Main events from Januari 30th
- There were emotional scenes in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank after three Israeli and five Thai captives were released in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners.
- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners due to his anger at the crowds surrounding Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud as she was released in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
- Hamas has confirmed the death of its military chief Mohammed Deif – along with other senior commanders – who was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza in July.
- Israel’s ban on UNRWA has come into effect, but the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said its clinics remain open in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during clashes in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. An Israeli officer was also killed in fighting in the area.
- US President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witcoff, said rebuilding Gaza will take “10 to 15 years” after he visited the war-torn Palestinian enclave earlier this week.
Israelis want their ‘lives back’ after failure of genocidal Gaza war: Analyst
Israeli public opinion is shifting as it becomes clear the aims of Israel’s “genocidal campaign” in Gaza have failed, a prominent Israeli political commentator said.
Ori Goldberg told Al Jazeera there was a “broad, sweeping consensus” among the Israeli public that Israel is not “better off, more in control of its own destiny, less threatened” as a result of the war.
“The campaign failed,” Goldberg said.
“At some point, it became clear to I think what is now a majority of Israelis, that this war was not achieving what it set out to achieve, and that is why political momentum in Israel has shifted again,” he said.
“Most of us have realised that this has failed. Because it has failed. We’d like, I think that’s the general sentiment, we would like our lives back,” he added.
Some 354 bodies recovered from beneath Gaza’s rubble since ceasefire’s start: UN
The remains of 171 Palestinians were discovered in the bombed-out ruins of buildings across the Gaza Strip between January 22 and 28, the United Nations reports in its latest Gaza situational assessment.
The search for those killed during Israel’s 15-month war on Gaza continues with a total of 354 bodies now retrieved since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on January 19, the UN’s Ooffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, citing Gaza’s Health Ministry.
OCHA also reports that Gaza is strewn with an estimated 50 million tonnes of rubble and debris that could take up to 20 years to remove.
Freed Thai captives in ‘fair’ health after release from Gaza
Israeli doctors have confirmed that five Thai nationals are in “fair” health after their release from Gaza as part of the latest exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners.
Dr Osnat Levzion-Korach, director of the Shamir Medical Center in Tel Aviv, said the Thais presented well despite not having been exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time, The Associated Press news agency reports.
The reported condition of the Thai captives contrasts with images shared on social media by Palestinian journalist Muhammad Shehada showing the condition of a freed 20-year-old Palestinian prisoner, Mohammed Sabah.
Sabah, who was jailed when he was 14 years old, appeared emaciated and was reportedly suffering from scabies.
One Thai national remains captive in Gaza, along with a Nepali and a Tanzanian citizen, according to reports.
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