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Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

‘Massive, massive relief’ in Israel ahead of expected captive release

Across Israeli society, the reaction to the news of a Gaza ceasefire deal that will lead to the release of Israeli captives has been almost uniform: Joy.

“I cried when I got the news,” Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg told Al Jazeera. “It’s really big. It’s like there’s a complete emotional unravelling across Israel; it’s like people are decompressing. There’s just massive, massive relief.”

Yet for some, the news seems too good to be true, with speculation around whether the ceasefire may ultimately unravel, as a deal earlier this year did.

“There’s a feeling that someone, somewhere will find a reason to return to the war,” said Aida Touma-Suleiman, a member of parliament from the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al party.


People react to news of the ceasefire deal, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv


‘Palestine now stands as the moral compass of the world,’ says British NGO CAGE

London-based advocacy organisation CAGE International says the ceasefire deal is not a “gesture of goodwill” from the US and Israel but due to the “resilience of the Palestinian people”.

In a statement, CAGE said that throughout the war, Palestinians’ “perseverance under unimaginable suffering has rewritten the global conversation”.

“Palestine now stands as the moral compass of the world. This truth remains clear: Liberation cannot be negotiated under occupation, and justice cannot coexist with apartheid. Today, Israel stands politically isolated,” the organisation said.

“True peace will only come with justice – when the siege is lifted, the occupation ends, and the Palestinian people live free in their land. This moment is a victory of resistance – but it must also be a call to action. We must escalate pressure, direct action, and civil disobedience until apartheid is dismantled and Palestine is completely free,” the statement added.


Thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons

As we’ve been reporting, Hamas says the ceasefire deal will see the release of more than 2,000 Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons. For decades, Israel has arrested hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across the occupied territory. Those arrests have ramped up amid the country’s war on Gaza.

Palestinian prisoner rights group Addameer said 11,100 Palestinian political prisoners were being held in Israeli detention facilities as of October 5. Of those, Israel was holding:

  • At least 3,544 so-called “administrative detainees” – a term used to describe Palestinians held without charge or trial, for an unlimited time.
  • Four hundred Palestinian children and 53 Palestinian women.
  • Six members of the Palestinian legislative council.
  • At least 303 Palestinian prisoners are serving life sentences.


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SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

Maersk shares hit three-month low on prospect of Gaza deal reopening Red Sea route

Maersk shares have fallen on expectations a Gaza ceasefire deal could eventually restore container shipping routes through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, easing a capacity crunch that has supported freight rates.

The accord raised hopes that Yemen’s Houthi rebels might halt attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Such attacks have forced shippers to reroute south of Africa since late 2023.

Shares in the Danish shipping company were down 2 percent at 10:25 GMT, touching their lowest since July 8. A Maersk spokesperson reiterated that the group will consider resuming transit through the Red Sea only once a long-term and viable security solution has been established.

“There is a clear link between the security risks in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the conflict in Gaza, though it remains too early to assess how progress in Gaza will influence the situation in the Red Sea,” it said. “We hope this agreement marks the first step toward ending the conflict and achieving lasting peace.”

A return to Suez would increase available shipping capacity and put further pressure on freight rates, which have already declined from peaks earlier this year, according to analysts at Sydbank and ABG Sundal Collier.

Peace is bad for business....

Houthis say monitoring ceasefire

Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi has said the group will monitor Israel’s compliance with the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Yemen-based group will resume support for Gaza if Israel fails to comply, he said.

The Houthis have launched regular attacks on Israel and commercial shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza throughout the war.



SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

Global trade union urges French banking group to stop financing firms linked to Israeli settlements

The UNI Global Union federation has sent a letter to the French banking group BNP Paribas’s chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe, expressing concern about the bank’s “financial support to the illegal Israeli settlements” in the occupied West Bank.

In the letter, seen by the AFP news agency, the trade union federation that represents 20 million workers globally urged the bank to “take decisive action … to end any identified or suspected complicity in human rights violations and international crimes against the Palestinian people”.

Last month, BNP Paribas was cited in the international aid agency Oxfam’s Trading with Settlements report as one of the “top three creditors to the settlement-linked corporations”, alongside HSBC and Barclays. The report claimed the French bank provided $28bn in loans and underwriting services to settlement-linked companies between January 2021 and August 2024.

“We call on the bank to carry out rigorous due diligence on its ties to the West Bank and take all necessary steps to stop financing activities that violate human rights and drive the dispossession of Palestinian people,” UNI general secretary Christy Hoffman said in a statement.

The trade union federation called on the bank to implement heightened human rights due diligence, publish the results, and use its leverage to pressure the companies concerned to end their activities in the West Bank.

 

Palestinians injured in Israeli attacks across occupied West Bank

With all eyes on whether Israel will halt its attacks on Gaza, Israeli military and settler violence has continued in several parts of the West Bank.

Here’s a quick roundup of what’s happened in the last few hours, as reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa:

  • Two Palestinians, including a child, were injured after Israeli forces opened fire during a raid in Yabad, a town south of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.
  • Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition during a raid in the centre of Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, including three Palestinian children between the ages of 14 and 16.
  • Israeli settlers attacked an elderly Palestinian man, 75-year-old Odeh Ali Odeh Ghazal, as he was returning from his land near the village of Kisan, east of Bethlehem.

Israeli military and settler violence has surged in the West Bank in the shadow of the Gaza war, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes.



US lawmaker says will continue work to ‘block the bombs’

Democratic Congresswoman Delia Ramirez has welcomed the ceasefire deal, saying she hopes it will “bring the hostages and prisoners home and end the bombing and starvation of the Palestinian people”.

“We must save Palestinian lives and pursue an end to US complicity in Israel’s war crimes, atrocities, and genocide,” she wrote on X.

“I will continue to work to Block the Bombs, as we pursue a future of self-determination for the Palestinian people and a just and lasting peace for all residents of the region.”

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, the US has provided its top ally with billions of dollars in military assistance as well as staunch diplomatic support.



SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

Israel approves first phase of Gaza deal

The Israeli government has approved the plan “for the release of all captives”, Netanyahu’s office says in a brief post on social media.


Top US envoys Witkoff, Kushner praise Netanyahu

Both Kushner and Witkoff have been heaping thanks on the Israeli prime minister, who has faced mass protests in Israel for months demanding he agree to end Israel’s war on Gaza.

Netanyahu did “a great job in negotiations”, Kushner told the Israeli leader, while Witkoff added that Netanyahu had the “tough job”.

“He had the job of protecting this country. He had the job of making tough choices with regard to how tough to be with Hamas, when to be flexible and not to be flexible,” said Witkoff, adding that Trump “believes that”, too.

The families of Israeli captives in Gaza have accused Netanyahu of blocking efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would see their loved ones released. Many have accused the Israeli prime minister of prolonging the war for his own political gain.


US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several other Israeli officials at an Israeli cabinet meeting on a Gaza ceasefire.

Scum of the earth.


US sending 200 troops to support ceasefire, official tells AP

A senior US official has told The Associated Press news agency that the US is deploying about 200 troops to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal.

The unnamed official said the troops would be deployed to Israel, where US Central Command will establish a “civil-military coordination center”.

The official said the command will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into Gaza. The official said no US troops would be sent to the Palestinian enclave.

The troops will be part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organisations and private sector players, US officials said Thursday.

The US deployed about 100 troops to Israel last year to help operate Israel’s air defence systems.

Trump, like Biden, has been partner in Israel’s Gaza genocide

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, has stressed that it’s important to remember that the US has been a key partner in Israel’s war on Gaza since the beginning.

“The United States under Trump, like under Biden before him, was complicit in genocide. It armed Israel, financed Israel and protected Israel in the diplomatic arena as it carried [out] genocide,” Bishara said.

“For the United States to stop doing that, that’s not something to be praised for.”

Trump is still protecting Israel, the peace plan is all about Israel and continued occupation of Gaza.

But lets get the prisoners out first and much needed aid in. Hopefully a lot of aid can be brought in in the next few days. 



SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

Main events on October 9th

  • The Israeli government has officially approved phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal, paving the way for fighting in the besieged enclave to halt within 24 hours, while Hamas has been given a 72-hour timeline to release more Israeli captives.
  • Phase one was approved despite reported opposition from far-right elements of Israel’s government, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who told Prime Minister Netanyahu he would not serve in a government that allowed Hamas to stay in power.
  • How the first phase fits into a wider lasting peace remains unclear, but Hamas has said the group has received guarantees from the US that the agreement means the war in Gaza “has ended completely”.
  • US President Donald Trump has also declared that he has “ended the war”, adding that he will soon travel to the Middle East for an “official signing” of the ceasefire agreement.

Is Gaza Genocide FINALLY OVER? - A Masterclass From Palestinian Analyst Muhammad Shehada




Questions on Gaza peace deal’s durability as Hamas agrees to ceasefire

World leaders have hailed the signing of another ceasefire deal between Hamas and the Netanyahu regime in Egypt. But Rifat Jawaid asks if Benjamin Netanyahu can be trusted with the Gaza peace plan. Who is capable of ensuring that Netanyahu doesn’t violate the ceasefire deal once all the hostages are released just like he did in March this year?

5 Days in Israel's Desert Prison: Jewish Flotilla Activist David Adler on Harrowing Detention Ordeal


Israeli forces have abducted over 500 peace activists over the past week who were sailing to Gaza in an effort to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged territory. Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla say most of the participants were sent to Ktzi'ot Prison, notorious for harsh and abusive conditions. Some have reported physical abuse, humiliation and inhumane treatment by Israeli soldiers.

Jewish American activist David Adler, co-general coordinator of the Progressive International, says he faced additional abuse because of his background.



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SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

Netanyahu’s government cabinet passes ceasefire deal though ‘some members voted no’

This came to a vote in Israel’s security cabinet first and then in Netanyahu’s wider government coalition, where there were actually some members who voted no.

These are the far-right coalition partners in the Netanyahu government. Those who are known ultra-nationalists who wanted to see a different sort of vision for Gaza in the future – one that has been condemned internationally and known as ethnic cleansing.

They wanted to completely get rid of the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip. They wanted to build illegal settlements there, and they wanted the war to continue on.

Nonetheless, the Israeli prime minister says that this deal has everything Israel needs. This deal accomplishes all of the goals and objectives that Israel set out more than two years ago.

 

US envoy Witkoff praises Netanyahu, says he made ‘very difficult calls’ in Gaza war

Earlier, we reported that US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff praised Prime Minister Netanyahu’s handling of Israel’s war on Gaza, saying he had the “job of making tough choices”.

According to The Times of Israel, Witkoff also reportedly said during Thursday night’s cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that President Trump believes the Israeli leader “made some very, very difficult calls, and lesser people would not have made those calls”.

Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Witkoff also reportedly said there were times when he felt Israel should have been more flexible.

“But the truth is, as I look back, I don’t think we get to this place without Prime Minister Netanyahu,” he said.

Israeli attacks in Gaza have halted since ceasefire ratified earlier

As we have been reporting, the Israeli government confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning that it had approved phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas.

An Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent in the besieged enclave now reports that Israeli air strikes have stopped in the hours since the ratification.

But with Israeli officials saying that the ceasefire will only come into effect sometime over the next 24 hours, it remains to be seen whether the halt in attacks is permanent.



SvennoJ on 09 October 2025

US troops monitoring Gaza ceasefire seen as ‘pivotal security guarantee’ for Hamas

This was the pivotal security guarantee that seems to have convinced Hamas to agree to this deal.

An American official at the Pentagon has told Al Jazeera that 200 US military troops are en route to Israel.

They will be there to enforce this ceasefire. They are establishing a joint task force.

They emphasised that these US troops will not be setting foot in Gaza, but rather, they will have forces from other countries – including Qatar, Egypt, the UAE and Turkiye – embedded among the US forces, and it is those forces from other countries that may be going into Gaza itself.

This joint security control centre is to ensure that the implementation of the ceasefire is respected. This is apparently something that the US military has been planning as a ‘just in case’ for months.

A senior US administration official briefed reporters, saying that they are very happy to finally be implementing this, but that there could be modifications.

They urged caution, saying that even as all of this forward momentum is occurring, this is still a very delicate time, and there are a lot of ways that these things can go wrong.

US troops part of regional task force to monitor Gaza ceasefire – what we know

We have been reporting on news of the deployment of 200 US troops to Israel to monitor the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Here’s what we know :

  • The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) will set up the task force of 200 troops deploying to monitor the ceasefire, known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center, or CMCC, a US official said.
  • The troops are deploying to Israel, but none are expected to enter Gaza.
  • The CMCC will be tasked with facilitating the flow of assistance into Gaza, including security assistance and humanitarian aid, US officials told reporters.
  • US troops deployed as part of the task force have expertise in planning, security, logistics and engineering, according to the Reuters news agency.
  • The coordination centre will also monitor to ensure Israel’s military and other security forces avoid clashes during the implementation of the ceasefire deal, which involves the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and Hamas’s release of captives.
  • CMCC will include representatives from the militaries of Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye – and it is likely the United Arab Emirates will also participate.



SvennoJ on 10 October 2025

Israeli media publishes names of Palestinians reportedly slated for release

The list of Palestinian prisoners set to be released from Israeli prisons as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal has yet to be made public, but Israeli media have published the names of several men it says are due for release.

About 1,700 Palestinians arrested since October 7, 2023, who did not take part in the attack on Israel, will be released, according to Israel’s Channel 12, citing a draft of the deal, while 250 more prisoners serving life sentences for unrelated offences will also be released.

Some 22 Palestinian minors being held in Israel’s prisons will also be set free.

Baher Badr, a Palestinian man handed 11 life sentences for carrying out an attack on the Israeli military’s Tzrifin base, is among those Hamas has called to be released, according to the Haaretz news outlet.

Also on the Palestinian group’s list is Ibrahim Alkam, a man convicted of shooting a mother and son in the occupied West Bank in 1996, and Iham Kamamji, who was convicted of killing an Israeli hitchhiker in 2006.

Who are the 20 living Israeli captives set to be released?

With the Israeli government having approved the first phase of the ceasefire deal with Hamas late on Thursday night, a prisoner for captives swap is set to take place over the coming days.

Hamas now has 72 hours from Israel’s government approving the deal to return 20 living captives it still holds in Gaza, meaning the release will likely take place on Sunday or Monday.

After that, Hamas will return the bodies of the 28 deceased captives, though the timeline for that is currently unclear.

These are the names of the living captives expected to be released from Gaza:

  • Matan Angrist
  • Ziv Berman
  • Gali Berman
  • Elkana Bohbot
  • Rom Breslavski
  • Nimrod Cohen
  • Ariel Cunio
  • David Cunio
  • Evitar David
  • Guy Gilboa-Dalal
  • Maxim Harkin
  • Eitan Horn
  • Segev Kalfon
  • Bar Kuperstein
  • Omri Miran
  • Eitan Mor
  • Yosef Haim Ohana
  • Alon Ohel
  • Avintan Or
  • Matan Tsangoker


Circulating lists of soon-to-be-released Palestinian prisoners inaccurate: Prisoners’ group

No agreement has yet been reached on the lists of Palestinian prisoners who will be released by Israel, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA).

The office alleged that the circulating lists of prisoners to be released as part of the exchange deal are inaccurate, “promoted by the [Israeli] occupation with the aim of pressuring and disrupting the negotiations”.

“If an agreement is reached, the official lists will be announced and published on the Prisoners’ Media Office platforms,” it added.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 10 October 2025

SvennoJ on 10 October 2025

Israeli military launches air raids in Khan Younis, Gaza City

The Israeli military has carried out air strikes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and in Gaza City over the past hour, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Israeli forces have also repeatedly shelled the Katiba area in the centre of Khan Younis.

There were no initial reports of casualties.

The Israeli attacks in the early hours of Friday morning are the first to be reported in Gaza since Israel’s government ratified the first phase of a ceasefire deal with Hamas late Thursday night.

That ceasefire is set to come into force at any time over the coming day.

Israeli military says soldier killed in sniper attack in Gaza City

The Israeli military has announced that a 26-year-old lieutenant-colonel in its 614th Combat Engineering Battalion was killed by a sniper in Gaza City.

The attack took place on Thursday afternoon, prior to the Israeli government ratifying the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Israeli helicopters, artillery shelling targets east of Gaza City

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that Israeli attack helicopters are targeting a site east of Gaza City in the north of the enclave, and artillery shelling has also been reported.

The Israeli attack in the north follows shortly after reports of air strikes in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis area, the first reported strikes since Israel’s government agreed late on Thursday to sign on to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

Gaza’s civil defence has also warned people to keep away from the border areas of Gaza City until the official announcement of the withdrawal of Israeli forces.



SvennoJ on 10 October 2025

Residents gather in preparation for return to Gaza City when ceasefire starts officially

Despite the ceasefire taking effect, we cannot say for sure that the night was quite filled with tranquillity. Since the early hours of this morning a huge activation of Israeli drones – we can hear their sound right now.

On the ground, we can also observe that Israeli naval warships are very close to Gaza’s beach, stationed in order to prevent Palestinians from returning to Gaza City.

We saw earlier this morning crowds of Palestinians gathering near the closest point to the Netzarim Corridor waiting for the Israeli withdrawal, so they can get the chance to return to the city.

We have heard from eyewitnesses in Gaza City that the Israeli military has withdrawn from significant parts of the urban centres inside Gaza City and back to the yellow line that has been defined in the negotiations.

Now people are still waiting. They are asking when the Israeli military will completely withdraw from the area. But a series of explosions were heard overnight and before the implementation of the ceasefire.

As far as we understand, a residential building was struck in the Sabra neighbourhood and four Palestinians were killed and 40 others are still missing under the debris of that destroyed house.


A child sits atop belongings on a vehicle as Palestinians, who were displaced to the southern part of Gaza at Israel’s order during the war, attempt to return to the north


Israeli military carries out more attacks near Khan Younis

As we have been reporting, the Israeli military has continued its attacks on Gaza in the hours since Israel’s government ratified the first phase of its ceasefire with Hamas.

Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues now report that a short while ago Israeli forces carried out further rounds of shelling and heavy tank fire north of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.


Sounds of Israeli fighter jets a sign that Israel ‘not fully’ implementing ceasefire

Right now, as I talk to you, I can hear the hum of Israeli fighter jets over the vicinity of the Nuseirat refugee camp.

A sign that, until now, Israel has not fully implemented the first steps of the withdrawal of Israeli forces on the ground, so that aid can be safely and transparently allowed into the Strip, and reach designated UN warehouses that will be responsible for providing and delivering aid supplies to people in need.


Gaza death toll rises

At least 17 Palestinians have been killed and 71 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a total of 67,211 people and injured 169,961 since October 7, 2023, the ministry said.