the October 7th massacre by Hamas would never have happened.

Needless to say, the so-called Palestinians had pre-1967 borders from 1948 to 1967, and yet they still formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), of which Yasser Arafat became chairman. As I’ve said many times, it’s not about borders for the Palestinians; it’s about Israel’s existence. Their slogan, “From the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, Palestine will be Free,” showcases their lack of interest in a two-state solution.

Woe unto the world that pushes Israel in this deadly direction! The world refuses to acknowledge the facts and instead is forcing Israel to make peace with people who wish them dead. Gaza should be all the necessary proof that peace through this avenue is not possible. Israel turned the entire strip over to them in 2005—lock, stock, and barrel. What came out of it was the largest terrorist network of tunnels in the entire world and an elected terrorist regime intent on destroying Israel.

The Jewish State wanted to make peace, and as a result, Israel and the world were forced to witness a demonic display of the dead bodies of the Bibas children paraded to the cheers of Gazan civilians along with their children.

The Palestinians have shown themselves to be nothing less than bloodthirsty savages. Ariel and Kfir Bibas, 9 months old and 4 years old, were choked to death by Hamas and brutally murdered along with their mother, Shiri. The cruelty of this demonic-minded death cult is pure evil.

A post on social media showed a Palestinian gathering in Toronto, Canada, celebrating the murder of the Bibas children. Where were the world leaders condemning these actions?

When looking at the fight Israel is facing, it is clear that the call for a two-state solution is satanic in origin.

Day 515 — Tuesday, March 4

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday that it would be sending the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, headed by civil rights lawyer Leo Terrell, to ten university campuses to conduct investigations.

The move is the latest step by the Trump administration to fight campus antisemitism, which exploded after the Hamas terror attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, despite a Biden administration “strategy” on antisemitism.

The DOJ said in a press release:

Leading Task Force member and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell informed the 10 universities yesterday that the Task Force was aware of allegations that the schools may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination, in potential violation of federal law. Mr. Terrell said he intends for the Task Force to meet with university leadership, impacted students and staff, local law enforcement, and community members as it gathers information about these incidents and considers whether remedial action is warranted.

“The President, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and the entire Administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion,” said Mr. Terrell. “The Task Force’s mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this Administration is taking to deliver on that commitment.”

The 10 universities identified by the Task Force are: Columbia University; George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California.

The Biden DOJ, including the Civil Rights Division, was largely silent on the issue of campus antisemitism.

Terrell, a familiar commentator on Fox News, was appointed to lead the antisemitism task force in early February.

Breitbart

Day 515 — Tuesday, March 4

A stabbing attack left one person dead and four others wounded in Haifa, Israel, on Monday. 

Police said they were treating the stabbing, which took place in a central transit hub, as a militant attack. A security guard and a civilian killed the attacker, who police said was an Arab citizen of Israel who had recently returned to Israel after some time abroad.

“My wife Sara and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim of the horrific terrorist attack in Haifa, and we send our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. 

“We will continue to fight those who seek to harm us – wherever they are – and we will defeat them,” he added.

The victim who died in the attack – who was stabbed in the back multiple times, according to the Times of Israel – was 70-years-old.

A 15-year-old boy was also wounded, but he is now in stable condition after undergoing surgery at a local hospital, the Times of Israel reported, citing a doctor.

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas praised the attack in Haifa but did not claim responsibility for it, according to Reuters.

Haifa is a city in northern Israel, located near the country’s border with Lebanon.

Fox News

Day 514 — Monday, March 3

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. Israeli also pulled back forces from most of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid to enter the region.

Fox News

Day 513 — Sunday, March 2

The BBC is facing a potential terror probe after admitting to having paid a family member of a top figure in the Hamas terrorist organisation for a Gaza documentary.

An investigation found last month that one of the subjects in the BBC’s Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone documentary, 14-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, was not an average resident of the Palestinian territory but rather a member of “Hamas royalty” and son of Hamas agricultural minister Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri, who himself is related to one of the founding members of the terrorist group.

This week, the BBC admitted to paying Al-Yazouri’s family through the production company behind the documentary, Hoyo Films, prompting calls for an investigation to determine whether public funds were given to the family members of a proscribed terror group.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told the Daily Mail: “We’re aware of a BBC documentary about Gaza and we have received a number of reports raising concerns.

“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter.”

Calling for a terror probe into the publicly-funded broadcaster, a spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “A national treasure has become a national embarrassment. The BBC has now admitted that licence fee funds were paid to the family of a senior Hamas official.

“It has not yet been able to rule out that further payments to Hamas were made as it continues to investigate where hundreds of thousands of pounds went. Clearly, those responsible must lose their jobs. We are among those who have reported the BBC to Counter Terrorism Policing, which is now investigating.”

The BBC, which has removed the documentary from its online streaming service, has admitted that there were “serious flaws” with the making of the pro-Gaza film and BBC director-general Tim Davie will face a grilling from members of parliament next week.

Breitbart

Day 512 — Saturday, March 1

The US State Department has told Congress that it plans to sell nearly $3 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and $295 million worth of armored bulldozers.

According to the State Department, three separate sales were sent to Congress for approval.

One is for $2.04 billion for 35,529 MK 84 or BLU-117 heavy bombs and 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads. Deliveries are expected next year.

The second is $675.7 million for 201 MK 83 1,000-pound bombs, 4,799 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound bombs, and 5,000 JDAM guidance kits.

The third sale, estimated at $295 million, includes D9 Caterpillar bulldozers and related equipment. The deliveries of the bulldozers, which the Israeli military uses, are expected to begin in 2027.

In November, it was reported that the former US administration was holding up the sale of the D9 bulldozers over the use of the machinery to destroy homes in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF says are used by Hamas.

The proposed sales “will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency says in a statement.

Times Of Israel

Day 512 — Saturday, March 1

The Palestinian Authority will not deduct a single penny from its “pay-for-slay” fund that rewards terrorists and their families for their attacks, P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas told members of his ruling Fatah faction last week, according to translated remarks Palestinian Media Watch published on Thursday.

“We again emphasize that we are proud of the sacrifices made by the martyrs, prisoners and wounded [terrorists],” the P.A. leader said at the Feb. 21 gathering of the Revolutionary Council—Fatah’s second-highest body, which is chaired by Abbas—in Ramallah, Samaria.

“I told you once and I stand by my word: Even if we have [only] one penny left, it is for the prisoners and the martyrs,” he continued, echoing previous remarks made during a July 23, 2018, address in the Palestinian city.

The P.A. “will not agree to reduce any obligation, any interest, or any penny given to them,” Abbas said. He concluded, “They must receive everything, as in the past, and they are more precious than all of us.”

In a statement issued following its annual gathering last week, the Revolutionary Council reiterated Fatah’s “commitment to supporting the families of martyrs, prisoners and injured individuals, emphasizing that they are ‘heroes of freedom’ who deserve top priority in terms of protection and care,” the P.A.’s official Wafa news agency reported.

The Palestinian faction was preparing to integrate terrorists released under the current hostage deal with Gaza-based Hamas into “the movement and national frameworks,” the announcement noted.

Although international media have interpreted a Feb. 10 statement by Abbas as ending the P.A.’s “pay-for-slay” program, which it calls the “Martyrs’ Fund,” in which terrorists and their families are rewarded monthly stipends for attacking Jews, the announcement said Ramallah was transferring its payment allocation system from a ministry to an “independent” foundation.

JNS

Day 511 — Friday, February 28

At least 13 pedestrians were wounded after a terrorist rammed into pedestrians on Highway 65 near the Pardes Hanna-Karkur intersection, Israel Police confirmed on Thursday afternoon. 

Following the ramming, police officers immediately identified the suspect’s vehicle traveling toward Gan Shmuel and blocked its path.

The terrorist accelerated, rammed a police vehicle, and then exited while charging at officers with a sharp object, later identified as a screwdriver. At this point, the terrorist was shot.

Thirteen civilians were injured in the attack, including one critically and two seriously. A police officer was also among the injured.

Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera said it had received one individual in critical condition, two in serious condition, and three in moderate condition. MDA reported that a 17-year-old girl was the person who was critically wounded.

Later on Thursday evening, a MDA helicopter transported two seriously wounded people from Hillel Yaffe Hospital to Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer, including the teenage girl – who reportedly has head and limb injuries and is sedated and on a ventilator – and a 76-year-old man with a head injury who is sedated and on a ventilator. 

Later the police confirmed that the terrorist was a 53-year-old Palestinian from Jenin who was residing illegally in Israel with his family. The circumstances of his presence in Israel are under investigation by the ISA.

Israel Police spokesperson: “The terrorist ran over several people at a bus station, then proceeded to stab others with a screwdriver and crashed into a police vehicle.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 511 — Friday, February 28

Freed hostage Eli Sharabi says he became especially close with 24-year-old Alon Ohel while they and two other Israelis were held hostage in Gaza under cramped, painful conditions.

“I adopted him from the first minute,” Sharabi says. “24/7 together. I know everything about him and his family.”

Sharabi, 53, tells Channel 12’s “Uvda” investigative program the men were able to draw strength from one another. But Ohel took it very hard when he learned that Sharabi and the two others, Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, were being released.

Sharabi says that when he was released with Levy on February 8, Ohel grabbed him and refused to let go until their guard tore him away. He says there were “moments of hysteria” and it took about 15 minutes to calm him down.

“It was a very hard moment,” he says. “He said he was happy for me. I promised him I won’t leave him there. I will fight for him.” Cohen was released two weeks later, leaving Ohel alone.

Sharabi, who lost over 30 kilograms (66 pounds) in captivity, says terrorists held the four hostages in iron chains, and sometimes beat or humiliated them, and they subsisted for months on a single plate of pasta each day.

He says that the hunger pains were unbearable and that getting his captors to give them a dried-out date or a quarter of a piece of bread felt like a victory.

“You could know what happened in the news just from their conduct,” Sharabi says when asked if their captors were exposed to Israeli media, “and therefore… [Israeli leaders’] comments in the media have a lot of power.”

“Any irresponsible remark, the first to get it was us,” he continued. “[The captors] come to us and say, ‘They’re not giving our prisoners food, you won’t eat. They’re beating our prisoners, we’ll beat you. They don’t get a shower, you won’t get a shower.’ It’s all the time there.”

Sharabi was abducted on October 7, 2023, from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Sharabi says he had no access to the news and only learned after his release that his wife and two daughters, as well as his brother, were all killed in the Hamas-led attack.

Despite the pain, he says that he feels lucky to be alive and fortunate for the time he spent with his wife Lianne, and daughters, Noiya and Yahel.
“I’m not angry,” he says. “I was lucky I had Lianne for 30 years, I was lucky I had those amazing daughters for years.”

Times Of Israel

Day 510 — Thursday, February 27

Israel received coffins early Thursday from the Red Cross, after the remains of four Israeli hostages murdered in captivity had been transferred to the international organization in the Gaza Strip.

The four were positively identified as Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, Shlomo Mansour, and Tsachi Idan, who were kidnapped from their homes on October 7, 2023, before being murdered while held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were released to secure the return of the bodies.

i24 News

Day 510 — Thursday, February 27

Late Tuesday night, Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes on military targets in southern Syria, including the town of Kisweh, located around 20 kilometers south of Damascus. The attack, confirmed by local security sources and Syria TV, resulted in blasts heard across the region. The strikes were part of a broader Israeli operation to ensure that Syrian regime forces and terrorist groups do not breach Israel’s security buffer zone in southern Syria.

Defense Minister Israel Katz stressed that these strikes were essential to maintaining Israel’s security. “We will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon,” Katz declared, referencing Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent the establishment of enemy forces near its borders. “The Air Force is currently conducting powerful strikes in southern Syria as part of our new policy of demilitarizing the region,” he added, emphasizing that any attempts by Syrian regime forces or terrorist organizations to entrench themselves in southern Syria would be met with force.

Syrian reports indicate that at least two individuals were killed, and several others were injured in the airstrikes on Kisweh. The attacks primarily targeted military vehicles within the town. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the destruction of multiple military sites, including command centers and weapons storage locations. According to the IDF, the presence of these military assets in southern Syria posed a direct threat to Israeli civilians, prompting continued military operations to remove these dangers.

In addition to the airstrikes in Syria, the IDF has also been engaged in counterterrorism operations within Judea and Samaria. On Tuesday, Israeli forces, in cooperation with Shin Bet, thwarted a terrorist plot involving a 100 kg bomb in Kabatiya. As part of this operation, the Nahal Brigade troops apprehended 15 suspected terrorists, dismantled explosives, and seized weapons. The ongoing counterterrorism operation, named Operation Iron Wall, has seen multiple successful strikes against terrorist cells in the West Bank, including a recent attack on a terror cell in a vehicle.

TBN Israel

Day 510 — Thursday, February 27

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Tuesday expressed his long-held support for Israel and what he said was its biblically rooted right to its historic homeland in Judea and Samaria

Addressing the Sovereignty Conference 2025 in Jerusalem on Tuesday via video, Cruz reiterated his long-held position that Israel has an “absolute right to determine what happens in Judea and Samaria.”

That right “starts in the Bible and extends through modern times,” he added.

Thanking Yesha Council chairman Israel Gantz for his work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance, Cruz said, “As you meet today, have confidence that the American people stand with you. And under President Trump and our new Republican Congress, the American government stands with you as well.”

The Yesha Council is an umbrella group of local and regional councils in Judea and Samaria.

“As for your enemies, who are also the enemies of America, we know that they seek to weaken you and to weaken us. And then to destroy you. And then to destroy us,” continued Cruz.

He expressed sympathy for the “unfathomable trauma” Israel and the Jewish people endure as “Palestinian savages make the return of every hostage, living or murdered, an ongoing nightmare.”

Cruz quoted remarks by Menachem Begin, part of a famous exchange the former Israeli prime minister had with then-Senator Joe Biden in  June 1982.

Biden reportedly banged on the table with his fist, to which Begin replied, “This desk is designed for writing, not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid.”

Quoting Begin, Cruz said: “Don’t threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country.

“We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And when necessary, we will die for them again. With or without your aid.”

The Texas senator concluded: “Every person in this room has paid for the Land of Israel, has fought for the Land of Israel, and far too many have died for the Land of Israel. I am proud to stand with you unshakably as you determine the future of Judea and Samaria.”

The Sovereignty Conference brings together prominent leaders and activists on the Israeli right. The event spotlighted expectations for Israel’s government to change the status quo in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, with support from the U.S. administration.

Co-produced by the Yesha Council of Judea and Samaria communities, the event has served for over two decades as a platform to advocate making  Judea, Samaria and Gaza, or areas therein, part of Israel.

JNS

Day 510 — Thursday, February 27

More than 100,000 Israelis lined the roads as the funeral cars carrying the bodies of slain former hostages Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas made their way to the cemetery in southern Israel, not far from their home at Kibbutz Nir Oz. The crowd carried Israeli flags and orange balloons, depicting the color of the children’s hair, now a symbol of honor and shared grief for the family.

In a statement, the family wrote, “We see and hear you; we are moved and strengthened by you.” They added, “Yarden (a former hostage, husband of Shiri, and father of Ariel and Kfir) apologizes for not being able to come and hug each and every one of you. We hope for the day when we can once again be together in moments of joy and not sadness.”

Ben Gurion Airport, the Israeli Knesset, and the President’s Residence were lit up in orange Tuesday night to remember the mother and children whose plight captured Israel’s heart.

President Isaac Herzog issued a statement reading, in part, “While an entire nation prayed and hoped for a different outcome, we are left wounded and in pain. Yet, even in our grief, we will continue to pray for better days and for the swift return of all the remaining hostages still held in Gaza.”

The Knesset met Wednesday morning and began with a minute of silence to remember the Bibas family. In his remarks, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana referred to Kibbutz Nir Oz co-founder Oded Lifshitz, 83, whose body was returned with the Bibas children.

“Last night, Oded Lifshitz was laid to rest, may God avenge his blood, and the Knesset building was lit up in orange in memory of those being laid to rest at this moment: Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, the redheads, may God avenge their blood,” Ohana declared.

CBN

Day 509 — Wednesday, February 26

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Mousa Abu Marzouk, the head of Hamas’s foreign relations office, expressed regret over the destructive consequences of the October 7 attacks on Gaza. He admitted that had he known the scale of the devastation that would follow, he would never have agreed to the operation. Abu Marzouk, who was not informed of the full details of the plans, stated, “If it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been October 7.”

During the interview, Abu Marzouk described Hamas’s survival in the war against Israel as a “kind of victory,” though he was quick to clarify that this survival should not be viewed as a true victory, especially given the severe destruction Israel brought to Gaza. He further criticized Israel for “losing control” and taking “revenge against everything.”

In addition to discussing the group’s survival, Abu Marzouk spoke about Hamas’s willingness to negotiate on various issues, including the group’s weapons in Gaza. He also addressed the issue of hostages, revealing that Hamas would demand the release of additional prisoners in exchange for the remaining hostages. He stated that Hamas might be open to releasing all hostages if Israel agreed to release thousands of prisoners and withdrew from Gaza, effectively ending the war.

However, Hamas later responded to Abu Marzouk’s statements, claiming that the interview had misrepresented his words and taken them out of context. The organization emphasized that the October 7 operation was a reflection of their people’s right to resist and reject what they consider the siege, occupation, and settlements. Hamas reiterated that it would continue to uphold its armed resistance until they achieve “liberation and return” of “their land.”

TBN Israel

Day 509 — Wednesday, February 26

At a meeting at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, Argentinian President Javier Milei assured visiting officials from the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) that he would grant them access to classified documents detailing how 5,000 Nazi war criminals settled in Argentina after the Holocaust. 

Ten thousand Nazi war criminals are estimated to have fled Europe – and justice – following World War II via escape routes known as the so-called “ratlines.” The records on the escapes and who financed them have remained classified with historians and Nazi hunters, including the SWC, unable to gain access.  

“While some previous leaders promised full cooperation to get to the hard truths that involved Argentina’s past, Milei is the first to act with lightning speed to enable the SWC to uncover important pieces of the historic puzzle, especially as it related to involvement with Nazis before, during and after the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the SWC.

Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, also sent a letter to Milei, requesting his help in finding out how the Nazi escape routes were organized and funded.

The letter was delivered to the Argentinian president by Jonathan Missner, managing partner at Stein, Mitchell, Beato & Missner. Missner legally represents the SWC and the victims of the Iran-Hezbollah bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994.

“President Milei is a staunch ally of the global Jewish community and was eager to open these archives. He knows that confronting Argentina’s history of Nazi collaboration requires nothing less than full transparency, and the same principle undergirds his pursuit of justice for the AMIA bombing,” said Missner.

He noted that uncovering the history of the escape routes will reveal the collusion of governments and large corporations in assisting Nazi war criminals.

“People should understand that for many decades after the Holocaust, governments and multinational corporations helped Nazis hide their stolen money, avoid prosecution, and live the free lives that their victims deserved,” Missner said. 

In Argentina, that collusion went straight to the top government echelons with then-President Juan Peron, authorizing key aspects of the ratlines. Peron, alongside other South American leaders, not only welcomed German members of the Nazi party but also Hungarian, Croatian and other Nazi war criminals. 

Alongside Argentina, several countries in the Americas secretly welcomed the fleeing Nazi war criminals, including Canada, the United States and Mexico. The Nazis who fled also found safe havens in Australia, Spain and Switzerland. The ratlines were known to U.S. intelligence, which reportedly handpicked top Nazi scientists from the escape routes. 

There were two primary escape routes with one passing through Germany and Spain – and across the Atlantic to Argentina – and the second via Germany and Italy and across the Atlantic. The escape routes, which were quite elaborate, were reportedly established with the secret support of several officials from the Vatican.

Among the roughly 5,000 Nazis who were allowed to live out their lives in freedom in Argentina were war criminals Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele. The latter fled via the ratlines in 1948 by using the false identity of Helmut Gregor. 

All Israel News

Day 508 — Tuesday, February 25  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displayed images of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, during an address at a combat officers’ graduation ceremony on Sunday, delivering a solemn message.

“I want to show you something. I want to show you this picture of Shiri Bibas and her tender children, Ariel and Kfir Bivas. This picture says it all; I ask that you engrave it on the board of your hearts, so that you will always remember what we are fighting for and against whom we are fighting,” Netanyahu told the graduates, according to Fox News’ translation of the Hebrew speech. “We are fighting to secure our existence against man-monsters who have risen to annihilate us.” 

“Already in the first days of the war, they murdered Shiri and her children in cold blood; they strangled the tender children with their own hands,” Netanyahu said, holding up a photo of the Bibas family. “And if they could, they would have killed us all with the same cruelty, until our very last man. Against this we fight, and these monsters we must and can defeat – and defeat them we will. This is our mission, and this is your mission!” 

“As the defenders of our homeland, each of you is imbued with purpose, wielding sword and shield,” he added. “We have high expectations of you, but I know that above all, you have expectations of yourselves.” 

Hamas handed over the bodies of the two young brothers on Thursday, but initially returned the wrong remains for Shiri in what Netanyahu had decried as a “brazen violation of their agreement.” The Israeli mother’s actual remains were handed over on Saturday and identified by Israeli forensic authorities to be Shiri following a standoff with the terrorist group. Also returned was the body of Oded Lifshitz, a fellow resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and who Israel says was murdered in captivity. The Israel Defense Forces said the boys’ bodies proved they were “murdered by terrorists in cold blood,” despite Hamas previously claiming the brothers were killed in an airstrike.

In his speech Sunday, Netanyahu said President Donald Trump “sees eye to eye with us on everything related to Gaza.” 

“We support President Trump’s groundbreaking plan to allow free exit for Gazans, and to create a different Gaza,” Netanyahu told the graduating combat officers. 

“I thank President Trump for his directive to supply Israel with vital weapons,” Netanyahu said. “The new defensive and offensive arms will greatly aid us in achieving absolute victory. At the same time, we have approved enormous budgets for the domestic development of weapon systems – systems that will enhance our ability to stand up to our enemies on our own.“ 

Fox News

Day 508 — Tuesday, February 25  

Israel deployed tanks in Jenin for the first time in over 20 years on Sunday, signaling an extended military presence in northern Samaria as it intensifies counterterrorism operations in the region.

For the first time since 2002, Israel deployed tanks in Judea and Samaria following bus bombings in Bat Yam and Holon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify the conflict during a rare visit to the Tulkarem refugee camp.

During a troop visit and briefing by commanders, Netanyahu stated, “In the past year, we have greatly increased our activity. We are entering the terrorist strongholds, clearing entire streets used by terrorists, their homes. We are eliminating terrorists and commanders.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” in Judea and Samaria, stating that troops will remain “for the coming year” and that Palestinians who have fled cannot return.

“We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he emphasized.

Katz also instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in emptied Judea and Samraria urban areas, from which about 40,000 Palestinians have fled.

Since launching “Operation Iron Wall” in Judea and Samaria on January 19, Israeli forces have arrested over 200 terror suspects, eliminated 71 deemed security threats, and confiscated more than 300 weapons and explosives. They have also uncovered a bomb-making laboratory.

Additionally, since the October 7 attacks, Israeli forces have detained 6,000 Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, with around 40 percent linked to Hamas.

Worthy News

Day 508 — Tuesday, February 25  

As the Israeli hostages return home from Gaza after more than one year, their families are beginning to report on the difficult conditions they faced in Hamas captivity. 

The six hostages recently released said they were severely punished without explanation, subjected to physical and psychological torture, and interrogated about their military past. 

Several hostages reported receiving meager rations, with their food supply increasing only in the days leading up to their release.

While the female hostages, who returned in the current hostage-ceasefire deal, testified that they were mostly kept in private homes of Gazan families, the male hostages say they were primarily kept in tunnels underground. Medical teams reported that the hostages returned with various conditions, indicating prolonged malnutrition and lack of exposure to sunlight.

During IDF bombings, the men were sometimes moved into deeper tunnels, which were narrower. 

Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, who returned on Saturday, told his parents that he was “afraid to fall asleep, to wake up, and to realize that it was not a dream.” 

Shem Tov was kept by himself in a tunnel after the release of Itai Regev in the November 2023 hostage-ceasefire deal. He suffers from asthma and didn’t receive any medication during his captivity. 

Both Omer Wenkert and Eliya Cohen reported that they were kept isolated in tunnels during most of their captivity, were deliberately starved, and even held in cages part of the time. Wenkert was not exposed to any media and had no idea about the efforts to secure his release. Wenkert suffers from an inflammatory bowel disease and did not receive any medication for his condition, despite attempts by the Israeli government to transfer medications to the hostages. 

Cohen has epilepsy and was also kept without any access to medication. His family said that during his captivity, he underwent surgery to extract bullets from his body without anesthesia. 

The family also said he was held captive with hostages Alon Ohel, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy. The men were often chained together by hands and feet to prevent their escape. This caused wounds. They were also beaten by their captors. Sharabi and Levy were returned two weeks before Cohen. Alon Ohel is still in captivity, and Cohen said Ohel is being held alone after the release on Saturday. 

Sha’aban al-Sayed, father of returned Bedouin hostage, Hisham, said his son returned severely troubled after a decade in Hamas captivity. Hisham has a diagnosed history of mental issues, including a 2010 diagnosis of “acute psychotic disorder” and a 2013 diagnosis of schizophrenia. 

Hisham wandered into the Gaza Strip in 2015 and was abducted by Hamas terrorists. His family attempted to secure his release multiple times over the past decade, including sending messages to leading Muslim clerics in Gaza. 

Sha’aban said his son’s condition indicates that he was severely mistreated. 

“We were happy to be able to have him, but when I hugged him I saw that I was hugging something that wasn’t a human being. It looks like a human being, but it’s not a human being,” Sha’aban said. “He doesn’t know how to talk, he doesn’t have a voice, he has no memory of anything. It’s simple, it gives the feeling that he wasn’t held by human beings, and we’re angry about it and we want an answer, why this is happening with the hostages?”

Hostage Agam Berger, one of the female IDF observation scouts who was released at the beginning of the current hostage-ceasefire deal, said the terrorists would prevent her and Liri Elbag, with whom she was being held, from speaking in Hebrew. She explained that the neighbors didn’t know they were there, and that Hamas preferred that as few people as possible knew where they were being held. 

Medical officials in Israel have pointed to the premature baldness and hair bleaching demonstrated by many of the returning male hostages as evidence of the long-term malnutrition and stress endured by the men during the almost year and a half of captivity. 

The hostage families and the returning hostages themselves have all urged government officials to do whatever is necessary to bring the remaining hostages home, citing mistreatment. 

Despite the demand of the families to release the remaining hostages in one go, the Israeli government appears to be trying to extend phase one to additional humanitarian stages, which will include the release of four fathers of young children – David Cuneo, Omri Miran, Elkana Bohbot and Maxim Harkin – alongside injured or sick abductees whose condition has only now been revealed due to the testimonies of the returning hostages. 

Of the 59 abductees who were not included in the first phase, 35 are believed to be dead. Families of most of the other 24 have received signs of life in recent weeks. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that he will continue to work to bring all of the remaining hostages home.

All Israel News

Day 508 — Tuesday, February 25  

A flyby by the Israeli Defence Forces over the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah – who was killed in an Israeli air strike – has sent a bold message.

As Nasrallah’s funeral began at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Israeli warplanes flew at a low altitude in what Defence Minister Israel Katz said was a ‘clear message’ to anyone who threatens Israel.

‘You will specialise in funerals – and we in victories,’ Katz said.

Women wailed as a truck carrying the coffins of Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine – Nasrallah’s chosen successor also killed in an Israeli air strike – slowly moved through the crowd, topped with two black turbans and draped in Hezbollah’s yellow flag.

The procession, which was witnessed by tens of thousands of mourners, headed towards the site where Nasrallah will be buried. Safieddine will be interred in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun al-Nahr on Monday.

The September killing of Nasrallah  – who led Hezbollah for more than three decades – in a massive Israeli strike dealt a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group.

But Hezbollah, which dominated Lebanon’s politics for decades, has long had a support base in the country’s Shiite Muslim community.

Hezbollah’s new leader, Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem, vowed ‘resistance’ to ‘face Israel’ was not over in his televised address at the ceremony.

He added that Hezbollah would keep following his ‘path’, and rejected any control by the ‘tyrant America’ over Lebanon.

Nasrallah speeches were blasted as the mourners raised their fists in the air and chanted: ‘We are at your service, Nasrallah.’

Daily Mail 

Day 508 — Tuesday, February 25  

The Hamas terrorist organization released a video on Saturday showing Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal watching their fellow captives being released while seated in a vehicle just meters away from the stage where the release ceremony was taking place.

In another propaganda video, Hamas forced the two men to view the ceremony from inside nearby vehicles. David and Gilboa-Dalal are childhood friends who were both abducted from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. As part of the Hamas propaganda, the two, who learned to speak Arabic during their captivity, were forced to condemn the war and plead for their release on camera. 

The Hamas video shows the two hostages in a vehicle, watching the release ceremony of Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, and Omer Wenkert, which took place in the central Gaza neighborhood of Nuseirat. 

Several times the two cover their faces with their hands and plead, “Please save us.” 

While the video is presented as the natural reaction of the two men to the scene they are witnessing, it is believed the hostages were coached on how to respond and what to say ahead of the filming. 

Ilan Dalal, Guy’s father, approved the release of the Hamas video. He told Channel 12 News, “They were forced to watch their friends be released and [then they were] returned to the tunnels. There is nothing more cruel than that. It shows the most urgent need to get them out of there. They can’t go through it, it’s just inhumane.” 

Regarding his decision to release the video, Dalal said, “There was no hesitation, I immediately gave permission, I wanted them to see and understand the need to get them out. Perhaps those who oppose the deal will change their minds. Let them see what they’re going through there.” 

He also said, “This is the best sign of life I could ask for, but on the other hand there’s nothing more cruel.” 

All Israel News

Day 507 — Monday, February 24 

With the IDF still occupying a buffer zone in southern Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went a step further on Sunday and demanded that the new Syrian government commit to keeping its forces out of southern Syria.

“We demand full demilitarization of southern Syria from the forces of the new regime. Also, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria,” Netanyahu said during a speech at the graduation ceremony for new IDF combat officers.

“In Syria, the IDF will remain in the Mount Hermon area and the buffer zone for an indefinite period, to protect our settlements and prevent any threat. We will not allow the forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus,” he vowed.

After the collapse of the Assad regime, which was spearheaded by the Islamist terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its leader Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, who now goes by Ahmad al-Shara, the IDF captured a buffer zone along the frontier with Syria.

“The collapse of the Syrian regime created a vacuum on Israel’s border and in the buffer zone established by the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement,” Netanyahu’s office said at the time. The prime minister said that Israeli forces would remain in that location “until security on our border can be guaranteed.”

After Netanyahu’s speech, Defense Minister Israel Katz stressed that Israeli security forces would keep scanning the entire area for threats.
“We are committed not to allow a return to the reality of October 7, and that will be the case,” Katz said.

“There is a new reality in southern Syria, as the Prime Minister noted. The IDF will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves and operate in the security zone in southern Syria, from here to Damascus, and we will act against any threat.”

All Israel News

Day 507 — Monday, February 24 

When 26-year-old Adi Jegna first noticed the white bag on one of the seats at the back of her city bus in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam on the way home from work Thursday evening, something didn’t feel right. So she got up and took a closer look.

Inside the bag, she saw rolls of toilet paper, and a container with some yellowish liquid.

“Frankly speaking I debated whether I should say anything,” she recounted to JNS on Sunday.

However, Jegna moved the bag a bit and saw some lettering in Arabic.  “Then I understood I could not ignore it,” she said.

Still worried she was over-reacting, she walked up to the bus driver as her stop was approaching and told him that there was a suspicious bag towards the back of the bus, before getting off. Though the bus was almost at the end of its route, there were still some other passengers aboard.

The driver immediately contacted his superiors, who instructed him to head straight to the nearby bus depot while the police bomb squad was alerted. No sooner had he gotten off the bus himself than a huge explosion ripped through it.

Jegna heard the blast from her home, but didn’t immediately connect it to her warning. It was only when a friend texted her that there had been a bus bombing, and that someone had alerted the driver to a suspicious object, that she realized.

“I felt incredible,” she told JNS. “I felt that I was the messenger from God to save many people.”

Soon, the enormity of the thwarted attack became clear: Two additional blasts went off prematurely on other city buses— both empty—one in Bat Yam and one in the nearby city of Holon. Security forces subsequently found that an additional bus had been rigged with explosives.

One of the bombs reportedly bore an Arabic message referencing the Palestinian city of Tulkarem which, along with Jenin, has been a hotbed of terrorism. Israeli forces have been carrying out a comprehensive counter-terrorism operation in the area where the two cities are located, for weeks. 

For older Israelis, the images of the demolished bus just south of Tel Aviv brought back memories of the lethal bus bombings of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

While Jegna is too young to remember that time, she has given Israelis a poignant reminder of the importance of speaking out when they see something amiss.

“When I saw the pictures of my destroyed bus, I realized the extent of the disaster that was averted,” she said.  “Really thank God I was a good messenger.”

As word spread of her action, Israelis heaped praise on the young woman for her alertness and quick thinking, but while Jegna is appreciative of the thanks, she insists she is no hero and just encourages everyone to be alert.

As to her future commutes, Jegna is still riding the buses, including this week.

“I have no other choice as I go to work,” she said.  “I’m simply more careful.”

JNS

Day 506 — Sunday, February 23

Israel will delay the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange in protest of Hamas’ “humiliating” treatment of hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Sunday morning, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement condemning Hamas propaganda generated during the exchange.

“In light of Hamas’s repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes, it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies,” the office’s statement said.

The statement came after reports of Hamas fighters exploiting Israeli prisoners while they were being released. On Saturday, five of the six freed hostages were accompanied by armed militants in front of a crowd, including three Israeli hostages who posed alongside terrorists.

Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were among the hostages forced to pose with the terrorists. Shem Tov was also forced to appear cheerful, kiss two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. 

The three also wore fake army uniforms, though they were not enlisted when they were captured by Hamas.

In another recent ceremony orchestrated by Hamas, four coffins were placed in front of a caricature of Netanyahu with a banner that said, “The war criminal Netanyahu & his Nazi army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes.”

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Israeli United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon called the gesture “evil and depraved.”

“For 16 months, Israel has been fighting a deranged terrorist organization that places no value on human life, especially if it is Israeli or Jewish — all while international institutions like the U.N. refrained from condemning Hamas and formally demanding the immediate return of our hostages,“ Danon said.

Fox News

Day 505 — Saturday, February 22

Kibbutz Nir Oz announced early Saturday morning that resident Shiri Bibas was murdered while held captive in Gaza, after Hamas said it returned her body to Israel late the previous night.

“With pain and deep sorrow, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home,” according to a statement from the community.

On Thursday, Hamas returned the bodies of the Bibas children, Kfir and Ariel, along with that of octogenarian Oded Lifshitz. However, the fourth body freed from Gaza, which Hamas said was that of Shiri Bibis, was found to belong to an unidentified person.

The Palestinian terror group on Friday night handed over Shiri’s body to the Red Cross, which in turn delivered the corpse to Israel for identification.

“Shiri is brought home after 505 days,” The Hostage and Missing Families Forum confirmed in a statement on Saturday.

“Shiri Bibas was abducted at the age of 32, along with her two young boys from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. On October 7th the world held its breath in agony, watching the horrific images of Shiri, holding Ariel and Kfir in her arms, as she was abducted at gunpoint,” it continued.

“Today, we all mourn the loss of this lioness mother, who fiercely defended her sons until the very end.”

The forum subsequently released a statement on behalf of the Bibas family.

“Following the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, we received this morning the news we had dreaded—our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest.

“Despite our fears about their fate, we continued to hope that we would get to embrace them, and now we are in pain and heartbroken,” continued the statement. “For 16 months we sought certainty, and now that it’s here, it brings no comfort, though we hope it marks the beginning of closure.”

JNS

Day 505 — Saturday, February 22

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was forced to apologize and issue a clarification after unintentionally profiling a Hamas member’s son in a Gaza documentary. 

On Monday, the network premiered the film “Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone,” which followed four young people with ages ranging from 10-24 living in Gaza during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. One of the subjects included 13-year-old Abdullah, who also narrates the film.

On Friday, the BBC announced the documentary would not be available on its iPlayer during an investigation.

The film soon faced backlash after investigative journalist David Collier revealed that Abdullah was, in fact, the son of Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

“We have said that @bbcnews has become a propaganda tool of Hamas. Well here is the proof. Sit down and hold on to something,” he wrote in an X thread on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the BBC released a statement saying that it would add a new text to the film clarifying Abdullah’s backstory and apologizing for not doing so beforehand.

Fox News

Day 504 — Friday, February 21 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slams the “unspeakable cynicism” of Hamas after Israeli forensic authorities determined that the body handed over yesterday which Hamas said was of Shiri Bibas is not her.

“The cruelty of the Hamas monsters knows no bounds,” Netanyahu says in a video statement. “Not only did they kidnap the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri, and their two small babies. But in an unspeakably cynical manner, they did not return Shiri alongside her young children, the little angels, and they put the body of a Gazan woman in the coffin.”

Yarden Bibas was freed earlier this month.

Netanyahu vows that Israel will “act resolutely to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement.”

The prime minister also expresses sadness at the confirmation that the other three bodies returned were those of Oded Lifshitz, 83, Ariel Bibas, 4, and Kfir, approximately 10 months, saying that “the three of them were brutally murdered in Hamas captivity in the first weeks of the war.”

He adds: “May God avenge their blood — and we too will avenge.”

Times Of Israel

Day 504 — Friday, February 21 

More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Palestinian terrorists based in Judea and Samaria could launch a significant terrorist attack similar to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre near the Gaza Strip, according to a poll the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs published this week.

The survey, which was conducted by the Lazar Research Institute and was first published in Hebrew on Tuesday, surveyed a representative sample of some 700 Israelis—Arabs and Jews—between Feb. 11 and 13.

Sixty-eight percent of the Jewish respondents have concerns about a large-scale terrorist attack emanating from Judea and Samaria, while a quarter of the state’s Arab minority fear this scenario.

The JCFA poll also found that, in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre, 67% of Israeli citizens oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state along the country’s pre-1967 borders. Three-fourths of Jews are against creating a “Palestine,” while 16% of Arab Israelis declared they oppose the move.

“The survey suggests that, for most Israelis, the fear of another attack is not just a far-fetched scenario, but a tangible threat that must be taken into account in formulating a clear strategy to ensure the security of [Israeli] residents,” the Jerusalem-based think tank commented.

JNS 

Day 503 — Thursday, February 20 

IDF STATEMENT: Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police, IDF representatives informed the Bibas family that their loved ones, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, have been identified.

According to the assessment of professional officials, based on the intelligence available to us and forensic findings from the identification process, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were brutally murdered by terrorists in captivity in November 2023.

During the identification process, it was determined that the additional body received is not that of Shiri Bibas, and no match was found for any other hostage. This is an anonymous, unidentified body.

This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all our hostages.

Ariel Bibas was four years old at the time of his death, and Kfir Bibas was ten months old at the time of his death. They were abducted with their mother, Shiri Bibas, from their home in Nir Oz. Yarden Bibas, Ariel and Kfir’s father, went out to protect them and was abducted prior to the abduction of Shiri and the children. Yarden returned as part of the agreement for the return of the hostages on February 1, 2025.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Bibas family during this incredibly difficult time and remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure Shiri and all the hostages are brought home at the earliest opportunity.

Israeli Defense Forces

Day 503 — Thursday, February 20 

Three empty buses exploded and caught fire on Thursday evening in three parking lots in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv. Additional explosive devices were found on two buses in the nearby city of Holon.

One explosion occurred in a bus lot near the Bat Yam Stadium and the second in a lot 400 meters away.

Later a report was received about a bus that exploded in a lot near Wolfson Hospital in Holon, four kilometers away from the other two.
The words: “Revenge from Tulkarm” were found written on one of the devices.

After the explosions, bus drivers in Bat Yam received a voice message stating: “I ask all drivers who are currently on routes to stop at the nearest bus stop and search the bus. If you see a suspicious bag, please report it.”

An Israeli source said that Prime Minister Netanyahu views the incident of planting explosives on buses with great severity and will instruct the security forces to act more decisively against terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria.

Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to intensify its operations against refugee camps in Judea and Samaria in response to attempted attacks in the Gush Dan area.

“In light of the severe attempted attacks in Gush Dan by Palestinian terror organizations against Israel’s civilian population, I have instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of its operations to thwart terrorism in the Tulkarm refugee camp and in all refugee camps in Judea and Samaria. We will pursue the terrorists relentlessly and destroy the terror infrastructure in the camps, which serve as a forward outpost of the Iranian axis of evil,” Katz said.

The Bus Drivers Union published an order to all public transportation drivers to stop all operations across the country. “We call on all bus drivers in Israel to follow the directives of the security officials and the known procedures and to conduct thorough inspections of the buses while showing maximum vigilance. In case of any unusual incident report it immediately to the security forces.”

Minister of Transportation Miri Regev also ordered all trains in the country to cease operations.

Arutz Sheva

Day 503 — Thursday, February 20 

The heart of the entire Jewish nation is torn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday evening ahead of Thursday’s release of the bodies of four hostages killed in Hamas captivity in Gaza.

The slain hostages expected to be returned for burial are Shiri Bibas (32 when taken) and her young sons, Ariel (4 when he was taken) and Kfir (9 months old when he was taken), as well as Oded Lifshitz (83 when taken), the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed after officially informing the families.

They were kidnapped and dragged into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“A wrenching day, a day of grief. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages, deceased.

“We embrace the families, and the heart of the entire nation is torn. My own heart is torn. So is yours,” stated Netanyahu. “And all of the world’s heart should be torn because this demonstrates who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with—with such monsters.

“We are grieving, we are in pain, but we are also determined to ensure that such a thing never happens again,” concluded the premier.

JNS

Day 502 — Wednesday, February 19

Hamas will release six living Israeli hostages this Saturday, according to statements by Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and Israeli officials on Tuesday.

In a short speech, al-Hayya accused Israel of delaying the talks over a second stage of the deal while affirming his group’s willingness to enter Phase 2, which includes an end of the war.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated: “Understandings have been reached in the Cairo negotiations according to which six living first-stage hostages will be released on Saturday.”

“This Thursday, four deceased hostages will be returned to Israel. Pursuant to the agreement, four additional deceased hostages are due to be returned to Israel next week,” the PMO said.

Earlier Tuesday, a political source briefed media outlets that “Prime Minister Netanyahu is making great efforts to release all six remaining living hostages in Phase A, as well as four non-living hostages.”

In return, Israel would allow “caravans and heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip after strict inspection,” as per the terms of the agreement, the source added. “As part of the negotiations, and subject to Hamas’s compliance with the agreement, Israel will begin to allow this in a controlled and graduated manner.”

Out of the original 33 hostages slated for release during the first phase of the ceasefire, 14 remain in captivity, of whom eight are believed to be dead.

In recent days, both Israel and Hamas have shown interest to move up and combine the last two rounds of hostage releases of the first phase, while talks over the details of a possible second phase seem stuck at the moment.

A Hamas official told Ynet News that “There is a negotiation, and it depends on the price Israel is willing to pay.”

He added that Hamas’s main demands are that Israel adhere to the “humanitarian protocol provisions,” and commit to carrying out the second phase, which includes a final end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

At the time of publication, there was no indication Israel had agreed to the latter condition.

Other reports suggested that Hamas wants to ensure the release of its prisoners, particularly those who were released under the 2011 Shalit Deal but have since been rearrested after returning to terror.

“Hamas feared that the agreement will not last until day 42 when these 47 prisoners were supposed to be release, because Israel will blow it up,” an Israeli official told Axios.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday reiterated that Israel would not accept “the continued presence of Hamas or other terrorist organizations in Gaza.”

“Hamas is trying to adopt the ‘Hezbollah model’ in Gaza – meaning Hamas will transfer civilian rule to the Palestinian Authority or another body but will remain the dominant military force and continue the war against Israel. We will not accept this. We demand the complete demilitarization of Gaza,” Sa’ar said Tuesday.

All Israel News

Day 502 — Wednesday, February 19

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke during Sunday’s Cabinet meeting about his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I’ve known him for many years. I’ve known President Trump for many years – when he wasn’t president. I’ve known Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for quite a few years and many others.”

The Prime Minister noted that in the past Israel had to put up with pressure from what he called “less friendly” administrations which pressured Israel to make dangerous concessions. “We stood up to it, and I stood up to it while cultivating the relationship with these people and with Democrats who, like us, believed that you need a strong Israel against our mutual enemies and to work for shared interests.”

Netanyahu made clear that there is “full” coordination with the Trump administration, especially regarding the president’s vision for Gaza. “Our coordination with this administration is full coordination. Contrary to the reports. You have to understand that. We have a shared strategy, we are coordinated and are working together. It happened before President Trump presented his vision for Gaza, a revolutionary vision, which entails a huge change for the State of Israel. It doesn’t come as a surprise, we knew about it and spoke about it beforehand. Same thing regarding other things you’re hearing now.”

He added: “President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination. I can’t get into all the details – but we have shared strategy, including, regarding when and how the gates of hell will open if our hostages, all of them, are not freed and do not return home.

“In any case,” Netanyahu continued, “We are committed together to the shared objectives. Not just the release of the hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and of course to ensure that Gaza does not return to be a threat to Israel, in addition to the President’s plan which would mean a totally different Gaza. To this were are committed, for this, we work, in a shared strategy with the US President, in the direct conversations we had with his staff just five minutes ago.”

Netanyahu concluded by discussing the potential opportunities that were created: “It’s very important, it creates a great hope for a totally different future, a situation that Israel has not been in since its founding. There have not been opportunities like these, there has not been a partnership like this, and there has not been such potential to get rid of the threats and to really bring an opportunity that we haven’t dreamt of. So it pays to work together, both in full cooperation here, and to ensure that we realize this great promise for the future of the Jewish state and the future of the Jewish people.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 502 — Wednesday, February 19

Recently released Israeli hostage Keith Siegel thanked US President Donald Trump for his role in securing his release. Siegel, an American citizen, was held by Hamas for 484 days. He expressed constant fear for his life while in captivity.

“Since February 1st, I am a newly released Hamas hostage,” Siegel said in a video statement on Friday. “I’m a survivor. I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions. Every single day felt like it could be my last… I was starved, and I was tortured, both physically and emotionally.”

The Times of Israel reported that when the fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified, Siegel’s captors treated him even worse than they usually did.

“Terrorists kicked me, spat on me, and held me with no water, no light, no air to breathe,” he explained.

Siegel appealed to Trump, saying that his “leadership, power, and authority are necessary to enforce the ceasefire and put an end to the unnecessary daily dangers to the lives of innocent hostages and civilians.”

The newly freed hostage said, “I trust in your strength and leadership, Mr. President. The helpless hostages in the dark, cold tunnels in Gaza also trust you. Please bring them home.”

Here’s my take. President Trump speaks Middle Eastern. What do I mean by that? He knows Western-style diplomacy in the Middle East smells of weakness. Trump’s ultimatums to Hamas produce results—more freed hostages—while negotiations only give Hamas time to perpetuate their war against Israel.

Chris Katulka — The Friends Of Israel Gospel Ministry

Day 502 — Wednesday, February 19

Let’s debunk a major myth of the mainstream media. Gaza is not an “open-air prison.” How do we know? President Trump has proposed allowing the people of Gaza to leave the hellish ruins, while the out-of-touch media insists that they stay under the punishing rule of Hamas.

Disturbing video evidence shows Hamas gunmen brazenly stealing humanitarian aid. When hungry Gazans attempted to take aid, the footage showed the terrorists then mercilessly beating the civilians with sticks and spray painting the word “thief” on their backs.

Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that President Trump’s plan to give Gazans the choice to leave is “right on the dot.”

“Why not give Gazans a choice?” Netanyahu asked in an address on Sunday. “Everybody said this is the largest open-air prison in the world. Not because of us. We let people leave. In fact, if you want to know, over the last couple of years, two years I think, 150,000 Gazans left. You know how they left? Because they bribed their way out, not through us. They bribed their way out. The rich could leave, but if other people wanted to leave, give them a choice, not forcible eviction, not ethnic cleansing. In a war zone people leave.”

“We tried to get the population to leave, to get them out of harm’s way, and Hamas, with rifles, with gunfire, tried to prevent them from leaving,” he underscored. “So we moved them around so that they would get out of harm’s way. But if people want to leave, if they want to emigrate, it’s their choice. And I think President Trump’s plan is right on the dot.”

I will bet that you have not seen video footage of Hamas beating hungry Gazan civilians in the mainstream media. Why? Because controlling information is a way of controlling speech.

Day 501 — Tuesday, February 18

Egypt has built military bases in Sinai “that can only be used for offensive operations, for offensive weapons,” Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, highlighted on Sunday.

Leiter called it a “clear violation of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel – after some 45 years.”

He also noted that the Israeli government will present Cairo’s military buildup in Sinai “very soon.”

Leiter first said this in a meeting with American Jewish organizations on January 28, however the recording of this was just shared online by the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in America on Friday, according to the Jewish News Syndicate.

Ten days ago, Egypt released a video showing its army’s military capabilities, which includes hundreds of tanks, fighter jets, helicopters and navy vessels.

Last May, retired Lt. Col. Eli Dekel, who has been researching Egypt for 60 years, claimed that Egypt had increased its armored forces by hundreds of tanks.

“I did not find an explanation in the media for why Egypt increased its armored forces by 700 tanks. They call it a cold peace, but that’s not what this is,” he told Maariv.

The ambassador pointed out the violations in the Sinai Peninsula are “a subject that is bound to come up because it is unacceptable.”

He added that the issue has been pushed aside for a long time: “We will put this issue on the table very soon, and in a decisive manner.”

This comes after satellite images indicating changes in the deployment of the Egyptian military in the Sinai Peninsula reportedly concerned security coordinators in Israeli border communities.

In May 2024, Lt. Col. Dekel sought to draw attention to the fact that “since the start of the war, Egypt has been issuing threats to us in one way or another.”

“A few days ago, the military academy was inaugurated, attended by President Sisi. The trainees learned what the weak points of the Merkava tank were. Two days before that, the Egyptian army spokesman released an entire propaganda film, in which he said: ‘We are preparing our army in case Israel does not listen to our wise advice not to occupy Philadelphi.'”

Dekel also argued that Egypt’s role in the October 7 attacks should be examined.

Egypt has kept military presence in the Sinai for a long time in order to stop terrorism spilling over from Gaza and to prevent the proliferation of terror in Egypt proper.

Jerusalem Post

Day 501 — Tuesday, February 18

The Israel Defense Forces will withdraw to five strategic points in southern Lebanon on Tuesday as the ceasefire expires.

A day before the end of the ceasefire in Lebanon, the IDF estimates that most of the terrorist infrastructure within five miles of the border have been destroyed.

As the ceasefire comes into effect, Israeli troops will pull back to the five points, which the IDF has dubbed “The Protective Line.” Many more outposts have been established near the security fence along the border.

The effort in the near future will focus on enforcing the agreement on those who return to the villages close to the border. The Northern Command said that those who return home from these villages will find the devastation very great.

Israeli forces in the strategic points will enforce the ceasefire, preventing any from approaching the border or the outposts.

The implementation of the ceasefire will be studied as residents return to both sides of the northern border. The military wishes to continue implementing the ceasefire as much as possible, while preserving its tactical achievements.

i24 News

Day 500 — Monday, February 17 

The heavy precision-guided bombs that then-President Joe Biden withheld from Israel last year arrived in Israel on Saturday night after being released by President Donald Trump.

Biden withheld the bombs in retaliation for Israel attacking Hamas in Rafah, a southern Gaza city on the border with Egypt, where Israel eventually found and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Relatively few civilians were killed in the attack, despite the warnings of the Biden administration.

The bombs are used for destroying buildings where terrorists are hiding; the alternative is to send Israeli troops into the buildings, which are often booby-trapped. Dozens of Israeli soldiers were killed by collapsing buildings in Gaza.

In a press statement, Israel’s defense ministry said:

In a joint operation led by the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) Mission to the United States and the International Transportation Authority Unit of the Ministry’s Defense Procurement Directorate (DPD), a shipment of heavy aerial bombs recently released by the U.S. government was received and unloaded overnight (Saturday) in Israel.

The vessel, carrying heavy MK-84 munitions, docked and was unloaded at the Port of Ashdod. The munitions were loaded onto dozens of trucks from the Transportation Unit of the Ministry’s Logistics and Assets Department and the IDF’s Technological and Logistics Directorate and transferred to Israeli Air Force bases.

The IMOD continues to procure and transport munitions for the IDF. To date, over 76,000 tons of military equipment have arrived in Israel via 678 airlifts and 129 sea shipments. This represents the largest air and sea bridge in Israel’s history.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Defense Minister, Israel Katz: “The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States.

In our recent conversation, Secretary of Defense, HON Pete Hegseth reaffirmed America’s commitment to continue providing Israel with all necessary tools to ensure its security.

I thank President Donald Trump and the U.S. Administration for their unwavering support of the State of Israel. We will continue working together to strengthen our security.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Biden also withheld other equipment, such as D-9 bulldozers, which have since been delivered to the Israeli military.

Breitbart

Day 500 — Monday, February 17 

An Israeli Air Force strike in Southern Lebanon on Saturday night killed Hezbollah operative Abbas Ahmad Hamoud, who was responsible for overseeing the Iranian-backed terror group’s aerial force.

Hamoud was targeted after repeatedly violating the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, including by launching UAVs toward Israeli territory, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

“The IDF continues to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel and will operate to prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terrorist organization to establish itself, which is contrary to the understandings reached between Israel and Lebanon,” added the statement.

During the war, Hezbollah’s aerial forces, known as Unit 127, repeatedly fired explosives-laden drones into Israel. Overnight Thursday, IAF fighter jets attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley after the Iranian-backed terrorist organization dispatched a surveillance drone over the Jewish state.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday described the launch of the drones at the Jewish state as “a red line” and “a blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

“As I warned, if there are drones, there will be no Hezbollah,” said Katz.

Also on Thursday, the IAF carried out targeted strikes on Hezbollah military sites in Southern Lebanon that posed a direct threat to Israel’s security, the IDF said.

“Terrorist activity in these sites is a clear violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military added.

JNS

Day 499 — Sunday, February 16

The three hostages who were released from Gaza on Saturday after 498 days of captivity endured physical abuse and were left in the dark as to the fate of their loved ones, according to snippets of information shared with Hebrew media outlets by family members.

The information shared by Channels 12 and 13 and the Kan public broadcaster was conveyed by the freed hostages to their families and then cleared for publication by the military censor.

Sagui Dekel-Chen, Sasha Troufanov and Iair Horn were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were seized as hostages.

Dekel-Chen and Horn were held captive by Hamas, and Troufanov was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

They were released following days of uncertainty and doubt after Hamas accused Israel earlier in the week of failing to meet aid obligations and said it was pausing the scheduled hostage releases. Israel rejected the charge and threatened to resume the war.

The terror group eventually backed down on Thursday, and notified Israel via Qatari and Egyptian mediators of the identities of the three hostages slated for release Saturday.

While the three men looked thin and pale, and Horn seemed to be limping, they appeared to be in better physical condition than the three severely emaciated hostages who were released last week in images that shocked Israel and sparked an outpouring of anger.

All three of them were held in Khan Younis throughout their captivity, mere hundreds of meters from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz. While they were mostly held in tunnels, they were taken to apartments in the lead-up to their release, Kan reported.

All of them learned to speak Arabic during their 498 days in Gaza, and Troufanov also learned to read it, Channel 12 said.

Both Dekel-Chen and Horn were held with other hostages at various points in captivity, and at one stage early on, Horn was held with his brother Eitan, who is not slated for release in the first stage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal. They were not held together recently.

After he was separated from his brother, Iair was forced by his captors to film a video in which he talked about Eitan, Kan reported.

He lost ten kilograms in weight and, like the other hostages, received almost no medical treatment.

Nevertheless, Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center said his general condition was stable, and that he would be able to focus on reuniting with family and friends before undergoing more extensive testing and treatment.

Upon his release, Horn’s captors gave him an hourglass with a picture of Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage and who has emerged as a leading figure in the movement for the hostages’ return. According to Kan, the IDF plans to give her the hourglass.

Dekel-Chen, who was abducted while battling against invading terrorists with the kibbutz security team on October 7, 2023, was held in a Gaza hospital for the first weeks of his captivity, Channel 12 reported. He was held along with other hostages, including Itzik Elgarat.

He was “tortured during interrogations” by his captors, Channel 12 said and has scars on his body to show for it. He was also shot in the shoulder and wounded on October 7.

The Israeli-American citizen was cut off from the outside world, with no access to any media or information, and didn’t know what had become of his family.

He “mourned and cried” for them, fearing the worst, but also “held out hope for them and was optimistic.”

His wife Avital was seven months pregnant on October 7 when Dekel-Chen was captured and gave birth in December 2023. His captors told him recently that he had a daughter born while in captivity, Kan reported, and gave him earrings for his wife. He didn’t believe what they told him, and asked the IDF representatives he met upon his release to confirm it.

He only found out about the hostage release and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas two days before his release, at the same time that he learned he was going to be freed, Channel 12 said.

In sharp contrast to the joyful news that awaited Dekel-Chen upon his release, Troufanov returned to the outside world to discover that his father Vitaly had been killed on October 7. He burst into tears at the news, delivered by IDF representatives.

Troufanov was held alone, as was the case with previously freed hostages Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yehoud, both of whom were also held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

He was barely exposed to television or radio in captivity, and had no idea that his family was fighting for his release. However, he heard the radio at the time of the first weeklong truce in November 2023, and discovered that his mother Yelena and girlfriend Sapir Cohen had been released from captivity. His grandmother Irena Tati had also been taken hostage and was released after some 50 days in captivity.

Times Of Israel

Day 498 — Saturday, February 15

The Oct. 7, 2023, attacks marked the end of the two-state solution, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana told visiting European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Jerusalem on Thursday.

“Today, I welcomed @EP_President Roberta Metsola back to the Knesset to discuss the hostages, Iran & UNRWA’s role in fueling terror,” Ohana tweeted. “I told her Hamas also killed the so-called ‘two-state solution’ on October 7th—and thanked her for her solidarity ever since.”

Ohana, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and ruling coalition, blamed Gaza’s education system for inciting violence and suggested that only the approach proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump offers a fresh perspective.

The American president’s plan includes the resettlement of Gazans to other countries while the war-torn coastal enclave is rebuilt, deradicalized and turned into a developed hub at peace with Israel.

Metsola also met at the Knesset on Thursday with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

She described the meetings as “open discussions in Jerusalem,” adding that the immediate priority for the European Parliament “is to ensure that all the hostages are released, that the ceasefire holds and humanitarian aid increases.”

Hamas currently holds 76 hostages in Gaza, including 73 kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attacks in which over 250 were taken hostage and some 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel. Three captives are scheduled to be released on Saturday as part of the first stage of a ceasefire that took effect on Jan. 19, with the second stage being negotiated.

Israel has threatened to resume combat against the terrorist group if the hostages are not released by noon on Saturday. Trump also warned Hamas after the organization said earlier in the week that Saturday’s release would be postponed, although reports indicated on Thursday that the Islamist group will move forward with freeing three men.

JNS

Day 498 — Saturday, February 15

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would take a hard stance on Gaza on Saturday, but added that he is not sure what Israel will do.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen at 12 o’clock [on Saturday]. If it was up to me, I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter at the Oval Office.

“Now I understand they’ve totally changed. Hamas has totally changed. They want to release hostages now again. But this started by them saying ‘we’re not going to release the hostages as we said we were.’ I said, ‘Good. You have till 12 o’clock on Saturday to do it.’ And we didn’t hear anything. Then all of a sudden, two days ago, they said, ‘No, we’ve decided we’re gonna release the hostages,’” continued Trump.

“I actually think they should release all of the hostages. As bad as [the ones who have been released] looked, the ones that follow probably will look a lot worse,” the President said. “I think they’re sending out their most healthy…they probably didn’t want to release, but they obviously changed their mind.”

His comments came ahead of the scheduled release of Sagui Dekel-Chen (36), Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov (29), and Yair Horn (46) as part of the hostage deal with Hamas.

Earlier this week, Trump issued a warning to Hamas and said that if it were up to him, the ceasefire and hostage deal should be cancelled if Hamas does not release all the hostages.

“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12:00 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time, I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” stated Trump.

“I’d say they ought to be returned by 12:00 o’clock on Saturday. And if they’re not returned, all of them, not in drips and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two, Saturday at 12:00 o’clock. And after that, I would say all hell is going to break out,” he added.

Trump also acknowledged that such a decision would be up to Israel, saying, “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 497 — Friday, February 13

The female surveillance soldiers recently freed from Gaza were forced by Hamas to watch videos of male hostages being tortured, according to one of their mothers.

Speaking with Channel 12 news alongside three other mothers of the surveillance troops, Shira Albag quotes her daughter Liri as saying “I got out of the hell that we went through there, but the men, the soldiers, are going through worse than us.’”

“The terrorists also made a point to show them videos and share with them all sorts of things that they [the male hostages] were going through there, that they starved… all sorts of things that are really tough,” Shira Albag says. “Even today when they’re here, we don’t know everything exactly that they went through.”

Times Of Israel

Day 497 — Friday, February 13

The US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions today (Thursday) on Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, as part of broader sanctions against the ICC. This was according to a statement from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The announcement comes about a week after President Trump declared sanctions against the ICC itself.

The sanctions on Khan include asset freezes in the US, a ban on American citizens engaging in commercial dealings with him, and a travel ban to the United States, as is customary in cases where individuals are added to the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list. These measures could also affect his immediate family. The executive order also prohibits donations or assistance in any way to help Khan circumvent the sanctions, as anyone involved would face sanctions themselves.

It is important to note that the sanctions were imposed due to the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Khan, a British citizen, was included in the blacklist that Trump signed last week, and Reuters confirmed that sanctions have been imposed on him. Currently, Khan is the only individual at the ICC who has been sanctioned, but the presidential order is broader in scope, covering anyone involved in the case against Israel.

Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing sanctions against ICC members and those assisting investigations against the US and its allies. During his previous term, Trump had imposed sanctions on the court, but these were reversed when the Democrats took control of the government.

Israel Hayom

Day 496 — Thursday, February 13 

Released soldier hostage Daniella Gilboa has said she was forced by the Hamas terror group to record a video faking her death while in captivity, a propaganda clip that had indeed led to rumors that she had been killed, her mother said Wednesday.

Orly Gilboa, Daniella’s mother, told Channel 12 news that “one of the captors simply came to her with a camera and told her, ‘Today we are filming you dead.”

“She pleaded for her life and asked they don’t do it,” she said, describing how they covered her in powder and debris to make it look like she had been hit in an Israeli airstrike.

She said that after her release last month as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, Daniella apologized for any part she could have played in her parents thinking she was dead.

“When she saw me and my husband for the first time, she apologized for how she caused us to feel this whole time,” she added.

In November, a spokesman for Hamas’s military wing claimed that “one of the enemy’s female prisoners was killed in an area that is under Zionist aggression in the northern Gaza Strip.”

Alongside the statement, Hamas published a blurred picture of a body it claimed belonged to the slain hostage. While it did not identify the woman, the image quickly led to speculation that it could be Daniella Gilboa since it featured a tattoo identical to one she has.

Hamas has often issued propaganda videos of hostages, in what Israel has said is deplorable psychological warfare.

Gilboa is one of the seven female troops abducted from the IDF surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz army base during the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023.

One of the abducted surveillance soldiers, Ori Megidish, was later rescued alive, and the body of a second one, Noa Marciano, was recovered after she was murdered in captivity.

Gilboa and the four remaining captive soldiers — Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Agam Berger and Karina Ariev — were freed in January during the current ceasefire-hostage deal.

The three-stage ceasefire agreement, reached last month, halted some 15 months of fighting triggered by the group’s October 7 invasion of Israel, when Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

Hamas has so far released 21 hostages — civilians, soldiers, and Thai nationals — during the ceasefire that began in January.

Seventy-three hostages kidnapped on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that.

JNS

Day 496 — Thursday, February 13 

Are terrorists released from Israeli prisons coming home to millions courtesy of the Palestinian Authority?

The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) highlighted a recent report from Palestinian Media Watch, which “posted a list of all 734 terrorists scheduled for release from Israeli prisons in the first phase of the hostages-for-ceasefire agreement with Hamas, together with their ‘salaries’—the dollar amounts each terrorist received from the Palestinian Authority’s so-called Martyrs’ Fund while incarcerated.”

“In total,” JNS underscored, “the terrorists received $141,837,087, or more than half a billion shekels. Of those, 316, or nearly half, received more than a million shekels.”

Itamar Marcus, the founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch, told JNS that this report “signals to Palestinians that these terrorists weren’t working in a vacuum, but were acting in the name of the P.A.”

He further explained that “the wealth places the terrorists in an honored position in Palestinian society, in fact, Palestinian terrorists are the most honored people in Palestinian society.”

“In another society, if a criminal goes to jail for murdering someone, he’s ashamed about it,” Marcus explained. “In the Palestinian Authority, they go around with a crown on their heads.”

JNS further reported that the decree by the Palestinian Authority on Monday “that it has restructured its terrorist payment program has been widely misrepresented as signaling the end of its pay-for-slay program.”

Marcus underscored that the PA has no intention of ending its ‘Pay For Slay’ program: “The full news states that the salaries of the martyrs and printers have not and will not be affected, as all families that previously benefited from the law, regulations and systems will continue to be subject to the same standards.”

“Translation: the P.A. continues to fund and reward terrorism,” he warned.

Let me reiterate: “Palestinian terrorists are the most honored people in Palestinian Society.” Yet, this is who the world is forcing Israel to make peace with. That’s not only wrong, it’s downright disgusting and evil.

Recently, Amir Tsarfati posted a video of Saudi author and media personality Rawaf al-Saeen dropping some facts about Israel and the Palestinians. Al-Saeen called into question the Palestinian claims of ownership over Israel and the Temple Mount, emphasizing that they “have no land and no case.”

“There is no such thing as ‘Al-Aqsa,’” he stressed. “There is only Alquds (Jerusalem). The Al-Aqsa Mosque mentioned in the Quran is located in Ju’arana, 29 km from the city of Tai. There were two mosques there: The Al-Aqsa (the further) and the Al-Adna (the closer). Your Al-Aqsa Mosque was built by Hisham in the year 682 AD. How could Muhammad visit a structure which was built in the year 682, 60 years after Muhammad has died? Who are you trying to fool? You have no land and no case.”

“The land belongs to Israel,” he insisted, calling the Palestinian history of terrorism and indoctrination of children against the Jews “despicable.”

“You Palestinians are evil in any country you step foot on,” the Saudi commentator blasted. “Pure evil!”

While I do not agree with the entirety of al-Saeen’s three-and-a-half-minute video message, he is correct about who the land of Israel rightfully belongs to and the grief and chaos that follows Palestinians.

Day 495 — Wednesday, February 12

Unless Hamas returns Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday, Feb. 15, the ceasefire will expire and the Israel Defense Forces will resume fighting until it defeats Hamas totally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

The statement by Netanyahu announcing the ultimatum followed remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, who also named Saturday, Feb. 15 at noon as the time after which “all hell will break loose” unless Hamas frees all hostages.

Netanyahu addressed Trump’s demand and credited him for his “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza, which we all welcomed,” he said, referencing the security cabinet. Netanyahu’s ultimatum followed an “in-depth, four-hour discussion” by the cabinet, he wrote.

“We all expressed outrage at the shocking state of our three hostages who were freed last Saturday. We all also welcomed President Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages by noon on Saturday,” the prime minister wrote.

He has ordered the IDF to amass forces in and around the Gaza Strip “in light of Hamas’s statement about its decision to violate the [ceasefire] agreement,” Netanyahu said.

This action is being carried out and would be completed shortly, he added.    

“Unless Hamas returns our hostages by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume intensive fighting until Hamas is totally defeated,” his statement concluded.

JNS

Day 494 — Tuesday, February 11 

President Donald Trump said if Hamas does not return all hostages by noon on Saturday, he will call for the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to be canceled and “let all hell break out.” 

Trump made the comments after signing executive orders in the Oval Office Monday evening. 

When asked if he felt the ceasefire deal should be canceled, the president said that is “Israel’s decision.” 

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.” 

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them—not in drips and drabs.” 

“Saturday at 12pm and after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out,” Trump said. 

A Hamas spokesperson said Monday that the terrorist group will delay the next planned release of hostages in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas has committed to releasing 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange, scheduled for next Saturday, calls for three more Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages – civilians Eli Sharabi, 52; Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 – last Saturday after forcing them to speak at a handover ceremony. Israel in turn freed 183 Palestinian prisoners that day. 

On Sunday, Trump commented on the conditions of the released Israeli hostages, saying they “looked like Holocaust survivors” and “like they haven’t had a meal in a month.”

“I don’t know how much longer we can take that,” Trump said, referring to the treatment of the hostages, adding, “You know, at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience.

Fox News

Day 494 — Tuesday, February 11 

Kibbutz Kissufim on Tuesday announced the death in Hamas captivity of hostage Shlomo Mansour, 86.

Mansour was abducted from his home during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

The kibbutz described his death as a profound loss, calling him the “beating heart of Kissufim.”

Details on when or how he was killed remain unclear. Mansour was to have been among the 33 hostages released by Hamas during the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. However, according to Israel, while the hostage list provided by the terrorist group indicated that eight of the 33 were already deceased, it did not identify them.

Mansour, who was the oldest hostage in Hamas captivity, was born in Iraq in 1938 and is recognized as a Holocaust survivor. When he was three years old, he experienced the 1941 Farhud massacre in Baghdad, during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

JNS

Day 494 — Tuesday, February 11 

The IDF has decided to raise the level of readiness in the Southern Command and has postponed leave for combat soldiers and operational units following a situational assessment in the area, the military announced Monday night.

The area has also been significantly reinforced with additional units for defensive purposes, the IDF further noted.

In addition, the military said the planting of the Swords of Iron Forest near the Be’eri forest scheduled for Tuesday had been postponed following a situational assessment.

Jerusalem Post

Day 493 — Monday, February 10 

Hamas has announced that it is suspending the release of hostages planned for Saturday until further notice due to “Israeli violations“.

Israel has rejected the accusations, stating, “The one who committed the violations is the terrorist organization. Members of the delegation who returned this morning from Qatar claimed that Hamas’ conduct endangers the continuation of the deal.”

The Prime Minister has convened a situational assessment to review the implications of the announcement, with the participation of Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and incoming Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. Egyptian sources commented to Reuters that they believe the deal is in danger of collapse.

Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to Hamas’ announcement of the cessation of the release of the hostages and said that it was a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal for their release.

“Hamas’s announcement of the cessation of the release of Israeli hostages is a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement. I have ordered the IDF to prepare at the highest level of readiness for any possible scenario in Gaza and for the defense of the communities near Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of the 7th of October.”

The Prime Minister’s Office responded to Hamas as well. “All families of the hostages were updated this evening following Hamas’ announcement. It was emphasized to the families that the State of Israel stands by the agreement in its entirety and views any breach of it with severity.”

Arutz Sheva

Day 493 — Monday, February 10 

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the three Israeli hostages who were released by Hamas a day earlier looking gaunt and frail resembled Jews under Nazi Germany, warning that “at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience.”

Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami “looked like Holocaust survivors,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. “They were in horrible condition, they were emaciated… and I don’t know how much longer we can take that.”

He went on to say the trio “look like they haven’t had a meal in a month,” and that they are “people that were healthy people a reasonably short number of years ago, and you look at them today, they look like they’ve aged 25 years, they literally look like the old pictures of Holocaust survivors, the same thing. No reason for that.”

Trump noted that according to the current ceasefire and hostage deal, captives are supposed to “keep drippling in,” but added: “They are in really bad shape, they have been treated brutally, horribly. Even the ones that came out earlier, they were in a little bit better shape, but mentally they were treated so badly. Who could take that?

“You know, at some point, we’re gonna lose our patience.”

Times Of Israel

Day 492 — Sunday, February 9

Eli Sharabi, who was released on Saturday morning after 491 days in Hamas captivity, was reportedly unaware that his wife and two daughters were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 upon his release from Gaza.

Furthermore, Hamas informed Sharabi of the death of his brother, Yossi, as he was being paraded on stage in Deir el-Baleh in central Gaza. His brother’s body is still being held in Gaza.

A report from Channel 12’s Almog Boker indicated that Sharabi told IDF soldiers he was looking forward to meeting his wife, Leanne, and daughters Noya, 16, and Yahel, 13, unaware that they had been tragically murdered in their home in Be’eri in the October 7 massacre, as Hamas terrorists dragged him to the Gaza Strip.

“Eli is returning from an impossible reality in captivity to a very difficult reality in Israel,” Kibbutz Be’eri said in a statement.

“A reality in which those dearest to him are no longer alive. On October 7, Eli lost his daughters, Noya and Yahel, and his wife, Leanne, who were murdered in their house in Be’eri in the terrible massacre. His brother, the late Yossi Sharabi, was murdered in captivity, and his body is still being held in Gaza. We will embrace him and give him the best possible support.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 492 — Sunday, February 9

The Israel Defense Forces redeployed from the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza to outposts along the perimeter of the Strip as part of the implementation of the hostages-terrorists swap agreement with Hamas.

“Forces from 162nd Division, 143rd Division and 99th Division under the Southern Command have been deployed at several points in the Gaza Strip region to strengthen the defensive layer for the residents of the western Negev and the State of Israel,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Friday.

Senior officers of the IDF’s Southern Command held a field assessment along with fighters on the ground in anticipation of the next phase of the release of the Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, the military said.

The IDF began to withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor in late January, enabling the return of displaced Gaza residents to the northern Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized that Israel will continue to strictly enforce the ceasefires, both with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, warning that any violation will be met with a strong response. Meanwhile, Gazan residents have been cautioned against approaching IDF troops, including near the Rafah Crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border.

JNS

Day 491 — Saturday, February 8

The Health Ministry says that the three hostages who were freed from Gaza this morning are suffering from severe malnutrition and lost significant body weight during their 491 days in captivity, after initial medical checks in the hours following their release.

“These are difficult scenes,” Health Ministry representative Dr. Hagar Mizrahi says in a press conference from Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where two of the released hostages are beginning their recovery.

The three hostages freed by Hamas this morning — Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56 — looked gaunt and unsteady on their feet as they were released by the terror group, 16 months after they were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and the Nova music festival.

But doctors were also “excited to see them walking on their own two feet, upright and proud,” the Health Ministry representative adds.

Times Of Israel

Day 491 — Saturday, February 8

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave President Donald Trump an unusual gift during his most recent trip to Washington, D.C., this week — a gold-plated pager.

The present was a nod to the controversial mass attack believed to have been carried out by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency against Hezbollah Sept. 17, 2024, in which thousands of pagers, walkie-talkie-like devices and radios simultaneously exploded across Lebanon and Syria around 3:30 p.m.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office to Fox News Digital said, “The pager symbolizes the prime minister’s decision that led to a turning point in the war and marked the beginning of Hezbollah’s strategic collapse.

“This strategic operation reflects Israel’s strength, technological superiority and tactical ingenuity in confronting its adversaries.”

An image obtained by Fox News Digital showed the pager mounted to a wooden plaque with a message on the device that said, “Press with both hands,” accompanied by a double downward arrow sign, the same message that reportedly showed moments before the devices detonated.

The plaque also came with a message to Trump calling him Israel’s “greatest friend and ally.”

The statement appears to be the first time Netanyahu’s office has publicly commented on the strike against the terrorist network in the summer.

Fox News

Day 490 — Friday, February 7

US President Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order Thursday for sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), Reuters reported.

Trump previously indicated he would consider how to approach the issue, following arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

The sanctions will target individuals who assist in investigations against citizens of the US or its allies, as well as their family members.

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the court, issued warrants last year against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as major Hamas leaders. Since Israel has eliminated the Hamas leaders in targeted killings, the Israeli leaders are the only ones whose warrants Khan pursued.

Khan previously said he would be unfazed by any sanctions imposed against him.

i24

Day 490 — Friday, February 7

The hostages who were released from Hamas captivity and returned home have shared the harsh experiences of their captivity, which attest to the extent of their abuse by the terrorists.

Kan News reported that the stories the hostages have told indicate that they were physically assaulted, with the most severe violence afflicted on the young men. Some hostages have scars and burns on their bodies that testify to this.

In some cases, the hostages were beaten by the terrorists’ gun squad, and in other cases, they were abused by the families who imprisoned them, including young children.

The released hostages said that they fell ill many times because they were given rotten or expired food.

In addition, psychological terrorism was used against them, they were told about the deaths of their family members and received frequent threats of being executed.

It was also reported that during initial interrogations, the released hostages told of other hostages who had been held captive together with them. Signs of life were also received from hostages who will be released in the second phase of the deal.

When Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, and Ofer Calderon were released they testified that in the last days before their release, the terrorists began to increase their food rations, apparently so that they would look healthier when they arrived in Israel.

The hostages were forced to sign documents thanking their captors, while the entire process was documented by Hamas. In addition, once every few weeks, they were forced to participate in the filming of videos that had not yet been published, in which they were made to talk to their families. In some cases, as part of the psychological abuse, the hostages were even forced to bid their families farewell in these videos.

Arutz Sheva

Day 489 — Thursday, February 6

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and eight others were wounded in an accident in the Gaza Strip late last night, the military announces.

One of the soldiers is named as Sgt. First Class (res.) Nadav Cohen, 21, of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Beit Hanan.

The IDF says the name of the second soldier will be released later.

Of the eight wounded soldiers, one is listed in serious condition.

According to an initial IDF probe, due to harsh winds, a crane collapsed, crashing down on the soldiers.

The Times Of Israel

Day 489 — Thursday, February 6

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Wednesday that Israel would no longer participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after the US announced it would be leaving the council as well.

“Israel welcomes President Trump’s decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC,” Sa’ar wrote in a statement.

He explained the move, stating: “The UNHRC has traditionally protected human rights abusers by allowing them to hide from scrutiny, and instead obsessively demonizes the one democracy in the Middle East – Israel.

“This body has focused on attacking a democratic country and propagating antisemitism, instead of promoting human rights.”

Sa’ar noted: “The discrimination against us is clear: In the UNHRC, Israel is the only country with an agenda item dedicated solely to it. Israel has been subjected to over 100 condemnatory resolutions, over 20% of all resolutions ever passed in the Council – more than against Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela combined.

“Israel will not accept this discrimination any longer!” he concluded.

Arutz Sheva

Day 489 — Thursday, February 6

The Nebraska Legislature Education Committee held a hearing on Monday regarding LB 538, a bill aimed at combating antisemitism in public schools and universities.

Introduced by state senator Brian Hardin, the legislation adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism, mandates anti-discrimination policies and establishes a Title VI coordinator to address incidents.

“LB 538 takes a firm and necessary stand against discrimination, including antisemitism, in our public schools and universities,” Hardin said in his testimony on Monday. “This is not just about one group, or one issue. This is about ensuring that all students and educators in Nebraska have the right to learn and work in an environment free from hatred, harassment, and prejudice.”

He continued: “This bill ensures that antisemitism is recognized, addressed and treated just as seriously as any other form of hate or bigotry. This is not a partisan issue; it’s a matter of fundamental fairness and decency. Just as we would not tolerate racism or sexism in our schools, we cannot turn a blind eye to antisemitism, which is often ignored or dismissed.”

Supporters include the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Anti-Defamation League.

Adam Beren, founder of CAM, emphasized the bill’s importance in ensuring safe learning environments.

“LB 538 is a timely and critical bill that responds to the current needs of K-20 students, especially Jewish students facing an unprecedented situation,” he stated. “Passage will demonstrate that Nebraska is taking a significant step toward affirming its commitment to combating hatred in all forms while ensuring the safety and dignity of its Jewish community.”

He added, “Let’s be proactive, and keep antisemitism out of Nebraska and the Midwest, and send a clear message to the rest of the country that antisemitism will not be tolerated.”

The bill now advances in the legislative process as part of broader efforts to address antisemitism nationwide.

jns

Day 488 — Wednesday, February 5

Trump said: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll love it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons on the site… and get rid of the destroyed buildings [and] create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing.”

The surprise announcement came as the president spoke alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit Trump since his Inauguration last month.

Trump had previously said that he would like to see most, or all, of the Palestinian population of Gaza moved to another Arab or Muslim country.

The idea of actually taking over Gaza, and establishing a U.S. presence, was both unexpected and completely new.

Trump added that the U.S. would develop Gaza economically, sending troops if necessary and making investments.

He called the potential of Gaza “unbelieveable,” but said that Palesitnian control of Gaza “will never work.” He added: “You have to learn from history … We have an opportunity to do something phenomenal … the Riviera of the Middle East.”

He said that he envisioned “the world’s people” living there, adding: “I think you’ll make [Gaza] into an international. unbelievable place. I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable. And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world will be there.”

A reporter asked Trump what right the U.S. had to take over Gaza, calling it, inaccurately, “sovereign territory” (there is no Palestinian state and no sovereign power in the territory).

Trump did not reply directly but said that American control of Gaza would increase “stability” in the region as the various nations pursued peace together.

Netanyahu, who had never publicly advocated for anything like what Trump proposed, said that the idea was “something that could change history” and that it was “worth considering.”

It is considered taboo, even in Israel, to advocate for the “transfer” of Palestinians from Gaza or from Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank).

Trump has previously proposed buying Greenland, so he is not averse to the idea of America taking over territory abroad. However, the idea of taking over war-torn Gaza is completely unique and quite possibly revolutionary.

Breitbart

Day 488 — Wednesday, February 5

Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded when a terrorist opened fire at a military post near the village of Tayasir in northern Samaria on Tuesday morning.

The slain troops were identified by the military as IDF Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofer Yung, 39, a squad commander in the Ephraim Regional Brigade’s 8211th Reserve Battalion, from Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Avraham Tzvi Tzivka Friedman, 43, a soldier in the battalion, from Ein Hanatziv.

According to an initial IDF probe, the terrorist managed to take up a position near the entrance of the military post and fired on troops as they exited. The terrorist was said to have exchanged fire with troops inside the post for several minutes before being killed.

The terrorist, who reportedly had been waiting in the area for hours before carrying out the attack, was said to have been armed with an M-16 rifle and two magazines, and was wearing a tactical vest.

According to the IDF, two of the wounded soldiers were listed as being in serious condition, while the other six victims sustained light wounds.

The death toll among Israeli troops on all fronts since the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 now stands at 844.

The village of Tayasir is located near Tammun, an area where Israeli forces have been conducting a major counter-terrorism operation since Jan. 31, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall.”

On Thursday, IDF Staff Sgt. Liam Hazi, 20, of the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv reconnaissance unit became the operation’s first casualty. Hazi was killed in a firefight with terrorists in Jenin, the military said.

The IDF expanded the operation on Monday and plans to form a new battalion that will remain in northern Samaria once the operation ends.

The IDF has killed more than 50 Palestinian terrorists since the start of the operation on Jan. 21, the military announced on Sunday evening.

At least 35 gunmen were killed during ground operations in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas, while another 15 were killed in airstrikes, according to the IDF. More than 100 wanted terrorists have been detained thus far.

Israeli forces “located and confiscated dozens of weapons, destroyed hundreds of explosive devices and dozens of additional charges that were planted on roads to harm our forces,” the military stated.

jns

Day 488 — Wednesday, February 5

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will reimpose ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran, aimed at preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons and reducing its regional influence.

Trump’s declaration includes additional economic sanctions and increased diplomatic pressure on Tehran. The move follows reports of an acceleration of Iran’s nuclear program and increased military activity in the Middle East.

“I hope to succeed and reach an agreement with Iran – I would be happy to talk to the leadership there, which is too close to possessing nuclear weapons, and that is an intolerable situation,” Trump said.

He added, “If Iran tries to eliminate me in response, it will be annihilated.”

Trump also signed orders to stop funding for UNRWA and for the US to leave the UN Human Rights Council.

Senior US administration officials noted that the new sanctions on Iran are aimed at key sectors of the Iranian economy, including the oil and finance industries. They stressed that the goal is to bring Iran to the negotiating table for a new nuclear agreement, which will include stricter restrictions on the development of nuclear weapons.

Arutz Sheva

Day 487 — Tuesday, February 4

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington D.C. for a high stakes visit with U.S. President Donald Trump and his new administration to discuss a series of critical issues surrounding the Gaza War and regional diplomacy.

Before boarding the plane, Netanyahu said Israel’s actions in the war “already changed the face of the Middle East.”

“I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better. I believe that we can strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength.”

After a flight of 13 and a half hours, Netanyahu’s office said he was “welcomed at Blair House, the official and historic guest residence of the White House, by its director, who told him that this was Prime Minister Netanyahu’s 14th visit to Blair House – much more than any other foreign leader in its history since it was built in the 19th century.”

The most important part of the four-day visit will be the meeting with President Trump on Tuesday afternoon, Washington time. The pressing issue at the moment is the negotiations over the second stage of the ceasefire in Gaza, which are set to begin this week.

Trump told reporters on Monday that the “discussions on the Middle East with Israel and various and sundry other countries are progressing.”

Netanyahu had boasted about being the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House, calling it “a testimony to the strength of the Israeli-American alliance,” as well as “to the strength of our personal friendship.”

Netanyahu said he and Trump would talk about “Victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components – an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Israel and Hamas would start negotiations over the second phase sixteen days after the start of phase one.

However, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu is considering not to extend the ceasefire after the 42 days of the first stage and plans to restart the war with the goal of fully destroying Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities, as he had vowed.

Netanyahu hopes to convince Trump to support him if the decides to restart the war, three Israeli officials told Axios.

Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Monday will be the official start of the negotiations. Witkoff was instrumental in finalizing the ceasefire talks and just finished a visit to the Middle East.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Saturday that Netanyahu and Witkoff would “discuss the Israeli positions” in the meeting.

However, “The real serious negotiations over phase two will only begin after Bibi meets Trump,” another senior Israeli official told Axios. “Nothing meaningful will happen before that.”

The PMO added that “Later in the week, Witkoff will speak with the Prime Minister of Qatar and senior Egyptian representatives. He will then discuss with the Prime Minister steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for the departure of delegations to the talks.”

Israeli media citing sources close to Witkoff said the envoy was deeply impacted by watching the Oct. 7 “atrocity film” during his visit in Israel and is committed to continuing the ceasefire until all hostages are released.

Several family members of the current hostages, including Einav Tsangauker, one of the most vocal critics of the government’s policy regarding the hostage deal, also flew to Washington, where some of them are set to meet Netanyahu.

If the ceasefire is extended to its second and third phases, it will mark the end of the war. This would shift the focus to the ongoing discussions about the “day after,” which received renewed attention last week after Trump suggested Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from Gaza while the enclave is being “cleaned out.”

Despite vocal opposition by Egyptian and Jordanian leaders, who were supported by a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League, Trump doubled down on his conviction that in the end, Egypt and Jordan would agree to receive Gazans.

After Trump talked to Jordan’s King Abdullah II on the phone last week, Jordan announced that the King accepted an invitation for a personal meeting in the White House later this month.

After the meetings with Witkoff and Trump, Netanyahu will meet new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on Wednesday, and House and Senate leaders on Thursday.

Israeli media also reported that Netanyahu plans to meet evangelical leaders, as well as the designated U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

All Israel News

Day 487 — Tuesday, February 4

The 769th and 7th brigades are continuing defensive activities in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and to preserve operational achievements in the area.

In recent days, IDF troops have conducted searches to remove threats in the area and destroy Hezbollah buildings.

During one of the searches, troops from the 769th Brigade located several weapons storage facilities containing mortar shells, missiles, rockets, explosives, firearms, and a large amount of military equipment. All weapons were confiscated, and the storage facilities were destroyed.

In another activity, the soldiers killed several Hezbollah terrorists in the area and distanced and detained suspects who posed a threat to the troops.

Arutz Sheva

Day 486 — Monday, February 3

Defense Minister Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir as their pick to replace IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Besides having the number one non-political role at the Defense Ministry, which has put him in control of much of Israel’s international defense relations and force buildup over the last two years, Zamir has been deputy IDF chief, Southern Command chief, and military secretary of the prime minister, three of the most prominent positions in the IDF high command.

Zamir came a close second to Halevi in the race for IDF chief in January 2023, but that pick was made by then-defense minister Benny Gantz toward the end of an 18-month period when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was out of power.

This time, Zamir beat out outgoing IDF Deputy Chief Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram, who may be the lead candidate to replace Zamir after his term ends, and Maj.-Gen. Tamir Yadai, who recently retired but could also be called back at some point to become IDF deputy chief or fill another key role.

Already back in December, there were not only larger calls for Halevi to step down but specifically for Zamir to replace him, both from political officials and senior defense officials.

“Fourteen months have passed… the IDF chief needs to take the decision [to resign] relatively soon, and it needs to be a rapid process to replace him because of the continuing war and because of the broader situation,” senior defense officials told The Jerusalem Post in December.

They added that “The October 7 probes must be published soon… and there must be a proper transition period” to allow the incoming chief to get used to the role before Halevi leaves, even if the process will need to be shorter than the several months normally allocated for the transition.

They also cited Zamir’s current role as the top non-political official of the Defense Ministry, his former role as deputy IDF chief, his experience in a range of other top military roles, and the fact that he managed to work as Netanyahu’s military secretary without becoming enveloped politically.

Possibly the only issue that could have derailed Zamir was the fact that he was also a Southern Command chief, which could allow some to try to tar him with the October 7 failure. However, Zamir was in that role from 2015 to 2018 – five years before the Hamas invasion – and with the three other commanders who successively filled the position, separating him from the failure.

Sources further noted that when Zamir finished his term as deputy IDF chief, he warned that the military was too small to handle its full defense roles and that the infantry was too small within the military.

Sources said, “We saw parts of this and the results on October 7,” when only 600 soldiers were guarding the border with Gaza from an onslaught of 6,000 Hamas and other terrorist invaders.

Zamir is somewhat unusual for an IDF chief given that his earlier military background is more in tank command than in traditional paratrooper and special forces infantry units, but his top posts in the later years of his resume made him a favorite from the start of the race.

The Jerusalem Post

Day 486 — Monday, February 3

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz escalated his threats to Lebanon on Sunday, after Hezbollah attempted to launch multiple drones in recent days, prompting the IDF to carry out strikes deep inside Lebanon.

During a visit to some of the remaining IDF positions in southern Lebanon, Katz declared, “I want to send a clear message from here to Hezbollah and the Lebanese government: Israel will not accept the launching of drones from Lebanon.”

Last Thursday, the IDF intercepted a Hezbollah reconnaissance drone for the first time since the war began. The next day, the IDF shot down another “suspicious aerial target” near Zar’it in the Upper Galilee.

“We will not allow a return to the situation of October 7. We will thwart threats and respond with full force. Either there will be no drones or there will be no Hezbollah,” Katz warned.

“I suggest that the successor of Nasrallah’s successor not make a mistake about Israel’s determination as his predecessors did – lest he pay a very heavy price.”

Within the span of a week, at the end of September and the start of October 2024, Israel eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Hashem Safi al-Din. Hezbollah announced on Sunday that Nasrallah would be buried on Feb. 23.

Katz said that his visit to southern Lebanon was intended to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire arrangement. The original agreement envisioned the withdrawal of Israeli forces to be completed by Jan. 26.

However, the U.S. announced an extension of the deadline until Feb. 18 after Israel stated it would not complete the withdrawal due to the slow deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and continued violations by Hezbollah.

Last Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck an engineering vehicle in southern Lebanon that “was used for attempts to restore terrorist infrastructure.”

After intercepting two drones, the IDF announced on Friday morning that it had struck several Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley – one of Hezbollah’s main strongholds deep inside Lebanon – which was repeatedly targeted by Israel during the war.

“Among the targets attacked: A military site with underground infrastructure for the development and production of weapons, and transit infrastructure on the Syrian-Lebanon border through which the terror group Hezbollah is trying to transfer weapons,” the IDF stated.

On Sunday morning, IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee reiterated warnings to residents of southern Lebanon not to approach the IDF’s positions.

“As you know, the IDF has recently redeployed to various locations in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, with the aim of gradually enabling the effective deployment of the Lebanese army, and dismantling and removing Hezbollah,” Adraee stated.

“I remind you that the agreement period has been extended and IDF forces are still deployed in the field… We ask you to wait, and not allow Hezbollah to exploit you again,” he wrote on 𝕏.

Despite the IDF’s calls, there were several reports of “return marches” in different villages of southern Lebanon, with hundreds again waving Hezbollah flags and approaching Israeli-held positions while chanting slogans.

Lebanese media outlets reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians. Other reports stated that the IDF detained a fisherman off the Lebanese coast near a-Naqoura, close to the Israeli border. The IDF didn’t comment on the allegations.

All Israel News

Day 485 — Sunday, February 2

Security forces in the West Bank are on high alert on Saturday after the IDF’s West Bank division and the Civil Administration conducted an operation to disperse celebratory gatherings for the released Palestinian prisoners.

The IDF’s West Bank division and the Civil Administration conducted a joint operation with the Shin Bet, Israel Prison Service, and the Border Police to disperse celebratory gatherings for the Palestinian prisoners who are being released as part of the hostage, ceasefire agreement, the IDF announced in a joint Saturday statement.

On Thursday, violent riots erupted in the Binyamin Brigade region, where rioters threw Molotov cocktails and stones at Israeli security forces. The troops responded with warning shots, and the rioters dispersed.

The IDF said that they will “maintain zero tolerance for disturbances and expressions of support for Hamas.”

Zakaria Zubeidi, a former commander of the Fatah-aligned Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Jenin, received a hero’s welcome in Ramallah on Thursday night after he was released with 109 other Palestinian prisoners as part of phase one of Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

And on Tuesdsay night, Israel Police arrested 12 suspects in the Binyamina area of the West Bank, north of Jerusalem, after they displayed their support for the Hamas terror organization with flags and cheered for the release of a recently released terrorist, the Israel Police said Wednesday.

Footage of the displays went viral on social media, showing the suspects participating in a celebration, waving Hamas flags, and firing weapons into the air.

During the joint operation with Border Police and the IDF, they searched through the suspects’ belongings and found Hamas flags, banners, fireworks, guns, money and more. Their vehicle was also confiscated by the security forces.

The suspects were brought into the Jerusalem District Police’s Serious Crimes Unit for further questioning.

The Jerusalem Post

Day 485 — Sunday, February 2

Yarden Bibas is back in Israel more than 480 days after Hamas terrorists ripped him from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and dragged him to the Gaza Strip. Bibas’ return, however, is bittersweet as his wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir, remain in Gaza. Their fate is unknown, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has made it clear that there are “grave concerns about their wellbeing.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated Yarden Bibas’ return, while saying the nation’s thoughts are with Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas.

“Our thoughts are now with Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, and all of our abductees. We will continue to work to bring them home,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

Fox News

Day 484 — Saturday, February 1

Three hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack were released by Hamas on Saturday under an ongoing ceasefire deal with the terror group, returning to Israel 484 days after they were taken from their communities near the Gaza border and kidnapped to the Strip.

Ofer Calderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35, were released to the International Red Cross in south Gaza’s Khan Younis on Saturday morning, and Keith Siegel, 65, was handed over almost two hours later at the Gaza City port.

The releases were far more controlled than the chaos surrounding the Thursday release of three Israelis and five Thai nationals.

The terror group set up stages at both locations, with Calderon and Bibas freed soon after 8:30 a.m. and Siegel after 10 a.m.

Representatives of the International Red Cross sat at desks on the stages to sign the so-called handover documents produced by the terror group.

Calderon and Bibas were released first, taken onto the stage set up by Hamas in the southern Gaza town, holding the now ubiquitous certificates issued by the terror group.

Dual US-Israeli national Siegel was handed over at Gaza City’s port, paraded on a stage overlooking the sea as he carried two of the “gift bags” forced on the hostages by the terror group. According to the Walla news site, the second bag was for his wife Aviva, freed by Hamas in November 2023.

He appeared thin and pale but was able to walk, aided by masked and armed Hamas fighters.

The Times Of Israel

Day 484 — Saturday, February 1

A notable increase in discussions advocating for the recognition of Jordan as a Palestinian state has emerged over recent days. This resurgence follows President Trump’s Saturday proposal to relocate residents from the Gaza Strip to neighboring countries, specifically Jordan and Egypt.

The president’s plan for those states to play a central role in resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict by absorbing refugees from war-torn Gaza, aims to provide Gazans with a safer living environment.

The proposal has rekindled discussions about Jordan’s role as a de facto Palestinian state.

“Jordan IS Palestine,” wrote former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. “It was formed from 72% of the land constituting Mandatory Palestine and most of its people are Palestinians.”

“The problem is that Jordan is ‘Palestine’ — it has a majority Palestinian population and consists of land meant for that purpose during the mandate,” noted conservative writer David Harsanyi. “Why are Westerns the only people who can take refugees from the Islamic world? Let people return to their historic homelands.”

“We already have a two state solution,” wrote researcher Dr. Eli David, noting that Israel is a Jewish-majority state while Jordan is a Palestinian-majority state.

“Like Israel welcomes all Jews, Jordan should welcome all Palestinians,” he added.

“The truth is a Palestinian state already exists!” wrote prominent speaker, influencer and human rights activist Hananya Naftali.

“In 1921, more than 75% of Britain’s Palestine Mandate was cut off and renamed ‘Trans-Jordan.’ In 1946 it became a nation. Today it is simply called Jordan, with the majority of its people being Palestinian,” he added.

“Jordan is already majority Palestinian. Let the Hashemite King have the rest…,” wrote conservative commentator Dave Rubin.

“It’s worth noting that about 70% of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent,” wrote author and speaker Aviva Klompas.

“Over 75% of Jordan’s population is Palestinian—sharing the same culture, religion, and Arab dialect as West Bank Palestinians. It’s time to remove the Hashemite monarchy and free Palestine,” wrote Roma-Israeli peace activist Shay Szabo.

The concept of Jordan as a Palestinian state is not new. Historically, various proposals have suggested Jordan’s involvement in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the argument that “Jordan is Palestine” being a recurring topic primarily based on historical, geographical, and political perspectives.

Historically, the British Mandate for Palestine, established after World War I, originally included the territory of both modern-day Israel and Jordan. The mandate incorporated the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which expressed Britain’s support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

In 1922, the British divided the mandate into two administrative areas: west of the Jordan River, which became the Jewish national home (later, Israel); and east of the Jordan River, which eventually became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Those on the east bank, just as the Jews and Arabs on the west bank, were considered Palestinians, subject to British control and carriers of Palestinian passports.

In 1946, Britain established the Kingdom of Transjordan, with Abdullah as king, effectively turning a significant part of the Palestine Mandate into an Arab nation and leaving a much smaller portion, including the West Bank and Gaza, for Jewish statehood. The move marked a significant shift from the original mandate’s intent to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

In 1948, Jordan (then Transjordan) participated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Following the war, King Abdullah annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, renaming the country the Kingdom of Jordan — not “Palestine.”

More than a decade later, in 1964, the Arab League held a summit in Jordan and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan produced a stamp including Jordan and Israel, both parts of territory it regarded as part of the Kingdom of Jordan.

After Israel reunified Jerusalem and captured the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War, King Hussein of Jordan insisted that “Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan.”

Demographically, Jordan has a significant Palestinian population, with a majority of Jordanians ethnically Palestinian. Many Palestinians either fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Six-Day War in 1967, and they, along with their descendants, have since lived in Jordan. In addition, most are fully naturalized, making Jordan the only Arab country to fully integrate the Palestinian refugees of 1948.

Many over the years have insisted that Jordan should be considered the true national homeland for the Palestinian people given the country’s majority Palestinian population, with a successful integration leading to a more stable regional situation.

Breitbart

Special prayers were held at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in memory of Muhammad Deif, the former commander of Hamas’s military department, and other senior Hamas figures who were eliminated in the war.

Yasin Iz al-Din reports that similar prayers were held in other mosques across Judea and Samaria despite directions from the Ministry of Religious Affairs to focus on prayers for rain.

Last night, the Hamas movement officially announced the death of Muhammad Deif and other leaders in the war and called for special prayers in their memory in mosques throughout Palestine and worldwide. Hamas had denied his death for several months previously.

The list published by Hamas includes Hamas’s international leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar, and more than a dozen other senior figures in the organization.

Arutz Sheva

Day 483 — Friday, January 31

Israel’s aerial defense intercepted a drone over Lebanon that was making its way to Israeli airspace on Thursday, a major violation of the ceasefire agreement.

While the 60-day truce was supposed to expire on Monday, it was extended with the agreement of the US and Lebanon after the IDF asserted that the Lebanese armed forces had not complied with the deal in taking over positions Israel had vacated.

The Upper Galilee Regional Council said that no sirens went off.

Hezbollah has threatened to respond if any IDF soldiers remain in Lebanon after the 60 days. Meanwhile, Israel has struck Hezbollah operatives violating the ceasefire, as per the terms agreed upon.

i24

Day 482 — Thursday, January 30

Eight hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel were released by Palestinian terror groups on Thursday under an ongoing ceasefire deal with Hamas, returning to Israel after 482 days in captivity in Gaza. Seven of them were freed in a long, chaotic process in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis that prompted fury in Israel.

The three Israelis are IDF surveillance soldier Agam Berger, 20, and civilians Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80. The Thai nationals are Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak.

Yehoud, Mozes and the five Thais were released in an uncontrolled and dangerous handover early Thursday afternoon, outside the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, surrounded by hundreds of masked gunmen and large, seething crowds.

The two Israeli civilians were forced to walk through the crowds, with gunmen at their side, from the vehicles that delivered them and, later, to the Red Cross vehicles, in chaotic scenes that lasted for well over an hour.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the chaotic handover was unacceptable, in a statement immediately after the release. “I view with great severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages,” said Netanyahu. “This is further proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organization.”

Israel delayed the slated release of Palestinian prisoners in protest of the chaotic handover, with Netanyahu’s office saying it would not proceed “until the safe passage of our hostages can be guaranteed in the next releases.”

It later said it had received a guarantee from mediators that the scenes of chaos would not be repeated, and reports indicated that the Palestinian prisoner release would proceed in late afternoon.

Berger and the Thai hostages were held by the Hamas terror group, while Yehoud and Mozes were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Berger, an Israel Defense Forces surveillance soldier, was abducted from the military’s Nahal Oz base, while Yehoud and Mozes were both taken from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Mozes is the first male Israeli hostage to be freed in the current deal, which provides for 33 hostages to be released in exchange for up to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Living hostages are being released first. Eight of the 33 are understood by Israel to be dead.

The Thai hostages were among 31 foreign nationals kidnapped in the Hamas attack who were working in Israel, many of them as farmhands in Israel’s agricultural heartland near the Gaza border, reportedly including some on Nir Oz.

The Times Of Israel

Day 482 — Thursday, January 30

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today (Wednesday) instructing federal authorities to act to combat antisemitism, including by deporting antisemites who commit criminal acts, the New York Post reported.

According to the report, the order will give federal agencies 60 days to present plans to deal with antisemitism in places such as college campuses. It also calls for the deportation on non-citizens who commit illegal acts while protesting against Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre of October 7, even if they have student visas.

“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump stated in a fact sheet on the executive order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

President Trump issued a proclamation on Monday marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in which he vowed to fight antisemitism.

In his proclamation, Trump stated, He noted: “Sadly, despite decades of wisdom shared by survivors, years of reflection on the depravities committed, and decades of progress towards peace, the poison of antisemitism still courses through the veins of cowards in dark corners of the world. So today, we renew our promise that antisemitism has no place in a civilized society, no place in our foreign policy, and no place in the United States of America.”

The President stated, “In the years since the liberation of Auschwitz on this day eight decades ago, the grave offenses that took place during the Holocaust and the cries of the Jewish people have echoed throughout the halls of history. In the wake of the oppression, persecution, and injustice committed at Auschwitz and elsewhere in Europe, the Jewish people gallantly persevered to re-found their homeland in the modern State of Israel — our mighty friend. To this day, the Jewish people proudly represent the peak of human tenacity and the pinnacle of human triumph.

“As we commemorate this somber occasion, we pay tribute to the undying spirit of the Jewish community. We reaffirm our commitment to educating our children and every future generation about the horrors that took place within the confines of Auschwitz and other concentration and death camps. We renew our resolve to end antisemitism and religious bigotry of all forms. We proudly reassert our strong bonds of friendship with the State of Israel. And we declare the timeless truth that every human being is a child of God and inherently worthy of dignity and respect,” Trump said.

Arutz Sheva

Day 482 — Thursday, January 30

Freed hostage Amit Soussana, who was released in the first hostage-truce deal with Hamas in November 2023, shared Tuesday that Liri Albag, who was among four hostages released on Saturday, saved her life in captivity.

Her comments came as freed hostage Naama Levy made her first public statements since her own release on Saturday, and Romi Gonen, released 10 days ago, dedicated a song on the radio to her family, and as more details began to emerge about returning captives’ recovery process.

The current hostage-ceasefire deal went into effect a week and a half ago.

In an interview aired Tuesday evening, Soussana said she owes Albag her life, after Albag convinced their terrorist captors in Gaza that Soussana was not an IDF officer.

Speaking with Channel 12’s “Uvda” investigative program, Soussana, 40, said her captors bound her arms and legs together, beat her with a stick and threatened her with a sharp metal object, and demanded that she admit to being in the military, claiming they had learned from TV that she was.

She said Albag talked to the guard and managed to persuade the captors that Soussana wasn’t in the military.

“I told her when she came back: ‘I don’t know if they would have killed me or not; as far as I’m concerned, you saved my life,” Soussana recalled.

Soussana also said that in the first three weeks of her captivity, she was kept alone in an apartment with two guards who bound her legs with a metal chain and with two locks to a window, “like an animal.”

She also recounted the sexual assault she endured by one of the captors, a story she first revealed in an interview with The New York Times last year.

The Times Of Israel

Day 481 — Wednesday, January 29

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday applauded U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Gazans be offered residency in Arab nations as the “most realistic solution.”

“For 76 years, they have been held in Gaza—on purpose—in poverty, in destitution, in overcrowding,” the finance minister told JNS following a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon.

“Instead of helping them start a new life,” the United Nations kept the Palestinians “in very difficult situations on purpose, so that they would suffer,” he said. “Why? To maintain their desire to destroy the State of Israel.”

“They told them: You will suffer. Do you know why? Because of the Jews. Do you know what the solution to your suffering is? To return to Safed, Haifa, Acre, Jaffa,” Smotrich continued, naming cities in Israel.

The Gaza Strip “is a time bomb that the Arab world for years kept as it was, precisely to get to Oct. 7,” the minister stated, referring to the 2023 Hamas massacre in which some 1,200 people, primarily Jews, were murdered.

While the attack was led by Hamas’s Nukhba force, they were followed by “ordinary civilians, women, men, children, who slaughtered, raped, burned,” said Smotrich.

“Do you know where this hatred comes from? For 76 years, they were kept like this, in refugee camps, with nothing. They were told that this suffering was because of the Jews. So there are more than 1.5 million people who have grown up for generations with hate for Israel and antisemitism,” he continued.

According to the Religious Zionism Party leader, Trump’s proposal to allow Gazans to leave the Strip “is the most realistic solution in the world. “

“Do you know what isn’t realistic? What we’ve been trying to do for a hundred years and haven’t succeeded in: To divide the land [of Israel],” he added, listing the 1947 U.N. Partition Plan, the Oslo Accords, Camp David and the Annapolis Conference as examples of failures.

“It is nonsense to do the same thing over and over again and to expect a different response every time,” he added, paraphrasing Albert Einstein.

“We’ve been attempting peace, co-existence, two countries, but what we don’t understand is that the other side doesn’t want to live next to us,” he told JNS. “They want to live in our place. Only someone like that is able to get to these levels of cruelty that we saw on Oct. 7.”

The only solution, he continued, “is to take all these refugees and, after 76 years, help them start a new life and really allow them to improve their lives and build their families. It would be good for them, for us, for the Middle East and for the world.”

On Saturday, Trump called on Arab countries that have come out in support of the Palestinians, singling out Egypt and Jordan, to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, which has suffered extensive damage during Israel’s 15-month war against the Hamas terrorist group.

“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said, according to an Associated Press report. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’

Trump on Monday doubled down on the proposal, saying he would like to see Gazans “living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much,” Agence France-Presse reported.

“When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to the AFP report. He added, “There’s always been violence associated with it.”

JNS

Day 480 — Tuesday, January 28

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.

On Monday, Palestinians began crossing on foot via a coastal road through the Netzarim Corridor south of Gaza City. Vehicle crossings via a parallel highway inland followed, leading to heavy traffic. While vehicles are subject to inspection under the ceasefire agreement, the details of the inspection process remain unclear.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to the truce and warned of severe consequences for violations, stating, “We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7, [2023].”

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.

JNS

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke at a ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day in New York City at the UN Headquarters on Monday. The event commemorated 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.

Herzog began his speech by noting the yellow ribbon pin on his lapel, and said, “I stand before you as president of a nation that is determined and proud, and yet – anguished and incomplete.”

He continued by making his appeal to the international community saying, “I call on all representatives in this General Assembly, all who consider themselves part of the civilized world, to throw your weight to ensure our hostages return to their homes – every single one of them. Bring them home now!”

Herzog presented a challenge to the global community by asking a few questions:

“How is it possible that the moral compass of so many in the family of nations has become so disoriented, that they no longer recognize the clear truth: That just as terrorists use civilians as human shields, they also weaponize the international institutions, undermining the most basic, fundamental reason for their establishment? How is it possible that the same institutions established in the wake of the greatest genocide in history – the Holocaust – are manipulating the definition of genocide for the sole purpose of attacking Israel and the Jewish people?”

Herzog told those in attendance that “the international courts and institutions set up in the wake of the Holocaust have since become distorted and hypocritical in their attacks on Israel.”

Herzog shared that his great uncle, Hersch Lauterpacht, – a Holocaust survivor – “served as a prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials and went on to help establish the International Court of Justice, later serving on the court as a judge” according to the Times of Israel.

“He did so out of deep faith – and hope, that the international institutions [including the UN, ICJ and ICC] would forever be committed to preventing these heinous crimes from ever happening again – to the Jewish people or any other people,” remarked the president.

Herzog noted that Hamas terrorists who carried out the atrocities of Oct.7, 2023, “took their inspiration from Nazism and Hitler.”

The president highlighted that, 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, antisemitism continues to exist, now growing more intense and manifesting in new ways. He stated, “This serves as an urgent reminder to all of humanity: antisemitism, brutality, cruelty, and racism are still alive and well in our world.”

All Israel News

The U.S.-monitored arrangement between Lebanon and Israel will carry on until Feb. 18, the White House stated on Sunday evening—the day the prior agreement, struck on Nov. 26, was slated to end.

“The government of Lebanon, the government of Israel and the government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after Oct. 7, 2023,” the White House stated.

Brian Hughes, the spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, said on Friday that a “short, temporary ceasefire extension” was “urgently needed.”

U.S. President Donald Trump “is committed to ensuring Israeli citizens can safely return to their homes in northern Israel,” while also supporting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and the new Lebanese government, Hughes stated.

Israel announced on Friday that it would not withdraw all of its forces from Southern Lebanon by Sunday. Hezbollah warned that it would consider the truce terminated, and the Lebanese government urged the Trump administration to intervene.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office stated on Friday that the Israeli military’s “withdrawal process is conditional on the Lebanese Army deploying in Southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, while Hezbollah withdraws beyond the Litani,” the river in the southern part of the country.

“Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the State of Lebanon, the phased withdrawal process will continue, in full coordination with the United States,” the Israeli government said.

Israel “will not endanger its communities and citizens and will insist on the full implementation of the objective of the fighting in the north, which is the safe return of residents to their homes,” it added.

The 60-day ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27 and was slated to expire on Sunday. Hostilities began on Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in solidarity, it said, with Hamas in Gaza.

In a deliberation held at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee three weeks ago, Maj. Gen. Uri Gordin, the head of the Israeli Defense Forces Northern Command, said that Hezbollah has committed hundreds of violations of the ceasefire terms, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan News reported recently.

Gordin added that the Lebanese Armed Forces are aiding the Shi’ite terrorist organization in locations where the Lebanese army is manned by Shi’ite commanders and companies.

JNS

Day 479 — Monday, January 27

Hamas will hand over Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, and an additional male hostage on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed shortly after Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday. 

Additionally, the Qatari ministry said Hamas will hand over three more hostages on Saturday as per the ceasefire agreement.

The PMO also confirmed it had received the list Hamas provided mediators with all required information on the remaining hostages set to be released in the first phase of the agreement, which was initially meant to be provided last week.

In return, the Qatari ministry said Israel will allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday morning.

Sources present in the negotiations told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN that Palestinian Islamic Jihad withdrew its demand to define Arbel Yehoud as a member of the security forces and that she would be considered a civilian.

Previous discussions about the possible date for the return of Gaza residents to the northern Strip via the Netzarim depended on Arbel’s release, with negotiations revolving around the question of whether to allow the return upon her arrival in Israeli hands or after the agreement of her release was reached.

Jerusalem Post 

Day 478 — Sunday, January 26

Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement with Israel that took effect on Jan. 19, Hamas is obligated to release civilian women and children hostages before freeing female soldiers. But on Saturday, the terrorist organization released four female soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces while keeping civilian Arbel Yehud in captivity.

Hamas was also supposed to say on Saturday how many of the 33 hostages to be released in the first stage of the ceasefire are alive. It has not done so. It did claim that Yehud is alive and well, and will freed as part of the next batch of captives on Feb. 1.

Israel postponed its response to Hamas’s breach of the agreement until the safe return of the four hostages. Now that they are in Israeli custody, discussions took place, leading to the decision to suspend the return of displaced Palestinians from southern Gaza to the northern Strip until Yehud is back in Israel.

On Friday, discussions revolved around whether to reopen strategic routes, including the Netzarim Corridor that runs east to west south of Gaza City and the coastal and Tantar routes, to allow the movement of Gazans. Israel has decided to freeze all Palestinian movement north until compliance with the agreement is restored.

Despite Hamas’s breach of the terms, Israel has maintained the agreed ratio of prisoners to be released, even though the composition of released hostages has shifted. The initial agreement stipulated that more terrorists would be released in exchange for soldiers than for civilians.

Hamas has attempted to shift responsibility for the failure to release Yehud onto Palestinian Islamic Jihad and a Salafi group aligned with that holds the hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

According to both Palestinian and Israeli sources, the Salafi group has issued demands for Arbel’s release, including fuel and supplies from incoming shipments, names of specific terrorists to be freed, and assurances of continued independent operations in Gaza.

An Israeli official said that Hamas is trying to avoid accountability and avert an Israeli response to the agreement’s breach.

“Hamas has the capacity to exert control over the Salafi group, and a firm Israeli demand could compel them to ensure Arbel Yehud’s release,” the official said.

Israel’s leadership remains adamant about adhering to the agreement and holding Hamas responsible for fulfilling its terms, including the immediate release of all remaining hostages.

JNS

Day 478 — Sunday, January 26

The White House released 1,800 one-ton bomb shipments previously frozen by former US president Joe Biden, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday.

The delivery was frozen back in May of last year due to the Israeli operation in Rafah.

Later on Saturday, US President Donald Trump wrote that “a lot of things” were on their way to Israel in a post on the social media platform Truth Social.

“A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel but have not been sent by Biden are now on their way!” the post said. 

In May, Biden warned Israel that he’d halt US weapons shipments earmarked for Gaza if the IDF embarked on a major military operation against Hamas in Rafah.

“I‘ve made it clear that if they [Israel] go into Rafah…I’m not supplying the weapons that have historically been used to deal with Rafah,” Biden told CNN while campaigning in Wisconsin for reelection.

Jerusalem Post

Day 477 — Saturday, January 25 

The IDF confirmed that the four hostages [Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag] returned to Israeli territory after being transferred from Hamas captivity to the Red Cross on Saturday.

The four female IDF soldiers taken hostage by Hamas were transferred, in military uniform, to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday.

The hostages were seen holding bags similar to the ones given to the three hostages released last week. Last week, the bag included Arabic language completion certificates and photos of the hostages’ time in captivity.

Ahead of the hostage transfer, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, along with Gazan civilians, congregated in Palestine Square of Gaza City.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement Saturday morning in response to released hostages Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, and Liri Albag being transferred to IDF custody.

“The Israeli government embraces the four returning IDF soldiers. Their families have been informed by the designated authorities that they have been transferred to the IDF.

“The Israeli government is committed to the return of all the remaining hostages.”

Jerusalem Post

Day 477 — Saturday, January 25 

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, on Friday informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a letter that the “Palestinian refugee” agency UNRWA must “cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city” by January 30.

The notification follows the law which was passed by the Knesset in October banning UNRWA’s operation on Israeli land, and which takes effect on January 30.

A week after the Knesset passed the legislation, then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz officially announced the cancellation of the 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA which formed the legal basis for relations between the State of Israel and UNRWA.

UNRWA, which has long been criticized for cooperating with Hamas, has come under increased scrutiny as its workers have been found to have been directly involved in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Israel revealed a year ago of this year that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks.

It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.

Arutz Sheva

Day 477 — Saturday, January 25 

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli hostage recently released by Hamas, reportedly requested her captors release Keith Siegel, another hostage, in her place.

According to N12, Emily was informed of her release but learned that Keith, a 65-year-old American-Israeli, would remain in captivity due to his deteriorating condition.

Her plea was ultimately denied, as such decisions were made by higher-ranking members of the terrorist organization.

Fresh evidence, including Emily’s account, confirms Keith’s survival as recently as her time in captivity. Previously, the last known evidence of Keith being alive was a Hamas propaganda video from April.

Keith Siegel was abducted alongside his wife, Aviva, during the October 7 attack on Kfar Aza and transported to Gaza in their hijacked car. Aviva was released in November during the first phase of a hostage deal. She later recounted the harsh conditions they endured, including starvation, dehydration, and physical abuse—Keith’s ribs were broken during the kidnapping.

Keith is among two American-Israeli hostages reportedly included in the next phase of ongoing negotiations for their release.

i24 News

Day 476 — Friday, January 24 

The governing body of the International Criminal Court on Thursday expressed “its deep concern over sanctions measures against the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) and its personnel, as well as individuals and entities who assist it in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting certain individuals.”

“Sanctions can severely hamper ongoing investigations in all situations and other activities of the Court and affect the safety of victims, witnesses and sanctioned individuals,” the Assembly of States Parties said.

Although the statement did not mention the US or Israel, it came after US President Donald Trump issued executive order sanctions against the ICC and the ICC Office of the Prosecutor for issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on November 21 as part of its war-crimes probe into the Israel-Hamas War.

In addition, the US House of Representatives voted for sanctions against the ICC. The US Senate, which is now controlled by Republicans, [will undoubtedly] follow suit.

The arrest warrants constitute the darkest legal crisis Israel has ever encountered. They have led to diplomatic bouts between Israel and other states, including several countries being more aggressive about seeking to arrest Israeli soldiers, even though the ICC itself has not gone after soldiers yet.

The Assembly of States Parties said it “regrets any attempts to undermine the Court’s independence, integrity and impartiality. We reiterate our firm commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and to preserve its integrity undeterred by any threats or measures against the Court, its officials, its personnel and those cooperating with it.”

On January 13, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan filed an objection to Israel’s appeal of the war-crimes arrest warrants.

On November 21, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber, or lower court, approved the warrants. In mid-December, Israel appealed to the ICC Appeals Court, the institution’s top court, to reverse the decision.

Israel’s appeal rested mainly on Articles 18 and 19 of the Rome Statute, raising both directly and indirectly a plethora of errors it said the lower court had committed in its decision.

Jerusalem Post

Day 476 — Friday, January 24 

Sunday saw the return of the first of the October 7 hostages who were promised to be released under the new ceasefire agreement. It was a time for joy and celebration, which was felt through all the cities and towns of Israel. However, it was a muted rejoicing for a couple of reasons. First, there are dozens more who are still being held captive by the Gazan terrorists. Second, we haven’t forgotten what started this whole horror. There is no gratitude felt toward Hamas for giving us back what rightly belongs to our nation. There is no recognition of mercy, no outpouring of thanksgiving. If someone steals my car, should I be thankful when they return it, dented and chipped? How much less so when we’re talking about the theft of people?

Yesterday on the Anchor Podcast, I spoke with Rafaela Treistman, a young survivor of the October 7 Nova festival. Her experience sheltering in a bunker while 30 of the 40 people around her were slaughtered is one that must be heard. It serves as the balance to the happiness of the returned hostages. It represents the tainted soil from which all ceasefire emotions must grow. It is reality. And it must be heard, because too many people are forgetting the depth of the murderous depravity that Hamas meted out on innocents that infamous fall morning.

What you’ll see in Rafaela’s story is a woman who was deeply wounded by what she experienced and who she lost. But she was not broken. Her tale is an Israeli tale; one that’s been told over and over from early in our people’s existence. You may try to take us out, but you will only succeed in knocking us down. We will get up back up wiser and stronger. And when we do, it’s best you run and hide, because Israel never forgets.

There were tears in the eyes of most Israelis on Sunday as we watched the return of three of our daughters. Four-hundred-and-seventy-one days ago, Romi Gonen (24) was shot and kidnapped from the Nova festival, Doron Steinbrecher (31) was snatched away from her home in Kfar Aza, and Emily Damari (28) was also stolen from her home in Kfar Aza, having two of her fingers blown off by a terrorist bullet in the process. Let that number sink in – 471 days. Picture where you were back in October 2023 and what all has happened since then. For these women, and for all the hostages, life was put on hold as they were transferred from one location to another by people who hated their very existence. Two of them spent time stashed away under guard in an apartment and another was hidden deep in the tunnels. Now begins their journey of healing, which will likely be a life-long process.

In return for our three hostages, Israel transferred 90 Palestinian prisoners. Make sure you recognize the two differing descriptors. In return for our three stolen innocent civilians, we released 90 criminals. Those are the kinds of bargains you are forced to swallow once you begin making deals with terrorists. This Saturday, four more hostages will be turned over, along with the full list on Friday of the 33 names who will be part of the first phase of returns. Over the course of this ceasefire and hostage exchange, this twisted math will continue until freedom reaches nearly 1900 Palestinian criminals in return for just 33 of our kidnapping victims. Yes, we rejoice in the homecoming of our people, but we are appalled at the price that we are forced to pay.

As far as the ceasefire, it has begun and the IDF is slowly pulling out. However, there are few who expect Hamas to be able to control themselves over the six weeks of this first phase. If and when Hamas breaks the treaty, they will experience the full and final wrath of the IDF. President Donald Trump has promised that the United States will support whatever measures Israel takes, one hundred percent.

Day 475 — Thursday, January 23 

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday calling on the U.S. secretary of state to designate the Houthis as a terror group within the next 30 days.

Trump designated the Iranian-backed group—which is also known as Ansar Allah—as a foreign terrorist organization in January 2021, during his first term.

“Within one month of taking office, the Biden administration reversed the Houthis’ designation,” per a White House fact sheet. “As a result of the Biden administration’s weak policy, the Houthis have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times, launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure in partner nations and attacked commercial vessels transiting” between Yemen and the Horn of Africa “more than 100 times.”

“Under President Trump, it is now the policy of the United States to cooperate with its regional partners to eliminate the Houthis’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources and thereby end their attacks on U.S. personnel and civilians, U.S. partners and maritime shipping in the Red Sea,” the White House stated.

In the executive order, Trump stated that the Houthis, which are supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, “have fired at U.S. Navy warships dozens of times since 2023, endangering American men and women in uniform.”

“Since seizing most Yemeni population centers by force from the legitimate Yemeni government in 2014-15, the Houthis have launched numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure, including multiple attacks on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia, the deadly January 2022 attacks on the United Arab Emirates and more than 300 projectiles fired at Israel since October 2023,” Trump stated. 

“The Houthis have also attacked commercial vessels transiting Bab al-Mandeb more than 100 times, killing at least four civilian sailors and forcing some Red Sea maritime commercial traffic to reroute, which has contributed to global inflation,” he added.

Once the U.S. secretary of state, in consultation with the U.S. attorney general and the U.S. treasury secretary, determines that an entity ought to be designated as a terror group, “Congress is notified of the secretary’s intent to designate the organization and given seven days to review the designation, as the Immigration and Nationality Act requires,” per the State Department.

If Congress doesn’t block the designation during a seven-day waiting period, “notice of the designation is published in the Federal Register, at which point the designation takes effect,” per the department. The designated entity then has 30 days to seek judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, it adds.

The new executive order calls for the U.S. Agency for International Development administrator and the secretary of state, after the Houthis are redesignated, to “jointly review United Nations partners, nongovernmental organizations and contractors operating in Yemen.”