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Less than slaves: The Palestinians detained by Israel despite ceasefire

Israel has arrested more Palestinians than it has released as a result of its ceasefire deal with Hamas :D

Since the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has arrested at least 95 Palestinians in raids and at checkpoints for no clear reasons across the West Bank, according to Jenna Abu Hasna, a researcher with Addameer, a Palestinian civil society organisation monitoring arrests and detentions in the occupied territory.

Many of them were arrested in the few days around the onset of the ceasefire which took effect on January 19.

The mass incarceration of Palestinians is just one feature of Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank, which also involves expanding illegal Israeli settlements and the mass killing, injuring and dispossession of civilians, according to rights groups and prisoners’ families.

“The situation we are living through is really difficult right now. We are treated as slaves … or even less than slaves,” said Alyeean, from his home.

Every day, the occupation army arrests 30 to 40 or even 50 new prisoners.

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2...pite-ceasefire

Four female hostages who were held by Hamas in Gaza have returned to Israel

The four women - who are the second group of hostages released since a ceasefire deal was agreed - are Israeli soldiers who were taken on 7 October

Israel has released 200 Palestinian prisoners in return, 70 of whom are expected to be deported

However, the Israeli government accuses Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal by not releasing civilian hostage Arbel Yehud

In response, Israel has said displaced Palestinians will not yet be allowed to return to northern Gaza, as had been scheduled under the deal

Meanwhile, Hamas says Arbal Yehud is alive and will be freed next week

Hamas’s hostage-release theatre aims to show it’s undefeated

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Gaza: The four Israeli soldiers held by Hamas for 15 months display trilingual “release certificates,” bound like college diplomas.

The camera shows each woman receiving a Hamas pendant and other souvenirs, as if ending a year-abroad programme.  At a rally in Gaza City, Red Cross officials are seated at tables for a signing ceremony, guarded by masked gunmen as patriotic music blares.

Israelis watching the proceedings on TV on Saturday were horrified.  Military spokesman Daniel Hagari called it cruel and cynical, and Minister Orit Struck termed it sickening. Hamas, they said, was giving a final twist of the knife of psychological torture of the hostages, ages 19 and 20.

‘Humiliated and defeated’: Fear, shock grip Israel after unprecedented Hamas assault
Others saw something else: An attempt by the group, deemed terrorists by the US and others, to show that after being pummeled by Israeli forces, it’s still in charge of Gaza — not only militarily but as a functioning administrative state.

That comes at a time when a fresh disagreement between Israel and Hamas is hampering the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza — and as US President Donald Trump threatens to shake up the future of the conflict.

Israeli analysts agree that the visuals from Gaza City’s Palestine Square on Saturday and a week earlier — when three civilian women hostages were released — challenge the country’s goal of defeating Hamas.

Michael Milshtein, a former chief of Palestinian affairs in Israel’s military intelligence, said that for many in Gaza, no matter how much of a price they paid in the brutal war that began in October 2023, “it was worth it in exchange for the blows that Israel took, and for strengthening their national honor.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...987c45f6&ei=35

Palestinians begin return to north Gaza as deal reached to free six hostages

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Palestinians have begun returning to the north of Gaza after Israel said a deal had been reached for Hamas to release six hostages this week.

The hostages include Arbel Yehud - the civilian at the centre of a row.

Hamas released four soldiers on Saturday, but not Ms Yehud. Israel accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal under which Israeli civilians were to be freed first in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Since the ceasefire deal came into force, seven hostages and just under 300 prisoners have been released.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r5y75d17vo

Iran’s FM Araghchi rejects Gaza expulsion proposal, warns against attacks on nuclear facilities, and calls for serious diplomacy.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi firmly rejected a proposal reportedly floated by US President Donald Trump to expel Palestinians from Gaza, calling the idea unacceptable.

“Palestine cannot be deleted from this region; Palestinians cannot be expelled,” Araghchi stated.

Offering a sarcastic counter-suggestion, he added, “Instead of Palestinians, try to expel Israelis; take them to Greenland so they can kill two birds with one stone.”

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/e...gaza-proposal/

Israeli forces continue ceasefire violations as thousands of Palestinians try to return to their homes in northern Gaza.:D

Two Palestinians, including a child, have been killed and many wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza amid an agreed ceasefire as thousands of people continued to return to the northern part of the besieged enclave.

Five-year-old Nadia Mohammed al-Amoudi was killed and three people were wounded after the Israeli army shelled a horse cart late on Monday in al-Jisr, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, the Wafa news agency reported.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/...gaza-ceasefire

Israel's looming Unrwa ban a catastrophe, UN Palestinian refugee agency warns

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As Israel prepares to outlaw the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday, there are warnings that it could undermine vital aid delivery and long-term chances of peace.

Israeli officials have not spelt out how they will enforce the legislation passed last year by Israel's parliament, which accused Unrwa of being complicit with Hamas - an allegation the agency denied.

"It will be a catastrophe if this ban takes place," says Juliette Touma, communications director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa).

"It will deepen and further the suffering of the Palestinian people who rely on the agency for their survival, for their education and healthcare."

Even before 15 months of brutal war left the vast majority of the two million people in Gaza displaced and homeless, most were registered refugees.

Unrwa camps were first set up in Gaza to house Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their land in fighting before and after the state of Israel was created in 1948.

For seven decades, those original refugees and their descendants - as well as a new wave of refugees created by the 1967 Middle East War - have been cared for by Unrwa.

Across the Middle East - in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon as well as the occupied Palestinian territories - there are some six million Palestinian refugees.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx257j4v0xpo

Eight Israeli and Thai hostages released from Gaza

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Eight more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have been released amid chaotic scenes as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel.
Three Israelis and five Thai nationals were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas before being transferred to Israeli forces and taken to Israel.
A total of 110 Palestinians were later released from Israeli prisons, including 32 with life sentences and 30 minors.
Israel delayed their release in response to the way the hostages were treated as they were handed over.
Thursday's releases mean 15 hostages have been freed since the ceasefire came into effect on 19 January. Eighty-two are still being held.
Israeli soldier Agam Berger, 20, was the first to be released on Thursday - led by masked gunmen through a scene of rubble in a stage-managed event in Jabalia, in the north of Gaza.
Crowds of civilians were kept back by armed Hamas fighters as she appeared on a platform and was given a certificate, before being passed to the Red Cross.
She was one of seven women from an unarmed unit of observers who were kidnapped on 7 October 2023, and the last remaining in Gaza.
In Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, crowds watching on a big screen cheered.
"I'm thrilled... to see her face, to see her going back to her family. It's exciting," Yahel Oren, who served in the same unit as Ms Berger a decade ago, told the BBC.
Photos released by the Israeli military showed her hugging four other young women from the unit who were released in the previous exchange on Saturday.
In a statement, her family said they could now "begin the healing process" but that "the recovery will not be complete until all the hostages return home".
About two hours later, in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, the seven other hostages were brought out amid chaotic scenes.
They were led by armed fighters through crowds of cheering spectators, many filming with mobile phones, before being handed over to the Red Cross in waiting vehicles.
It took place symbolically in front of the remains of the home - bombed by Israel - of late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the 7 October attacks. Sinwar was killed by Israeli troops in Rafah in October 2024.
"There was a lot of chaos, there was a lot of pushing," a journalist who covered the handover told the BBC. There were chants of Sinwar's name and for Hamas, he said.
A woman in the crowd said she was "proud of Gaza's men and Gaza's resistance".
In Tel Aviv, people watched anxiously, as they held Israeli flags and photos of the hostages.
In addition to Ms Berger, Israeli civilians Arbel Yehud, 29, and Gadi Moses, 80, and Thai agricultural workers Pongsak Thaenna, Sathian Suwannakham, Watchara Sriaoun, Bannawat Seathao and Surasak Lamnao were freed.
In a sign of the precariousness of the ceasefire, the release of the prisoners was paused by Israel until it received assurances that the scenes which accompanied the release of the hostages in Khan Younis would not be repeated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "shocking scenes" were "additional proof of the inconceivable brutality of the Hamas terrorist organisation".
The prime minster's office later said it had since received from mediators "a commitment that a safe exit will be guaranteed for our hostages" yet to be released.
The postponement was the latest hitch to hit the delicate and complex reciprocal steps which Israel and Hamas have committed to under the terms of the ceasefire.
Israel delayed by two days allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza after Hamas failed to include Arbel Yehud in the previous round of hostage releases on 25 January.
Two hundred and fifty-one people were taken captive when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people. The attack triggered a war which has devastated Gaza.
Israel's 15-month military offensive killed 47,460 Palestinians in the territory, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Before Thursday, 290 Palestinian prisoners - ranging from those serving long sentences for bombings and other attacks to teenagers held without charge - had been released under the ceasefire.
Most have returned to the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, while about 70 of the most serious offenders have been deported.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8j6rq855jo

‘We can do so much more’: Food aid chief aims to step up relief effort in Gaza as ceasefire delivers hope

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The head of a global food relief organisation honoured by the UAE for delivering a crucial lifeline to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza strip says they are "eager to do more" as a ceasefire with Israel holds firm.

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) was announced on Friday as one of three winners of the annual Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, for its remarkable work serving on the front lines to feed communities in areas devastated by disasters and deadly conflicts.

Since being founded in 2010 by Spanish-American chef Jose Andres, WCK has delivered more than 300 million meals to communities in over 30 countries − including more than 70 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023.

The fragile truce brokered earlier this month has given relief teams such as WCK fresh impetus in their drive to help those in dire need.
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news...delivers-hope/

Three Israeli hostages and dozens of Palestinian prisoners released

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Three Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza were released from captivity on Saturday, in exchange for 183 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Yarden Bibas, 34, Ofer Kalderon, 53, and Keith Siegel, 65, were handed over to the Red Cross - the latest hostages to be released as part of a ceasefire deal struck last month.

Palestinian prisoners were taken in buses to Gaza and the West Bank, many of them coming from the nearby Ofer prison.

The tone of the exchange sat in stark contrast to Thursday's chaotic handover, during which surging crowds pressed in on hostages, eliciting concern for their safety and prompting Israel to delay that day's release of Palestinian prisoners.

Saturday's release was more orderly, but retained the presentational elements that sought to project that Hamas remains the governing force in Gaza.

Lines of armed fighters kept crowds at bay, while the men who were released were flanked by more armed and masked fighters. A banner behind them bore the images of killed Hamas leaders.

Officials from the Red Cross signed certificates of release for Mr Kalderon and Mr Bibas, who were then made to hold them as they waved to the crowd in Khan Younis.

As Mr Siegel, a US-Israeli dual national, appeared on stage in Gaza City, a crowd gathered in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv erupted into cheers, some chanting: "He's a hero, he's a hero." One woman described feeling "pure happiness".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce85enjjlzro

Dozens of Palestinians released from Israeli jails show signs of torture and starvation.

“Every time prisoners are released, we find the prisoners’ bodies reflecting the level of crimes committed against them, including torture that is unprecedented in its level after October 7, starvation crimes, systematic medical crimes, and the infection of a number of them with scabies, in addition to the severe beatings that the prisoners were subjected to before their release.

One of the released Palestinians said, “For the past 15 months, we were exposed to the most brutal torture … the Israelis treated us in inhumane ways. They treated animals better than us.”

The Qassam Brigades, did not fail to provide the necessary healthcare to Israeli captives despite the conditions in Gaza, including Israel’s relentless bombing and attacks that killed more than 47,000 people in the besieged enclave since October 2023.

“The good physical and psychological condition of the enemy’s prisoners proves the values of our resistance and its moral commitment towards the prisoners, while the criminal occupation commits the most heinous violations against our prisoners in jails,”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/...ure-starvation

Then the band plated 'Believe It If You Like'