Israel News for 1-27-2025
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.”
