Zamir picked as next IDF chief of staff, IDF on high alert in West Bank post-prisoner release

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday, Netanyahu's office said.

Following the meeting with Netanyahu, Witkoff will speak with Qatar's prime minister and Egyptian representatives, it added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to depart for Washington, DC, on Sunday to attend a series of meetings with senior US officials, including a meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Although Netanyahu is officially scheduled to remain in Washington until Thursday, the visit is expected to be extended, and he is now anticipated to depart on Saturday night, after Shabbat.

Netanyahu is set to meet with Trump on Tuesday, with discussions expected to focus on the ongoing hostage negotiations, the Iranian threat, normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia, and the situation in Syria and Lebanon.

Israeli officials who met this week with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, received the impression that the US president was pushing for a second phase in the hostage deal. Under this phase, more hostages would be released in exchange for an extension of the ceasefire and the release of additional Palestinian security prisoners.

Netanyahu and Trump participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House in September 2020. (credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Hamas, however, is demanding a complete halt to the war as a condition for advancing the deal. Netanyahu has made it clear that he will not accept such a demand. Due to the significant gaps between the sides, one of the options under discussion is an extension of the current phase, which at present spans 42 days.

Hostage deal negotiations

“The idea is that there could be additional rounds of hostage releases in exchange for an extended ceasefire,” an Israeli official familiar with the negotiations said. “But the assumption is that at some point, even if talks on an intermediary phase  – sometimes called ‘phase 1.5’ – are successful, Hamas will eventually halt negotiations because the war will not stop, and Israel will resume fighting.”

Following Hamas’s organized celebrations and encouragement to Gazans to go back to the northern Gaza Strip, many of those who made it there were forced to return southward upon the discovery of their homes in ruin.

A variety of viral videos, tweets, and posts have been circulating on social media, many shared by Israeli channels such as Khalifa Shrugged, Abu Ali Express, and Daniel Wachtel, showing Gazan citizens eager to go up north to where their homes were, only to return southwards disillusioned after seeing the immense destruction left by the war.

One Gazan citizen interviewed on the Qatari Al-Arabi channel after coming back from Beit Hanoun told the interviewer: “I couldn’t find anything… The house was located more towards the Jews, but I was scared to look more closely due to there being unexploded bombs or rockets. There’s no life, no nothing. Even if I bring my tent there - there’s no life there. I’m going back to Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, in the desert. It’s easier to find level ground there, you can sit there, there’s water… people are shouting and crying in their houses. This is indescribable… I’m not going back.

"I lost twenty years of my life. My house, my home, my farm… nothing left. There’s a pit instead of my house.”

Military and political officials congratulated incoming IDF chief of staff Eyal Zamir on his Saturday appointment. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening announced Defense Ministry Director-General, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, as his pick to replace IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart Sunday morning to meet with US President Donald Trump, the prime minister's office announced Saturday evening.

Netanyahu will be the first head of state that Trump will meet after his inauguration.

The two leaders will discuss Gaza, the hostages, the confrontation against the Iranian axis, and other key issues.

Following the release of Ofer Kalderon on Saturday morning, his cousin Yifat took to the streets of Tel Aviv to thank President Donald Trump for helping to free him.

"How much we waited for you and cried. We fought for them. This is a moment of pure happiness," said Yifat.

"But especially today, it is important to remember: Ofer, Yarden, and Keith could have returned home a long time ago. They were deprived of too many days in captivity for criminal political reasons," she added.

"If it weren't for President Trump, they wouldn't be with us today. This is a stain that will not be erased."
 
 

The Trump administration celebrated the return of American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, as well as Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas, in a Saturday statement. 

“Today, Americans celebrate the return of American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel and two Israelis who were held captive by Hamas terrorists since October 7, 2023," the White House stated.

"President Trump and his Administration have worked diligently to secure their release and are committed to freeing all remaining hostages.”

Keith Siegel reunited with his family in Ichilov Hospital Saturday after spending 484 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. 

Keith Siegel reunites with family after Hamas captivity, February 1, 2025. (credit: Ronen Harish/GPO)

Keith Siegel reunites with family after 484 days in Hamas captivity, February 1, 2025. (credit: MAAYAN TOAF/GPO)

Keith Siegel reunites with family after 484 days in Hamas captivity, February 1, 2025. (credit: MAAYAN TOAF/GPO)

Former hostage Tami Metzger, in an interview with Kan News on Saturday, said that Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon were kept in cells that had enough space for only two people.

She had met with the two released hostages in the early days of captivity. In the afternoons, Bibas and Kalderon were taken out to drink coffee and eat, and then the terrorists returned them to their "pens." 

"Yarden had a very hard time with the lack of knowledge. I don’t think he knew exactly what had happened," Tami said. "His feelings were intense, his fear was great and turbulent, with crying and sadness."

Metzger was released from Hamas captivity in November 2023. Her husband was murdered in captivity.