Israel says Hamas has violated ceasefire by releasing hostage soldiers before civilians
Israel will proceed in its ceasefire with Hamas after the militant group partially violated the agreement by naming four female soldier hostages instead of the expected civilians to be released.
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Hamas has named four female soldiers as the next hostages to be released despite the ceasefire agreement saying the two remaining civilian women captives should have been released first.
Soldiers Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and Liri Albag, 19, were taken captive from Nahal Oz military base, just a kilometre from the Gaza border, during Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
If all goes according to plan, after Hamas releases the four women on Saturday, Israel should free a group of Palestinian prisoners, though neither side has specified how many they will be.
Palestinian sources told AFP the exchange could happen before noon.
According to the Israel Prison Service, some of them will be released to Gaza, with the rest to return to the occupied West Bank.
Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, said on Telegram that “as part of the prisoners’ exchange deal, the Qassam brigades decided to release tomorrow four women soldiers”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed it had received the names through mediators.
Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau based in Qatar, on Friday told AFP that Palestinians displaced by the war to southern Gaza should be able to begin returning to the north of the devastated territory following the releases.
“An Egyptian-Qatari committee will oversee the implementation of this part of the agreement on the ground,” he said.
While displaced Gazans longed to return home after more than a year of war, many found only rubble where houses once stood.
“Even if we thought about returning, there is no place for us to put our tents because of the destruction,” Theqra Qasem, a displaced woman, told AFP.
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ISRAEL WON’T WITHDRAW FROM LEBANON BY HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE DEADLINE
Israel announced on Friday that the withdrawal of its forces from southern Lebanon would continue beyond the 60-day period stipulated in a November ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
It comes as senior Hamas leader Zaher Jabarin confirmed they were hours away from publicly announcing the names of the four female Israeli hostages to be released on Saturday local time.
Jabarin said the ceasefire was proceeding smoothly “despite some violations by the Israeli occupation” without elaborating.
Israel has made it clear they want civilian Arbel Yehud, 29, to be among the next hostages named.
Ms Yehud and Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33, are the only female civilian hostages remaining in Gaza.
There are also five female soldier hostages Liri Albag, 19, Karina Ariev, 20, Agam Berger, 21, Danielle Gilboa, 20 and Naama Levy, 20.
Regarding Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the ceasefire agreement had been drafted “with the understanding that the withdrawal process might extend beyond the 60-day period”.
“The withdrawal process is conditional upon the Lebanese army deploying in southern Lebanon and fully and effectively enforcing the agreement, with Hezbollah withdrawing beyond the Litani River,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said, ahead of the Sunday deadline.
“Since the ceasefire agreement has not yet been fully enforced by the Lebanese state, the gradual withdrawal process will continue in full co-ordination with the United States.” The fragile truce, which took effect on November 27 after two months of full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah, has been marked by accusations of violations from both sides.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdraws over a 60-day period.
Hezbollah is to pull back its forces north of the Litani River – some 30 kilometres from the border – and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
A committee composed of Israeli, Lebanese, French and US delegates and a representative of UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.
The UN peacekeeping force has reported repeated Israeli violations of the terms of the ceasefire.
NOVA FESTIVAL SURVIVOR TO REPRESENT ISRAEL AT EUROVISION
In October 2023, when Hamas militants killed over 370 people at the Nova music festival, Yuval Raphael survived by hiding under a pile of bodies. Now, the Israeli singer has been picked to represent her country at Eurovision.
The 24-year-old won reality TV contest HaKokhav Haba (The Next Star), earning her the right to represent Israel at Eurovision 2025 in Switzerland in May.
Raphael performed a ballad version of ABBA’s Dancing Queen during the qualifying competition, dedicating it to “all the angels” who were murdered during the Nova festival.
In the early hours of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, Hamas gunmen stormed the open-air festival which was taking place two kilometres from the Gaza Strip.
The militants hunted participants for hours, killing more than 370 people, according to official Israeli data, and taking 44 others hostage.
Speaking to Israeli public radio, Raphael recounted the ordeal and the importance of music even at that time.
“Music is so important to me that it accompanied me even in that moment,” she said.
Speaking of her success, she said she was lucky “to be here, and at the same time, this song is for all those angels who don’t have the chance to be here … that’s why I want to represent us”.
In her testimony before the UN Human Rights Council in April 2024, Raphael described how when rocket fire began, a prelude to the militant attack, she and more than 40 other festival-goers took refuge in a small bomb shelter.
Soon, Hamas militants began firing and throwing grenades into the shelter, she told the council.
“Suddenly my world crumbled … trapped and fearing for my life, I witnessed unspeakable horrors,” she said.
“Friends and strangers were injured and killed before my eyes. When the bodies of those murdered fell on us, I understood that hiding under them was the only way I could survive the nightmare.”
She said that only 10 others hiding with her survived.
“The physical injuries I sustained are healing but the mental scars will stay with me forever,” she said.
Raphael’s selection follows fierce debate over last year’s Eurovision, when Israeli competitor Eden Golan had to change her lyrics over their apparent references to October 7.
When Golan performed a revamped version of her song at last year’s final, both cheers and boos could be heard from the audience.
“This whole year has helped me understand what I need to keep my spirits up in situations much more difficult than boos,” said Raphael
IN PICTURES: GAZANS RETURN HOME
Displaced Palestinians have begun returning in their thousands to their former homes.
While many are sifting through the rubble of their former lives, touching scenes of joy are emerging from Gaza as relief agencies hastily push aid into the region.
ISRAEL LAUNCHES OPERATION IN JENIN
The Israeli military has launched an operation in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin days after a fragile truce took effect following 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian health ministry, based in Ramallah, said the operation had killed 10 people.
In a joint statement, the military and the Shin Bet security agency said that, alongside the Israeli Border Police, they had launched an operation dubbed “Iron Wall” in Jenin.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid aimed to “eradicate terrorism” in Jenin and was part of a broader strategy to counter Iran “wherever it sends its arms – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen” and the West Bank.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its first responders treated seven people injured by live ammunition and that Israeli forces were hindering their access to the area.
Meanwhile, five people were wounded in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, including one seriously, and the attacker was killed, Israeli emergency service Magen David Adom said.
The police, who said the attacker was “neutralised”, did not comment on the nature of the attack on Tuesday local time. An AFP journalist saw the dead body of a man on the street.
The Times of Israel identified the alleged attacker as Abdelaziz Kaddi, 29, a Moroccan national with a US green card.
The injured were all male, aged 24 or 59.
‘DENIES AGENCY’: PM’S SNUB TO ISRAELI OFFICIAL
Anthony Albanese has rejected a claim by a senior Israeli official that Labor has stoked anti-Semitism in Australia.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said on Tuesday there was “no doubt” the surge in anti-Semitism in Australia “has been caused in part by the Australian government’s ongoing campaign against Israel”.
The Prime Minister on Wednesday said the claim “denies agency”.
“I don’t suggest for a second that anyone other than Hamas is responsible for the October 7 attacks,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Western Sydney.
“Not for one second. Because those people who are the perpetrators of these hateful crimes need to be held to account.”
Ms Haskel’s comments came after a non-Jewish childcare centre in Sydney’s east was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti and set alight – the latest in a spate of attacks targeting synagogues and suburbs with high Jewish populations.
During his press conference, Mr Albanese also hit back against allegations at home that his government has been too slow to act on anti-Semitism.
He said his government had “called out every one” of the attacks.
“We’ve acted from day one,” he said.
“And I’ll tell you what is of some concern is people who seek political advantage from what is a traumatic circumstance.”
ISRAEL’S DEFENCE CHIEF RESIGNS
The head of Israel’s military resigned, taking responsibility for its “failure” to stop Hamas’s October 7 attack.
In his resignation letter, released by the army on Tuesday, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said he was stepping down “due to my acknowledgment of responsibility for the (military’s) failure on October 7”, but added that he was leaving at a time of “significant successes”.
He acknowledged, however, that the goals of the Gaza war “have not all been achieved”, adding the army would “continue to fight to further dismantle Hamas”, bring back the hostages and enable Israelis displaced by militant attacks to return home.
Shortly after his announcement, Major General Yaron Finkelman also resigned. Finkelman headed Israel’s southern military command, which is responsible for Gaza.
– with Agence France-Presse (AFP)
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