Feb. 17: Shin Bet chief said to reveal that he’s no longer part of hostage negotiating team

Israeli companies display weapons at UAE defense fair

CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Boaz Levy gives an interview at the Israeli stand during the International Defence Exhibition Idex 2025, on February 17, 2025, in Abu Dhabi. (FADEL SENNA / AFP)

Israeli arms manufacturers are showcasing their weapons and other products at a defense fair in the United Arab Emirates, during a fragile ceasefire in a 15-month war between Israel and the terror group Hamas.

An Israeli pavilion stands among industry giants at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defense and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX), held in the Gulf country’s capital Abu Dhabi until Friday.

“We are very pleased to be here,” says Boaz Levy, the president and CEO of IAI, ranked among the 100 largest arms companies in the world in 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Last year, as civilian casualties mounted in Gaza, the French government banned Israeli companies from setting up stands or exhibiting hardware at the Euronaval defense trade fair. The decision was later thrown out by a Paris court.

According to SIPRI, the three Israeli manufacturers in the ranking, prominently featured at the Abu Dhabi show, recorded a record turnover of $13.6 billion in 2023, driven by Israel’s offensive on Gaza.

But for Levy, this has not stopped them from collaborating with allies in the region.

“Of course, some of our products are there (in Gaza), but we are a company that deals with technology and giving the end user the capabilities… required in the field, and that’s what we are doing on a day-to-day basis,” he says.

The UAE normalized ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States, during the first Donald Trump administration.

Since then, Israeli arm manufacturer EMTAN has attended every defense fair in Abu Dhabi.

“We work a lot with the Abraham” countries, says sales manager Ron Pollak, whose firm makes small arms, rifles, pistols and submachine guns.

“We really, really enjoy the hospitality and the friendship that we encounter here in the UAE.”

Democratic senator says Jordan king convinced him Arab counter to Trump plan is realistic

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal says he expects Arab states to put forward a workable alternative to Trump’s Gaza takeover plan.

The prominent lawmaker was among a bipartisan group of US senators who earlier met in Tel Aviv with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Blumenthal says simply that the Trump plan was a “non-starter.”

Trump’s proposal has been widely denounced by Arab officials, while some critics have said it equates to ethnic cleansing. Netanyahu as recently as Monday said that the Palestinians in Gaza should be given the choice to leave.

Blumenthal says Jordan’s King Abdullah convinced him that Arab states would present a plan that covers normalizing ties with Israel, self-determination for the Palestinians, and regional defense arrangements and security for Israel.

“If those components are part of a realistic plan, it could be a game changer for the region,” he says.

Rubio and Saudi crown prince discuss Gaza after Trump proposal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 17, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/ Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed plans for Gaza during a meeting earlier today, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says.

Rubio is visiting the Middle East after President Donald Trump infuriated the Arab world with a proposal for the Palestinian residents of the war-torn strip to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the US to lead reconstruction of the enclave.

“The secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says in a readout of the meeting between Rubio and the crown prince.

The two also reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire agreed last month between Israel and Hamas and discussed Syria, Lebanon, and the Red Sea, Bruce said.

Saudi state news agency SPA said they discussed regional and global developments and efforts to achieve security and stability.

Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day from Israel where he began his first visit to the region as the top US diplomat.

Rubio’s previously planned visit comes ahead of an anticipated meeting between US officials with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that is set to focus on ending the war in Ukraine and restoring broader Russia-US ties.

Neither side’s statement mentioned discussions about Ukraine.

Egypt said to envision Arab, European and Asian countries bankrolling Gaza reconstruction

The Kan public broadcaster publishes what it says are some of the key components of Egypt’s plan for the post-war management of Gaza, which Cairo is working to advance with the support of Arab allies, in order to thwart US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and clear the Strip of all of its Palestinians.

The Egyptian plan is in three phases, according to Kan.

The first is currently taking place and sees the mass entry of humanitarian aid.

The second phase is summarized as an initial rehabilitation, and this will ostensibly take place during the second phase of the hostage deal.

During the third phase, major reconstruction projects will commence and be backed by Arab, European, and Asian countries.

A temporary committee of technocrats will be established to run administrative affairs in Gaza before those powers are handed over to the Palestinian Authority.

During this time, Cairo will work to train Palestinian police in Egypt before transferring them back to Gaza.

The plan is largely the same as what Arab countries were working on for the past year, but Israel has long rejected the idea of giving any role to the PA, leaving many of these proposals dead on arrival.

Most critical will be Egypt’s effort in convincing Trump to get behind the plan because if Washington does, it will be easier getting Israel on board as well.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya reports that the Egyptian plan will also include a clause requiring various stakeholders to serve as guarantors that Israel will not resume fighting in Gaza for at least 10 years.

Egypt is planning to present its proposal by the end of the month, but Al Arabiya says the February 27 Arab summit in Cairo on the matter may be postponed, as Cairo is concerned that it needs more time to prepare.

Survey points to mounting support for Eisenkot to replace Gantz as head of National Unity party

War cabinet ministers Gadi Eisenkot (right) and Benny Gantz hold a press conference at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, February 26, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90/ File)

A Channel 12 survey points to mounting support for MK Gadi Eisenkot to replace Benny Gantz as the head of the National Unity Party.

The network polled two scenarios under the likely scenario where former prime minister Naftali Bennett returns to politics and starts a new party. With Eisenkot as the head of National Unity, the centrist faction received 12 seats, while when Gantz is at the helm, it only receives 8 seats.

Gantz has come under fire for regularly avoiding to take clear stances on contentious issues to avoid upsetting either side of the political spectrum, while Eisenkot has taken more clear positions, particularly in favor of securing the release of hostages and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war.

The poll’s 501 respondents were asked who they would vote for if elections were held today with the same current parties competing.

The results were as follows:

Likud: 25 seats
National Unity: 17 seats
The Democrats: 14 seats
Yesh Atid: 13 seats
Yisrael Beytenu: 12 seats
Shas: 9 seats
United Torah Judaism: 8 seats
Otzma Yehudit: 7 seats
Religious Zionism: 5 seats
Hadash-Ta’al: 5 seats
Ra’am: 5 seats
Balad: 0 seats
New Hope: 0 seats

This leads the current coalition with just 54 seats. The opposition without Hadash-Ta’al, which is less likely to join any government would have 61 seats — enough to form a coalition, but a slight drop from previous polls.

Respondents were then asked who they would vote for in the likely scenario with Bennett returning to politics with a new party.

The results were as follows:

Likud: 23 seats
Naftali Bennett’s party: 23 seats
The Democrats: 12 seats
Yesh Atid: 9 seats
Shas: 9 seats
United Torah Judaism: 8 seats
National Unity: 8 seats
Yisrael Beytenu: 7 seats
Otzma Yehudit: 7 seats
Hadash-Ta’al: 5 seats
Ra’am: 5 seats
Religious Zionism: 4 seats
Balad: 0 seats
New Hope: 0 seats

This leads the current coalition with just 51 seats. The opposition with Bennett’s party and without Hadash-Ta’al would have 64 seats. But several of those opposition lawmakers have pledged not to sit in a government that is reliant on the Islamist Ra’am party, which would mean that the bloc would not have enough to form a coalition and that Israel would return to another period of political paralysis.

Asked who is more fit to serve as prime minister in head-to-head matchups, respondents said the following:

Netanyahu: 39%
Lapid: 25%

Netanyahu: 37%
Gantz: 27%

Netanyahu: 36%
Bennett: 37%

Netanyahu: 36%
Eisenkot: 31%

As for when elections should be held, 55% of the public said as soon as possible, 37% said in late 2026, as scheduled, and 8% said they were not sure.

US Senator Graham says very little appetite for US to take over Gaza ‘in any shape or form’

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina speaks during a memorial service for former Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, in Washington, July 24, 2024. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Monday that there was a “very little appetite” for the US to take over Gaza “in any way, shape or form.”

Graham was speaking to reporters following meetings by a visiting bipartisan US Senate delegation with Israeli officials in Israel.

NY leaders issue warnings about anti-Israel protest tomorrow in Brooklyn Jewish neighborhood

New York political leaders issue warnings about an anti-Israel protest planned for tomorrow in Boro Park, a neighborhood in Brooklyn with a large Orthodox Jewish population.

The anti-Israel protest group PAL-Awda says it will hold a protest tomorrow evening in the area. The starting point for the protest is near a number of synagogues. The group says the protest is aimed at an event selling real estate in Israel, although the location for the event has reportedly been changed.

“Flood Boro Park to stop the sale of stolen Palestinian land,” the group says in a post announcing the event. Anti-Israel groups in New York often refer to their events as “floods,” an homage to the Hamas term for the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, the “Al-Aqsa Flood.”

Simcha Eisenstein, a Jewish politician who represents the area in the New York State Assembly, calls on the NYPD and mayor to “prevent this hateful, targeted protest against our local Jewish community.”

Kalman Yeger, a Jewish New York State assembly member from another area of Brooklyn, said, “Hamas terrorists plan to storm our community on Tuesday. NYPD can and must stop this.”

New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, from the Bronx, says, “PAL-Awda is targeting Boro Park simply because it is Jewish.”

“The pervasive post-Oct 7 atmosphere of amplified antisemitism has driven antisemitic hate crimes to historic highs in New York — a profound failure of public safety on the part of both the city and the state,” Torres says.

The local community board says it is in contact with the NYPD.

“We’ve been assured that they are fully prepared and will not allow any illegal activities, intimidation, or harassment of our residents,” the board says. Rep. Daniel Goldman, of Manhattan, says, “This ‘protest’ is in fact targeted harassment aimed at a neighborhood with one of the highest populations of Orthodox Jews in the US.”

“To harass and intimidate Jews because of the actions of Israel is textbook antisemitism. True progressives must speak out against this hate,” Goldman says.

Aviva Siegel: Keith spent 6 months alone in captivity, was kicked, starved and threatened at gunpoint

Former hostage Aviva Siegel, wife of recently returned hostage Keith Siegel, in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on February 17, 2025. (Paulina Patimer/ protest movement)

Speaking at Hostages Square, former hostage Aviva Siegel reveals new information about the captivity of her husband Keith, whom Hamas released two weeks ago.

“Out of the 484 days he was in Gaza he was alone for six months, lying on a mattress on a floor in a very small room, starved,” she says. “The only food that went into his mouth was moldy or burnt pita bread unfit for humans to eat.”

“One day, a terrorist who was with him came up to him, kicked him in the ribs with dull force, spat on him, and called, ‘You dog,’ for no reason, just because that’s what he felt like doing,” she says.

“One day, a terrorist pointed a gun at him and said: ‘Now I’ll shoot and kill you,” she adds.

“Try to imagine what you would feel…. What would you have done in that same moment,” she says.

She was speaking to thousands gathered at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to mark 500 days since October 7, 2023.

“I asked Keith, ‘What did you do to make him do that to you?’ Keith told me: ‘Nothing.’ The terrorists turned Keith into nothing,” she says. “Everything a person needs, sometimes even going to the bathroom.”

Families mark 500 days since loved ones’ abduction: ‘To give up on them is to give up on us’

Hostages' family members and protesters at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv marking 500 days of their loved ones' captivity in Gaza on February 17, 2025. (Danor Aharon/ protest movement)

About 2,000 people crowd into Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to mark 500 days since October 7, 2023.

Another 1,000 or so spill out to Shaul HaMelech Street, where speeches are projected on large screens.

At 8 p.m., some of those in attendance break a 500-minute fast that the Hostages Families Forum had announced.

Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of US-Israeli captive soldier Edan Alexandar, calls for the hostages’ release, recites a blessing and sips some water.

“I want to break the fast and break their fate,” she says.

Edan’s mother Yael speaks next.

“I am Yael Alexandar, and I haven’t breathed for 500 days,” she says. Subsequent speakers open their speeches the same way.

She calls on the government to hammer out a deal that will bring all remaining hostages home at once, rather than the current deal’s protracted releases — another common theme in the night’s speeches.

She ends with what will also emerge as a refrain: “To give up on them is to give up on us!”

In English, she adds thanks US President Donald Trump and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

“President Trump, in the last two weeks, you brought back two American citizens, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel,” she says. “Today, I ask you to bring my son Edan home to our family.”

Danielle Aloni, who was held captive in Gaza until she was freed as part of a brie ceasefire agreement in November 2023, and whose brother-in-law, David Cunio, and his younger brother, Ariel, remain in captivity, says her family received a sign of life from David Cunio from one of the recently returned hostages. The crowd breaks out into applause.

Addressing Netanyahu, Aloni says: “As of a few days ago, David is alive. And it’s your responsibility to bring him home. David has no more time to wait.”

Edan Alexander and David Cunio are both slated for release only in the deal’s next, second phase. The second phase would see Hamas release young men still in captivity after the the release in the current phase of 33 women, children, civilian men over 50 and those deemed “humanitarian cases.”

Netanyahu’s right-wing flank has threatened to topple the government should it proceed to the second phase, which would require Israel to withdraw from Gaza. The premier has not committed to the second phase.

Yeela David, whose brother Evyatar David is slated for release only in the second phase, says it is “the last chance to save to save dozens of men left behind in the current phase of the deal.”

“The young men who were left behind did not undergo any special training to handle this situation. They’re just like anyone else,” she says. “If the deal falls apart and there is no second phase, it will be a stain on our history books.”

Most Israelis prefer sticking with hostage release deal’s 2nd phase over returning to war — poll

Demonstrators with fake blood to represent the condition of hostages held in Gaza, at a rally for the release of the hostages in Jerusalem, February 15, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A majority of Israelis support continuing with the hostage release deal’s second phase, which would see the release of all remaining living hostages in exchange for a permanent end to the war, according to a poll aired tonight on Channel 12.

Sixty-one percent of Israelis support continuing with the hostage deal’s second phase, while 26% oppose phase two and instead prefer returning to war. Thirteen percent say they are unsure.

The survey polled 501 Israelis above the age of 18, and there is a 4.4% margin of error.

In line with the first question, 68% of respondents say the most important war goal is to release the hostages, compared to 24% who said it is to defeat Hamas. Eight percent said they were not sure.

Support for Trump’s plan to takeover Gaza and relocate all of its Palestinians remains high among Israelis, with 68% in favor, compared to 20% who oppose the idea and 12% who are unsure.

Asked about the performance of Israel’s top political and security leaders throughout the war, none of individuals polled received high grades.

Sixty-one percent say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s performance has been poor, compared to 33% who say it has been good.

Forty-seven percent say former defense minister Yoav Gallant’s performance was poor, compared to 43% who say it was good.

Fifty-seven percent say Defense Minister Israel Katz’s performance has been poor, compared to 30% who say it has been good.

Forty-five percent say IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi’s performance has been poor, compared to 43% who say it has been good.

Forty-six percent say Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s performance has been poor, compared to 30% who say it has been good.

Thirty-three percent say Mossad Chief David Barnea’s performance has been poor, compared to 46% who say it has been good. Barnea is the only one whose performance was polled to have those who gave a favorable rating come in higher than those who found him to be unfavorable.

Asked who is principally responsible for the October 7 failure, 23% say Netanyahu, 12% say the Shin Bet and 8% say IDF chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. Forty-nine percent say all of them are equally responsible and eight percent say they do not know.

Asked what is the appropriate investigative body to probe the failure, 63% say a state commission of inquiry, 19% say a lower-level government inquiry, which has been backed by Netanyahu’s supporters, five percent say there is no need for an inquiry and 13% say they are unsure.

Government officials said threatening Environment Ministry over Red Sea oil permit

Representatives of 17 environmental and public health organizations claim that officials in the government are threatening the Environmental Protection Ministry that its authority to issue permits for toxic substances will be revoked, unless it approves an increase in oil imports to the southern port of Eilat on the Red Sea.

A letter to a string of ministry officials warns that a court petition will be submitted, should any decision be taken that is not solely based on the needs of the environment and public health.

In December, the government overturned a more than three-year-old Environmental Protection Ministry policy of restricting oil imports at the port of Eilat to reduce the risk of oil leaks that could destroy the resort city’s world-renowned coral reefs.

The move came after years of lobbying by the state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Company against a decision by former environmental protection minister Tamar Zandberg, in 2021.

Infuriated by what she and ministry officials saw as the company’s inadequate environmental risk surveys, Zandberg limited oil imports to two million tons annually, dubbing the move a “zero additional risk” policy.

The decision, which the ministry was authorized to make, as the regulator in charge of permits for toxic material use, disrupted an EAPC deal signed in 2020 with Red-Med, a consortium of Israeli and UAE businesspeople. That deal would have seen Gulf oil brought to the EAPC’s Eilat terminal on the Red Sea and channeled overground via EAPC pipelines to Ashkelon on the Mediterranean. From there, the oil would be reloaded onto tankers bound for Europe.

Since Zandberg’s decision, the EAPC has regularly tried to get the cap removed.

IDF will remain in 5 south Lebanon posts until Beirut fulfills terms of ceasefire — Israeli official

Israel will stay in the five positions in Lebanon “until the understandings are completely fulfilled by Lebanon,” says a senior Israeli official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

“We will continue to aggressively enforce the ceasefire in Lebanon,” says the official.

Shin Bet chief said to reveal that he’s no longer part of hostage negotiating team

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, on April 4, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/File)

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar revealed in a recent conversation that he is no longer part of Israel’s hostage negotiating team, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

His apparent ouster follows reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking to fire him entirely.

The two have sparred from the start of the war, particularly over the hostage talks, during which security chiefs have argued that Netanyahu has allowed political considerations to seep into his decision-making in ways that prevented an agreement from being reached earlier on.

Katz announces establishment of new panel tasked with advancing ‘voluntary’ emigration of Gazans

Defense Minister Israel Katz holds an assessment with defense officials, February 17, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz announces the establishment of a new directorate in the Defense Ministry tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave the Gaza Strip, as per US President Donald Trump’s stated plans.

Katz held an assessment today on the subject of Palestinians leaving Gaza, during which the new directorate was decided upon, his office says.

The new directorate will include representatives from various government ministries and defense bodies.

Also during the assessment, the ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) presented Katz with an initial plan on the subject.

“The plan includes extensive assistance that will allow any Gaza resident who wants to emigrate to a third state, to receive support that includes special departure arrangements through the sea, air, and land, among other things,” Katz’s office says.

In message to public on war’s 500th day, freed hostage Iair Horn pleads for release of brother, remaining captives

Iair Horn gives a video statement on February 17, 2025. (Screen capture/ Channel 12)

Iair Horn gives his first public statement since being released Saturday, after 498 in Hamas captivity.

The Hostage Families Forum screens the video message at Hostages Square where some 2,000 have gathered to mark 500 days since October 7, 2023.

“My name is Iair Horn. I was released two days ago from Hamas captivity after 498 days. I was there. I was in Hamas’s tunnels. My body endured this captivity, and I’m telling you the hostages do not have any more time,” he says, in a video statement released as hostage families mark the 500th day that their loved ones have been held in Gaza.

“We’re out of time. We must return them now,” Horn says.

“Everyone is asking me, ‘What do you need?’ And I tell them, ‘I need only one thing: Bring back my brother,'” he says, breaking down in tears upon mentioning his brother Eitan, who remains in captivity and is not slated for release until the next phase.

“Bring back my brother and all of the hostages,” Horn says.

Actor Lior Ashkenazi, who emcees the Hostages Square rallies, says Iair had asked shortly before today’s rally to record the video. Ashkenazi says Iair asked him to thank the activists for the hostages’ release.

10-foot pregnant shark washes up on Hadera shores

A pregnant shark washes up dead on a central Israeli beach on February 17, 2025. (Ilya Baskin/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

The body of a three-meter- (9.8-foot-) long female dusty shark in the early stages of pregnancy washes up on Olga Beach in Hadera, in north central Israel.

An autopsy carried out at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s National Center for Sea Turtle Rescue reveals an eight centimeter (three inch) long fishing hook in the mouth, as well as a hook wound.

During the probe, 11 dead embryos, seven of them female and four male, are removed and samples from several organs are sent to a laboratory for analysis.

The dead shark weighs 165 kilograms (just under 365 pounds).

Highly valued by commercial fisheries for its meat, skin, liver oil, and fins — the latter are used in shark fin soup — the dusty shark has been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Endangered worldwide and Vulnerable off the eastern United States.

In uphill battle, Israel working to secure early release of 3 living hostages together with 3 others on Saturday

Channel 12 reports that Israel is working to secure the release on Saturday of all six remaining living hostages slated for release in the ongoing first phase.

Only three hostages are supposed to be released this Saturday, according to the terms of the deal, with the remaining three living hostages not scheduled to be released until the following Saturday.

It is unclear what leverage Israel has on Hamas to release additional hostages early, and one Israeli official tells Channel 12 that he expects Hamas to hold on to at least one hostage until the end of phase one, as leverage to ensure that Israel is holding negotiations regarding phase two, which to date it has refused to do, in violation of the agreement.

Updated schedule for release of 1st phase hostages, as set out in yet-to-be published annex to deal

Families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip march to the Knesset in Jerusalem, marking 500 days since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, February 17, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The following is the schedule for the release of hostages during the remainder of the ongoing first phase of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, as set out in an annex to the deal whose content was revealed this evening and has not been officially published.

On Thursday, February 20, Israel is slated to receive the bodies of four hostages, as stipulated in the yet-to-be-published annex. Israel expects to receive the names of those four hostages Thursday morning.

On Saturday, February 22, Hamas will release three living hostages.

On Thursday, February 27, Hamas will release four more bodies of hostages.

Between February 22 and March 2, Hamas is slated to release phase one’s final three living hostages, including Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, who have been held in Gaza for over a decade.

In exchange for the eight bodies, Israel will release all women and children who were arrested in Gaza since October 7. Hebrew media reports that these detainees were not involved in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught or in fighting against Israel since, so it is not immediately clear why they were arrested.

Freed hostage tells David Cunio’s family that they recently saw him alive in Gaza

David Cunio was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

One of the recently released hostages has informed the family of captive David Cunio that they recently saw him alive in Gaza.

Cunio, 34, was taken hostage from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

David was abducted along with his wife, Sharon Aloni Cunio, 33, their 3-year-old twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, as well as Sharon’s sister, Danielle Aloni, 44, and her daughter, Emilia, 5, who were visiting them for the holiday weekend.

Sharon and the twins were released on November 27 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. Danielle and Emilia were released on November 24.

Sharon Aloni Cunio, David Cunio and their twins, Yuli and Emma, before the entire family was taken hostage on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

“We indeed received a sign of life. David is alive,” Sharon Cunio tells Channel 12. “And that gives us so much strength and so much air to breathe. There is no way to describe how much happiness I’ve been feeling from the moment that we heard the news. It gives us renewed strength to fight until he is returned, until everybody is returned.”

Asked what, if anything, she knows about her husband’s condition, she says it is “extremely urgent” that he be returned, noting that this was the first sign of life from him since the November 2023 weeklong deal. She says it is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s responsibility to urgently return her husband, and to expedite the entire process of releases. “No more batches” of a few hostages at a time, she urges.

David Cunio’s brother Ariel is also still held hostage. Neither David nor Ariel are on the list of hostages to be released in the current first phase of the deal.

Freed hostage Ofer Calderon released from Sheba after being hospitalized Friday due to pneumonia

Freed hostage Ofer Calderon raises both hands and blows kisses to friends outside the Sheba Medical Center on his return to Israel, February 1, 2025. (Eyal Hadani/AFP)

The family of recently released hostage Ofer Calderon says that he has been released from the Sheba Medical Center, where he was hospitalized on Friday, after contracting pneumonia.

Trump envoy says US will not ‘impose’ deal on Ukraine

US envoy Keith Kellogg says that he would not tell Ukraine to accept whatever deal is negotiated by President Donald Trump to end Russia’s war, ahead of a visit to Kyiv.

Kellogg is set to arrive in Ukraine for three days of talks that will include a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

His visit to Kyiv will come after top US officials meet Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for the first time since Trump blindsided allies by agreeing to launch peace efforts with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Kellogg says US officials were engaged in parallel efforts to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table — with him spearheading the outreach to Ukraine.

Trump’s envoy insists that it would ultimately be up to Zelensky to decide if Ukraine accepts any deal that the US leader brokers.

“The decision by Ukrainians is a Ukrainian decision,” Kellogg tells journalists after talks with US allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“Zelensky is the elected leader of a sovereign nation and those decisions are his and nobody will impose those on an elected leader of a sovereign nation,” Kellogg says.

He insists that his job is to “facilitate” a deal that would “ensure that there are solid security guarantees that Ukraine is a sovereign nation.”

European leaders today met in Paris to try to come up with a strategy as fears swirl that they will be left on the sidelines of any talks.

Kellogg reiterates earlier suggestions that Europeans would not directly participate, but insisted they would have an “input.”

“I don’t think it’s reasonable or feasible to have everybody sitting at the table,” he says.

Kellogg says that “everything remains on the table” in the negotiations after US defense secretary Pete Hegseth poured cold water on Ukraine’s goals of joining NATO or regaining all its territory.

He does not rule out that broader issues of European and global security would be brought up in negotiations between Washington and Moscow.

“I think what is brought into those discussions are unknowns,” he says.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if global issues are brought up,” he adds, pointing to potential efforts to break up Russia’s ties with Iran, North Korea and China.

The US envoy says that after nearly three years of all-out war, he believed that both Russia and Ukraine were ready to call a halt, as neither can score a decisive victory on the battlefield.

“You get the feeling right now that both sides kind of want to tap out,” he says. “When you think about it, this is really unsustainable.”

IDF’s 162nd Division hands responsibility for Gaza buffer zone to 252nd Division

The IDF’s 162nd Division has concluded its operations in Gaza after 15 months straight, and handed over the responsibility of the military’s buffer zone in the Strip’s north to the 252nd Division, the military says.

The 162nd Division lost 265 soldiers during the ground offensive in Gaza, during which it demolished numerous tunnels and killed thousands of Hamas operatives, according to the IDF.

The southern portion of the buffer zone and the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area, is under the responsibility of the Gaza Division.

Putin aide says US and Russia have yet to agree on how to start Ukraine talks

Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser, says that Moscow and Washington had yet to agree on how to embark on Ukraine peace talks as the US has not yet appointed a chief negotiator to talk to Russia.

Ushakov, along with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, is due to take part in bilateral talks with US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after Putin and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone last week and agreed to begin talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

In comments broadcast on Russian state TV, Ushakov says the Russian delegation was approaching the discussions with a “business-like” attitude and that its brief was clear.

The aim of the meeting was “to discuss the restoration of normal relations (with the US), to discuss the beginning of possible negotiations on Ukraine, and to discuss prospects for contacts at the highest level (between Putin and Trump),” Ushakov tells Channel One.

“Now the question is about agreeing on how to start negotiations on Ukraine because the American side hasn’t appointed a chief negotiator to conduct business with us,” he says.

Ushakov adds that Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief, might join the delegation to discuss any economic questions that might arise.

Hitting back at Lapid, Likud publishes compilation of his remarks on boosting ties with Qatar

Responding to Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides’ ties with Qatar, the Likud party publishes a video compilation of his political rival discussing his own contacts with the Arab state.

This includes him saying that he had met with a senior Qatari official in Paris, and a statement by the former prime minister promising to arrange direct flights to the Arab country for the 2022 World Cup. He can also been seen mentioning the opening of a temporary Israeli office there during the course of the tournament.

The video was shared “in response to Lapid’s lies,” a Likud spokesman claims.

In November 2022, then prime minister Lapid announced an agreement with FIFA and Qatar to allow direct charter flights from Ben Gurion Airport to Qatar for the World Cup.

“This is great news for football fans and for all Israelis. After hard work over the course of many months, we have arranged for Israeli citizens to be able to fly to the World Cup in Qatar on direct flights, and the opening of an Israeli office in Qatar to provide services to fans coming for the World Cup,” Lapid said at the time.

Responding to Opposition Leader Yair Lapid's criticism of the PM's aides' ties with Qatar, a Likud SPOX just put this out:

"מהליכוד נמסר בתגובה לשקריו של לפיד:" pic.twitter.com/52VfSQo409

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) February 17, 2025

IDF says it carried out warning drone strike in central Gaza after suspects drove on unapproved route

The IDF says it carried out a drone strike in central Gaza earlier today as a warning, after suspects in vehicles tried to drive to the Strip’s north via an unapproved route, in violation of the ceasefire.

Northbound vehicular traffic is only permitted on the Salah a-Din road, where a private company is inspecting cars heading to northern Gaza.

Man arrested for accosting residents in Jewish neighborhood of London

A man disturbing the peace outside of Jewish-owned businesses in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood of London has been arrested, police say.

Around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Barnet Metropolitan Police were called regarding reports of a man acting erratically in the street, trying to punch passersby and shouting in Arabic outside Jewish-owned businesses. The man was located with the help of local residents and arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense.

The incident is being treated as a potential hate crime, police say. There have been no reports of any injuries.

There has been a surge in antisemitic incidents in the UK since Hamas launched its war with Israel on October 7, 2023. Last week, the Community Security Trust reported that British Jews experienced 3,528 antisemitic incidents during 2024, a figure that is second only to the 4,296 incidents recorded the year before.

Golan calls on Netanyahu to take polygraph test regarding ties to Qatar

Leader of The Democrats Yair Golan holds a press conference in Tel Aviv, on February 13, 2025 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a polygraph test after the Shin Bet security service launched an inquiry into his aides’ alleged ties with Qatar.

The Shin Bet’s confirmation of the inquiry over the weekend came after Hebrew media reported Friday that Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu’s former spokesman, was paid by Doha to feed top Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories.

“One cannot help but ask, did the prime minister also receive money from Qatar?” Golan tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“If the prime minister has nothing to hide, and is willing to prove to the Israeli public that his hands are clean of Qatari money, let him take a polygraph test at the Shin Bet on his own initiative,” he states.

“If Netanyahu were concerned about Israel’s security, he would immediately suspend all the advisers who touched Qatari money, distance himself from them, and assure the people of Israel that there are no foreign hands or money dictating his decisions.”

Top US diplomat Rubio meets Saudi crown prince in Riyadh

U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday Feb. 17, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the State Department says, during the top diplomat’s first Middle East tour.

The meeting in Riyadh began just before 6 p.m., a State Department official says. Rubio was expected to discuss President Donald Trump’s widely criticized plan for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip and move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere.

Israel preparing for Hamas to return bodies of 4 hostages on Thursday, as stipulated in hitherto unpublished part of deal

Israel is expecting to receive the bodies of four hostages from Hamas on Thursday, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The agreement with Hamas stipulates that the bodies of a number of hostages will be returned to Israel on the 33rd day of the ceasefire, which falls on Thursday, the Israeli official says.

The IDF has already begun preparations for their return.

The names of the hostages will be given to Israel on Thursday morning and will be taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute by IDF ambulances. Families will only be updated after the bodies are properly identified, says the Kan public broadcaster.

The Prime Minister’s Office has yet to publicly confirm any of this.

Three living hostages are also expected to be released as scheduled on Saturday. Israel is reportedly pushing for all six of the living hostages yet to be freed in phase one to be released on Saturday.

Texts of the hostage-ceasefire deal that have been published to date state that human remains would be returned after living hostages in phase one, indicating that the arrangement revealed today is part of hitherto unpublished elements of the deal. The full terms of the deal have never been officially published.

Haaretz and Channel 12 report that four more bodies are to be returned next week.

McGurk defends Biden’s handling of Gaza war, insisting Hamas was perennial obstacle to deal

White House official Brett McGurk and US Vice President Joe Biden (left) in an undated photo. (Brett McGurk/X)

Former White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk pens his first op-ed since leaving government, defending the Biden administration’s handling of the hostage negotiations and insisting that Hamas was consistently the obstacle to an agreement.

“We have been criticized for failing to adequately pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza — a war that Hamas itself started on Oct. 7, 2023. But throughout the ceasefire negotiations, Hamas consistently held back on a commitment to release hostages and aimed to ensure it remained in power after the war ends,” McGurk writes in the Washington Post.

“These latest threats (from Hamas not to release hostages) are part of the same pattern. President Joe Biden was right to stand firmly by Israel and demand the release of hostages by Hamas. And President Donald Trump is right to do the same,” McGurk argues.

He says that Iran sought to take advantage of Israel’s vulnerability after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which led Biden to warn adversaries not to take advantage of the situation in addition to significantly bolstering US troop presence in the region.

The US faced the potential of a multi-front Mideast war, mounting pressure for Israel to accept a ceasefire on Hamas’s terms, calls to restrict aid to Israel, and efforts to isolate Jerusalem in international forums.

“Heeding such calls would have done nothing to stop the war. It would have instead led to an even longer and costlier one,” McGurk argues. “Therefore, we in the Biden administration concluded that the only way to realistically wind down the war was through firm support for Israel, while we worked on a ceasefire deal to release hostages on terms not dictated by Hamas and sought to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of the war.”

Lapid calls on AG to probe Haredi faction for encouraging followers to evade conscription

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ought to investigate the ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yisrael faction, calling its conduct “both illegal and disgraceful.”

Last week, The Times of Israel reported that a hotline established by Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush had encouraged draft evasion. A separate investigation by the Ynet news site found that the party was also running a hotline instructing constituents on how to circumvent a High Court ruling restricting daycare subsidies for children of yeshiva students who fail to enlist.

Asked about the reports, Lapid replies that such conduct represents “a rare combination of something that is both illegal and disgraceful.”

“Why is it that those subsidies are being cut? It is because they are not drafting to the army, because they are not serving their country during wartime. So on top of this, a part of the government is telling its own people how to make sure they gain illegal money from the fact that they have decided not to be part of the general effort to fight a war that is an existential war.”

The attorney general should investigate the matter, he adds.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid condemns Agudat Yisrael's draft evasion hotline and tells The Times of Israel that the AG needs to investigate pic.twitter.com/7cCc1RIoPL

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) February 17, 2025

Israeli official meets with foreign diplomats, international agencies’ representatives to discuss West Bank operations

Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, head of the Civil Administration, meets with representatives of several countries and foreign organizations operating in the West Bank on February 17, 2025. (Civil Administration)

Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, head of the Civil Administration, a Defense Ministry body part of COGAT, which regulates daily life in the West Bank, met today with representatives of several countries and international organizations operating in the territory, his office says.

The meeting comes amid an ongoing major IDF counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank and ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

The sit-down also comes shortly after Israeli legislation severely limiting the operations of UNRWA — one of the main agencies operating in the West Bank — goes into effect.

Among those participating in the meeting were representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, the European Union, and other nations.

Ibrahim briefed the representatives on the situation in the West Bank, including the ongoing military operation against terror groups in the north of the territory as well as efforts to maintain daily routine for Palestinian civilians, according to the statement.

Man in his 30s shot dead in Lod; 14-year-old seriously wounded in Bedouin town

Scene of a fatal shooting that claimed one victim in Lod on February 17, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

A man in his 30s was shot dead in Lod today, paramedics and police spokespeople say.

Paramedics called to the scene found the victim unconscious without a pulse and took him to a nearby hospital, where medical staff pronounced him dead.

Spokespeople report that also this afternoon further south, a 14-year old boy was severely injured in a shooting that took place in the Bedouin town of Shaqib al-Salam, also known as Segev Shalom, near Beersheba.

Police say they are investigating both shootings and do not suspect a terror motive in either. No suspects have been arrested so far.

The Lod shooting victim is the second person killed today as a result of violent crime racking Arab society. This morning, 56-year-old Salem Qasoum was shot dead near the Arab Galilee town of I’billin in what officers also are calling a criminal incident.

Court accepts PM’s request to cancel tomorrow’s hearing due to diplomatic matters

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the courtroom at the Tel Aviv District Court for the 10th day of his testimony in his corruption trial, February 17, 2025. (Gideon Markowicz/ POOL)

The Jerusalem District Court agrees to a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel tomorrow’s scheduled hearing for his testimony in his criminal trial.

Netanyahu made the request during a closed-door session of the court, saying that security and diplomatic issues required his attention as prime minister and necessitated the cancellation of Tuesday’s hearing.

Netanyahu’s defense team also requests that the number of hearings for the prime minister’s testimony be reduced from three to two going forward because of the ongoing security tensions and complex diplomatic situation.

The court says it will rule on that request soon, but asks the defense team to present it with options for hearing testimony from other defense witnesses one day a week, if one of the scheduled days of Netanyahu’s testimony is to be permanently canceled.

The defense must present its proposal by Thursday, after which the court will request the position of the State Attorney’s Office before making a ruling.

Khamenei warns of attempts to create ‘discord’ in Iran

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns against what he calls “soft war” tactics employed by enemies in a bid to sow discord within the Islamic Republic.

“Today, we have no concerns regarding hard defense or the enemy’s military threats. Islamic Iran possesses strong capabilities to counter such threats, ensuring a high level of security for its people,” says Khamenei during a speech in Tehran.

He says Iran’s “enemies” — referring to Israel and the United States — sought to create problems through “soft war threats” aimed at “manipulating public opinion, creating discord and casting doubt over the foundations of the Islamic Revolution.”

During his speech, Khamenei acknowledges that Iranians “have problems and legitimate expectations,” referring to the economic difficulties faced by the country due to international sanctions.

US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House for a second term in January, has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Iran, mirroring his approach during his first term.

Smotrich says he will seek vote at today’s cabinet meeting to implement Trump’s Gaza takeover plan

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tells reporters that he will demand at today’s cabinet meeting that a vote be held on implementing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza takeover plan, while insisting that Israel must also adopt the US president’s demand that Hamas return all hostages immediately.

If Hamas fails to do so, “Israel will open the gates of hell: a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip, a complete cessation of aid — no water, no electricity, no fuel; the entire population will be moved to the Mawasi [humanitarian zone] and from there Israel will immediately begin the migration of Gaza’s residents to other countries,” he demands.

In addition, Smotrich says, Israel must annex the northern Gaza Strip, the Philadelphi Corridor in the south, and other strategically important areas in the enclave.

“It is either us or them. Either we will defeat Hamas or, God forbid, Hamas will defeat us,” Smotrich says, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to war after the first phase of the ceasefire, “occupy ten percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip, establish full control over it, and apply Israeli sovereignty over it.”

Sa’ar tells US delegation Turkey cooperating with Iran to smuggle money to Hezbollah

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meets with a bipartisan group of US senators and Deputy Middle East Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus, February 17, 2025 (Yafit Iliagoyav/Foreign Ministry)

Meeting with a bipartisan group of US senators and Deputy Middle East Special Envoy Morgan Ortagus, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accuses Turkey of cooperating with Iranian attempts to smuggle money to Hezbollah.

According to Sa’ar’s office, he tells the visitors that “there is an intensified Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon for Hezbollah to restore its power and status. This effort is being carried out, among other channels, via Turkey and with its cooperation.”

The foreign minister also says there are “worrying developments” in Iran’s nuclear program, which come from Tehran’s attempt to compensate for the blows it suffered over the past year.

The group, headed senators Lindsey Graham and Dan Sullivan, also includes senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal, Joni Ernst, Adam Schiff, and Andy Kim.

Sa’ar is asked about his opinion on US troops pulling out of Syria. According to his office, he says the time is not right, given the ongoing fight against ISIS and the “new situation” in Syria, including threats to Kurdish autonomy.

Gantz: Israel has reached last opportunity to free hostages from Gaza

Israel must bring as many hostages home as possible, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz tells reporters, arguing that Israel has reached “the last opportunity” to bring the hostages home from Gaza.

“I ask you to be quiet for a minute. Think that this minute turns into an hour, and then into a day, and now try to think about 500 days, and in 500 days we have lost over 30 living hostages,” Gantz says during a faction meeting at the Knesset.

“Their fate will be decided, life or death, in decisions that will be made in the coming weeks. We cannot wait for the thousandth day. We need to harness all the levers of pressure, all the means, and also be prepared for painful concessions and bring them home – down to the last hostage.”

After the first months of the war, Israel failed “take advantage of the opportunities created by the military pressure to replace the Hamas regime and return our kidnapped people as we demanded,” he continues.

“Today it is clear – when we said over a year ago that it was possible to pause the fighting in order to return the kidnapped and then eliminate the Hamas regime – we were right.”

Turning to Lebanon, Gantz says that Beirut is “is not living up to the agreement and Hezbollah is arming itself and returning to operate in the border area.”

Therefore, Israel “cannot withdraw its forces from Lebanon” because to do so would be to leave the residents of the north without protection.

IDF confirms troops will remain in 5 strategic south Lebanon posts after tomorrow’s withdrawal deadline

IDF troops with the 769th 'Hiram' Regional Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on December 31, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces confirms troops will remain deployed to five strategic positions in southern Lebanon after tomorrow’s deadline to withdraw as part of a ceasefire agreement, and provides the locations.

The United States has authorized the IDF to remain in the five points, though it is not clear yet how long troops will stay there.

At the five positions, the IDF has constructed military posts that will be manned by troops.

The posts are located at: a hill near Labbouneh, across from the the Israeli border town of Shlomi; the Jabal Blat peak, across from Zar’it; a hill across from Avivim and Malkia; a hill across from Margaliot; and a hill across from Metula.

None of the posts are located within built-up areas of Lebanon. The IDF will be withdrawing from all Lebanese border villages and towns tomorrow.

The IDF has also ramped up its defenses on the Israeli side of the border, with several new army posts, one in front of every Israeli border community; better surveillance capabilities, including more cameras, radars, and sensors; and triple the number of troops compared to before the war.

The military expects Hezbollah supporters to stage protests as residents of the south Lebanon border villages return to their homes. Troops by then will not be located in any of the towns, so there should be no direct friction, according to the IDF.

The IDF, however, will prevent suspects from approaching the Israeli border and the newly established army posts at the five strategic positions.

Over the last few days, the IDF says, it carried out “intensive activity” in southern Lebanon, removing any last threats it could find, from caches of Hezbollah weapons to tunnel infrastructure. The troops operated in areas up to 8 kilometers inside Lebanon.

The IDF says that the area close to the Israeli border is essentially entirely cleared of Hezbollah infrastructure and weapons, after troops in the past months scanned nearly every home, under every tree, and in every valley.

Meanwhile, the IDF says it will continue to enforce the ceasefire agreement after the withdrawal, by striking immediate Hezbollah threats and notifying a US-led committee of other violations.

The Israeli military hopes to see the Lebanese Armed Forces act more against Hezbollah, saying so far their operations against the terror group have been slower than expected. Still, in recent days, the IDF says it has seen an improvement in the Lebanese army’s actions against Hezbollah.

Wherever the Lebanese army fails to act, the IDF vows to operate, as it has done during the ceasefire, while coordinating everything with the US.

Should the ceasefire continue to hold after the IDF withdrawal, displaced Israeli residents of northern Israel will begin to return to their homes on March 2.

Ben Gvir blasts Netanyahu for allowing Palestinians into Gaza buffer zone to fix civilian infrastructure

Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing Palestinian construction equipment in an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip, asking, “Have we completely lost our sanity?”

Palestinians were allowed by the IDF to enter an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday to carry out repairs on civilian infrastructure.

“Mr. Prime Minister, you know that I love you, I really do love and appreciate you, but I really have a hard time explaining your behavior. There used to be someone to blame. Biden was guilty. Gantz was guilty. Eisenkot. Gallant. Herzi [Halevi]. But what now? Who is guilty now!? Why are you doing this?” Ben Gvir asks.

Ben Gvir further demands to know how allowing thousands of mobile homes into the Gaza Strip is compatible with “encouraging emigration.”

“President Trump, with common sense, with courage, in the face of all the pressure from the Arab world, held out a ladder for us to climb down from this reckless deal and demand the immediate return of all the hostages. Why didn’t you adopt President Trump’s ultimatum,” Ben Gvir asks, asserting that “the right-wing government, which is supposed to be strong and decisive, is constantly proving to be weak.”

Ben Gvir says that if Netanyahu were to restart the war and halt the entry of humanitarian aid, fuel and electricity until the return of the hostages, “not only will we return to the government, but right-wing and the entire Israeli people will back you.”

Sa’ar says judicial overhaul legislation can be passed within the month

Justice Minister Yariv Levin (R) and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar attend a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset on January 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he believes the controversial judicial overhaul legislation he and Justice Minister Yariv Levin have proposed to change the judicial selection process can be passed within the next month.

Asked by The Times of Israel during a meeting of his New Hope party whether the bill can be passed in the next month, Sa’ar says “why not,” and claims it has the support of “at least 70 MKs.”

He notes that the bill is still under discussion in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, but says that this need not take much time.

“One month must be enough in order to complete the discussion and bring it to a third [and final] reading [in the Knesset plenum,” says Sa’ar of the highly sensitive legislation.

The bill would increase political representation on the Judicial Selection Committee and give the coalition and opposition representatives veto power over appointments to the lower courts and the Supreme Court, while significantly reducing the influence of the three Supreme Court justices on the committee.

Critics including former Supreme Court justices, a former justice minister, and the Knesset Constitution committee’s legal adviser have all said that the reforms would greatly politicize the judicial appointments process, and by extension the judiciary itself.

Proponents, including Sa’ar and Levin, have insisted that the legislation would ensure that the judiciary and its decisions better reflect the will of the electorate.

Channel 12 reported on Sunday that Levin sought to pass the legislation within the next two weeks, but sources close to the minister denied that report and noted that there are no hearings on the bill scheduled in committee this week.

Lapid, Gantz implore Netanyahu not to fire Shin Bet chief now

National Unity party chair Benny Gantz (right) and Yesh Atid party chair Yair Lapid hold a joint press conference at the Knesset, Jerusalem, November 6, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz both call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, as he is reportedly planning to do soon.

Bar is a “brave and honest man who took responsibility for October 7” and “this is not the time to fire him, not when sensitive negotiations are taking place about the continued release of our hostages,” Gantz tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

Bar is currently part of Israel’s hostage negotiating team, although Channel 12 news reported earlier this month that Netanyahu is considering removing him from that position.

“To the prime minister, I say – there are moments when petty politics must not influence major moves. If you fire him for political reasons – you will harm the security and resilience of the state. You will harm our hostages,” and for that “you will never be forgiven,” Gantz says.

“Those being investigated cannot fire their investigators,” Lapid says ahead of his own Yesh Atid party’s faction meeting.

“Ronen Bar should step down, but only after he completes two steps – the return of the hostages, and the investigation into the infiltration of the Prime Minister’s Office by an Arab country.”

The Shin Bet said over the weekend that it will be investigating officials in Netanyahu’s office, presumably including his former spokesman Eli Feldstein, for alleged illicit ties to Qatar. Feldstein, who is separately charged with harming national security in a case involving the theft and leaking of classified IDF documents, was allegedly paid by Doha to feed top Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories, Hebrew media reported.

“The prime minister’s closest aides received a lot of money. This is no longer just corruption and lawlessness, it is a dangerous attack on national security. Qatar bought itself influence within Netanyahu’s office with money. If he knew this, he is a criminal. If he didn’t know this, he lost control of his office at a time of war and he is incompetent,” Lapid says.

Last night, Kan news reported that the prime minister is planning to remove Bar from his post in the near future. There have long been reports that the premier wants Bar to depart. The Prime Minister’s Office previously dismissed such claims as “completely unfounded.”

Kan says that once the security agency completes its internal probes into the failures of October 7, Netanyahu will demand Bar’s departure, either through his resignation or by a cabinet decision to remove him from office.

Israeli official: IDF will stay in 5 strategic posts in Lebanon despite planned pullout

Israel will remain in Lebanon at “five strategic points that control the communities in southern Lebanon and our communities on the border,” says an Israeli official, confirming earlier reports regarding the planned Israeli withdrawal tomorrow.

“At the same time,” pledges the official, “Israel will continue to vigorously enforce the ceasefire in Lebanon — as has been clearly demonstrated so far, including today.”

An IDF strike in Lebanon killed a Hamas commander earlier today.

IDF says it blew up tunnel near Israel-Lebanon border belonging to elite Hezbollah unit

The IDF says it recently demolished a Hezbollah tunnel on the Lebanese side of the Mount Dov border area.

According to the IDF, the tunnel, belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, was dozens of meters long. It included several rooms and caches of weapons.

The tunnel was located several weeks ago by the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade, and it was demolished yesterday by combat engineers.

A Hezbollah tunnel on the Lebanese side of Mount Dov that was destroyed by the IDF, in a video published February 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Iran claims Israel, US ‘cannot do a damn thing’ against Tehran

Iran claims US and Israeli threats against it are a blatant violation of international law and boasts that they cannot “do a damn thing” to hurt Tehran.

The comments come after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem yesterday and said their countries were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its influence in the Middle East.

Netanyahu said Israel had dealt a “mighty blow” to Iran since the start of the war in Gaza and that with the support of US President Donald Trump, “I have no doubt we can and will finish the job.”

Speaking at a weekly press conference, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei responds: “When it comes to a country like Iran, they cannot do a damn thing.”

“You cannot threaten Iran on one hand and claim to support dialogue on the other hand,” Baghaei says according to state media.

Jerusalem police confiscate Palestinian flags, anti-Zionist posters from Haredi neighborhood

Palestinian flags and anti-Israel posters that were seized by Jerusalem police during operation in the ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood on February 17, 2025. (Israel Police)

Jerusalem police tore down three Palestinian flags in the heart of the hardline Haredi neighborhood of Mea Shearim earlier this morning, to the enormous displeasure of its residents.

Locals in the predominantly anti-Zionist neighborhood hurled eggs at officers attempting to remove the flags, which hung from the window of a multistory building.

A spokesman notes that the egging caused no harm to the officers.

During the same operation, police came upon a warehouse in the area stocked with Palestinian flags, walkie-talkies and other posters with “inciting content against the State of Israel.”

Printed in Hebrew, English and Arabic, the posters contained messages such as “Jews are not Zionists” and “Authentic Jewry always opposed Zionism and the existence of the State of Israel.”

Cops confiscated the flags and posters and took them to the police station for further investigation, says the spokesman.

Teen paid by ‘foreign entity’ arrested over ‘hostile’ graffiti in West Bank settlements

Graffiti sprayed on walls in the Gush Etzion Settlement area of the West Bank, which police said conveyed "threatening" messages to Israelis, February 17, 2025. Police said they arrested a minor in connection to the graffiti. (Israel Police)

The Israel Police says a 17-year-old has been arrested after police received complaints of “threatening” graffiti in several locations in the West Bank settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem.

Police say the graffiti included the phrases “Children of Ruhollah” — a reference to Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran — and “Occupiers of Khaybar,” a reference to a region in today’s Saudi Arabia that was purged of Jews by Arabs some 1,400 years ago.

Police say the messages were intended to “convey a hostile and threatening message toward Israelis.”

“After a rapid investigation,” the statement reads, “a 17-year-old suspect was located. The spray paint used for the graffiti was seized in his possession, and during the investigation, the suspect confessed to the acts.”

The police statement adds that the investigation “revealed that a foreign party contacted the minor through the Telegram app and assigned him various tasks in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. ”

“It also emerged during the investigation that the same party suggested that the suspect commit additional serious offenses, including setting fire to vehicles and burning electrical and communications infrastructure.”

“The investigation is continuing to examine all the circumstances and additional parties involved,” the statement concludes.

Netanyahu reiterates neither Hamas nor Palestinian Authority will rule Gaza after the war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the courtroom at the Tel Aviv District Court for the 10th day of his testimony in his corruption trial, February 17, 2025. (Gideon Markowicz/ POOL)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates that “as I promised, the day after the war in Gaza, neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority will be there,” according to a statement from his office.

The premier adds he is “committed to [US] President [Donald] Trump’s plan to create a different Gaza” — referring to a plan to relocate the Strip’s residents while the US takes ownership of the territory and rebuilds it into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”

It is the second denial today of unconfirmed reports in Arabic media that Hamas has agreed to cede control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority as part of talks for a permanent end to the war.

EU set to tell Israel Gazans must return home, bloc will rebuild Strip

The EU plans to tell Israel next week that Palestinians uprooted from their Gaza homes should be ensured a dignified return and that Europe will contribute to rebuilding the shattered territory, according to a document seen by Reuters.

That echoes Arab positions but conflicts with US President Donald Trump’s stated aim for America to take over the Strip and rebuild it into a “Riviera of the Middle East” while Gazans emigrate to other nations.

The EU, which has been a major aid provider to Palestinians, is to outline its position to Israeli officials in talks in Brussels on February 24 as part of the EU-Israel Association Council, the first such session since 2022.

A document outlining the draft EU position emphasizes both Europe’s commitment to Israel’s security and its view that “displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza.”

“The EU will actively contribute to a coordinated international effort to early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza,” it says, also calling for full humanitarian access.

“The EU deeply deplores the unacceptable number of civilians, especially women and children, who have lost their lives, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation notably caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza, in particular in the North.”

Israel launched the war against Hamas in Gaza after thousands of Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists committed the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. The war has displaced Gaza’s population, especially those in the territory’s north where the vast majority of buildings were destroyed.

“The EU strongly opposes all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution,” the document adds, referring to its position that Palestinians should have an independent homeland alongside Israel.

Freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami: I and 5 other captives were held in just 6 square meters

President Isaac Herzog, left, meets released hostage Ohad Ben Ami in Jerusalem, February 17, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Ohad Ben Ami, who was released nine days ago from Hamas captivity, tells President Isaac Herzog about the dire conditions in which he was held captive by Hamas, and pleads for Israelis to take to the streets to support the hostages.

“There were six of us there who lived in terrible conditions in six square meters (65 square feet),” he says.

“My entire concern and desire is simply that all my friends return,” he adds. “I appeal to the government and people of Israel: Keep going, go out, fight. No one can sit at home in front of the TV and hope that someone will do the job for them. We all need to come out.”

“The moment we knew that [the protesters] were fighting for us, and that they wanted us to return, it gave us all the strength and strengthened us,” he says. “We can’t rest, we can’t be quiet even for a minute. We won’t be quiet and we won’t rest.”

Ben Ami also addresses Israeli soldiers: ‘When we were there underground, 30 meters (100 feet) underground, we always knew that you were up there, looking for us and doing everything for us to find us.”

Ben Ami was released earlier this month, appearing emaciated after 16 months of mistreatment in captivity.

Economic growth slows during 2024’s final quarter

The Bank of Israel's main offices in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Israel’s economy grew at a slower pace in the October-to-December period versus the previous three months, preliminary data by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows, as war with the Hamas terror group and the intensified fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah continued to take a toll on public spending and exports.

Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter, according to an initial estimate by the statistics bureau, after expanding at a pace of 5.3% in the third quarter and following a contraction of 0.3% in the second quarter.

Business growth increased 3.1% during the fourth quarter. In the full year of 2024, the economy expanded at a growth rate of 1%, slowing down from 1.8% in 2023 and 6.3% in 2022, before the outbreak of the war with Hamas.

The Bank of Israel recently revised its growth forecast for 2024 to 0.6%, and 4% in 2025. The Finance Ministry’s most recent forecast saw growth of just 0.4% in 2024, and 3.8% in 2025.

Meanwhile, on a per capita basis, when adjusted for population growth, GDP contracted 0.3% in 2024, following a contraction of 0.1% in 2023, the statistics bureau says.

Consumer spending, one of the main drivers of economic activity, increased 9.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024, and investment in fixed assets soared 14.1% while exports of goods and services declined 0.2%. Meanwhile, public spending increased 7.6%.

In 2024, public spending jumped 13.7% following an increase of 7.9% in the previous year. Spending on defense needs soared 43.3% in 2024 after rising 24% in the previous year.

Investment in fixed assets dropped 5.9% following a decline of 1.8% a year earlier. Exports fell 5.6% in 2024 versus a decline of 1.1% in 2023.

The economy bounced back at the start of 2024, following a 20.8% contraction in the last quarter of 2023, as the outbreak of war with Hamas in Gaza on October 7 that year sharply curtailed consumer spending, trade and investment.

European Broadcasting Union approves Israel’s submission for 2025 Eurovision contest

Yuval Raphael, Israel's contestant for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. (Gal Tivony)

The European Broadcasting Union has approved Israel’s song submission for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

The Kan public broadcaster, responsible for Israel’s participation in the annual competition, says in a statement that the song’s lyrics and title have been approved.

Generally, the process is a formality, although last year, Israel’s original submission, titled “October Rain,” was disqualified on charges of being too political and referencing the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

The song was then lightly edited, renamed “Hurricane” and subsequently accepted. All songs appearing at the Eurovision are barred from including political content, although the ban has been selectively enforced over the years.

Israel’s 2025 Eurovision song, which will be performed by Yuval Raphael at the contest in Switzerland in May, is slated to be unveiled by Kan on March 9.

Inside Israel, the song — which was written by Keren Peles — has stirred controversy, with a group of songwriters accusing Kan of rigging the process and improperly favoring Peles, who also wrote last year’s song and serves as a judge on the reality TV competition that selected Raphael.

Kan has rejected the accusations and said the song selection process was carried out blindly.

IDF confirms strike on Hamas’s chief of operations in Lebanon, says he was planning attacks

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the coastal Lebanese city of Sidon this morning, killing a senior Hamas commander.

The target of the strike, Mohammed Shaheen, was the chief of Hamas’s operations in Lebanon, according to the military and Shin Bet.

The IDF says Shaheen was involved in advancing terror attacks against Israeli civilians, with Iranian funding and guidance.

“Shaheen was a significant source of knowledge within the organization and was involved throughout the war with advancing various terror attacks, including rocket fire on the Israeli home front,” the IDF adds.

Israel planning to pull out of Lebanon tomorrow, Israeli official says

Israeli soldiers seen on the border fence with Lebanon, northern Israel, on February 2, 2025. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Israel is planning on withdrawing from Lebanon tomorrow, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity.

However, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has previously said the IDF will stay in five strategic locations in Lebanon’s south.

The ongoing ceasefire with Hezbollah stipulates that the pullout must be completed by a delayed deadline of February 18. Hezbollah is also meant to vacate southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army maintaining the only military presence there.

“We intend to leave and fulfill the agreement,” says the official, “and of course, enforcement will continue.”

“As you see, we just killed a senior Hamas official there in Lebanon — in Sidon, not in southern Lebanon. So we will continue with determined enforcement and what happened before October 7 will not happen again.

“We will attack every threat we see, and we will make sure that Hezbollah does not evade and does not receive funding from Iran… It just will not happen.”

Israeli official says talks set to kick off on hostage deal’s 2nd phase

It was “no coincidence” that US special envoy Steve Witkoff said yesterday that talks on a second stage of the hostage deal would start this week, and that the Prime Minister’s Office announced shortly afterward that a team would be headed to Cairo, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Nor did Israel’s decision come about as the result of US pressure, says the official. “The moment Hamas carried out the recent hostage release, as far as we’re concerned, we’re continuing the agreement.”

“There is no change to the continuation of the deal. That means entering now into talks on the second phase,” says the official, adding that it will happen after the security cabinet approves the Israeli positions. The ministerial body is set to convene today.

The official insists that under no circumstances will Hamas be allowed to stay in Gaza whether through negotiations or by other means. “War is a means, not a goal. The goal is that Hamas will not remain in power.”

Israel is still working on getting the six remaining living hostages to be freed in the ongoing first stage out as soon as possible, says the official, either during the week or on Saturday.

Israel is “embracing with both hands” US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, says the official, stressing that it would entail voluntary migration from Gaza. “Our goal is to allow the creation of an infrastructure to enable Gazans to leave, and we assess that many will leave.”

This doesn’t have to wait for the end of the war, says the official. “We are trying in the near term to implement his vision and lay out technical, operational and practical details.”

According to Sky News Arabia, Hamas told mediating countries that it was willing to hand over governance of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. It made the decision under pressure from Egypt, according to the report.

“Not going to happen,” Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri writes on X.

Oct. 7 survivors from Be’eri mark 500th day at ravaged kibbutz, urge return of living and dead hostages

Kibbutz Be'eri survivor Nira Sharabi speaks at the kibbutz on the 500th day of captivity for those still held in Gaza, February 17, 2025. (Courtesy Kibbutz Be'eri)

At Kibbutz Be’eri, survivors gather at the site of the devastated community to mark 500 days since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack with a rally calling for the return of the 73 remaining captives held in Gaza.

One of the speakers is Nira Sharabi, whose husband Yossi Sharabi was killed in captivity in Gaza and whose brother-in-law Eli Sharabi was recently released from captivity and found out that his wife and two daughters were killed in their Be’eri home that day.

Sharabi says that after all the living hostages are returned, they will have to turn to the next impossibly difficult task of bringing back the bodies of all those killed and taken to Gaza — or who have died in captivity — and burying them in Israel. Hamas is believed to be holding the bodies of at least 36 people.

“Our beloved Yossi, until he’s be buried here, we’re can’t say our farewell to him and can’t continue forward,” she says.

Other Be’eri residents speak, including former hostage Raya Rotem, who says she knows what it’s like to be a hostage in Gaza, even though she was “only” there for 54 days.

“What happens to a person who is kept there for 500 days? If there hadn’t been additional releases in the previous [November 2023] deal, I wouldn’t have left the house where I was kept and where I separated from Itay Svirsky, who was supposed to mark his 40th birthday,” says Rotem, referring to a hostage who was later killed in captivity.

Members of Kibbutz Be’eri gather at the kibbutz to mark the 500th day since the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught and mass kidnapping there, on February 17, 2025. (Courtesy Kibbutz Be’eri)

Ex-hostage Emily Hand, 10, tells Chat GPT at conference: ‘My dreams are not always good ones’

Former hostage Emily Hand and her father Thomas Hand speak at a rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, November 30, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Emily Hand, a 10-year-old former hostage who was released during the November 2023 ceasefire, tells the Histadrut Labor Federation’s Ashmoret conference for education and innovation that her “dreams are not always good ones.”

500 ימים למלחמה בוועידת אשמורת של הסתדרות המורים: אמילי הנד, בת 10, ששוחררה משבי חמאס, עמדה על הבמה ודיברה עם הצ'אט (בינה מלאכותית): "עוד לא חזרתי לבית שלי… עוד לא כולם חזרו הביתה בשלום… ויש כאלו שאף פעם לא יחזרו… והחלומות שלי … לא תמיד טובים… אז איך אפשר בכלל לחשוב… pic.twitter.com/ZyyP8Pb2AQ

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 17, 2025

On stage during an appearance in which she is supposed to imagine the future, Hand seemingly converses with Chat GPT, telling the AI software: “I miss my kibbutz, my friends, and the people we lost.”

“I haven’t returned to my house yet. Not everyone has returned home safely yet, and some will never return,” she writes.

“And my dreams are not always good ones, so how can you even think about tomorrow?” she asks.

Hand’s appearance ends with her shouting: “You can’t think about tomorrow without bringing everyone back!”

Hand was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack and massacres, and was released 50 days later during the November 2023 hostage deal.

Hamas official reportedly slain in IDF strike said to have been planning terror attack on Israelis

The Hamas official killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon is named by the Saudi al-Hadath outlet as Mohammed Shahin.

According to an Israeli official, the Hamas official was targeted because he was planning an attack on Israelis.

The IDF has not yet issued an official comment on the strike.

Netanyahu leaves courtroom for 20 minutes for ‘urgent security consultation’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on the phone during a security consultation while on a brief break from testifying in his corruption trial, at the Tel Aviv District Court, February 17, 2025. (Prime Minister's Office)

During his 10th day of testimony in his corruption trial, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves the proceedings for an “urgent security consultation,” according to his office.

Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a meeting of his security cabinet this evening at 6:30 p.m. to decide on an approach to talks on the second phase of the hostage release with Hamas.

Netanyahu returns to the courtroom at the Tel Aviv District Court after some 20 minutes.

Report: Israeli strike in Lebanon targeted senior Hamas military official

The Saudi al-Hadath outlet reports that the target of the Israeli drone strike in the coastal Lebanese city of Sidon was a senior Hamas military official.

The IDF has not yet commented on the strike that reportedly killed one person.

500-minute fast urged by hostages’ families begins, as freed captive says rallies lift abductees’ spirits

Freed captive Ohad Ben Ami speaks in a video message published February 15, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

A 500-minute fast advocated by activists for the hostages to mark their 500th day of captivity in Gaza and “identify with their pain” has begun, and will go on until 8 p.m. when the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says it will hold an “emergency gathering” at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

Meanwhile, freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami calls on the public to take part in the nationwide demonstrations today.

“I intend to go outside and fight for them,” says Ben Ami, who was released by Hamas this month, emaciated after 16 months of mistreatment.

“What strongly kept my hopes up down there was that I knew people were fighting for me,” he adds, saying that what could truly raise the spirits of those still in captivity is if masses head out to demonstrate for the abductees today.

“You have no idea how much strength it would give to those left behind,” he says.

Netanyahu spars with judge on 10th day of testimony; PM’s lawyer says 24 more sessions needed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and his lawyer Amit Hadad arrive at the courtroom at the Tel Aviv District Court for the 10th day of the premier's testimony in his corruption trial, February 17, 2025. (Gideon Markowicz/POOL)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is giving testimony for the 10th day in his corruption trial in the Tel Aviv District Court.

Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad says he will need another 24 hearings to complete his primary questioning of Netanyahu.

Hadad gives his estimate after judges told him to spend less time discussing the 315 alleged examples of interference by Netanyahu and his associates in the media coverage of the prime minister’s affairs by the Walla news website.

The examples form a key component of the allegations against Netanyahu that he had an illicit quid pro quo agreement with Walla owner Shaul Elovitch. Hadad has, however, succeeded in raising heavy doubt over the accuracy and relevance of numerous examples so far, although he has covered only just over 60 examples to date.

Netanyahu’s defense team has said it will spend less time on the examples if the prosecution removes from the indictment the ones that appear to be unconnected to the prime minister’s actions, but the State Attorney’s Office has refused.

Hadad tells the court that he needs 12 to 14 more hearings to cover Case 4000, which relates to the allegations of the illegal relationship between Netanyahu and Elovitch, including a bribery charge, and a further 10 hearings for Cases 1000 and 2000, in which Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust.

“We’ve had nine hearings, we have listened with great patience. Our feeling is that there needs to be a change,” says Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman, according to Channel 12.

“Questions can also be asked about multiple examples together,” she adds.

Netanyahu stands up and begins to speak, but Friedman-Feldman shuts him down, telling him: “Sir, you cannot say anything, we’re in a discussion with the lawyers, not with you.”

He tries again and Friedman-Feldman interrupts him again, saying, “Mr. Netanyahu, you are requested to sit,” to which the prime minister responds: “I am astonished.”

Netanyahu does eventually manage to voice his opinion on the issue and insists it is his right to address every example brought in the indictment.

“This bribery I am accused of is 315 bricks which are the basis of the bribery,” says the prime minister in court.

“This is what they have harassed me and an entire country with for years. It is my right to self-defense, to give a true testimony, to ask me the toughest questions. The prosecution refuses to remove clauses from the indictment and therefore I insist on my right to answer every single clause and smash every single brick.”

IDF drone strike reported on car in Lebanon’s Sidon, killing one

Lebanese media reports one dead in an Israeli drone strike against a car in the coastal city of Sidon.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

مراسلة «الأخبار»: مسيّرة إسرائيلية تستهدف سيارة على كورنيش #صيدا البحري pic.twitter.com/aFrPUfrq8W

— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) February 17, 2025

Netanyahu behaving like ‘Judenrat in the Holocaust,’ hostage’s uncle accuses

Avinatan Or, a Nvidia employee, taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova desert rave. (Courtesy)

Shimon Or, the uncle of hostage Avinatan Or who has been held by terrorists in Gaza for 500 days, lashes out at the government for approving the ongoing phased hostage deal with Hamas, likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Jewish collaborators with the Nazis during World War II.

Or’s family is part of the hawkish Tikva Forum, which opposes hostage deals and calls for them to be freed via forceful pressure on Hamas.

“Look me in the eyes,” Shimon Or tells Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) at the Knesset Finance Committee. “You know not all hostages will be freed, you know Hamas.”

Avinatan Or, whose girlfriend Noa Argamani was rescued from Gaza in a daring IDF raid, isn’t slated for release during the ongoing first phase of the ceasefire-hostage deal.

“The prime minister is sending a delegation to discuss the second phase even though he knows they won’t be released,” Shimon Or charges. “You were part of a surrender deal that is killing the hostages, including Avinatan.

“The prime minister is behaving like a Judenrat in the Holocaust, saying ‘we’ll save those we can,'” he adds, arguing that US President Donald Trump “knows that an ultimatum is the only way to get them today.”

The Judenrat was a Nazi-imposed Jewish administrative body that purported to represent European Jews, but in practice was used to ensure Nazi policies were being enforced.

Ofer Calderon’s relative says freed hostage lost 55 lb in captivity, was ‘fattened’ by Hamas before release

Freed hostage Ofer Calderon raises both hands and blows kisses to friends outside the Sheba Medical Center on his return to Israel, February 1, 2025. (Eyal Hadani/AFP)

Recently released hostage Ofer Calderon’s uncle tells the Knesset Health Committee that at one point during captivity, Calderon had lost 25 kilograms (55 pounds), and that once Hamas decided it would release him as part of the ceasefire deal, the terrorists fed him large amounts of food, including rotten vegetables, so he would appear healthier upon release.

“Ofer had a difficult week, starting with a severe flu and pneumonia, to the point that his children could not meet him,” his uncle tells the committee, according to Hebrew media reports.

“Ofer said that three months ago, he weighed 25 kilograms (55 pounds) less,” he says. “When [Hamas] realized that Ofer would be among those who were freed, they fattened him so he would look the way he did.”

“He said that he was forced to eat rotten vegetables,” Calderon’s uncle adds.

Brothers from Galilee indicted for planning terror bombing, supporting Hamas

Military garb found in the bedroom of two brothers arrested by police and Shin Bet forces on suspicion of planning to carry out terror attacks, in a photo released on February 17, 2025. (Israel Police)

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office indicts two brothers from Arraba in the Lower Galilee on charges of planning to carry out a terror attack.

Police and Shin Bet agents arrested brothers Yousef and Hadi Nasser in recent weeks on suspicion of identifying with Hamas and plotting attacks against Israeli security forces.

According to a joint statement from the two bodies, the two purchased military equipment in preparation for an “armed confrontation” with the State of Israel.

Officers uncovered military garb in the brothers’ bedroom during a raid on their house that led to their arrest. Spokespeople add that Yousef reportedly learned to prepare an explosive device to use against Israeli security forces.

Mother of 2 hostages begs for their release after 500 days of agonizing wait

Sylvia Cunio, mother of hostages David Cunio and Ariel Cunio, at a protest for the captives' release in Carmei Gat on February 17, 2025 (Courtesy/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Sylvia Cunio — who survived the Hamas terrorist massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and whose two sons, David Cunio and Ariel Cunio, are being held hostage in Gaza — stands with supporters in Carmei Gat, the southern city where Nir Oz residents are living until their kibbutz is rebuilt.

“I’ve been waiting 500 days,” says Cunio. “This is the longest October 7 of my life.”

Cunio’s son David was taken hostage with his wife, Sharon Aloni-Cunio and their twin 3-year-old daughters, as well as Sharon’s sister and the latter’s young daughter. The women and children were all released in a hostage deal in November 2023.

Sylvia Cunio’s youngest son, Ariel, was also taken hostage from Nir Oz on October 7, along with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehoud. Yehoud was recently released after being held hostage in isolation in Gaza for 15 months.

“I want my sons now, now! Don’t abandon us; continue with the second stage of the talks, bring them home,” she says.

Florida man arrested after shooting 2 Israelis, says he thought they were Palestinians

A man in Miami Beach has been arrested after shooting at a car in which he said he saw “two Palestinians” inside.

However, reports indicate that the victims were actually Jewish Israelis visiting the US, not Palestinians.

Mordechai Brafman, 27, has been arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after he shot at the car 17 times with a semiautomatic handgun.

According to the arrest report, Brafman said that while he was driving his truck, “he saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both.”

Neither victim was killed. One was hit in the left shoulder, while the other’s forearm was grazed by a bullet.

According to reports in Israel, including a post on Facebook by a man who claims to be one of the victims, the targets of the attack were a Jewish Israeli father and son who originally thought that it was an antisemitic attack.

Iran pledges not to allow any weakness in regards to its nuclear program

Iran has defended its nuclear program and will not allow any weakness in this regard, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, a day after Israel and the US vowed to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Recent reports have claimed Jerusalem is discussing plans to potentially strike Iranian nuclear sites.

Left-wing watchdog says plans advancing for nearly 1,000 settler homes in West Bank

View of houses in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, south of Jerusalem. October 25, 2021. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

Israel has issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the West Bank, an anti-settlement watchdog says.

Peace Now argues that the development of 974 new housing units would allow the population of the Efrat settlement, south of Jerusalem, to expand by 40% and further block the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Hagit Ofran, who leads the left-wing group’s settlement monitoring, says construction could begin after the contracting process and issuing of permits, which could take another year at least.

Peace Now, which campaigns for a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of pressing ahead with settlement construction while public attention is directed elsewhere.

“While the people of Israel [set] their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” it says in a statement.

Activists and hostages’ relatives block roads across Israel, including central Tel Aviv

Pro-hostage deal protesters block a road in Tel Aviv, February 17, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

Hostage families and activists on behalf of the captives are blocking roads across the country, including the central Namir Road in Tel Aviv, marking 500 days of their loved ones’ captivity.

More protests and events are planned throughout the day.

Protesters block Ra’anana Junction, marking 500 days since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, February 17, 2025. (Raya Barkan/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip march to the Knesset in Jerusalem, marking 500 days since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, February 17, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israelis block Sha’ar Hanegev junction near Gaza during a protest for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, February 17, 2025. (Erez Volach/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Hundreds of protesters, some of them students at the Lady Davis high school, block the Maoz Aviv intersection in Tel Aviv calling for the release of the hostages from Gaza, February 17, 2025. (Udi Salmanovich/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Rubio leaves Israel for Saudi Arabia, where’s he’ll discuss Trump’s Gaza proposal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/ POOL/ AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia after concluding a visit to Israel.

Rubio is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. On the agenda is likely to be US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the Palestinian residents of Gaza to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the US to lead the reconstruction of the Strip.

That proposal has infuriated the Arab world and heightened fears among Palestinians in Gaza of being driven out of the coastal territory.

Saudi Arabia, alongside other Arab nations, has rejected any plan that involves resettling Palestinians, and Riyadh is spearheading Arab efforts to develop a counterproposal, which could involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas.

Bin Salman has also insisted that Saudi Arabia would not normalize ties with Israel — a longstanding goal of Washington — without an agreement on a pathway to a Palestinian state, a condition Israel rejects.

Rubio’s Saudi visit also comes ahead of expected talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine.

Man shot dead in criminal incident in Galilee

A 56-year-old man was shot dead this morning on Route 781 near I’billin, an Arab town in the Galilee. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police say they are investigating the incident and rule out a terror motive.

Starting march to Knesset, hostages’ families thank Trump, say resumption of war is ‘death sentence’

Hostages' family members marching to the Knesset on Jerusalem‘s Azza Street, February 17, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/The Times of Israel)

Holding a handmade sign featuring the images of hostages whose families have recently received signs of life from released captives, Shai Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat who was murdered at the end of August in captivity, says at the start of the 500th-day march to the Knesset that the hostages’ families already experienced the end of one ceasefire in November 2023.

“If war [re]starts, it is a death sentence for many of the hostages,” says Dickmann.

“More than 80 years ago, my grandmother was in the Holocaust and waited for nations to help her, but she suffered and survived and came here to help create a nation of ideals so that it wouldn’t happen again,” says Dickmann. “We can’t wait for other nations to decide our fate; we must save them now that we have a state so that it won’t happen again.”

Shai Dickmann, cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, speaking ahead of a march to the Knesset at an event marking 500 days since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, on Azza Street in Jerusalem, February 17, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

Uri Goren, cousin of Tal Haimi, who was killed on October 7, 2023, and whose body was taken to Gaza and is still held there, says that as details emerge of what released hostages have undergone in captivity, it is essential to bring all the hostages home.

Speaking in English, he expresses his gratitude to US President Donald Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

He says that Trump has shown leadership and Witkoff has clearly stated that the administration is committed to releasing the hostages and showing it understands.

“The deceased hostages must come back for [a] final resting place,” says Goren, adding that the only way to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people is to bring back every last hostage in order to rebuild areas of Gaza and bring healing to all people.

In Jerusalem, hostages’ families urge public to fast for 500 minutes to mark 500 days of captivity

Levi Ben Baruch, uncle of hostage Edan Alexander, center, at an event marking 500 days since Hamas's October 7, 2023, onslaught, on Azza Street in Jerusalem, February 17, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

Family members of hostages and dozens of supporters begin marking the 500th day of their loved ones’ captivity outside the Hostages and Missing Families Forum tent on Azza Street in Jerusalem, plan to march later to the Knesset,

Using words recited on Jewish fast days — “Please save us!” — Levi Ben-Baruch, uncle of hostage Edan Alexander, wrapped in his prayer shawl and wearing tefillin, calls for the return of all the hostages.

“We will fast 500 minutes for the captives,” he says.

Maccabit Meyer, aunt of hostages Ziv Berman and Gali Berman, at an event marking 500 days since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, on Azza Street in Jerusalem, February 17, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

“They’ve already been fasting for 500 days,” he says, asking the nation to fast with the families, to pray as one soul, as one heart.

“We want to know when they are all coming home,” says Ben Baruch, whose nephew, Alexander, is a soldier and not on the list of 33 hostages slated to come home in the ongoing first phase of the deal.

Maccabit Meyer, aunt of hostages Ziv Berman and Gali Berman, says that day 500 isn’t different than any of the other days.

“I want Ziv and Gali to be held in the hug of their mother Talia,” she says, calling on the nation to come out and join their cry.

Report: PM promised Smotrich talks for truce deal’s 2nd phase will only start if ministers OK it

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Jerusalem, on December 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that negotiations on the second phase of the ongoing ceasefire and hostage deal will only begin after the security cabinet greenlights the move, Kan news reports.

The unsourced report claims that a clause stipulating as much was approved weeks ago, in the same cabinet meeting that okayed the deal with Hamas.

Smotrich demanded the measure as a condition for staying in the government, the report says. The far-right leader has threatened to bolt the coalition if fighting doesn’t resume after the first phase ends on March 2.

Last night, Kan reported, citing unnamed Israeli sources, that talks are ongoing for holding negotiations on phase two in Qatar next week, though this depends on whether Netanyahu will approve this and give Israel’s team a sufficient mandate.

The report also claimed that Hamas has warned mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States that it won’t release the next batch of three hostages this coming Saturday, citing alleged Israeli violations of the deal — namely the delay in letting caravans and rubble-clearing equipment into Gaza from Egypt.

Unlike last week, according to the public broadcaster, the Palestinian terror group is considering saving the announcement that it won’t free the next three hostages closer to the end of the week, leaving less time to resolve the potential crisis.

Witkoff, at rally, issues promise about hostages: ‘We are not leaving anybody behind’

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks at a rally marking 500 days since the Hamas-led massacre at the Nova festival and across southern Israel, in Miami, Florida, February 16, 2025. (X screenshot used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law.)

Speaking at a Miami event marking 500 days since the massacre at the Nova music festival in Israel’s south, US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff says: “I can tell you we are not leaving anybody behind.”

“We have to get everybody home,” Witkoff says. “There are people here [at the event] like Noa [Argamani] who were fortunate enough to get out. There are people here who were part of a hostage release in phase one. There are people here who just want to get their children home, who they know are dead, so they can give them a proper burial. And then there are people here who have children in phase two, and they’re hopeful that we can be as successful in phase two as we were in phase one.

“And I can tell you that we intend to be. We are not leaving anybody behind.”

Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East, at a ceremony marking 500 days to October 7 in Miami: "We are not leaving anybody behind." pic.twitter.com/nsLtR7CcLx

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) February 17, 2025

Hostages’ families to mark 500th day of captivity with fast, rallies

Israelis gather in Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square" on February 15, 2025 as families wait for the release by Hamas of three captives held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

As Israel marks the 500th day since the October 7, 2023, attack, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called for a nationwide fast to call attention to and contemplation for the captives’ plight.

The event is being held under the banner, “Get them out of hell.”

The fast starts at 11:40 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. with a rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

Other rallies and events are expected throughout the country today.

Report: Netanyahu planning to remove Shin Bet head Bar in near future

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar attends a farewell ceremony in honor of then-police chief Kobi Shabtai at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, on July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to remove Shin Bet head Ronen Bar from his post in the near future, Kan news reports.

There have long been reports that the premier wants Bar to depart. The Prime Minister’s Office previously dismissed such claims as “completely unfounded.”

Kan says that once the security agency completes its internal probes into the failures of October 7, Netanyahu will demand Bar’s departure, either through his resignation or by a cabinet decision to remove him from office.

Senior security official to media: Netanyahu working to prevent deal’s second phase

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, at his office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to prevent the implementation of the hostage deal’s second phase, a senior Israeli security official familiar with the negotiations tells the Ynet news site.

“Every time you think it’s impossible to stoop any lower… it turns out that it is possible, and that there is still much lower that these people are willing to stoop to achieve political goals at the expense of hostages’ lives,” the anonymous official tells the news site, fuming over a statement issued by Netanyahu’s spokesperson last week in which the latter insisted that Israel is not currently holding negotiations regarding the second phase of the hostage deal.

The senior Israeli security official maintains that this amounts to a violation of the hostage deal, which stipulated that the parties begin holding negotiations regarding phase two of the deal no later than the 16th day of the first phase, which was on February 3 — nearly two weeks ago.

The official claims that even if Israel changed its approached and immediately engaged intensely in negotiations regarding the second phase of the deal, there is not enough time left to finish those talks by the end of the first phase on March 2.

The terms of the agreement do, however, allow for the first phase to continue indefinitely so long as the sides remain at the negotiation table in good faith.

“Netanyahu and his followers are trapped. They don’t care what’s happening in the outside world, outside the world of politics and outside of Israel. Therefore, Netanyahu is careful to immediately deny that such negotiations are even taking place. But he doesn’t blame Hamas because if he does, that would suggest that Israel is interested in holding negotiations regarding phase two in the first place,” the senior Israeli security official says.