Jan. 20: Witkoff: There’s more value in freeing hostages, solving disputes than resuming war

Man’s body found in Petah Tikva stairwell, was apparently shot

Police are investigating a suspected murder in Petah Tikva after the body of a man was found in an apartment building stairwell.

The man appears to have been shot by an unknown attacker.

Opposition MK: Netanyahu government complicit in West Bank settler rampage

Democrats MK Gilad Kariv accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of being complicit in the latest settler rampage against Palestinians in the West Bank.

“These are not ‘hilltop youth,’ but organized militias. These are not weeds. This is policy. And [the government’s] policy is to light the hostage deal on fire,” Kariv tweets, pointing to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s threats to quit the government if war against Hamas does not resume and to Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to release all remaining settlers who were under administration detention over alleged involvement in violent attacks against Palestinians.

Katz explained the move by claiming that Palestinians should not be the only ones celebrating in the West Bank, as security prisoners are released from Israeli detention as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza.

כוחות מג"ב וצה"ל פועלים לפיזור מתפרעים יהודים שנכנסו לכפר ג'ינסאפוט בשומרון – והחלו להצית בתים וכלי רכב@OmerShahar123 @roysharon11 @nurityohanan pic.twitter.com/LZwEF0qI7g

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 20, 2025

IDF says troops dispersed settler riot in area of West Bank village

The IDF says a settler riot in the area of West Bank village of al-Funduq was dispersed by forces.

The chief of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the head of the West Bank division, Brig. Gen. Yaki Dolf, and head of the Civil Administration, Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, are set to hold an assessment tonight in the area, the army adds.

Witkoff: There’s more value in freeing hostages, solving disputes diplomatically than resuming war

Pressed to respond to criticism of the hostage deal, US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff suggests that the sacrifices it requires of Israel are warranted in order to allow hostage families to reunite with their loved ones.

“These families deserved to get these hostages home alive. Hopefully, we prove today that there’s more value in getting those hostages home alive and being able to continue to talk to solve things than there is in continuing the war,” he says in the interview with Channel 12 news.

Asked about his January 11 meeting with Netanyahu, which Arab officials familiar told The Times of Israel was critical in bringing the deal over the finish line because of the pressure that Witkoff placed on the premier, the Mideast envoy declines to disclose too many details.

“We had a discussion with the prime minister about how we needed to get focused in a short period of time and get organized so that we could get to the finish line. He convened what looked to me like maybe nine, 10, 11 of the top commanders in the Israeli armed forces. He gave direction to his team to be very proactive, and that was the difference maker,” Witkoff says.

“President Trump gave me the directive… to push forward a deal if a deal was attainable. We needed to create the incentives for both parties to push forward and get that deal done,” he continues.

Netanyahu has reportedly told coalition partners that those incentives came in the form of US assurances that Israel can resume fighting after the first phase of the deal, which would appear to be a violation of its terms.

But asked to elaborate on the US incentives provided to Israel, Witkoff suffices with, “The incentives were to get these people home.”

“I don’t want to discuss promises that were made. The agreement speaks for itself, but I think that everyone is well motivated to negotiate in a good faith way and to see if we can resolve all of this amicably and in a peaceful way and in a diplomatic way,” Witkoff says.

Asked whether he believes Israel will withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor border stretch between Gaza and Egypt, Witkoff avoids answering directly.

“That’s ultimately up to Israel,” he says.

“The Philadelphi Corridor obviously has commercial significance to Egypt — as a trading partner — and also to the people who are living in Gaza. They’ve got to get materials in, but there are security issues around it, so we have to solve that,” Witkoff adds.

Trump’s Mideast envoy confirms plan to visit Gaza to ensure ceasefire deal implemented

Steve Witkoff, then a US investor, attends the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)

US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff confirms a report that he plans to visit the Gaza Strip, as the new Trump administration works to ensure that the hostage release and ceasefire deal is implemented.

“I think the execution of the agreement was tough. It is going to be the implementation of the agreement that will be perhaps more difficult. Going to the Gaza Strip is [about] making sure that what we intend to do here at the Netzarim line, in the Philadelphi Corridor, that what we intend to do gets employed in a correct way,” Witkoff says in an interview with Channel 12.

Witkoff agrees that the deal reached last week is effectively the same as the one introduced by former US president Joe Biden last May. “It follows it almost exactly. When we came into the negotiation, we were operating under that agreement,” the Trump aide says, explaining that his boss told him to finalize that proposal and figure out on his own how to do so.

Witkoff says he was moved to tears upon seeing the photos of the three hostages reuniting with their families after they were freed yesterday.

He adds that Trump “felt fulfilled” by the deal and that the US president “felt like his mandate saved lives today.”

As for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Witkoff stresses that a precondition for doing so remains a ceasefire in Gaza, indicating that the current deal must hold before talks with Riyadh can advance.

Israeli envoy to US says Trump expected to lift freeze on delivery of 2,000-pound bombs

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump is expected to lift the Biden administration’s freeze on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in his first days in office, Walla News reports, citing an interview with the Israeli envoy to Washington.

Trump is also expected to reverse sanctions the Biden administration imposed against Israeli settlers accused of violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, Israeli Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog told Walla News.

IDF says it opened fire on suspects who ‘posed threat’ to troops in Rafah

Earlier today, the IDF says it opened fire on Palestinian suspects who “posed a threat” to troops stationed in southern Gaza’s Rafah.

Israeli forces are still deployed inside the Gaza Strip, during the ceasefire with Hamas. The IDF has issued several warnings to Palestinians not to approach areas where troops are positioned.

According to the military, the suspects who approached troops in Rafah were shot and hit. “Further details are under review,” the IDF says.

Graphic footage circulating on social media today purports to show a Palestinian man coming under fire while trying to drag the body of a teenager who was also shot. It is unclear if the footage, reportedly from Rafah, is of the same incident reported by the IDF.

“The IDF is acting in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, and is maintaining a security zone in accordance with the agreement,” the military says.

Israelis wounded near West Bank outpost were reportedly shot by cop they attacked

This handout photo shows emergency responders at the scene where two Israelis were shot, near the West Bank outpost of Ramat Gilad, January 20, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the two Israelis in their 20s shot near the West Bank outpost of Ramat Gilad are in critical and serious condition.

They are being taken to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba.

The circumstances of their injury are still under investigation, though the Kan public broadcaster reports they were shot by a police officer after they attacked him.

The incident came as settlers set fire to homes and vehicles in the adjacent Palestinian villages of Jinsafut and al-Funduq.

UN reports 915 aid trucks entered Gaza on second day of ceasefire

Palestinians watch a truck loaded with aid drive by in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah on January 20, 2025. (Eyad Baba/ AFP)

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says 915 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Monday, the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian terrorists Hamas.

OCHA cites information received from Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire agreement.

2 Israelis seriously hurt by apparent gunfire as settlers reportedly attack Palestinian towns

Two Israelis are seriously wounded after apparently being shot near the West Bank settlement outpost of Ramat Gilad, medics say.

The incident comes as Palestinian media report that settlers attacked the adjacent villages of Jinsafut and al-Funduq, setting fire to homes and vehicles.

The IDF says troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to al-Funduq to disperse violent rioting.

???? قوات الاحتلال تطلق الرصاص الحي خلال تصدي الشبان لهجوم مستوطنين على بلدتي الفندق وجينصافوط شرق قلقيلية pic.twitter.com/ved4qBsViG

— ساحات – عاجل ???????? (@Sa7atPlBreaking) January 20, 2025

Elon Musk appears to perform fascist salute at inauguration event

Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena in Washington, on January 20, 2025. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

Tech billionaire Elon Musk appears to give a pair of fascist salutes while addressing an inauguration event for supporters of US President Donald Trump.

While speaking on stage at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, Musk puts his hand on his chest before extending his arm in a salute.

Slightly longer clip of @ElonMusk making that gesture, twice pic.twitter.com/ei0XCaBghO

— Azi™️ (@Azi) January 20, 2025

Hamas clarifies next release of hostages will take place on Saturday

Hamas in an official statement says that the next hostage release will take place on Saturday, January 25, as initially scheduled.

The statement comes after a spokesperson for the terror group’s prisoners’ office claimed that the next hostage release would happen on Sunday, a day later than agreed.

Four hostages are set to be released this coming Saturday. Over the following four weeks, three hostages will be released each Saturday, until a final group of 14 on day 42 of the ceasefire.

Rafah residents hesitant to return from shelters to wrecked homes

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Many Palestinians say they feel hesitant about leaving the shelters they fled to after being displaced by war and returning to the wreckage of their former homes in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

“We wanted to come back to put up a tent during the ceasefire. As you can see, it has become a ghost town. There is no water. There is nothing. There is even no leveled ground you can stay on,” says Hussein Barakat.

Footage shot by The Associated Press shows displaced residents digging through rubble with bare hands. Youssef al-Sharqawi sifts through the ruins of his destroyed home to try and retrieve clothes for his five children, including his infant son who has struggled to tolerate the winter’s cold at night.

Mohammed al-Ballas, another displaced Rafah homeowner, says that without basic necessities — including water and electricity — it will be difficult to return home in Rafah for good. Pointing at collapsed buildings, piles of rubble, and destroyed roads, he says he will remain in his shelter for now because there isn’t even space to erect a tent in the ruins of his former neighborhood.

“Even if you tried to tie up an animal here, it would not live,” he says.

Talks said to be underway for Netanyahu to meet Trump in US as early as next month

Then-US President Donald Trump (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, May 23, 2017. (AP Photo/ Sebastian Scheiner, File)

Talks are already underway for a potential visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump as early as next month, according to Hebrew media reports.

The pair spoke last week when Netanyahu thanked Trump for his help in brokering the six-week ceasefire-hostage release deal, and “the two decided to meet in Washington soon,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

In an interview on Saturday, Trump said he and the Israeli leader would be meeting “fairly shortly,” without elaborating on a timeline. A visit during the month of February would mean the pair would meet during the first six-week stage of the ceasefire deal that Trump helped push toward completion.

Netanyahu has taken few trips abroad since the start of the war against Hamas on October 7, 2023, most recently addressing the UN in September 2024. He underwent prostate surgery last month and sources say his health will also be a factor in scheduling the trip.

Abbas says ready to work with Trump toward peace ‘according to the two-state solution’

US President Donald Trump, left, and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pose for a photograph during a joint press conference at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017. (AFP/Mandel Ngan)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has congratulated Donald Trump on his return as US president, according to a statement published by the PA’s official Wafa news agency.

“We are ready to work with you to achieve peace during your era, according to the two-state solution based on international legitimacy, the State of Palestine and the State of Israel living side by side in security and peace, and to achieve security and stability in our region and the world,” says the statement on Wafa’s English-language site.

Families of the freed hostages say the three are doing well after return from captivity

This handout photo shows family members of the three released hostages speaking at Sheba Medical Center, in Ramat Gan on January 20, 2025 (Paulina Patimer/ Hostages Forum)

Parents and siblings of the three released hostages, Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari, and Romi Gonen, say all three young women are doing well, while thanking the Israeli government, the negotiators, US President Donald Trump, and the Israeli people for their support and assistance in bringing the young women home.

“Doron is smiling, she is here, we are starting to deal with her recuperation. She is okay, she is strong and brave,” says Yamit Ashkenazi, Steinbrecher’s sister.

Ashkenazi says her sister is surrounded by family, friends, and all of Israel, and in particular thanks their home community of Kibbutz Kfar Aza for its ongoing support.

Ashkenazi relays a message from her sister, asking Israelis to keep rallying and calling for the return of all the hostages.

“The fact that I returned home doesn’t mean the others don’t have to come home,” Ashkenazi quotes her sister as saying. “Go out to the streets. We have to complete all stages of the deal.”

Tom Damari, the brother of freed hostage Emily Damari, thanks the soldiers and reservists, as well as those who fell in battle “so that we could hug Emily again.” He also thanks the government, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, government hostage envoy Gal Hirsch, the friends and family of Emily, and God.

“Am Yisrael Chai,” says Damari.

His mother, Mandy Damari, a British citizen, reports that her daughter is in high spirits, saying in English that Emily is “an amazing, strong, and resilient young woman.”

She thanks former US president Joe Biden in addition to Trump and other leaders and negotiators around the world, as well as the British government for its ongoing support.

“To the thousands that have messaged our family the last 24 hours, all of you have played a role. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” she says.

The final speaker is Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romi Gonen, who is a familiar face in the struggle for the hostages’ release.

She names and speaks about Romi’s friends from the Nova desert rave who were killed on October 7, 2023.

Leshem Gonen thanks Israeli and world leaders who helped put the ceasefire in place, and mentions the bereaved, the soldiers, and their families, as well as the injured, saying it is her wish to support them all.

“We are the Israeli nation, a special nation that wants peace,” she says. “There are 94 more of our brothers and sisters in Gaza, we are brave and courageous and we will get them back. Let us hold hands and win.”

Putin tells Russian diplomats to ‘strive’ for release of hostage Sasha Trufanov

Hostage Sasha Trufanov in a video released by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group on November 13, 2024. (Screengrab)

Russian President Vladimir Putin urges his Foreign Ministry to “strive” to work toward the release of Russian-Israeli hostage Sasha Trufanov.

Addressing a meeting of his security council, Putin notes that “some hostages have been released,” but that a Russian dual citizen still remains captive in Gaza.

“I would request that, within the Foreign Ministry, along with colleagues from other relevant agencies, efforts are made to address this matter,” Putin says, according to an English-language readout of the meeting released by the Kremlin. “Do not overlook it, and strive to ensure the release of our citizen.”

Trufanov, 29, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, along with his mother, grandmother, and girlfriend, while his father, Vitaly, was murdered. His mother, Yelena, grandmother, Irena, and girlfriend, Sapir, were all released as part of the November 2023 truce.

Trufanov is on the list of the 33 hostages slated to be freed during the six-week first stage of the ceasefire, which went into effect yesterday, although as a young man, he is expected not to be released until the end of the six weeks.

Hamas spokesman says terror group will free next hostages on Sunday, not Saturday

A Hamas spokesman announces the terror group will not release the next batch of hostages until next Sunday, and will provide the names of the captives to be freed then a day earlier.

The deal states that Hamas will release the second group of hostages on the seventh day of the ceasefire-hostage agreement. As the deal entered into force yesterday, the seventh day of the agreement would be Saturday.

Hostages were only told yesterday they were being freed; they knew families were battling for them

Released hostage Romi Gonen reunites with her mother shortly after returning to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

Released hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher were only told by their captors hours before their release yesterday that they were going home. “We only got the news about our freedom yesterday. We didn’t believe it,” they have said.

According to comments by the three freed hostages approved for publication by the Israeli military censor, and reported by Channel 12 news, some of them did not see daylight for long periods of their captivity and were held underground.

Some of them were kept in humanitarian areas of Gaza for part of their captivity.

Released hostages Emily Damari reunites with her mother shortly after returning to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

They were not held alone, but were separated from others at some point, they have said. When together, they cooked for each other and looked after each other all the time.

Sometimes they got medicines they needed. One of them underwent a medical procedure without anesthetic.

They saw or heard TV and radio some of the time, and knew of the struggle being waged on their behalf and that their families were battling for them, they have said.

Some of them heard broadcasts about what had happened on October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded and they were abducted. “We understood that our families survived, but we discovered that we had lost a lot of friends,” they were quoted saying.

Released hostage Doron Steinbrecher reunites with her mothers shortly after returning to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

One of them said, “I didn’t think I’d return. I was sure I would die in Gaza.”

They have said that they were “scared to death” during their transfer from Hamas terrorists to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City yesterday — both because of the gunmen surrounding them and the Gazan mob.

Leftist protesters outside US embassy office in Tel Aviv rail against Trump, ‘genocide in Gaza’

Left-wing protesters rally against the war in Gaza outside the US embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, during the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, January 20, 2025. (Noam Lehmann/ The Times of Israel)

About 20 leftist protesters rally outside the US embassy branch office in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war in Gaza, as Donald Trump is sworn into office.

The location is symbolic, as the facility served as the US embassy until Trump moved it to Jerusalem, during his first term. An announcement of the left-wing protests defiantly gives the location as “US embassy.”

“Trump, Trump, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” the protesters chant in English, echoing a chant regularly heard at anti-Israel rallies in the United States.

And in Hebrew: “Settlers, thieves, get out of Palestine now.”

A roughly equal number of bystanders gather, who are at first bemused before becoming indignant.

“You’re a murderer and a rapist,” yells one at a protester.

“God bless our soldiers, shame on you,” says another.

Young girls hastily make and hold up paper signs reading. “Only Bibi,” referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

MK Ofer Cassif, of the far-left Hadash party, speaks through a megaphone, at times drowned out by the impromptu counter-protest.

“Today is a difficult day,” he says. “The president was sworn in today.”

“Contrary to how he is portrayed, he’s actually pursuing war,” claims Cassif.

“He wants American dominance,” continues the lawmaker. “He also wants us to be a puppet regime.”

“We won’t give him the genocide in Gaza,” says Cassif.

Assailing the phased Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, which went into effect yesterday, Cassid demands a complete end to the war and freedom for both Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners.

Asked whether Trump deserved a good word for the pressure he reportedly applied on Netanyahu to make the deal, Cassif tells The Times of Israel: “I can’t say a good word about Trump. The deal could have been reached a long time ago and it would have saved a lot of people.”

Hamas security forces move to swiftly reassert control over Gaza during ceasefire

Masked Palestinian gunmen guard trucks loaded with humanitarian aid in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, January 20, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Hamas police and security forces have been operating in Gaza today, the second day of a ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel in the war-battered territory, AFP journalists note.

Hamas’s deputy interior minister for the territory, Mahmud Abu Watfah, inspected armed police, some in fatigues and others dressed in black, before they patrolled the bombed-out streets of Gaza City.

“We care about the comfort and protection of those who sacrificed with the resistance and paid a heavy price for this bloody war,” Abu Watfah says.

He says they also want “to control the situation on the ground in case of any chaos. This was achieved from the first hour of the deployment of the ministry of interior (forces) and the security forces.”

Italian flag carrier ITA Airways to resume flights to Israel on February 1

The ITA Airways papal plane takes off from the Fiumicino International airport Leonardo da Vinci, September 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italian flag carrier ITA Airways will resume flights to Israel on February 1, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announces during a visit to Jerusalem hosted by his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar.

During the meeting, Tajani informed Sa’ar that Italy will also lower its travel warning for Israel starting next week.

‘I came back alive!’: Videos show freed hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher reuniting with their mothers

Emily Damari (right) and her mother, Mandy, after her return from Hamas captivity after 471 days, at at IDF facility near the Gaza border, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

The Prime Minister’s Office releases tear-jerking videos of the moments three Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity after 471 days yesterday were reunited with their mothers, at an army facility near the Gaza border.

In the short clips, the women are seen led by IDF troops — mostly female — to meet their mothers, who were waiting for their daughters at the special military facility that was set up ahead of the release.

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher were the first hostages to be released in a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian terror group that came into effect yesterday.

In the video, Gonen, clearly moved and excited, is seen being led by an IDF soldier to a room where her mother, Merav Leshem Gonen, was waiting for her. They ran into each other’s arms in a tearful embrace.

A shot a few moments later showed Gonen, now changed out of the black hoodie she was wearing when she and the other two women were handed over to the Red Cross by masked Hamas gunmen in Gaza City some two hours earlier, speaking to her father on a video call.

“Dad, I came back alive! I came back alive,” she told him through happy tears.

Next in the video, Damari is seen walking through a tent wearing a bright green sweat suit, surrounded by IDF officers, chatting, smiling, and shaking hands as she was guided through the facility to meet her mother, Mandy Damari.

The camera angle caught mother and daughter as they rounded the corner and walked into a tight embrace.

The next shot showed the freshly released hostage on a video call with her brothers. “I survived!” she shouts happily, waving her bandaged hand in a defiant fist.

The footage also shows Doron Steinbrecher’s mother Simona walking excitedly down a corridor in the facility to the room where her daughter was waiting for her, still dressed in the bright pink outfit from her Hamas captors.

They hugged and cried as Simona could be heard saying, “My beautiful girl, you’re with me, I’ll keep you safe.”

Head of Yeshiva University prays for hostages, Mideast peace at Trump inauguration

Rabbi Ari Berman prays during the 60th Presidential Inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2025. (AP Photo/ Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

The president of New York City’s Yeshiva University, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, prays for the Israeli hostages, for peace in Middle East, and for calm on college campuses during US President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Hailing a “moment of historic opportunity,” Berman prays for Trump and Vice President JD Vance “to choose the right and the good, unite us around our foundational biblical values of life and liberty, service and sacrifice, and especially of faith and morality.”

“Guide our schools and and campuses which have been experiencing such unrest to inspire the next generation,” says Berman during the inauguration’s benediction.

“Hear the cry of the hostages, both American and Israeli, whose pain our president so acutely feels. We are so thankful for the three young women who yesterday returned home,” he says, wearing a yellow ribbon symbolizing the plight of the captives.

“Pray that the next four years brings peace to Israel and throughout the Middle East,” he says.

Berman, the university president since 2017, is the first American-Israeli to speak at a presidential inauguration, and the only university president to deliver remarks at Trump’s inauguration. He is the 10th rabbi to participate in a presidential inauguration, and the third to deliver a benediction.

Defense minister demands IDF prevent Palestinian celebrations for released prisoners

A crowd gathers around a bus carrying released Palestinian security prisoners as it arrives in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on January 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to prevent celebrations and parades by Palestinians during the upcoming releases of security prisoners in the hostage deal with Hamas.

“All measures must be taken to prevent the recurrence of celebrations and mass Palestinian marches in honor of the release of Palestinian terrorists to Judea and Samaria,” Katz says in a letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

Katz adds that the army must attack “any armed Palestinian terrorist who participates in these marches.”

Trump: ‘We’ll measure our success by the wars we end and the wars we never get into’

US President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office during the 60th presidential inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Trump says his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,” as he continues his inaugural address.

“I’m pleased to say that, as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families,” Trump adds, prompting a standing ovation from the audience.

He also says: “Like in 2017, we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.”

“Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable,” he says toward the end of his speech.

Soon after the president has concluded his address, Channel 12’s US correspondent, Yuna Leibzon, says on air that after she had filmed an interview with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday, she was told to wait, and that Trump arrived.

“We had to get the hostages out,” she quotes Trump telling her. “All of the hostages have to get out of there.”

Trump declares ‘golden age of America begins right now’ in inaugural address

US President Donald Trump speaks during the 60th presidential inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/ Pool Photo via AP)

Donald Trump hails the dawn of a “golden age” for the United States after he is sworn in as the country’s 47th president.

“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world,” he says in his inauguration address.

Trump declares that America’s “decline is over,” framing his return to power as a rejection of the “radical and corrupt” establishment he claims defined Joe Biden’s presidency.

“My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed their freedom,” Trump says. “From this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

Trump says the outgoing government has been “stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad.” It has “given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people,” he charges.

He says he was saved from assassination for a reason: “I was saved by God to make America great again.”

Italian FM says Rome ready to send troops to Gaza as part of Arab-led international peace mission

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (L) and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar address a joint press conference at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, on January 20, 2025. (Rossella Tercatin/ Times of Israel)

Italy is willing to send its troops to Gaza as part of an Arab-led peacekeeping mission, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says, during a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

“Peace is a political priority for Italy,” Tajani says. “We are ready to support it through cooperation, economic assistance, and also by sending our women and men in uniform to Gaza, if there were an Arab-led international peace mission.”

Italy is one of the top troop-contributing countries to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, with over 1,000 soldiers there.

“Italy supports Israel and also maintains very good ties with the Palestinians; for this reason, we believe we can play an important in the region,” Tajani notes.

Congratulating Trump, Netanyahu predicts ‘best days’ of Israel-US relations ahead

A billboard congratulating US President-elect Donald Trump in Jerusalem on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers his congratulations to US President Donald Trump upon his inauguration and says he believes the “best days” of the US-Israel alliance are ahead.

“Your first term as president was filled with groundbreaking moments in the history of the great alliance between our two countries,” Netanyahu says in an English-language video message, citing Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights.

“You brokered the historic Abraham Accords in which Israel made peace with four Arab countries,” he adds. “I believe that working together again, we will raise the US-Israel alliance to even greater heights” and will “complete the defeat of Iran’s terror axis and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for our region.”

Netanyahu also thanks Trump for his role in pushing for a ceasefire-hostage release deal in Gaza, which went into effect yesterday, as the first three hostages were freed last night.

“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” the prime minister adds. “I am sure, Mr. President, that under your leadership, the best days of our alliance are yet to come.”

President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also sent congratulatory messages to Trump upon him entering his second term in office.

‘The nightmare is over!’: Images show freed hostages on helicopter after being freed from Gaza

Former hostages Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari are seen on an IAF helicopter heading from an army facility near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel, January 19, 2025, (Israel Defense Forces)

New footage shows former hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher being taken by helicopter from an army facility near the Gaza border to a hospital in central Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity.

“The nightmare is over!” Emily Damari writes on a whiteboard during the helicopter ride.

The video also shows Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar alongside the three hostages. Bar had flown the chopper from an airbase to the facility near the border ahead of the hostages’ release.

Video released by the IDF on January 20, 2025, shows freed hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher aboard a military helicopter after they were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza.

Trump and Vance officially sworn in as US president and VP

Donald Trump takes the oath of office, officially making him the 47th president of the United States.

JD Vance was sworn in before Trump to become the 50th American vice president.

IDF releases footage from operation that recovered body of Oron Shaul from Gaza

The IDF releases footage from the operation in which forces recovered the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for over a decade.

Shaul was buried today, a day after the army announced that his body was brought back to Israel in a covert military operation involving special forces.

The footage published by the IDF shows a convoy of military vehicles returning to Israel with Shaul’s body.

The IDF said the operation was based on intelligence efforts from the past decade, which were ramped up amid the ongoing war.

Shaul was killed on July 20, 2014, when troops of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion entered Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood in an M-113 armored personnel carrier. The APC got stuck in one of the neighborhood’s narrow streets, and during attempts to extract it, it came under attack by Hamas operatives launching anti-tank missiles.

Seven soldiers were killed in the incident, including Shaul, whose body was dragged away from the scene by Hamas operatives.

Biden issues preemptive pardons for family members in final minutes as US president

Outgoing US President Joe Biden issues last-minute preemptive pardons for several of his close family members.

In a statement issued just minutes before is was to leave office, Biden announces preemptive pardons for his brother James Biden, James’s wife Sara Jones Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, Valerie’s husband John Owens, and his brother Francis Biden.

Smotrich: Religious Zionism staying in government ‘to make sure the war doesn’t end’

Though celebrating the return of the hostages, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich maintains his opposition to the ceasefire and condemns what he claims are efforts to “silence” this position.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting at the Knesset, Smotrich lashes out at those who he says are working to “delegitimize, demonize and dehumanize” people like him.

“We were a small, sober, realistic, determined minority who warned of the consequences of the withdrawal” from Gaza in 2005. In 2011, “they demonized us in the face of the euphoria of an entire nation that surrendered to the campaign in the Shalit deal,” he says.

“When the evil of Hamas lives, exists, breathes,” then the “next massacre” is only a matter of time, Smotrich asserts. “That is why I insisted, demanded and received an unequivocal commitment from the prime minister, defense minister and the rest of my cabinet colleagues: We are not stopping this war a moment before realizing its full goals, which include destroying Hamas on the civilian, military and government levels and returning all the hostages to their homes.”

“We are staying in the government to make sure that the war does not end a moment before complete victory,” he says.

Smotrich also welcomes Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, stating that he hopes and believes “that very soon we will hear more good news from the United States” on issues ranging from Iran to West Bank settlement.

“We are taking advantage of two years of a right-wing government with full backing in the White House with both houses of Congress, and with God’s help, they are an opportunity for historic changes,” he says.

Smotrich also calls for the replacement of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

“I want to say that I have great respect for the chief of staff and the other IDF commanders. Can anyone argue with their many years of contribution? People sacrificed their best years of their time and energy for the security of the State of Israel. In this war too, there were very great achievements in everything that concerns the use of IDF power,” he says.

However, under his watch “Hamas brought in 15 months of humanitarian aid that maintained the civilian population’s dependence on [Hamas],” Smotrich argues, saying that Halevi “bears personal responsibility for this matter.”

“I really love him as chief of staff. I want to hug him. Every time I meet him I know that he hasn’t slept a single hour a day since the beginning of this war. It’s not an easy struggle,” the far-right leader continues.

But, he says, Halevi and his colleagues “have some aversion to anything that smacks of occupation. Military rule is a word that some have outlawed from the Israeli lexicon. There is no way to defeat Hamas and bring security to the citizens of Israel without doing this.”

Neo-Nazi arrested after trying to enter Nashville JCC disguised as a rabbi

A security camera shot of Travis Keith Garland at the Gordon Jewish Community Center (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)

Police in Nashville, Tennessee, have arrested a man affiliated with a neo-Nazi organization after he attempted to enter a Jewish Community Center disguised as an Orthodox rabbi.

Last week, Travis Keith Garland entered the Gordon JCC wearing a poorly designed disguise with a mock beard, fake peyot, or sidelocks, and a black coat. He held a cellphone in his hand to make it appear that he was recording or streaming, and asked to speak with a rabbi. When told there was no rabbi on the premises, he attempted to continue past a secured door before a security guard intervened and escorted him off the premises.

Since he was unarmed, Garland was allowed to leave the area after being warned. However, police later determined that he should be charged, and he was arrested after being located in Maryville, Tennessee. He told an officer that he was taking part in an internet prank.

Garland was later found to be a member of the Goyim Defense League, a neo-Nazi hate group that held antisemitic demonstrations in Nashville last summer. He was charged with criminal trespassing and assault, and the court set his bail at $250,000.

Trump arrives at US Capitol for swearing-in ceremony

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has arrived at the US Capitol where he will be sworn in as the 47th US president.

“Good morning,” Trump says as he enters the Capitol accompanied by US President Joe Biden. Asked how they feel, Biden responds, “Well.”

IDF says Nahal Brigade readying for future operations after withdrawing from northern Gaza

Over the weekend, the IDF’s Nahal Brigade was withdrawn from northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun ahead of the ceasefire with Hamas.

The military says the brigade is now preparing for future operations.

The Nahal Brigade has lost 67 soldiers and commanders during the war, including during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Hezbollah claims it contributed to Hamas ‘victory’ in Gaza

Palestinian men waving Hamas (green) and Hezbollah (yellow) flags sit on top of a Red Cross bus carrying released security prisoners from Ofer military prison in the West Bank are met by a crowd of family members and friends in Beitunia, outside Ramallah, in the early hours of January 20, 2025. (Photo by John Wessels / AFP)

BEIRUT — The Hezbollah terror movement has praised the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as a victory for the Palestinian people, saying Israel did not achieve any of its objectives.

Hezbollah blasted the United States, saying that through its support to Israel, Washington is “a full partner in the crimes and genocide that the enemy committed against the Palestinian people.”

Hezbollah says in a statement that it was a partner in the Palestinian “victory,” adding that the Lebanese terrorist group opened a front with Israel in which it paid a high price of losing its top commanders, including leader Hassan Nasrallah, and thousands of supporters.

Hezbollah says that resistance is the only way to deter Israel, which “was not able to achieve any of its goals by force or break the will or steadfastness of the Palestinian people.”

FM Sa’ar says Trump’s return to White House will bring Israel-US ties ‘to new heights’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar addresses the press ahead of his New Hope party's weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, December 16, 2024. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomes Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, declaring that it will immensely benefit the Jewish state.

“I want to congratulate President Trump on his inauguration. President Trump was the greatest friend and ally to Israel in his first term,” Sa’ar tells reporters ahead of his New Hope party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“We are sure that in his second term we will together bring the great alliance between Israel and America to new heights,” he declares.

Commenting on domestic politics, Sa’ar slams outgoing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party for leaving the coalition, stating that because of him “the government’s base is shrinking.”

Claiming New Hope enabled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to the ceasefire deal, which Otzma Yehudit rejected, Sa’ar declares that now is “a time of soul-searching for all those who savagely attacked us.”

“Everybody should ask themselves who contributed more to returning the hostages, the opposition leader with his shouts or us with our actions. If we had listened to Lapid, the last 24 hours would have been different,” he states.

UN chief says over 630 aid trucks entered Gaza on first day of ceasefire

More than 630 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip yesterday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tells the Security Council, with at least 300 of those trucks going to the enclave’s north, where the UN claims famine looms.

The trucks entered on the first day of a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Guterres also says a total or partial annexation of the West Bank by Israel “would constitute a most serious violation of international law,” denouncing statements by Israeli officials suggesting such a move.

“I am deeply concerned about an existential threat to the integrity and contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza and the West Bank,” he says, citing “Israeli administrative changes” over the past two years.

Qatar says it will deliver 12.5 million liters of fuel to Gaza during first 10 days of ceasefire

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar announces  that 12.5 million liters of fuel will be delivered to the Gaza Strip over the first 10 days of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

“Qatar launched a land corridor to provide Gaza with 12.5 million liters of fuel during the first 10 days of the ceasefire” that came into effect yesterday, the Qatari foreign ministry says, adding that the energy-rich Gulf country sent 25 fuel trucks to the Palestinian territory today.

21% of American voters support Hamas over Israel — poll

A man in a Hamas headband at an anti-Israel protest in New York City, January 6, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

Twenty-one percent of US voters support the Hamas terrorist group over Israel, according to a Harvard/Harris poll.

One quarter of US Democrats support Hamas. For Republicans, 19% back the terror group, and for independent voters the number is 20%, the survey says.

Support for the terrorists is highest among 25- to 34-year-olds, at 32%. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 21% back Hamas; in the 35-44 age group, 29%; in the 45-54 age group, 23%; in the 55-64 age group, 17%; and for those over 65, 10%.

Democrats are most in favor of the ceasefire deal, at 87%, followed by Republicans, 81%, and independents, 78%.

Among all voters, 57% believe Hamas agreed to the hostage deal because of the incoming Trump administration, and 43% credit the Biden administration.

The poll asks Americans their opinions on 19 domestic and foreign entities. The three least popular are Hamas, Russia and the Palestinian Authority. Israel is ranked in the middle.

The Israel-Hamas conflict is the top personal issue for two percent of voters.

Two percent say antisemitism is the most important issue facing the US.

Respondents favor the incoming Trump administration, at 53% approval rating, over US President Joe Biden, whose approval rating is at 39%. Support for the Republican party is at 52%, compared to 41% for Democrats.

The poll was carried out on January 15-16 and surveyed 2,650 registered voters. The margin of error is 1.9%.

Bidens host Trumps at White House ahead of inauguration

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump as they arrive at the White House in Washington, on January 20, 2025, before departing for the US Capitol where Trump will be sworn in as the 47th US President. (Jim Watson/AFP)

The Trumps have arrived at the White House

They meet the Bidens on a gold-trimmed red carpet, exchanging greetings and posing for photos ahead of a private meeting over tea and coffee.

“Welcome home,” US President Joe Biden says to Donald Trump after the president-elect steps out of the car.

Biden wraps his hand around Trump’s upper arm to escort him inside the mansion.

Smotrich to rejoin Knesset as MK, preserving his party’s seat total as Otzma Yehudit quits coalition

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his far-right Religious Zionism party, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 20, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirms that he will return to the Knesset as an MK under the Norwegian Law, pushing Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer out of parliament. The law allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign from the Knesset when appointed to the government, with their seats filled by members of their parties.

Responding to a question from The Times of Israel during his Religious Zionism party’s weekly faction meeting, Smotrich says that he’s “returning to the Knesset with joy.”

Smotrich’s decision follows the far-right Otzma Yehudit party’s exit from the coalition, which goes into effect on Tuesday morning. Due to the move, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu will retake his former seat in the Knesset, forcing the resignation of Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot, who held a lower spot on the two parties’ joint electoral list in the 2022 legislative election.

Smotrich’s decision allows Religious Zionism to regain the seat it loses with Sukkot’s ouster and, in turn, push out Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer.

“I will return and I will spend many more hours here in this building now,” Smotrich says. He praises Sukkot as “an amazing, hardworking, professional, with a fantastic learning ability” and calls him a “full friend and partner.”

Sukkot, he continues, “is not going anywhere” and “will continue to work with us” even if he is not an MK.

“I am returning to the Knesset with joy. I was in this house for eight years. I know its corridors, I know its rules, I know its dynamics. I really enjoyed being in the Knesset, so I have to work harder now to be both the finance minister and [a minister in the Defense Ministry] and in the Knesset.”

Hamas: Gaza ‘will rise again… and continue on path of steadfastness until occupation is defeated’

Hamas says that Gaza and its people “will rise again” and rebuild the territory battered by more than 15 months of war sparked by the Palestinian terror group’s October 2023 invasion of southern Israel.

“Gaza, with its great people and its resilience, will rise again to rebuild what the occupation has destroyed and continue on the path of steadfastness until the occupation is defeated,” Hamas says in a statement issued on the second day of a hostage-ceasefire deal with Israel.

Lapid: Hostage deal must be fully implemented, ‘our goal isn’t to return to war’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid attends a Knesset committee meeting on January 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The ceasefire agreement with Hamas “must be implemented in full, until the last of the hostages returns to their families,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tells reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.

“Contrary to the government’s position, our goal is not to return to war. The goal is to rebuild Israeli deterrence, the Israeli economy, Israeli society. It’s time to get back to life,” Lapid argues, stating the national mission is to make Israel “the best country in the world to raise children.”

“After the two terrible years in our history, the war must end, calm must return to our lives. We need to build the army in line with the new challenges, recruit the ultra-Orthodox, invest in reservists. It’s a long process,” he says.

“We need to rearrange the map of the Middle East… We need to go for the Saudi deal, build a regional coalition against Iran, create an alternative government in Gaza. For this to happen, the IDF needs to prepare the borders with beefed-up forces, and allow us years of peace and rebuilding.”

Asked by reporters if he would enter the government to ensure the deal does not collapse after the first stage, Lapid replies that there is no need because the agreement is still in effect. He declines to state what the “safety net” he has repeatedly promised Netanyahu would entail.

Bill limiting Bar Association’s control of its finances approved for final Knesset votes

A bill that would enable the justice minister and the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee to determine, in part, how the Israel Bar Association may use its own funds is approved by that committee for its final readings in the Knesset plenum.

According to the draft legislation, the Bar Association would only be able to use its membership dues to fund positions and activities related to the essential functioning of the organization.

Further funding could be raised in order to enable district Bar Association offices to cover their administrative and bureaucratic expenses, although that would need approval from the justice minister and the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky who initiated the law, argues that an agency that collects obligatory membership dues must have those funds supervised, and denies that the law interferes politically with the workings of the Bar Association.

Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar insists, however, that the law is “entirely revenge” against the Bar Association for not supporting Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s candidates for the Supreme Court.

Democrats MK Gilad Kariv denounces the law, saying it would have a chilling effect on other public agencies such as the Histadrut labor organization, the Kan public broadcaster, and public universities, and that the message is “If you don’t capitulate we’ll trample you.”

The bill now needs to be approved in back-to-back second and third readings in the Knesset in order to be passed into law.

At funeral of Oron Shaul, Herzog asks family for forgiveness for ‘years of torture’ they endured

Speaking at the funeral of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose body was recovered from Gaza over the weekend more than a decade after he was killed, President Isaac Herzog asks for forgiveness from the Shaul family “on behalf of the entire nation.”

“The dear Shaul family, in the name of the entire State of Israel, I ask forgiveness — for the years of torture you went through, for the waiting for your son and brother to return,” says Herzog. “Years that we did not fulfill our mission, our responsibility — to return him here, to the cradle of his birth.”

Shaul is being buried in Poria in the north after he was killed fighting in Gaza in 2014 and his was body held captive until it was found by the IDF in recent days.

“A decade has passed, and we are still forced to send our best sons and daughters to fight against those abominable enemies,” adds the president.

He references the return last night of Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Romi Gonen from Hamas captivity, and vows to return “all of them — down to the last one,” including Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, Israeli citizens who have been held in Gaza for years, and the body of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, who was also killed in 2014.

“We cannot leave even one home in Israel left in this state of waiting,” he says.

*יותר מעשור אחרי: אמו של אורון שאול נפרדת ממנו* (כאן ) pic.twitter.com/Ua41FLg7W6

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) January 20, 2025

IDF chief says military must prepare for ‘significant operations’ in the West Bank

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military must prepare for “significant operations” in the West Bank.

“Along with the intense defense preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be prepared for significant operations in Judea and Samaria in the coming days in order to preempt and catch the terrorists before they reach our civilians,” he says during an assessment, in remarks released by the IDF.

Halevi also instructed top officers to “formulate plans for the continuation of the fighting, both in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon,” the IDF adds.

Lapid rules out working with far-right Otzma Yehudit party as it heads to opposition

Opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks at a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, January 20, 2025. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says that he will not work with Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party now that it has left the coalition.

“Yesh Atid will not cooperate with Otzma Yehudit but if a bill to dissolve the Knesset were submitted we would vote together to bring down the government,” Lapid tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting.

“[Ben Gvir] is not invited to any [opposition] meeting or to any table where I am sitting.”

PM speaks with mother of Oron Shaul ahead of funeral, pledges to recover all hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Zehava Shaul, the mother of fallen soldier Oron Shaul, ahead of his funeral in Israel more than a decade after he was killed in Gaza.

The body of Oron Shaul — who was killed in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge — was recovered by troops in Gaza, the IDF announced yesterday morning, just before the start of a ceasefire in the Strip.

The Prime Minister’s Office says Zehava thanked Netanyahu and told him: “You promised to bring him back, and you did.” The prime minister reiterates his promise to bring back the remains of Hadar Goldin, who was also killed in 2014 and whose body is still being held in Gaza, as well as “all of our hostages, the living and the fallen.”

Oron’s funeral is currently being held in his hometown of Poria near the Sea of Galilee. President Isaac Herzog is slated to deliver a eulogy at the proceedings.

Finance Committee removes Kohelet from list of nonprofits to receive tax benefits

The Kohelet Policy Forum, the institution that formulated the ideological foundations for the government’s radical judicial overhaul program, is removed from a list of 138 Israeli nonprofits approved for tax benefits by the Knesset Finance Committee.

A nonprofit’s approval under section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance means that donors to the organization will be able to receive tax credits for their donations.

Kohelet’s removal from the list ahead of its approval by the committee comes as it undergoes pre-approval vetting by the Tax Authority, which is currently looking into the allegations leveled against it in recent days by lawmakers claiming that the conservative organization is involved in prohibited “partisan political activity.”

Addressing the committee, a representative of the Tax Authority says that it only received some of the claims against Kohelet on Sunday and that it requires “a short time to prepare and respond with an organized and detailed answer.”

“Over 10,000 Israelis contributed lately to Kohelet Policy Forum, and many more have requested we pursue Section 46 tax-exempt status for donations,” a spokesman for the organization tells The Times of Israel.

“This status is granted on a regular basis to comparable organizations, and we meet all the eligibility criteria. We operate as a nonpartisan conservative pro-liberty think tank, and any efforts to silence our voice will not succeed. We trust the Knesset Finance Committee will evaluate our application fairly and grant the status we qualify for when it is put up to a vote.”

Biden issues preemptive pardons to Trump’s foes in final hours of presidency

US President Joe Biden has preemptively pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential “revenge” by the incoming Trump administration.

The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.

Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health for nearly 40 years and was Biden’s chief medical adviser until his retirement in 2022. He helped coordinate the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised Trump’s when he refused to back Trump’s unfounded claims. He has become a target of intense hatred and vitriol from people on the right, who blame him for mask mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights, even as tens of thousands of Americans were dying.

Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Trump a fascist and detailed Trump’s conduct around the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

New chairs appointed across number of Knesset committees amid reshuffle

Members of the Knesset House Committee vote on the selection of new committee chairpersons, January 20, 2025. (Dani Shem-Tov/Knesset)

In a reshuffle, the Knesset House Committee votes to appoint new chairpeople to a number of minor Knesset committees dealing with issues ranging from science and technology to the fight against drugs and alcohol.

The Democrats’ Gilad Kariv will replace Yisrael Beytenu’s Oded Forer as chairman of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, with Forer taking over the Special Committee for Strengthening and Developing the Negev and Galilee from National Unity MK Michael Biton.

Biton expresses anger that he was not appointed to head a new committee despite an agreement to do so.

“I asked to establish the Committee to Combat Poverty. The Knesset legal adviser formulated the committee’s responsibilities and powers, but MK [Yisrael] Eichler, chairman of the Labor and Welfare Committee, refused. I request that the committee be established this week and that the remaining replacements not be made until this committee is established,” he demands.

Likud MK Nissim Vaturi will take over the Knesset Special Committee for Oversight of the Israeli Citizens’ Fund — which until now has been chaired by Otzma Yehudit’s Limor Son Har-Melech, who is resigning from the coalition in protest of the ceasefire-hostage release deal.

Yesh Atid lawmaker Meirav Cohen will retain control of the Special Committee on the Treatment of Holocaust Survivors.

MK Ariel Kallner will succeed fellow Likud MK Boaz Bismuth as head of the Special Committee for Combating Drug and Alcohol Abuse, while Ra’am MK Yasir Hujeirat will take over the Science and Technology Committee from Hadash-Ta’al’s Ayman Odeh.

An MK from Odeh’s party is set to replace The Democrats MK Naama Lazimi at the helm of the Special Committee on Young Israelis but the party has not yet chosen who will take the position.

Addressing Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmed Tibi, House Committee chairman Ofir Katz declares that he will “not appoint anyone who says he is happy about the release of prisoners to head the committee” — a reference to Odeh’s statement on Sunday evening that he was “happy for the release of the hostages and prisoners” as part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Likud’s Nissim Vaturi replaces Otzma Yehudit MK as chair of committee overseeing offshore gas wealth fund

The Knesset House Committee votes to appoint Likud MK Nissim Vaturi to take over the Knesset Special Committee for Oversight of the Israeli Citizens’ Fund — which until now has been chaired by Otzma Yehudit’s Limor Son Har-Melech, who is resigning from the coalition in protest of the ceasefire-hostage release deal.

The committee oversees the sovereign wealth fund set up by Israel for proceeds from offshore gas extraction.

Houthis say they’ll keep targeting Israel-affiliated vessels in Red Sea for now, end other attacks on ships

Yemen’s Houthi rebels signal that they will end their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea shipping corridor, with the exception of Israeli-affiliated ships, which the group says it will continue to target for the time being.

The Iran-backed group announces its decision through its Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, saying that in light of the ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, it was “stopping sanctions” on other vessels it has regularly targeted since November 2023.

For Israeli ships, it says that the “sanctions” will only end “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The Houthis will also deliver a military statement later today, likely about the decision.

Russia welcomes release of Gaza hostages, hopes dual citizen Sasha Trufanov will be next

Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov welcomes the return of three hostages to Israel last night and expresses hope that Russian-Israeli Sasha Trufanov will be freed soon.

“We welcome the release of three Israelis as part of the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas,” Viktorov says in a statement. “We hope that our compatriot Alexander Trufanov will also return home safely in the near future.”

Trufanov was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, along with his mother, grandmother and girlfriend, while his father, Vitaly, was murdered. His mother Yelena, grandmother Irena and girlfriend Sapir were all released as part of the November 2023 truce. Trufanov is on the list of 33 hostages slated to be released at some point in the next six weeks of the ceasefire’s first stage.

Viktorov adds that Russia has long “advocated for the early release of all hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and in cooperation with interested parties in the region has made targeted efforts to resolve this urgent humanitarian task.” Moscow is “sincerely happy for the girls who have returned home, as well as their families and loved ones. We wish them a speedy recovery and a return to a full life.”

Emily Damari ‘in much better health than we expected,’ mother Mandy says

Released hostage Emily Damari arrives at Sheba Medical Center, January 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Released hostage Emily Damari “is in much better health than we expected,” her mother Mandy Damari says in a statement released via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“Yesterday, I finally got to hug Emily, just as I had dreamed of doing for a long time,” she says, thanking the public for its unwavering support over the past 15 months. “You are all an integral part of Emily’s family.”

“It was a great joy to catch a glimpse — along with the rest of the world — of Emily’s strength, determination and charisma when she was released,” she continues. “In Emily’s own words — she is the happiest woman in the world; she has her life back.”

Praising her daughter’s “extraordinary resilience,” Mandy says that her road to recovery is nevertheless “just beginning,” and requests privacy for Emily and the rest of her family.

Alongside her own happiness, Mandy also stresses that 94 hostages still remain in Hamas captivity, and calls to ensure that the ceasefire remains intact “until the last of the hostages returns home to their families.”

Two settlers detained in connection with overnight attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank

Two Israeli settlers were detained over their suspected involvement in attacks on Palestinians in several West Bank villages overnight, the IDF says.

The military says it received reports of “violent rioting” in Turmus Ayya, Sinjil, and Ein Sinya, during which “a number of Israeli citizens set fire to a house and property in the area.”

IDF troops and police officers were dispatched to the villages moments after receiving the reports, the military says, adding that the forces used riot dispersal means.

“The forces are working to locate and arrest those involved. So far, two suspects have been detained for involvement in the rioting,” the army adds.

#Ceasefire? Not in the West Bank
Tonight, dozens of settlers are attacking Palestinian villages across the West Bank.
In the village of Sinjil – Settlers set fire to two homes and at least four vehicles.
In the village of Ein Siniya – Settlers attacked and set fire to homes.
In… pic.twitter.com/nZ24wiEK5B

— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) January 19, 2025

Mother of freed hostage Romi Gonen says it’s taking time to ‘believe in new reality’ after daughter’s release

Romi Gonen (right) and her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen, embrace after Romi's return from Hamas captivity, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

Meirav Leshem Gonen, the mother of freed hostage Romi Gonen, says she is “taking a moment to breathe it in and believe in this new reality” after her daughter was released from Hamas captivity yesterday, some 15 months after she was abducted from the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023, assault.

In a brief post on Facebook, Leshem Gonen also draws attention to the 97 remaining hostages and their families, who she says “need this reality to become true” for them as well.

(There are actually 94 now remaining in captivity in Gaza, 91 of them abducted on October 7, 2023.)

In a second post, published a few hours later, Leshem Gonen says she is currently existing “in an alternate reality, disconnected from the outside world, in which nothing exists but family.”

IDF reservist killed, two others wounded by roadside bomb in West Bank overnight

Sgt. First Class (res.) Eviatar Ben Yehuda, killed in the West Bank on January 20, 2025. (Courtesy)

An IDF reservist was killed and two others were wounded, including a senior officer in serious condition, after being hit by a roadside bomb in the West Bank overnight.

The slain soldier is named by the military as Sgt. First Class (res.) Eviatar Ben Yehuda, 31, of the Ephraim Regional Brigade’s 8211th Reserve Battalion, from Nitzan.

According to an initial IDF probe, the soldiers were in a David light armored vehicle during a patrol in the town of Tamun, when a bomb was detonated against their vehicle.

The explosion killed Ben Yehuda and seriously wounded the reservist battalion commander. Another soldier was moderately hurt.

France will keep fighting for release of French-Israeli citizens held by Hamas, foreign minister says

France will keep fighting for the release of French-Israeli nationals Ofer Calderon and Ohad Yahalomi from Hamas captivity, foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot tells French outlet BFM TV.

“We will continue to fight until the last hour for their release,” Barrot tells BFM TV, adding France has “no news on their health status nor on the terms of their detention.”

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that the two men were due to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Yahalomi, who turned 50 in captivity, was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz kibbutz.

His 12-year-old son, abducted separately, was released in November 2023 during the first truce.

Calderon, 54, was kidnapped along with his son and daughter from Nir Oz kibbutz. The two children were released in the November 2023 truce.

Oron Shaul, whose body was recovered from Gaza, to be buried in hometown Poriya Ilit this afternoon

Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul (Courtesy)

Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul will be buried in his hometown of Poriya Ilit at 2 p.m., after his body was recovered from Gaza on Saturday, more than 10 years after he was killed and captured by Hamas during Operation Protective Edge.

Channel 13 reports that a section of Route 7677 leading up to the northern Israel community will be closed to traffic in both directions between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Shaul was killed during the 2014 Gaza war when troops of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion entered Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood in an M-113 armored personnel carrier. The APC got stuck in one of the neighborhood’s narrow streets, and during attempts to extract it, it came under attack by Hamas operatives launching anti-tank missiles.

Seven soldiers were killed in the incident, and Shaul’s body was captured and dragged away from the scene by Hamas operatives.

‘I have returned to my beloved life’: Emily Damari thanks friends and family after release from Hamas captivity

Emily Damari (right) and her mother, Mandy, hold a video call with family members after her return from Hamas captivity, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

Released hostage Emily Damari says she is “the happiest person in the world” following her release from Hamas captivity yesterday, 15 months after she was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023.

“Love, love, love,” Damari writes in a post on Instagram. “I have returned to my beloved life.”

She thanks her family and friends for their support, and says that the outpouring of love she has been shown has caused her heart “to explode with excitement.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m the happiest in the world just to be.”

She signs her post with the “rock on” emoji, using it to symbolize her two missing fingers, which she lost on the day of her abduction after she was shot in the hand by Hamas terrorists.

אמילי ועוד עשר הלאה
איזה אלופה
אישה חזקה
לא רואה בעיניים תותחית
איזה כיף שאת בבית יאללה
אין ריגוש כזה pic.twitter.com/a0rpNDsGjM

— Lior Berkovic (@lior_berkovic98) January 20, 2025

IDF to test rocket sirens in Almon in the West Bank this morning

The IDF says it will carry out a test of rocket sirens in the West Bank town of Almon, also known as Anatot, today.

The sirens will sound at 10 a.m.

In the case of an actual attack, the sirens will sound twice, the military adds.

Hamas claims Palestinian prisoner slated for release yesterday remained in prison overnight

A crowd gathers around a bus carrying released Palestinian security prisoners as it arrives in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on January 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Hamas terror group has claimed that one of the Palestinian security prisoners who had been slated for release yesterday under the ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel was not let out of prison, Hebrew news outlet Ynet reports.

The report cites a statement from the terror group’s prisoner information department, which says it is working with mediators and the Red Cross “to pressure Israel to comply with the agreed list of prisoners.”

In compliance with the terms of the deal, the Israel Prison Service released 90 Palestinian security prisoners last night, after the first three hostages were returned from Gaza. The prisoners included 78 West Bank residents and 12 East Jerusalem residents.

Those released included 69 women — including one minor — eight male minors, and 12 men sentenced for relatively minor offenses like incitement, identifying with terrorism and disorderly conduct, according to Ynet.

A total of almost 2,000 inmates are planned to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Settlers said to hurl stones, firebombs at Palestinian village to protest hostage deal

Footage shows dozens of Israeli settlers hurling stones and Molotov cocktails into the Palestinian village of Turmusaya.

Roughly half a dozen villages are reportedly targeted by settlers in separate attacks throughout the West Bank overnight in what Palestinian media is referring to as raids aimed at protesting the hostage deal widely rejected by the Israeli far-right.

Dozens of Israeli settler terrorists stormed the village of Turmus Ayya in Ramallah, West Bank, attacking Palestinian homes with stones and Molotov cocktails. pic.twitter.com/gGEutUGJAW

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) January 20, 2025

Critics say small crowd at Gaza hostage release was made by Hamas to seem like it was bigger

People gather around a vehicle of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Saraya Square in western Gaza City for the handover of three Israeli hostages on January 19, 2025. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP)

Hamas critics in Gaza have been sharing on social media a photo of today’s transfer of the three Israeli hostages from the terror group’s fighters to the Red Cross, revealing that the crowd present was smaller than what may have appeared in Hamas’s footage of the event.

Those posting the zoomed-out photo are arguing that the terror group is far less popular in Gaza following 15 months of war sparked by its October 7, 2023, onslaught, which has left the coastal enclave and its population decimated.

Only several hundred Hamas members and supporters appear to have been present at the transfer.

I was asked several times today about the optics of Hamas’ obvious strength.
Here’s the real optics:
A few hundred people crammed together to make it look like endless masses.
Today the images from the ground were orchestrated by Hamas, they wanted to project power, everything… pic.twitter.com/PDCeIw3zW7

— Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) January 19, 2025

Palestinian crowd welcomes freed security prisoners with flags of Hamas, other terror groups

Palestinian men waving Hamas (green) and Hezbollah (yellow) flags sit on top of a Red Cross bus carrying released security prisoners from Ofer military prison in the West Bank are met by a crowd of family members and friends in Beitunia, outside Ramallah, in the early hours of January 20, 2025. (Photo by John Wessels / AFP)

Hundreds of people cheer, chant and honk car horns as two buses carrying Palestinian security prisoners freed from an Israeli jail arrive in the West Bank town of Beitunia.

The buses hold some of the 90 prisoners released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal that began Sunday and saw three Israeli hostages freed by the Hamas terror group after more than 15 months in captivity.

Members of the crowd climb atop the lead bus and unfurl a Hamas flag.

They are joined by others waving the flags of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and several other Palestinian factions, including terror groups, as well as the Palestinian flag and the flag of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.

Inside the bus, a handful of freed female prisoners smile and flash V-signs while a Red Cross staff member watches on.

Palestinian youths raise national flags along with Hamas (green) and Hezbollah (yellow) banners as they sit atop a Red Cross bus carrying dozens of security prisoners set free by Israel in the early hours of January 20, 2025, in the West Bank town of Beitunia, on the outskirts of Ramallah. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

UN says over 630 trucks with humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Sunday

In this image taken from a video, trucks of aid enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing in Rafah, Egypt, January 19, 2025. (Egyptian Government Press Center via AP, HO)

United Nations humanitarian officials say that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the Gaza Strip, in implementation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In a post on social media platform X, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, says that over 630 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.

“There is no time to lose,” Fletcher writes. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”

Witkoff credits Trump for Mideast truce, says administration will ‘expand the circle of peace’

Real estate developer Steve Witkoff speaks at US President-elect Donald Trump's Victory Rally at the Capital One Arena on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Fresh off successfully brokering a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas in Qatar, incoming US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff tells a Washington rally of Donald Trump supporters on the eve of the inauguration that the deal wouldn’t have been possible without the involvement of the US president-elect.

“I just received on my phone pictures of the first three hostages who were released,” Witkoff says, holding up his phone amid roars from the crowd.

Real estate developer Steve Witkoff speaks at US President-elect Donald Trump’s Victory Rally at the Capital One Arena on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. (SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

“We had a great team, but it doesn’t happen without Donald J. Trump,” he asserts. “The president was responsible for this release, and we all owe him a debt of gratitude, as do all the families.”

“His leadership extends beyond our borders, influencing the world in ways that reflect the best of our ideals,” Witkoff continues, pointing to the Abraham Accords that were negotiated during Trump’s first term. “The accords are a testament to the president’s belief that peace is achievable when we approach challenges with strength, clarity and a shared vision for the future.”

“The Middle East is home to extraordinary potential, and through President Trump’s leadership, we are unlocking that potential in ways that benefit the region and the entire world,” Witkoff says.

“The Abraham Accords are not just agreements. They are a blueprint for a future where peace is not the exception, but is the expectation,” he asserts.

“As we look ahead, the challenges remain significant, but so do the opportunities. Under your leadership, Mr. President, we will continue to expand the circle of peace, strengthen partnerships and promote prosperity across the world,” Witkoff says.

Israel releases 90 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for 3 hostages

Palestinian security prisoners arrive at the Ofer Prison in the West Bank, outside of Jerusalem, from where they were set to be released as part of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, January 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel has released the first batch of 90 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for the three hostages released from Gaza, the Israel Prisons Service says.

Palestinian reports say some have been taken to Ramallah and their East Jerusalem homes.

حافلات تنقل الدفعة الأولى من الأسيرات والأسرى المفرج عنهم ضمن صفقة التبادل تصل مدينة رام الله pic.twitter.com/cIt6uH1HxO

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) January 19, 2025

مصادر محلية: وصول الأسـ.ـيرة المقدسية زينة بربر إلى منزل عائلتها بعد الإفراج عنها ضمن صفقة التبادل بين الاحتلال والمـ.ـقاومة pic.twitter.com/BMQfoJseQb

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) January 19, 2025

Ahead of the return of the Israeli hostages, the IPS bussed the first round of Palestinian prisoners to Ofer Prison in the West Bank, where Israeli security forces and Red Cross representatives verified each prisoner’s identity and performed medical checks on them before releasing them in coordination with security forces and the government.

The prisoners include 78 West Bank residents, released at the Beitunia Checkpoint near Ofer Prison.

The remaining 12 East Jerusalem residents were transported back to the city and released back to their homes from the Russian Compound detention center.

Those released today include 69 women — including one minor — eight male minors, and 12 men sentenced for relatively minor offenses like incitement, identifying with terrorism and disorderly conduct, according to Ynet.

A total of almost 2,000 inmates are planned to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Trump says ‘epic’ Israel-Hamas deal a result of his win, mocks Biden administration

US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a MAGA victory rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC on January 19, 2025, one day ahead of his inauguration ceremony. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

US President-elect Donald Trump hails the “epic ceasefire agreement” that went into place today, calling it “a first step toward lasting peace in the Middle East.”

“This agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November,” Trump reiterates at a Washington rally ahead of his inauguration tomorrow.

Trump threatened “all hell to pay” in the Mideast if the hostages weren’t returned by his inauguration. While the threat was publicly directed at Hamas, the president-elect’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly made clear during his January 11 meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it was also meant for him as well, as he leaned on the premier to make the compromises necessary to secure an agreement.

“I’m glad to report that the first hostages have just been released… and who knows what’s going to happen,” Trump says before mocking US President Joe Biden for taking credit for the deal. Biden has highlighted that the agreement is the same framework that he unveiled last May, though his administration has acknowledged that the collaboration with the incoming Trump team was integral in bringing the deal over the finish line.

“Our incoming administration has achieved all of this in the Middle East, in less than three months, without being president — we’ve achieved more… than they’ve achieved in four years with being president,” Trump boasts.

He thanks Witkoff, who just got back from Qatar, for his efforts in securing the deal.

“A lot of guys are knowledgeable, but they can’t negotiate. They don’t have the personality or whatever, and Steve does. Steve’s a great negotiator — a very successful guy… It really couldn’t have been done without Steve,” Trump says to cheers from the crowd.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: "This week, we achieved an epic ceasefire agreement as a first step toward lasting PEACE in the Middle East — and this agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November." pic.twitter.com/4GDJmmD2AB

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 19, 2025

President-elect Trump on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal:

“Our incoming administration has achieved all of this in the Middle East, in less than three months, without being president. We’ve achieved more…than they’ve achieved in four years with being president.” pic.twitter.com/YOiof4QpUp

— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) January 19, 2025

Release of 90 Palestinian inmates delayed, as Israel reportedly blames Red Cross

Members of the Red Cross at the entrance to the Ofer Prison, in the West Bank, outside of Jerusalem, from where Palestinian security prisoners were set to be released as part of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, January 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The 90 Palestinian security prisoners set to be freed on the first day of the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas have not yet been released to their homes, according to Hebrew media.

Ahead of the return of the three Israeli hostages, Israel’s Prison Service bussed the first round of Palestinian prisoners to Ofer Prison in the West Bank, where Israeli security forces and Red Cross representatives verified each prisoner’s identity and performed medical checks on them.

Now past midnight, the Ynet news site reports that the security officials blame the Red Cross for the hours-long delay, and accuse the organization’s staff of deliberately stalling the process with the purported motive of making Israel seem like it is not complying with the deal’s terms.

The prisoners include 78 West Bank residents, who will be released at the Beitunia Checkpoint near Ofer Prison.

The remaining 12 East Jerusalem residents have already been transported back to the city and are now being held by police in the Russian Compound detention center. Once the release commences, police will escort the former detainees back to their homes.

Those slated for release today include 69 women — including one minor — eight male minors, and 12 men sentenced for relatively minor offenses like incitement, identifying with terrorism and disorderly conduct, according to Ynet.

A total of almost 2,000 inmates are planned to be released during the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Hospital says the three released hostages are in ‘stable condition’

Former hostages Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher, released from Hamas captivity after 471 days, “are in stable condition,” says Dr. Itai Pessach, head of Safra Children’s Hospital at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where they are recovering.

“I’m happy to report that they are in stable conditions that allows us and them to focus on what is the most important thing for now is reuniting with their families,” he says in an English-language press conference.

“It will take a few more days until we complete all the examinations that are needed,” Pessach says.