Gaza update

January 19, 2025 by TPS-IL
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The three Israeli hostages to be released on Sunday are 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, 24-year-old Romi Gonen and 28-year-old Emily Damari, an Israeli-UK national, it was cleared for publication.

Israeli hostages (from left), Doron Steinbrecher, 31, Emily Damari, 28, and Romi Gonen, 24. Photos courtesy the families/TPS-IL

Steinbrecher, a veterinary nurse, was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She takes medicine daily for a chronic condition. In her last sign of life, Steinbrecher was seen in a Hamas propaganda video released in January 2024.

Gonen, a waitress from Tel Aviv, was abducted from the Nova Music Festival after three people in a car with her were murdered. Gonen’s last words in a desperate phone call to her mother were, “They shot me, Mom and I’m bleeding. Everyone in the car is bleeding.” One of the hostages freed during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023 told Gonen’s family that Rami was alive but in bad health.

Damari was abducted from her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza’s youth neighbourhood and was shot in hand. Emily’s mother, Mandy, had campaigned tirelessly in both Israel and Britain on behalf of her daughter and the other hostages.

The three hostages set to be released today will arrive at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, central Israel. The dark blue sign reads “It is so good to have you back home.” January 19, 2025. Credit TPS-IL

The ceasefire went into effect on Sunday morning at 11:15 AM after Israel confirmed receiving an hours-overdue list of the hostages to be returned. Hours later, Hamas listed the names of three women on its Telegram channel. The families initially asked journalists to respect their privacy and not prematurely report the names of the three, but by mid-day, they lifted their objections.

Less than one hour before the ceasefire was originally supposed to begin, the IDF announced it had recovered the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose body was held in Gaza since 2014.

The first phase of the ceasefire will see 33 Israeli hostages freed over a period of several days in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many of the 33 hostages are alive. Meanwhile, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected a legal petition against the release of the Palestinians on Sunday morning.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.


“It is continuous by God’s permission to kill the last Zionist soldier in our holy country,” the gunmen chanted as cars honked horns and music blared.

The ceasefire went into effect at 11:15 AM after Netanyahu’s office confirmed it received an hours-overdue list of three hostages to be released later on Sunday.

Less than one hour before the ceasefire was originally supposed to begin, the IDF announced it had recovered the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose body was held in Gaza since 2014.

The first phase of the ceasefire will see 33 Israeli hostages freed over several days in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many of the 33 hostages are alive. Meanwhile, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected a legal petition against the release of the Palestinians on Sunday morning.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.


Israeli authorities issued a detailed schedule of the first phase of the ceasefire in which 33 hostages will be released.

Three hostages are to be released on Sunday, the first day of the ceasefire. Those returnees have already been identified as 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher, 24-year-old Romi Gonen and 28-year-old Emily Damari, an Israeli-UK national, it was cleared for publication.

On Saturday, four hostages will be released and then three captives will be freed each week for the following four weeks. By the end of the sixth week, Hisham al-Sayed and Avraham Mengistu, who have been held in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively, will also be freed. The remaining 12 will be released on the last week of phase one.

The final number of the terrorists to be released in the deal will depend on how many of the 33 hostages are alive. While many would be sent back to their homes in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, the highest profile prisoners like Marwan Barghouti will likely be deported.

The fate of the remaining 65 hostages will be determined by negotiations to begin on the ceasefire’s 16th day of the ceasefire. Critics say the phased approach condemns hostages not freed in the beginning to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Prison Service is gearing up to release the imprisoned terrorists.

The Palestinians to be freed will first be taken to the Ofer Prison north of Jerusalem, where they will be identified by representatives of the Red Cross and wait for the hostages to arrive. After receiving approval from Israel authorities, the Red Cross will transport the prisoners to various release points.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit Party formally quit the governing coalition on Sunday in protest against the government’s approval of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

The party has six of the Knesset’s 120 seats.

Also resigning with Ben-Gvir were Minister for the Development of the Periphery, Negev and Galilee Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.

It is widely expected that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will replace the three with Likud MKs on an interim basis, leaving open the possibility of the party returning should war with Hamas resume. Avi Dichter, currently the Minister of Agriculture and former director of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), is viewed as the leading figure to replace Ben-Gvir in the National Security Ministry.

Three other Otzma Yehudit MKs resigned as chairs of Knesset committees.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also voted against the ceasefire in Friday’s government vote, said on Saturday night he will remain in the government.

“Look at Gaza, it’s destroyed, uninhabitable, and it will stay this way,” the Religious Zionism Party leader said in a statement. He added that he was promised that no humanitarian aid would fall into the hands of Hamas.

The ceasefire went into effect at 11:15 AM after Netanyahu’s office confirmed it received an hours-overdue list of three hostages to be released later on Sunday.

Less than one hour before the ceasefire was originally supposed to begin, the IDF announced it had recovered the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, whose body was held in Gaza since 2014.

The first phase of the ceasefire will see 33 Israeli hostages freed over a period of several days in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many of the 33 hostages are alive. Meanwhile, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected a legal petition against the release of the Palestinians on Sunday morning.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.


As Israel readied for the release of three hostages on Sunday in a controversial ceasefire agreement, experts warned The Press Service of Israel that the truce does not adequately address the problem of Hamas seizing increased deliveries of humanitarian aid.

“We’re talking about the daily transfer of around 600 trucks of humanitarian aid,” Maurice Hirsch, a legal expert and former military prosecutor told TPS-IL.

He said the agreement is fundamentally flawed, saying terrorists will “reintegrate into Hamas’ hierarchical command system,” undoing years of Israeli counterterrorism efforts.

Hamas control over aid will enable the terror group to “rebrand itself as a provider for the Gazan population while filling its coffers and rebuilding its military capabilities,” Hirsch said.

The Tzav 9 movement, which has long opposed the transfer of humanitarian aid to Hamas-controlled areas ever since the war started, criticized the agreement.

“If Hamas militants had to beg for food and water, we would have secured the release of all hostages long ago,” a Tzav 9 spokesperson told TPS-IL, arguing that the trucks supplying aid to Gaza serve as a lifeline for Hamas, allowing the organization to “recruit new militants, sustain itself, and continue its reign of terror.”

The movement demands a comprehensive strategy to ensure humanitarian aid bypasses Hamas entirely, insisting that “strengthening terror is not an acceptable price for the return of our loved ones.”

Col. (Res.) Hezi Nechama, a reserve brigade commander and one of the founders of the Forum of Reservist Commanders and Fighters, warned TPS-IL that facilitating Gaza’s reconstruction under the current circumstances will inevitably bolster Hamas.

“The funds required to rebuild Gaza are astronomical,” Nechama said. “Anyone who believes they can control how this money is allocated is deluding themselves.” He predicted that reconstruction materials, such as cement and steel would be diverted to rebuild Hamas’ military infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons.

A representative of the Prime Minister’s Office recently responded to a query from TPS-IL regarding the rationale behind providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, given that the terrorist organization Hamas exploits civilian infrastructure to strengthen its power and carry out attacks.

“Hamas has cynically used civilian and medical infrastructure for terror activities, including at the Kamal Adwan Hospital, where IDF forces recently arrested 240 terrorists,”  David Mencer, a spokesman for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Office of the Prime Minister told TPS-IL. “Despite this, we have a duty to provide aid to Gazan civilians, not terrorists, and we are taking every precaution to ensure this.”

Mencer acknowledged the challenges posed by Hamas’ theft of aid, which is often resold at exorbitant prices to Gaza’s residents.

“This underscores the urgent need to eradicate Hamas and remove them from any governing role in Gaza’s future,” Mencer said. “The government’s ultimate goal remains clear: “Freeing Gaza from Hamas.”

Since mid-November, Hamas and criminal gangs associated with the terror group stepped up their stealing of deliveries of food, water, medicine and other humanitarian supplies. At one point, 85% of all trucks entering the Strip were hijacked.

The Press Service of Israel has learned that Hamas has granted distribution lines to these groups to ensure that humanitarian aid exclusively reaches Hamas. In return, these gangs receive money, food and vouchers. Hamas also pays these gangs $10,000 a month to maintain checkpoints.

Meanwhile, sacks of flour and rice donated by the West are being sold for $700 and $500 respectively while a pack of cigarettes costs $1,500. In September, Palestinian sources told TPS-IL that Hamas was charging $800 for donated tents.

The first phase of the ceasefire will see 33 Israeli hostages freed over several days in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many of the 33 hostages are alive.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.


TPS/REUTERS

Comments

One Response to “Gaza update”
  1. Lynne Newington says:

    I suppose forgiveness is going to be the by word next.

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