By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ 1 day ago

Main events from Januari 24th

  • Hamas has published the names of four female Israeli soldiers set to be exchanged on Saturday for about 200 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
  • The Palestinian Detainees’ Commission has said the release of Palestinian prisoners from the Ofer Prison will take place between 10am and 11am (08:00–09:00 GMT).
  • The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said at least seven children have died of cold in Gaza since the ceasefire came into force on Sunday. Rescue teams have also recovered the bodies of 17 people from destroyed homes in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
  • The Israeli military’s assault on Jenin governorate in the occupied West Bank has continued, with two more people killed after a vehicle was bombed in the town of Qabatiya.
  • Israel’s military will not fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Monday, when the 60-day deadline set by the ceasefire deal ends, according to the prime minister’s office.
  • The US Department of Treasury has lifted sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers and organisations responsible for violence in the occupied West Bank, in compliance with an executive order by President Trump.



UN says 339 aid trucks entered Gaza on Friday

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 339 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Friday, the sixth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

OCHA cited information received from Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement – the United States, Egypt and Qatar.


Israel to UN: Palestinian relief agency UNRWA must leave Jerusalem by 30 January

The UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA must “cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city” by 30 January, Israel’s UN envoy told the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a letter on Friday.

A law banning UNRWA’s operation on Israeli land and contact with Israeli authorities takes effect on 30 January. Israel has annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised abroad.


US calls for ‘short, temporary extension’ of Israeli presence in Lebanon

The White House has called for a “short, temporary extension” to the deadline for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon set by the ceasefire reached in November, The Times of Israel has reported.

The Israeli newspaper quoted White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes as saying in a statement, “All parties share the goal of ensuring Hezbollah does not have the ability to threaten the Lebanese people or their neighbors. To achieve these goals, a short, temporary ceasefire extension is urgently needed.”

“We are pleased that the [Israeli military] has started the withdrawal from the central regions, and we continue to work closely with our regional partners to finalize the extension,” he added.


Trump stops all foreign aid with waivers for Israeli weapons: Report

The US State Department has issued a “stop-work” order for all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid, according to a memo seen by Reuters, but issued waivers for military financing to Israel and Egypt.

Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance pending a review of efficiencies and consistency with his foreign policy, the news agency said.

The State Department memo said that, effective immediately, senior officials “shall ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance” until Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made a decision after a review.



Around the Network
SvennoJ 1 day ago

Significant drop in aid trucks entering Gaza on Friday

As we previously reported, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 339 aid trucks entered Gaza on Friday on the sixth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

This figure is far below the 600 trucks per day required as part of the initial six-week ceasefire, including 50 trucks carrying fuel.

It also represents a major drop from the first five days of the truce, when more than 3,900 aid trucks entered amid a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

Here’s a breakdown:

  • Sunday: 630 trucks
  • Monday: 915 trucks
  • Tuesday: 897 trucks
  • Wednesday: 808 trucks
  • Thursday: 653 trucks

 

Trump decree paves way for ‘Muslim ban’, targeting pro-Palestine students

President Donald Trump has signed a directive that civil rights advocates say has laid the groundwork for another US travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries.

The executive order, released on Monday, may also be used to target foreign nationals who are already in the US legally and international students who advocate for Palestinian rights, experts say.


Ex-TV host, conspiracy theorist Pete Hegseth confirmed as new US defence secretary

Former Fox News personality, military veteran and conspiracy theorist Pete Hegseth has been narrowly confirmed as the next US defence secretary in a 50-to-50 vote in the Senate that was broken by a tiebreaker cast by Vice President JD Vance.

During confirmation hearings earlier in January, Hegseth was asked whether he supported Israel’s war on Gaza.

“I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,” said Hegseth, whose 2020 book, American Crusade, depicts Islam as the historic enemy of the West.


New US defence secretary once accused of chanting ‘kill all Muslims’

We reported earlier that Pete Hegseth – a former Fox News personality, military veteran and conspiracy theorist – has been confirmed as the next US defence secretary following a narrow Senate vote.

Last month, The New Yorker magazine published the details of a previously undisclosed whistleblower report on Hegseth’s tenure as the president of Concerned Veterans for America from 2013 to 2016.

In addition to accusations of sexual misconduct, creating a toxic work environment, and being intoxicated while performing official duties, Hegseth is also accused of drunkenly chanting “Kill All Muslims! Kill All Muslims!” while at a bar in Ohio during the early hours of May 29, 2015.

When confronted during a Senate Committee on Armed Services confirmation hearing on January 14, Hegseth labelled the accusations “anonymous false claims”. US Democratic Senator Tim Kaine highlighted in response that many of the accusations were not in fact made anonymously.

During that same hearing, Hegseth was also asked whether he supported Israel’s war on Gaza.

“I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,” said Hegseth, whose 2020 book, American Crusade, depicts Islam as the historic enemy of the West.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

Palestinian resistance fighters attend funeral of Hamas commanders killed in Gaza

Palestinians gather on Friday in a mosque in Gaza City during the funeral of Rawhi Mushtaha, a senior Hamas official, and Sami Odeh, Hamas’s general security service commander, who were killed in an Israeli strike last year in Gaza.





As Palestinians return to their homes in Gaza, many find nothing left

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza, Hani Mahmoud, spoke earlier to authorities and residents in the war-ravaged territory’s southern Rafah city where recovery efforts are under way.

Maher Salem Ashour, planning and investment director of Gaza’s municipalities, described the total destruction inflicted by the Israeli military on the city.

“All aspects of life were destroyed, including thousands of kilometres of roads; 600,000 metres of water network; 1 million metres of sewage system, more than 400 underground water wells,” he said.

A humanitarian relief coordinator in Rafah said that with limited heavy machinery available to carry out the cleanup, local authorities had lost 85 percent of their capacity to respond to local needs, and Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza continues to hinder emergency response efforts.

One local woman, Umm Husam, told Al Jazeera that when she returned to her home in Rafah, she found nothing.

“I went to see my house in Rafa. I found it completely destroyed,” she said.

“I want to go to my house, but how am I supposed to do that?” “The problem is that there’s no life there, no water, no electricity, no infrastructure or food. There’s nothing left for us,” she added.


An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, on January 21


Israeli forces fire at homes near central Gaza’s Maghazi

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that Israeli forces have fired shots at Palestinian homes near the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. It is unclear if there are any casualties from the attack.

Despite the continuing ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly used military force in the enclave this week, with tank fire killing two people near Rafah on Thursday.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

The clothes they wore – Palestinians stripped in streets of Gaza by Israeli forces

Mounds of clothes of Palestinian people who were detained and stripped by Israeli forces are seen in front of Al Fakhoura school in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, on January 23, 2025. Israeli soldiers brought dozens of Palestinians detained in the northern parts of Gaza, and during the siege of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, to this location where they were stripped before being sent to prisons in Israel



Israeli military issues new warnings on movement of people in Gaza

Israel’s military has warned Palestinians in Gaza that moving from the south of the war-ravaged territory to the north of the enclave “remains dangerous”, particularly at the Netzarim Corridor in the north, and also towards the Philadelphi Corridor in southern Rafah.

Warning again that it is forbidden to approach Israeli territory and the “buffer zone” established by Israeli forces inside Gaza, the military has also warned Palestinians against sea fishing, swimming or diving off Gaza’s coast “in the coming days”.

“If Hamas adheres to all the details of the agreement, the residents of the Gaza Strip will be able to return to the northern Gaza Strip, and instructions will be issued in this regard,” a spokesperson for the military said.

“Pay attention to all details to prevent friction and misunderstanding and to maintain your safety,” he said.

“All existing instructions remain in effect and will remain so until new instructions are issued as we move to the next phase of the agreement,” he added.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

Israeli military brings war to the occupied West Bank


Smoke rises over the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank during an Israeli military operation on Friday





Israeli forces targeted with second explosive device in Jenin

Earlier, we reported that Palestinian fighters detonated an explosive device near an Israeli patrol vehicle amid clashes in the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues now report that fighters from the al-Quds Brigades – Jenin Battalion, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have detonated a “KG37” ground explosive device on Israeli military vehicles in the city of Jenin.

The group said it achieved “confirmed injuries” in the attack. No casualties have been confirmed so far and the Israeli military is yet to comment.


Israeli forces raid Nablus, arrest two: Report

Israeli military incursions are continuing across the occupied West Bank, extending to Nablus and near Bethlehem.

Israeli forces have raided several homes in Nablus, including its al-Ein refugee camp, and arrested two young men, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reports. They also raided homes in the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, the agency said.

As we’ve been reporting, Israeli forces have ramped up violent raids, arrests and movement restrictions across the occupied West Bank since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect last week.


An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser in Jenin, the occupied West Bank, on January 21


Israeli bulldozer filmed destroying road in occupied West Bank

An Israeli bulldozer was filmed ripping up parts of a road in the occupied West Bank town of al-Yamoun on Friday. As we have been reporting, Israeli forces have conducted a days-long major military operation against Palestinian resistance fighters in nearby Jenin.


Video shows Israeli ‘surveillance balloons’ floating over Jenin

Two large “surveillance balloons” have been reported in the sky over Jenin city in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces are entering the fifth day of a major military operation. The Quds News Network shared a video clip of the balloons, which shared a sky earlier this morning with an Israeli military drone over Jenin.

At least 14 people have been killed in the Jenin governorate since Israel launched a major military raid – codenamed operation “Iron Wall” – on the Jenin refugee camp and nearby city on Tuesday. Palestinian children, hospital staff, elderly people are among the dozens wounded by indiscriminate Israeli fire and families in the refugee camp have been ordered to leave their homes by Israeli soldiers.

The UN has accused Israel of using “war-like” tactics in its operations in Jenin.





Around the Network
SvennoJ 1 day ago

Who are the four Israeli captives to be released from Gaza today?

As we’ve been reporting, Hamas is due to release four female Israeli soldiers today as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, and in return for a group of Palestinian prisoners. The captives have been named as:

  • Liri Albag, a 19-year-old from Moshav Yeruhav in central Israel
  • Karina Ariev, 20, from Jerusalem
  • Danielle Gilboa, 20, from Petah Tikva in central Israel
  • Naama Levy, 20, from Ra’anana in central Israel

All four women are Israeli soldiers who were taken from Israel’s Nahal Oz military base near Gaza during the Hamas-led attack on October 7. They were members of a military surveillance unit.



Two groups of Palestinian prisoners to be released today: Report

The Palestinian prisoners due to be released today as part of the exchange of captives under the Gaza ceasefire deal are divided into two groups, Israel’s Channel 12 reports. The first group are of Palestinians held in Israel’s Ofer Prison, and will be released to the occupied West Bank.

The second batch is compromised of Palestinians detained at Negev Desert (Ketziot) Prison, and who will be released to the Gaza Strip or deported to Egypt, the news outlet said.

Seventy of 200 freed Palestinian prisoners to be deported outside Gaza, West Bank

Seventy of the 200 Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel in the coming hours as part of today’s swap will be deported outside of the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, according to a statement by Hamas.

Meanwhile, we’re getting information that Algeria, Tunisia and Turkiye have agreed to eventually receive the deported Palestinian prisoners. Reports also suggest that 121 of the prisoners were serving life sentences and 79 were serving long sentences.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

Large crowd gathers at Gaza City square to watch captive release

A large crowd of Palestinians is congregated in Gaza City’s Palestine Square ahead of the expected release of Israeli captives. In addition to hundreds of Hamas members, other Palestinian factions, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are also present at the site, report our colleagues on the ground.

The four Israeli captives slated for today’s release – all female soldiers – are expected to be handed over to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross.



Simultaneous presence of Qassam Brigades, Islamic Jihad fighters ‘unprecedented’

The mood in Gaza City’s Palestine Square, where the release of Israeli captives is expected to take place, is “very celebratory”, reports Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif. 

The scene today is different from that of the first captive release on Sunday, which took place in Gaza City’s as-Saraya Square, he explained. This time, there are far more Palestinian fighters present – both members of Hamas’s Qassam Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades.

“We can see members of Qassam Brigades side by side with al-Quds Brigades fighters – this is unprecedented,” al-Sharif said in remarks that were translated live. “It is a signal that they are closely fighting, closely coordinated and closely taking control of the situation.”

Hundreds of civilians, including women and children, many hoisting the Palestinian flag, are also at the square, live footage of the scene shows.

“Despite the dire situation, despite the displacement, the suffering and pain … they came in celebration … expressing their support and solidarity with the fighters”, said al-Sharif.


Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters keep guard as they prepare to release Israeli captives, in Gaza City, on January 25

People in Gaza ‘anxious’ over gaining access to the north after captives’ release

Hamas is expected to release [four Israeli] captives today. We do not know where the release is going to happen. However, we have spotted an ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] convoy in southern Gaza.

After the captives are released, Israeli forces are going to withdraw [from the Netzarim Corridor in the centre of Gaza] and Palestinians are going to be able to return to Gaza City and northern Gaza.

That’s what people are waiting for. They’re anxious. They’re stressed. They’re waiting for the Israeli captives to be released so they can take a deep breath and be 100 percent sure they are going home tomorrow.


Palestinians gather before Hamas fighters hand over Israeli captives, in Gaza City, January 25

‘Zionism won’t win’: Images of Israeli officials on the ground at site of Gaza captive release

At the Gaza City site where the four Israeli captives are expected to be handed over to the Red Cross, Palestinian fighters stand over a large banner in Hebrew reading “Zionism won’t win”.

The banner at Palestine Square includes the emblems of several Israeli military units, as well as Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet. Another banner placed below it shows images of several Israeli officials and Israeli military officers, with the word “failure” above each one.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

Documents signed at Gaza City square

A Hamas fighter and a member of the Red Cross can be seen signing documents on a stage erected at Palestine Square in Gaza City.


Members of the International Committee of the Red Cross prepare to sign a document as Hamas prepares to hand over Israeli captives


Israeli captives handed over in Gaza City square

Four female Israeli captives have appeared on a stage in Gaza City’s Palestine Square.

They smiled, alongside fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, before being handed over to the Red Cross.


Four female Israeli soldiers, who had been held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are released, in Gaza City, January 25

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag were all taken prisoner on October 7, 2023, during Hamas-led assaults on army outposts and villages in southern Israel.

  • Ariev, 20, is from Jerusalem. She was serving at the Nahal Oz army base, about 1km (0.6 miles) from the boundary with Gaza at the time of her abduction. In July – hoping to put pressure on the Israeli government, which many of the captives’ families felt was stalling on their release – her parents released an image provided to them by Hamas purporting to show Ariev during her first few days of captivity.
  • Gilboa, 20, is from Petah Tikva in central Israel. She was also at the Nahal Oz base. Gilboa featured in a video released by Hamas in July, appealing to the Israeli government to bring her and the other captives home.
  • Levy, 20, is from Ra’anana in central Israel. She had reportedly just begun her military service when Hamas attacked. Hours after her abduction, she appeared in a Hamas video that showed her being bundled into a Jeep.
  • Albag, 19, is from Moshav Yeruhav in central Israel. She was also serving as an army lookout at the Nahal Oz base. She was believed by her family to have been hiding from a rocket barrage in a field shelter during the Hamas-led attack. Albag was later identified in a Telegram video of captives published by Hamas that day.


Red Cross convoy transports Israeli captives

The Red Cross vehicles holding the released Israeli soldiers have begun to leave Gaza City’s Palestine Square, amid cheers from the crowd.

“This is a historic moment,” reports Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili from the scene.


Israeli army says four released captives back in Israel

The Israeli army says the four released captives have now crossed into Israel.

“Today, as part of these ongoing efforts, we’ve welcomed home four more Israeli hostages after 477 days in Hamas captivity,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

The captives are going to go to an Israeli military base along the edge of Gaza where they will have preliminary treatment, before being flown in helicopters to a hospital where they will be treated.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

Handover of Israeli captives showed Palestinian factions ‘intact’

The handover of the four Israeli captives was a clear message that the “command and control of Hamas is intact and other Palestinian factions as well”, according to Muhanad Seloom, an assistant professor in critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar.

“But even before that, the negotiations were well orchestrated with Palestinian factions inside and outside Palestine,” Seloom told Al Jazeera. “Now, on the ground, they are saying ‘we are still carrying the last banner, we are still alive and winning,'” he said.

Seloom added that the handover was “well-planned messaging … theatre for Hamas” but that the group is “playing into Israeli politics”. “[Israel] is very much polarised right now, and Netanyahu will take the hit sooner or later [for not signing a deal earlier],” he explained.

‘Excited, exhilarated’: Crowds in Tel Aviv await captives’ return

In Tel Aviv’s central square, dubbed Hostages Square, a big screen showed the faces of the four female soldiers that were released. In the crowds at the square, people waved Israeli flags, while some held posters with the captives’ faces.

“I’m extremely excited, exhilarated,” one person among the crowd, Gili Roman, told The Associated Press news agency. “In a heartbeat, in a split of a second, their lives are going to turn upside again, but right now for a positive and a good side.”

He said his sister was released in the only other ceasefire in November 2023, but another relative was killed in captivity.


Palestinians ready to ‘start moving north’ tomorrow

This is definitely a historic day. Everything that happened in the past hour has been amazing – the podium in Gaza City where the Israeli captives appeared, the celebration, the uniforms, Palestinian Islamic Jihad appearing with Hamas.

Beyond that, Palestinians are now going to be able to go back to their homes in northern Gaza. In less than 24 hours, Palestinians can start moving north. They’re going home. They’re going back to their neighbourhoods.

This is something Palestinians have been waiting on for the past 15 months. According to our sources, there is a huge crowd very close to Wadi Gaza, with a lot of Palestinians waiting to start moving.

Palestinians are tired of being displaced, exhausted from living in harsh conditions. They have waited so long for the day they could freely move from the southern part to the northern part of Gaza.

Israelis celebrate release of female soldiers


People in Tel Aviv follow the news of the release of the four Israeli soldiers


Mixed feelings in Israel after soldiers’ release

Former Israeli Ambassador Alon Pinkas says Israelis are caught between “tears of joy” and anxiety after four more captives were released from Gaza.

“The hearts and minds of many are split-screened,” Pinkas told Al Jazeera. “On the one hand, you have jubilation and elation and tears of joy … but the other part of the screen focuses on those who have not been released, with the fear that this process may collapse at any given moment.”

There is also widespread “anger at the government” for not getting the captive release deal done sooner, Pinkas said. “This deal could have been reached in May 2024 rather than in January 2025,” he added.


Israel not looking at images coming out of Gaza, occupied West Bank

Israel is “overwhelmed by the release of the four female soldiers”, according to Gideon Levy, columnist at the Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

“Israel does not look to the other people who are released today [who] also deserve freedom the same as the soldiers … but that’s not the way that Israel perceives it. For Israel, it’s a price it had to pay [in] releasing murderers, even though most of them are not murderers at all,” Levy told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

“Israel has its own selective way to look at reality,” he added.

Levy explained that he is “very very sceptical” about the second stage of the ceasefire deal. “It depends much not on Israel but on the United States. [President] Donald Trump has proved that if he wants Israel to sign a deal, it did so within days,” he said.



SvennoJ 1 day ago

Israel says will not allow Palestinians’ return to north until captive issue resolved

We’ve just received a statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office saying that Israel will not allow civilians to cross back into northern Gaza, as it had been agreed, before the issue of the release of female civilian captive Arbel Yehoud, who it had been expecting to be released today, is resolved.


Israel accuses Hamas of failing to meet all captive release conditions

Israel’s military spokesman Daniel Hagari has given a video address after the release of four female Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Hagari said “we salute and embrace” the released soldiers and their families as they reunite.

He also thanked international mediators for helping secure their release, specifically the US, Qatar and Egypt. However, “we cannot and will not forget the 90 hostages, including women, children and elderly men” still in captivity in Gaza, Hagari said.

The Israeli military official also accused Hamas of failing to honour the agreed-upon terms for releasing captives, which he said required the group to first release all female civilian captives. Several of these women are still believed to be held in the enclave.


Hamas says captive Arbel Yehoud alive, will be released in a week

A Hamas source has told Al Jazeera that the group has informed the mediators that Arbel Yehoud is alive and will be released next Saturday.

Earlier, a statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel would not allow the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza until the issue of her release was resolved.

Israel going back on agreement to allow Palestinians to cross into northern Gaza

Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud was supposed to be on the list of Israeli captives being released today because they wanted to start with Israeli civilians and then move on to Israeli soldiers and then the sick and the injured.

However, the list that Israel got wasn’t exactly what they expected and it meant that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately scrambled his team of the military top brass to discuss what they could do.

Now, we do know from the Palestinian Prisons Information Office that Hamas gave them new information, and that is that Arbel Yehoud is alive.

Israel is keeping to their part of the deal that they will be releasing 200 prisoners, 70 of those will be deported. But they are now reneging on opening the Netzarim Corridor that they had created during the war and allowing people in Gaza to go back to their homes in the north.


People in Gaza still hopeful about returning to north despite Israeli decision to halt

More Palestinians are still coming, waiting for the green light from the policemen who are standing at the beginning of the al-Rashid Street to give them access [to the northern Gaza Strip]. As long as the Israelis don’t allow them to cross, the police are not going to let them cross so that they are not in danger of being targeted by Israeli snipers.

The Palestinians who we spoke to are happy, they know it is going to be a long wait, but they said it is ok. They say they have waited for 15 months that felt like 15 years.

This is the first time since the war broke out that Palestinians are moving because they want to move … it is not a forced evacuation order, it is not a danger zone, it is not a place they were evacuated to … Palestinians today are choosing to go back home.


Israeli army chief warns Palestinians not to approach Netzarim Corridor

Israeli Chief of Staff, Major-General Herzi Halevi, says the army has completed an assessment of the Netzarim Corridor with forces ready in the area “until a different decision is made” after Netanyahu reneged on an agreement to open the corridor following the release of the captives.

The army also warned Palestinians in Gaza not to approach the area until it is opened.

Palestinians were expecting to return to areas in the northern Gaza Strip today, but Israel said it would not allow them until the issue of the release of captive Arbel Yehoud was resolved.


Ceasefire mediators and Israel discussing release of Arbel Yehud: Report

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority has reported that discussions are ongoing between Israel and mediators of the ceasefire agreement to have Arbel Yehud released before next Saturday.

Israel expected Yehud to be released earlier today along with the other female captives, but Hamas said she would be released next week. According to the news outlet, once Yehud is released, Palestinians will be allowed to return to northern Gaza as Israeli soldiers will leave the Netzarim Corridor.

Earlier, Israeli news outlet Channel 13 quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying Palestinians would be allowed to return once Israel had confirmation that Yehud was alive.


Palestinians displaced on ‘standby mode’ near Gaza’s shuttered Netzarim Corridor

We see a lot more people coming and waiting [in the area leading to Netzarim Corridor]. They are on the sidewalks. We see women, we see children. Everyone is waiting for the moment they are able to start walking towards the north of Gaza.

People are on standby mode as if it’s a marathon … they want to get to their houses, their neighbourhoods, all the places they have memories of, as fast as possible.

There are police, ambulances and bulldozers standing in the way, not letting people proceed because they have not been getting the green light for the Palestinians to start moving back to [the north].

On al-Rachid street, the people gathered are planning to go back [to the north] walking. On the other side [of the enclave], on Salah al-Din Street, there are people who are going to go back with their cars and vehicles.

We don’t see any people packing food. People have gone through many days without food. Food is going to wait. All people want right now is to reach their houses.