Israel preps for Thursday hostage release, Trump Mideast envoy in Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, marking the first time an Israeli leader is the first world statesman to meet a newly inaugurated American president.

In the world of diplomacy, optics matter, and this distinction—traditionally given to the prime ministers of Canada, Britain, Mexico, or Japan as a reflection of close ties and the special nature of those relationships—is no trivial matter. It underscores the symbolic importance of US-Israel relationship.

This is particularly significant considering what happened the last time a new president took office when many worldwide were sitting with a stopwatch measuring how long it would take then-US president Joe Biden to call Netanyahu.

Israel demanded on Wednesday that Hamas provide more info on the condition of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir and Ariel, who are all still currently held in captivity in Gaza.

The demand was passed on from Israel to all relevant mediators of the hostage deal.

Iran is closely watching how the new Trump administration may handle Iran policy. While Iran may have expected a “maximum pressure” campaign from Washington to return, the way it had existed during the first administration. However Tehran sees a window of opportunity to try to possibly mollify the US.

On January 29 Iran’s state media said “no specific message has been sent or received between Iran and the US and what is being raised only exists in the media, says Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.”

This is important because the same state media had said “Trump may be sending tentative signals to Iran of openness to diplomacy.” Iran’s foreign minister has “dismissed media speculations about diplomatic exchanges between Tehran and Washington,” the report said.

As the Trump administration begins to takes its first strides in foreign policy one of the places that will need US policy focus is Syria. Syria is increasingly important because the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad fell on December 8.

This hands the United States a major opportunity to remake policy regarding Damascus. The US has a unique opportunity because Russia and Iran had been close to the Assad regime. Now the Russians and Iranians are gone from Damascus, as least temporarily, and the US and the West has more potential influence.

It's important to review briefly the last decades of Syrian history and why it is so important. Syria was under the Assad regime for fifty years. This provided some continuity. The regime was backed by the Soviets in the 1970s and 1990s. When the Soviet Union collapsed the Assad regime considered working more with the West. It played a role in the First Gulf War in 1991.

German-Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud was 28 when she was abducted by terrorists from Nir Oz - where three generations of her family called home.

Now, over a year later, she is expected to be released as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal on Thursday, alongside Agam Berger and an additional male hostage.

On Monday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad published a video of Yehoud, 29, on their Telegram channel. 

Gadi Moses was taken captive from outside his home on October 7 when Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he lived, was invaded by Hamas terrorists. Moses marked his 80th birthday in Hamas captivity in Gaza in March.

Gadi’s ex-wife Margalit Moses was also kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and released on November 24 after 49 days. His partner, Efrat Katz, was killed by Hamas, whilst her daughter and two grandchildren were taken and subsequently released as part of the first hostage deal.

In December 2023, a video was released of two hostages, one of whom was Gadi Moses, who pleaded with the government to negotiate his release. The other hostage was Elad Katzir, who has since been murdered in captivity and his body rescued by IDF soldiers in April of last year.

Agam Berger was named on Friday as one of the four hostages set to be released on Saturday by Hamas as part of the second week of the first phase of a hostage-ceasefire deal.

Last week, Hamas released 28-year-old Emily Damari, 23-year-old Romi Gonen, and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher

Berger, now 20, was abducted on October 7 and taken to Gaza while still in her pajamas. 

The three hostages due to be released on Thursday are Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, and Gadi Moses, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

This follows earlier reports that Israel has received the list of the three Israeli hostages in Gaza set to be released on Thursday, and that the list met with the expectations of Israeli authorities.

According to information presented to mediators of the deal, five Thai citizens are also expected to be released by Hamas. This number is independent of the agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has received the list of the three Israeli hostages in Gaza set to be released on Thursday, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The PMO did not publish the list of names at the time of writing, stating that this would be done after the relevant families had been informed.

The release of three hostages in a previously unscheduled hostage transfer on Thursday was announced on Sunday after 48 hours of intense negotiations.

Israel has received the list of the three Israeli hostages in Gaza set to be released on Thursday, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The PMO did not publish the list of names at the time of writing, stating that this would be done after the relevant families had been informed.

This is a developing story.