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Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

Hamas calls on Arab League to support keeping group in post-war Gaza’s consensus government

The armed wing of Hamas, Qassam Brigades, has released a statement expressing surprise at reports that the assistant secretary-general of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, has suggested that Hamas’s relinquishing power in Gaza would represent the interest of the Palestinian people.

“We have shown the utmost flexibility in formulating political and administrative approaches to managing the Gaza Strip during the various dialogues, especially with our brothers in Egypt, including agreeing to form a national consensus government,” Hamas said.

“We affirm that Hamas will continue to place the supreme interest of the Palestinian people at the heart of all its decisions related to the situation in the Gaza Strip after the war, within the framework of national consensus, and away from any interference by the occupation or the United States,” the statement read.

“We also call on the Arab League to support this position and not to allow the passage of any projects that would threaten the Arab national security system,” Hamas stated.

 

Saudi Arabia gathering on Gaza to determine outcome of summit in Cairo

Adnan Hayajneh, professor of international relations and US foreign policy at Qatar University, says the gathering in Saudi Arabia to counter the plan for Gaza advanced by Trump is an important development.

“It is being held in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is a leading country in the Arab world. It is also attended by many countries that have peace treaties with Israel,” he said.

“They all agree that peace is important for the region. These countries also have good relations with the US, and they want to keep that,” Hayajneh added.

He stressed that many of them have a lot of leverage over the US in terms of investments, such as Saudi Arabia, adding all of them were “shocked” by Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinians from Gaza.

“This meeting is an informal discussion, and whatever is discussed in this meeting, I think, will be adopted by the Arab League summit on March 4,” Hayajneh concluded.

 

Middle East faces a ‘crucial moment’, Egyptian ex-minister says

Former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Hussein Haridy says Trump’s plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip would have dire repercussions for the Palestinian national struggle for self-determination.

“This is a very crucial moment,” Haridy told Al Jazeera from the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

If the Arab counterproposal for Gaza is not well received by the Trump administration, it could “be a game-changer” for the region, he said.

Haridy said the Egyptian government has been working on the counterproposal, the first stage of which involves the reconstruction of Gaza. “I believe that the plan will be well received by the Arab countries,” he said.



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SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

Israel Drops GENOCIDAL Leaflets On Gaza: They're Not Even Hiding It




From South Africa to Palestine: Trump's war to defend apartheid


British-Tunisian writer and Middle East politics expert Soumaya Ghannoushi explains how Donald Trump’s policies underscore his commitment to preserving a world order built on racial and territorial supremacy.

Backed by a network of libertarian billionaires with ties to apartheid-era South Africa—most notably Elon Musk and the so-called “PayPal Mafia”—the US president’s decision to cut aid to South Africa, in response to land reform policies he claims will harm its white minority, is not about economic freedom or justice, argues Ghannoushi. Rather, it is about defending the consequences of apartheid.

Trump has become the champion of Israeli right-wing extremists, aligning himself with Israel’s most extreme territorial ambitions through his proposed forced displacement of Palestinians. South Africans know apartheid when they see it, Ghannoushi says, and now, as they seek to right historical wrongs, the country that led the charge in bringing Israel before the International Court of Justice is being made to pay.



SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

Israel says investigating reports Hamas handed over Shiri Bibas’ body

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh has reported that the Qassam Brigades – Hamas’s military wing – says it handed Shiri Bibas’s remains to the Red Cross.

“We are waiting to see confirmation from the Red Cross about that,” Odeh said.

In a post on X, the Israeli military said it is investigating the reports. “[Israeli army] representatives are in contact with the family,” it said.


Red Cross confirms receiving coffin from Hamas

What we can now report is that the Red Cross has confirmed receiving a coffin from Hamas, which the Gaza-based group says has the body of Shiri Bibas.

The Israeli army will receive the coffin from the Red Cross as soon as coordination for that happens.

The situation on the ground is quite complex.

Any movement in the night for the Red Cross will have to be closely coordinated with the Israeli army, which remains in a so-called buffer zone that remains 700 metres (2,296 feet) to one kilometre (0.6 miles) deep into the territory.

Hamas took ‘extra effort’ to show commitment to ceasefire deal

Ori Goldberg, an Israeli political commentator, says the return of Bibas’s body is “an incentive” for Saturday’s captive-prisoner swap to move forward “in an orderly fashion”.

“I think Hamas undertook extra special effort to demonstrate its seriousness and its commitment to the deal,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera.

“It’s in both sides’ interests to complete phase one and the release of the six live Israeli captives and the Palestinian prisoners.”



Gaza official reports more than 350 Israeli violations of ceasefire deal

The head of the Gaza Government Media Office says Israel has carried out more than 350 violations of the January 15 ceasefire agreement. In a statement, Ismail al-Thawabteh said the violations demonstrate Israel’s “continued breach of commitments and its defiance of the international community”.

Since the ceasefire was signed, the Israeli army has killed and injured dozens of Palestinians through air strikes, including those carried out by fighter jets and drones, as well as direct shootings or drone strikes.

Further violations include Israeli incursions into border areas east of the Gaza Strip.

The Central Emergency Committee in Rafah in the southern part of Gaza reported continued Israeli army movements in the central and western parts of the city in recent days.

Hamas, in a previous statement, also reported multiple Israeli breaches of the ceasefire, such as delaying the return of displaced people to northern Gaza, obstructing the entry of shelter supplies, and delaying the arrival of medical necessities.



SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Jenin: Report

Citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Wafa news agency is reporting that 13-year-old Rimas al-Amouri has died after being shot by Israeli forces in Jenin in the northern West Bank.


Israeli raids continue across occupied West Bank

We’re getting some updates from the occupied West Bank:

  • Israeli forces have raided the town of Yatma, south of Nablus; They entered the area amid gunfire and tear gas, the head of the Yatma village council said.
  • A Palestinian child has been injured by rubber-coated metal bullets and dozens of other people suffered from tear gas inhalation during confrontations with Israeli soldiers in Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya, the Wafa news agency is reporting.
  • The Israeli army has stormed the town of Qusra near Nablus, using heavy gunfire and tear gas, Wafa reports.
  • A Palestinian man has been arrested in the northern Jordan Valley while attending to his livestock, local sources tell Wafa.


Another child killed by Israeli forces in West Bank

The child was killed in the Jabal Joher neighbourhood of Hebron, in the south of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has identified the child as Ayman Nassar al-Haimouni, 13.

Earlier, we reported that a 13-year-old Palestinian girl was also killed by Israeli forces today in Jenin.

Locals told Al Jazeera that she lived on the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp and there were no confrontations when she was killed. The girl was shot in the back.


Rights group slams Israeli forces for ‘reckless and indiscriminate fire’

A Palestinian child rights group says Israel’s use of “reckless and indiscriminate fire” in the occupied West Bank is “robbing children of their safety even inside their own homes”.

The warning from Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) comes after Israeli forces shot and seriously injured an eight-year-old Palestinian girl inside her home near Hebron earlier this month.

According to a DCIP statement, Jannat Faisal Sabri Mutawar sustained a severe head wound when Israeli forces opened fire on her family’s home during a raid in the Palestinian town of Sair on February 11.

She was taken to hospital for emergency surgery, but faces possible vision loss.

“Jannat’s shooting underscores the impunity with which Israeli forces operate, causing lifelong trauma and irreversible harm to Palestinian children,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCIP’s accountability programme director.


Relative describes Palestinian girl’s killing in Jenin

Mohammad al-Amouri, a cousin of slain 13-year-old Rimas al-Amouri, says he was at home when he heard gunfire nearby.

“We went outside to see what had happened and found my cousin on the ground. We tried to pull her out, but the army didn’t let us – and started shooting,” al-Amouri said from Jenin.

“Later, her brother, my brother and I tried again to pull her up. But the same thing happened, they started shooting at the walls to prevent anyone from approaching.”


Palestinian foreign ministry condemns Israel PM’s ‘storming’ of West Bank camp

The Palestinian foreign ministry has condemned Netanyahu’s visit to the Tulkarem refugee camp in the north of the West Bank.

In a statement, the ministry said Netanyahu and a group of soldiers “broke into a house” to use it as a command centre. As we reported earlier, the Israeli military has been carrying out intensified military raids across the West Bank.



SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

UN special rapporteur slams Netanyahu’s actions in Tulkarem

Francesca Albanese has said the Israeli prime minister, who faces war crimes allegations at the International Criminal Court (ICC), has continued with his “unlawful actions”.

The UN special rapporteur’s remark came in a post on X that referred to Netanyahu’s takeover of a home in the occupied West Bank earlier today alongside Israeli soldiers.

“These actions are leading Israel to a troubling point in history,” Albanese wrote.

“It’s crucial for [international] law to be enforced, holding Israel accountable, starting with its leaders.”



Rights group denounces Israel’s ‘contempt’ for Palestinian children

We have another statement from Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), which has denounced the Israeli army’s killing of two Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank today.

DCIP said the children – who, as we’ve been reporting, were killed in Jenin and Hebron – were “targeted suddenly and without warning in the back” by Israeli soldiers positioned inside armoured vehicles.

“Israeli forces have nothing but contempt for Palestinian children’s lives and systemic impunity means they will face no consequences,” said DCIP’s Ayed Abu Eqtaish.

“It is outrageous that world leaders have allowed Israel to kill Palestinian children with such cruelty with no accountability.”



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SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

Trump says won’t impose Gaza takeover plan but ‘recommend it’

The US president has said in a radio interview with Fox News that he was “a little bit surprised” that Jordan and Egypt have voiced opposition to his plan to “take over” Gaza and displace Palestinians.

“I’ll tell you, the way to do it is my plan – I think that’s the plan that really works,” Trump said.

“But I’m not forcing it, I’m just going to sit back and recommend it. “And then the US would own the site, there’d be no Hamas, and there’d be development and you’d start all over again with a clean plate.”

Here’s more of what the US president told Fox News:

  • “You know where [Netanyahu] stands; he would like to go in. He just is so angry and he should be … He’s very angry. He’s a very angry man at what happened, especially with what happened yesterday with these kids … They were babies.”
  • Asked whether he would be fine either way, if Netanyahu prioritises freeing the remaining Gaza captives or “finishing off” Hamas, Trump says: “I am. I really am.”
  • “We pay Jordan and Egypt billions of dollars a year, and I was a little surprised they’d say that. But they did,” he says, of the two Arab countries’ opposition to his Gaza plan.
  • Trump says the Gaza Strip is “essentially levelled now” and “not livable”.
  • “It’s a great location. I don’t know why Israel ever gave that up,” he says, referring to Israel’s decision to withdraw its illegal settlements from the enclave, which it still occupies.


Trump doubles down on view that Palestinians want to leave Gaza

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett says that despite Trump’s recent remarks on his Gaza takeover plan, “the bottom line is that the US believes there is no future for Hamas” in the enclave.

The US president also continues to claim “that the residents of Gaza don’t want to live there; that given the choice, they would rather live somewhere else, and if they had the option, they would leave”, Halkett reported.

But Palestinians in Gaza have repeatedly rejected Trump’s proposal.


Riyadh talks contribute to Trump’s tone change

That’s according to Gamal Bayoumi, the former Egyptian deputy foreign affairs minister to the EU.

As we’ve been reporting throughout the day, the leaders of several Arab countries met earlier in Saudi Arabia to discuss a counterproposal to Trump’s push to “take over” Gaza.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Cairo, Bayoumi said Trump has appeared “inexperienced concerning international law” and the Middle East. “He’s trying from time to time to [float] a new balloon to see what is the reaction,” he said, stressing that Arab leaders have rejected Trump’s Gaza takeover plan.

“This is something that even the closest allies of [the US], Germany and France, refused. It has no logic … to ask the Palestinians to leave their own country,” Bayoumi said.



China will work to ‘correct historical injustice’, restore peace: Top diplomat

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the pledge during talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“With the Palestinian issue at the core of the Middle East issue, China will continue to stand firmly with Arab brothers and make efforts to correct historical injustice thoroughly, and restore lasting peace in the region at an early date,” Wang told the Saudi foreign minister, according to a statement.

Wang also lauded Saudi Arabia’s “active mediation on hot issues and is pleased to see Saudi Arabia play a constructive role in regional peace and stability”, the statement said, in an apparent reference to Riyadh hosting talks between the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine.



SvennoJ on 21 February 2025

Main events on Februari 21st

  • The Red Cross has confirmed it has received another coffin from Hamas, which the Palestinian armed group has claimed contains the body of Israeli captive Shiri Bibas.
  • The handover comes after Israeli authorities accused Hamas of a “horrific violation” for sending the body of an unidentified person and falsely claiming it to be the Israeli woman in an earlier exchange.
  • Hamas explained the error, saying Bibas’s body may have been mixed with other human remains after an Israeli air attack struck where she was being held in Gaza.
  • Hamas has named six Israeli captives set to be freed later today as Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem-Tov, Omer Wenkert, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. Israel will release a total of 602 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
  • The leaders of seven Arab countries have met in Saudi Arabia to discuss an Egypt-led alternative to US President Donald Trump’s push to “take over” Gaza and displace its population.
  • Trump has since softened his rhetoric, saying that while he is a “little bit surprised” Jordan and Egypt oppose his Gaza plan, he will only “recommend” it rather than impose it.
  • The Israeli military has killed two Palestinian children – both 13 years old – in separate attacks in Jenin and Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

Arab leaders discuss ‘Palestinian cause’, Gaza developments in Riyadh meeting

As we previously reported, the leaders of seven Arab and Gulf states met in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Friday to discuss an Egypt-led alternative reconstruction plan to President Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza and displace its Palestinian population.

Saudi state news agency, SPA, has now released a statement following that meeting, which it described as an “informal brotherly gathering”.

“The meeting included consultations on various regional and international issues, with a focus on joint efforts to support the Palestinian cause and address developments in the Gaza Strip,” the SPA wrote.

It added that the “leaders welcomed the emergency Arab summit scheduled for Cairo on March 4, 2025”, after which the first phase of Egypt’s reconstruction plan is expected to begin should the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas hold.

Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza could have ‘huge ramifications’ for years to come

An important gathering that took place here in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] leaders listened to the plan that was presented by the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Egypt has its own proposal for rebuilding Gaza.

It is going to be based on phases that start with clearing the debris all the way towards the final reconstruction of the entire area that was destroyed during more than a year and a half of relentless Israeli bombardment.

To be able to move forward, you need to have a financial contribution from wealthy GCC countries. There is an international estimate of about $53bn to be able to rebuild Gaza, a mammoth task, which is going to take up to 10 years.

But there’s absolutely no doubt that those GCC countries committed themselves to rebuilding Gaza will have conditions attached to the commitments they’re going to make. Particularly the terms of the reconstruction, but most importantly, the issue of who is going to take over Gaza.

There is a growing consensus now that it is about time to consider handing over control of the area to the Palestinian Authority. Now, when it comes to that particular issue, they’re going to go to the Egyptian capital Cairo on the 4th of March for a broader consensus.

They’re going to invite Arab leaders to come up with a unified stance, first of all, an alternative to the Trump proposal and number two, tackling the delicate issue of who takes over Gaza.

But this is undoubtedly an extremely important moment for the Arab region, and this explains why many people have been saying that the meeting that took place here in Riyadh could have huge ramifications on the entire region for many years to come.



SvennoJ on 22 February 2025

Arab leaders deliver ‘a big no’ to Trump’s Gaza plan: Former Egyptian diplomat

US President Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is unlawful and will continue to be rejected by the Arab states, the former Egyptian deputy foreign affairs minister to the European Union says.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Gamal Bayoumi said a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council members in Riyadh on Friday had delivered “a big no” to Trump’s proposal for the Gaza Strip and that this conclusion was likely to be reiterated in an upcoming meeting with Arab leaders in Cairo.

Bayoumi said Arab opposition to Trump’s plan has been galvanised as it “has no logic” and would be a “disaster, this aggression, against the Palestinian people”.

“Egypt declared that we shall enter Gaza to start the rehabilitation process. The Saudis and the Gulf states are ready to finance this, of course, and we shall never hesitate to help the Palestinians to stay in their own land,” Bayoumi said.

“And really, I admire the Palestinians, that they insist on staying in their land,” he said.



Growing Israeli operation signals ‘genocidal intent’ in occupied West Bank: Governor

Israeli plans to intensify military operations in Tulkarem and surrounding refugee camps in the occupied West Bank are evidence of “genocidal intent”, the region’s governor said.

The Wafa news agency reports that Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kmeil said recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz promising to massively increase the Israeli military presence in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps would result in more extrajudicial killings, demolitions of homes, and the forcible displacement of the Palestinian population.

Kmeil called on the international community and human rights organisations to intervene to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who have already endured 26 days of military operations.



SvennoJ on 22 February 2025

Deceased captive Shiri Bibas remembered as devoted mother as remains identified

Shiri Bibas has been remembered as a devoted mother and active participant in the Kibbutz Nir Oz community in Israel.

A spokesperson for the kibbutz issued the statement as forensic experts confirmed remains returned to Israel from Gaza on Friday belonged to Shiri Bibas, saying Bibas and her two young children were murdered after being taken captive.

The statement recalled Bibas and her two children, saying they “loved their home in Nir Oz, the balcony and the grass where they spent countless happy moments as a family”.

It also noted that Bibas’s parents were also killed in the October 7 attack.

“Today, after 16 unbearably difficult months, the painful circle is definitely closed for the family and in the coming days she will return together with her two small sons to eternal rest in the land of Israel,” it said.

Hamas rejects claims that Bibas family was killed by captors

The Palestinian group has called Israel’s claims “sheer lies” after the Israeli military alleged that Israeli child captives Ariel and Kfir Bibas were killed by their captors.

“[The claim] is a desperate attempt to evade the responsibility of its criminal army for the killing of the family,” a Hamas statement said.

Hamas said the Bibas family was killed as a result of “the genocide, the brutal bombing, the widespread destruction of buildings and neighbourhoods, and the war criminal Netanyahu’s obstruction of the ceasefire agreement”.

Hamas returned the remains of the two children and their mother to Israel on Thursday and Friday.

The group claims the mother and her children were killed in an Israeli bombing of the building where they were held in Gaza.



Israel provided no details on killing of Bibas captives: Family

Israeli authorities have not provided relatives with any details regarding the killing of the three Bibas captives after they were taken to Gaza during the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters, according to the family.

“Any publication of details (including references to the treatment of the bodies) is against the family’s wishes, and we ask that this be avoided,” a statement by the family said.

“The family has not received any such details from official sources,” it added, following an Israeli military announcement that the two young sons of captive Shiri Bibas were killed by “terrorists with their bare hands”.

“Any such publication adds deep pain to the family at this time.”

Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir and Ariel, were seized by fighters on the day of the attack, and their bodies were handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross this week.



SvennoJ on 22 February 2025

Hamas sends message with choice of Rafah city for captives’ handover

The scene at the moment looks very well organised, less chaotic than previous handovers that took place in different geographical locations across the Gaza Strip.

We are going to witness two handovers today, in two locations. The first one will take place here in Rafah and the second in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

We see that heavily armed Hamas fighters have been deployed to secure the zone in which the Israeli captives will be handed over to the Red Cross, and civilians have started to arrive at the location in order to witness the handover.

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas political bureau chief, was killed in the city of Rafah just 3km (2 miles) from this location.

In the background, banners show the images and photos of Hamas’s top military leaders who have been killed during the war.

It’s also important to highlight that this route, this road that we are on right now, has been used by humanitarian aid trucks to bring more aid to the Strip.

So the choice of location has brought significant symbolism for not just Palestinians, but also for the armed wing of Hamas, who are trying today to conclude the first phase of the ceasefire agreement by releasing six Israeli captives.

Translation: The resistance continues its preparations to hand over a number of occupation prisoners in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.


Banner at Nuseirat handover site references ‘dual national’ Israelis

The banner, written in Arabic, Hebrew and English, reads: “The land distinguishes its people from the dual nationality foreigners,” in an apparent reference to Israeli dual citizens.

Today’s handover will feature at least three Israeli dual nationals: Tal Shoham, an Israeli Austrian citizen; Avera Mengitsu, an Ethiopian Israeli, and Omer Shem Tov, an American Israeli.

Translation: “The land knows its people… from the foreigners with dual nationality.” A banner raised by the resistance in the Nuseirat camp in the Gaza Strip, where a number of occupation prisoners will be released as part of the seventh batch of the Flood of the Free deal.


Hamas displays Israeli weapons captured during October 7 attacks

According to images published by the Quds News Network, Israeli automatic rifles – reportedly seized during the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel – are on display in front of a stage at the site of the captive handover in Rafah, southern Gaza.



Translation: On the release platform… Israeli weapons of the occupation soldiers seized by the Qassam Brigades in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.


Israeli drones fly above handover location in Rafah

The Palestinian Information Center has published footage reportedly showing an Israeli military drone flying above the captive handover location in southern Gaza’s Rafah city.

Translation: The occupation’s drones fly in the skies of Rafah city, in tandem with the resistance’s preparation to hand over a number of occupation captives.