Hamas expected to free three hostages, Israeli forces foil planned terror attacks

Israeli officials expect Hamas to deliver on Friday a list of three hostages to be released on Saturday, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. Qatari Prime Minister Al-Thani is expected to send the list to Mossad chief David Barnea.

The release that is expected during the weekend follows Hamas' threat earlier this week to withhold the hostages unless Israel fulfills its humanitarian obligations. Hamas claims that Israel has not allowed all the agreed-upon humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip as stipulated in the agreement.

On Thursday, Hamas stated that Israel had agreed to allow pre-fabricated housing and heavy equipment for rubble removal into Gaza. However, Prime Minister’s spokesperson Omer Dostri dismissed these reports as "fake news" in a post on X.
 
Later, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that, "as of now," nothing will enter through the Rafah border crossing, but "things might change in the coming days." The sources added that any equipment and housing units if allowed entry, would come through an Israeli border crossing, where they would be inspected and cleared by security personnel before reaching Gaza.

The family of Hamas hostage Segev Kalfon had received a sign of life proving he is still alive in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

This is a developing story.

An elementary school teacher in Kochav Yair showed a class of fifth graders on Wednesday a video which documented the October 7 Hamas attacks, Walla reported.

The video, produced by Magen David Adom, shows uncensored footage of the massacre, including people who were shot and killed in vehicles, severed limbs, and people screaming for help. After turning the video on, the teacher walked out of the room and left the students to watch it alone.

The parents of the students were outraged, some of whom said their children now suffer from nightmares and anxiety due to the film.

Lebanese authorities refused to authorize an Iranian passenger plane to land at the Beirut International Airport following warnings from the IDF, Israeli and Lebanese media reported Thursday evening.

The Iranian plane took off from Tehran and was carrying Lebanese passengers.

Footage of Hezbollah supporters circulated online showing the supporters blocking roads near the airport, protesting the country's authorities' decision.

🔴 شبيحة "حزب الله" يقطعون طريق المطار احتجاجاً على منع السلطات اللبنانية طائرة إيرانية مشبوهة من الهبوط.

🔴 قرار جيد من السلطات اللبنانية يحمي مطار بيروت من أي اعتداء اسرائيلي ويحافظ على سيادة البلاد، ويجب ان يستكمل بمنع نهائي لهبوط جميع الطائرات الايرانية في مطار بيروت.… pic.twitter.com/p03HcP2q81

— طوني بولس (@TonyBouloss) February 13, 2025

Looking back at Defense Minister Israel Katz’s first 100 days, he cannot be as easily dismissed as many in the media have tried to do.

Unlike some new Likud ministers who had little substantive experience or accomplishments and whose main resume was tweeting publicly for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and against all of his perceived opponents, Katz, age 70, has had serious jobs.

He has been foreign minister twice, was transportation minister, invested in significant long-term projects for many years, was finance minister, and was intelligence minister. He has held many other roles, having served in the Knesset since 1998.

However, some of his decisions in his first approximately 100 days in office - dating back to November 7 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ousted Yoav Gallant due to various loyalty issues – have caught observers by surprise as seeming to be more openly politicizing national security issues in a way that Katz, who again has maintained a profile as a serious minister, had avoided in the past.

The IDF attacked the rocket launcher used to fire a rocket that fell within the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Thursday evening.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the US Department of Treasury confirmed on Thursday. 

Additionally, ICC chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has been added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, the US Treasury said.

Elhanan Danino, the father of Ori Danino who was killed alongside five other hostages in Hamas tunnels, spoke with Sivan Cohen on 103FM and strongly criticized the government.

"Anyone who saw the prime minister this week standing at the Knesset podium after returning from the United States could see the renewed energy he brought back—to push forward his own agenda. He remains fixated on holding onto power, winning elections, and staying ahead in the polls. His heart does not waver." Danino said.

According to him, "The only person who treated this hostage deal as a business transaction and got it done was [former] president [Donald] Trump. It happened solely because of him—I know that for a fact. Even yesterday, I spent hours in the Knesset, and you can see the coalition members, the party representatives, standing firm in their positions. They live in a different reality. They have no understanding of what it means to be the father of a hostage, the sibling of a hostage."

"I spoke with [Finance Minister] Bezalel Smotrich multiple times," he added. "I spoke to him [in a] heart-to-heart and told him, ‘As a man of Torah—not as a minister, not as a Knesset member—what you hate being done to you, do not do to others.’ I told him, ‘I am the father of a hostage. Every word you say crushes the families. Please, stop.’ Maybe it made a difference for two or three months, but then he went back to his old ways. But he will be held accountable in the heavens. He has someone pressing him from the Right, and now he has to fight to pass the electoral threshold—before he even worries about defeating [National Security Minister] Itamar Ben-Gvir."

Yemen's Houthis will immediately take military action if the US and Israel try to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, the Iran-backed group's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday.

An Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza's devastating 15-month-old war took effect on January 19 but has appeared close to collapse this week amid mutual accusations of violations.

US President Donald Trump has infuriated the Arab world by presenting a plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and take over the enclave to turn it into a beach resort.

Houthi said his group would intervene with missiles and drones and attack vessels in the Red Sea if the US and Israel tried to remove Palestinians from Gaza by force.

"I call on all the armed forces to be ready for military intervention if the criminal Trump carries out his threat," Houthi said.

A rocket was launched and fell within the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Thursday evening.