Feb. 23: Hamas says it is halting all negotiations until Israel frees prisoners slated for release

Lebanese media reports a series of Israeli airstrikes in south Lebanon, near the towns of Qlaileh and Zebqine, close to the coastal city of Tyre.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The strikes come ahead of the funeral for assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his intended successor Hashem Safieddine.

مراسلة «الأخبار»: سلسلة غارات إسرائيلية تستهدف وادي العزية في أطراف زبقين وأطراف جناتا في جنوب لبنان pic.twitter.com/V9gZ3xUol4

— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) February 23, 2025

9:36 am

Vatican says Pope had ‘tranquil’ night in hospital, day after revealing he’s in critical condition

By Reuters

Candles and a photo of Pope Francis are seen in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, February 22, 2025, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Friday, February 14.(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis, who is battling double pneumonia in hospital, had a “tranquil” night and rested, the Vatican says.

The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing for several days and subsequently had pneumonia diagnosed in both lungs.

The Vatican described his condition as “critical” for the first time yesterday, reporting that he had needed supplemental oxygen and blood transfusions that day.

9:52 am

Polls open in high-stakes German elections, with conservatives strong favorites

By Agencies

A ballot box is sealed with the electoral seal of the German State of Bavaria in Memmelsdorf, Germany, Feb. 23, 2025, during the national election. (Pia Bayer/dpa via AP)

Polling stations open for pivotal German elections, with the conservatives the strong favorites after a campaign rocked by a far-right surge and the return of US President Donald Trump.

Voting got underway at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) with more than 59 million Germans eligible to cast ballots and first estimates based on exit polls expected after polls close at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT).

The race pits the incumbent chancellor against the opposition leader, the vice chancellor and — for the first time — a leader of a far-right party.

Germany’s electoral system rarely gives any party an absolute majority and opinion polls suggest that no party is anywhere near one this time. Two or more parties will most likely form a coalition in the coming weeks.

10:04 am

IDF confirms it carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon

The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes in southern Lebanon a short while ago.

One of the targets was a Hezbollah military site containing rocket launchers and other weapons, where the military says it identified activity by the terror group.

The military says Hezbollah’s activity at the site is a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Additionally, the IDF says it struck several more Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, “which posed a threat to Israeli civilians.”

10:21 am

Hamas: Israeli delay of prisoner releases over hostage ceremonies a ‘deliberate attempt’ to avoid deal obligations

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Israeli hostages, from left to right, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem and Omer Wenkert, are told to show Hamas issued certificates by before being handed over to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hamas condemns Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, saying its claim that the hostages’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” is false and a pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza hostage release and ceasefire agreement.

“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation’s lack of reliability in implementing its obligations,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, says in a statement.

Israel said that it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners who had been slated to go free Saturday until Jerusalem receives assurances regarding the end of “humiliating ceremonies” staged by Hamas when hostages are handed over.

The statement by Netanyahu’s office came after over 600 inmates had reportedly already boarded buses to leave Ofer prison, in the largest single-day release of the first stage of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire. Instead, the inmates were told to disembark, their release on indefinite hold.

The prisoners had been slated to be let go as part of a deal for the release of six hostages who were freed by Hamas earlier in the day. But with Israelis fuming over the handling of the transfer of the bodies of mother Shiri Bibas and her two small children murdered in captivity, and new anger sparked by a propaganda video showing hostages being brought to a ceremony where others were being freed, Netanyahu said Israel would demand an end to the gauche fanfare before resuming freeing prisoners.

10:28 am

IDF deploys 3 tanks to West Bank for first time since 2002

The IDF confirms it has deployed tanks to the West Bank as it expands its ongoing counter-terrorism operation in the Jenin area.

It marks the first time since the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield that IDF tanks are operating in the West Bank.

Troops of the Nahal Infantry Brigade and the Duvdevan Commando Unit began operations in several villages near Jenin this morning, the military says.

At the same time, a platoon from the 188th Armored Brigade is preparing to operate in Jenin, the army says. Palestinian media published images showing three tanks in the area.

The IDF has been carrying out a major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, since January 21.

📷 جيش #الاحتلال يدفع بتعزيزات عدداً من دبابات الميركافا إلى فتحة المقيبلة بمحيط #جنين.#طوفان_الأقصى #قطاع_غزة #الضفة_الغربية pic.twitter.com/UAptCglRZn

— وكالة قدس برس (@qudspressagency) February 23, 2025

11:02 am

Knesset speaker Ohana calls for annexation of West Bank

By Jeremy Sharon

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (right) together with head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan during a tour of the northern West Bank region, February 23, 2025. (Roi Hadi)

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana calls for the annexation of the West Bank while on a tour of the northern part of the territory, and says that settlements are the only way for Israel to achieve peace.

“On the seventh of October not only Israeli citizens were murdered but also the idea that was mistakenly called ‘the two-state solution’,” says Ohana, a member of the Likud party.

“These Biblical, original, parts of our land, which in the Bible tells the story of our people, are intended for us, for the people of Israel, need to be in the territory of the State of Israel, under the ownership of Israel, under full Israeli sovereignty, and I think that today this thing is clearer than ever.”

The Knesset speaker describes Israeli settlements in the West Bank as “not only not an obstacle to peace” but rather “our one and only way, for the people of Israel, of the State of Israel, to arrive at peace.”

Ohana also praises US President Donald Trump for proposing ideas “outside of the box” and describes him as “the best friend Israel ever had in the White House.”

11:03 am

Reports of Israeli airstrike in northern Lebanon

Lebanese media reports a new Israeli airstrike near the village of Brissa in the Hermel District of northern Lebanon.

Brissa is located more than 130 kilometers from the Israeli border.

The reports come soon after the IDF confirmed it carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon.

11:26 am

Katz says he instructed IDF to stay for year in West Bank refugee camps and not allow 40,000 residents home

FILE: Defense Minister Israel Katz is seen with troops in the West Bank's Tulkarem refugee camp, February 21, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has instructed the IDF to stay for the next year in West Bank refugee camps that have been cleared of terror operatives and civilians, and not allow anyone to return.

“40,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated from the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, and are now empty of residents. UNRWA activity in the camps has also been stopped.” Katz says in a written statement.

He says the IDF is clearing the “nests of terror” of terrorists and destroying infrastructure and weapons “on an extensive scale.”

“I instructed the IDF to prepare for a long stay in the camps that were cleared, for the coming year, and not allow residents to return and the terror to return and grow,” Katz says.

“We will not return to the reality that was in the past. We will continue to clear refugee camps and other terror centers to dismantle the battalions and terror infrastructure of the extreme Islam that was built, armed, funded and supported by the Iranian evil axis, in an attempt to establish an eastern terror front,” he adds.

11:47 am

High Court gives government another delay for answer on establishing Oct. 7 state commission of inquiry

By Jeremy Sharon

Israeli soldiers walking next to buildings destroyed by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, November 21, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice agrees to a request by the government to grant it another 90 days before updating the court as to its position on establishing a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading up to, during and after the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and atrocities.

The government must now provide the court with a new update by May 11.

The government informed the court earlier this month that the cabinet held a hearing on the issue, in accordance with a ruling by the High Court in December last year ordering the government to hold such a hearing within 60 days, and that the “overwhelming majority” of ministers were of the opinion that the “time was not ripe” to establish a commission.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which petitioned the High Court demanding a state commission of inquiry, described that cabinet meeting as “a new pinnacle in shirking responsibility and contempt for the public.”

The government has fiercely opposed the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 catastrophe, originally on the grounds that such an inquiry could not be conducted while Israel was at war, but increasingly due to accusations by several cabinet ministers that such a commission would be biased against the government.

State commissions of inquiry have been established in the past to look into other military failures, including the events of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon in 1982.

A government commission of inquiry, in which the government appoints the members of the commission, was established to investigate the failures of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, although it was granted some of the powers of the more rigorous and independent state commissions, including the power to subpoena witnesses.

12:02 pm

Prosecutors charge Ramle man with murder of Sabrine Abu Suleiman last month

The State Attorney’s office indicts a 20-year-old Ramle resident Sunday charging him with the murder of 35-year-old Sabrine Abu Suleiman last month.

Filed in the Central District Court earlier today, the indictment accuses Nashat Hussein of shooting her four times as she was sitting in her car in a downtown Ramle parking lot on January 14, 2025.

Hussein fled the scene on his motorcycle, according to the indictment, and the mother-of-three was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead by medical staff.

Prosecutors charge Hussein with aggravated murder and obstruction of justice, and seek to detain him until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

Violent crime in Arab society has worsened considerably in recent years and has claimed 41 lives since the start of 2025. Community leaders largely attribute the sharp rise to police negligence.

Last year, law enforcement solved only 15 percent of murder cases in Arab society, according to the coexistence organization Abraham Initiatives.

רצח
סאברין עלי חאמד אבו סלימאן
היא הצעירה שנרצחה ברכבה באירוע הירי היום בעיר רמלה
סאברין נפצעה אנוש פונתה לבית חולים ושם נקבע מותה מחומרת הפציעות מהם סבלה pic.twitter.com/8c7W36uoN8

— כל החדשות בזמן אמת (@Saher_News_24_7) January 14, 2025

12:29 pm

Arkia decides to extend operation of Tel Aviv-New York route until at least October

By Sharon Wrobel

An Arkia flight over Tel Aviv, December 14, 2024. (Yossi Aloni FLASH90)

Israeli airline Arkia decides to extend the operation of its new route to New York until at least October and will add new European destinations as it bets that Israelis will eagerly return to book their holidays abroad during the spring and summer peak seasons.

“We see that the Israeli tourist is gradually returning to plan long-term vacations, alongside last-minute spontaneous vacations,” says Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz during a press conference in Tel Aviv. “After a challenging year and a half of war, there is a need to get some fresh air.”

The announcement comes after Arkia launched direct, return-flights from Tel Aviv to New York in early February, marking the airline’s first time flying to the United States. The Israeli carrier originally planned to operate the route for a period of three months starting February 8.

The debut of Arkia’s long-haul flight comes as flagship carrier El Al had largely maintained a monopoly status on the direct New York route since US carriers have been staying away for most of the past year due to security concerns amid the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group.

Starting in March, Arkia is also adding new destinations to Greece, Hungary and Albania, as well as to Madrid, and will offer flights to a total of 30 destinations.

Since war broke out with the Hamas terror group following the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israeli communities, foreign airlines have repeatedly canceled and resumed their flights to and from Israel. Since the hostage-ceasefire agreement took effect last month, alongside a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group, a few foreign airlines, including US carriers, have announced plans to resume part of their services to and from Israel.

12:43 pm

Opposition MK claims Yair Netanyahu ‘exiled’ abroad for hitting PM; Likud: ‘Despicable lie’

Yair Netanyahu arrives for a court hearing in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90/ File)

The Democrats lawmaker Naama Lazimi claims that the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “exiled” abroad after he hit the premier.

The opposition MK makes the comment at a Knesset Finance Committee meeting as she asks questions over the funding of the two-month visit of Sara Netanyahu to the United States, and the annual cost of security for Yair Netanyahu, who lives in Miami.

“I want to ask if this amount is still budgeted and whether there is still an intention to finance [Yair Netanyahu’s] stay because he hit the prime minister, and was forced to go abroad because he harmed a symbol of government,” she says.

Other lawmakers present at the meeting seem to be shocked by Lazimi’s statement.

“What do you mean,” one asks, somewhat incredulously.

“Absolutely, he was exiled abroad,” she says.

Netanyahu’s Likud party responds that Lazimi’s comments are “a despicable lie, a new low toward the bottom of the sewer of the left.”

The party says anyone repeating the claim will be sued.

“Naama Lazimi should be stripped of her immunity and pay, just as anyone who echoes this despicable lie will receive a lawsuit and pay too,” Likud says.

נעמה לזימי: יאיר נתניהו הוגלה לחו"ל כי הכה את אביו | חברת הכנסת ביקשה להבין מי מימן את שהות שרה נתניהו בארה"ב, והעלתה שאלות בנוגע לאבטחת בנו של ראש הממשלה: "נאלץ להיות בחו"ל כי פגע בסמל שלטון. הוא לא יכול לחזור"@naamalazimi @netanyahu @YairNetanyahu pic.twitter.com/gDIGC0OWl4

— ערוץ כנסת 99 (@Knesset99) February 23, 2025

1:17 pm

Beirut funeral begins for Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, killed in an IDF strike last year

By Agencies and ToI Staff

People gather for the funeral ceremony of the Lebanon's late Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The funeral ceremony for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah begins in Beirut, with tens of thousands gathered, many of them waving the terror group’s flags.

The ceremony is being held at Lebanon’s biggest sports arena — Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs.

According to reports, a number of Hezbollah operatives injured in the clandestine exploding pager operation that decimated the terror group are in attendance at the funeral.

A senior Iranian delegation has flown in to attend the ceremony.

Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike as he met commanders in a bunker in Beirut’s southern suburbs, will then be buried at a dedicated site nearby.

The funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs will also honor Hashem Safieddine, who led Hezbollah for one week after Nasrallah’s death before he was also killed by Israel, underlining how deeply Israeli intelligence had penetrated the terror group. He will be buried in the south on Monday.

1:27 pm

Reports of fresh IDF airstrikes in Lebanon as Nasrallah’s funeral begins in Beirut

Lebanese media reports fresh Israeli airstrikes near the town of Bodai in the Baalbek District of northeastern Lebanon, and near al-Ahmadiya in southern Lebanon.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The strikes come as the funeral for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah begins in Beirut.

غارة إسرائيلية على جرود بلدة بوداي غربي بعلبك#ملحق pic.twitter.com/EUayZz0QqD

— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) February 23, 2025

1:37 pm

IDF fighter jets fly low over Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut as crowd chants ‘Death to Israel’

Lebanese media outlets report that Israeli fighter jets are flying low over Beirut amid the funeral ceremony for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The crowd then chants “Death to Israel, death to America, we respond to your call, Nasrallah.”

بالفيديو: الطيران الحربي الاسرائيلي فوق بيروت pic.twitter.com/riIfGY1PWZ

— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) February 23, 2025

קול המטוסים שחגים מעל ביירות ואחריו קריאות "מוות לישראל" בהלווית נסראללה pic.twitter.com/XDUwoUKhvh

— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) February 23, 2025

1:41 pm

IDF confirms hitting Hezbollah targets in fresh Lebanon airstrikes

The IDF confirms carrying out additional airstrikes in Lebanon a short while ago.

The targets included Hezbollah sites containing rocket launchers and other weapons in the Baalbek area in northeastern Lebanon and other areas in the south of the country, according to the military.

The IDF says the strikes were carried out after it identified Hezbollah activity at the sites, which it says is a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and is a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”

1:53 pm

PA security forces disperse Ramallah rally honoring slain Hezbollah chief Nasrallah

Palestinian Authority security forces disperse a rally honoring slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Ramallah.

Before police broke up the sparse West Bank event where a few dozen demonstrators held posters with Nasrallah’s face in the city’s downtown.

The rally comes as the funeral is held in Beirut for the terror chief, who was killed in an Israeli strike five months ago.

ו.. מנגנוני הביטחון של הרשות הפלסטינית פזרו את הפגנת התמיכה בנסראללה שהתקיימה ברמאללה. יש דיווחים לא מאומתים על מעצר של הרשות עיתונאי שתיעד את האירוע https://t.co/3OFvFvaelq pic.twitter.com/k0C9oFrq67

— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) February 23, 2025

2:01 pm

Katz confirms IDF fighter jets buzzed Nasrallah’s Beirut funeral ceremony

Israeli fighter jets fly over Beirut during the funeral procession of Lebanon's former Hezbollah leaders, Hassan Nasrallah and his cousin and successor, Hashem Safieddine, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 23, 2025. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirms Israeli fighter jets buzzed over the funeral ceremony for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Lebanese capital a short while ago.

“Israeli Air Force aircraft currently flying over Beirut, over the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, convey a clear message: Those who threaten to destroy Israel and attack Israel, it will be their end,” he says in a statement.

“You will specialize in funerals, and we will in victories,” Katz adds.

2:39 pm

Hezbollah leader says terror group will continue to follow Nasrallah’s will: ‘I am loyal to the legacy’

By AFP

The coffins containing the bodies of Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah and his cousin and successor Hashem Safieddine are carried on a trailer at the beginning of a funeral procession at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says the terror group will keep following the path of slain chief Hassan Nasrallah during a televised speech broadcast at his massive funeral on the outskirts of Beirut.

“We will uphold trust and walk on this path, we will uphold your will,” Qassem says referring to Nasrallah, adding: “You are still with us, your… path and struggle live within us” and “I am loyal to the legacy Nasrallah.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

3:03 pm

Security forces arrest 10 on suspicion of smuggling weapons from Jordan into Israel

Four long-barreled guns confiscated in operation against a Negev-based arms smuggling ring on February 23, 2025. (Israel Police)

Police and Shin Bet agents arrested 10 people suspected of smuggling arms from Jordan into Israel, spokespeople for the agencies say in a joint statement.

The suspects — nine Israeli citizens and one West Bank Palestinian — were arrested over the course of the past two months. Security forces confiscated 34 pistols and four long-barreled guns during the investigation.

The State Attorney’s Office indicted the suspects on a plethora of charges including arms smuggling, carrying and transporting weapons, arms possession, damage to IDF property, aiding illegal exit from the country and drug offenses.

According to the statement, the suspects organized two sophisticated arms smuggling operations across the border between Israel and Jordan during the latter half of 2024.

At the helm of the operation was 28-year-old Fawaz al-Toukhi, a resident of the Negev Bedouin town Bir Hadaj, who allegedly recruited others to the ring and paid them tens of thousands of shekels for their involvement.

Officials stress the security risk posed by arms smuggling, noting that two pistols smuggled into Israel were used in terror attacks in which two police officers were killed last October.

3:33 pm

Ministers say working to expand financial support to spouses, children of those who fall serving in security forces

Soldiers place flowers and flags on graves of fallen troops in Kiryat Shmona Military Cemetery, on May 12, 2024, ahead of Memorial Day. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agree on a series of amendments to legislation they will work to move through the Knesset in order to expand support for widows, widowers and children of those who fell serving in the IDF and security services, the two ministers say in a joint statement.

Those who lost one parent will receive monthly grants of NIS 3,465 ($971.50) from the age of 21 until 30, and for the next ten years will receive NIS 2,000 per month ($560).

Those who have lost both parents will receive a monthly grant of NIS 8,787 ($2,450) until they reach 30. The grant is currently given only to those under 25.

When over the age of 30, they will also be eligible for other grants totaling up to NIS 50,000 ($14,000), and those under the age of 18 will receive a NIS 50,000 budget for a personal support program.

The grant for reaching the age of 30, getting married, or buying a house will be increased from NIS 170,752 ($47,800) to NIS 300,000 ($84,000).

Employment assistance and educational grants will be available until the age of 60.

Widows or widowers will also receive expanded benefits, including continued entitlement to their loved one’s pension even after remarrying. They will receive an additional grant equal to the average wage in the economy for the first three months after their spouse’s death and will also receive coverage for caregiver expenses, increased housing assistance, and an additional NIS 1,641 ($46) for those without an income.

“This is about correcting historical injustices,” says Katz, “and a move that will bring about significant improvement in the conditions and rights of orphans and widows, through increased payments, new grants, cancellation of offsets and broader recognition of the unique needs of bereaved families.”

“We are providing a broad and comprehensive package, with monthly benefits, housing grants and personal support, to ensure a better future for those who paid a heavy price for the security of the country,” says Smotrich.

The amendments consist of recommendations submitted by the committee headed by Judge Elyakim Rubinstein that examined how to better support adult orphans, and by the staff of both ministries that decided to offer benefits beyond the Rubinstein committee’s suggestions.

3:42 pm

Lebanese president tells Iranian parliament speaker: Country is ‘tired of others’ wars’

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meets with Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf at the presidential palace in Baabda, February 23, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun tells Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf that his country “paid a heavy price” for the Palestinian cause and is “tired of others’ wars” during a meeting in the president’s official residence outside Beirut.

Ghalibaf, who traveled to Lebanon for today’s funeral for slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, meets with the president as part of a larger delegation including Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and its ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.

Ghalibaf tells Aoun that Iran is willing to help Lebanon with its reconstruction efforts following Israel’s ground invasion, according to a post from the Lebanese president’s official X account.

Aoun tells the Iranian official that Lebanon’s leadership supports the Gaza reconstruction plan discussed during Friday’s Arab summit in Riyadh, which laid out a path towards a two-state solution in opposition to Trump’s plan for the mass relocation of Gazans outside the enclave.

رئيس الجمهورية خلال لقائه الوفد الإيراني في قصر بعبدا:
– لبنان تعب من حروب الآخرين ووحدة اللبنانيين هي أفضل مواجهة لأي خسارة أو عدوان
– لبنان دفع ثمناً كبيراً من أجل القضية الفلسطينية
ويدعم ما صدر عن قمة الرياض الأخيرة بالنسبة إلى حل الدولتين pic.twitter.com/EkKwHqbtbf

— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) February 23, 2025

3:53 pm

Israel said to lodge complaint with Egypt over troop deployments in Sinai

A view of the Israel-Egypt border south of the Nitzana Crossing, January 12, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Israel has lodged an official complaint with Egypt over alleged violations of agreements on troop deployments in the Sinai peninsula, Israel Hayom reports.

Last month, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter accused Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of violating the US-brokered 1978 peace deal between Jerusalem and Cairo.

“Egypt is in very serious violation of our peace agreement in the Sinai. This is an issue that is going to come to the fore because it’s not tolerable,” Leiter told American Jewish leaders.

“We have bases being built that can only be used for offensive operations, for offensive weapons — that’s a clear violation,” Leiter said. “For a long time, it’s been shunted aside, and this continues. This is going to be an issue that we’re going to put on the table very soon and very emphatically.”

In addition, multiple Israeli outlets have run articles in recent weeks highlighting concern over Egyptian deployment in the Sinai.

4:21 pm

Witkoff says he expects second stage of ceasefire-hostage deal, is working on phase one ‘extension’

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, left, and US National Security Adviser Michael Walz, walk after speaking to the media outside the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, February 4, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff says he will be in the region on Wednesday to work to “get an extension of phase one” of the hostage release-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

“We’ll reach the area later this week, probably on Wednesday, to negotiate that,” he says, speaking to CNN.

“And we’re hopeful that we have the proper time… to begin phase two, and finish it off and get more hostages released.”

Witkoff says the US expects “there will be a phase two” of the deal, adding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is motivated to make a deal.

“Hamas cannot be part of a future government” in Gaza, Witkoff insists.

4:30 pm

Report: Haredi parties fume as PM says budget must pass before Haredi draft law

Minister of Construction and Housing Yitzchak Goldknopf at the Knesset on November 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Haredi parties in the coalition are reportedly fuming after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed them that the government must pass a budget before it can legislate the issue of ultra-Orthodox exemption from the IDF draft.

According to Hebrew media reports of leaks from a meeting of coalition leaders, Netanyahu said that the priority has to be passing the state budget before dealing with the highly contentious issue of Haredi enlistment.

United Torah Judaism leader and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf reportedly fumed that there is “no reason to stay in the government” if a Haredi draft law is not passed before the budget.

Versions of such a bill have been stuck in committee with Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein vowing to only advance legislation that has broad consensus, in particular in light of the IDF’s manpower shortage amid the ongoing war.

4:42 pm

IDF publishes photos of Israeli fighter jets flying over Nasrallah funeral

Israeli Air Force fighter jets fly over the funeral ceremony for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, February 23, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases images showing Israeli Air Force fighter jets flying low over the funeral ceremony for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier today.

Additional footage circulated online by Lebanese media shows the flyby.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the move was a message to Hezbollah.

https://twitter.com/NismaAyoub2/status/1893663106984734996

https://twitter.com/Hodanat/status/1893656098495742395

4:50 pm

On day of his funeral, IDF reveals footage of September airstrike that killed Nasrallah

People watch as a blaze rages amid the smoldering rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 27, 2024. (Fadel Itani/AFP)

The IDF reveals footage of its major airstrike on Beirut on September 27 that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several other top officials in the terror group.

The videos are revealed after Nasrallah is buried earlier today in the Lebanese capital.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets had dropped 82 heavy bombs on the terror group’s main underground headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh, bringing down several buildings.

According to the IDF, in addition to killing Nasrallah, the strike eliminated more than 20 Hezbollah commanders, including Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front.

4:59 pm

Edelstein says wording of Haredi draft bill still under debate, denies pressure from PM

By Sam Sokol

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, left, chairs a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, February 18, 2025. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Spokesman's Office)

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein tells lawmakers that the wording of the Haredi enlistment bill currently being debated has yet to be agreed upon and “there will be no votes until the end of this week.”

According to Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — under pressure from his ultra-Orthodox coalition allies — has leaned on Edelstein to advance the legislation and present a final draft of the bill for a vote in the coming days. Edelstein has denied being pressured, telling the committee that Netanyahu and his associates have not called him directly.

Edelstein’s committee is slated to meet three times this week to discuss the bill, focusing on the application of sanctions on draft dodgers. Earlier this month, the veteran Likud lawmaker stated that he is under no obligation to agree with the position of the government on the issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment.

Addressing his committee in early February, he rejected what he called “conspiracy theories” that the coalition will transfer the discussion to another committee.

5:25 pm

Katz: IDF is ‘preparing’ for possibility it will be ‘forced to return to fighting’

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks at a graduation ceremony for cadets in the IDF Ground Forces officers' course, February 23, 2025. (Screen capture via YouTube, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Speaking at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz says the military is prepared to return to fighting if necessary.

“If we are forced to return to fighting, the enemy will face the IDF with power it has never known before. We are preparing for this, and we are ready for this,” he says.

“The fighting will end with two clear achievements: The defeat of Hamas and the release of all our hostages,” Katz says, adding that Israel will work to return all the remaining living and dead hostages in Hamas captivity “swiftly.”

Also in his speech, Katz says that Israel’s eyes are looking at the entire Middle East, “especially toward Syria.”

“We have committed that we will not be able to return to the reality of October 7. There is a new policy in southern Syria. The IDF will not allow hostile forces to base themselves in the security zone in southern Syria, from here to the Suwayda-Damascus route, and we will act against any threat,” he says.

5:42 pm

IDF has built 9 military posts inside Syria buffer zone, reveals defense chief

A temporary IDF post on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, in a handout photo issued on January 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Speaking at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz reveals the military has constructed at least nine posts inside Syria.

“[The IDF] built two proper posts atop the summit of Mount Hermon and seven posts in the buffer zone to ensure defense and offense against any challenge,” he says.

He adds the IDF will remain in the posts “indefinitely.”

6:00 pm

Netanyahu: Israel ‘ready to return at any moment’ to Gaza fighting, demands ‘full demilitarization’ in south Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a graduation ceremony for cadets in the IDF Ground Forces officers' course, February 23, 2025. (Screen capture via YouTube, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Speaking to cadets graduating from the IDF Ground Forces combat officers course, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that Israel is “ready to return at any moment to intensive combat. The operational plans are ready. ”

Throughout his address, he promises total victory.

“All of our hostages, without exception, will return home,” he says. “Hamas won’t rule Gaza. Gaza will be demilitarized, and its fighting force will be dismantled.”

Netanyahu comes to the stage amid cheers and boos, and when he holds up a photo of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, some in the crowd yell out in protest. Netanyahu says the image “says it all… So that we will always remember, what we are fighting for, and who we are fighting against.”

He stresses that the Bibas family was murdered in cold blood in the early days of the war. “They strangled the tender boys with their bare hands,” he says. “We must defeat those monsters, and we will defeat them.”

“Victory, victory and only victory,” says Netanyahu. The victory “can be achieved in negotiations,” he says. “It can be achieved in another way.”

He says that the combination of diplomatic and military pressure on Hamas is what is enabling the return of hostages. Referring to recent reinforcements sent to Gaza, Netanyahu says that the redeployment “alongside President Trump’s firm statement brought about the release of the hostages in recent weeks.”

Netanyahu thanks Trump for his commitment to send crucial weapons to Israel. “The new defensive and offensive weapons will help us greatly in achieving total victory.”

Trump sees “eye-to-eye” with Israel on Gaza, he adds.

“We support President Trump’s groundbreaking plan to enable the freedom to leave for Gazans and the creation of a different Gaza,” says Netanyahu of the president’s proposal to relocate the entire Gaza population and have the US take over and rebuild the war-torn Strip.

In the West Bank, Netanyahu says, IDF troops will stay in cities as long as it takes. The tank platoon that Israel introduced into the West Bank means that Israel is fighting terrorism “with all means and in all places,” he says.

In Lebanon, the premier continues, the IDF is holding key positions “until the Lebanese army and Lebanese government fulfill all of their commitments according to the agreement.”

Troops will stay on the Syrian Hermon and the buffer zone in the Golan Heights for “an unlimited period of time… We will not allow [Hayat Tahrir al-Shams] forces or the new Syrian army to move into territory south of Damascus,” he insists.

“We demand full demilitarization of southern Syria from troops of the new Syrian regime in the Quneitra, Daraa and Suweyda provinces,” Netanyahu says, adding that Israel will not accept any threats to Druze in southern Syria.

On Iran, he says that Israel will not accept a nuclear weapon in the hands of the regime.

He also thanks the outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi for leading the IDF in the ongoing war, as the crowd cheers.

6:06 pm

Outgoing IDF chief asks ‘forgiveness’ from Bibas and Lifshitz families after bodies returned

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks at a graduation ceremony for cadets in the IDF Ground Forces officers' course, February 23, 2025. (Screen capture via YouTube, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologizes to the families of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, for failing to return their loved ones from captivity alive, after Hamas returned their bodies last week.

All four were murdered in captivity, according to Israel.

“We bow our heads before the Bibas and Lifshitz families, and ask for forgiveness for not being able to bring their loved ones back while they were alive,” Halevi says at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony.

“They are another 63 hostages, and we will do everything we can to bring everyone back,” he adds.

6:10 pm

Funeral for Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas to be held Wednesday after public procession

Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas (Hostages Families Forum)

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be laid to rest in a funeral ceremony on Wednesday, the family says.

The family requests that the ceremony itself be for loved ones only, but says that it will publish a funeral procession route to allow members of the public to pay their respects that day, and will also try to livestream the proceedings.

“The warm embrace, the love and the strength that you have sent us from all over Israel and the world strengthen us and accompany us during these moments of crisis,” the family says in a social media post. “We are aware that many of you want to be there, to pay your respects, to express your love and to say your goodbyes together with us.”

However, they add, “please respect our choice to say our goodbyes during these final moments in the way that is right for us.”

6:25 pm

Witkoff to visit Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel this week to discuss Gaza, Ukraine

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on February 3, 2025, in Washington. (Jim WATSON / AFP)

In his second interview on Sunday morning talks shows, US special envoy Steve Witkoff tells CBS’s Face the Nation that he will arrive in the Middle East on Wednesday for a five-day visit to discuss the Gaza hostage release deal and to prepare a summit on the Russia-Ukraine war.

He says the trip will take him to Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Witkoff promises that phase two of the deal will be reached, and says that Edan Alexander — the remaining living American hostage still being held in Gaza — is a top priority for US President Donald Trump.

“We will get to stage two or phase two. I’m very focused on that and I think it’s going to happen,” he says. “The way you square that circle is that Hamas has to go. They’ve got to leave… The negotiation will be around that.”

Asked if he means Hamas has to physically leave Gaza, he confirms: “Physically.”

Asked who would take in Hamas, he says: “The devil is in the details. We’ve got some ideas and that will be part of the negotiation.”

6:45 pm

FM Sa’ar heads to Brussels for key meetings with EU counterparts

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar leads a faction meeting of his New Hope party in the Knesset, February 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is slated to take off this evening for Brussels to meet with high-ranking European Union officials on the conflict in Gaza, regional issues and EU-Israel bilateral relations, says Sa’ar’s office.

The 13th meeting of the European Union-Israel Association Council takes place tomorrow.

Sa’ar will co-chair the council alongside EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas. Sa’ar says that “strong Israel-EU relations serve the interests of both sides, and I will continue working to strengthen them.”

The council convenes under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which serves as the legal framework for Israel’s trade relations with the EU, Israel’s largest trading partner.

The council, which last convened in 2022 with then-foreign minister Yair Lapid, is meant to occur annually between Israel and the EU to cover matters of mutual concern.

During his visit, Sa’ar will hold talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, in addition to bilateral meetings with Belgian officials and foreign ministers from Hungary, Romania, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland and Slovakia.

A joint press conference with Kallas is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m. Israel time.

7:09 pm

IDF says it struck additional Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The IDF says it carried out strikes against additional Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon a short while ago.

The targets included several buildings used by Hezbollah to store weapons, where activity by operatives was identified, the military says.

The military says Hezbollah’s activity at the sites is a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

The IDF has carried out several strikes in Lebanon today, in addition to sending fighter jets to fly over the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

7:14 pm

Exit polls: German conservatives win election, far-right has best showing since WWII

By AP

Friedrich Merz, center CDU's top candidate for chancellor, and party board members clap hands on the stage at the main election campaign of the Christian Democratic Union, February 21, 2025, in Oberhausen, Germany, ahead of Sunday's German federal Bundestag elections. (AP/Martin Meissner)

Exit polls show opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservatives leading in Germany’s national election. They indicate that Alternative for Germany is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

The exit polls for ARD and ZDF public television show Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats on track for their worst postwar result in a national parliamentary election, expected to be in third place.

7:37 pm

Sister of Yarden Bibas: He is ‘still trying to come to terms with the horrible news’

Yarden Bibas (center) with his sister Ofri and father Eli, soon after his release from Hamas captivity on February 1, 2025. (IDF Spokesman)

Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas, says he is still struggling to come to terms with the confirmation of the murder in captivity of his wife and sons, and the extreme levels of public attention that surround it.

“Yarden is still dealing with the publicity and the fame of the family, and it’s not easy and is even frightening,” Ofri says in a public message shared online. “The reactions to the murder of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir move him very much, but Yarden is still trying to come to terms with the horrible news.”

Ofri says that her brother, who spent 16 months in Hamas captivity, moves along a “spectrum of emotions.” In the span of a few weeks, the family went from “huge joy” over Yarden’s return to “deep sadness and shock,” with the confirmation of the murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir, she says.

At times, she says, “he wonders how Shiri would respond to all this, and Shiri is not here to go through it with him.”

She asks the public to respect the family’s request that the funeral slated for Wednesday be for family and friends only, following a public procession.

Ofri says that Yarden sees the widespread support, and has asked to tell the public, “You don’t need to ask forgiveness.” The forgiveness they deserve should come first and foremost “with the return of all the rest of the hostages to their homes and their families… Only then can we begin to recover.”

7:50 pm

IDF raises its readiness level along the Gaza border area

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli army tank stationed on a hill overlooking northern Gaza on February 12, 2025. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Following a fresh assessment, the IDF says it has raised its level of alert and readiness in the Gaza border area.

Currently, there are no changes to guidelines for civilians, the military adds.

8:13 pm

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen underwent surgery without anesthesia in Gaza — TV report

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen reunites with family members at the Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Eliya Cohen had surgery while in captivity to remove bullets with no anesthesia, according to details reported by Channel 12 news.

Cohen, who was freed yesterday from more than 500 days of captivity, spent some time in captivity with Almog Sarusi, who was murdered with five other hostages last August, the report says. He was later held in a tunnel with Alon Ohel, who is still held hostage, and Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who were recently freed.

They were held chained up to each other, the report says. The report says that in the period before he was freed, Cohen was given a large amount of food to improve his appearance. They were also only unchained in recent weeks and had to “learn to walk again,” the report says.

Cohen and Sharabi would say kiddush on Friday nights even with no wine.

Cohen spoke to Ohel’s family soon after his return to Israel. He said it was very hard to leave Alon, and that Alon is now on his own.

Cohen has reportedly told his loved ones that he was in a tunnel that was bombed by the IDF and managed to just escape in time.

8:18 pm

‘Avera lives!’: Brother of freed hostage says he has a long recovery ahead

Avera Mengistu (left) embraces his brother, Ilan, at a military facility near Re'im on February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Ilan Mengistu, the brother of released hostage, Avera Mengistu, says that “finally, finally, the long terrible journey has reached its end.”

“Avera, whose name means life, is home, Avera lives!,” he says, speaking at the hospital where his brother is recuperating, after being held in Gaza for 10 years and finally freed yesterday with five other hostages.

Mengistu says his brother, who crossed into Gaza in 2014 of his own volition and was held captive there for more than a decade, has a long path of recuperation ahead of him.

“We’re here for you and pray for your full recovery,” says his brother, adding that while the photos of the reunions of the released hostages are emotional and joyful, there are many other issues to be dealt with upon a hostage’s return home.

8:29 pm

Father of Hisham al-Sayed says his son ‘wasn’t kept by humans’ in Gaza

Freed hostage Hisham al-Sayed, left, meets his father at the Re'im facility near Gaza, after being released by Hamas following 10 years in captivity, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Sha’ban al-Sayed, the father of Hisham al-Sayed, who returned yesterday from more than a decade of captivity in Gaza, says his son was kept in inhuman conditions, and returned a shell of a person.

Al-Sayed slams Hamas for “playing politics on the back of someone who is mentally unwell.”

Throughout his son’s captivity, he says he believed that Hamas would take care of the captives because it was in their interest.

“Then I saw on October 7 how they killed Bedouin, Arab people who weren’t soldiers,” he says. “We want the Arab world to see this and to hear what they say. To know that they killed and took captive Arab people and a woman in Bedouin dress?”

Al-Sayed says when his son returned yesterday, he was walking on his own, but when he finally hugged him, he was hugging a shell of a person. He says Hisham can barely speak, and has no memory.

“It gives us the sense that he wasn’t kept by humans, and we want an answer, we want an answer,” he says.

He thanks everyone in the Israeli government who was part of the effort to free Hisham, and also US President Donald Trump “who gave us strong support.” Al-Sayed also calls to bring every other hostage home “without waiting for further stages.”

8:30 pm

Light snow falls in parts of Jerusalem

Snow falls in Jerusalem on February 23, 2025. (Elisheva Sosnovitch Behar)

Light snow begins to fall in some parts of Jerusalem. The snow is not expected to accumulate significantly, though more is expected overnight and tomorrow.

מכובד.
תמיד ברגעים הראשונים יש צעקות לא נשלטות pic.twitter.com/4P9TTIzbjf

— 02ws ירושמיים (@YERU02WS) February 23, 2025

Snow also falls in parts of the Galilee, as freezing temperatures set in with the arrival of the winter storm Coral.

Schools in Jerusalem will have a delayed start tomorrow due to the weather, with classes set to begin at 9 a.m., the municipality says.

8:36 pm

Israel says it foils attempt to smuggle smartphones, projectors into Gaza inside aid truck

Trucks carrying mobile homes are lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on February 20, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli authorities say they foiled an attempt to smuggle prohibited items into the Gaza Strip in a humanitarian aid truck.

According to the Defense Ministry and Israel Police, a truck carrying aid that was passing through the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza was found to also be ferrying 650 smartphones, dozens of sim cards, three projectors, and car replacement parts.

The driver, an Israeli civilian, was arrested.

8:48 pm

IDF lifts all remaining Home Front Command restrictions along northern border

A man surveys damage caused during the recent war in Metula, on the Israeli border with Lebanon, January 2, 2025. (Yossi Zamir/ Flash90)

The IDF Home Front Command says it has lifted all remaining restrictions on Israel’s northern frontier communities, which had been imposed during the fighting with Hezbollah.

The move was approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz following an assessment held by the Home Front Command with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

The Home Front Command has adjusted the activity scale in the northern frontier communities from “partial activity” to “full activity.”

Displaced Israeli residents of northern Israel are set to return to their homes beginning March 2.

9:02 pm

Hamas official: All negotiations halted until Israel frees prisoners slated for release

Israeli security forces outside the Ofer prison in the West Bank from where Palestinian terror convicts were slated to be released as part of a hostage release-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, February 22, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

Hamas will hold off on negotiations with Israel through mediators unless Israel frees the 602 Palestinian prisoners slated for release in exchange for the six Israeli hostages handed over yesterday, says Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi.

In a statement on Telegram, the official calls on mediators to pressure Israel into implementing the ceasefire agreement’s provisions.

Early this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not release the prisoners until Hamas provided guarantees that it would end the “demeaning” ceremonies it has held to mark the transfer of Israeli hostages.

9:12 pm

Outgoing IDF chief warns against ‘rushing forward without discernment’

Speaking at a ceremony earlier today, outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi tells graduating cadets that rushing forward with no plan will not bring success, in apparent veiled criticism aimed at some in Israel’s political leadership.

“The way to bring about achievements, especially in a war, is not to gallop like unbridled horses, rushing forward without discernment and without a precise goal,” Halevi says.

“Anyone who thinks that the sole purpose of a combat commander is to gallop forward will have to bear the consequences and be responsible for the consequences,” he says.

Halevi tells the graduating cadets that they should act like cavalry, “standing tall, holding the reins, and leading wisely into new challenges.”

“If you fall, return to the reins and continue better than you were,” he adds.

9:43 pm

Mother of freed hostage Omer Shem Tov says he was alone in a tunnel for 450 days of captivity

Shelly Shem Tov, the mother of freed hostage Omer Shem Tov, speaks to media at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 23, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Shelly Shem Tov, the mother of freed hostage Omer Shem Tov, says her son was kept alone in a tunnel the vast majority of his time in captivity.

Speaking to the media during a press conference at the Rabin Medical Center, Shelly says that her son, who was kidnapped from the Nova festival, was kept for 450 days alone in a tunnel, where he suffered.

He dreamed, he told her, of being able to lay his head on his mother’s lap and have her stroke his hair, and going to ride with his father on his motorcycle. She recounts that Omer said he only finally breathed again when he first met the IDF forces.

Shelly offers gratitude and recognition to murdered hostage Ori Danino, who on October 7 went back into the massacre taking place at the Nova rave to pull out siblings Maya and Itay Regev, and Omer. All four were taken hostage, with the Regev siblings freed in November 2023 and Danino was slain in captivity in August 2024.

“He didn’t think about himself or his family, just that you don’t leave anyone behind,” she says. “He is the hero and the angel who saved them.”

Shelly also offers her thanks to all the IDF soldiers killed, and their families, and says she will always be with them. She says everything is because of their sacrifice and their courage.

9:55 pm

Family of Eliya Cohen pledges to fight to bring hostage Alon Ohel home

Siggi Cohen, the mother of freed hostage Eliya Cohen, speaks during a press conference at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 23, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Siggi Cohen, the mother of freed hostage Eliya Cohen, says that her son prayed every day in captivity and said the kiddush prayer over water on Friday nights.

Speaking to media at the Rabin Medical Center, Siggi speaks directly to Alon Ohel, one of the hostages who was kept with Eliya and is still in captivity. Alon’s family learned recently that he is alive, but wounded in his eye. He was taken hostage from the same bomb shelter as Eliya and held alongside him.

“You’re not alone and we’ll fight for you until you come home,” she says.

Ziv Aboud, Eliya Cohen’s girlfriend, described the past 16 months as a journey of love.

“Eliya is at home, but there’s no victory until everyone is home. Alon Ohel, it’s my promise to Eliya and to your family, that we won’t stop until you’re home,” she says.

She thanks Aner Shapira, the “hero of the field shelter” whose actions saved her, and now Eliya Cohen and Or Levy, as he threw back out the grenades lobbed inside by Hamas until he himself was killed.

10:00 pm

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert lost 30kg in captivity, received no treatment for his colitis, says mom

Newly released hostage Omer Wenkert embraces his parents after being freed from Gaza at an IDF facility near the border, February 22, 2025. (IDF)

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert is finally home, says his mother, Niva Wenkert, “but our fight continues until the last hostage is home.”

“Omer defeated captivity,” says Niva in a press conference at Rabin Medical Center, adding that her son lost more than 30 kilograms (66 pounds) while in captivity and never received any medical treatment for colitis, a condition he had prior to being taken hostage to Gaza.

Her husband, Shai Wenkert, thanks the country for the solidarity and reiterates the need to bring all the hostages home.

He also thanks US President Donald Trump and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff for their efforts to return Omer and all of the hostages.

10:14 pm

Hundreds gather in NYC’s Central Park to urge continuing hostage release-ceasefire deal

Hundreds gather in New York’s Central Park for a rally urging a continuation of the Gaza hostage release-ceasefire deal until all captives have been returned to Israel.

Participants hold Israeli flags and some American flags, and wear yellow, representing the hostages’ plight, and orange, representing young Ariel and Kfir Bibas, young redheaded brothers who were murdered in captivity, and whose remains were finally returned to Israel on Thursday.

The rally, organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, in coordination with local Jewish groups, includes an address by freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released in November 2023, during a previous deal, after 55 days of captivity.

המונים בעצרת בסנטרל פארק שבניו יורק בקריאה להשבת החטופים: "שלב ב' בעסקה חייב להתקדם, אסור להשאיר אף אחד מאחור"@YoavBorowitz
צילום: לירי אגמי, דני טננבאום, ניצן חכם, אלון קפלון ואמנון שמי pic.twitter.com/LHgycWBDrX

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 23, 2025

Her boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, is still held captive.

Gal Gilboa-Dalal and Ilay David also speak, a day after their brothers, Guy and Evyatar, appeared in a Hamas propaganda clip, in which they were taken to watch the release of other Israeli hostages while themselves being kept in captivity.

The forum has held weekly rallies in Central Park for more than a year.

10:27 pm

Brother of Tal Shoham begs for deal that will ‘bring fathers home to their children’

Mor Korngold, the brother of freed hostage Tal Shoham, speaks at a press conference at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on February 23, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Mor Korngold, the brother of freed hostage Tal Shoham, says it is hard to find the right words, beyond the term, “thank you.”

Speaking during a press conference at the Rabin Medical Center, Korngold thanks the country and says, “We’re always in the same boat, and always strong,” and thanks the government for making the difficult decisions necessary.

Korngold also thanks the Austrian government and its ambassadors for its assistance, as Shoham is an Austrian citizen, as well as the US administration and President Donald Trump.

He says their family’s only request is to reach a deal that will “bring fathers to their children and children to their parents,” adding that “we have a window and we can’t lose this opportunity.”

Bringing them home, he says, “does not come at the cost of our security — the opposite, it is the basis on which our security lies.”

10:44 pm

Netanyahu, Sa’ar congratulate conservatives on victory in German elections

Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and his party's main candidate for chancellor, addresses supporters after the first exit polls in the German general elections were announced on German television during the electoral evening in Berlin, Germany, February 23, 2025. (Odd Andersen / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulates Friedrich Merz and the center-right CDU/CSU political alliance on their “clear election victory” in German elections today.

“Looking forward to working closely with your upcoming government to further strengthen the partnership between our two countries,” Netanyahu writes on X.

Merz is set to become Germany’s next chancellor.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also congratulates Merz on his victory.

“I am convinced that, as a friend of Israel, you will strengthen and deepen the relationship between the people of Germany and the people of Israel,” writes Sa’ar on X. “We look forward to your first visit in Jerusalem as chancellor.”

Sa’ar is currently in Brussels ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with EU leaders and the foreign ministers of the 27 EU countries.

10:55 pm

Netanyahu speaks to freed hostages Ohad Ben-Ami and Sagui Dekel-Chen

Freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen with his wife Avital aboard an IDF helicopter en route to the hospital soon after his release from 498 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025. The whiteboard message refers to the then-73 hostages still held in Gaza, and urges 'return all of them to us.' (IDF)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks by phone with released hostages Sagui Dekel-Chen and Ohad Ben-Ami and their wives, says the Prime Minister’s Office.

Dekel-Chen was freed on February 15, and Ben-Ami was freed a week earlier.

According to Netanyahu’s office, he asks about their return to their homes and families, and emphasizes “the victory of their bodies and spirits during their captivity.”

Netanyahu tells the two that Israel had to apply great pressure on Hamas to secure their release.

“Hamas demanded the release of only a limited number of live hostages in the current agreement, while the prime minister insisted on maximizing the number of live hostages who return in phase one of the deal,” says the self-congratulatory PMO statement, “and this effort succeeded thanks to our brave soldiers and determined and informed decision-making.”

Netanyahu promises that he will continue working to bring all of the remaining hostages home.

11:21 pm

Or Levy was shocked to hear of Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s fate upon release, says his brother