March 1: Israel endorses US plan to extend ceasefire, claims Hamas refusing, warns war can restart

Israel endorses US plan to extend ceasefire, claims Hamas refusing, warns war can restart

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) meets then-US president-elect Donald Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, at his office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2025. (Prime Minister's Office Spokesperson)

Minutes after the end of the 42 days of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel endorses what it says is a US proposal to see the ceasefire with Hamas extended through Ramadan and Passover, during which all hostages could potentially be released.

Ramadan, which began Friday night, runs until March 29. Passover ends on April 19.

Half of the hostages — living and dead — would be released on the first day of the extended ceasefire, says the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement released after a four-hour meeting headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The remaining hostages would be released at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is reached, says the PMO, stressing that this is a plan proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Hamas has yet to accept Witkoff’s plan, says Israel. “If Hamas changes its position,” says Netanyahu’s office, “Israel will immediately enter negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan.”

The statement does not directly threaten a return to war, instead reminding the public, and Hamas, that the initial agreement allows Israel to return to fighting after March 1 — meaning at any moment now — if negotiations are deemed ineffective.

The PMO claims that Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement, while Israel is in full compliance. However, the agreement states that talks on phase two of the deal will begin “no later than day 16.” Israel has not engaged in indirect talks with Hamas on the second phase of the agreement until after day 42. Additionally, the IDF didn’t start withdrawing its forces from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border on Saturday, despite the deal requiring Israel to start this process on day 42.

The marathon meeting was attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior defense officials, and Israel’s negotiating team, says the PMO.

Zelensky says UK loan will be used to make weapons in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Kyiv would use a new £2.26 billion ($2.84 billion) loan from the United Kingdom to manufacture weapons in Ukraine.

“The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine,” Zelensky says on X. “I thank the people and government of the United Kingdom for their tremendous support from the very beginning of this war.”

Netanyahu’s office hits back at IDF chief after report claimed PM’s aide was warned about Hamas

The Prime Minister’s Office accuses IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi of trying to shirk responsibility for the October 7 attacks, after the top commander is quoted in a news report blasting the premier’s intelligence officer for not passing on information hours before terrorists poured across the border.

“It is very unfortunate that the Chief of Staff chooses to publicly attack a moral and trustworthy officer in the IDF,” says the PMO in a statement, “while attempting to shift the responsibility for the October 7 lapse onto his subordinates.”

According to Channel 12, the IDF drafted a document setting out the numerous worrying signs of Hamas activity in Gaza at 3:30 on the morning of October 7 and sent the document to the intelligence officers of seven key Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His intelligence officer received the document but did not pass the information up the chain, the report says.

The report quotes Halevi as saying: “If the prime minister’s intelligence officer was a person of integrity, he should already have told [Netanyahu] that he knew about [Hamas preparations just before the attack] and did not update [Netanyahu]. [The officer] did not do this.”

The PMO, in its statement, says the intelligence officer received the message along with a report that Hamas was operating as usual and that the IDF Southern Command would hold a discussion in the morning. The officer forwarded the message to Netanyahu’s military secretary, but given that the message did not indicate any urgency, decided not to wake him up.

This would mark the first time Netanyahu’s office has admitted that a warning came in overnight, and not as the attack was being launched.

Netanyahu’s office adds that the intelligence officer was not interviewed as part of the IDF investigations and was not allowed to attend the presentation of the findings.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu has full confidence in the military secretariat of his office,” his office says.

Lapid accuses gov’t of corruption after reported transfer of $370 million yeshivas, $60 million to settlers

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses the government of “corruption” after national broadcaster Kan reports that it is set to transfer 1.3 billion shekels ($370 million) for yeshiva budgets and NIS 217 million ($60 million) for Orit Strock’s Settlements and National Missions Ministry, which Finance Ministry officials have dubbed superfluous.

“Taxes could be lowered for the middle class, but the government continues with corruption,” Lapid tweets. “This week’s loot: 1.3 billion shekels for the yeshiva budget to encourage evasion, 217 million for Strock’s unnecessary office, 122 million for Shas and United Torah Judaism’s [school] networks.”

According to Kan, the funds, which include NIS 50 million ($13.8 million) for far-right politician Avi Maoz’s Jewish National Identity Authority, are part of a 5 billion shekel ($1.3 billion) transfer of coalition funds slated to be carried out in the coming days.

Macron spoke to Trump, Zelensky after White House clash — Elysee

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to both Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump after their White House clash, his office says.

And in an interview appearing in the Tribune Dimanche Sunday, he says everyone should “return to calm, respect… so we can move forward…because what is at stake is too important.”

Report: IDF alerted PM’s intel officer of worrying Hamas activity 3 hours before Oct. 7 invasion; Officer didn’t pass material up chain

The IDF drafted a document setting out the numerous worrying signs of Hamas activity in Gaza at 3:30 on the morning of October 7, three hours before Hamas-led terrorists invaded, and sent the document to the intelligence officers of seven key Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then defense minister Yoav Gallant, Channel 12 reports.

Gallant’s office was unable to reach his intelligence officer, who, therefore, did not receive the document at that time.

Netanyahu’s intelligence officer and the other five all received the document. But Netanyahu’s officer did not pass the information up the chain, the report says.

The IDF did not investigate why the material was not passed on, the report says, because its investigations of the October 7 failures, published this week, did not touch on the political echelon.

The report quotes the IDF officer who oversaw the IDF’s intelligence investigation, Moshe Schneid, saying, “I didn’t check what went on there [in the chain of command in the Prime Minister’s Office] because I was very wary of probing the political echelon. I met the prime minister’s intelligence officer several times in the street and I was careful not even to ask him about it.”

The report also quotes outgoing IDF chief Herzi Halevi saying that the IDF did not publicize the fact that the Prime Minister’s Office was alerted to Hamas’s suspicious activity three hours ahead of the invasion “even though this could have helped us in the face of the bad things that are being said about us. We are very responsible and discreet. It’s a shame this is not reciprocated.”

It quotes Halevi adding: “If the prime minister’s intelligence officer was a person of integrity, he should already have told [Netanyahu] that he knew about [Hamas preparations just before the attack] and did not update [Netanyahu]. [The officer] did not do this.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly made clear that he received no specific advance warning ahead of the Hamas attack.

Released hostage Sasha Troufanov: Don’t let revenge, anger and rage get the upper hand

A video statement from released hostage Sasha Troufanov on March 1, 2025. (Screen capture/X)

Sasha Troufanov, who was released from Hamas captivity on February 15, says in a video message to the crowd at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square that he “can’t process the fact that I’m here and there are still people who haven’t returned.”

“Captivity is an insane mind game — you’re always faced with the thought that ‘if I don’t get out in this deal, there probably won’t be another deal I’ll get out in,'” says Troufanov.

Referring to ubiquitous posters featuring photographs of hostages, Troufanov says, “The fact that they’re here next to me, but they’re not — they’re just picture — is something that is difficult for me, and I’m sure it’s more difficult for their families.”

Now that he’s on the side of those yearning for their loved ones’ release, “Suddenly, I understand what it’s like, and it’s overwhelming for me,” he says.

סשה טרופנוב במסר ראשון בכיכר החטופים: "אל תתנו לרגשות נקמה, כעס וזעם להיות מעל ערכי אחדות וקידוש חיי אדם"@AnnaPines_
(צילום: מטה משפחות החטופים) pic.twitter.com/2B5RezR6Oq

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 1, 2025

“Isn’t it time to release the people there?” he asks. “The people who pray so hard to come home?”

“When I talk about returning the hostages, I mean all of them — living and dead,” he says. “Every family wants closure.”

He asks the the public, “don’t let feelings of revenge, anger and rage get the upper hand over values of unity, fraternity and sanctity of human life.

Troufanov thanks “each and every one of the people who have supported, helped and wised for my return home — I’m here thanks to you.”

PM reportedly considering briefly resuming fighting in order to pressure Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in holding talks regarding phase two of the hostage deal, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Instead, he is considering either returning to the war for a brief period of time to pressure Hamas, or allowing the ceasefire to remain in place without any hostage-prisoner swaps, while giving mediators the time to pressure Hamas to additional concessions, Kan says.

Turkey will resume operations against PKK if disarmament stalls, Erdogan says

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey would resume operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group if the group’s process of disarmament is stalled or promises are not kept.

Erdogan is speaking at an event in Istanbul on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Brother of slain captive: PM ‘beat me in the battle for my brother’s life’

Illustrative: Danny Elgarat, brother of hostage Itzik Elgarat, speaks at a weekly hostages' families protest in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square on June 29, 2024. (Adar Eyal/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Dani Elgarat accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning his older brother, hostage Itzik Elgarat, who will be laid to rest on Monday after his body was returned to Israel early Thursday.

“Bibi, Bibi,” says Elgarat, using the premier’s nickname, as he addresses some 1,000 protesters outside the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. “You beat me in the battle for the life of my brother, but we will beat you in the fight for the life of the country.”

“We won’t let you sacrifice the country on the altar of your rule,” he says.

“You, Benjamin Netanyahu, built up and armed Hamas. You put the country to sleep. You said Hamas was deterred as it has never been,” he says.

דני אלגרט. אחיו של איציק כשלצידו בתו של איציק מניף את האגרוף עכשיו בבגין ואומר: ״

ביבי, ניצחת אותי בקרב על חיי אחי, אנחנו ננצח אותך במערכה על חיי המדינה״ ????️???????? pic.twitter.com/QyCTLgUeNP

— ????️????????חגית קלימן – Hagit Klaiman????????????️???? (@klaiman14) March 1, 2025

He accuses the premier of cynically using the deaths in captivity of Shiri Bibas and her young sons Ariel and Kfir, whose bodies were returned to Israel last week.

“You used the blood of the Bibas family for your public relations,” he says, as the crowd jeers. “Shame on you! Go home! Enough!”

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matam Zangauker, rails against the “sadistic government.”

דני אלגרט הערב בבגין#מחזיריםאתכולםהביתה #מחדל_נתניהו pic.twitter.com/JZMRy7zxsq

— Rani S.cohen (@RaniScohen1) March 1, 2025

She says senior officials have told her Netanyahu was “aware of all the torture the hostages have undergone.”

Following released captive Eli Sharabi’s testimony that his conditions were worsened in response to Israeli leaders’ touting of worsened conditions for detained Hamas operatives, Zangauker adds that “Netanyahu remained silent… and let the abuse of our hostages continue.”

Report: IDF drilling for potential rapid return to Gaza, including moving civilians out of the north of the Strip

In the past few days, IDF troops have been drilling for a potential rapid return to areas in Gaza from which the IDF withdrew under the deal, including a return to the Netzarim Corridor, and for the movement of the civilian populace from the north of the Strip to humanitarian areas in the south of the Strip, Channel 12 reports.

Two IDF divisions are currently deployed to a buffer zone on the Gaza border, including the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

The report says the Southern Command is on heightened alert and readying for a potential return to fighting at short notice, as talks on the next phase of the ceasefire deal stall.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz will meet tomorrow along with other security officials to discuss preparations for a potential return to warfare in Gaza, and a review of all potential war fronts, Channel 12 reports.

Nimrod Cohen’s face blurred in Hamas video, but father spots him by tattoo

Hostage Nimrod Cohen's forearm (R) is seen in a video posted by Hamas on March 1, 2025. (Screen capture/X)

While Hamas blurred the face of hostage Nimrod Cohen in the video it published earlier tonight, his father identifies him by his tattoo on his forearm.

“He got the tattoo a few days before he was kidnapped,” Yehuda Cohen tells Ynet.

Nimrod is one of two hostages whose faces are blurred in the video.

“I’m disappointed that we don’t see Nimrod’s face because I haven’t seen him in a year and a half, but these are Hamas’s games,” Yehuda Cohen says.

He rejects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s branding of the video as “psychological terror” and accuses the premier of sacrificing the hostages in order to maintain his grip on power.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have threatened to collapse the government if he advances with the hostage deal’s second phase. He has largely refused to hold talks on that stage for the past month, as stipulated in the agreement.

Netanyahu, Katz direct IDF to ‘prepare to defend’ Syrian Druze locale ‘under attack by regime’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF to “prepare to defend” the Druze-majority city of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria.

A statement issued by Katz’s office says the city is “currently under attack by the forces of the Syrian regime.”

“We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be struck by us,” Katz says.

“We are committed to our Druze brothers in Israel to do everything to prevent harm to their Druze brothers in Syria, and we will take all the steps required to maintain their safety,” he adds.

According to reports from Syria, authorities have been clashing with local gunmen during a security campaign in Jaramana.

Protests being held against gov’t across the country, calling for completion of hostage deal

Protesters gather across Israel on Saturday to protest for the completion of the deal, with demonstrations held in Ness Ziona, Haifa, Hadera and other cities. Protesters also gather at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square.

“We will not lend a hand to abandonment,” the pro-democracy Hofshi B’Artzenu protest group says in a Twitter thread sharing photos from protests it has organized. “Citizens across the country, at intersections, on bridges, and in the streets, came out to fight for the completion of the deal.”

כיכר הבימה pic.twitter.com/7F3gqnLL2g

— חופשי בארצנו – מטה המאבק (@Hofshi_Israel) March 1, 2025

As freed hostage Omer Shem Tov discharged from hospital, welcoming crowd gathers outside his home

Israelis gather outside of freed hostage Omer Shem Tov’s family home in Herzliya to await his return home after he’s discharged from Beilinson Hospital.

Shem Tov was released from Hamas captivity last Saturday. Last week, his mother, Shelly Shem Tov, said that he had been kept for 450 days alone in a tunnel, where he suffered.

Video footage posted on X by national broadcaster Kan shows a flag-waving crowd singing and dancing next to a balloon arch outside his home. They carry signs saying “how good that you’ve come home.”

עומר שם טוב שוחרר מבית החולים בילינסון. רבים התקבצו סמוך לביתו בהרצליה עם שלטים לכבודו: "כמה טוב שבאת הביתה"@AnnaPines_ pic.twitter.com/wK1uOnoIZn

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 1, 2025

Haifa protesters demand government stick to deal ‘until last hostage released’

Ahead of the end of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, protesters in Haifa march for the completion of the agreement with Hamas, carrying banners stating “until the last hostage.”

Hamas is insisting that the deal proceed with phase two, which Israel has largely refused to negotiate for the past month. The terrorist group stated on Saturday that it rejects Israel’s proposal to extend the deal’s first phase rather than advancing to its second.

No hostages were released over the weekend, following a long series of weekly releases over the course of the first phase.

https://twitter.com/adin_dan/status/1895885942139076683

Likud Minister Nir Barkat apologizes for saying he had ‘more important things’ to do than watch freed hostage’s testimony

Economy Minister Nir Barkat speaks during a press conference at his office in Tel Aviv, June 27, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Likud Economy Minister Nir Barkat apologizes for saying he had ‘more important things’ to do than watch freed hostage Eli Sharabi’s testimony.

“I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart to Eli Sharabi, the families of the hostage, and everyone who was hurt by my statement,” Barkat says in a video published on X amid public uproar over his flippant remark on Channel 12 yesterday.

Barkat claims he didn’t know about Sharabi’s harrowing Thursday interview on Channel 12’s “Uvda,” which had immediately been picked up by every major news outlet in the country.

Barkat says he has now watched the interview, which moved him deeply.

“Sharabi is a role model and inspiration to the entire Jewish people,” says the Likud minister, who insists that he has been supporting hostage families since October 7.

He notes that he has also voted in favor of both hostage deals in the cabinet, adding that he also supports fulfilling all of Israel’s war aims.

However, the war aims include both freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas, which are largely seen to contradict one another.

Witkoff won’t arrive until late next week at the earliest, remaining in US for Trump’s SOTU

The Trump administration’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff will not travel to the region until late next week at the earliest, as he plans to remain in the US for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Witkoff said on Sunday that he would travel to the region on Wednesday but ended up pushing back his trip, as Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky came to Washington. Trump has expanded Witkoff’s portfolio to include Russia-Ukraine negotiations, but the Mideast envoy was not seen in the Oval Office during yesterday’s explosive meeting between Trump and Zelensky.

Egypt said Thursday that the US “participated” in the latest talks in Cairo aimed at extending the hostage deal, but it’s unclear who — if anyone — represented Washington in person, with Witkoff still stateside.

Netanyahu to huddle with top aides on hostage talks amid impasse

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to hold a meeting with top aides on the continuation of hostage talks this evening at 7:30 p.m., Channel 13 reports.

Israel negotiators flew home on Friday, and Hamas indicated earlier today that it will not accept an extension of the first phase of the deal — the outcome Israel is pushing for.

Hamas is insisting that the deal proceed with phase two, which Israel has largely refused to negotiate for the past month.

PM blasts ‘brutal propaganda’ after Hamas releases hostage video of Horn brothers

After Hamas releases a video of brothers Iair and Eitan Horn embracing ahead of the former’s release last month, the Prime Minister’s Office calls it “brutal propaganda.”

“The Hamas terrorist organization released another brutal propaganda video this evening, in which our hostages are forced to engage in psychological warfare,” says the PMO in a statement.

Promising not to be deterred, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office pledges to “work tirelessly to return all of our hostages and meet all of Israel’s war goals.”

Footage shows preparations for massive Iftar meal amid Rafah rubble

Palestinians prepare for a massive Ramadan Iftar meal amid the rubble of the the southern Gaza city of Rafah on March 1, 2025. (Screen capture/X)

Footage posted on social media shows Palestinians preparing to hold a massive Ramadan Iftar meal amid the rubble of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

בלב רפיח ההרוסה: הכנות לסעודת איפטאר המונית בסיומו של היום הראשון של צום הרמדאן@OmerShahar123 pic.twitter.com/UIFZgNGYGO

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 1, 2025

Horn family approves publication of Hamas propaganda video showing Iair in painful goodbye to Eitan

Brothers Iair (L) and Eitan Horn in a Hamas propaganda video ahead of Iair's release from captivity in Feburary 2025. (Screen capture)

The family of Iair and Eitan Horn has approved the publication of the Hamas propaganda video showing the two brothers embracing before Iair’s release two weeks ago.

The video begins with five hostages sitting on the floor, appearing to eat.

They then embrace each other ahead of the release of Iair and Sagui Dekel-Chen, which Eitan says in the video will be taking place the next day. Iair Horn, Dekel-Chen and Sasha Troufanov were released on February 15, as part of the first phase of the hostage deal.

The camera then pans to the face of a distraught Eitan, seemingly overwhelmed about being left behind.

“I am very happy that my brother will be released tomorrow, but it is not logical in any way that families are being separated,” Eitan says, his voice cracking.

“Get everyone out and stop [separating] families, and do not destroy our lives anymore,” he adds, before crying into the shoulder of his older brother Iair.

“Tell mom, dad and everyone to continue with the demonstrations [for a hostages deal], that they shouldn’t stop and that the government should sign already onto the second and third phases of the deal to return all of us home,” Eitan tells his brother Iair. “Do everything you can,”

“You are now forcing me to leave my little brother here to die,” Iair says into the camera, with his arm still around Eitan’s shoulder.

Eitan expresses his disbelief and disgust that Israel’s government is not interested in moving forward with the deal’s second phase. “Have you gone crazy?” he asks. “My brother is leaving, and I’m staying here.”

Eitan says that sometimes he receives food and sometimes he doesn’t; sometimes he’s okay and sometimes he’s not. “But here, I’m not okay,” he says, pointing to his head, apparently referring to the psychological effects of captivity.

Eitan then addresses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly and pleads with him to sign onto the second phase of the hostage deal

In a statement approving the publication of the video, the Horn family says, “Our hearts break seeing Eitan in this difficult situation being separated from his brother to continue being held in Hamas’s hell for [what now is] 512 days.”

“You can see in Eitan’s eyes the despair and fear he is in.”

“Since Iair returned to us, he has not stopped thinking and acting for Eitan and all hostages he met in captivity who remain in Gaza.

We demand that the decision-makers look Eitan in the eye and continue the deal that has already returned dozens of hostages. They are running out of time! Bring everyone home — now — and in one fell swoop,” the family says.

US military says it killed senior Al-Qaeda leader in Syria

US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it had carried out a precision airstrike in Syria, targeting and killing a senior leader in an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

CENTCOM says it killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

“As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and US, allied, and partner personnel in the region,” says Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.

CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of Al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in Syria

On Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of… pic.twitter.com/trhDvgdgne

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2025

NATO’s Rutte: Ukraine’s Zelensky must ‘restore relationship with Trump’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky must “find a way” to restore his relationship with US counterpart Donald Trump after the two clashed in the White House, NATO chief Mark Rutte tells the BBC on Saturday.

Rutte says that he had talked to the Ukrainian leader, telling him: “You have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration.”

Settlers reportedly torch Palestinian vehicle in latest unchecked Shabbat attack

A Palestinian vehicle goes up in flames after allegedly being torched by settlers outside the village of Silwad north of Ramallah in the West Bank on March 1, 2025. (Screen capture/X)

Israeli settlers have torched a vehicle belonging to a Palestinian outside the village of Silwad north of Ramallah, Palestinian media reports.

Settler violence has long gone largely unchecked, particularly since October 7, with attacks regularly taking place during Shabbat, even though many of the alleged perpetrators are religious.

عاجل | مستوطنون يحرقون مركبة فلسطينية قرب بلدة سلواد شمال شرق رام الله. pic.twitter.com/fvTTHHWGW8

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 1, 2025

New Hamas hostage video shows Horn brothers embracing ahead of Iair’s release

Eitan and Iair Horn.

The Hamas terror group has published a propaganda video showing hostage Iair Horn, who was released from captivity two weeks ago, saying goodbye to his brother Eitan, who is still being held in the Gaza Strip.

The video shows Iair Horn, Eitan Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and two more hostages whose identies are unknown as Hamas blurred their faces in the video, sitting in a room.

The five hostages are seen embracing, ahead of the release of two of them. Iair Horn and Dekel-Chen were released from captivity on February 15.

Eitan Horn calls on the Israeli government to sign on the second phase of the ceasefire deal and secure his release.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has requested that media outlets not publish the video or stills from it until the families of the hostages have approved the publication.

Hamas says ready to complete ‘remaining stages’ of Gaza truce deal

Hamas says it is ready to go ahead with the “remaining stages” of the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, as the first phase draws to a close with uncertainty regarding the following stages.

“We affirm our keenness to complete the remaining stages of the ceasefire agreement, leading to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction and lifting the siege,” the Palestinian terror group says in a letter to the Arab League, as the forum gears to hold a summit on Tuesday regarding the post-war management of Gaza.

“We categorically reject the attempt to impose any non-Palestinian projects or forms of administration or the presence of any foreign forces on the territory of the Gaza Strip,” it adds.

Arab countries are putting together a plan that will do just that, sidelining Hamas, while aiming to gradually re-install the Palestinian Authority — both groups that Israel rejects.

Hamas reports no progress in talks with Israel on ceasefire’s second phase

The latest round of talks on the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has made no progress, and it’s unclear whether they will resume on Saturday, a senior Hamas official said.

Phase one expires today, but under the deal’s terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway for phase two, which could end the war in Gaza, see Israeli troops withdraw and see the remaining living hostages returned home. According to the IDF, at least 35 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are confirmed dead.

Officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on the second phase in Cairo on Thursday. Hamas did not attend, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, tells The Associated Press there had been “no progress” before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday.

Naim says he had “no idea” when negotiations might resume.

Until Thursday, Israel had been largely refusing to even hold negotiations regarding the terms of phase two, which were supposed to have started nearly one month ago.

6-year-old boy rushed to hospital in serious condition from gunshot wound in northern Arab town

A 6-year-old boy was seriously wounded by gunfire in the Arab town of Ar’ara in the northern Wadi Ara region.

He has been rushed to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera for treatment.

German FM urges looser national, EU budget rules for Ukraine support

Germany’s foreign minister says that domestic and EU budget rules should be loosened to facilitate support for Ukraine following the row between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a televised statement reacting to Friday’s altercation in the White House, Annalena Baerbock says she will “wholeheartedly push for… more flexibility in the (EU) Stability and Growth Pact” as well as a “fundamental reform of the debt brake” anchored in Germany’s constitution, to enable more help for Kyiv.

Germany: Trump-Zelensky row shows ‘new age of infamy has begun’

Germany’s foreign minister says the “unspeakable” row between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House resembled a “bad dream” as Kyiv’s European allies rallied to its side.

“Yesterday evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says in a televised statement.

Russia says Zelensky trip to US was ‘complete failure’

Russia says that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to the United States was a “failure” after US President Donald Trump berated him in a stunning televised confrontation.

Zelensky planned to sign a minerals deal with the United States during the visit, but it ended in disaster when Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful” and admonished him in front of US and international media.

Kyiv had hoped the agreement would pave the way for security guarantees from Washington as it fights the full-scale offensive Russia launched in 2022.

“The visit of the head of the neo-Nazi regime, V. Zelensky, to Washington on February 28 is a complete political and diplomatic failure of the Kyiv regime,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says in a statement.

Moscow often accuses Ukraine of harboring “neo-Nazism” and used that as a pretext to start its Ukraine offensive, an accusation that Western leaders and Kyiv call false and absurd.

“With his outrageously boorish behavior during his stay in Washington, Zelensky confirmed that he is the most dangerous threat to the world community as an irresponsible warmonger,” Zakharova says.

Accusing Zelensky of being “obsessed” with continuing the fighting, Zakharova adds that Russia’s military goals in Ukraine were “unchanging.”

“Russia’s unchanging goals remain the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as the recognition of the existing realities on the ground,” Zakharova says.

Moscow has been gaining ground on the battlefield for over a year, pressing their advantage against Ukraine’s overstretched and outgunned army.

4-year-old in serious condition after falling from a height in Nazareth

A four-year-old is in serious condition after falling from a height in Nazareth.

The boy fell from a height of some seven meters. He was rushed by paramedics to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center.

The circumstances of the incident are not immediately clear.

Ukraine’s Zelensky to meet UK’s PM Starmer today after Trump blowout

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference during his visit to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on October 2, 2024. (Benjamin Cremel / Pool / AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer today, Starmer’s office says, ahead of a wider summit of European leaders in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine.

“The Prime Minister and President Zelensky will be meeting in Downing Street this afternoon,” a spokesperson for Starmer’s office says.

The meeting follows an extraordinary public spat between Zelensky and Donald Trump at the White House over the war with Russia, with the US president threatening to withdraw support for Ukraine. Zelensky had seen the meeting in the Oval Office as an opportunity to convince the United States not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

Starmer spoke to both Trump and Zelensky on Friday and expressed his “unwavering support” for Ukraine, echoing similar statements of backing for Zelensky from other European leaders.

‘First Saturday with no one coming home’: Freed hostage Romi Gonen says deal must not end

Romi Gonen in an undated photo after her release from captivity, uploaded to social media on February 5, 2025. (Instagram)

Romi Gonen, freed for Gaza captivity on January 19 at the start of the ceasefire in Gaza, writes on Instagram: “It’s the first Saturday since my return that no brothers and sisters of ours are coming home. The feelings are difficult, and there’s a tightness in my throat. Fifty-nine hostages are still held captive and waiting to return home.”

“I was there, I know — they have no time,” she writes. The deal and releases “must not stop. We have to get them all home — the living to their families and the fallen to eternal rest.”

Gonen adds: “It’s sad that even after hostages have come out and the entire world saw their state, we still need to fight for the obvious. Continue to fight, continue to pray — in the end, good always wins.”

Pope has coffee, rests after setback in recovery requiring further ventilation

People pray under the rain at the statue of John Paul II at the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 1, 2025 (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

Pope Francis had coffee and is reading newspapers today after an alarming setback in his two-week recovery from double pneumonia: Doctors had to put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation following a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to then be extracted.

Doctors say it will take a day or two to evaluate how and if the Friday afternoon episode impacted Francis’s overall clinical condition. His prognosis remains guarded, meaning he isn’t out of danger.

In its morning update, the Vatican says the 88-year-old pope didn’t have any further respiratory crises overnight: “The night has passed quietly, the pope is resting.” He had coffee in the morning for breakfast, suggesting that he is not dependent on a ventilation mask to breathe and is still eating on his own.

In the late Friday update, the Vatican said Francis suffered an “isolated crisis of bronchial spasm,” a coughing fit in which Francis inhaled vomit, that resulted in a “sudden worsening of the respiratory picture.” Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

The pope remained conscious and alert at all times and cooperated with the maneuvers to help him recover. He responded well, with a good level of oxygen exchange.

Russia’s Medvedev says ready for flexibility in Ukraine talks, subject to ‘realities’

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia is ready for flexibility in talks on Ukraine, but only in accordance with the Russian constitution and realities on the ground, state news agency RIA Novosti reports.

Medvedev says Russia is ready to discuss a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, but only with those “who are ready to communicate.”

Funeral of Itzik Elgarat, ‘abandoned to die in captivity,’ to be held Monday

Itzik Elgarat was taken captive from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

The family of murdered hostage Itzik Elgarat says his funeral service will be held on Monday at 2 p.m. outside his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, from which he was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Our Itzik was abandoned to die in Hamas captivity,” the announcement says.

The service will be open to the public and media. The burial at the kibbutz cemetery will be private.

Hamas source tells Saudi TV Israeli violating Gaza deal by refusing to discuss 2nd phase

Saudi Television station Asharq cites a source close to Hamas as saying talks in Cairo yesterday failed to reach an agreement on a second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, while blaming “Israel’s procrastination.”

The source says Jerusalem is seeking to extend the current first phase, ending today, and that Hamas considers this “a violation of the agreement.”

He says the terror group “demanded that the mediators oblige Tel Aviv to implement all the terms of the agreement, because Israel is the one that continues to violate and breach the agreement, as it is delaying entering into the second phase negotiations.”

Second-phase negotiations had been set to begin on the 16th day of the deal, but Israel has so far not agreed to discuss that stage, which would see the war end permanently.

Shlomo Mantzur to be buried Sunday in Kissufim; procession to set out from Rishon Lezion

Shlomo Mantzur (Courtesy)

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says murdered hostage Shlomo Mantzur will be laid to rest tomorrow in his home community of Kibbutz Kissufim, from which he was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023.

A procession will set out from Rishon Lezion at 9:45 a.m. and head south to the kibbutz.

The family invites Israelis to stand along the roadside with flags to accompany Mantzur.

The procession will pass at Yad Mordechai Junction around 10:45 a.m., at Sa’ad Junction at 11 a.m., and at Gama Junction and Kissufim Junction around 11:15 a.m.

The funeral will begin at 12:30 p.m. in Kibbutz Kissufim.

“The public is invited to the eulogy ceremony and the procession to the cemetery,” the statement says. “At the family’s request, the funeral will be closed to the media.”

BBC may be investigated by police over Hamas involvement in Gaza documentary

The BBC may be investigated by British counterterrorism police over whether it paid money to terror group Hamas, after it was revealed that the narrator for a recent documentary about the war in Gaza was the son of a Hamas minister.

“Officers from the Met’s Counter ­Terrorism Command are currently ­assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter,” a spokesman tells The Times.

After pulling the documentary from streaming and acknowledging “serious flaws” in its conduct, the BBC has admitted that some money was paid to the boy’s family. According to The Times, this is thought to be a few hundred pounds.

The network is now conducting a review of the case and the behavior of production company Hoyo Films. The British government has also demanded accountability from the broadcaster.

Lebanon’s president says state must have control over ‘decisions of war and peace’

Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivering a speech after his election in Beirut, on January 9, 2025. (LEBANESE PARLIAMENT / AFP)

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun says the Lebanese state must have control over “the decisions of war and peace,” and to do this, it must “monopolize or restrict weapons to the state.”

Auon tells London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that “It is no longer allowed for anyone other than the state to fulfill its national duty in protecting the land and the people… When there is an aggression against the Lebanese state, the state makes the decision, and it determines how to mobilize forces to defend the country.”

Auon says Beirut is fully committed to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which would ban Hezbollah’s presence in south Lebanon.

“We are tired of war,” he says. “We hope to end military conflicts and resolve our problems through diplomatic efforts.”

Auon also criticizes Israel for failing to withdraw fully from south Lebanon, maintaining forces in five key strategic positions.

“We were not surprised… because you always expect the worst from them,” he says. But “there was an agreement signed by the two parties under American and French sponsorship that was supposed to be adhered to, and the signature had to be respected.”

However, he says, “As usual, the Israeli side did not abide by the agreement and some of it remained there. Now we are in constant contact with the French and the Americans to pressure the Israelis to withdraw from the five points.”

He further argues those points “have no military value,” as drone and satellite technology make holding on to high-altitude observation points unnecessary.

Hamas rejects Israel’s ‘formulation’ of extending first Gaza ceasefire phase

Hamas says it rejects Israel’s “formulation” of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, on the day the first stage of the deal is set to expire.

The group’s spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, also tells Al-Araby TV that there are no current talks for a second ceasefire phase in Gaza with the group.

NY Times publishes profile piece on hostage’s mother Einav Zangauker

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on January 25, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The New York Times has published a major profile piece on Einav Zangauker, under the headline “How an Anguished Mother Became Netanyahu’s Fiercest Foe.”

Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, and a previous supporter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has become a leading voice for the release of the hostages and one of the most vociferous critics of the government and of Netanyahu.

Ukraine says it destroyed 103 drones launched by Russia overnight

Ukraine’s air defenses destroyed 103 of 154 drones launched by Russia in its latest overnight strike, Kyiv’s air force said on Saturday.

The other 51 drones were “locationally lost,” it said, likely as a result of electronic jamming.

PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey in major step toward ending conflict

Supporters react after jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, 75, called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve itself in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on February 27, 2025 (Ilyas AKENGIN / AFP)

Outlawed Kurdish militants declare a ceasefire with Turkey after a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan urging the group to disband.

“In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo’s call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today,” the PKK executive committee says in a statement quoted by the pro-PKK ANF news agency, referring to Ocalan.

17 injured, 2 moderately, when fire breaks out in residential building in Tiberias

Seventeen people were injured, two of them moderately, after a fire breaks out in a residential building in the northern city of Tiberius.

The two moderately injured — a woman aged around 40 and a girl aged around 12 — were wounded when they jumped from the second floor to escape the flames.

Medics took 12 of the wounded to hospital for further treatment.

Trump says US Justice Department returned boxes of classified documents taken by FBI from Mar-a-Lago

This image, contained in the indictment against former US president Donald Trump, shows boxes of records stored in a bathroom and shower in the Lake Room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (Justice Department via AP)

US President Donald Trump says boxes of classified documents that the FBI seized from his Mar-a-Lago home during an investigation into possible misconduct have been returned to him, and that he will one day display them in his presidential library.

Trump says that the boxes, which contained top secret documents that he had faced charges of improperly taking with him when he left the White House after his first term, have been returned by the Justice Department, now led by his own appointees.

The department “just returned the boxes that Deranged Jack Smith made such a big deal about,” Trump posts on his Truth Social platform, referring to the special counsel who had led the case over the documents.

“They are being brought down to Florida and will someday be part of the Trump Presidential Library,” he writes, without clarifying if all the documents that had originally been kept in the boxes had also been returned.

Trump repeats his position that he “did absolutely nothing wrong” and his claim that the case against him was a political witchhunt.

The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022 in a bid to retrieve the classified documents, which Smith had accused Trump of stashing at the Florida golf club after leaving the White House the year before.

Photographs had shown the top secret documents — which included records from the Pentagon and the CIA — piled haphazardly and unsecured in a gleaming bathroom at the busy club.

Trump had allegedly thwarted multiple efforts by the previous administration of Joe Biden to retrieve them.

The prosecution was still moving through the legal system when Trump returned to power on January 20. Nine days later, Smith dropped the case, citing a Justice Department policy of not indicting or prosecuting a sitting president. He also resigned from the department.

Man shot dead in Tira, hours after suspected murder in Qalansawe

Police open an investigation after a man is shot dead in the central Arab city of Tira.

The shooting came hours after another suspected murder in Qalansawe, where a 63-year-old was shot dead.

NY governor orders state college to remove Palestinian studies job listing

FILE - New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks at a news conference, February 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

NEW YORK — New York’s governor has ordered a state school to remove a job posting for a Palestinian studies teaching position this week, saying she wanted to ensure “antisemitic theories” would not be taught.

The job posting at Hunter College had called for a historian “who takes a critical lens to issues pertaining to Palestine including but not limited to settler-colonialism, genocide, human rights, apartheid, migration, climate and infrastructure devastation, health, race, gender, and sexuality,” according to screenshots published by the New York Post, which first reported the job announcement.

Following the coverage, Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, ordered the City University of New York school to remove the posting “and conduct a thorough review of the position to ensure that antisemitic theories are not promoted in the classroom,” her office says in a statement.

The CUNY Board of Trustees agreed, and university officials have since removed the posting for a “Palestinian Studies Cluster Hire,” which was marked as expired on Friday.

“We find this language divisive, polarizing and inappropriate and strongly agree with Governor Hochul’s direction to remove this posting,” say Chairperson William C. Thompson Jr. and Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, adding they will work “to tackle antisemitism on our campuses and combat hate in all of its forms.”

The governor’s statement adds that no class is being canceled.

The CUNY school says it will still hire a relevant expert.

“Hunter College took down the job listings following the concerns raised about the language used in the online posting. We will be reviewing the posting process and look forward to adding scholars with expertise in this subject matter to our distinguished faculty,” the college says in a statement, adding that expertise would include ”Palestinian history, culture, and society.”

Zelensky says ‘of course’ ties with US can be salvaged, declines to apologize after clash with Trump

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes Kyiv’s relationship with the United States can be salvaged, following a dramatic clash with US President Donald Trump at the White House.

“Of course” the relationship between the wartime allies can be fixed, Zelensky tells Fox News’s Brett Baier, adding that he does not want to lose the United States as a partner — while saying he wants Trump to be “really more on our side.”

Zelensky declines when asked about apologizing to Trump, saying, “I think that we have to be very open and very honest, and I’m not sure that we did something bad.”

The Ukrainian president also says that it would be “difficult” for Ukraine to hold off invading Russian forces without American support.

“It will be difficult for us,” Zelensky says when asked if Ukraine can win or hold off Moscow without Washington’s backing.

“That’s why I’m here. That’s why we speak about the future negotiations. It will be difficult without your support,” he adds.

Border control officers call off Sunday strike that would’ve shuttered airport

Border control officers have called off a planned 9-hour strike on Sunday that would have shut down Ben Gurion Airport and every other entry point into the country, after their union reached an agreement with the Finance Ministry.

The border control officers have been demanding higher pay and better personal protection.

Trump says Zelensky ‘overplayed his hand,’ insists on ‘a ceasefire now’ in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump points as he speaks to reporters as he prepares to depart the White House in Washington, on February 28, 2025, en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says visiting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky “overplayed his hand” during their extraordinary Oval Office clash, and insists “I want a ceasefire now.”

Trump, who spoke to reporters while departing the White House for his Florida estate, also says he wants fighting in Ukraine to end “immediately” and accuses Zelensky of opposing a truce

US announces $3 billion in pending arms sales to Israel, including armored bulldozers

Israeli military bulldozers are seen during a military raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, December 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

The US State Department has told Congress that it plans to sell nearly $3 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and $295 million worth of armored bulldozers.

According to the State Department, three separate sales were sent to Congress for approval.

One is for $2.04 billion for 35,529 MK 84 or BLU-117 heavy bombs and 4,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads. Deliveries are expected next year.

The second is $675.7 million for 201 MK 83 1,000-pound bombs, 4,799 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound bombs, and 5,000 JDAM guidance kits. Deliveries are expected in 2028.

The third sale, estimated at $295 million, includes D9 Caterpillar bulldozers and related equipment. The deliveries of the bulldozers, which the Israeli military uses, are expected to begin in 2027.

In November it was reported that the former US administration was holding up the sale of the D9 bulldozers over the use of the machinery to destroy homes in the Gaza Strip, which the IDF says are used by Hamas.

The proposed sales “will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency says in a statement.