What happend on the day three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas?
Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi released after 491 days in captivity • Israel releases 183 prisoners in fifth wave
Ex-hostage Or Levy reunites with three-year-old son after year and a half in captivity
Former hostage Or Levy reunited with his three-year-old son Saturday evening after being released from Hamas captivity after 491 days.
IDF shoots at several suspects approaching troops across Gaza
The IDF had to distance several suspects who approached Israeli troops in multiple locations in the Gaza Strip, the military announced in a statement Saturday night, saying that the suspects posed a threat.
Among the incidents, the IAF fired toward distance suspicious vehicles that were advancing northward from the central Gaza Strip along a non-approved route.
Additionally, IDF troops operating in southern Gaza fired warning shots at a suspect advancing toward them. When the suspect continued to advance, the military fired additional shots to remove the threat.
Go to the full article >>We swore ‘never again,’ yet Israeli hostages return skeletal and tortured - comment
We must be clear: Hamas does not take hostages. It takes human lives and reduces them to bargaining chips. Never again is now.
The faces are haunting: Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami. Gaunt and hollow, their bodies frail, tell the story of 491 days in Hamas captivity. Sunken eyes, protruding bones, and skeletal frames ring an instant bell for Israelis and Jews everywhere: survivors of the Holocaust, the Muselmann of the concentration camps, and those who starved to the brink of death.
But when these hostages came home precisely 80 years after the fall of the Nazi regime, the world’s response was unimaginably detached.
The BBC, ever selective in its moral outrage, conveniently omitted their suffering from its homepage. CNN, on the other hand, saw fit to highlight the “emaciated” condition of Palestinian prisoners released in exchange-prisoners who, it must be said, received three meals a day, medical care, and family visits. The comparison is not only absurd; it is obscene.
Go to the full article >>WATCH: Israel Air Force demolishes Syrian Hamas weapons facility near Damascus
Additional reports of explosions came after the IDF vowed to continue to "dismantle Hamas' capabilities on all of its fronts."
The Israel Air Force struck a weapons storage facility belonging to Hamas in the area of Deir Ali in southern Syria on Saturday afternoon, the IDF subsequently announced.
Later, on Saturday evening, explosions from further airstrikes were heard in the vicinity of Syria's capital city, Damascus, the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen reported.
The additional reports of explosions came after the IDF vowed to continue to "dismantle Hamas' capabilities on all of its fronts" following its strike on the terror group's weapons facility in the afternoon.
Go to the full article >>Israeli security forces arrest wanted suspect in West Bank operation
IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police arrested a wanted suspect during a counterterrorism operation overnight in Nablus, the military said in a statement Saturday night.
As part of the operation, troops located and destroyed explosives in a building.
No Israeli casualties were reported.
Go to the full article >>Israeli delegation to depart for Doha in a 'symbolic trip,' talks not expected to advance - report
The security cabinet will convene only on Monday to discuss Israel's position in the negotiations.
An Israeli delegation will depart for Doha Saturday night for meetings with Qatari mediators, however, senior Israeli officials have stated that this is merely a "symbolic warm-up trip" and is not expected to advance negotiations on the second phase of the hostage deal.
Negotiations for the second phase of the hostage deal were supposed to begin on Monday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, refused to send the negotiation team to Doha until after he met with US President Donald Trump.
Senior Israeli officials noted that the delegation traveling to Doha has not been given a mandate from the political leadership to conduct talks on the second phase of the deal. The trip appears to be primarily aimed at demonstrating goodwill toward the US administration, which pressured Netanyahu to send the negotiation team to Qatar.
The security cabinet will convene only on Monday to discuss Israel's position in the negotiations and decide on the mandate for the negotiation team.
Go to the full article >>Released hostages arrive at Israeli hospitals, are reunited with their families
Returned hostages 'went through hell,' Health Ministry says
The Health Ministry has issued a statement regarding the condition of returned hostages following the difficult testimonies of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi, who were released from Hamas captivity Saturday morning.
Go to the full article >>IDF Chief of Staff, ISA Director Ronen Bar, and more during the return of the three hostages
Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, with ISA Director Ronen Bar, Head of the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters, MG (res.) Nitzan Alon, and the Commanding Officer of the Israeli Air Force , Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, at the Hostages and Missing Persons Command Center today (Saturday), during the return of the three hostages, Ohad Ben-Ami, Or Levi, and Eliyahu Sharabi.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and ISA Director Ronen Bar during the return of the three hostages
Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, with ISA Director Ronen Bar, Head of the Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters, MG (res.) Nitzan Alon, and the Commanding Officer of the Israeli Air Force , Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, at the Hostages and Missing Persons Command Center today (Saturday), during the return of the three hostages, Ohad Ben-Ami, Or Levi, and Eliyahu Sharabi.
Israel at War: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza.
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 at the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities.
- 76 hostages remain in Gaza.
- 49 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says.
- The IDF launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on September 30.
- The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire came into effect on November 27 at 4:00 a.m.
- Netanyahu confirmed the first phase of the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire on January 17, 2025
- 735 terrorists will be released as part of the hostage deal