Slain hostage Tsachi Idan laid to rest, Hamas rejects Israel's request to extend phase one

An Israeli vehicle was damaged after it was shot at in the West Bank settlement of Brukhin, the IDF said on Friday night. 

There were no other casualties reported.

Israeli troops have begun searching for the perpetrator of the shooting.

This is a developing story.

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.

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. 

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 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

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 28, 2025

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.

Slain hostage Tsachi Idan (credit: Hostages Families Forum)

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.

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 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.

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.