Hamas, Israel entrench Gaza truce positions as latest Cairo talks end

Update Hamas, Israel entrench Gaza truce positions as latest Cairo talks end
Israel’s devastating bombardment of the coastal enclave has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians, and injured thousands more. (Reuters)
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Updated 05 May 2024
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Hamas, Israel entrench Gaza truce positions as latest Cairo talks end

Hamas, Israel entrench Gaza truce positions as latest Cairo talks end
  • Israeli leader hardens his rejection of Hamas demands for an end to the Gaza war in exchange for the freeing of hostages

GAZA: A Hamas official said Sunday the group’s delegation for Gaza truce talks in Cairo was leaving for Qatar, after public disagreement with Israel intensified over demands to end their seven-month war.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “surrendering” to a demand to end the war would amount to defeat.
The Qatar-based political chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, countered by accusing Netanyahu of sabotaging the talks.
The Hamas official, who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations, told AFP that “the meeting with the Egyptian intelligence minister has ended and the Hamas delegation is leaving for Doha for further consultations.”
The Hamas negotiators are due back in Cairo on Tuesday, said Al-Qahera News, a site linked to Egyptian intelligence services.
CIA director Bill Burns meanwhile was headed to Doha for “emergency” talks on mediation efforts with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a source with knowledge of the discussions told AFP.
Netanyahu on Sunday also announced a government decision to close operations in Israel of Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera, which has broadcast round-the-clock coverage of the conflict.
It went off-air a short time later.
The network condemned Israel’s decision as a “criminal act,” and said it would take legal action.
Gaza’s bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,683 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
An AFP correspondent and witnesses reported shelling and gunfire in Gaza City Sunday, helicopter fire in central and southern Gaza, and a missile strike on a house in the Rafah area.
Israel’s military said air strikes over the past day killed several militants including three in central Gaza who took part in the October attack.
“We want a ceasefire and for Gaza to return to how it was, or even better,” said displaced woman Umm Jamil Al-Ghussein in the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.2 million Gazans have sought shelter.
Arwa Saqr, displaced from Khan Yunis, said she has “lost hope that the negotiations will succeed.”
The Palestinian civilian toll has strained ties between Israel and its main military supplier and ally the United States.
Nonetheless, Washington’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that “the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”
Negotiators met in Cairo Sunday without an Israeli delegation present.
Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators had proposed a 40-day pause in the fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain.
Any truce reached would be the first since a week-long November ceasefire saw a hostage-prisoner swap.
Netanyahu, whose coalition includes ultra-nationalist parties, faces regular protests at home, including thousands in Tel Aviv on Saturday night demanding a deal to bring home hostages still held in Gaza.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, he told his cabinet Israel would not let Hamas “take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure and return to threaten the citizens of Israel.”
“Israel will not agree to Hamas’s demands, which mean surrender, and will continue the fighting until all its goals are achieved,” he added.
Haniyeh said Netanyahu wanted to “invent constant justifications for the continuation of aggression, expanding the circle of conflict, and sabotaging efforts made through various mediators and parties.”
Previous negotiation efforts had stalled in part because of Hamas’s demand for a lasting ceasefire and Netanyahu’s vows to crush its remaining fighters in Rafah.
Hamas in a statement insisted it maintained a “positive and responsible approach” and said it was determined to reach an agreement.
The statement mentioned that Hamas’s key demands include “a complete end” to the fighting, Israeli withdrawal “from the entire Gaza Strip, the facilitation of the return of displaced people, the intensification of relief efforts,” reconstruction efforts and a prisoner-hostage exchange deal.
Netanyahu has vowed to invade Rafah regardless of any truce, and despite concerns from the United States, other countries and aid groups.
At the start of the war, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his country would impose a “complete siege” blocking food, water and other supplies.
Continuous appeals for greater access have, according to the UN, led to some improvements recently.
Israel in December reopened the southern Kerem Shalom border crossing for aid, but on Sunday the army said it was targeted with projectiles and “closed to the passage of humanitarian aid trucks.”
Hamas’s armed wing later claimed the rocket fire, saying militants had targeted troops.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which has been central to humanitarian operations in Gaza during the war, said Sunday that Israeli authorities had barred him from entering Gaza for a second time since the war began.
“Just this week, they have denied — for the second time — my entry to Gaza where I planned to be with our UNRWA colleagues,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.
In their October attack on Israel the militants seized hostages, of whom 128 remain in Gaza including 35 who the military says are dead.
On Sunday the Hostages and Missing Families Forum appealed to Netanyahu, telling him in a statement to “disregard all political pressure.”
Some far-right members of the Israeli government have opposed the latest truce proposal and called for fighting to continue.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron urged Netanyahu in a phone call Sunday to reach a deal in negotiations with Hamas, the French presidency said.
A resolution adopted at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Gambia called on “member states to exercise diplomatic, political and legal pressure” to stop Israel’s “crimes” and war in besieged Gaza.


Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages

Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages
Updated 23 February 2025
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Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages

Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages
  • Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirms delay in release of 620 detainees
  • Israel's abrupt announcement puts future of fragile truce with Palestinian group Hamas in doubt 

TEL AVIV, Israel: Israel says the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.
The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came early Sunday as military vehicles that normally move in advance of the buses carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in.
The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was meant to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.
Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.

Palestinian families react after Israel delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners, scheduled to be released in the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah early on February 23, 2025. (AFP) 

Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.

The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes.” It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two hostages who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
The six were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire ‘s first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies. In one, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters. A beaming Shem Tov, acting under duress, kissed two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. They wore fake army uniforms, though they were not soldiers when abducted.

A drone view shows Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Wenkert, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, being escorted by Hamas militants as they are released in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on Feb. 22, 2025. (REUTERS)

Cohen’s family and friends in Israel chanted “Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!” and cheered.
“You’re heroes,” Shem Tov told his parents as they later embraced, laughing and crying. “You have no idea how much I dreamt of you.” His father, Malki Shem Tov, told public broadcaster Kan his son was held alone after the first 50 days and lost 17 kilograms (37 pounds).
Earlier Saturday, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were freed. Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, entered Gaza in 2014. His family told Israeli media he has struggled with mental health issues. The Israeli-Austrian Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri. His wife and two children were freed in a 2023 exchange.
Later, Israel’s military said Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was released. The Bedouin Israeli entered Gaza in 2015. His family has told Israeli media he was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Israel’s government didn’t respond to questions about the delay in releasing prisoners. Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accusing Netanyahu of “deliberately stalling.”
The hostage release followed a heartrending dispute when Hamas on Thursday handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother abducted with her two young boys. The remains were determined to be those of a Palestinian woman. Netanyahu vowed revenge for “a cruel and malicious violation.” Hamas suggested it was a mistake.
Israeli forensic authorities confirmed a body handed over on Friday was Bibas. Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, said they found no evidence Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as Hamas has claimed. Kugel did not give a cause.
Hamas denied the Israeli military claim, based on forensic evidence and unspecified “intelligence,” that its militants killed the children “with their bare hands,” calling it a lie aimed at justifying Israeli military actions against civilians in Gaza.
Difficult talks likely over the ceasefire’s next phase
The ceasefire deal has paused the deadliest and most devastating fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, but there are fears the war will resume. Negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase are likely to be more difficult.
Hamas had said it will release four bodies next week, completing the truce’s first phase. After that, Hamas will hold over 60 hostages — about half believed to be alive.
Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu, with the backing of US President Donald Trump’s administration, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.
An Israeli official had said Netanyahu would meet with security advisers on Saturday evening about the ceasefire’s future, focusing “on the goal of returning all our hostages, alive and dead.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting had not been formally announced.
Freed hostages bring relief and a sign of life

Wenkert, Cohen, Shoham and Shem Tov had an “extremely difficult period in captivity,” the Beilinson hospital said, but it did not give details at the families’ request.
Niva Wenkert, Omer’s mother, told Israel’s Channel 12 that “on the surface, he looks OK, but there’s no telling what’s inside.”
“This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together,” Shoham’s family said, and called for a deal to free all hostages still held.
Families and others rallied again Saturday night in Tel Aviv to pressure Netanyahu’s government for a deal.
“How is it possible that President Trump and special envoy (Steven) Witkoff are more committed to the return of Israeli hostages than you are?” said Naama Weinberg, cousin of deceased hostage Itay Svirsky. “Netanyahu, these are your citizens who were abandoned on your watch!”
Hamas later released a video showing two hostages still held, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dallal, as they sat in a vehicle and spoke under duress at the handover for Shem Tov, Cohen and Wenkert. A group representing hostages’ families called the video “sickening.”
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
The 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed include 151 serving life or other sentences for attacks against Israelis. Almost 100 would be deported, according to the Palestinian prisoners’ media office.
A Palestinian prisoner rights association said they include Nael Barghouti, who spent over 45 years in prison for an attack that killed an Israeli bus driver.
Also meant to be released are 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli troops in Gaza without charge during the war.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population.
The Oct. 7 attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have died in the war.

 


Autopsy on Bibas hostages shows ‘no evidence of injuries by bombing’: expert

Autopsy on Bibas hostages shows ‘no evidence of injuries by bombing’: expert
Updated 23 February 2025
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Autopsy on Bibas hostages shows ‘no evidence of injuries by bombing’: expert

Autopsy on Bibas hostages shows ‘no evidence of injuries by bombing’: expert
  • Hamas has long insisted that an Israeli air strike killed Bibas and her sons early in the war

JERUSALEM: An autopsy conducted on the remains of Israeli hostages Shiri Bibas and her two young boys after they were handed over by Hamas militants found “no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing,” a top forensic expert said Saturday.
“We have identified the remains of Shiri Bibas, two days after identifying her children, Ariel and Kfir. Our examination found no evidence of injuries caused by (a) bombing,” Chen Kugel, director of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine said in a video statement.
Shiri Bibas and her sons were seized by militants on October 7, 2023 during the attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Shiri’s husband and the father of the two boys, Yarden Bibas, had also been abducted but was released alive earlier this month.
Since their abduction, Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel who was then aged four, and Kfir, then only nine months, had become symbols of Israel’s hostage ordeal.
On Thursday, Hamas handed over four bodies, saying they were of Shiri Bibas, her two young sons, and an elderly hostage.
While the remains of her two sons and the elderly hostage were identified positively, Israeli authorities said the fourth body was not that of Shiri Bibas, sparking anger and grief across the country.
But on Friday, Hamas — which blamed a possible “mix-up” of bodies — handed over new remains to the Red Cross, which were later identified to be that of Shiri Bibas.
Hamas has long insisted that an Israeli air strike killed Bibas and her sons early in the war.
However, the Israeli military asserts instead that they were killed by militants and even said that the two children were killed in “cold blood.”
“Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood. The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys — they killed them with their bare hands,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement on Friday.
“Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities,” he added.
The Bibas family described the deaths of the three hostages as murder, but asked that the manner of the death not be shared publicly.
“The family has not received any such details from official sources,” it said in a statement earlier on Saturday.
“The family requests to cease adding details regarding the fact that Shiri and the children were murdered by their captors.
“Yarden and the family want the world to know this was murder, without delving into any specifics,” it said.
On Saturday, Hamas reiterated that the Bibas family was not killed in captivity in Gaza.
“The false allegations that the criminal (Israeli) occupation is disseminating about the death of the Bibas children at the hands of their captors are merely baseless lies and fabrications,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.
 

 


Yemen’s Houthis launched missile at US fighter jet, missed

Yemen’s Houthis launched missile at US fighter jet, missed
Updated 23 February 2025
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Yemen’s Houthis launched missile at US fighter jet, missed

Yemen’s Houthis launched missile at US fighter jet, missed
  • The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships off Yemen since November 2023 in support of Gaza’s Palestinian militants fighting Israel, disrupting global shipping

WASHINGTON: Yemen’s Houthis launched surface-to-air missiles at an American fighter jet and MQ-9 Reaper drone this week, but did not hit either, two US officials told Reuters.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not specify if the attacks occurred over the Red Sea or Yemen itself.
One said the incidents could suggest the Houthis were improving their targeting capabilities.
Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, who leads the Iran-backed group, said in a televised speech on Feb. 13 that the Houthis would intervene with missiles and drones and attack vessels in the Red Sea if the United States and Israel tried to remove Palestinians from Gaza by force.
An Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect in Gaza on January 19 but has appeared close to collapse recently amid mutual accusations of violations.
US President Donald Trump has infuriated the Arab world with a plan to permanently displace Palestinians from Gaza and take over the enclave to turn it into a beach resort.
The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships off Yemen since November 2023 in support of Gaza’s Palestinian militants fighting Israel, disrupting global shipping.
The Iran-aligned movement, which controls northern Yemen, has also frequently fired missiles at Israel over the past year in what it says is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, where the war began more than 16 months ago.

 


Rubio says Hamas will be ‘destroyed’ if fails to free all Israeli hostages

Rubio says Hamas will be ‘destroyed’ if fails to free all Israeli hostages
Updated 23 February 2025
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Rubio says Hamas will be ‘destroyed’ if fails to free all Israeli hostages

Rubio says Hamas will be ‘destroyed’ if fails to free all Israeli hostages
  • Six Israelis, some of them dual nationals, were released earlier on Saturday, the last group of living hostages under the truce’s first phase

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Saturday that Hamas will be “destroyed” if it does not release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, as he condemned the deaths of members of an Israeli family held by the group.
“Hamas’ treatment of hostages, including its brutal murder of the Bibas family, further illustrates their savagery and is yet another reason why we are saying these terrorists must release all of the hostages immediately or be destroyed,” Rubio wrote on X.

 


Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages

Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages
Updated 23 February 2025
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Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages

Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners, citing ‘humiliating’ handovers of hostages
  • The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay in the release of 620 detainees “until further notice.”
  • Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers

TEL AVIV, Israel: Israel says the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.
The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came early Sunday as military vehicles that normally move in advance of the buses carrying prisoners left the open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in.
The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was meant to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.
Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.
The Palestinian Authority’s commission for prisoners’ affairs confirmed the delay “until further notice.” Associated Press video in the West Bank showed prisoners’ families, waiting outdoors in near-freezing weather, apparently dispersing. One woman was shown walking away in tears.

Palestinian families react after Israel delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners, scheduled to be released in the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah early on February 23, 2025. (AFP) 

Five of the six hostages freed Saturday had been escorted by masked, armed militants in front of a crowd — a display that the UN and Red Cross have criticized as cruel after previous handovers.

The Israeli statement cited “ceremonies that demean the dignity of our hostages and the cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes.” It was likely a reference to a Hamas video showing two hostages who have yet to be released watching a handover in Gaza on Saturday and speaking under duress.
The six were the last living hostages expected to be freed under the ceasefire ‘s first phase, with a week remaining in the initial stage. Talks on the ceasefire’s second phase are yet to start.
The six included three Israeli men seized from the Nova music festival and another taken while visiting family in southern Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the 16-month war in Gaza. The two others were held for a decade after entering Gaza on their own.
Five were handed over in staged ceremonies. In one, Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were posed alongside Hamas fighters. A beaming Shem Tov, acting under duress, kissed two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd. They wore fake army uniforms, though they were not soldiers when abducted.

A drone view shows Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, and Omer Wenkert, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, being escorted by Hamas militants as they are released in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, on Feb. 22, 2025. (REUTERS)

Cohen’s family and friends in Israel chanted “Eliya! Eliya! Eliya!” and cheered.
“You’re heroes,” Shem Tov told his parents as they later embraced, laughing and crying. “You have no idea how much I dreamt of you.” His father, Malki Shem Tov, told public broadcaster Kan his son was held alone after the first 50 days and lost 17 kilograms (37 pounds).
Earlier Saturday, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, were freed. Mengistu, an Ethiopian-Israeli, entered Gaza in 2014. His family told Israeli media he has struggled with mental health issues. The Israeli-Austrian Shoham was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri. His wife and two children were freed in a 2023 exchange.
Later, Israel’s military said Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was released. The Bedouin Israeli entered Gaza in 2015. His family has told Israeli media he was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Israel’s government didn’t respond to questions about the delay in releasing prisoners. Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, with spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanou accusing Netanyahu of “deliberately stalling.”
The hostage release followed a heartrending dispute when Hamas on Thursday handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother abducted with her two young boys. The remains were determined to be those of a Palestinian woman. Netanyahu vowed revenge for “a cruel and malicious violation.” Hamas suggested it was a mistake.
Israeli forensic authorities confirmed a body handed over on Friday was Bibas. Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, said they found no evidence Bibas and her children were killed in an Israeli airstrike, as Hamas has claimed. Kugel did not give a cause.
Hamas denied the Israeli military claim, based on forensic evidence and unspecified “intelligence,” that its militants killed the children “with their bare hands,” calling it a lie aimed at justifying Israeli military actions against civilians in Gaza.
Difficult talks likely over the ceasefire’s next phase
The ceasefire deal has paused the deadliest and most devastating fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, but there are fears the war will resume. Negotiations on the ceasefire’s second phase are likely to be more difficult.
Hamas had said it will release four bodies next week, completing the truce’s first phase. After that, Hamas will hold over 60 hostages — about half believed to be alive.
Hamas has said it won’t release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu, with the backing of US President Donald Trump’s administration, says he’s committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capacities and returning all hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive.
An Israeli official had said Netanyahu would meet with security advisers on Saturday evening about the ceasefire’s future, focusing “on the goal of returning all our hostages, alive and dead.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting had not been formally announced.
Freed hostages bring relief and a sign of life

Wenkert, Cohen, Shoham and Shem Tov had an “extremely difficult period in captivity,” the Beilinson hospital said, but it did not give details at the families’ request.
Niva Wenkert, Omer’s mother, told Israel’s Channel 12 that “on the surface, he looks OK, but there’s no telling what’s inside.”
“This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together,” Shoham’s family said, and called for a deal to free all hostages still held.
Families and others rallied again Saturday night in Tel Aviv to pressure Netanyahu’s government for a deal.
“How is it possible that President Trump and special envoy (Steven) Witkoff are more committed to the return of Israeli hostages than you are?” said Naama Weinberg, cousin of deceased hostage Itay Svirsky. “Netanyahu, these are your citizens who were abandoned on your watch!”
Hamas later released a video showing two hostages still held, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dallal, as they sat in a vehicle and spoke under duress at the handover for Shem Tov, Cohen and Wenkert. A group representing hostages’ families called the video “sickening.”
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners
The 620 Palestinian prisoners meant to be freed include 151 serving life or other sentences for attacks against Israelis. Almost 100 would be deported, according to the Palestinian prisoners’ media office.
A Palestinian prisoner rights association said they include Nael Barghouti, who spent over 45 years in prison for an attack that killed an Israeli bus driver.
Also meant to be released are 445 men, 23 children aged 15 to 19, and a woman, all seized by Israeli troops in Gaza without charge during the war.
Israel’s military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble. At its height, the war displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population.
The Oct. 7 attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers have died in the war.