Hamas Says It Will Release Six Living Hostages and the Bodies of Four Others, The Washington Post
Hamas announced it would release the bodies of four Israeli hostages, including members of the Bibas family, on Thursday, followed by six living hostages on Saturday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Israeli officials confirmed these “understandings” and stated that negotiations for a second phase, which includes demands for Gaza’s demilitarization, would soon begin.
PM Said to Condition Deal’s 2nd Phase on End of Hamas Presence in Gaza, No PA Rule, The Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel’s conditions for the second phase of the ceasefire negotiations include the complete disarmament of Hamas and barring the Palestinian Authority from governing Gaza post-war.
Medical Evacuations From Gaza Slow Amid Uncertainty Over Right of Return, The Washington Post
Thousands of critically ill and wounded Palestinians remain trapped in Gaza as medical evacuations slow due to tightened security checks and fewer countries accepting evacuees, with a WHO estimate of 25,000 people in urgent need of treatment.
Palestinian Families Flee West Bank Homes in Droves as Israel Confronts Militants, AP
Thousands of Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes in the northern West Bank as Israeli military operations escalate, with entire refugee camps becoming uninhabitable due to destruction and displacement. Displaced families recount being ordered to leave, facing demolished homes, and feeling an overwhelming sense of insecurity and loss.
Lebanese Search for Dead in Devastated Villages as Israel Withdraws, Reuters
Lebanon considers any remaining Israeli presence on its territory an occupation and asserts its right to use all means necessary to ensure a full withdrawal, as the extended February 18 deadline for Israeli troop withdrawal has passed.
5 IDF Reservists Indicted for Severe Abuse of Palestinian Detainee at Sde Teiman, The Times of Israel
Military prosecutors have indicted five reserve soldiers for severely abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel last summer, resulting in significant injuries. The abuse, captured by security cameras and leaked footage, sparked outrage, leading to attempts by other soldiers to prevent the arrests of the accused.
The Weird, Fraudulent and Immoral ‘Justifications’ for Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan, Haaretz
Dahlia Scheindlin writes, “Bad faith actors never did care about Palestinian well-being. They hold two types of arguments. In one group, advocates for Trump’s plan marshal false, self-contradictory, self-congratulatory or self-justifying arguments. In another effective tactic, the advocate sounds more stately, less grandiose – and thereby legitimizes such support by contrast to the more frenzied versions. Netanyahu has honed the latter tactic for decades.”
What We Could Have Done Differently on Gaza, Substack
Ilan Goldenberg evaluates that by late 2023, the Biden administration had “tremendous leverage over Bibi Netanyahu” but failed to use it effectively to push for a ceasefire and hostage deal. As a result, “the war dragged on for a year with great suffering in Gaza and hostages continuing to die,” while Biden’s influence over Israeli decision-making steadily declined.
‘I’ll Be Back’, Hostage Told Family, But They Were Killed Before His Release, BBC
Lucy Manning writes about the heart-wrenching story of released Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi who was released and found his wife and children murdered by Hamas gunmen: “He said to them ‘whatever happens, whatever they do to me, I will be back. I’ll come back to you’. He’s a man of honour. He’s a family man. What kept him going throughout all of this, was to keep that promise he made to Lianne and the girls. It wasn’t until he was in the Israeli army vehicle being transferred from Gaza into Israel that he asked ‘are Lianne and the girls waiting for me?’. One of the soldiers had to tell him that they had in fact been murdered on the 7 October and were not waiting for him.”
Analysis of the Evolution of American Jews, JCall
Sebastien Levi writes, “American Jews reflect the broader polarization of American society, with a growing divergence within the community between secularization and leftward alignment on one side, and a return to religion and rightward alignment on the other, both occurring simultaneously.”