Why the humanitarian pause in Gaza is not peace
The Middle East is the land of prophets; hence, it is miraculous as well as unpredictable. Call it a ceasefire, a pause or a temporary lull in active hostility. With several global players putting their weight behind their respective allies, a temporary suspension of hostilities in the 47-day-old Israel-Gaza conflict looks more promising than ever before.
While the finer details are still being worked out, the broad picture runs like this: There will be a four-day ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict to facilitate the release of 50 civilians who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Most are Israeli citizens or dual nationals and would comprise only women and children. There are no suggestions of the elderly being part of this deal. The 50 hostages will be released in batches of 10 during the four-day ceasefire.
For its part, Israel would release about 150 Palestinian women and children who are in its jails. It might release more prisoners if Hamas frees additional hostages. Israel seems to have identified about 300 persons who were not accused/convicted of violent crimes.
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The truce between Israel and Hamas has been extended for two days, the Qatari foreign minister informed on Monday. This announcement comes on the final day of a four-day truce between the warring sides. Qatar and Egypt have been the key mediators in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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? Israel hosted Elon Musk on Monday, saying it had reached an agreement in principle for using his SpaceX company's Starlink communications in the Gaza Strip, where a pause to the war against Hamas coincided with the tech entrepreneur's visit. Musk's office has yet to comment on the trip.
?Israeli President Isaac Herzog has scheduled an afternoon meeting with Musk. They will be joined by relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and will also discuss "the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online", Herzog's office said.
? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also due to meet Musk on Monday to discuss the security aspects of artificial intelligence and hold a live online discussion, Netanyahu's office said. (Reuters)
Qatar, Egypt, the United States, the European Union and Spain are working to extend the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority's foreign minister said on Monday.
After calling for a lasting ceasefire to avoid an increase in civilian deaths, Riyad Al-Maliki said the current truce could be extended for "one, two, three days" but added that no one knew for how long.
Al-Maliki was addressing a news conference alongside Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares during the Forum for the Union of the Mediterranean in Barcelona. (Reuters)
Israel and Hamas appeared open to extending a cease-fire in Gaza that has halted their deadliest and most destructive war but is set to expire after Monday, with a fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel planned for later in the day.
Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released.
Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the four-day truce, which came into effect Friday after several weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. (AP)
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell today said that a four-day truce is an important first step in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but much more is needed to find a way out of the crisis.
He made the statement while participating in the Forum for the Union of the Mediterranean on Monday in Barcelona.
Borrell also called for Israel not to "recolonize" Gaza, saying both Palestinians and Israelis had an "equal and legitimate right to the same land".
A Thai Muslim group that spoke directly with Hamas said its efforts were key to ensuring that Thai hostages were among the first to be released in Gaza during a temporary truce with Israeli forces.
"We were the sole party that spoke to Hamas since the beginning of the war to ask for the release of Thais," Thai-Iran Alumni Association President, Lerpong Syed told Reuters on Monday.
"If Thailand only relied on the foreign ministry or asked other countries for help - the chances of getting released with the first group would be very low," Lerpong said, adding that other countries with hostages such as the United States, Germany and France have more influence. (Reuters)
Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas have raised concerns over the lists of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners set to be released on Monday, an official briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The official added that Qatari mediators are working with Israel and Hamas to resolve issues and avoid delays. 'There is a slight issue with today's lists. The Qataris are working with both sides to resolve it and avoid delays,' the official said.
In the previous three days of the truce Israel submitted the names of Palestinian women and teenagers it would release from jail and Hamas would submit the names of Israeli civilian hostages it would release at least 12 hours ahead of the release. (Reuters)
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk landed in Tel Aviv on Monday, an aviation tracker said, beginning a visit during which Israeli leaders plan to bring his attention to the plight of hostages held in war-torn Gaza and discuss rising antisemitism online.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog's office announced on Sunday that Musk would be coming to meet the head of state. According to Israeli media, he will also meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Musk's office had no immediate comment.
Avi Scharf, an aviation expert with Israel's Haaretz newspaper, posted on Musk's media platform X - formerly known as Twitter - that a plane carrying the billionaire, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, had touched down in the morning. (Reuters)
The latest three Thai hostages released from Gaza after being held by Hamas militants were in good health, Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted on the social media platform X on Monday.
"I'm happy," Srettha said, adding the three were healthy and not in need of urgent medical attention.
So far, 17 Thai hostages have been released after being kidnapped during Hamas raids into Israel in early October and would be brought back to Thailand as soon as possible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
"For the remaining 15 Thai hostages, the Royal Thai Government continues to exert all efforts towards their safe release at the earliest opportunity," the statement said. (Reuters)
A UN official who took part in a humanitarian convoy to northern Gaza said on Sunday aid groups were on track to deliver the biggest shipment in over a month, describing thin, gaunt residents slaking their thirst as soon as water arrived.
"People are so desperate and you can see in adults' eyes they haven't eaten," the UN children's agency's James Elder told Reuters by video link from southern Gaza after returning from Gaza City.
Even as the aid deliveries flowed north, Elder said he saw hundreds of Gazans heading in the other direction, fearing the renewal of Israeli bombardments if the four-day truce is not prolonged.
"People are so terrified that this pause won't be continued," he said. (Reuters)
Israel's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it would summon the Irish ambassador over a tweet celebrating the release of a 9-year-old girl from Hamas captivity, alleging the post didn't adequately condemn the militant group.
Earlier Sunday, the Irish prime minister lauded the release of Emily Hand, an Israeli-Irish girl whose story has captivated both nations.
Israeli government officials criticised Varadkar's tweet, arguing that it cast what happened to Emily as a disappearance rather than a violent abduction by Hamas militants.
“Mr. Prime Minister, It seems you have lost your moral compass and need a reality check! Emily Hand was not ‘lost,’ she was kidnapped by a terror organization worse than ISIS,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen tweeted. He alleged that Varadkar was “trying to legitimize and normalize terror,” and summoned the Irish ambassador to Israel for a reprimand. (AP)
Plastic chairs as beds. Meals of bread and rice. Hours spent waiting for the bathroom. As former hostages return to Israel after seven weeks of Hamas captivity, information about the conditions of their confinement has emerged.
? Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released by Hamas on Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and had eaten mainly rice and bread. She said her cousin and aunt, Keren and Ruth Munder, had each lost around 7 kg in just 50 days. Raviv said she'd heard from her freed family members that they had slept on rows of chairs pushed together in a room that looked like a reception area. They said they sometimes had to wait hours before going to the bathroom.
? The fullest image yet of life under Hamas captivity was conjured by 85-year-old Yocheved Lipschitz, a hostage who was freed before the current cease-fire. Upon her release, Lipschitz said she had been held in tunnels which stretched under Gaza “like a spider web.” She said her captors “told us they are people who believe in the Quran and wouldn’t hurt us.” Lifshitz said captives were treated well and received medical care, including medication. The guards kept conditions clean, she said. Hostages were given one meal a day of cheese, cucumber and pita, she said, adding that her captors ate the same.
? Eyal Nouri, the nephew of Adina Moshe, 72, who was freed on Friday, said his aunt “had to adjust to the sunlight” because she had been in darkness for weeks. “She was in complete darkness," said Nouri. "She was walking with her eyes down because she was in a tunnel. She was not used to the daylight. And during her captivity, she was disconnected ... from all the outside world.” Nouri said that Moshe didn't know that she was going to be released until the last moment. “Until she saw the Red Cross,” he said. "This is the moment when she realized, okay, these horrifying seven weeks are over.” (AP)
Hamas announced the death of Ahmed al-Ghandour, who was in charge of northern Gaza and a member of its top military council. He is the highest-ranking militant known to have been killed in the fighting. Israel’s military confirmed the death.
Al-Ghandour had survived at least three Israeli attempts on his life and was involved in a cross-border attack in 2006 in which Palestinian militants captured an Israeli soldier, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an advocacy group based in Washington.
Hamas said he was killed along with three other senior militants, including Ayman Siam, who Israel says was in charge of Hamas’ rocket-firing unit. The Israeli military mentioned both men in a Nov. 16 statement, saying it had targeted an underground complex where Hamas leaders were hiding. (AP)
The youngest hostage released was Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen whose parents were killed in the Hamas attack that started the war on Oct. 7.
“What she endured was unthinkable,” Biden said of the first American freed under the truce. He did not know her condition and did not provide updates on other American hostages. (AP)
Hamas has freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in a third exchange under a four-day truce yesterday. In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners.
In all, nine children ages 17 and younger were on the list, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
The Palestinian prisoners released were children and young men, ages 15-19, largely accused of public disorder, property damage and in some cases causing or threatening physical harm to Israeli officers by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. (AP)
As Hamas released the third group of hostages as part of truce, US President Joe Biden said that his goal was to extend the ceasefire for as long as possible.
A fourth exchange is expected on Monday — the last day of the cease-fire during which a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed. Most are women and minors.
Three young men of Palestinian descent who were in Burlington for a Thanksgiving holiday gathering were shot and injured — one seriously — near the University of Vermont, police said Sunday. Authorities said the attack may have been a hate crime.
Police are searching for the shooting suspect after the attack, which occurred at about 6.25 pm Saturday near the UVM campus, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said. Two of the men are in stable condition and the other suffered “much more serious injuries,” Murad said Sunday. The three, all age 20, were visiting the home of one of the victim's relatives and were walking when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun.
“Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled,” Murad said in a news release. “All three victims were struck, two in their torsos and one in the lower extremities.” Murad said all three men are of Palestinian descent and expressed deepest sympathies for the men and their families. Two are US citizens and one is a legal resident. (AP)
The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be back on track Sunday after the release of a second group of militant-held hostages and Palestinians from Israeli prisons, and Egypt said it had received new lists for an expected third release. The lists included 13 Israelis and 39 Palestinians, Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, said in a statement.
According to an AP newsreport, a Palestinian farmer was killed and another injured on Sunday after they were targeted by Israeli forces in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The incident occurred on the third day of a four-day truce between Israel and the Palestinian militant faction Hamas.
Hamas says one of its top commanders has been killed in the war with Israel.
The militant group announced the death of Ahmed al-Ghandour on Sunday, without saying when or where he was killed. He is the highest-ranking member of the group known to have been killed in the war, which was sparked by Hamas' October 7 attack into Israel.
Al-Ghandour was a high-ranking member of the group's armed wing and Hamas' top commander in northern Gaza. (AP)
Israeli forces operating in the occupied West Bank killed at least eight Palestinians in a 24-hour period, Palestinian health officials said Sunday, as a fragile pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip entered its third day.
Violence in the West Bank has surged in the weeks since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off a devastating war in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians and arrested hundreds in the West Bank. Jewish West Bank settlers have also stepped up attacks. (Read More)
The updated death toll amidst continued raids by Israeli forces now stands at seven, as per Reuters report. Five of the deaths occurred in the city of Jenin, which the Israeli military said it raided to detain a Palestinian who is suspected of involvement in a lethal West Bank ambush in August.
The tense cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be back on track early Sunday after the release of a second group of militant-held hostages and Palestinians from Israeli prisons, but the swap followed an hourslong delay that underscored the truce's fragility.The exchange was delayed Saturday evening after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement, which has brought the first significant pause in seven weeks of war. (AP)
The post by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar expressing joy over the release of a nine-year-old Irish citizen by Hamas has been slammed by Eylon Levy, Israel’s government spokesperson.
Six Palestinians, including one minor, were shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank late Saturday and early Sunday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Five of the deaths occurred in the city of Jenin and the sixth was in Yatma, a village near Nablus city. Six others were injured during the shooting in Jenin, the ministry said.
Reuters
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Israeli troops have killed two Palestinians in two separate Israeli raids which continued overnight in the occupied West Bank. (Reuters)
The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Saturday that it had decided to delay the second round of hostage releases until Israel is committed to letting aid trucks enter northern Gaza.
Saturday's swap follows the previous day's initial release of 13 Israeli hostages, including children and the elderly, by Hamas in return for the release of 39 Palestinian women and young people from Israeli prisons.
Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals released from Hamas captivity arrived in Israel today in the second step of a crucial hostage deal that briefly risked falling apart due to a dispute over the delivery of aid supplies into Gaza.
Saturday’s release of 13 hostages came after some six weeks of fighting as part of a deal to release 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Once the scheduled four-day truce to complete the exchange is over, Israeli commanders and Hamas have both said they expect fighting to resume. The future for the hostages who remain in Gaza is unclear.
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The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Saturday that it had decided to delay the second round of hostage releases until Israel is committed to letting aid trucks enter northern Gaza. (Reuters)
Palestinian militants in a West Bank refugee camp shot and killed two alleged collaborators with Israel early Saturday, Palestinian officials said. Mobs then kicked the bloodied corpses and dragged them through alleys before trying to tie them to an electrical tower.The scenes, widely shared on social media, were reminiscent of the chaos in the occupied West Bank during two Palestinian uprisings against Israeli rule that erupted in 1987 and in 2000, respectively, each lasting several years.
During these periods of heightened conflict, there were frequent killings of alleged informers, at times with bodies displayed in public.Saturday's killing in the Tulkarem refugee camp laid bare the pressures tearing at Palestinian society as the Israel-Hamas war worsens what has already been a bloody year for the territory. Deadly Israeli military raids, settler attacks and Palestinian militancy in the West Bank have surged since Israel mounted its devastating offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 bloody rampage through southern Israel. Over 230 Palestinian have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank in the past seven weeks alone, most of them during Israeli army raids targeting militants. (AP)
Egypt said on Saturday it had received positive signals from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days.
Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS), said in a statement that the country was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an agreement over extending the four-day truce, which "means the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails." (PTI)
A Polish citizen was among hostages released from Gaza, Poland's foreign ministry said on Saturday, as it welcomed news of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hama conflict.
"We welcome the information about the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which allowed the release of the first group of hostages, including a Polish citizen, and increased supplies of humanitarian aid to the enclave," the ministry said in a statement.
"At the same time, Poland continues to firmly demand that Israel consent to the safe departure from the Gaza Strip by other Polish citizens."
Some of the hostages released on Friday held dual-citizenship. (Reuters)
After seven weeks of bombardment stopped in Gaza for a truce, Tahani al-Najjar used the calm on Saturday to return to the ruins of her home, smashed by an Israeli air strike that she said killed seven of her family and forced her into a shelter.
More than 24 hours into the four-day pause in fighting, thousands of Gaza residents are making that same difficult journey from communal shelters and makeshift encampments to discover what has become of their homes.
"Where will we live? Where will we go? We are trying to collect bits of wood to build a tent to shelter us, but to no avail. There is nothing to shelter a family," Najjar said, picking through the rubble and twisted metal of her house.
Najjar, a 58-year-old mother of five from Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, said Israel's military had also levelled her house in two previous conflicts in 2008 and 2014.
She pulled several miraculously intact cups from the ruins, where a bicycle and dust-caked clothes lay amid the debris. "We will rebuild again," she said. (Reuters)
A second group of 14 Israeli hostages, mostly children, are expected to be freed by Hamas militants on Saturday after they were abducted during the horrific onslaught on the country on October 7.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that it received the names on Friday night of the people to be released on Saturday, the second day of the exchange deal.
The first exchange of 13 Israelis taken hostages for 39 Palestinian prisoners concluded successfully on Friday evening evoking mixed reactions on both sides.
It is expected that 14 Israelis will be released later on Saturday.
The Israel Prison Service said that 42 Palestinian prisoners are to be released as part of the agreement between Israel and Hamas, three prisoners for each Israeli that it let go.
In Israel, people expressed satisfaction at the return of some of their relatives but concerns over those still in captivity. There are also those who oppose the whole mechanism adopted arguing for continued full-fledged military operation to release all the hostages, and not to give the enemy respite to reorganise itself. (PTI)
Vetoon Phoome's family feared the Thai farm worker had been killed by Hamas in last month's attack on Israel, until they found out on Saturday he had been freed along with other Thai hostages in Gaza.
'He told me not to cry, to tell mother I'm coming back,' Vetoon's sister, Roongarun Wichagern, told Reuters after an emotional reunion with him via video call.
Vetoon, 33, who has been living in Israel for five years, was one of 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas during the first truce of a seven-week-old war that started with the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel.
'He said, 'I'm not dead, I'm not dead',' Roongarun said, calling his survival a 'miracle'.
The 10 Thais were among 24 hostages freed on Friday in a deal negotiated in parallel with the truce and an exchange of 39 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Thailand's government said 20 of its nationals are still captive. (Reuters)
Hamas will release 14 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 42 Palestinian prisoners Saturday as part of an ongoing swap during a four-day cease-fire, according to a senior Egyptian official.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to talk about details of the ongoing negotiations, said that mediators Egypt and Qatar have given Israel a list of those hostages to be released provided by Hamas. A second official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the details.
The upcoming swap on day two of the cease-fire follows Hamas’ release Friday of 24 of the approximately 240 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war. In exchange Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison.Those freed from captivity in Gaza were 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and a citizen of the Philippines. (AP)
Hamas was expected to swap more of its hostages on Saturday for prisoners held by Israel on the second day of a cease-fire that has allowed critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and given civilians their first respite after seven weeks of war.
On the first day of the four-day cease-fire, Hamas released 24 of the about 240 hostages taken during its October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison. Those freed from captivity in Gaza were 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and a citizen of the Philippines.
Under the agreement, Hamas will release one Israeli hostage for every three prisoners freed. Israel's Prison Service said Saturday it was preparing 42 prisoners for release, suggesting Hamas would release 14 Israeli hostages. There has been no official Israeli announcement on the number of hostages to be freed Saturday, though Hamas handed a list of names to the authorities late Friday.
It was not immediately clear how many non-Israeli captives may also be released. (PTI)
A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defense official said Saturday.
The attack Friday on the CMA CGM Symi comes as global shipping increasingly finds itself targeted in the weekslong war that threatens to become a wider regional conflict — even as a truce has halted fighting and Hamas exchanges hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The defense official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the Malta-flagged vessel was suspected to have been targeted by a triangle-shaped, bomb-carrying Shahed-136 drone while in international waters. The drone exploded, causing damage to the ship but not injuring any of its crew.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the official said. The official declined to elaborate on what intelligence the U.S. military gathered to assess Iran was behind the attack. Al-Mayadeen, a pan-Arab satellite channel that is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, reported that an Israeli ship had been targeted in the Indian Ocean. (AP)
The video shared by news agency Reuters shows hostages being transported in a convoy of International Red Cross during the temporary four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas freed 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino alongside Israeli hostages who were part of the first swap under a new cease-fire deal — including four Thais who had not been officially listed as abducted, Thailand's Foreign Ministry announced Saturday morning. Thais were the single biggest group of foreigners taken hostage when Hamas took some 240 people during its Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel.
Thais working in Israel are mostly employed as semi-skilled farm laborers, at wages considerably higher than those at they can earn at home. The ministry said the group of 10 Thais in all — nine men and one woman — were undergoing health checks at a medical center in Israel. They would stay there for at least 48 hours before flying home to Thailand.
It released photos of the freed hostages in the Israeli hospital where they were taken Friday after their release. There was confusion overnight about the number of Thais freed, with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that 12 had been freed. Thailand's Foreign Ministry said that figure came from the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv. However, it revised the number downward after the spokesperson for the Qatari foreign ministry, Majed al-Ansari, posted on X that the number was 10.
The release of four Thais previously not known to be held by Hamas militants leaves 20 currently listed as being held captive. On Friday night, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara wrote online that he was overjoyed at news of the release. He had traveled more than three weeks ago to Egypt and Qatar to seek their help in obtaining the hostages’ freedom. (AP)
For the families of the hostages, there was happiness mingled with concern for those who remained in Gaza. "I am happy I received my family back, it's allowed to feel joy and it's allowed to shed a tear. That's a human thing," said Yoni Katz Asher, whose wife Doron and children Raz and Aviv were freed on Friday. "But I am not celebrating, I will not celebrate until the last of the hostages returns home."
"The emotions are mixed emotions," said Shelly Shem Tov, the mother Omer Shem Tov, 21, who had attended an outdoor dance festival that was targeted in the attack, and was among those taken hostage. He was not among those released on Friday.
"I'm excited for the families who today are going to hug their loved ones. I am jealous. And I am sad. Mostly sad that Omer is still not coming home," she said in an interview with Israel's Channel 12. (Reuters)
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