Archive for category: news

News Update

In a press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House, after their meeting yesterday, President Trump said that the U.S. should take long-term control of Gaza and that Palestinians should be relocated while the Strip is rebuilt into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media that Trump would, “Make Gaza Beautiful Again.” Netanyahu said, “It is something that could change history, and it is worthwhile really pursuing this avenue.”

Trump said, “We will only be satisfied if all the problems are solved and we have the team to solve them. It will happen quickly. The Gaza Strip has been a source of destruction and so bad for the people, the lives of the residents there are miserable. They need to go to other places. There are many of them who want to go from there. 1.8 million Gazans need to leave. The rich countries of the region need to finance it. They can go to one area, or 12. We will ensure that something amazing is done. We will have peace and they will not be shot, killed and destroyed.”

He said, “the United States will take over the Gaza Strip, we will do work there. We will control it and neutralize all the bombs. We will clear Gaza and get rid of the destruction and carry out economic development that will provide endless jobs and housing. It is impossible to go back. If they go back, it will happen again.”

After recently touring Gaza, Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, told the president that it is basically uninhabitable and questioned whether it was humane to allow people to live there before it’s rebuilt. According to the WSJ, in late summer, Trump told Netanyahu in a phone call that the Gaza Strip was a prime piece of real estate and asked him to think about what kinds of hotels could be built there, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation. But he didn’t mention the U.S. taking it over.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians have rejected Trump’s proposal. [But that’s just their opening position. When Trump wants something, and has the power of the U.S. to back him up, there’s a good chance that he can get it. And the fact remains that, thanks to Hamas, Gaza is uninhabitable for the overwhelming majority of the 2 million Palestinians, who overwhelmingly supported, and continue to support, Hamas. So something drastic needs to be done to clean up the mess they made and finally bring some peace and prosperity to the Palestinians. The only way that can happen now is if they are living outside of Gaza. Let’s hope and pray that Trump can accomplish that.]

Several senior Hamas commanders who Israel had supposedly eliminated have resurfaced in Gaza during this ceasefire. An IDF official remarked, “There’s a chance we’ll see more Hamas commanders we thought we had eliminated suddenly reappear. Sometimes even Hamas itself doesn’t know the outcome of an attack targeting one of their commanders, and the process of evaluating strike results is not always 100% accurate. Some were targeted inside tunnels or buildings that collapsed on their occupants.” The IDF said that Hamas has 10,000 terrorists remaining of the 30,000 they had before Oct. 7. For more, click here.

News Update

The IDF expanded counter terror operation in Judea and Samaria yesterday. Forces demolished buildings in the center of Jenin, used for terror operations, and entered the Palestinian village of Tamun, a hotbed of terror activity. The operation has eliminated around 50 terrorists, arrested over 100 terror suspects and confiscated and destroyed hundreds of weapons and explosive devices.

Israeli hostages Keith Siegel, 65, Ofer Calderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35 were released on Saturday. Abu Marzook, Hamas’ deputy political leader, along with a Hamas delegation is visiting Moscow to meet with Russian officials. He told Russian media that Hamas would release hostage Alexander (Sasha) Trupanov in phase 1 of the deal, even though he is a soldier, as a goodwill gesture to Russia. Trupanov, 29, who holds Russian citizenship, was kidnapped on October 7 along with his mother, grandmother and girlfriend, Sapir Cohen, from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. The 3 women were release in the first hostage deal. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has taken over the running of the Rafah Crossing.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is in Washington. He will meet with White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff today and with President Trump tomorrow evening.

Major General (Res.) Eyal Zamir has been appointed as the new IDF Chief of Staff. In his first speech since his appointment, Zamir said that despite the cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza, “the year 2025 will continue to be a year of combat.” Zamir’s appointment as chief of staff still requires approval from the Advisory Committee for Senior Appointments, and final government approval. Assuming these are secured, Zamir, who was already considered the leading candidate, is expected to assume his role next month, following the resignation of outgoing Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. With this appointment, Zamir will become the first tank officer to serve as Chief of Staff since David (Dado) Elazar in the 1970s. For more, click here. 

News Update

After 482 days in captivity, Gadi Mozes, 80, Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 20, and 5 Thai workers were released and returned to Israel today. Agam Berger insisted on keeping kosher during her captivity, refusing to any meat given her.

The hostages were swarmed by mobs of thousands of shouting Palestinians as they were walked from their vehicles, surrounded by armed Hamas terrorists. Prime Minister Netanyahu reacted to the chaotic scene saying, “I view with utmost severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages. This is additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organization. I demand that the mediators make certain that such terrible scenes do not recur, and guarantee the safety of our hostages. Whoever dares to harm our hostages will pay the price.”

Israel will release 110 terrorists today, including some serving life sentences. On Saturday, Israel released 200 terrorists including some serving life sentences.

An IAF plane struck a gathering of armed terrorists in the Tamun area in Samaria killing 10 terrorists, during an overnight counterterrorism operation. Two of terrorists were involved in the IED explosion in Tamun last Monday that killed Sgt. First Class (res.) Eviatar Ben Yehuda, and injured three other soldiers. In Lebanon, the air force shot down a Hezbollah drone heading for Israel.

News Update

The IDF reopened the Netzarim corridor, which runs across the center of Gaza, and began allowing tens of thousands of Palestinians to return to the northern part of the strip. This comes after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad agreed to release civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud, IDF lookout Agam Berger and one other hostage on Thursday, in addition to the 3 hostages scheduled to be released on Saturday. Yehoud was supposed to be released before the female soldiers according to the agreement, which is why Israel initially refused to allow passage to northern Gaza. Hamas has also provided a list detailing the condition of the 26 hostages who are supposed to be released during the first stage of the deal.

Around 650,000 people are reportedly making their way back up to northern Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have taken advantage of the return for propaganda purposes. Masked terrorists with headbands bearing their terrorist insignias greeted returning residents, shaking hands with some and waving to others. In one widely shared photograph, a man holding a child stands beside a Hamas terrorist, both making victory signs for the cameras. Welcome banners were also posted on the remaining structures in the area. Most Hamas terrorists are concentrated in northern Gaza.

Hamas released a statement declaring, “The return of the displaced is a victory for our people and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the occupation and its plans for displacement. The sight of the massive crowds of our people returning to the areas they were forced to flee, despite the destruction of their homes, confirms the greatness of our people and their steadfastness in their land despite the pain and tragedy.”

President Trump threw an unexpected curveball when he suggested that Gaza should be cleared of its inhabitants, who should be resettled in Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries. He told reporters, “You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing. It is literally a demolition site, almost everything is demolished and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change.” Trump said the resettling of the Palestinians from Gaza “could be temporary or long term.” Jordan immediately rejected the idea, as did the Palestinian Authority. [But as we’ve seen, when President Trump wants something to happen, it had better be taken seriously.] Trump also released 1,800 2,000LB bombs for delivery to Israel, which the Biden administration had been withholding.

The White House announced that the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon has been extended until February 18. The announcement follows a day of serious escalation along the Lebanon border, where Lebanese health officials reported 22 deaths and 124 injuries from IDF fire, as hundreds of Lebanese residents attempted to return to border villages despite IDF warnings. For more, click here.

An IAF plane attacked a vehicle in the Nur a-Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm today, killing Hamas al-Qassam Brigades Tulkarm commander Ihab Abu Atiwa. This is part of a weeklong IDF anti-terror operation in the territories.

Yuri Eliasfov and Georgi Andreyev, 21-year-old IDF reserve soldiers from the Kiryat Shmona area, have been charged with making contact with a foreign agent, passing classified information to a foreign entity, and aiding the enemy in wartime. Eliasfov, the main suspect, began his career as a spy as a soldier in regular service and continued in the reserves. He served in Iron Dome, and was exposed to classified information. At the request of his handlers, he filmed and transmitted a video of the system, which contains information at the highest classification level.

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli was forced to cancel his scheduled trip to Brussels, to represent Israel at a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the European Parliament, because of a concrete terror threat. However, the Hind Rajab Foundation, which repeatedly files complaints against IDF soldiers around the world, claimed that Chikli avoided the visit because he was “evading prosecution.”

News Update

Negotiations to finalize an agreement continue today in Doha, with negotiators still waiting for Hamas to respond to the final deal framework. According to the WSJ, the first stage of the deal would pause the fighting in Gaza and allow for the release of some Palestinian prisoners held in Israel in exchange for the release of 33 hostages being held in Gaza. The hostages to be released would include women, children, people with severe injuries and those above the age of 50. The release of hostages is expected to be spread out over several weeks at least. Israel doesn’t yet know how many of the 33 hostages are alive.

Arab officials said the talks were currently focused on three main implementation issues: who would regulate the flow of aid into the besieged enclave; the evacuation of those injured in Gaza via the main Gaza-Egypt border crossing; and the release of hostages being held in Gaza and Palestinians from Israeli jails. Israel will need to release around 3,000 prisoners, 1,300 in the first phase, including terrorists convicted of mass murders. Hamas has agreed that Palestinians released from long jail terms would leave the Palestinian territories and live in exile abroad with their families. In preparation for the release of Palestinian security prisoners as part of the emerging hostage deal with Hamas, the Israel Prison Service will equip guards with body cameras to ensure transparency and prevent false claims regarding the detainees’ physical condition.

In the first phase, Israeli forces would remain in some parts of Gaza when the fighting stops but would eventually withdraw from the corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and another that bisects the strip. Hamas has reportedly accepted verbal guarantees from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Turkey that Israel would continue negotiations for a permanent cease-fire after the expiration of the first phase of the deal.

President-elect Donald Trump said he believed there was a handshake between parties in the negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Doha and that the talks were nearing the end. He said, “I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week, but it has to take place” and that “If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there — a lot of trouble like they have never seen before. They will get it done.” [Biden and his administration futzed around and pandered to Hamas for a year and a half, and one warning from Trump, before he is even president, has got them to agree to a deal. I guess “all hell will break loose” is more convincing than “don’t”.]

Two IDF soldiers were seriously wounded overnight when their jeep hit an explosive device in the Palestinian town of Kabatiya in Samaria. Hours earlier, an Israeli Air Force strike in Jenin killed six terrorists.

Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a petition from the Palestinian Authority to overturn a law allowing victims of terror to claim compensation from the body that finances the terror, namely the PA. Supreme Court Justice and Acting President Isaac Amit stated, “we will begin and say what is absent from the petition but deserves to be said: The Palestinian Authority pays terrorists and members of their families significant amounts of money and benefits, in close connection with the criminal acts of terrorism they committed.” According to the PA, there are approximately 180 claims pending against it for compensation for acts of terrorism. For more, click here.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs and former foreign minister, has accused Israel of embedding explosives in centrifuge components acquired for Tehran’s nuclear program in what he described as an undisclosed attempt by Israel to sabotage Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.