Category Archives: Israel-Gaza war

Latest Israeli hostages to be freed named amid uncertainty over truce

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Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen due to be exchanged for 369 Palestinian prisoners

Palestinian militant groups have named the three hostages they plan to free on Saturday in return for the release of 369 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, raising hopes that the January ceasefire agreement will survive its latest crisis.

However, the longer-term prospects of the truce remain in doubt and the uncertainty has been deepened by the US president, Donald Trump, who made surprise territorial claims over Gaza.

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‘Time is running out’: frailty of freed hostages raises pressure on Netanyahu

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Relatives and supporters anxious for return of remaining hostages urge Israeli PM to maintain ceasefire deal

Still frail less than a week after his release from Hamas captivity, and processing the news that his wife, Eynav, was killed during the militants’ attack on 7 October 2023, Or Levy told a crowd in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square that he had insisted his family and doctors allow him to come.

Israelis had been shocked and angered by the gaunt appearances of Levy, 34, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, last Saturday as they were trooped on to a stage in Gaza City and forced to read out statements before being handed to the Red Cross. After nearly 500 days in captivity, all three appeared to struggle to see in the daylight, and were so weak that armed fighters had to help them walk.

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Palestinian booksellers decry detention by Israeli police over ‘public disorder’

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Mahmoud and Ahmed Muna remain under house arrest until Sunday, despite lack of evidence against them

Two Jerusalem booksellers detained this week on charges their books were causing “public disorder” have said the experience reflected an intensifying campaign by the Israeli government against Palestinian culture and free speech.

Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmed, whose family has owned the Educational Bookshop for more than 40 years, spent two days in detention and will remain under house arrest until Sunday, despite the absence of evidence to support the vague accusations against them.

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Israel says it will stick to agreed hostage demands after Trump causes confusion

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Government says it will follow ceasefire agreement as long as Hamas releases three hostages on Saturday

The Israeli government has signalled it intends to stick to the hostage release schedule agreed in the ceasefire deal with Hamas, but warned that if the anticipated three surviving hostages were not released on Saturday, it would go back to war in Gaza.

The statement from the prime minister’s office ends nearly three days of confusion after Donald Trump’s declaration that Israel should demand Hamas release all the remaining hostages, more than 70 people, by Saturday or failing that, end the ceasefire.

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‘No to ethnic cleansing’: over 350 rabbis sign US ad assailing Trump’s Gaza plan

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Jewish creatives and activists also sign New York Times ad after US president’s proposal to ‘take over Gaza’

More than 350 rabbis, alongside additional signatories including Jewish creatives and activists, have signed an ad in the New York Times in which they condemn Donald Trump’s proposal for the effective ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

The ad, which was signed by rabbis including Sharon Brous, Roly Matalon and Alissa Wise, as well as Jewish creatives and activists including Tony Kushner, Ilana Glazer, Naomi Klein and Joaquin Phoenix, says: “Trump has called for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza. Jewish people say no to ethnic cleansing!”

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Arab mediators scramble to save Gaza ceasefire as Israel bolsters troop numbers

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Both sides accuse other of violating terms of truce, but Hamas says there are ‘positive signals’ hostage exchange will go ahead

Arab mediators are scrambling to save the Gaza ceasefire as the Israeli military bolsters troop and tank deployments to the strip’s periphery in advance of the possibility the truce breaks down this weekend.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to “discuss ways to end the current crisis”, the Palestinian militant group said. Meanwhile, Egyptian and Qatari mediators were working “intensively” to compel Israel to address Hamas’s new demands before Saturday’s scheduled release of three Israeli hostages, Egypt’s state-run al-Qahera television reported.

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Hamas faces hard choice over next hostage release as ceasefire falters

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Delay will probably mean return to fighting, but releasing more hostages could force talks on next stage of ceasefire

Hamas is facing hard choices as the Israeli military bolsters troop numbers in and around the Gaza Strip and the three-week-old ceasefire falters.

The Palestinian militant group unexpectedly announced on Monday that it was postponing the next planned release of three Israeli hostages over the weekend, citing alleged Israeli violations of the truce: delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, blocking the arrival of aid and attacking civilians. It stressed, however, that it wants the ceasefire to continue, emphasising that mediators had five days before the handover to ensure Israel “complies and compensates for the past weeks”.

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Amid the ceasefire wrangling, how popular is Hamas in Gaza now?

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The group still projects a powerful presence but, after all the damage, it will need to divert blame if the truce collapses

Of the many factors that will determine the fate of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, one of the most difficult to quantify and predict is the level of popular support for Hamas.

On Monday, Hamas threatened to delay the release of further Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of breaches of the ceasefire deal. The uncertainty, just over halfway into the ceasefire’s six-week first phase, complicates talks on the far more difficult second phase. It also jeopardises the pause in the devastating fighting and the increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza that the truce has made possible.

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Most charges against Gaza protesters dismissed but ‘intent is to scare people’

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Protesters are facing increasingly draconian charges that get dismissed but could still have a chilling effect

As pro-Palestinian demonstrations broke out across the US during the first year of war in Gaza, thousands of people were arrested, charged, or cited for their involvement. Most of the cases against them did not stick, a new Guardian analysis of prosecution data in a dozen major cities finds.

About 60% of alleged offenses committed by protesters did not result in prosecutions. The Guardian identified about 2,800 charges, summons and citations brought or requested against Gaza protesters. Around 1,600 were dropped, dismissed or otherwise not filed, data shows.

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Hamas suspends release of Israeli hostages over ‘violations’ of ceasefire

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Israeli military on alert as mediators fear a breakdown in three-week-old truce as Hamas says ‘door remains open’

Hamas has said it is delaying the release of Israeli hostages indefinitely over “violations” of the ceasefire deal, prompting Israel’s defence minister to put the country’s military on alert with orders to prepare for “any scenario in Gaza”.

Mediators fear a breakdown of the three-week-old ceasefire, Egyptian security sources told Reuters, and have postponed talks until they receive a clear indication of Washington’s intent to continue with the phased deal.

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Trump says Palestinians will have no right of return to Gaza under his plan

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People will have ‘no alternative’ but to leave territory after destruction left by Israel, US president said in Fox interview

Donald Trump has said that his plan to “take over Gaza” would not include a right of return for the more than 2 million Palestinians that he has said have “no alternative” but to leave because of the destruction left by Israel’s military campaign.

The remarks are the latest effective endorsement of ethnic cleansing by the US president, who announced his plan last week during a summit with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the outrage of the Arab world and the surprise of even his closest aides.

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Freed Israeli hostage did not know of wife and daughters’ deaths, British family confirms

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An Israeli soldier broke the news to Eli Sharabi on Saturday, after almost 500 days in captivity

The freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi did not know his wife and two teenage daughters were killed in the 7 October attack until after his release, his British family have confirmed.

An Israeli soldier broke the news about what had happened to his wife, Lianne, who grew up near Bristol, and their two British-Israeli children Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, after Sharabi and two other hostages were released by Hamas in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday.

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Middle East crisis live: Israeli military completes withdrawal from Netzarim Corridor

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Forces withdraw from area that bisects the northern and southern halves of the Gaza Strip to the buffer zone, as part of ceasefire agreement with Hamas

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has rejected Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks about displacing Palestinians from their land, Reuters reports.

Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state”, before correcting himself.

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Gaunt Israelis and Palestinians freed under fifth ceasefire exchange

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Weakened state of three freed Israelis shocks country, while several released Palestinians also need hospitalisation

Hamas freed three hostages from Gaza and Israel released 183 prisoners and detainees on Saturday, the fifth exchange under a fragile, three-week-old ceasefire deal.

The gaunt appearance of the three Israeli men shocked the country, sparking anger and dismay that could increase pressure on the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to extend the agreement to a second stage, bringing home the remaining Israeli captives.

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‘We never gave up’: tears and elation as freed Thai hostages return home from Gaza

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The group of five workers were greeted at Bangkok airport by overjoyed family members and officials after being held for over a year in Gaza

The families of five Thai farm workers held hostage in Gaza for over a year wept with joy and hugged their loved ones as they arrived in Bangkok on Sunday.

The group smiled as they walked into the arrivals hall at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport after being freed on 30 January as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Israel-Gaza war.

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Gaza ceasefire live: Netanyahu denounces ‘shocking’ images of freed hostages; Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be released

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Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be freed later after Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami were handed to the Red Cross

A small crowd has gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, which will only grow as the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi draws closer, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper is reporting.

The people are holding signs with posters of the three hostages, and one is holding a homemade sign reading “I’m sorry that it took so long, welcome back”.

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Trump’s Gaza plan suggests his pro-settler advisers are in the ascendant

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Idea of US occupying Gaza and pushing out the Palestinians delights Israel’s pro-settler movement and its US allies

When Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington this week, his first stop was to meet evangelical Christian leaders, who have cheered on Israel in the war in Gaza in an alliance with the country’s pro-settler rightwing government. For both constituencies, Israel’s right to annex the occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank is a matter of faith and, they hope, a matter of time.

Both constituencies cheered this week as Donald Trump announced his half-baked plan to “take over” Gaza, an idea he had only tinkered with before Tuesday evening, when it tumbled out to the obvious surprise of his closest aides.

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Israeli soldier sentenced to seven months for assaults on Gaza detainees

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Rights groups say punishment is insufficient after first conviction for abuse in a system where dozens have died

An Israeli soldier has been found guilty of severe assaults of Palestinian detainees from Gaza, the first conviction for abuse in a system where dozens of people have died in custody and whistleblowers say torture and violence is rife.

Israel Hajabi, 25, repeatedly attacked bound and blindfolded detainees with his fists, a baton and his assault rifle, a military court found, describing his actions as “serious and severe”. On one day alone, 5 June last year, at the Sde Teiman detention centre he beat two men 15 times.

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Antoinette Lattouf v ABC hearing live: content chief denies giving ‘shambolic’ evidence about Lattouf’s social media posts

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Unlawful termination claim at federal court examining how and why Lattouf was taken off ABC Radio Sydney after posting about Israel-Gaza on social media

Strong exchanges over Lattouf’s views on Israel-Gaza

Oliver-Taylor is being strongly questioned about his understanding of Lattouf’s political views before she was removed from her presenting gig on ABC Radio Sydney.

Certainly at the time that you removed Ms Lattouf, you understood very well her position on the Gaza-Israel war.

I can’t recall what I knew at that exact time. Clearly in the 12 or 14 months that have passed I understand her position. What I was being told was that there was posting and other things going on during that time. I don’t want to sit here and say I knew her exact position. I could guess her position, but I cannot remember at this point in time whether I knew her position.

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‘Worst nightmare’: Egypt and Jordan put in impossible bind by Trump Gaza plan

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Though heavily dependent on US aid, Amman and Cairo face political calamity at home should they comply

International outrage in recent days has focused on Donald Trump’s proposal that the US take “ownership” of Gaza, and that more than two million Palestinians be displaced to allow the territory to be transformed from “a demolition site” into a “riviera” in the Middle East.

In Jordan and Egypt, the demand that both countries accept huge numbers of Palestinians from Gaza – potentially on a permanent basis – has prompted equal concern. Leaders of both countries immediately rejected the proposal, and the Jordanian king, Abdullah II, and the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, are heading to Washington in an attempt to convince Trump to change course.

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