Page 28 - Israel-palestine

Israel PM Netanyahu deploys army in West Bank after terror attack on buses

The bus blasts came just hours after Palestinian militant group Hamas returned four bodies purported to be hostages held in Gaza since its October 7, 2023 attack

Body released by Hamas was that of a Gazan woman, not a hostage: Netanyahu

The remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys' mother, the Israeli military said early Friday. Hamas militants had turned over four bodies Thursday under the tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war. Israel confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack that started the war on October 7, 2023. The remains of Ariel and Kfir Bibas were identified by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the families were notified, the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement. It said the boys were killed in captivity in November 2023. But the additional body was not that of their mother Shiri Bibas, nor any other hostage, the military said. "This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is obligated under the agreement to return four deceased hostages," the Israeli military said in a .

Hamas returns four captives' bodies said to include mother, her 2 children

Hamas on Thursday released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to embody the nation's agony following the October 7, 2023, attack. The remains were presumed to be of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir, who was 9 months old when he was taken, was the youngest captive. Hamas has said all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes. "Our hearts the hearts of an entire nation lie in tatters," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day. Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely. The militants displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including a large one depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. Thousands o

Netanyahu taps Trump-linked adviser Ron Dermer to lead ceasefire talks

An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a close confidant to lead negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire with Hamas. The US-born Ron Dermer is a Cabinet minister who's widely seen as Netanyahu's closest adviser. He previously served as Israel's ambassador to the US and is a former Republican activist with strong ties to the Trump White House. Israel and Hamas have yet to negotiate a second and more difficult phase of the ceasefire, and the first ends in early March. Palestinians and Arab countries have universally rejected US President Donald Trump's proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza and take over the territory. Since the war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, more than 50,000 people have died in Gaza and Lebanon and nearly 70 per cent of the buildings in Gaza have been devastated, according to health ministries in Gaza and Lebanon. Around 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the Octob

Israel's West Bank crackdown causes mass displacement unseen since 1967

By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers' sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war. After announcing a widespread crackdown against West Bank militants on January 21 just two days after its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza Israeli forces descended on the restive city of Jenin, as they have dozens of times since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. But unlike past operations, Israeli forces then pushed deeper and more forcefully into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem, Far'a and Nur Shams, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel's creation. During that war, 7,00,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. That Nakba, or catastrophe, as Palestinians call it, gave rise to the crowded West Bank towns now under assau

Hamas to free 6 living hostages, hand over 4 bodies to speed Gaza releases

A top Hamas official says the militant group will free six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and return the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise acceleration in releases apparently in trade for Israel's allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip. The six are the last living hostages set to be freed during the ceasefire's first phase in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The announcement by Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in prerecorded remarks released on Tuesday, said the dead would include the "Bibas family" -- two young boys and their mother who for many Israelis have come to symbolise the plight of those taken captive. Israel has not confirmed their deaths, and the prime minister's office urged the public not to distribute "photos, names and rumours" after the announcement by Hamas. "In the past few hours, we have been in turmoil," surviving members of the Bibas family said in a statement released on Tuesd

Hamas to release 6 Israeli hostages on Saturday, 4 bodies on Thursday

A top Hamas leader says the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the remains of the Bibas family that has become symbols of Israeli suffering in the war. The fate of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, reflected the feeling of helplessness as dozens of hostages remain in Gaza after Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. Israel has said it is extremely concerned about their condition but has not confirmed their deaths. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in prerecorded remarks on Tuesday, did not elaborate beyond saying that the Bibas family would be included in the handover of four bodies. The six to be released on Saturday are the last living hostages to be freed under the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza. Three hostages had been expected to be freed on Saturday. It was not clear why Hamas changed the plan. The warring sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in whi

Head of Hamas in Lebanon killed in drone strike, says Israel Army

An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Monday killed the head of the militant Hamas group in the country, Israel's military said. The strike came on the eve of the deadline for Israel's full withdrawal from southern Lebanon under the ceasefire agreement that ended the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it killed Mohammad Shaheen, the head of Hamas' operations department in Lebanon. The army accused Shaheen of recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the state of Israel. Footage circulating online showed a car engulfed in flames. The strike occurred near a Lebanese army checkpoint and Sidon's municipal sports stadium. The original withdrawal deadline was in late January, but under pressure from Israel, Lebanon agreed to extend it to February 18. It remains unclear whether Israeli troops will complete their withdrawal by Tuesday. Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued .

Israeli PM may go with Trump's idea to transfer Palestinians from Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled that he was moving ahead with US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, calling it "the only viable plan to enable a different future" for the region. Netanyahu discussed the plan with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who kicked off a Middle East visit by endorsing Israel's war aims in Gaza, saying Hamas "must be eradicated". That created further doubt around the shaky ceasefire as talks on its second phase are yet to begin. Rubio, in his upcoming stops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is likely to face more pushback from Arab leaders over Trump's proposal, which includes redeveloping Gaza under US ownership. Netanyahu has said all emigration from Gaza should be "voluntary" but rights groups and other critics say that the plan amounts to coercion given the territory's vast destruction. Netanyahu said he and Trump have a "common strategy" for Gaza. Echoing Trump, he said "the gates of hel

Rubio endorses Israel's war aims in Gaza, says Hamas must be eradicated

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday fully endorsed Israel's war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas must be eradicated and throwing the shaky ceasefire into further doubt as talks on its second phase are yet to begin. Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza and redevelop it under US ownership. Netanyahu has welcomed the plan, and said he and Trump have a common strategy for Gaza. Echoing Trump, he said "the gates of hell would be open if Hamas doesn't release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in the militant group's attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, that triggered the 16-month war. The ceasefire's first phase is set to end in two weeks and the second phase has yet to be negotiated, though talks were meant to begin two weeks ago. In the second phase, Hamas would release

Israel releases over 300 Palestinian prisoners, 6th exchange round complete

Hamas-led militants have released three male Israeli hostages, and Israeli forces began releasing hundreds of prisoners in return, in the latest indication that the fragile ceasefire deal that has paused fighting in the Gaza Strip but that had teetered in recent days, is holding. Militants in the southern Gaza Strip paraded the three hostages Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Russian-Israeli Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29 before a crowd before releasing them. All had been abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community that was hard-hit in the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. They appeared pale and worn, but seemed to be in better physical condition than the three men released last Saturday, who had emerged emaciated from 16 months of captivity. The truce that began nearly four weeks ago had been jeopardized in recent days by a tense dispute that threatened to renew the fighting. US President Donald Trump's .

Israel announces identity of three Hamas hostages set to be released today

The hostages, who are expected to be released on Saturday, were all kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023

Hamas to release 3 more hostages, paving way to resolve ceasefire dispute

Hamas said Thursday it would release three more Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The militant group had threatened to delay the next release of captives, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel, with the support of US President Donald Trump, says it will resume fighting Hamas if the hostages are not freed. The announcement from Hamas should allow the ceasefire to continue for now, even after Israel said Thursday that a rocket had been launched from Gaza though doubts remain about the long-term durability of the truce. Hamas said it held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar's prime minister about bringing into Gaza more shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble its key demand in recent days. It said in a statement that the mediators had pledged

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Hamas to release more hostages as planned, easing ceasefire dispute

Hamas said Thursday it would release the next group of Israeli hostages as planned, paving the war toward resolving a major dispute that threatened the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The militant group said Egyptian and Qatari mediators have affirmed that they will work to remove all hurdles, and that it would implement the truce deal. The statement indicated three more Israeli hostages would be freed Saturday. There was no immediate comment from Israel on Hamas' announcement. Hamas' move should allow the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to continue for now, but its future remains in doubt. Hamas had threatened to delay the next release of Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel, with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, had threatened to renew its offensive if hostages were not freed. Hamas said its delegation held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in cont

Israeli military calls up reservists as Gaza ceasefire tensions rise

Trump meanwhile wants Saudi Arabia, which has vast influence in other Arab and Muslim countries, to normalise ties with Israel

Relatives of Israeli hostages terrified as fragile Gaza ceasefire may end

After 16 months of excruciating uncertainty, Idit Ohel finally received word this week that her 24-year-old son, a hostage in Gaza, is still alive. She said she fainted upon hearing the brutal details of his captivity from freed hostages who had been held with him by Hamas since October 7, 2023. Bound by chains in an underground tunnel, Alon Ohel has subsisted on a piece of bread or less each day. He hasn't seen sunlight in 493 days, she told reporters on Monday. As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems increasingly at risk of falling apart Hamas says it will not free three hostages on Saturday as planned, and Israel says it's ready to resume the war if it doesn't families of the hostages are struggling to maintain hope. They are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to give up on the ceasefire framework, and to speed up the timeline of releases if possible. Their worries about the ceasefire collapsing have been exacerbated by President Donald Trump'

Jordan agrees to take in Palestinian children after Trump's US aid threat

Donald Trump has praised the Jordanian leader's commitment to accepting sick Palestinian children, calling it a 'beautiful' act

Netanyahu warns of ending Gaza ceasefire if hostages not returned on Feb 15

After nearly 16 months of war, Hamas has gradually been releasing hostages since the first phase of a ceasefire began on January 19, but on Monday said it would not free any more

With ceasefire in question, Israel orders to beef up troops around Gaza

An Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to beef up troops in and around the Gaza Strip after Hamas threatened to call off a scheduled hostage release on Saturday. The official said Netanyahu also ordered officials to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesn't release our hostages this Saturday. The preparation plans come after Netanyahu met with his Security Cabinet for four hours on Tuesday to discuss Hamas' threat, which has put the fragile ceasefire agreement in danger. Under the ceasefire, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of exchanges for Palestinian prisoners. But it said Monday it was delaying the next release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to allow enough aid into Gaza under the deal. President Donald Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages held by Hamas aren't freed by Saturday. The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a