π️Lonny's War Update- October 491, 2023 - February 8, 2025 π️
π️Day 491 that 76 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*
Hostage Updates
While 3 hostages who were obviously starved and tortured and look like Holocaust survivors (they are, in fact, survivors of the October 7 Holocaust), Netanyahu deliberately chose to “rough it” at a 5 star hotel in the US with his vile wife and son instead of doing everything possible to bring home all of the hostages as soon as possible at any cost. Instead, he fiddles while the hostages die and the country is still in deep trauma due to his bringing us October 7
- The families of the abductees were shocked by the condition of Eli, Ohad, and Or: "Netanyahu, see how they look."
Inbal Tzengauker, whose son is held captive, called for the immediate release of all abductees following the images of the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levi: "Anyone who doesn't get out of there now won't survive the hell." A member of Kibbutz Be'eri spoke of "tears of joy and pain," and the father of the abductee Tamir Nimrodi said: "Let the images be etched in the minds of those who oppose Phase Two."
Inbal Tzengauker, whose son Matan is held captive and was not included in Phase One of the deal, called for the implementation of the deal in all its phases in light of the horrifying display by Hamas, which showed Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levi as thin, pale, and supported by terrorists during their release. "Netanyahu, do you see how they look? Do you see the consequences of your stalling?" she said.
"For months, we've been screaming that they are being starved and abused. What did you think would happen when you kept stalling and stalling? We can't continue this hell anymore. Jews are undergoing a Holocaust! The three who returned today are Holocaust survivors. My Matan is undergoing a Holocaust. Anyone who doesn't get out of there now won't survive the hell. Meanwhile, while they are undergoing a Holocaust and the entire nation is crying, you, the Prime Minister, are vacationing in Washington. You're trying to sabotage the negotiations for Phase Two, which was supposed to start six days ago!
"I call on the public, take to the streets! There's no time! The agreement must be fully implemented, and timelines must be shortened! Everyone must be brought out, and quickly!" she cried.
Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, who is held captive, added: "It's worth mentioning that at the same time Israeli citizens are being released as Holocaust survivors from Hamas captivity, the accused criminal and the accused of the October 7th massacre and abductions is sitting and enjoying himself in a luxury hotel suite in Washington at the expense of Israeli taxpayers and the suffering of the hostages. He (Netanyahu) is probably already activating his poison machine, on the holy Sabbath, to deflect criticism."
"Their condition is worrying, it reflects on Nimrod. When the focus is on male abductees, like the soldiers, we don't know the condition of my son, but this reflects it. We saw Netanyahu's cooperation with the selections, he's prolonging the release of the hostages with ceremonies. What does he intend to do? What will he threaten Hamas with? If he cares for them, he should accelerate Phase Two now, so that everyone returns within two weeks without ceremonies. Seeing them on the screen was a horror, Netanyahu has brought us to a situation where Israelis are coming out of captivity as if after a Holocaust," he said.
Alon Nimrodi, whose soldier son Tamir Nimrodi is a hostage in Gaza, also posted: "Holocaust survivors. 1945=2025. Welcome home, Eli Sharabi, Or Levi, Ohad Ben Ami. Let their images be etched in the minds of Netanyahu and the opponents of the deal and Phase Two - until everyone returns."
The headquarters of the families for the return of the hostages
called: "Get them out of hell. Urgent! Above all. Eli, Ohad, and Or survived 491 days in captivity. Their lives were saved thanks to the agreement. Their images this morning attest to the harsh reality of the 76 hostages still held in the basements of hell by Hamas in Gaza.
"The hostages are undergoing a Holocaust there and are in immediate danger. This is a crime against humanity! We appeal to the Israeli government - these images must not leave your minds until the last abductee returns! You must act to unify the phases and pulses and bring everyone back now! The families of the hostages call on the public in Israel to come tonight to cry out together at the rally in the square of the abductees. There are still 76 hostages waiting for us to save them."
Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, Or LeviThe three survivors of captivity before their abduction
Jonathan Shamriz, the founder of "Kumo," whose brother Alon was mistakenly shot by IDF forces after escaping his captors in Gaza, said: "If the images were in black and white, I would have been sure we were in 1945 at the liberation of Auschwitz. We've undergone a Holocaust, and those in captivity are still undergoing it. Everyone must be brought back now! A state inquiry commission must be established, so that those responsible in the political and security leadership pay the price, and mainly so that we learn lessons so that such a Holocaust never happens again. Only then will rehabilitation begin."
Avihai Bacher from Kibbutz Be'eri, who lost his wife and son in the October 7th massacre, told Ynet that he cried when he saw his friends Ohad and Eli. "It's tears of joy that they are returning, and immense pain at how they look. We barely recognized them. When you understand who the enemy is there, you understand that there are no Zionists on the other side. Everything must be destroyed, down to the last one. If we don't do this, October 7th will happen again, but in four sectors simultaneously," he said.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: "The difficult scenes this morning of the transfer of the hostages are heart-wrenching and emphasize the urgent need to continue the return of the hostages. There's no time. Time has run out. Everyone must be brought home." He added: "Ohad, Eli, and Or. How good that you are on your way home."
The "October Council," composed of bereaved families and victims of the October 7th massacre, stated: "The difficult images of our hostages who returned today, reminiscent of images of Holocaust survivors, serve as another reminder of the terrible failure in the history of the state, which must be thoroughly investigated.
"The families of Eli, Or, and Ohad also deserve answers. How did it happen that citizens were abducted from Israeli territory to the Gaza Strip? Why did it take almost 500 days to bring them back? And how is it possible that even now, living hostages are being held in inhumane conditions in tunnels? A state inquiry commission must be established. We demand answers." link
- Hamas' notification:
Abu Obeida: Within the framework of the #AlAqsa_Flood_Deal for prisoner exchange, the Al-Qassam Brigades decided to release the following Zionist prisoners tomorrow, Saturday, corresponding to 02-08-2025:
1- Eliyahu Datsun Yousef Sharabi2- Or Abraham Lisha Levi3- Ohad Ben Ami The Prime Minister’s Office and the Hostages Families Forum both confirm that the hostages to be released from Gaza tomorrow are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami.
Sharabi, 52, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Beeri when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023. His wife and daughters were murdered in their home’s safe room and he and his brother Yossi were taken captive. Yossi has since been confirmed dead and Hamas is holding his body.
Levy, 34, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. His wife Einav was killed, and their now three-year-old son Almog has been staying with his grandparents since.
Ben Ami, 56, was also kidnapped from Be’eri. His wife Raz Ben Ami was also kidnapped, and released as part of a week-long ceasefire in November 2023.
“We have both a sacred duty and moral right to bring all our brothers and sisters home. We will not give up or stop at any stage until all hostages return home under the current agreement — down to the very last one — the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial,” the Hostages Forum says in a statement.
Who is Or Levy, the hostage set to finally return to his three-year-old son?
Or Levy's wife Eynav was murdered before he was abducted to Gaza. Now, he may finally be returning from captivity to his three-year-old son Almog.
Or Levy, now 34, was attending the Nova Music Festival on October 7 with his 32-year-old wife, Eynav. The invading terrorists killed Eynav and abducted Or to Gaza, where he has been held hostage for the past year. He is set to return to Israel on Saturday in the fifth wave of hostage releases in the first phase of the deal.
The couple had only arrived minutes before the attack started and fled quickly after hearing the sirens blare. The two found themselves in the now-infamous 'death shelter.'
Eynav’s body was discovered four days after the massacre, Or’s family told the National Post.
Or did not know that his wife was killed and just found out upon his return.
Mother of hostage Or Levy says family don’t know if he is aware that his wife was killed on Oct. 7
Hostage Updates
- While 3 hostages who were obviously starved and tortured and look like Holocaust survivors (they are, in fact, survivors of the October 7 Holocaust), Netanyahu deliberately chose to “rough it” at a 5 star hotel in the US with his vile wife and son instead of doing everything possible to bring home all of the hostages as soon as possible at any cost. Instead, he fiddles while the hostages die and the country is still in deep trauma due to his bringing us October 7
- The families of the abductees were shocked by the condition of Eli, Ohad, and Or: "Netanyahu, see how they look."Inbal Tzengauker, whose son is held captive, called for the immediate release of all abductees following the images of the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levi: "Anyone who doesn't get out of there now won't survive the hell." A member of Kibbutz Be'eri spoke of "tears of joy and pain," and the father of the abductee Tamir Nimrodi said: "Let the images be etched in the minds of those who oppose Phase Two."Inbal Tzengauker, whose son Matan is held captive and was not included in Phase One of the deal, called for the implementation of the deal in all its phases in light of the horrifying display by Hamas, which showed Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levi as thin, pale, and supported by terrorists during their release. "Netanyahu, do you see how they look? Do you see the consequences of your stalling?" she said."For months, we've been screaming that they are being starved and abused. What did you think would happen when you kept stalling and stalling? We can't continue this hell anymore. Jews are undergoing a Holocaust! The three who returned today are Holocaust survivors. My Matan is undergoing a Holocaust. Anyone who doesn't get out of there now won't survive the hell. Meanwhile, while they are undergoing a Holocaust and the entire nation is crying, you, the Prime Minister, are vacationing in Washington. You're trying to sabotage the negotiations for Phase Two, which was supposed to start six days ago!"I call on the public, take to the streets! There's no time! The agreement must be fully implemented, and timelines must be shortened! Everyone must be brought out, and quickly!" she cried.Yehuda Cohen, the father of Nimrod Cohen, who is held captive, added: "It's worth mentioning that at the same time Israeli citizens are being released as Holocaust survivors from Hamas captivity, the accused criminal and the accused of the October 7th massacre and abductions is sitting and enjoying himself in a luxury hotel suite in Washington at the expense of Israeli taxpayers and the suffering of the hostages. He (Netanyahu) is probably already activating his poison machine, on the holy Sabbath, to deflect criticism.""Their condition is worrying, it reflects on Nimrod. When the focus is on male abductees, like the soldiers, we don't know the condition of my son, but this reflects it. We saw Netanyahu's cooperation with the selections, he's prolonging the release of the hostages with ceremonies. What does he intend to do? What will he threaten Hamas with? If he cares for them, he should accelerate Phase Two now, so that everyone returns within two weeks without ceremonies. Seeing them on the screen was a horror, Netanyahu has brought us to a situation where Israelis are coming out of captivity as if after a Holocaust," he said.Alon Nimrodi, whose soldier son Tamir Nimrodi is a hostage in Gaza, also posted: "Holocaust survivors. 1945=2025. Welcome home, Eli Sharabi, Or Levi, Ohad Ben Ami. Let their images be etched in the minds of Netanyahu and the opponents of the deal and Phase Two - until everyone returns."The headquarters of the families for the return of the hostages
called: "Get them out of hell. Urgent! Above all. Eli, Ohad, and Or survived 491 days in captivity. Their lives were saved thanks to the agreement. Their images this morning attest to the harsh reality of the 76 hostages still held in the basements of hell by Hamas in Gaza."The hostages are undergoing a Holocaust there and are in immediate danger. This is a crime against humanity! We appeal to the Israeli government - these images must not leave your minds until the last abductee returns! You must act to unify the phases and pulses and bring everyone back now! The families of the hostages call on the public in Israel to come tonight to cry out together at the rally in the square of the abductees. There are still 76 hostages waiting for us to save them."Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, Or LeviThe three survivors of captivity before their abductionJonathan Shamriz, the founder of "Kumo," whose brother Alon was mistakenly shot by IDF forces after escaping his captors in Gaza, said: "If the images were in black and white, I would have been sure we were in 1945 at the liberation of Auschwitz. We've undergone a Holocaust, and those in captivity are still undergoing it. Everyone must be brought back now! A state inquiry commission must be established, so that those responsible in the political and security leadership pay the price, and mainly so that we learn lessons so that such a Holocaust never happens again. Only then will rehabilitation begin."Avihai Bacher from Kibbutz Be'eri, who lost his wife and son in the October 7th massacre, told Ynet that he cried when he saw his friends Ohad and Eli. "It's tears of joy that they are returning, and immense pain at how they look. We barely recognized them. When you understand who the enemy is there, you understand that there are no Zionists on the other side. Everything must be destroyed, down to the last one. If we don't do this, October 7th will happen again, but in four sectors simultaneously," he said.Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: "The difficult scenes this morning of the transfer of the hostages are heart-wrenching and emphasize the urgent need to continue the return of the hostages. There's no time. Time has run out. Everyone must be brought home." He added: "Ohad, Eli, and Or. How good that you are on your way home."The "October Council," composed of bereaved families and victims of the October 7th massacre, stated: "The difficult images of our hostages who returned today, reminiscent of images of Holocaust survivors, serve as another reminder of the terrible failure in the history of the state, which must be thoroughly investigated."The families of Eli, Or, and Ohad also deserve answers. How did it happen that citizens were abducted from Israeli territory to the Gaza Strip? Why did it take almost 500 days to bring them back? And how is it possible that even now, living hostages are being held in inhumane conditions in tunnels? A state inquiry commission must be established. We demand answers." link - Hamas' notification:Abu Obeida: Within the framework of the #AlAqsa_Flood_Deal for prisoner exchange, the Al-Qassam Brigades decided to release the following Zionist prisoners tomorrow, Saturday, corresponding to 02-08-2025:1- Eliyahu Datsun Yousef Sharabi2- Or Abraham Lisha Levi3- Ohad Ben Ami
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Hostages Families Forum both confirm that the hostages to be released from Gaza tomorrow are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami.
Sharabi, 52, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Beeri when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023. His wife and daughters were murdered in their home’s safe room and he and his brother Yossi were taken captive. Yossi has since been confirmed dead and Hamas is holding his body.
Levy, 34, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. His wife Einav was killed, and their now three-year-old son Almog has been staying with his grandparents since.
Ben Ami, 56, was also kidnapped from Be’eri. His wife Raz Ben Ami was also kidnapped, and released as part of a week-long ceasefire in November 2023.
“We have both a sacred duty and moral right to bring all our brothers and sisters home. We will not give up or stop at any stage until all hostages return home under the current agreement — down to the very last one — the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial,” the Hostages Forum says in a statement.
Who is Or Levy, the hostage set to finally return to his three-year-old son?Or Levy's wife Eynav was murdered before he was abducted to Gaza. Now, he may finally be returning from captivity to his three-year-old son Almog.Or Levy, now 34, was attending the Nova Music Festival on October 7 with his 32-year-old wife, Eynav. The invading terrorists killed Eynav and abducted Or to Gaza, where he has been held hostage for the past year. He is set to return to Israel on Saturday in the fifth wave of hostage releases in the first phase of the deal.
The couple had only arrived minutes before the attack started and fled quickly after hearing the sirens blare. The two found themselves in the now-infamous 'death shelter.'
Eynav’s body was discovered four days after the massacre, Or’s family told the National Post.
Or did not know that his wife was killed and just found out upon his return.Mother of hostage Or Levy says family don’t know if he is aware that his wife was killed on Oct. 7
Geula Levy, the mother of Or Levy, who is expected to be released by Hamas later today, says it is not clear if he knows that his wife Einav was killed on October 7, 2023.
“We don’t know if Or knows that his wife was murdered, but from what we have heard the terrorists very much enjoyed telling the hostages that their loved ones had been killed and causing them pain and suffering,” she tells Army Radio.
Levy, 34, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. His wife Einav was killed, and their now three-year-old son Almog has been staying with his grandparents since.
“Almog shouted ‘Dad is coming back, Dad is coming back,'” she says. “It was very emotional. We are taking drawings made by Almog to bring to Or.”
Who is Ohad Ben Ami, the Israeli-German set to return from Gaza after two birthdays in captivity?
Ohad Ben Ami was abducted from Kibbutz Be'eri after being shot by terrorists on October 7.
Israeli-German national Ohad Ben Ami was 54 when Hamas abducted him from Kibbutz Be’eri. Now, after spending two birthdays in captivity, he is expected to be released Saturday in the fifth wave of hostage releases in the first phase of the deal.
“Shma Yisrael, they’re here,” was the last message the father of three sent before being taken to Gaza along with instructions for his will. He was still in his underwear when he was carted off, his daughter told the Jewish Chronicle.
Ohad was abducted alongside his wife Raz, although she was freed in the November deal, after a terrorist shot him in the shoulder.
Eli Sharabi to be released, but without his family to come home to
Sharon Sharabi, the brother of Eli and Yossi, said he envisions the moment when Eli comes home, and he imagines “the moment when my 76-year-old mother gets Eli back, to hug him."
Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife Leanne and their two daughters Noya and Yahel were murdered on October 7, is among the 33 living and dead hostages slated to be released in the first phase of the deal. He is set to return to Israel on Saturday in the fifth wave of hostage releases in the first phase of the deal.
Sharabi’s brother Yossi was also taken hostage, and an IDF probe found he was possibly killed in Hamas captivity, likely by an IAF airstrike in January 2024. Yossi had a wife, Nira, and three daughters: Yuval, Ofir, and Oren, all of whom survived.
Ofir Sharabi, the daughter of Yossi and niece of Eli, spoke at a demonstration at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
October 24, 2023 reportThe ordeal of the Sharabi family: 1 kidnapped, 1 missing, 3 murdered
Eli is missing, while his wife and daughters were killed in a brutal way. His brother Yossi was taken captive by Hamas.
The destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be'eri, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 14, 2023.
Two brothers, Yossi and Eli Sharabi, faced a tragic ordeal in Kibbutz Be’eri. Eli's wife, Leanne, and their two daughters, Noya and Yahel, were brutally murdered, while Eli is currently listed as missing. Yossi was taken to Gaza, but his wife managed to save their daughters and seven other civilians. They hid for eight hours without making a sound.
Yossi and Eli’s brother Sharon Sharabi, a 48-year-old from Alfi Menashe, is now grieving the loss of Leanne, Noya and Yahel, and searching for Eli and Yossi.
Yossi, 53, was married to Nira, and they had three daughters: Yuval, Ofir, and Oren. Eli, 51, married Leanne, a British citizen who volunteered at the kibbutz. They had two daughters, Noya and Yahel.
Yossi Sharabi, killed in Hamas captivity
On October 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated the Kerem neighborhood in Kibbutz Be’eri, which is located near Gaza.
"They breached the fence and mercilessly slaughtered nearly everyone," Sharabi said. "They entered Eli and Leanne's home, and murdered Leanne, Noya, and Yahel. Eli is still missing.”
Eli and his wife, Leanne and daughters Noya and Yahel who were killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 while Eli was taken hostage.
“It's difficult to describe what happened because it's incredibly painful, but they were killed in a brutal way,” he said. “Leanne could only be identified through dental records, and Noya through DNA analysis. Just last night, before meeting President Isaac Herzog, I received news about Noya. It devastated us."
"The family is in a terrible state," he added. "Three were murdered, and my brother Eli is still missing. It wouldn't surprise me if his body was among the unrecognizable ones in the camp. They experienced a horrific massacre, with their bodies being treated in a brutal manner."
The courage of a father
Sharon said that his brother Yossi offered himself as a hostage as long as the terrorists would spare the rest.
“The terrorists entered his home and he came out with his hands raised,” he said. “He told them to take him and spare the rest, especially the children. They didn't shoot him but took him.”
“Before they put him in the car, they left his wife, Nira, and their three daughters on the grass,” he said. “Oren, his young daughter, raised her hand halfway and bid him a hopeful goodbye. Thanks to Nira's resourcefulness, they hid and remained quiet for eight hours. Soldiers eventually rescued them and brought them to safety."
- 'It's a horror movie': Eli returns from Hamas captivity to learn his family was murdered
After months in captivity, Eli Sharabi returns to a shattered life—his wife and daughters murdered, his brother gone; His family prepares to support him as he faces unimaginable grief and the challenge of rebuilding his life from scratch
"I'm going through endless, overwhelming days. For the first time, I feel like I understand what the hostages must be experiencing, counting the seconds in the tunnels. When will Eli finally walk out of there on his own two feet?" said Sharon Sharabi, the brother of Eli Sharabi, who is set to be released in the first stage of the deal, and of Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered while in captivity in Gaza.
Sharon Sharabi with a picture of his brothers(Photo: Ryan Preuss)Eli’s wife, Lian, and their two daughters, Yahel and Noya, were murdered on October 7. "When we found out Yossi was murdered, I said to myself: we failed. When Eli comes home, I’ll say we succeeded," Sharon explained. "It’s not just me—an entire nation feels the same way. It feels like all our hearts are bursting with excitement. But alongside that, there’s so much pain. Pain for October 7, for these past 16 months, for the brother Eli lost, for his wife and daughters who are no longer with us. After everything he’s been through, he’s coming back to a completely different reality—a nightmare. Without his wife and daughters, without a home.
"I don’t think there’s any chance he knows Yossi didn’t survive. Maybe he knows about Lian and the girls—maybe some terrorist told him—but not about Yossi. When he comes back and finds out, his world is going to shatter all over again," Sharon added. "I don’t know how you prepare for such an insane situation. How do we tell him? When? There are no words that can comfort him after such devastating news. All we can do is hug him, show him that we’re here for him, and never leave his side."
Sharon shared that the first thing he’ll do after Eli comes home is mourn. The second is to help Eli rebuild his life. "These are my life’s missions," he said. "I’m full of faith and hope that Eli will find his way out of this loop of grief and hold on to life. I’ve been listening to testimonies, learning, and processing—it might be similar to what Eli is experiencing. I know I’ll need to be the strong person by his side. Strong, but also sensitive."
Their mother will wait for Eli in Kibbutz Re’im. "She’s so eager to see her survivor," Sharon said, adding that he plans to meet his brother at the hospital. "But this immense excitement is accompanied by a sense of loss. I know Yossi could have been on that same helicopter. We failed as a country in a big way. They were there far too long, and there were opportunities to save lives. The hostages are coming home, and we’re grateful to the politicians who were involved, but the ones who truly paved the way to bring them home were the IDF soldiers who gave their lives, and the bereaved families whose loved ones were murdered by the terrorists now being released. They’re the ones who deserve our gratitude." link
- Seeing the three hostages this morning as if they had been liberated from World War II concentration camps should compel us all to accelerate the release of all hostages. This cannot continue for weeks and months to bring everyone home. Hamas's military Hollywood production, aimed at creating the image that Hamas is still strong, should not distract us from the understanding that Hamas cannot rule Gaza after all the hostages are released. In this regard, the role of Qatar and Egypt is to force Hamas to understand that for the sake of Gaza's residents, they must leave Gaza—the military commanders who continue to manage affairs must be given a free exit from Gaza to Algeria, Malaysia, or any other country willing to accept them. These two things are extremely urgent. Also, Netanyahu's failure to send the senior team to continue negotiations should not be met with patience. The deal must speed up the pace and accelerate implementation. Enough is enough. We all know how this should end—so let's get there already. (Gershon Baskin, February 7, 2025)
Geula Levy, the mother of Or Levy, who is expected to be released by Hamas later today, says it is not clear if he knows that his wife Einav was killed on October 7, 2023.
“We don’t know if Or knows that his wife was murdered, but from what we have heard the terrorists very much enjoyed telling the hostages that their loved ones had been killed and causing them pain and suffering,” she tells Army Radio.
Levy, 34, was kidnapped from the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7. His wife Einav was killed, and their now three-year-old son Almog has been staying with his grandparents since.
“Almog shouted ‘Dad is coming back, Dad is coming back,'” she says. “It was very emotional. We are taking drawings made by Almog to bring to Or.”
Israeli-German national Ohad Ben Ami was 54 when Hamas abducted him from Kibbutz Be’eri. Now, after spending two birthdays in captivity, he is expected to be released Saturday in the fifth wave of hostage releases in the first phase of the deal.
“Shma Yisrael, they’re here,” was the last message the father of three sent before being taken to Gaza along with instructions for his will. He was still in his underwear when he was carted off, his daughter told the Jewish Chronicle.
Ohad was abducted alongside his wife Raz, although she was freed in the November deal, after a terrorist shot him in the shoulder.
Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife Leanne and their two daughters Noya and Yahel were murdered on October 7, is among the 33 living and dead hostages slated to be released in the first phase of the deal. He is set to return to Israel on Saturday in the fifth wave of hostage releases in the first phase of the deal.
Sharabi’s brother Yossi was also taken hostage, and an IDF probe found he was possibly killed in Hamas captivity, likely by an IAF airstrike in January 2024. Yossi had a wife, Nira, and three daughters: Yuval, Ofir, and Oren, all of whom survived.
Ofir Sharabi, the daughter of Yossi and niece of Eli, spoke at a demonstration at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.
October 24, 2023 reportThe ordeal of the Sharabi family: 1 kidnapped, 1 missing, 3 murdered
Eli is missing, while his wife and daughters were killed in a brutal way. His brother Yossi was taken captive by Hamas.
Two brothers, Yossi and Eli Sharabi, faced a tragic ordeal in Kibbutz Be’eri. Eli's wife, Leanne, and their two daughters, Noya and Yahel, were brutally murdered, while Eli is currently listed as missing. Yossi was taken to Gaza, but his wife managed to save their daughters and seven other civilians. They hid for eight hours without making a sound.
Yossi and Eli’s brother Sharon Sharabi, a 48-year-old from Alfi Menashe, is now grieving the loss of Leanne, Noya and Yahel, and searching for Eli and Yossi.
Yossi, 53, was married to Nira, and they had three daughters: Yuval, Ofir, and Oren. Eli, 51, married Leanne, a British citizen who volunteered at the kibbutz. They had two daughters, Noya and Yahel.
On October 7, Hamas terrorists infiltrated the Kerem neighborhood in Kibbutz Be’eri, which is located near Gaza.
"They breached the fence and mercilessly slaughtered nearly everyone," Sharabi said. "They entered Eli and Leanne's home, and murdered Leanne, Noya, and Yahel. Eli is still missing.”
“It's difficult to describe what happened because it's incredibly painful, but they were killed in a brutal way,” he said. “Leanne could only be identified through dental records, and Noya through DNA analysis. Just last night, before meeting President Isaac Herzog, I received news about Noya. It devastated us."
"The family is in a terrible state," he added. "Three were murdered, and my brother Eli is still missing. It wouldn't surprise me if his body was among the unrecognizable ones in the camp. They experienced a horrific massacre, with their bodies being treated in a brutal manner."
The courage of a father
Sharon said that his brother Yossi offered himself as a hostage as long as the terrorists would spare the rest.
“The terrorists entered his home and he came out with his hands raised,” he said. “He told them to take him and spare the rest, especially the children. They didn't shoot him but took him.”
“Before they put him in the car, they left his wife, Nira, and their three daughters on the grass,” he said. “Oren, his young daughter, raised her hand halfway and bid him a hopeful goodbye. Thanks to Nira's resourcefulness, they hid and remained quiet for eight hours. Soldiers eventually rescued them and brought them to safety."
- 'It's a horror movie': Eli returns from Hamas captivity to learn his family was murdered After months in captivity, Eli Sharabi returns to a shattered life—his wife and daughters murdered, his brother gone; His family prepares to support him as he faces unimaginable grief and the challenge of rebuilding his life from scratch "I'm going through endless, overwhelming days. For the first time, I feel like I understand what the hostages must be experiencing, counting the seconds in the tunnels. When will Eli finally walk out of there on his own two feet?" said Sharon Sharabi, the brother of Eli Sharabi, who is set to be released in the first stage of the deal, and of Yossi Sharabi, who was murdered while in captivity in Gaza.Sharon Sharabi with a picture of his brothers(Photo: Ryan Preuss)Eli’s wife, Lian, and their two daughters, Yahel and Noya, were murdered on October 7. "When we found out Yossi was murdered, I said to myself: we failed. When Eli comes home, I’ll say we succeeded," Sharon explained. "It’s not just me—an entire nation feels the same way. It feels like all our hearts are bursting with excitement. But alongside that, there’s so much pain. Pain for October 7, for these past 16 months, for the brother Eli lost, for his wife and daughters who are no longer with us. After everything he’s been through, he’s coming back to a completely different reality—a nightmare. Without his wife and daughters, without a home."I don’t think there’s any chance he knows Yossi didn’t survive. Maybe he knows about Lian and the girls—maybe some terrorist told him—but not about Yossi. When he comes back and finds out, his world is going to shatter all over again," Sharon added. "I don’t know how you prepare for such an insane situation. How do we tell him? When? There are no words that can comfort him after such devastating news. All we can do is hug him, show him that we’re here for him, and never leave his side."Sharon shared that the first thing he’ll do after Eli comes home is mourn. The second is to help Eli rebuild his life. "These are my life’s missions," he said. "I’m full of faith and hope that Eli will find his way out of this loop of grief and hold on to life. I’ve been listening to testimonies, learning, and processing—it might be similar to what Eli is experiencing. I know I’ll need to be the strong person by his side. Strong, but also sensitive."Their mother will wait for Eli in Kibbutz Re’im. "She’s so eager to see her survivor," Sharon said, adding that he plans to meet his brother at the hospital. "But this immense excitement is accompanied by a sense of loss. I know Yossi could have been on that same helicopter. We failed as a country in a big way. They were there far too long, and there were opportunities to save lives. The hostages are coming home, and we’re grateful to the politicians who were involved, but the ones who truly paved the way to bring them home were the IDF soldiers who gave their lives, and the bereaved families whose loved ones were murdered by the terrorists now being released. They’re the ones who deserve our gratitude." link
- Israel might not dispatch delegation to Doha hostage deal talks tomorrow
Israel will not necessarily send a delegation to negotiations on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal in Doha tomorrow, the Israel Hayom newspaper reports, citing a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s entourage.
The delegation, if it flies to Qatar, will be a working-level team, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu’s office said earlier this week that the delegation would depart Friday, following the premier’s meetings with senior members of US President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington. link If Netanyahu doesn't send the negotiators, it is another in a very long, almost never ending list of unforgivable actions by Netanyahu, another proof point that he doesn't give a damn about the lives of the hostages and the misery of their families. They are our people, they are hostages because of Netanyahu's failures of years of strengthening Hamas and taking focus away from Gaza, they are his responsibility to bring them home but he continues to allow more hostages suffer and die in captivity. If we don't fight with our own government, all of the still living hostages will come back in body bags and Netanyahu won't blink an eye or shed a tear.
Seventy percent of the Israeli public is in favor of continuing to the second phase of the hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to a television poll aired Friday, which found a nearly identical figure backs US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.
Channel 12 news said 21% of respondents are against the second stage of the agreement, which would see the release of around 24 living male hostages, and some 35 dead hostages, in return for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
The bodies of other captives would be returned in a third phase.
The remaining nine percent of respondents told the network they did not know whether they favor or oppose continuing to the deal’s second stage, negotiations on which were slated to begin this week.
Among those who voted for Netanyahu’s right-religious coalition, parts of which opposed the current deal, 54% back the second stage, versus 36% who are against and the remainder not knowing.
The agreement is now in its 42-day first phase, during which 33 children, women and older men are supposed to be released in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terror convicts.
So far, 13 hostages have been returned, and three more are set to be released from Gaza on Saturday morning. Five Thai hostages were also freed outside the framework of the deal.
Protesters urge US President Donald Trump to see to completion of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, Tel Aviv, February 1, 2025. (Gilad Furst/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)The survey also asked Israelis if they are for or against Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza, with 69% in favor and 18% opposed. The remaining respondents did not know.
Favorability marks were far higher among coalition voters, with 90% of those included in the survey expressing support.
Despite the plan’s popularity, half of respondents say they don’t believe it will ultimately come to fruition, compared to 36% who think it will.
Channel 12 did not say how many people took part in the poll, which was conducted by Mano Geva’s Midgam polling company in cooperation with the iPanel online research firm, or provide a margin of error.
Yarden Bibas to PM: ‘Bring my family back. Bring my friends back. Bring everyone home’
Yarden Bibas, flanked by his sister and father, is seen on an IDF helicopter on his way to a hospital in central Israel on February 1, 2025 (Israel Defense Force)
In first statement since release, Bibas thanks Israelis who fought for him and his family, says: ‘My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark’
Yarden Bibas, who was released from Gaza last Saturday under the hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza, made his first public statements on Friday since his release.
“On October 7th, 2023, I was kidnapped from Israel. On February 1st, 2025, I returned to a different country. I knew that the people of Israel unite in times of disaster, but I never knew to what extent,” he wrote in a statement distributed by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Thanking everyone who had supported him and his family during his 485 days in captivity, he made a special mention of Israeli troops: “To the IDF soldiers, in one sentence — you are heroes, each and every one of you. Thank you.”
Bibas was kidnapped separately from his wife Shiri and young sons Ariel and Kfir, when Hamas terrorists raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after he left their safe room hoping to distract the gunmen and save his family.
In November 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri and the two boys had been killed in captivity. Israel has not confirmed the claim but has expressed “grave concern” for their fate. Though the three are set for release under the current ceasefire, Hamas has so far refused Israeli demands to comment on their status.
“Sadly, my family hasn’t returned to me yet. They are still there. My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark. Thanks to you, I was brought back — help me bring the light back to my life,” he said.
He specifically addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Bring my family back. Bring my friends back. Bring everyone home.”
Yarden, Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas.(Courtesy)On Monday, after Yarden’s release, his sister Ofri said at a press conference: “It all feels very fragile. My brother returned, but my sister-in-law and nephews have not. Yarden asks about them and I have no answers for him.”
She added: “Yarden is here, and we realized again what we already knew, how strong and wonderful he is,” Ofri said. “We found out how he took care of himself in hell, with the sensitivity and humor that so characterize him.”
Dana Silberman-Sitton, Shiri Bibas’s sister, said: “I’m so happy that I’m able to hug him, to hear his voice and to look him in the eyes again. But where are Shiri and the boys? Three-quarters of our heart are still held hostage. And until they come home, it will remain missing.”
The comments came as Hebrew media reported on Yarden Bibas’s mistreatment in Hamas captivity, which included mind games about his family’s fate.
Family members of released hostage Yarden Bibas and hostages Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas hold a press conference at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan on February 3, 2025. (From left) Eli Bibas, Ofri Bibas Levy, Dana Silberman Sitton, Jimmy Miller. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)“We have only one question: Where are Shiri and the children? We won’t accept this uncertainty any longer. We demand answers. We demand their return. That is the state’s obligation to us, after all we have been through,” Silberman-Sitton said.
“Shiri and the boys were in a whole home, in a whole kibbutz, still in their pajamas, as the whole world and the nation saw,” she continued.
“The state failed to protect them. The state has failed for almost 500 days to get them home. No longer. It is the responsibility of the government and country to Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir,” she said.
The report, which cited testimonies that Yarden’s family had approved for publication, said he initially thought his wife and young sons had avoided his fate and pled repeatedly with his captors for confirmation.
To silence Yarden, the terrorists reportedly first told him that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir survived and had been sighted in Tel Aviv. Later, the report said, the captors ordered a female hostage to tell Yarden that his wife and young sons had been killed. When the female hostage refused, the captors coerced another male hostage to convey the news, which he tearfully did, leading Yarden to break down — at which point his Hamas captors pulled out a camera and filmed him, Channel 12 said.
That video was later issued by Hamas as propaganda.
Israel will not necessarily send a delegation to negotiations on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal in Doha tomorrow, the Israel Hayom newspaper reports, citing a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s entourage.
The delegation, if it flies to Qatar, will be a working-level team, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Netanyahu’s office said earlier this week that the delegation would depart Friday, following the premier’s meetings with senior members of US President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington. link If Netanyahu doesn't send the negotiators, it is another in a very long, almost never ending list of unforgivable actions by Netanyahu, another proof point that he doesn't give a damn about the lives of the hostages and the misery of their families. They are our people, they are hostages because of Netanyahu's failures of years of strengthening Hamas and taking focus away from Gaza, they are his responsibility to bring them home but he continues to allow more hostages suffer and die in captivity. If we don't fight with our own government, all of the still living hostages will come back in body bags and Netanyahu won't blink an eye or shed a tear.
Seventy percent of the Israeli public is in favor of continuing to the second phase of the hostage release and ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to a television poll aired Friday, which found a nearly identical figure backs US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip.
Channel 12 news said 21% of respondents are against the second stage of the agreement, which would see the release of around 24 living male hostages, and some 35 dead hostages, in return for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
The bodies of other captives would be returned in a third phase.
The remaining nine percent of respondents told the network they did not know whether they favor or oppose continuing to the deal’s second stage, negotiations on which were slated to begin this week.
Among those who voted for Netanyahu’s right-religious coalition, parts of which opposed the current deal, 54% back the second stage, versus 36% who are against and the remainder not knowing.
The agreement is now in its 42-day first phase, during which 33 children, women and older men are supposed to be released in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terror convicts.
So far, 13 hostages have been returned, and three more are set to be released from Gaza on Saturday morning. Five Thai hostages were also freed outside the framework of the deal.
The survey also asked Israelis if they are for or against Trump’s plan to move Palestinians out of Gaza, with 69% in favor and 18% opposed. The remaining respondents did not know.
Favorability marks were far higher among coalition voters, with 90% of those included in the survey expressing support.
Despite the plan’s popularity, half of respondents say they don’t believe it will ultimately come to fruition, compared to 36% who think it will.
Channel 12 did not say how many people took part in the poll, which was conducted by Mano Geva’s Midgam polling company in cooperation with the iPanel online research firm, or provide a margin of error.
Yarden Bibas to PM: ‘Bring my family back. Bring my friends back. Bring everyone home’
Yarden Bibas, flanked by his sister and father, is seen on an IDF helicopter on his way to a hospital in central Israel on February 1, 2025 (Israel Defense Force)In first statement since release, Bibas thanks Israelis who fought for him and his family, says: ‘My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark’
Yarden Bibas, who was released from Gaza last Saturday under the hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza, made his first public statements on Friday since his release.
“On October 7th, 2023, I was kidnapped from Israel. On February 1st, 2025, I returned to a different country. I knew that the people of Israel unite in times of disaster, but I never knew to what extent,” he wrote in a statement distributed by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Thanking everyone who had supported him and his family during his 485 days in captivity, he made a special mention of Israeli troops: “To the IDF soldiers, in one sentence — you are heroes, each and every one of you. Thank you.”
Bibas was kidnapped separately from his wife Shiri and young sons Ariel and Kfir, when Hamas terrorists raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, after he left their safe room hoping to distract the gunmen and save his family.
In November 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri and the two boys had been killed in captivity. Israel has not confirmed the claim but has expressed “grave concern” for their fate. Though the three are set for release under the current ceasefire, Hamas has so far refused Israeli demands to comment on their status.
“Sadly, my family hasn’t returned to me yet. They are still there. My light is still there, and as long as they’re there, everything here is dark. Thanks to you, I was brought back — help me bring the light back to my life,” he said.
He specifically addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Bring my family back. Bring my friends back. Bring everyone home.”
On Monday, after Yarden’s release, his sister Ofri said at a press conference: “It all feels very fragile. My brother returned, but my sister-in-law and nephews have not. Yarden asks about them and I have no answers for him.”
She added: “Yarden is here, and we realized again what we already knew, how strong and wonderful he is,” Ofri said. “We found out how he took care of himself in hell, with the sensitivity and humor that so characterize him.”
Dana Silberman-Sitton, Shiri Bibas’s sister, said: “I’m so happy that I’m able to hug him, to hear his voice and to look him in the eyes again. But where are Shiri and the boys? Three-quarters of our heart are still held hostage. And until they come home, it will remain missing.”
The comments came as Hebrew media reported on Yarden Bibas’s mistreatment in Hamas captivity, which included mind games about his family’s fate.
“We have only one question: Where are Shiri and the children? We won’t accept this uncertainty any longer. We demand answers. We demand their return. That is the state’s obligation to us, after all we have been through,” Silberman-Sitton said.
“Shiri and the boys were in a whole home, in a whole kibbutz, still in their pajamas, as the whole world and the nation saw,” she continued.
“The state failed to protect them. The state has failed for almost 500 days to get them home. No longer. It is the responsibility of the government and country to Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir,” she said.
The report, which cited testimonies that Yarden’s family had approved for publication, said he initially thought his wife and young sons had avoided his fate and pled repeatedly with his captors for confirmation.
To silence Yarden, the terrorists reportedly first told him that Shiri, Ariel and Kfir survived and had been sighted in Tel Aviv. Later, the report said, the captors ordered a female hostage to tell Yarden that his wife and young sons had been killed. When the female hostage refused, the captors coerced another male hostage to convey the news, which he tearfully did, leading Yarden to break down — at which point his Hamas captors pulled out a camera and filmed him, Channel 12 said.
That video was later issued by Hamas as propaganda.
Siegel was made to lie down at all times for the last two months of captivity; Romi Gonen, so deprived of food, no longer recognized feeling of hunger upon her release
For the final two months of his captivity in Gaza, American-Israeli Keith Siegel was forced to lie down at all times in a cramped room. For most of his ordeal, there was little electricity or running water, which made hygiene impossible, he said.
When he returned to Israel last week, gaunt and pale, the first words to his family, according to his brother, Lee Siegel, were: “I’m back, I’m home.”
Then, he asked, “What can I do to help bring the other hostages home?”
Hostages are returning after 15 months in captivity as part of a deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group, and with their freedom, the first details of their ordeals are emerging.
Their accounts, told mostly through relatives, are shining a light on what the roughly 75 captives who remain in Gaza are facing and are driving families of the released captives to keep up their public campaign until everyone is free.
“My family and I traveled the globe, knocking on every door, sharing our story with anyone who would listen,” Siegel’s wife, Aviva, a former hostage, told reporters after the release of her husband.
US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, right, reunites with his wife Aviva shortly after being released from captivity in Gaza, February 1, 2025. (IDF)“We must not rest. We must not turn away,” she said, adding that the “hostages remaining in Gaza deserve better.”
After 15 months of devastating war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack — when some 3,000 terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages — Hamas and Israel agreed to a three-stage deallast month for the release of the hostages, the freeing of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, and a stop to fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The families of the hostages and their supporters have waged a tireless campaign in Israel and abroad to keep public attention on their loved ones and secure their release.
Former hostage Aviva Siegel speaks at an event in Tel Aviv marking one year since the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, October 13, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)Their commitment to securing the release of all the remaining hostages is made all the more difficult because extension of the ceasefire is not guaranteed and relies on renewed negotiations between Israel and Hamas to carry the deal into its second stage, when more hostages are expected to be freed, along with more Palestinian security prisoners.
Siegel, 65, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken captive along with Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities hardest hit in Hamas’s attack. She was released during a previous hostage-ceasefire deal in November 2023.
Lee Siegel, 73, said his brother told the family he was moved frequently and that for about six months, he was kept alone, separate from other hostages. Beyond what his captors told him, he had very little exposure to the outside world, other than hearing rare snippets of radio or TV reports.
For long periods, he was required to stay silent, he told his family.
Siegel drew on his meditation practice to help him stay grounded, his brother said. He would keep track of time by saying the date and the day of the week every day.
Hamas gunmen flank Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Gaza City on February 1, 2025. (Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP)Siegel would have imagined conversations with each family member, according to his brother. If his captors allowed him to speak aloud, he would whisper these; otherwise, he would have the conversations silently in his head. He would say, “Aviva, I love you,” or to his daughter, “Gal, I dreamed of you, I saw you.”
Even as he has started sharing some of his experiences with the family, Lee Siegel said they can’t begin to comprehend his ordeal. His brother is also grappling with the challenges of catching up on everything he missed, the seismic changes in Israel, as well as personal family news: the death of their mother, the birth of great nieces and nephews.
“It’s a human being who was taken for 484 days, suffering the worst things we can appreciate,” Lee Siegel said.
Romi Gonen, 24, who was released on the first day of the recent ceasefire, will need a complex surgery and lengthy physical therapy for an untreated hand wound she suffered during the Hamas attack, according to her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen.
While doctors said Gonen’s condition was stable when she returned, her mother said her skin was gray after being kept out of sunlight for nearly her entire captivity.
Romi Gonen (right) and her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen, embrace after Romi’s return from Hamas captivity, January 19, 2025. (IDF)Leshem Gonen said her daughter lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds), a fifth of her body weight, and was often deprived of food by her captors, even when they had food to share.
When she was freed, Gonen had lost the ability to recognize hunger and didn’t want to eat at all, her mother said, adding that it was more than two weeks before she finally asked for something specific to eat.
Gonen has spoken very little to her family about what she went through, except to share humorous stories, trying to inject a bit of levity into a horrific situation because that’s the kind of person she is, her mother said.
Siegel was made to lie down at all times for the last two months of captivity; Romi Gonen, so deprived of food, no longer recognized feeling of hunger upon her release
For the final two months of his captivity in Gaza, American-Israeli Keith Siegel was forced to lie down at all times in a cramped room. For most of his ordeal, there was little electricity or running water, which made hygiene impossible, he said.
When he returned to Israel last week, gaunt and pale, the first words to his family, according to his brother, Lee Siegel, were: “I’m back, I’m home.”
Then, he asked, “What can I do to help bring the other hostages home?”
Hostages are returning after 15 months in captivity as part of a deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group, and with their freedom, the first details of their ordeals are emerging.
Their accounts, told mostly through relatives, are shining a light on what the roughly 75 captives who remain in Gaza are facing and are driving families of the released captives to keep up their public campaign until everyone is free.
“My family and I traveled the globe, knocking on every door, sharing our story with anyone who would listen,” Siegel’s wife, Aviva, a former hostage, told reporters after the release of her husband.
“We must not rest. We must not turn away,” she said, adding that the “hostages remaining in Gaza deserve better.”
After 15 months of devastating war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack — when some 3,000 terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages — Hamas and Israel agreed to a three-stage deallast month for the release of the hostages, the freeing of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, and a stop to fighting in the Gaza Strip.
The families of the hostages and their supporters have waged a tireless campaign in Israel and abroad to keep public attention on their loved ones and secure their release.
Their commitment to securing the release of all the remaining hostages is made all the more difficult because extension of the ceasefire is not guaranteed and relies on renewed negotiations between Israel and Hamas to carry the deal into its second stage, when more hostages are expected to be freed, along with more Palestinian security prisoners.
Siegel, 65, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken captive along with Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities hardest hit in Hamas’s attack. She was released during a previous hostage-ceasefire deal in November 2023.
Lee Siegel, 73, said his brother told the family he was moved frequently and that for about six months, he was kept alone, separate from other hostages. Beyond what his captors told him, he had very little exposure to the outside world, other than hearing rare snippets of radio or TV reports.
For long periods, he was required to stay silent, he told his family.
Siegel drew on his meditation practice to help him stay grounded, his brother said. He would keep track of time by saying the date and the day of the week every day.
Siegel would have imagined conversations with each family member, according to his brother. If his captors allowed him to speak aloud, he would whisper these; otherwise, he would have the conversations silently in his head. He would say, “Aviva, I love you,” or to his daughter, “Gal, I dreamed of you, I saw you.”
Even as he has started sharing some of his experiences with the family, Lee Siegel said they can’t begin to comprehend his ordeal. His brother is also grappling with the challenges of catching up on everything he missed, the seismic changes in Israel, as well as personal family news: the death of their mother, the birth of great nieces and nephews.
“It’s a human being who was taken for 484 days, suffering the worst things we can appreciate,” Lee Siegel said.
Romi Gonen, 24, who was released on the first day of the recent ceasefire, will need a complex surgery and lengthy physical therapy for an untreated hand wound she suffered during the Hamas attack, according to her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen.
While doctors said Gonen’s condition was stable when she returned, her mother said her skin was gray after being kept out of sunlight for nearly her entire captivity.
Leshem Gonen said her daughter lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds), a fifth of her body weight, and was often deprived of food by her captors, even when they had food to share.
When she was freed, Gonen had lost the ability to recognize hunger and didn’t want to eat at all, her mother said, adding that it was more than two weeks before she finally asked for something specific to eat.
Gonen has spoken very little to her family about what she went through, except to share humorous stories, trying to inject a bit of levity into a horrific situation because that’s the kind of person she is, her mother said.
Gaza and the South
- Trump says he’s in ‘no rush’ to implement plan to take over, redevelop GazaUS president tells reporters: ‘Basically, the United States would view it as a real estate transaction. We’re not talking about boots on the ground or anything’
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was not in a hurry to implement his plan to take over and redevelop Gaza while relocating Palestinians to other countries.
“We’re in no rush on it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
After repeatedly floating the idea that Egypt and Jordan take in some Gazan refugees while the Strip was being rebuilt — a notion rejected by Cairo and Amman — Trump earlier this week suggested that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip,” while the enclave’s residents should be resettled in other countries.
Though the international community, including allies of Washington and Jerusalem, has largely criticized Trump’s plan, the US president said, “It’s been very well received. Basically, the United States would view it as a real estate transaction where we will be an investor in that part of the world.”
He went on: “We wouldn’t need anybody there. It would be supplied and given to us by Israel. They’ll watch it in terms of security. We’re not talking about boots on the ground or anything, but I think the fact that we’re there, that we have an investment there, I think would go a long way to creating peace.
“We just want to see stability… and we wouldn’t need soldiers at all, that will be taken care of by others, and the investments are taken care of by others,” he argued.
“So for no investment, I mean virtually no investment whatsoever, it would bring stability to the area and others can invest in it later on,” Trump said.
“But we’re in no rush on it. It’s absolutely no rush.”
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “worth listening carefully” to Trump’s proposal.
In a video filmed at his hotel in Washington, the premier said Trump “raised his idea about Gaza, about the day after Hamas, and I think it is worth listening carefully to this idea, which is the first original idea that has been raised in years.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Gaza was currently “not habitable” due to dangers, such as unexploded weapons, and that people will have to live elsewhere while the area is rebuilt.
“I think that’s just a realistic reality, that in order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim,” Rubio said.
He said Trump’s controversial remarks were aimed in part at encouraging other countries that “have both the economic and technological capacity” to also help with rebuilding.
Egypt said on Friday it had been in contact with Arab partners, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to firm up the region’s rejection of any displacement of Palestinians.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had been in communication with counterparts from 11 nations, a statement said.
Those had emphasized “the constants of the Arab position on the Palestinian cause, rejecting any measures aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land, or encouraging their transfer to other countries outside the Palestinian territories,” it said.
Moving Palestinians would represent a “flagrant violation of international law, an infringement on Palestinian rights, a threat to security and stability in the region and an undermining of opportunities for peace and coexistence among its peoples,” Egypt’s statement said.
Rather, Egypt was looking with other Arab nations at how to rebuild and clean up Gaza.
Egyptian security sources told Reuters that the nation’s presidency, military and intelligence were united in rejecting Trump’s plan despite disagreements on how to respond. link
US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was not in a hurry to implement his plan to take over and redevelop Gaza while relocating Palestinians to other countries.
“We’re in no rush on it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
After repeatedly floating the idea that Egypt and Jordan take in some Gazan refugees while the Strip was being rebuilt — a notion rejected by Cairo and Amman — Trump earlier this week suggested that “the US will take over the Gaza Strip,” while the enclave’s residents should be resettled in other countries.
Though the international community, including allies of Washington and Jerusalem, has largely criticized Trump’s plan, the US president said, “It’s been very well received. Basically, the United States would view it as a real estate transaction where we will be an investor in that part of the world.”
He went on: “We wouldn’t need anybody there. It would be supplied and given to us by Israel. They’ll watch it in terms of security. We’re not talking about boots on the ground or anything, but I think the fact that we’re there, that we have an investment there, I think would go a long way to creating peace.
“We just want to see stability… and we wouldn’t need soldiers at all, that will be taken care of by others, and the investments are taken care of by others,” he argued.
“So for no investment, I mean virtually no investment whatsoever, it would bring stability to the area and others can invest in it later on,” Trump said.
“But we’re in no rush on it. It’s absolutely no rush.”
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “worth listening carefully” to Trump’s proposal.
In a video filmed at his hotel in Washington, the premier said Trump “raised his idea about Gaza, about the day after Hamas, and I think it is worth listening carefully to this idea, which is the first original idea that has been raised in years.”
Netanyahu’s remarks came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Gaza was currently “not habitable” due to dangers, such as unexploded weapons, and that people will have to live elsewhere while the area is rebuilt.
“I think that’s just a realistic reality, that in order to fix a place like that, people are going to have to live somewhere else in the interim,” Rubio said.
He said Trump’s controversial remarks were aimed in part at encouraging other countries that “have both the economic and technological capacity” to also help with rebuilding.
Egypt said on Friday it had been in contact with Arab partners, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, to firm up the region’s rejection of any displacement of Palestinians.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had been in communication with counterparts from 11 nations, a statement said.
Those had emphasized “the constants of the Arab position on the Palestinian cause, rejecting any measures aimed at displacing the Palestinian people from their land, or encouraging their transfer to other countries outside the Palestinian territories,” it said.
Moving Palestinians would represent a “flagrant violation of international law, an infringement on Palestinian rights, a threat to security and stability in the region and an undermining of opportunities for peace and coexistence among its peoples,” Egypt’s statement said.
Rather, Egypt was looking with other Arab nations at how to rebuild and clean up Gaza.
Egyptian security sources told Reuters that the nation’s presidency, military and intelligence were united in rejecting Trump’s plan despite disagreements on how to respond. link
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
- New footage said to capture airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Nasrallah in bunker
CCTV clip shows eruption of debris after single strike, reportedly in vicinity of terror group’s underground headquarters, where IAF bunker-busting bombs killed him in September
Smoke rises from the impact of a bomb, reportedly during the Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, September 27, 2024. (Screen capture: X/Quds News Network, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Previously unpublished footage circulating on Arabic media Thursday purported to show the Israeli airstrike on Beirut that killed longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the terror group’s underground headquarters last year.
The video, whose September 27, late-evening timestamp matches the time Nasrallah was killed, was reportedly captured on a surveillance camera of a building near the Hezbollah bunker where he died. The location could not be verified.
The soundless, minute-long video shows an unidentified man exiting a building and preparing to mount his motorcycle when a single strike tears up the street and the man sprints back inside for shelter.
The earth visibly shakes as multiple blazes ignite on the street, and the cloud of smoke and dust slowly dissipates. One car appears to have had its trunk ripped open.
Israel confirmed on September 28 that Nasrallah and other top commanders of the terror group were killed in a massive Israeli airstrike on their underground headquarters. Nasrallah was targeted by dozens of bunker-busting bombs dropped by Israeli Air Force fighter jets while he was at Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh, the IDF said at the time.
Hezbollah has not commented on the video, and Al-Mayadeen, Al-Nahar and Al-Akhbar — major news outlets affiliated with the terror group — do not appear to have reported on it. However, the video was carried by Quds News Network, which is affiliated with fellow Iran-backed group Hamas.
Israel’s assassination of Nasrallah came at the height of the intense two-week bombing campaign that preceded its invasion of Lebanon, following over 11 months of persistent rocket fire by Hezbollah, which forced the displacement of some 60,000 residents of the north.
In an interview broadcast on Channel 12 Thursday night, Yoav Gallant, the defense minister at the time, said he had ordered the IDF to double, from 40 to 80 tons, the ordnance used on Nasrallah, to achieve near-certainty that the strike would work.
Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem announcedSunday that the terror group would hold a “grand funeral” for its slain chief in Beirut on February 23, five days after the IDF is set to withdraw from Lebanon under the its ceasefire agreement with the terror group.
The November 27 agreement originally gave Israel 60 days, until January 26, to withdraw.
The deadline was pushed back to February 18 amid Israel’s accusations that Hezbollah had failed to withdraw northward as required. On Thursday night, Israel said it had struck Hezbollah weapons caches that violated the ceasefire.
Unprovoked, the terror group began attacking northern Israel on a near-daily basis on October 8, 2023 — a day after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Video
- New footage said to capture airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Nasrallah in bunkerCCTV clip shows eruption of debris after single strike, reportedly in vicinity of terror group’s underground headquarters, where IAF bunker-busting bombs killed him in SeptemberSmoke rises from the impact of a bomb, reportedly during the Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Lebanon, September 27, 2024. (Screen capture: X/Quds News Network, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Previously unpublished footage circulating on Arabic media Thursday purported to show the Israeli airstrike on Beirut that killed longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in the terror group’s underground headquarters last year.
The video, whose September 27, late-evening timestamp matches the time Nasrallah was killed, was reportedly captured on a surveillance camera of a building near the Hezbollah bunker where he died. The location could not be verified.
The soundless, minute-long video shows an unidentified man exiting a building and preparing to mount his motorcycle when a single strike tears up the street and the man sprints back inside for shelter.
The earth visibly shakes as multiple blazes ignite on the street, and the cloud of smoke and dust slowly dissipates. One car appears to have had its trunk ripped open.
Israel confirmed on September 28 that Nasrallah and other top commanders of the terror group were killed in a massive Israeli airstrike on their underground headquarters. Nasrallah was targeted by dozens of bunker-busting bombs dropped by Israeli Air Force fighter jets while he was at Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh, the IDF said at the time.
Hezbollah has not commented on the video, and Al-Mayadeen, Al-Nahar and Al-Akhbar — major news outlets affiliated with the terror group — do not appear to have reported on it. However, the video was carried by Quds News Network, which is affiliated with fellow Iran-backed group Hamas.
Israel’s assassination of Nasrallah came at the height of the intense two-week bombing campaign that preceded its invasion of Lebanon, following over 11 months of persistent rocket fire by Hezbollah, which forced the displacement of some 60,000 residents of the north.
In an interview broadcast on Channel 12 Thursday night, Yoav Gallant, the defense minister at the time, said he had ordered the IDF to double, from 40 to 80 tons, the ordnance used on Nasrallah, to achieve near-certainty that the strike would work.
Nasrallah’s successor Naim Qassem announcedSunday that the terror group would hold a “grand funeral” for its slain chief in Beirut on February 23, five days after the IDF is set to withdraw from Lebanon under the its ceasefire agreement with the terror group.
The November 27 agreement originally gave Israel 60 days, until January 26, to withdraw.
The deadline was pushed back to February 18 amid Israel’s accusations that Hezbollah had failed to withdraw northward as required. On Thursday night, Israel said it had struck Hezbollah weapons caches that violated the ceasefire.
Unprovoked, the terror group began attacking northern Israel on a near-daily basis on October 8, 2023 — a day after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza. Video
West Bank and Jerusalem and Terror attacks within Israel
- Hamas says Israeli forces raiding West Bank, East Jerusalem homes of security prisoners slated for release
The Hamas prisoners’ media office says Israeli security forces are conducting raids on the homes of Palestinian security prisoners slated for release today in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Palestinian prisoners are greeted as they exit a Red Cross bus after being released from Israeli prison amid a hostage release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, February 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
The IDF did not immediately comment. In previous prisoner releases, the military has said it made calls to the families of all those released, as well as visited their homes, warning them against celebrations and parades.“I ask everybody to take action to make sure the ceasefire will continue for the hostages to get out,” said Leshem Gonen, who has been a prominent voice for the hostages’ freedom and has continued the campaign for those still in captivity.
The Hamas prisoners’ media office says Israeli security forces are conducting raids on the homes of Palestinian security prisoners slated for release today in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Palestinian prisoners are greeted as they exit a Red Cross bus after being released from Israeli prison amid a hostage release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, February 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Politics and the War (general news)
- First Publication | Head of Shin Bet Meets with Gaza Border Security Coordinators: "The Security System Failed, Our Freedom of Action Was Limited"
In the first meeting since October 7, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, told security coordinators (Ravshatzim) in the Gaza border communities: "We never said Hamas was deterred—on the contrary, we pushed to act against them proactively." Bar admitted that the Shin Bet was prevented from carrying out operations against Hamas: "We were limited to targeting senior officials." He also apologized: "The security system failed." Full details below.
For the first time since the October 7 failure, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar held a meeting with the security coordinators of the Gaza border communities. The meeting, which took place about a month and a half ago and was kept secret until now, was revealed for the first time last night (Friday) on the Studio Friday program. During the meeting, attended by the current head of the Southern District and the head of the field operations division responsible for agent operations in the Gaza Strip, Bar revealed the limitations imposed on the organization's activities before the war and acknowledged the systemic failure.
Shin Bet Head Ronen Bar: "The Security System Failed, and I Came to Apologize"
"The security system failed, and I came to say I'm sorry," Bar began his remarks. Contrary to claims heard after the failure, he emphasized: "We never said Hamas was deterred. On the contrary, we pushed to act against them proactively." He then revealed one of the central reasons for the failure: "Until October 7, the Shin Bet's freedom of action was limited, and we were only allowed to focus on eliminating senior officials."
Bar highlighted the significant change in the organization's activities since the war began: "Now that we have boots on the ground, we can also thwart field operatives. Intelligence work now is similar to what we do in Judea and Samaria. Our coordinators are operating inside Gaza."
Regarding the Connection with Security Coordinators, Bar Admitted Another Mistake
"One of the lessons we learned is that we should have been in contact with the Ravshatzim on the ground. You are important sensors—to hear and understand from you," Bar said. As a first step toward rectification, he reported conducting "training for Ravshatzim and rapid response teams at our training and combat facility" and committed to expanding cooperation.
In response to a pressing question from one of the Ravshatzim about residents returning to Kerem Shalom, Bar replied: "Significant work has been done; it's not what it used to be, and we, along with the IDF, are making further changes so that residents can return home safely." However, Bar avoided making a definitive statement about whether he would return his own family at this stage. At the end of the meeting, the head of the Shin Bet pledged: "We have built a plan for the day after, and we will be stronger on the ground." link
- First Publication | Head of Shin Bet Meets with Gaza Border Security Coordinators: "The Security System Failed, Our Freedom of Action Was Limited"
In the first meeting since October 7, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, told security coordinators (Ravshatzim) in the Gaza border communities: "We never said Hamas was deterred—on the contrary, we pushed to act against them proactively." Bar admitted that the Shin Bet was prevented from carrying out operations against Hamas: "We were limited to targeting senior officials." He also apologized: "The security system failed." Full details below.For the first time since the October 7 failure, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar held a meeting with the security coordinators of the Gaza border communities. The meeting, which took place about a month and a half ago and was kept secret until now, was revealed for the first time last night (Friday) on the Studio Friday program. During the meeting, attended by the current head of the Southern District and the head of the field operations division responsible for agent operations in the Gaza Strip, Bar revealed the limitations imposed on the organization's activities before the war and acknowledged the systemic failure.
Shin Bet Head Ronen Bar: "The Security System Failed, and I Came to Apologize"
"The security system failed, and I came to say I'm sorry," Bar began his remarks. Contrary to claims heard after the failure, he emphasized: "We never said Hamas was deterred. On the contrary, we pushed to act against them proactively." He then revealed one of the central reasons for the failure: "Until October 7, the Shin Bet's freedom of action was limited, and we were only allowed to focus on eliminating senior officials."
Bar highlighted the significant change in the organization's activities since the war began: "Now that we have boots on the ground, we can also thwart field operatives. Intelligence work now is similar to what we do in Judea and Samaria. Our coordinators are operating inside Gaza."
Regarding the Connection with Security Coordinators, Bar Admitted Another Mistake
"One of the lessons we learned is that we should have been in contact with the Ravshatzim on the ground. You are important sensors—to hear and understand from you," Bar said. As a first step toward rectification, he reported conducting "training for Ravshatzim and rapid response teams at our training and combat facility" and committed to expanding cooperation.
In response to a pressing question from one of the Ravshatzim about residents returning to Kerem Shalom, Bar replied: "Significant work has been done; it's not what it used to be, and we, along with the IDF, are making further changes so that residents can return home safely." However, Bar avoided making a definitive statement about whether he would return his own family at this stage. At the end of the meeting, the head of the Shin Bet pledged: "We have built a plan for the day after, and we will be stronger on the ground." link
The Region and the WorldEgypt said privately warning Trump’s Gaza plan endangers peace treaty with Israel
Officials say message has been passed to State Department and members of Congress and also conveyed to Israel and its Western European allies, including Britain, France and Germany
Egypt has launched a behind-the-scenes diplomatic blitz to try to head off US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the mass relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has warned that such a plan could undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and American influence in the Middle East for decades.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has not publicly responded to Trump’s stunning proposal that most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians be relocated and the United States take charge of rebuilding the territory. The 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, which began when the Palestinian terror group led thousands of terrorists on a devastating invasion of southern Israel, had reduced large parts of Gaza to rubble before a fragile ceasefire took hold last month.
But Egyptian officials, speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, said Cairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.
One official said the message has been delivered to the Pentagon, the State Department, and members of the US Congress. A second official said it has also been conveyed to Israel and its Western European allies, including Britain, France, and Germany.
A Western diplomat in Cairo, also speaking anonymously because the discussions have not been made public, confirmed receiving the message from Egypt through multiple channels. The diplomat said Egypt was very serious and viewed the plan as a threat to its national security.
The diplomat said Egypt had rejected proposals from the Biden administration and European countries to take in some Gazan refugees early in the war, which was sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The earlier proposals were broached privately, while Trump announced his plan at a White House press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan was intended to be carried out.
In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said Israel would turn Gaza over to the United States after the war and that no US soldiers would be needed for his plan to redevelop it.
The Palestinians have vehemently rejected Trump’s proposal, fearing that refugees would never be allowed to return.
Saudi Arabia, another key US ally, has also rejected any mass transfer of Palestinians and says it will not normalize relations with Israel — a key goal of the Trump administration — without the creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza.
Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal on Thursday slamed Trump’s proposal, calling it a “mad ethnic cleansing plan” in lockstep with the agenda of Israel’s far right.
“It is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleansing in the 21st century can be condoned… There’s no way that I can explain it,” he said, warning that the plan will cause “more conflict and more bloodshed.”
He called on the international community to take the matter up in the United Nations, but noted that “with the American veto, I cannot expect that there will be much success in passing any resolution.”
Trump and Israeli officials have depicted the proposed relocation from war-ravaged Gaza as voluntary, but the Palestinians have universally expressed their determination to remain in their homeland.
Trump and Israeli officials have not said how they would respond if Palestinians refuse to leave. But Human Rights Watch and other groups say the plan, if implemented, would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” the forcible relocation of the civilian population of an ethnic group from a geographic area.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said he has ordered the military to make preparations to facilitate the voluntary emigration of large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza through land crossings as well as “special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground and Israeli officials stressed that this was only for Palestinians who wanted to leave.
Egypt said privately warning Trump’s Gaza plan endangers peace treaty with Israel
Officials say message has been passed to State Department and members of Congress and also conveyed to Israel and its Western European allies, including Britain, France and Germany
Egypt has launched a behind-the-scenes diplomatic blitz to try to head off US President Donald Trump’s proposal for the mass relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has warned that such a plan could undermine its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of stability and American influence in the Middle East for decades.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has not publicly responded to Trump’s stunning proposal that most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinians be relocated and the United States take charge of rebuilding the territory. The 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, which began when the Palestinian terror group led thousands of terrorists on a devastating invasion of southern Israel, had reduced large parts of Gaza to rubble before a fragile ceasefire took hold last month.
But Egyptian officials, speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, said Cairo has made clear to the Trump administration and Israel that it will resist any such proposal, and that the peace deal with Israel — which has stood for nearly half a century — is at risk.
One official said the message has been delivered to the Pentagon, the State Department, and members of the US Congress. A second official said it has also been conveyed to Israel and its Western European allies, including Britain, France, and Germany.
A Western diplomat in Cairo, also speaking anonymously because the discussions have not been made public, confirmed receiving the message from Egypt through multiple channels. The diplomat said Egypt was very serious and viewed the plan as a threat to its national security.
The diplomat said Egypt had rejected proposals from the Biden administration and European countries to take in some Gazan refugees early in the war, which was sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The earlier proposals were broached privately, while Trump announced his plan at a White House press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan was intended to be carried out.
In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said Israel would turn Gaza over to the United States after the war and that no US soldiers would be needed for his plan to redevelop it.
The Palestinians have vehemently rejected Trump’s proposal, fearing that refugees would never be allowed to return.
Saudi Arabia, another key US ally, has also rejected any mass transfer of Palestinians and says it will not normalize relations with Israel — a key goal of the Trump administration — without the creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza.
Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal on Thursday slamed Trump’s proposal, calling it a “mad ethnic cleansing plan” in lockstep with the agenda of Israel’s far right.
“It is a fantasy to think that ethnic cleansing in the 21st century can be condoned… There’s no way that I can explain it,” he said, warning that the plan will cause “more conflict and more bloodshed.”
He called on the international community to take the matter up in the United Nations, but noted that “with the American veto, I cannot expect that there will be much success in passing any resolution.”
Trump and Israeli officials have depicted the proposed relocation from war-ravaged Gaza as voluntary, but the Palestinians have universally expressed their determination to remain in their homeland.
Trump and Israeli officials have not said how they would respond if Palestinians refuse to leave. But Human Rights Watch and other groups say the plan, if implemented, would amount to “ethnic cleansing,” the forcible relocation of the civilian population of an ethnic group from a geographic area.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said he has ordered the military to make preparations to facilitate the voluntary emigration of large numbers of Palestinians from Gaza through land crossings as well as “special arrangements for exit by sea and air.”
There were no immediate signs of such preparations on the ground and Israeli officials stressed that this was only for Palestinians who wanted to leave.
US officials scale back Trump’s proposal
Trump said he wanted to “permanently” resettle most of Gaza’s population in other countries and for the United States to take charge of clearing debris and rebuilding Gaza as a “Riviera of the Middle East” for all people. He did not rule out the deployment of US troops there.
US officials later appeared to walk it back, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary and that Trump had not committed to putting American boots on the ground or spending American tax dollars in Gaza.
The Egyptian officials said their government does not believe the Palestinians need to be relocated for reconstruction to proceed and is committed to the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, territories Israel gained control of in the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel’s government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and has said it will maintain open-ended security control over both Gaza and the West Bank. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most of the international community and considers the entire city its capital. Trump during his first term of office moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in a move seen as giving legitimacy to Israel’s holding of the unified city.
Last week, Egypt hosted a meeting of top diplomats from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — which was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords Trump brokered with Israel. All five Arab nations rejected the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza or the West Bank.
In an editorial on Thursday, Egypt’s main state-run daily, Al-Ahram, warned that “the Arab countries’ independence, their peoples’ unity and their territorial integrity are under grave threat.”
US officials scale back Trump’s proposal
Trump said he wanted to “permanently” resettle most of Gaza’s population in other countries and for the United States to take charge of clearing debris and rebuilding Gaza as a “Riviera of the Middle East” for all people. He did not rule out the deployment of US troops there.
US officials later appeared to walk it back, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary and that Trump had not committed to putting American boots on the ground or spending American tax dollars in Gaza.
The Egyptian officials said their government does not believe the Palestinians need to be relocated for reconstruction to proceed and is committed to the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, territories Israel gained control of in the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel’s government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and has said it will maintain open-ended security control over both Gaza and the West Bank. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized by most of the international community and considers the entire city its capital. Trump during his first term of office moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in a move seen as giving legitimacy to Israel’s holding of the unified city.
Last week, Egypt hosted a meeting of top diplomats from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates — which was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords Trump brokered with Israel. All five Arab nations rejected the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza or the West Bank.
In an editorial on Thursday, Egypt’s main state-run daily, Al-Ahram, warned that “the Arab countries’ independence, their peoples’ unity and their territorial integrity are under grave threat.”
Personal Stories
**Luis Har** 
Rescued by special forces along with Fernando Marman after 129 days in Hamas captivity: "They told us that we would be out by the next day or, at most, two days... They said they were almost done with the women and children, and then they would start with the men. On the day we were supposed to be released, at seven in the morning, the IDF started bombing. We looked at each other and said, 'That's it, we're not getting out.'"
**Amit Shani** 
16 years old, released after 54 days in Hamas captivity: "I thought a deal would take four or five days, but it dragged on... At one point, they came in and said, 'Tonight, there's a good chance you'll die. Write your last letter.' Everyone wrote a letter. We didn’t understand if they were just saying it or if it was because of the bombings or something they were planning to do..."
**Liat Atzili** 
49 years old, released from Hamas captivity after 54 days. Her husband, Aviv, was murdered: "There was one day when I turned on the TV and saw a ticker saying that Hamas was threatening to execute hostages. That night, I had a conversation with myself and said, 'It’s possible you won’t make it out of here alive.'"
Dark Legacy - The Abandonment of October 7th Hostages
Sacrificed on the Altar of Netanyahu's Political PowerProf. Boaz AtziliProfessor of Political Science and International Relations; cousin of the late Aviv Atzili, who was killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th, his body taken to Gaza.
October 7th was no accident. What happened on that dark day was the result of a chain of omissions, but mainly the result of a deliberate policy practiced by Benjamin Netanyahu, who served as the Prime Minister of Israel for 13 of the past 15 years. Since October 7th, Netanyahu has not changed his course of action and has not confessed his sins. In calculated moves, he continues to abandon and sacrifice the hostages, the soldiers, and the people of Israel on the altar of his own benefits and the preservation of his rule.As early as his first term of office (1996-1999), Netanyahu's policy was clear and publicly stated: weakening any moderate Palestinian element and strengthening the extremist Hamas. The goal? Establishing the narrative that “there is no one to talk to” in order to solidify a right- wing coalition under his leadership. Over the last decade, Netanyahu prevented resources from reaching the Palestinian Authority and denied any initiative for a diplomatic dialogue. At the same time, he encouraged the flow of cash to Hamas and avoided solving the Gaza Strip issues. Violence from Gaza increased, and Netanyahu was able to continue to claim that the Palestinians only understand force. And who paid the price? Who was sacrificed? The Israeli residents of the Gaza Envelope. They faced the missiles, the mortars, and the fire balloons while being neglected by their own government.Over this past year, Netanyahu's willingness to sacrifice others has crossed all lines; the deliberate weakening of public institutions through the judicial coup and the transfer of most of the military forces to guard the heartland of his coalition partners - the settlements in the West Bank - were essentially invitations to our enemies to attack. And who paid the price? Who was sacrificed? The residents of the Western Negev, including most of my family members, who overnight became refugees in their own country. And my dear cousin, Aviv Atzili, who fell in battle while defending Nir Oz, when the IDF failed to arrive to protect the kibbutz and help the small civil defense squad in their fight against the attack of hundreds of terrorists. And his wife, Liat, who was taken hostage and kept in Gaza for nearly two months before being released from captivity in the November deal.Unfortunately, this is not yet the end. If it were up to Netanyahu, this would be an endless war. He is well aware that continuation of the war in Gaza will not only lead to the killing of the hostages but will also continue to serve the interest of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. No matter how many Hamas terrorists and senior officials the Israel Defense Forces kill, the political power of the murderous organization increases in direct correlation with the site of destruction and the dead, wounded, and orphaned children in Gaza. The popularity of the terrorist organization in Gaza, the West Bank, and the world is rising as the war drags on. Why is Netanyahu continuing with a policy that supports Hamas’s interests while sacrificing the hostages, the soldiers, and the people of Israel? Because this is what his messianic coalition partners demand. These partners are already announcing their plans for Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon. When the coalition partners are satisfied, the coalition stays in place, Netanyahu preserves his rule, no commissions of inquiry are set up, and there is no trial. And so, he hopes, we will all forget his crimes. And our loved ones languishing in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza? And the soldiers who are killed in vain? And the destruction and unimaginable death toll in Gaza that guarantees the continuation of the conflict and undermines Israel's security? For him all these are justified sacrifices, sacrifices on the altar of Netanyahu's rule. It is not his loved ones who fall. It is not his associates who are kidnapped. It is not he who pays the price. But rather we all pay. No, Netanyahu. We will never forget, and we will never forgive. The history books will always be there to remind us of your dark legacy. Forever.
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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