UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that he would be joining the Arab League summit on Tuesday to discuss reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
Israel wants to extend first phase of deal by six weeks, otherwise war to resume
Hamas disagrees with the plan to extend and wants to proceed with the second phase as agreed.
ByREUTERS, AMICHAI STEINIsraleis protest for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, February 15, 2025(photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
Two Egyptian security sources said on Friday that the Israeli delegation in Cairo was trying to reach a deal to extend the first phase of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal for an additional 42 days.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi presented the results of the IDF October 7 probe to heads of regional councils and communities in the Gaza border area, the military said on Friday.
Jerusalem Police ramp up security measures ahead of Ramadan
The police are also focused on the terrorists who were released to neighborhoods in east Jerusalem as part of the current hostage-prisoner exchange.
ByEFRAT PORSHER Palestinians walk near the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in September 2024.(photo credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)
Thousands of police forces have been deployed across Jerusalem ahead of the month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin tomorrow morning or Sunday morning. The announcement of the exact date is expected to be made this afternoon.
Hundreds attend Bloomfield Stadium memorial for slain hostage Tsachi Idan
His funeral will take place at 1.00 p.m. at Kibbutz Einat with his family and loved ones and will be closed to the media.
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFView of the Bloomfield Stadium during the memorial ceremony for slain hostage Tsachi Idan. February 28, 2025.(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
Hundreds gathered at the public memorial ceremony for slain hostage Tsachi Idan which began on Friday at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.
"I part from my eldest brother and ask for his forgiveness that he returned in a coffin," Idan's sister, Noam Idan Ben Ezra, said during the ceremony.
נעם עידן בן עזרא, אחותו של צחי עידן, לעיני מאות בבלומפילד: "נפרדת מאחי הבכור ומבקשת ממנו סליחה שחזר בארון ולא על הרגליים" pic.twitter.com/FpkbTKfJTI
The ceremony was organized by supporters of the Hapo'el Tel Aviv football club, of which Idan was an avid supporter.
Following the ceremony, at 11:15 a.m., a funeral procession will begin from the stadium to the cemetery at Kibbutz Einat.
His funeral will take place at 1.00 p.m at Kibbutz Einat with his family and loved ones and will be closed to the media, the hostage families forum said.
The Idan family and the forum, however, invited the public to stand along the route with Israeli flags and accompany him "on his final journey."
Hapoel Tel Aviv said in a statement, "The Hapoel TLV family will pay their last respects tomorrow to one of its fans, Tzachi Idan, whose body was returned to Israel after 509 days in captivity."
Idan's sister, Noam Idan Ben Ezra, said, "My brother is a true hero; he held out and was one step away from being released in November 2023."
"Tzachi was held hostage twice, the first time when he was kidnapped from his home and the second time when the deal exploded."
Idan's body was returned to Israel on Wednesday night.
October 7 massacre
On October 7, Idan, 50, was kidnapped from his home in Nahal Oz. He saw terrorists murdering his 18-year-old daughter, Maayan.
Hamas terrorists posted a live broadcast on Facebook of him, his wife Gali, and their 11-year-old Yael and 9-year-old Shahar, who were asking what happened to their sister. Their other daughter, 15-year-old Sharon, was not at home.
Idan was supposed to be released in the previous hostage-ceasefire deal in November 2023. Since then, his family reported receiving several signs of life.
An Israel Air Force aircraft eliminated Hezbollah terrorist Mohammed Mahdi Ali Shaheen in the Hermel area in Lebanon on Thursday, the military announced on Friday.
Shaheen was responsible for overseeing transactions for the buying of weapons on the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Some of the cities that have featured billboards include New York, Los Angeles, Washington, and Miami, as well as major European cities such as London and Berlin.
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF A billboard memorializing Ariel Bibas as part of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate's new campaign, February 27, 2025.(photo credit: NATIONAL PUBLIC DIPLOMACY DIRECTORATE)
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) National Public Diplomacy Directorate launched an international campaign focused on the murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas on Wednesday in conjunction with the Israel Government Advertising Agency.
US President Donald Trump said "We'll have to see what happens" in regards to a second phase of the hostage deal.
ByREUTERS US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US. February 4, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday there were "pretty good talks going on" regarding Gaza, when asked about the future of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas terrorists, but he offered little detail at a White House press conference.
A three-phase ceasefire in Gaza went into effect on January 19 and has led to the handover of 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.
Freed hostage Eli Sharabi detailed his time in terror captivity to Channel 12's 'Uvda'
Freed hostage Eli Sharabi shared harrowing details of his 491-day captivity, the loss of his family, and the struggle to survive, in an interview with Channel 12's 'Uvda'.
ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF Released hostage Or Levy is reunite with his family, 08/02/2025.(photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)
According to released hostage, Eli Sharabi, Hamas's tunnels were so well fortified and protected that military operations to get hostages out the tunnels alive would have been nearly impossible.
Sharabi, who was held hostage by Hamas for 491 days, was interviewed by Ilana Dayan on Channel 12's "Uvda" program on Thursday evening, where he shared his experiences living in the terror tunnels.
“If there’s one thing I’ve been saying to everyone from the start—family, medical staff, friends—it’s this: Don’t walk on eggshells around me,” he emphasized. “We talk about everything. The loss, the captivity—whatever people want,” he stated during the interview.
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.
59 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