The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.

Trump holds phone call with Jordan’s King Abdullah

US President Donald Trump held a phone call earlier today with Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Abdullah is the second Mideast leader to receive a call from Trump since his inauguration after the president spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to speak with Trump since the inauguration, but they did speak on the Wednesday before to discuss the hostage deal, and the premier’s office is also working to schedule a meeting of the two at the White House.

Trump said last week that he’d see Netanyahu soon, but “not yet.”

Trump confirms lifting hold on delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel

‪US President Donald Trump confirms that he has lifted the hold put in place by former president Joe Biden on a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs for Israel.

“A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are on their way!” Trump writes on Truth Social.

The post suggests that there were more weapon shipments upheld, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed.

The Biden administration adamantly asserted that only the 2,000 lb bombs were withheld over concerns that Israel would use them in densely populated parts of Gaza but that all other shipments were being processed.

Biden officials did acknowledge, though, that they stopped fast-tracking weapons later on in the war, requiring each transfer to go through the usual approval process, as is the case for other countries, including Ukraine.

Macron calls on all parties to honor Lebanon truce commitments as soon as possible

French President Emmanuel Macron calls on all parties to the Lebanon ceasefire to honor their commitments as soon as possible, his office says, as Beirut accused Israel of “procrastination.”

Macron makes the request during a telephone conversation with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops would remain in parts of south Lebanon beyond the Sunday deadline stipulated in the November truce agreement.

Israel yet to receive update from Hamas on which of remaining 26 hostages to be freed in first phase are alive

The 33 hostages set to be returned in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Row 1 (L-R): Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Arbel Yehoud, Doron Steinbrecher, Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas; Row 2: Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Danielle Gilboa, Naama Levy, Ohad Ben-Ami, Gadi Moshe Moses; Row 3: Keith Siegel, Ofer Calderon, Eli Sharabi, Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mansour, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz; Row 4: Tsahi Idan, Hisham al-Sayed, Yarden Bibas, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert, Sasha Trufanov; Row 5: Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov (all photos courtesy)
The 33 hostages set to be returned in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Row 1 (L-R): Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Arbel Yehoud, Doron Steinbrecher, Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas; Row 2: Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Danielle Gilboa, Naama Levy, Ohad Ben-Ami, Gadi Moshe Moses; Row 3: Keith Siegel, Ofer Calderon, Eli Sharabi, Itzik Elgarat, Shlomo Mansour, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz; Row 4: Tsahi Idan, Hisham al-Sayed, Yarden Bibas, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert, Sasha Trufanov; Row 5: Eliya Cohen, Or Levy, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov (all photos courtesy)

As midnight approaches on the seventh day of the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, Israel has yet to receive information from the terror group on the remainder of the 33 hostages set to be released in the first stage, which was meant to be handed over by the end of today.

Seven hostages have been released so far as part of the deal, in exchange for around 300 Palestinian security prisoners.

According to the terms of the agreement, the Palestinian terror group was meant to let Israel know by today which of the remaining 26 hostages on the list, all of whom fall into the so-called “humanitarian” category of women, children, elderly individuals, and the infirm, are alive.

Senior Israeli officials quoted by Hebrew media sites confirm that Jerusalem has not received the update, and that failure to provide it is a violation of the accord.

Earlier today, Israel said that it would hold off on allowing displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza after it said Hamas violated the terms of the ceasefire-hostage deal by not freeing female civilian captive Arbel Yehud.

Hamas freed four female soldiers held hostage by Hamas for 477 days — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag — despite the deal stipulating that all living civilian women be freed before the soldiers.

Some unconfirmed media reports have said Israel has insisted on first receiving the living among the 33, with bodies returned at the end.

Court rejects Netanyahu’s request to testify just once in his trial next week, shortens duration of hearings instead

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to testify in his corruption trial, at the Tel Aviv District Court, December 23, 2024. (Reuven Kastro/Pool)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to testify in his corruption trial, at the Tel Aviv District Court, December 23, 2024. (Reuven Kastro/Pool)

The Jerusalem District Court rejects a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense attorney for the premier to testify just once this coming week in his criminal trial, but instead shortens the duration of each hearing.

Netanyahu will therefore testify on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., instead of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Breaks in the hearings will be held “as needed,” the court adds in two-sentence decision.

Netanyahu’s defense lawyer Amit Hadad requested yesterday that the prime minister be allowed to testify just once instead of three times next week due to medical complications following the prime minister’s prostrate surgery.

Hadad said Netanyahu had developed a postoperative infection and needed to return gradually to a full schedule.

The attorney said that the prime minister’s doctors had recommended he “avoid continuous activity for more than three straight hours without rest” this coming week, as well as long journeys and “prolonged sitting and standing.”

Netanyahu’s testimony is being held in the Tel Aviv District Court since it has security features that the Jerusalem court lacks. In the six hearings in which he has testified so far, Netanyahu has for the most part testified sitting down, mostly for a maximum of two hours before a break is called.

The prosecution opposed Netanyahu’s request, saying that it reviewed the prime minister’s medical records and did not see a reason to grant it. It agreed instead to longer breaks during the hearings and for each session to be slightly shortened.

IDF investigating Palestinian reports of toddler killed by Israeli fire in West Bank raid

Illustrative - Israeli army vehicles drive down a road during a raid in Qabatiya, south of Jenin city in the West Bank on November 5, 2024. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)
Illustrative - Israeli army vehicles drive down a road during a raid in Qabatiya, south of Jenin city in the West Bank on November 5, 2024. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

The IDF says it is investigating after Palestinian health officials said a toddler was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Jenin area in the northern West Bank.

According to the IDF, during operations in the village of ash-Shuhada, just outside Jenin, troops opened fire on gunmen who were holed up in a building.

In a statement, the military says it is aware of claims that civilians were harmed by the gunfire, and it is investigating.

A military source says troops had reached the building following intelligence on gunmen in the area.

The soldiers began to carry out a tactic known as “pressure cooker,” which involves escalating the volume of fire against a building to flush suspects out.

According to the IDF source, the soldiers used a loudspeaker to call on the suspects to come out and threw a stun grenade, though nobody came out of the building.

Then the soldiers opened fire on the building, and moments later identified a wounded toddler.

Palestinian medics were called to the scene and the two-and-a-half-year-old was evacuated along with her pregnant mother, who was also lightly injured.

The soldiers are continuing to scan the building now, the military source adds.

Video shows PA president calling to congratulate Palestinian terrorist released in Gaza deal

PA President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly called to congratulate one of the Palestinian terrorists released earlier today as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.

A video carried by Palestinian outlets shows Fatah prisoner Yasser Abu-Bakr taking a call from Abbas after his release.

A native of the West Bank’s Jenin, Abu-Bakr was sentenced in 2004 to a cumulative 115 years in jail for arming a terror cell that shot up a Netanya hotel lobby in March 2002, wounding some 50 people and killing a nine-month-old infant. The cell’s members also killed two police officers and a civilian bystander in subsequent shootouts.

Israel is expected to release up to 1,904 Palestinian security prisoners in the first, 42-day phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, including 737 serving life terms, in return for 33 Israelis held captive in Gaza.

Trump has lifted US military hold on supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel imposed by Biden — report

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s White House has instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, a White House source tells Reuters.

The move was widely expected. Biden put the hold on the delivery of those bombs due to concern over the impact they could have in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. A ceasefire to pause the war and free hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners went into effect on Sunday.

The Biden administration’s particular concern had been over the use of such large bombs in the city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians in Gaza had taken refuge.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

PA health ministry says toddler killed by Israeli fire in West Bank; no comment from IDF

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says a two-year-old girl was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank city of Jenin.

She is named by the PA as Layla al-Khatib.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Hostage’s nephew warns anti-government, pro-deal protesters to ‘stay alert’

Demonstrators raise placards bearing the names of hostages held captive in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure their release, Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Demonstrators raise placards bearing the names of hostages held captive in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure their release, Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Jack Guez/AFP)

At the anti-government, pro-hostage deal protest in front of the Begin Street entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, Shai Mozes, nephew of hostage Gadi Mozes, tells a 1,000-strong crowd, “We must not get swept away by euphoria” over the hostage release today.

“We must remain alert,” says Mozes. “Even today there are ministers in the government and mouthpieces in the media devoting energy to thwarting the deal.”

The crowd jeers.

He says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who voted against the deal because of the hundreds of terrorists it will see Israel release, “is determined to sentence to death all the hostages who haven’t yet been saved.”

Protesters attend a rally calling for the release of the remaining held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, after four female soldiers were released from captivity, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Also speaking at the protest is Naama Zoref, whose parents Rafi and Helena Halevi were killed in a 2006 terror attack outside Kedumim, in the northern West Bank.

Two people arrested for the attack were candidates for release in the 2011 deal to bring home captive soldier Gilad Shalit. At the time, Zoref says, she protested against the deal.

“Since then I’ve come to realize that life is more complex, and today I rally here with you in favor of a deal to bring back all the hostages,” says Zoref.

“This is a deal that must be implemented entirely. There is no other option,” she says.

She says that if it were up to her, she would release her parents’ killers herself “and wear, like a crown, the privilege of saving a life.”

It’s unclear if her parents’ killers are slated to be freed in the ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Unlike previous weeks, when speakers delivered speeches from the overhead pedestrian bridge, the Begin Street protest today features a soundstage opposite the entrance to the IDF headquarters.

Protesters chant: “We won’t give up until everyone is back!”

After the demonstration on Begin Street wraps up, a column of protesters marches on to Dizengoff Square, in the city center.

Tel Aviv municipal building lights up with word ‘heroes’ and ‘rock-on’ emoji to honor freed hostages

Ayelet Samerano, whose son Jonathan was killed and his body kidnapped to Gaza on October 7, 2023, speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, January 24, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Ayelet Samerano, whose son Jonathan was killed and his body kidnapped to Gaza on October 7, 2023, speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, January 24, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Tel Aviv sees its first hostage rallies since the release of seven female captives during the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal that went into effect Sunday.

The municipality building’s facade is lit up with the word “heroes,” welcoming home the four captive soldiers who were released today — the second release of the nascent deal’s 42-day first phase.

The word flashes intermittently with a graphic of a bandaged hand with the thumb, index finger and pinky outstretched, in honor of Hamas captivity survivor Emily Damari — one of three hostages released Sunday, who flashed the “rock-on” sign to supporters after arriving in Israel, revealing that she lost two fingers when terrorists shot her on October 7, 2023.

A few blocks away from the municipality, at the Hostage Families Forum’s central rally on Hostages Square, Ayelet Samerano, mother of slain hostage Jonathan Samerano, hails the “infinite love” that hostage families have received.

Jonathan was snatched from the Re’im-area Nova music festival by an UNRWA social worker and murdered in Hamas captivity. His body and those of the other slain hostages will be released only in the hostage deal’s third phase. Some hostage families fear will the deal will collapse before that.

“Every hostage is an entire world,” says Ayelet Samerano, speaking to a crowd of hundreds.

“I shout from the bottom of my heart — there is no room for calculations,” she says. “Everyone [of the hostages] should be brought home, no matter who they are, where they are, or what their condition is.”

“The government of Israel and the entire Knesset — don’t stop the deal,” she says.

Far-right minister denounces ‘sickening’ Hamas hostage handover event in Gaza, calls for war to resume

Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock attends a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, November 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock attends a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset, Jerusalem, November 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock denounces Hamas for its “sickening show” in parading the four surveillance soldiers set free from captivity today in front of a crowd of Gazans before transferring them to the Red Cross, and calls for a resumption of fighting in Gaza.

“I dare to speak for the many who are happy and excited about the return home of Liri, Naama, Karina and Daniela, and at the same time whose hearts are soured by the sickening demonstration of the terrorists in Gaza Square and the knowledge that if we don’t come to our senses, Hamas will return to reestablish its terror empire in the [Gaza] Strip and these terrible images will repeat themselves over and over again,” says the far-right minister.

“If the State of Israel desires life, it is obligated to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth and not stop until the mission is completed.”

‘We won’t take our foot off the gas’: Jerusalem protesters vow to keep pushing for release of all hostages

Ella Mor, aunt of freed Hamas hostage Avigail Idan, addresses a hostages' families rally in Jerusalem on January 25, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Ella Mor, aunt of freed Hamas hostage Avigail Idan, addresses a hostages' families rally in Jerusalem on January 25, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

At Jerusalem’s weekly hostage families rally, speakers strike a cautiously hopeful tone following the release of four female hostages — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag — from Hamas captivity earlier today.

“Liri, Daniella, Naama, Karina and Agam were among the soldiers that protected us that morning [on October 7]. Today, we succeeded in returning four of them,” says Shai Dickman, the cousin of slain hostage Carmel Gat.

Agam Berger, another surveillance soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, is still held captive in Gaza.

“Now that the struggle is starting to bear fruit, we will not take our foot off the gas,” she urges.

A protest organizer reminds the crowd that “a second phase [of the deal] is still not secure; we constantly hear threats that it will not happen.”

Ella Mor, whose niece Avigail Idan was just four years old when she was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and released five weeks later, charges opponents of the hostage deal with betraying the “basic values of Israel and the Jewish people.”

“We fight to live, we don’t live to fight,” she says, urging the Netanyahu government to continue implementing the ceasefire deal.

Freed soldiers tell family they deliberately projected strength at handover; are anxious for Agam Berger’s return

Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, the four Israeli released hostages, at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, the four Israeli released hostages, at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

The four hostages released earlier today have told their families that they determinedly showed Hamas, during the staged event the terror group had arranged for their handover, that they would not be humiliated, according to reports of their initial conversations on tonight’s TV news.

The four walked to the stage set up in a square in Gaza City calmly and confidently, and smiled and waved to the crowds of Hamas gunmen and Gazans.

“We showed them on the stage that we were not fazed” by the intended humiliation, Kan TV news quotes one of them as telling family and friends. “It had no impact on us. We are stronger than them.”

Channel 12 reported, unsourced, earlier this evening that Israel’s security chiefs, watching their release, were extremely concerned that Hamas had planned a grandiose propaganda event that might get out of control, and that the soldiers’ confident behavior “turned humiliation into victory.”

Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

The four have said that they were held together with a fifth surveillance soldier, Agam Berger, until a few days before their release and that it was very hard for them when they realized that Berger was not being freed with them. They greatly look forward to seeing her next week, they said, according to Channel 12 news.

Kan says they told IDF soldiers today to make sure the deal did not stop until all hostages are freed.

Agam Berger, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

Kan reports them saying that Liri Albag was the leader of their group, and spoke to the terrorists on their behalf.

Naama Levy, a triathlete, was held for some time with Doron Streinbrecher, who was released on Sunday, and they exercised together, “for body and soul.”

Some of them learned Arabic while they were held hostage and Kan reported that, when they were in an IDF helicopter after their release and were told to sit down, they joked that they didn’t understand and that the soldiers should speak to them in Arabic.

Kan says one of them was held in a tunnel alone for a long time, in the dark, in conditions in which it was hard to breathe.

They were moved around Gaza during their 477 days in captivity, including in Gaza City, they said. Some of them met “very senior Hamas people.”

There were periods when there was no food, Channel 12 reports them saying. There were times when some of them had to cook for terrorists, and clean toilets for them, but were denied food themselves.

When the IDF operated nearby, it was scary, they said. But they helped and supported each other.

They heard the radio quite a lot in captivity, and were aware of their families’ and other Israelis’ struggles on their behalf, they said. One of them heard her family wishing her happy birthday.

They also saw some TV, including coverage of protests on their behalf, and said this gave them strength. They even joked among themselves about the pictures their families had chosen of them to use on posters urging their release, the TV reports say.

Some of them were held in the homes of Gaza civilians, Channel 12 reports. Some of them played with the children of their captors.

Some of them said their captors treated them “shockingly.” Some of them did not get proper medical treatment, including for injuries sustained when they were being abducted. Some of them went for long periods without being able to shower and without sanitary conditions. And some of them were not allowed to hold hands or cry together.

Their captors continually referred to them derisively as “the soldiers,” they said, according to Kan.

Freshly released hostages Romi, Emily and Doron watched today’s release together — Hebrew media

Released hostages (L-R) Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari and Romi Gonen reunite with their mothers shortly after returning to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, January 19, 2025. (IDF)
Released hostages (L-R) Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari and Romi Gonen reunite with their mothers shortly after returning to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, January 19, 2025. (IDF)

Former hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, the first Israelis released as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, watched together from the hospital today as the next batch of abductees was freed from captivity in Gaza, Channel 12 reports.

Four female soldiers held hostage by Hamas for 477 days — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — were released by the terror group this morning after being paraded through a Gaza City square before being handed over to the Red Cross.

They were taken to a hospital in central Israel by helicopter this afternoon after reuniting with their parents at a military facility near the Gaza border.

Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, the four Israeli released hostages, at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

Gonen, Damari and Steinbrecher are recovering in a different hospital, after being released from captivity on Sunday.

Australians outraged at antisemitic ‘Dutton’s Jew’ speech at university

An Australian university is under fire for including a lecture with “disturbing” antisemitic messages in a conference on fighting racism.

The “National Symposium on Unifying Anti-Racist Research and Action” at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) on Wednesday included a talk by Sarah Schwartz, an executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia. The organization, founded last year, strongly opposes Israel’s policies regarding the Palestinians.

During her presentation, Schwartz showed a slide onstage mocking Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton, a known supporter of Israel. In a video from the talk leaked on X, she displayed a cartoon character captioned “Dutton’s Jew,” which was labeled with characteristics like “Hates Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims” and “Thinks of antisemitism as the only form of racism.”

“The reality is that for Dutton and his ilk, us Jews are the perfect avatars for peddling racism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment,” Schwartz said in her talk.

Jewish leaders have been incensed at the talk. The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies called the lecture “perverse and disturbing” in a statement on X, and called on Education Minister Jason Clare to sanction the university.

Dutton, meanwhile, called the event a “disgrace.”

Responding to the incident, QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said in a statement “I understand why the presentation has caused significant offense, and I am sorry for the hurt caused to anyone within, and outside, the QUT community.”

“I will undertake to review the circumstances of this presentation and take any action necessary,” She added, “It is equally important that this is done in a way that is respectful and safe.”

Shwartz defended her speech on social media.

In my presentation, I referred to Dutton’s racist conception of Jewish people as ‘Dutton’s Jew’ – Dutton’s racist conception of Jews, not actual Jewish people,” she wrote. “Only opportunists could wilfully misrepresent my point, which is that Peter Dutton is exploiting the rise in antisemitism for political gain.”

“My speech was part of a comedy event making fun of racists,” she concluded. “If we didn’t laugh we’d cry.”

German police arrest synagogue arsonist after TV broadcast of the attack

Traces of fire can be seen on a synagogue entrance door damaged by an incendiary device in Oldenburg, Germany, April 5, 2024. (Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa via AP)
Traces of fire can be seen on a synagogue entrance door damaged by an incendiary device in Oldenburg, Germany, April 5, 2024. (Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa via AP)

German police have arrested a 27-year-old suspect accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in Oldenburg nine months ago, according to the country’s Bild news outlet.

After investigators had been unsuccessful in identifying the perpetrator of the April 2024 attack, a video of the incident was broadcast last Wednesday on “Aktenzeichen XY… Ungelöst,” a popular unsolved crime crime series on the ZDF network.

Police received several tipoffs following the program, including one that led them to the suspect in Germany’s Vechta district, where he was arrested at midday and confessed to the crime.

No one was hurt when the incendiary device was thrown at the door of a synagogue in April, and the fire was extinguished without the help of the fire department. Two days after the attack made national headlines in April, hundreds came out to demonstrate against antisemitism in front of the synagogue, Bild notes.

The informant will receive a reward of 5,000 euros, the report says.

‘Continue the deal, stop the war!’: Protesters in Jerusalem urge Netanyahu to fully implement Gaza hostage deal

Activists demanding the full implementation of the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas put on a theatrical display at protest in Jerusalem on January 25, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Activists demanding the full implementation of the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas put on a theatrical display at protest in Jerusalem on January 25, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Protesters are rallying outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, calling on his government to fully implement the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas that came into effect on Sunday.

The protest comes after Hamas this morning released, as part of the nascent accord, four female IDF soldiers who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and held in Gaza for 477 days.

“Continue the deal, stop the war!” demonstrators chant to the beat of drums.

Near the main rally stage, young activists sit on the pavement wearing yellow blindfolds, holding posters of hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.

Four other activists stand above those on the ground — two girls embrace each other as the others enclose them in a picture frame that reads: “This is the picture of victory.”

Following speeches to be given outside Netanyahu’s home, demonstrators plan to march to Ben Yehuda Street.

IDF says troops fired warning shots at several threats in Gaza in past day, is not aware of hitting suspects

Over the past day, the IDF says troops still deployed inside the Gaza Strip fired warning shots at several threats.

In central Gaza, the military says it identified several gatherings of dozens of suspects, “who posed a threat to troops.” In response, troops fired warning shots to disperse them.

The IDF says that contrary to reports in Palestinian media that one person was killed and some two dozen were wounded, all of its gunfire was warning shots not aimed directly at anyone.

“We emphasize that as of now, we are unaware of suspects being hit by the gunfire,” the IDF says.

“The IDF is determined to fully implement the terms of the agreement to return the hostages. The IDF is prepared for any scenario, and will continue to take all necessary actions to remove any immediate threat to IDF soldiers,” the military says.

“The IDF once again calls on Palestinian civilians to obey IDF instructions and not approach the forces deployed in the area,” it adds.

Elon Musk tells far-right AfD rally there’s ‘too much focus on past guilt’ in Germany

US tech billionaire and businessman Elon Musk (L) is seen on a large screen as Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, addresses an election campaign rally in Halle, eastern Germany on January 25, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
US tech billionaire and businessman Elon Musk (L) is seen on a large screen as Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, addresses an election campaign rally in Halle, eastern Germany on January 25, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Addressing a rally of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Halle, billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk says, “There is too much focus on past guilt (in Germany), and we need to move beyond that.”

“Children should not feel guilty for the sins of their parents – their great-grandparents even,” Musk adds.

The comments come after Musk made a straight-armed gesture during US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday that many saw as a Nazi salute, though the antisemitism-fighting organization ADL called it instead an “awkward gesture.”

Musk has in the past shared white supremacist memes and theories on X that have drawn accusations of antisemitism.

Footage shows Palestinian security prisoners deported to Egypt in hostage deal phoning relatives after release

Footage being shared on social media shows Palestinian security prisoners deported to Egypt phoning relatives after their release.

The former prisoners, released by Israel today as part of the hostage deal, include some responsible for orchestrating deadly suicide attacks over the past several decades.

Surveillance soldier who was rescued by IDF in Oct. 2023: ‘Liri, Naama, Daniella and Karina. Welcome home!’

Soldier Ori Megidish, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 and freed in an Israeli military operation in Gaza in late October 2023, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, January 11, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Soldier Ori Megidish, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 and freed in an Israeli military operation in Gaza in late October 2023, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, January 11, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Ori Megidish, a surveillance soldier who was rescued by IDF troops from Hamas captivity in October 2023, says the return of four of her comrades from the Gaza Strip today is “a moment of light in a complex period.”

“Liri, Naama, Daniella and Karina. Welcome home!” Megidish says in a statement released by the army.

“Your return is a moment of light in a complex period, and it fills us all with a deep sense of empathy and a loving embrace,” she says.

“We continue to wait and pray for the return of Agam Berger and all other hostages,” Megidish says, referring to the last female surveillance soldier still held in Gaza. “Without them, the heart will not be complete.”

Megidish, along with the four soldiers who were released by Hamas earlier today, was among seven soldiers kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the IDF’s Nahal Oz post on October 7, 2023, when the group launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 to Gaza.

One, Noa Marciano, was killed in Hamas captivity and her body was recovered by IDF troops. One, Agam Berger, remains in captivity and is scheduled to be released from Gaza during the current first phase of the ceasefire.

US pushing for hostage Arbel Yehud’s release ‘through negotiation channels’ — White House spokesperson

Arbel Yehoud was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz (Courtesy)
Arbel Yehoud was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz (Courtesy)

“We are continuing to push for Arbel Yehud’s release through negotiation channels,” a White House national security spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

Israel had been demanding her release this weekend, as she is a female civilian who was supposed to be released before female soldiers, according to the deal’s terms.

A variety of technical reasons have been cited for Hamas’s failure to release Yehud, who is held by an allied Gazan terror group, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hamas officials said earlier today that she is alive and will be released next weekend.

Israel has barred Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, which it was supposed to start allowing today, in consequence of the Hamas violation.

Hostages’ families urge Trump to get Netanyahu to commit to entirety of deal with Hamas

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan Zangauker is held hostage in Gaza, speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan Zangauker is held hostage in Gaza, speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

In a weekly statement ahead of protests to demand their loved ones’ release, hostages’ families congratulate the four IDF soldiers released from captivity earlier today and call on US President Donald Trump to prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from failing to see through the now-10-day-old Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until its completion.

Netanyahu’s coalition partner Itamar Ben Gvir has already bolted the government over the deal, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to follow suit — which would topple the government — if Israel doesn’t resume fighting after the deal’s 42-day first phase.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, calls on Netanyahu to “go out to the public and commit to implementing the deal in full.”

She asks Trump to “demand Netanyahu implement the deal in its entirety and immediately start negotiations on the second stage,” when Israel is to withdraw entirely from the Strip, and male hostages, including Zangauker, are to be released.

Demonstrators raise placards and chant slogans during a protest calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, in front of the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Itzik Horn, whose son Iair is set to be released in the first phase, and other son Eitan only later, also urges an immediate start to negotiations on the next phase of the deal, and says, “We must bring everyone back in the second phase.”

“The agony of the hostages, the families and an entire nation won’t end until they are all back,” he says.

Yifat Calderon, whose cousin Ofer Calderon would also be released only after the deal’s first phase, says Israel “must not let Smotrich and Ben Gvir, the extremists who want to bury the hostages, thwart the deal.”

“It’s in Israel’s interest to end the war and bring everyone back,” she says.

Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen — who will also be released only later in the deal — accuses Smotrich of “cynically using the IDF fallen for political needs” by “deigning to speak in the name of soldiers who have paid with their life” in his statements against the deal.

“How dare you speak about combat soldiers when you’re consigning my brother, a combat soldier, to rot in the hell of Gaza?” he asks. “How dare you speak in the name of IDF fallen when, through your actions, you are condemning to death soldiers and civilians who will be left behind?”

IDF says it’s preventing celebrations, parades in West Bank for Palestinian prisoners released in Gaza deal

One of the Palestinian prisoners released in a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas reacts while being carried on people's shoulders after disembarking off one of the buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) upon arrival in Ramallah, January 25, 2025. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)
One of the Palestinian prisoners released in a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas reacts while being carried on people's shoulders after disembarking off one of the buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) upon arrival in Ramallah, January 25, 2025. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

The IDF says it has been preventing celebrations and parades in the West Bank for Palestinian prisoners released today in the ceasefire deal with Hamas.

The IDF and Shin Bet made calls to the families of all those released today, and visited their homes, warning them against public celebrations.

A military source says troops cleared out a marquee in the village of al-Mughayyir that was to have been used to celebrate the release of one of the prisoners, and seized Hamas flags in Bayt Liqya.

After a parade was held in Kafr ‘Aqab in East Jerusalem, troops arrived to disperse the gathering, and operated at the home of the released prisoner, the source adds.

Defense Minister Katz: Israel ‘won’t rest’ until all hostages are out of Gaza

Following the release of four surveillance soldiers today, Defense Minister Israel Katz says, “An entire country is moved and embraces you, and salutes the families.”

“We will not rest or give up and will do everything we can until all the hostages come home, those who are alive and those who are not, to Israel.”

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says, “In the face of evil – four heroes stood upright, and with pride and faith,” apparently referring to how Hamas paraded the women in front of a large crowd of Gazans before releasing them.

“What great happiness to see our four daughters returning home… Blessed is He who releases captives,” he continues, adding that he was sending his support to the families of Agam Berger, a fifth surveillance soldier still being held captive; Arbel Yehud, a female civilian hostage; and all the other families with relatives still being held hostage.

“Be strong. We will bring everyone home, God willing.”

Four released hostage soldiers in stable medical condition — hospital staff

People wave flags as a military helicopter transporting the four newly-released Israeli hostages lands at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Yossi Zamir/AFP)
People wave flags as a military helicopter transporting the four newly-released Israeli hostages lands at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Yossi Zamir/AFP)

Dr. Lena Koren Feldman of Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva tells reporters that an initial assessment of four hostage soldiers who were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza today after 477 days found them to be in stable medical condition, though “the prolonged captivity in harsh conditions is evident.”

Earlier, a Health Ministry official said the release of the hostages was “emotionally and medically complex for those returning and their families, for the families of all hostages.”

Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag were released by the terror group this morning after being paraded through a Gaza City square before being handed over to the Red Cross. They were helicoptered to Rabin hospital after reuniting with their parents at an IDF facility near the Gaza border.

PM’s office releases new footage of released hostages on chopper to central Israel, reuniting with their families

Freed hostage Naama Levy hugs a relative after reuniting in Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Freed hostage Naama Levy hugs a relative after reuniting in Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

The Prime Minister’s Office releases new photos and videos of released hostages Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev and Daniella Gilboa reuniting with their families upon their return to Israel.

Video from the IDF Spokesman’s Office shows the four young women on the helicopter with their families from the Gaza border to Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva.

Four IDF soldiers released from Hamas captivity travel with their parents from the Gaza border area to a hospital in central Israel, on January 25, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Levy holds up a whiteboard aboard the helicopter reading “Finally HOME!” in English, adding in Hebrew: “Thank you to the people of Israel.”

An emotional Gilboa bursts into tears reuniting with her extended family inside the hospital, while Albag screams with delight while hugging her siblings.

Freed hostage Liri Albag runs to hug her siblings in Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Levy marvels how much her younger brother has grown in the more than 15 months she has been in captivity, and Ariev shares a long emotional hug with a relative.

Flanked by her parents, freed hostage Daniella Gilboa reacts after seeing her relatives in Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Freed hostage Liri Albag hugs her relatives after reuniting in Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Ben Gvir on release of Hamas hostages in truce deal: ‘The eyes weep from happiness… but the heart tightens’

“The eyes weep from happiness with the return of Daniella, Naama, Karina, and Liri,” says Otzma Yehudit party chair Itamar Ben Gvir in response to the release of the four surveillance soldiers from their 15 months of captivity in Gaza.

“But the heart tightens with the footage that humiliates the State of Israel, in light of the irresponsible deal,” continues Ben Gvir in an apparent reference to how Hamas paraded the four women through a Gaza City square before releasing them. Ben Gvir voted against the hostage release deal and quit the government after it approved the deal.

“Welcome home to the returnees. But if we do not destroy Hamas, the next October 7 is at the doorstep. We must resume the war. And destroy.”

Smotrich warmly welcomes release of four surveillance soldiers, despite voting against hostage-ceasefire deal

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Finance Committee meeting, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 13, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Finance Committee meeting, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 13, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warmly welcomes the release from captivity of the four surveillance soldiers, saying the entire country is moved by their return. Smotrich voted against the hostage release agreement, but did not quit the government over it.

“Beloved Liri, Daniella, Karina and Naama, the entire people of Israel is moved by your return. We are hugging you and loving you,” says Smotrich, who heads the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party.

“We are all praying together and working together for the return of everyone,” he adds in reference to the remaining 90 hostages held in Gaza.

Opposition welcomes female soldiers’ release, urges full deal to free all hostages: ‘Our moral obligation’

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

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the entire hostage-prisoner release deal with Hamas must be completed “in all its stages,” following the release of IDF soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag from captivity in Gaza.

“It is forbidden to stop until the deal is completed in its entirety, in all its stages. Until [female civilian hostage] Arbel [Yehud] and all the hostages come home. Every one, until the last one,” insists Lapid.

National Unity party chair Benny Gantz welcomes home the four young women, who served as surveillance soldiers on the Israel-Gaza border, and laments the fact that warnings by such surveillance soldiers of Hamas preparations for an invasion ahead of October 7 were ignored.

“The surveillance soldiers at the outpost were our eyes that saw, but did not find an attentive ear,” says Gantz. “They are the story of the failure that must be fully investigated.”

Gantz also praises the strength of their parents who as a group “united from the first moment” to work tirelessly for the release of their daughters.

“It’s impossible not to shed a tear and to rejoice when you see the happiness of Shira and Eli, Ayelet and Yoni, Albert and Ira, Orly and Ran,” says Gantz of the parents of the four soldiers.

Gantz says Israel “must bring back” all the other hostages still in Gaza, mentioning specifically Agam Berger, another surveillance soldier, as well as Yehud, and Shiri Bibas.

“This is the responsibility of the government of October 7, and this is the moral obligation of us all.”

Billboards in West Bank welcome settler extremists released by Katz

Billboards erected by settlers in the northern West Bank have been updated to welcome four settler extremists who were released this month after Defense Minister Israel Katz terminated administrative detentions for all Jewish suspects.

Israeli security forces have used the practice, which sees suspects detained without due process, against individuals believed to pose security threats but against whom there isn’t enough evidence for an indictment to hold up in court.

Several thousand Palestinians and several dozen Arab Israelis are currently under administrative detention.

All 16 Jewish detainees, who are largely suspected of committing attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, have been released, including four from the northern West Bank whose faces are currently plastered on several billboards in the territory.

On the other side of one of the billboards, a message in Arabic reads, “There is no future in Palestine” alongside a picture of displaced Palestinians fleeing their homes in Gaza. The message was also posted by settlers urging all Palestinians to emigrate.

Family of IDF soldier Agam Berger, still held in Gaza, thanks public for outpouring of support

Protesters stand with portraits of Israeli hostages Agam Berger (20), Naama Levy (20), and others during a demonstration calling for the release of hostages kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks, outside the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, October 24, 2024. (Ahmad Gharbli/AFP)
Protesters stand with portraits of Israeli hostages Agam Berger (20), Naama Levy (20), and others during a demonstration calling for the release of hostages kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks, outside the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, October 24, 2024. (Ahmad Gharbli/AFP)

The family of Agam Berger, a surveillance soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and is still held in Gaza, issues a statement thanking the public for an outpouring of support after four other female IDF soldiers were released from captivity earlier today.

“Thank you to the people of Israel for the warm embrace, we are happy and excited about returning our four daughters home – we are all one big family!” they say in a statement.

“We are waiting and looking forward to embracing Agam, God willing, next week. We will not rest until all the hostages are safely back home.”

The IDF said earlier today that it was “committed” to the soldier’s return, along with the other 86 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 who remain in Gaza. That figure includes the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier who was killed in 2014. The body of another IDF soldier, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza this month.

Freed hostage Liri Albag’s parents tell Netanyahu: ‘We want to see everyone home, then we’ll be fully happy’

The parents of former hostage Liri Albag talk to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after her release from captivity in Gaza, January 25, 2025. (Screenshot/Prime Minister's Office)
The parents of former hostage Liri Albag talk to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after her release from captivity in Gaza, January 25, 2025. (Screenshot/Prime Minister's Office)

The parents of released hostage Liri Albag tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they will only be fully happy when every last captive is returned home.

“We have 90 more hostages that I’m sure you’ll do everything and are doing everything to bring them all home,” Liri’s father, Eli, tells the prime minister in a recording of the call released by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Liri’s mother, Shira, says that “everyone deserves to get what we got today, this joy. I can’t describe the joy we have in our hearts.”

Shira says that her daughter and the other three freed hostages are “strong, they’re champions, they are a source of pride for the State of Israel, after everything they went through, they’re heroes. Everyone deserves to get everyone home. We want to see everyone home, then we’ll be fully happy with all our hearts.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement shortly after the release of four female IDF soldiers held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 477 days, January 25, 2025. (Screenshot/Prime Minister’s Office)

Netanyahu tells the couple that he never had “any doubt” Liri would return home.

“I told you she would come back, I promised you, I never had any doubt that we would succeed,” says Netanyahu. “It’s a great day.”

The prime minister says he and his wife Sara are “happy to see that [Liri] is strong and impressive after everything she went through… we’re working on freeing everyone else, but it’s really a very joyous moment.”

Israel said to ask Trump administration to demand Qatar, Egypt push Hamas to release hostage Arbel Yehud

Israel has asked the Trump administration to demand that Qatar and Egypt pressure Hamas to release Arbel Yehud, the female civilian hostage who it had demanded would be among those freed today, the Walla news site reports, citing an Israeli official.

Israel says Yehud should have been released today and that Hamas’s failure to do so amounted to a violation of the ceasefire deal. A variety of technical reasons have been reported for why Arbel wasn’t released, but a Hamas official told Reuters she’d be freed next weekend.

Israel is looking for her to be released earlier and conveyed the demand to US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, Walla reports.

“So far, we have not received any feedback,” the Israeli official tells Walla.

White House: ‘Today the world celebrates as President Trump secured the release of four more Israeli hostages’

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on January 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Jim Watson/AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on January 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Jim Watson/AFP)

“Today the world celebrates as President Trump secured the release of four more Israeli hostages who were, for far too long, held against their will by Hamas in horrific conditions,” the White House says in a statement.

“The United States will continue with its great partner Israel to push for the release of all remaining hostages and the pursuit of peace throughout the region,” the statement adds.

Sofia welcomes release of Bulgarian-Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa with ‘great relief’

Israeli female soldier hostages Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev and Liri Albag seen on a stage set up by Hamas in front of a Palestinian crowd before being handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)
Israeli female soldier hostages Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev and Liri Albag seen on a stage set up by Hamas in front of a Palestinian crowd before being handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Bulgaria welcomes with “great relief” the release of Bulgarian-Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa, one of four female IDF soldiers released from Gaza earlier today as part of a truce deal with Hamas, after 477 days in captivity.

“It is with great relief and joy that Bulgaria welcomes the release of the Bulgarian national Daniella Gilboa,” the country’s foreign ministry says in a statement.

“This positive development is the result of intensive diplomatic efforts in which Bulgaria actively participated.”

Gilboa’s father is reportedly of Bulgarian origin.

Former Bulgarian prime minister Nikolay Denkov told Nova television earlier today that Sofia had granted citizenship to some hostages — including Gilboa — to help secure their release.

Bulgaria thanks Qatar, Egypt and the United States for securing the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of the hostages, the foreign ministry says, adding it hopes for the release of the remaining 87 abductees still held by terror groups.

Palestinian media: One dead, several hurt as IDF opens fire on Gazans approaching Netzarim Corridor area

Palestinian media report one dead and several wounded after IDF troops opened fire on Gazans approaching the Netzarim Corridor area.

One person was killed and several were wounded by Israeli fire on the Salah a-Din road, and some two dozen more were wounded on the coastal road, according to the reports.

The IDF has not yet commented on the claims.

Under the deal, Israel was to withdraw from part of the Netzarim Corridor tomorrow and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza via the coastal road. On day 22 of the deal, Palestinians are to be allowed to return via Salah a-Din.

Israel has said it will not allow Gazans to reach the north of the Strip until Hamas “arranges” the release of civilian Arbel Yehud, who was supposed to be freed today under the terms of the deal.

Report: American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel expected to be freed in next release from Gaza

Keith Siegel, taken captive by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)
Keith Siegel, taken captive by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

An American-Israeli man who was kidnapped from his home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, is expected to be released from captivity in Gaza next week, in the third hostage release under a ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to a US report.

NBC cites two senior US officials as confirming previous reports that Keith Siegel, 65, who is believed to be in poor health, will be among three hostages scheduled to be released next Saturday.

The report echoes what Biden and Trump officials said publicly earlier this month.

Channel 12 news reported yesterday that Emily Damari, who was released by Hamas on Sunday as the ceasefire came into effect, had asked her captors to first free Siegel, who is the father of her close friend Shir Siegel.

Israel is expecting a female civilian, Arbel Yehud, 29, and a female IDF soldier, Agam Berger, 20, also held in Gaza since October 7, to be included in the next batch of hostages released.

NBC reports that Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, another Israeli-American citizen who was kidnapped by Hamas, will be released shortly after Siegel.

Sagui Dekel-Chen, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was taken captive on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists (Courtesy screenshot)

Both Siegel and Dekel-Chen are on the list of 33 Israeli hostages expected to be set free in the initial 42-day phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, all of whom are so-called “humanitarian” cases: women, children, elderly individuals and the infirm.

The third American-Israeli hostage, Edan Alexander, isn’t slated to be released until the second phase, as he is a soldier.

It is believed that 87 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas: Israel ‘delaying implementation’ of truce deal by not allowing Palestinians to go back to north Gaza

Hamas in an official statement says Israel is “still delaying the implementation of the terms of the ceasefire” and hostage deal by not allowing displaced Palestinians to return to the northern Gaza Strip.

“We hold the occupation responsible for any disruption in implementing the agreement and its repercussions on the rest of the stations [of the agreement],” Hamas adds.

Under the deal, Israel was to withdraw from part of the Netzarim Corridor tomorrow and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza via the coastal road.

Israel has said it will not allow Gazans to reach the north of the Strip until Hamas “arranges” the release of civilian Arbel Yehud, who was supposed to be freed today.

Arbel Yehud, who was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7. (Courtesy)

Parades in West Bank, chants in Gaza, Hamas flags in East Jerusalem: Palestinians celebrate released terrorists

Palestinian security prisoners freed as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas are greeted by a crowd after their release, Ramallah, January 25, 2025.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Palestinian security prisoners freed as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas are greeted by a crowd after their release, Ramallah, January 25, 2025.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip celebrate the release and arrival of Palestinian security prisoners, many of whom were jailed for murderous terrorism, who were freed earlier today as part of the first phase of a hostage-ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

A video posted to social media shows a celebration in the West Bank city of Ramallah, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad member Mohammed al-Arida seen being carried on the shoulders of men in the crowd.

Al-Arida is one of 200 Palestinian security prisoners, including dozens serving life sentences for murder and terror, who were released today in exchange for four female IDF soldiers held by terrorists in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

According to Hebrew media reports, the Palestinian Authority has so far been largely successful in preventing both violence and support for terror groups during the West Bank celebrations. Palestinian national flags and flags of the Fatah faction that dominates the PA can be seen in photos and videos from the West Bank.

However, in the village of Aqab in East Jerusalem, Hamas flags have been seen during a celebratory procession.

Before the implementation of the ceasefire-hostage deal on Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to prevent celebrations and parades by Palestinians during the releases of security prisoners.

Channel 12 news reports that prisoners freed to Gaza are being greeted with chants of, “We are the people of Muhammad Deif,” referencing Hamas’s shadowy military chief, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Strip in July.

Social media users mock observant Likud minister for posting story on Shabbat welcoming released hostages

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman at the annual Jerusalem Conference, February 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman at the annual Jerusalem Conference, February 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

An Orthodox Likud lawmaker who helped collapse the previous government in protest over legislation allowing leavened bread in hospitals on Passover is mocked by critics for posting an Instagram story on Shabbat welcoming the four released Israeli hostages home.

“Leavened bread is forbidden, but inarticulate stories on Shabbat are allowed,” tweets one user on X about Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman (apparently referring to a grammatical error in the post).

“What does Idit Silman like more? PR? Or keeping Shabbat?” writes another.

Hamas propaganda video shows released hostage soldiers thanking terror group in Arabic at Gaza handover

Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag are seen in a Hamas propaganda video during their release, January 25, 2025. (Screenshot: Telegram)
Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag are seen in a Hamas propaganda video during their release, January 25, 2025. (Screenshot: Telegram)

The Hamas terror group publishes a propaganda video showing the release of hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag earlier today.

Hamas gave each of the hostages a “prisoner release form,” along with a framed certificate and a keychain with the Palestinian flag, the video shows.

The hostages were also forced to wear badges with their personal details, attached to a lanyard with a Palestinian flag pattern.

The four young women are seen thanking Hamas in Arabic before they are taken to the packed square in Gaza City where they were handed over to the Red Cross.

On a stage at the square, a Red Cross representative is seen signing a document, before the women are paraded on the stage.

The four hostages are then taken to Red Cross vehicles and driven away from the square, the video shows.

Thai officials said to meet Israeli hostage envoy amid possible imminent release of 10 foreign nationals kidnapped on Oct. 7

Thai nationals freed from Gazan captivity hug at a hospital in Israel in a photo released by the Thai government on November 27, 2023. (Courtesy)
Thai nationals freed from Gazan captivity hug at a hospital in Israel in a photo released by the Thai government on November 27, 2023. (Courtesy)

A delegation of Thai government officials met earlier today with hostage envoy Gal Hirsch as Israel anticipates that 10 foreign nationals taken hostage into Gaza during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught will be released in the coming days, Haaretz reports.

Eight of those 10 hostages are Thai nationals.

Israel believes the 10 hostages will be released separately, but in parallel to the four Israeli hostages who were released earlier today, Haaretz reports.

Hirsch’s meeting with the Thai delegation was held in the southern town of Re’im.

IDF: Three soldiers wounded, one seriously, in ongoing counter-terrorism operation in Jenin area

A soldier with the Egoz commando unit was seriously wounded earlier today during an ongoing counter-terrorism operation in the Jenin area of the northern West Bank, the military says.

The IDF says another two Egoz soldiers were moderately and lightly wounded in the same incident.

Two Palestinian security prisoners slated for release in truce deal refused to board bus to Gaza — report

Israeli security forces stand guard as buses transporting Palestinian prisoners being released as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group leave the Ketziot prison in the Negev desert on January 25, 2025. (Gil Magen-Cohen/AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as buses transporting Palestinian prisoners being released as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal with the Hamas terror group leave the Ketziot prison in the Negev desert on January 25, 2025. (Gil Magen-Cohen/AFP)

During today’s release of Palestinian security prisoners, two of the inmates slated for release refused to board a bus taking them from Ketziot Prison to Gaza, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

One of the inmates eventually agreed to board, while the other refused and had to be swapped with another prisoner, Kan says.

Hebrew media: Likud MK David Bitan hospitalized for neurological tests

MK David Bitan chairs a meeting of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, January 15, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)
MK David Bitan chairs a meeting of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, January 15, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

Likud MK David Bitan has been hospitalized in the neurological ICU at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, according to Hebrew media reports.

Bitan, who chairs the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, was feeling unwell for a few days before he was admitted, according to the reports.

He is said to be conscious and undergoing a series of medical tests.

Qatar says 2nd weekend of hostage-prisoner releases ‘completed,’ without mention of Hamas truce violations

Qatar announces what it says was the successful completion of the second weekend of hostage and prisoner releases.

“As part of the second exchange since the ceasefire began, mediators announce the completion of the handover of 4 Israeli women hostages, one of whom holds a Bulgarian nationality, to the Israeli side in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinians from Israeli prisons,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari tweets.

He makes no mention of Hamas’s refusal to release female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud and Israel’s subsequent refusal to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza — both of which were supposed to happen today according to the terms of the ceasefire deal.

Hamas is also supposed to provide Israel with the conditions of all 27 remaining hostages on Saturday.

WATCH: Freed hostage soldiers reunite with their parents after 477 days in Hamas captivity

Released hostages reunite with their parents after being freed from Hamas captivity; Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostages reunite with their parents after being freed from Hamas captivity; Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases videos showing released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, reuniting with their parents a short time ago at an IDF facility near the Gaza border.

They were reunited shortly after they were released from 477 days in Hamas captivity, as part of the first stage of a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian terror group.

Videos show released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag meeting their parents at an IDF facility near the Gaza border after 477 days in Hamas captivity.

Ariev runs into her parents’ arms, as her mother says, “You came back, our darling, you came back.”

Another clip shows her on a video call with other family members.

Gilboa, showered and changed out of the mock IDF uniforms in which Hamas dressed the hostages for their release, shrieks with joy as she too runs to hug her mother and father.

“Mom, you’re a lioness,” she tells her mother through her tears.

Previously freed hostages have said they saw news footage of their families protesting for their release during their captivity in Gaza.

Levy’s mother, Dr. Ayelet Levy Shachar, who has also been a vocal advocate for her daughter over the past 15 months, is seen throwing her bag aside as her daughter runs through the hallway of the facility toward her parents.

“I’ll take care of you, everything will be okay,” her father can be heard saying gently in his daughter’s ear as they hug.

Albag is seen making a heart shape for the camera with her hands as she is led by IDF officers through the military facility to meet her parents.

“Liri, baby!” her father shouts joyfully as the 19-year-old jumps into a warm embrace with both of her parents.

“That’s it, you’re home, you’re home,” Albag’s mother comforts her daughter as she sobs.

“I love you, all of the citizens of Israel, who supported our families and to the IDF who did everything for us,” Liri says to the camera.

Settlers raid West Bank Palestinian village of Tuba, torching home, vehicle — rights group

Settlers have raided the southern West Bank Palestinian village of Tuba, torching a home and a vehicle belonging to residents, the Israeli activist group Beyond the Herd says.

The report comes hours after four IDF soldiers kidnapped on October 7, 2023, were freed from Gaza under a ceasefire-hostage release deal with the Hamas terror group.

In exchange, Israel is set to free 200 Palestinian security prisoners, including dozens serving life sentences for murder and terror, later today.

Newly freed hostages in an ’emotionally and medically complex’ situation, Health Ministry official says at hospital

Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

Health Ministry representative Dr. Hagar Mizrahi says the four newly-released hostages are in an “emotionally and medically complex” situation.

Speaking at the Rabin Medical Center, where the four young women arrived a short time ago, Mizrahi says it is a privilege to provide them with treatment.

The women will receive a wide range of therapies, designed to address both their physical and emotional needs, says Mizrahi, the head of the General Medicine Division at the Health Ministry.

“Today we met Liri, Daniella, Naama and Karina after 477 days of Hamas captivity,” she says.

“This is an emotionally and medically complex event for the hostages, for their families, for the families of all the hostages, and for the entire people of Israel,” Mizrahi says.

Israel Prison Service says 200 Palestinian prisoners have been released; crowds celebrate in Ramallah

Buses transporting Palestinian prisoners drive away from the Ketziot Prison in the Negev on January 25, 2025 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
Buses transporting Palestinian prisoners drive away from the Ketziot Prison in the Negev on January 25, 2025 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

Israel’s prison service says it has released 200 Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, which earlier today saw Hamas free four Israeli female hostages.

“After the conclusion of the necessary activities in the prisons and the approval of political authorities, all the terrorists were released from the Ofer and Ktziot prisons,” the service says in a statement, adding that 200 prisoners have been freed.

Crowds of Palestinians erupted in joy as they welcomed dozens of prisoners who arrived on buses in Ramallah.

Stepping off the bus in grey tracksuits, many prisoners were raised onto the shoulders of people waiting, while others walked through the crowd.

Hamas said earlier that 70 of the freed prisoners would be deported — Israel has said that Palestinian prisoners who have been convicted of killing Israelis should be permanently deported if they are freed under the hostage-ceasefire agreement, and would not be allowed to return to homes in the West Bank or Gaza.

Egyptian state TV said two hours ago that 70 Palestinian prisoners had been released by Israel into Egypt.

Released hostage Liri Albag makes heart symbol with her hands from helicopter window as crowd cheers

Newly released hostage Liri Albag gestures a heart shape with her hands, from the window of a military helicopter as it prepares to land at the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025 (JACK GUEZ / AFP)
Newly released hostage Liri Albag gestures a heart shape with her hands, from the window of a military helicopter as it prepares to land at the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva on January 25, 2025 (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Liri Albag makes a heart sign with her hands from the window of the helicopter that has taken her and the three other newly released hostages to a central Israel hospital.

A large crowd has gathered to greet the four young women as they arrive at the Rabin Medical Center for treatment after 477 days held by Hamas in Gaza.

Crowd cheers as helicopter carrying 4 freed hostages lands at hospital in central Israel

An Israeli military helicopter carrying four released hostages arrives at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
An Israeli military helicopter carrying four released hostages arrives at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A crowd cheers as Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy arrive at the Rabin Medical Center by helicopter.

The Health Ministry says the young women will receive “comprehensive medical care, including psychological support and addressing any additional needs.”

The newly released hostages are expected to stay at the Petah Tikva hospital for several days.

Family of unreleased civilian Arbel Yehud say they are thrilled by return of hostages, eagerly await her return

The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehoud, hostages who were taken captive into Gaza by Hamas terrorists in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The home of Ariel Cunio and Arbel Yehoud, hostages who were taken captive into Gaza by Hamas terrorists in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack, stands empty after nearly 15 months of war in kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel, Dec. 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The family of female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud welcome the return of the four hostages this morning, and say they are eagerly waiting for her return.

“Our hearts are filled with joy at the return of Karina, Daniella, Liri and Naama,” the Yehud family says, referring to the four female soldiers freed by Hamas this morning.

“We are waiting and looking forward to the moment when we can hug our Arbel as soon as possible,” the family says.

Yehud, 29, was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7, 2023. Her brother, Dolev Yehud, was killed on October 7 at the kibbutz and was thought to also be held hostage until his remains were identified in June.

Arbel Yehud was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz (Courtesy)

Israel has said that Hamas was in violation of the hostage-ceasefire deal by releasing female soldiers before Yehud.

Terrorists are also holding Shiri Bibas and her small children Kfir and Ariel. The IDF said today it has “grave concerns” regarding the young family.

IDF chief: Return of hostage soldiers ‘an integral part of our victory in war’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) is seen at a command center for the release of hostages held by Hamas, on January 25, 2025, alongside Mossad chief David Barnea (left), Shin Bet head Ronen Bar (2nd from left), hostage pointman Maj. Gen (res.) Nitzan Alon (2nd from right), and Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Mordechai (right). Also in the room are IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) is seen at a command center for the release of hostages held by Hamas, on January 25, 2025, alongside Mossad chief David Barnea (left), Shin Bet head Ronen Bar (2nd from left), hostage pointman Maj. Gen (res.) Nitzan Alon (2nd from right), and Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Mordechai (right). Also in the room are IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the return of hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag is “an integral part of our victory in war.”

“We are committed to returning all the hostages, civilians and soldiers,” Halevi says at a command center during the release of the four hostages.

Report: Israel discussing with mediators if civilian hostage Arbel Yehud can be freed in coming days

A poster showing the portraits of Arbel Yehoud (C), her brother Dolev Yehoud (R), and her partner Ariel Cunio (L) at their father's home in Rishon LeZion in central Israel on December 8, 2023 (MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
A poster showing the portraits of Arbel Yehoud (C), her brother Dolev Yehoud (R), and her partner Ariel Cunio (L) at their father's home in Rishon LeZion in central Israel on December 8, 2023 (MARCO LONGARI / AFP)

There are discussions underway between Israel and mediators to see if civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud can be released before next Saturday, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Israel has said that Hamas was in violation of the agreement by releasing female soldiers before the living female captives, and has said that Palestinians will not be permitted to return to northern Gaza until arrangements have been made for the release of Yehud.

An Israeli official tells Kan that the Gazans would be permitted to return to the northern Strip if Yehud is freed in the coming days.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the terror group holding Yehud, has falsely claimed that she is a soldier.

First photos show tears and hugs as Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag are reunited with their parents

Released hostages reunite with their parents after being freed from Hamas captivity; Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostages reunite with their parents after being freed from Hamas captivity; Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Liri Albag; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

Photos show the tearful embraces as the four released hostages are reunited with their parents at a military base near Re’im.

Karina Ariev, 20, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Naama Levy, 20, and Liri Albag, 19, were freed by Hamas this morning after they were taken from the Nahal Oz base on October 7, 2023 — 477 days ago.

The four young women were met by their parents after they crossed the border and returned to Israel this morning.

Released hostage Liri Albag is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostage Liri Albag is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostage Karina Ariev is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostage Karina Ariev is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostage Daniella Gilboa is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostage Daniella Gilboa is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Released hostage Naama Levy is seen with her parents after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)
Naama Levy is seen with her mother after being freed from Hamas captivity on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

 

Released hostage Liri Albag in helicopter selfie: ‘I love you citizens of Israel, I’m back!’

Released hostage Liri Albag along with her parents Eli and Shira on a military helicopter on January 25, 2025 (Courtesy)
Released hostage Liri Albag along with her parents Eli and Shira on a military helicopter on January 25, 2025 (Courtesy)

Released hostage soldier Liri Albag is seen in a selfie with her parents aboard an Israeli Air Force helicopter, before heading to a hospital.

“I love you citizens of Israel, IDF soldiers. And my family!!” Albag writes on a whiteboard.

“I’m back,” she concludes in English, along with two smiley faces.

IDF warns Palestinians against returning to north Gaza amid delay over Hamas deal violation

Displaced Gazans load a cart with their belongings near a roadblock on Salah al-Din Street in Nuseirat on January 25, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)
Displaced Gazans load a cart with their belongings near a roadblock on Salah al-Din Street in Nuseirat on January 25, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)

The IDF warns Palestinians against returning to the northern Gaza Strip from its south via the Netzarim Corridor, where troops are still deployed.

“We confirm that all the instructions we issued are still in effect, especially the ban on approaching the Netzarim Corridor until it is announced that it is open,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says on X.

“The instructions will remain in effect until new instructions are issued with the transition to the next stage of the agreement and after Hamas [carries out] its commitments,” he says.

The Prime Minister’s Office said earlier that Israel will not allow Palestinians to return to the northern Gaza Strip until Hamas arranges the release of female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud. According to Israel, Hamas violated the deal by releasing female hostage soldiers before all of the living civilian women captives.

Family of released hostage Karina Ariev: ‘We are finally able to hear her voice, see her smile that fills us with light’

Israelis hold a poster of Karina Ariev as they watch the release of four hostages held by Hamas at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, January 25, 2025 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Israelis hold a poster of Karina Ariev as they watch the release of four hostages held by Hamas at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, January 25, 2025 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The family of Karina Ariev say that they are thrilled that she has finally returned home, but their hearts are with the others still held hostage in Gaza.

“Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude and happiness. After 477 long and harrowing days of pain, worry and endless anxiety, we were finally able to hug our beloved Karina, hear her voice, and see her smile that fills us with light again,” the family says in a statement.

“Our Karina is a symbol of courage, strength of heart and determination, and we are proud of her beyond words,” the family says, thanking everyone who has supported them over the past 15 months.

“At the same time, our hearts are with the family of [hostage] Agam Berger and the other women who are still waiting for their miracle,” the Arievs say. “We will not be silent and will not rest until each and every one of them returns home.”

Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag were freed by Hamas this morning after they were taken from the Nahal Oz base, along with Berger, on October 7, 2023. Berger remains in captivity.

Family of freed hostage Liri Albag: ‘She showed superpowers and survived hell,’ our hearts are with the families still waiting

Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

The family of Liri Albag say that the freed hostage “showed superpowers and survived hell,” and pledge to continue to fight for the return of the remaining captives.

“A sense of relief and happiness envelops us after 477 long and unbearable days of nerve-wracking waiting. We were finally able to see Liri, hug her and know that she is with us, in her safe place, surrounded by the love of her family,” the family says in a statement.

“Liri showed superpowers and survived hell, and we are so proud of her for her steadfastness in the impossible conditions,” the family says.

The Albags say that their hearts are with the families of Arbel Yehud, Agam Berger, the Bibas family and all the other hostages who are still waiting to return home.

“Our thoughts are with them, even in these moments of joy, and we are determined to fight until the last of the hostages returns home,” the family says.

Israel has released 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt, state-run Egyptian television says

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles arrive to the Ofer military prison near Jerusalem on Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles arrive to the Ofer military prison near Jerusalem on Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV says Israel has released 70 Palestinian prisoners into Egypt under the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The network says they arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Hamas earlier released four female Israeli soldiers held hostage since October 7, 2023. Israel is expected to release a total of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees today, some 70 of whom will be sent into exile, in exchange for the four.

Israel has said that Palestinians who have been convicted of killing Israelis should be permanently deported if they are freed under the hostage-ceasefire agreement, and would not be allowed to return to homes in the West Bank or Gaza.

Report: Israel may demand proof of life or guarantee that Arbel Yehud is alive and will be freed next week

Arbel Yehoud was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz (Courtesy)
Arbel Yehoud was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz (Courtesy)

Israel may demand that the Gaza terror groups provide some kind of sign of life or guarantee that female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud is alive and will be released next Saturday, Channel 12 news reports.

According to Israel, Hamas violated the terms of the deal by releasing female hostage soldiers before all of the living civilian women captives.

IDF chief holds assessment as troops prepare to stay in Netzarim Corridor

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi wrapped up an assessment a short while ago with the heads of the military’s regional commands.

The IDF says Halevi spoke on the military’s preparations in the Netzarim Corridor area of central Gaza and stressed the troops’ preparedness there “until further notice.”

Israel has said it will not withdraw from the corridor until the release of civilian hostage Arbel Yehud “is arranged.”

The IDF says it is warning Palestinians “not to approach the area until it opens.”

The assessment also focused on the release of Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank as part of the deal. The IDF says it has bolstered forces in the West Bank in preparation for their release.

Hamas official says female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud is alive and will be released next Saturday

Arbel Yehoud, who was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7. (Courtesy)
Arbel Yehoud, who was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7. (Courtesy)

An official from the Hamas terror group tells the Reuters news agency that mediators have been informed that civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud is alive and will be released next Saturday.

A similar message is conveyed to the Al Jazeera network by the terror group. However, there is no formal announcement from Hamas on the matter.

A Palestinian Islamic Jihad source tells the Qatari network that they are holding Yehud, while falsely claiming she is a soldier.

The comment comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel will not allow Palestinians to return to the northern Gaza Strip until Hamas “arranges the release” of Yehud.

According to Israel, Hamas violated the deal by releasing female hostage soldiers before all of the living civilian women captives.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced its punitive decision soon after four hostage female soldiers — Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy — were freed by Hamas in Gaza. The decision was reportedly taken during security consultations held by Netanyahu last night, soon after Hamas had released the names of the four female soldiers it was freeing, but announced after the releases so as not to jeopardize them.

Footage shows the 4 released hostages handed over by Red Cross to IDF troops

Footage released by the IDF shows the moment newly released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag are handed over to troops in the Gaza Strip from the Red Cross.

The four have since been brought to an IDF facility near the border to meet their parents and undergo an initial health checkup.

Footage shows vehicles carrying released hostages crossing border back into Israel

Footage released by the IDF shows the moment newly released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag crossed the border from the Gaza Strip back into Israel after 477 days in Hamas captivity.

The four were escorted by IDF special forces out of Gaza after they were handed over to them by the Red Cross.

Footage shows vehicles carrying released hostages crossing border back into Israel on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel won’t let Palestinians return to north Gaza until Hamas arranges release of female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud, PM’s office says

Arbel Yehoud, who was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7. (Courtesy)
Arbel Yehoud, who was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7. (Courtesy)

Israel will not allow Palestinians to return to the northern Gaza Strip until Hamas arranges the release of female civilian hostage Arbel Yehud, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says.

“Israel has received four female hostage soldiers from the Hamas terrorist group today, and in return will release security prisoners” according to the deal, the PMO says.

“In accordance with the agreement, Israel will not allow the passage of Gazans to the north of the Gaza Strip, until the arrangement of the release of civilian Arbel Yehud, who was supposed to be released today,” the statement adds. Yehud is thought to be held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

The announcement also means that the IDF will not be withdrawing from part of the Netzarim Corridor.

Under the deal, Israel was supposed to withdraw from the northern half of the corridor today, day seven of the ceasefire, to allow Palestinians to return to north Gaza via the coastal road.

According to Israel, Hamas violated the deal by releasing female hostage soldiers before all of the living civilian women captives.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced its punitive decision soon after four hostage female soldiers — Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy — were freed by Hamas in Gaza. The decision was reportedly taken during security consultations held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night, soon after Hamas had released the names of the four female soldiers it was freeing, but announced after the releases so as not to jeopardize them.

Footage shows parents of 4 hostages screaming with joy as they watch their release

Parents of four Israeli hostages freed by Hamas watch their release at a military facility near Re'im on January 25, 2025 (Screen grab)
Parents of four Israeli hostages freed by Hamas watch their release at a military facility near Re'im on January 25, 2025 (Screen grab)

Footage shows the parents of the four hostages freed today watching their release at a military facility near Re’im.

The families of Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag scream with joy as their daughters appear on the screen.

The four newly released hostages are now meeting with their parents.

Parents of hostages freed in the deal watch their release at a military facility near Re’im on January 25, 2025 (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF officials say 4 released hostages in relatively good physical condition

Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas, who are due to be released on January 25, 2025: Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Liri Albag. (Courtesy)
Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas, who are due to be released on January 25, 2025: Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Liri Albag. (Courtesy)

Released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag are in relatively good physical condition, military officials say.

The four were checked by army doctors when they were handed over to the IDF by the Red Cross inside Gaza.

“Their medical condition is normal, with no findings that require special medical intervention on the ground,” the officials say.

They will undergo further assessments by doctors and mental health officers at an army base near the border, before being taken to a hospital.

IDF spokesman: Hamas violated deal by failing to free all female civilians first; ‘grave concern’ for Bibas family

The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Hamas violated the hostage-ceasefire agreement by failing to release all civilian women ahead of female soldiers.

“Hamas did not abide by its obligation in the deal to free civilian women first,” he says in a televised statement.

Arbel Yehud (Courtesy)

Hagari says Israel will make sure that civilian hostage Arbel Yehud, who is believed by Israel to be alive, is released soon, along with Shiri Bibas and her two small children, Ariel and baby Kfir.

Regarding the Bibas family, he says there are “grave concerns for their fate.”

He says Israel expects more information on the Bibas family soon.

The Bibas family, father Yarden (left), Ariel (second from left), Shiri and baby Kfir (Courtesy)

Hagari also says the military is “committed to the return of” Agam Berger, another surveillance soldier kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and all the other hostages.

Agam Berger, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

IDF spokesman slams Hamas’s ‘cynical’ handover ceremony of released hostages

Hamas fighters gather on an apparently purpose-built stage at a square before handing over four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (AFP)
Hamas fighters gather on an apparently purpose-built stage at a square before handing over four Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (AFP)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari slams Hamas’s “cynical” handover ceremony of released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag earlier in Gaza City.

“Hamas is a murderous terror group. In the last few hours Hamas proved its cruelty by organizing a cynical ceremony,” he says.

Hagari says Hamas “presented a misrepresentation of treatment and care for the hostages, while in reality, it is cruelly holding innocent civilians for 477 days.”

“The mission will not end until all of them return to Israel,” he adds.

IDF spokesman says 4 released hostages meeting their parents: ‘They are in safe hands and on their way home’

Hamas operatives escort four Israeli hostages to hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (AFP)
Hamas operatives escort four Israeli hostages to hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (AFP)

Released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag are meeting with their parents at an IDF facility near Re’im, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says in a televised statement.

“They are in safe hands and on their way home,” he says.

Released hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag have crossed the border into Israel

Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli hostages Liri Albag (2nd left), Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

Released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag have crossed the border into Israel, the IDF says.

They were escorted out of the Gaza Strip by Israeli special forces after they were handed over to them by the Red Cross.

The IDF is bringing them to a facility near the border for an initial checkup and to meet with their parents for the first time after 477 days in Hamas captivity.

The four are IDF surveillance soldiers who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Nahal Oz post during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Family and friends of released hostages express elation at return of ‘heroic, amazing’ female soldiers freed by Hamas

Israeli hostages Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli hostages Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

The friends and families of the four released hostages express their joy that Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag are on their way back to Israel.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Liri the hero,” Albag’s friends tell the Ynet news site. “We saw Liri coming back. She waved her hand and she seems fine. It’s crazy. We were really worried, but she’s a hero with a huge smile.”

Gilboa’s family tells Channel 12 news that they were elated to see her walk out of the Hamas vehicle.

“She is a hero. We were so happy to see her on her feet,” they say.

One of Levy’s friends tells Ynet that the four women were “amazing” and that they had been concerned that they would not be on their feet.

“I have no words to describe the feelings now to see Naama back on her feet along with three other amazing, heroic girls,” the unnamed friend says.

“We don’t know what she went through there, and we can only imagine the hell. I thought the worst, I dreamed that she was coming out in the worst possible condition, sitting or lying down or worse,” the friend says.

Female surveillance soldier Agam Berger remains in Hamas captivity. The five women were abducted from the Nahal Oz base on October 7.

Released hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, Liri Albag handed over to IDF in Gaza

A mural of female Israeli soldiers set to be freed by the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip is displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 24, 2025.  (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A mural of female Israeli soldiers set to be freed by the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip is displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Released hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag are now in the hands of IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas had handed over the four to the Red Cross, which brought them to the IDF.

They will be brought out of Gaza to a facility near the border for an initial checkup and to meet with their parents for the first time after 477 days in Hamas captivity.

Crowd at Hostages Square cheers as 4 women handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas

Israelis react as they follows the news of the hostages' release, in Tel Aviv, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israelis react as they follows the news of the hostages' release, in Tel Aviv, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Footage from Tel Aviv Hostages Square shows the crowd erupting into cheers as Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag are set free by Hamas and handed over to the International Red Cross.

The crowd applauds repeatedly as first images of the women are shown and news breaks that they were handed over to the IDF.

Many crowd members wear bright yellow shirts, signifying solidarity with the hostages, and hoist pictures of those returning today.

IDF says Red Cross confirmed 4 female hostages were handed over to it in Gaza

Hamas operatives escort four Israeli hostages on a stage before handing them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025.  (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Hamas operatives escort four Israeli hostages on a stage before handing them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The IDF says that the Red Cross has notified the military that hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag were handed over to its staff by Hamas.

The Red Cross is now bringing the hostages to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside the Gaza Strip, the military adds.

Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag freed by Hamas and handed over to the Red Cross

Israeli hostages Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli hostages Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy wave on a stage before Hamas operatives hand them over to a team from the Red Cross in Gaza City on January 25, 2025. (AFP)

Hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag are handed over to the International Red Cross.

The four women are seen walking up on a stage set up by Hamas at a packed square in Gaza City ahead of their release.

All four are dressed in military-style uniforms and holding “gift bags” given to them by Hamas.

Looking in good physical health, they smile and wave from the stage during the brief, Hamas-run handover ceremony.

They are taken from the stage straight into the Red Cross vehicles.

Red Cross representatives taken onto stage in Gaza City square to sign paperwork for release of hostages

Red Cross officials and Hamas gunmen sign documents ahead of the release of four Israeli hostages in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/YouTube)
Red Cross officials and Hamas gunmen sign documents ahead of the release of four Israeli hostages in Gaza City on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/YouTube)

Representatives of the International Red Cross have been taken onto a stage in the Gaza City square where they are apparently signing documents ahead of the expected release of hostages.

A stage with a wooden desk has been set up in the square, where thousands of onlookers are gathered alongside armed members of Hamas.

The scene is reminiscent of the last hostage handover in which Red Cross staff were asked to sign forms and the freed women were given “gift bags” by the terror group.

Vehicles presumably carrying hostages arrive at Gaza City ahead of expected handover

Four unmarked SUVs arrive at a square in Gaza City for the hostage handover on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/YouTube)
Four unmarked SUVs arrive at a square in Gaza City for the hostage handover on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/YouTube)

Five unmarked SUVs have arrived at a square in Gaza City for the hostage handover.

Hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, could be in the vehicles.

A short while before, a convoy of Red Cross vehicles arrived at the square.

Red Cross vehicles arrive at Gaza City square for expected handover of 4 hostages

Red Cross vehicle arrives at a Gaza square ahead of the expected release of four Israeli hostages on January 25, 2025. (Screencapture/Reuters via YouTube, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Red Cross vehicle arrives at a Gaza square ahead of the expected release of four Israeli hostages on January 25, 2025. (Screencapture/Reuters via YouTube, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A convoy of Red Cross vehicles has arrived at a square in Gaza City where Hamas will hand over four Israeli hostages.

Hamas has set up a stage where the handover will take place. Dozens of uniformed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives are seen at the square.

Hamas: 70 of the Palestinian prisoners to be freed today will be deported outside Gaza, West Bank

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles arrive to the Ofer military prison near Jerusalem on Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles arrive to the Ofer military prison near Jerusalem on Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Hamas says that 70 of the 200 Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel today will be deported outside of Gaza and the West Bank, according to a statement by the terror group.

Israel has said that Palestinians who have been convicted of killing Israelis should be permanently deported if they are freed under the hostage- ceasefire agreement, and would not be allowed to return to homes in the West Bank or Gaza.

Bibas family says their ‘world collapsed’ when loved ones weren’t on list of hostages to be freed today

The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)
The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. (Courtesy)

Relatives of the Bibas family say their “world collapsed” when their loved ones weren’t on the list of hostages to be released today.

Four female surveillance soldiers are expected to be released today by Hamas. Surveillance soldier Agam Berger remains in Gaza, in addition to two female civilian hostages from the original list of 33 who are slated to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal: Arbel Yehud, 29, and Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33.

Bibas’s two sons Ariel and baby Kfir, and her husband Yarden, are also on the list of 33 to be freed.

Here is the Bibas family’s post in full:

Bibas Family Statement

The 477th morning,
Once again, we found no rest last night.

Yesterday at 16:00, when the list of those set for release was published, our world collapsed.
Even though we were prepared for this possibility, we had hoped to see Shiri and the children on the list that was supposed to be for civilian women.

In the evening, when we turned on the news, our pain, our struggle, and, most importantly, the crucial discussion about the complexity and tragedy of them not being on the list disappeared from the mouths of the broadcasters in the studios.

Does the grave concern for their lives cancel out the fact that they are civilians in captivity who must be brought home?
Does the grave concern for their lives negate the fact that the state is obligated in this deal to provide us with certainty?
Does the grave concern for Shiri’s life mean that there is no longer a need to display her photo as a kidnapped civilian in Gaza whose fate remains unknown?

The answer is — No.

Thank you, dear supporters, for not giving up, for continuing to pray, hope, and demand answers.

Today is an emotional and complex day ahead of us.

Liri, Daniela, Naama, and Karina—
We are waiting to see you smiling, wrapped in love, at home with your incredible families.

Shiri, Yarden, Ariel, and Kfir—
We will continue to hope and demand your return.

It’s not over until it’s over.

Sincerely,
The Bibas Family

Forum calls for sensitivity when sharing potentially ‘difficult’ images from hostage release

A mural of female Israeli soldiers set to be freed by the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip is displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 24, 2025.  (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A mural of female Israeli soldiers set to be freed by the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip is displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum calls on the public and media to show sensitivity when sharing images of the expected release of the four Israeli hostages.

The organization, which represents many of the families of those held captive, warns of the possibility of “difficult images” that may be shown at the moment of the release of the four young women.

IDF helicopters standing by to take hostages back to Israel

An Israeli Air Force helicopter is seen ready for Israeli hostages to be released from Gaza, January 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
An Israeli Air Force helicopter is seen ready for Israeli hostages to be released from Gaza, January 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says Israeli Air Force helicopters are ready for the four Israeli hostages who are set to be released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip soon.

The choppers will take hostage soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag to a hospital after an initial checkup at an army facility near the border.

Red Cross team on its way to meeting point for hostage handover, official says

A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza is on its way for the handover of 4 Israeli hostages from Hamas, an official involved in the operation confirms to Reuters.

Hamas will be freeing soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, who were kidnapped by terrorists from the Nahal Oz post during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Footage shows Hamas forces gather at a Gaza City square ahead of expected hostage release

Footage shows Hamas and Islamic Jihad forces gathering in a Gaza square ahead of the expected release of four Israeli hostages on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/Al Jazeera)
Footage shows Hamas and Islamic Jihad forces gathering in a Gaza square ahead of the expected release of four Israeli hostages on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/Al Jazeera)

Dozens of uniformed Hamas operatives, as well as members of the allied Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, are seen gathered at a square in Gaza City ahead of the release of four Israeli hostages.

Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera shows a large crowd of Palestinians also gathered in the area.

Last week, Hamas carried out a similar show of force when releasing three hostages.

At the apparent site of the hostage handover, Hamas operatives stand over a large banner in Hebrew reading “Zionism won’t win.” The banner includes the emblems of several IDF units and the Shin Bet.

Another banner placed below it shows images of several Israeli officials and IDF officers, with text reading “Failure” above each one.

Banner shows images of several Israeli officials and IDF officers, with text reading ‘Failure’ above each one.in a Gaza square ahead of the expected release of four Israeli hostages on January 25, 2025 (Screencapture/Al Jazeera)

Parents of hostages to be waiting at Gaza border facility

Shira Albag, mother of captive soldier Liri Albag, speaks during a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, January 11, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Shira Albag, mother of captive soldier Liri Albag, speaks during a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, January 11, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The parents of hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag will be waiting at an army facility near the border with the Gaza Strip — close to Re’im — to meet their daughters for the first time after 477 days in captivity.

If any of the hostages require immediate medical care they will be airlifted straight to a hospital in Israel without going through the army site.

At the IDF facility, the hostages will undergo an initial physical and mental health checkup, and change clothes.

The four are IDF surveillance soldiers who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Nahal Oz post during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Red Cross vehicles seen moving to Gaza’s Kerem Shalom crossing ahead of Palestinian prisoner release

The Al-Jazeera network publishes footage of Red Cross vehicles traveling from Rafah in Gaza to the Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel.

The Red Cross will facilitate the transfer of released Palestinian security prisoners into Gaza after Hamas frees four Israeli hostages.

While most of the prisoners will go to the West Bank, some are slated to be sent to Gaza.

IDF says it has completed preparations for return of four hostages today

The IDF says it has completed preparations for the return of four hostages from Hamas captivity today.

The four hostages, soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, will be brought to an army facility near the border first, where they will undergo an initial checkup.

From there, they will be taken to a hospital to meet with their families for the first time after 477 days.

Israel believes Hamas will start hostage release in coming hours

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)
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)

Israel believes that in the coming hours, Hamas will begin preparations in Gaza to release the four hostages, a defense source says.

Hamas will freeing soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, who were kidnapped by terrorists from the Nahal Oz post during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Trump fires at least 12 independent inspectors general

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025, on his way to Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025, on his way to Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

US President Donald Trump’s administration fires the independent inspectors general of more than a dozen major government agencies, US media reports.

The agencies include the departments of defense, state, transportation, veterans affairs, housing and urban development, interior, and energy, Washington Post says, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The New York Times says the purge affected 17 agencies but spared the Department of Justice inspector general, Michael Horowitz.

The Post says the firings “appeared to violate federal law, which requires Congress to receive 30 days’ notice of any intent to fire the inspectors general.”

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports.

An inspector general is an independent position that conducts audits, investigations and inspectors into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. They can be removed by the president or the agency head, depending on who nominated or appointed them.

Most of those dismissed were appointees from Trump’s 2017-2021 first term, the Post reporting, saying those affected had been notified by emails from the White House personnel director that they had been terminated effective immediately.

Ben & Jerry’s accuses Unilever of muzzling it over Trump mention, in latest tensions over social policies

Ben & Jerry's ice cream on sale at a shop in Jerusalem, on July 19, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Ben & Jerry's ice cream on sale at a shop in Jerusalem, on July 19, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

NEW YORK – Ben & Jerry’s ratchets up its censorship lawsuit against Unilever, accusing its parent company of suppressing a social policy statement the ice cream maker wanted to release because it mentioned US President Donald Trump.

The allegation comes in an amended complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, where Ben & Jerry’s in November accused Unilever of silencing attempts to express its pro-Palestinian stance and call for an end military aid to Israel, and threatening to dismantle its independent board.

Ben & Jerry’s wants a court order freeing the board to continue oversight of its social mission, and requiring Unilever to honor its commitment to make $25 million of payments to groups chosen by the ice cream company.

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both companies have been publicly at odds since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby and other ice cream flavors in the West Bank because it was inconsistent with the company’s values.

Pete Hegseth narrowly secures enough Senate votes to become US defense secretary

Pete Hegseth, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (ALLISON ROBBERT / AFP)
Pete Hegseth, US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (ALLISON ROBBERT / AFP)

WASHINGTON – Pete Hegseth narrowly secures enough votes to become the next US defense secretary, a major victory for President Donald Trump after fierce opposition from Democrats and even some Republicans to his controversial nominee.

Hegseth is confirmed after a 50-50 vote in the Senate, when Vice President JD Vance comes to the chamber to break the tie in his role as president of the Senate, after three Republicans join every Democrat and independent in voting no.

Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and decorated veteran, is the most divisive candidate to clinch the US military’s top job, a position that has historically gone to candidates with deep experience running large organizations and who enjoy broad bipartisan support.

It is only the second time in history a cabinet nominee needed a tie-break to be confirmed. The first was also a Trump nominee, Betsy DeVos, who became secretary of education in 2017.

The three Republican senators who voted against Hegseth are Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, who was the party’s leader in the chamber until this month.

WATCH: Family of captive IDF soldier celebrates after Hamas says she’ll be freed from Gaza today

Footage posted to social media shows the family of IDF surveillance soldier Daniella Gilboa, held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, celebrating after the terror group announces that she will be released from captivity later today as part of a ceasefire deal.

One video posted by Gilboa’s mother shows the family clapping and singing around the Shabbat dinner table, while another, apparently filmed from a neighboring building, shows them celebrating on the balcony.

Gilboa is one of seven female soldiers abducted from the IDF surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz army base during the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023.

Three other captive soldiers, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, and Naama Levy, are also slated to be released with Gilboa. The agreement stipulates that for each of the female soldiers, Israel will release 50 Palestinian prisoners, 30 of them convicted terrorists who are serving life sentences.

Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas, who are due to be released on January 25, 2025: Top (L-R) Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa; bottom (L-R) Naama Levy, Liri Albag. (Courtesy)

UN chief calls for ‘immediate, unconditional release’ of seven more workers detained by Houthi rebels in Yemen

A Houthi fighter carries a rifle as Yemenis hold a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, January 17, 2025. (Mohammed Huwais / AFP)
A Houthi fighter carries a rifle as Yemenis hold a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, January 17, 2025. (Mohammed Huwais / AFP)

SANAA – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all aid staff held in Yemen, after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels detained another seven UN employees.

“Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable,” Guterres says in a statement, adding that the UN is working to secure the release of those being held.

The Houthis have detained dozens of staff from the UN and other humanitarian organizations, most since the middle of last year.

Guterres says the “continued targeting of UN personnel and its partners negatively impacts our ability to assist millions of people in need in Yemen.”

The detentions come after US President Donald Trump ordered the Houthis to be placed back on the US list of foreign terrorist organizations, which will trigger a review of UN agencies and other NGOs working in Yemen that receive US funding.

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press as he and first lady Melania Trump (R) prepare to depart the White House aboard Marine One on January 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/AFP)

Iran’s IRGC says it is conducting extensive naval drill in Persian Gulf

In this image provided on January 24, 2025, by Sepahnews of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a missile is launched by a vessel during the guard's drill in the Persian Gulf. (Sepahnews via AP)
In this image provided on January 24, 2025, by Sepahnews of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a missile is launched by a vessel during the guard's drill in the Persian Gulf. (Sepahnews via AP)

TEHRAN — Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard says it is conducting a naval drill in the waters of the Persian Gulf and in the country’s southern provinces of Bushehr and Khuzestan.

The Guard’s website reports that surface-to-surface missiles, precision-strike drones, and several torpedoes were used in the drill. It adds that the military exercise will continue into Saturday and feature modern military equipment.

The Revolutionary Guard holds such drills each year.

Report: Hostage mothers and fathers to meet daughters at IDF base near border after they’re released from Gaza

The parents of the four female IDF soldiers that Hamas says it will release from Gaza tomorrow as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal will be able to meet their daughters as soon as they cross into Israel, at an IDF facility near the border, the Ynet news site reports.

Earlier today, Hamas said it would release IDF soldiers Liri Albag, 19, Daniella Gilboa, 20, Karina Ariev, 20, and Naama Levy, 20 on Saturday.

The four are among seven female soldiers abducted from the IDF surveillance unit at the Nahal Oz army base during the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023.

On the first day of the ceasefire Sunday, when Hamas released Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher, only the mothers were invited to greet their daughters at the border facility. They reunited with the rest of their immediate families a short while later after being helicoptered to a hospital in central Israel.

Released hostages (L-R) Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari and Romi Gonen reunite with their mothers shortly after returning to Israel after 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, January 19, 2025. (IDF)
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