#female Israeli captives

[wherepond]

Four Israeli hostages released by Hamas

Four female Israeli captives have appeared on a stage in Gaza City’s Palestine Square.

They are Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag.

They smiled, alongside fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, before being handed over to the Red Cross.

The Red Cross vehicles holding the released Israeli soldiers have begun to leave Gaza City’s Palestine Square, amid cheers from the crowd.

“This is a historic moment,” reports Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili from the scene

[sivavakkiyar]

Israeli occupation forces have opened fire on Palestinians trying to return to their homes in the north of the Gaza Strip, killing at least one person, as Hamas accuses Israel of delaying the implementation of the ceasefire deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow the return of the displaced Palestinians over a delay by the Palestinian movement in releasing a female civilian captive.

The dispute came as a ceasefire between the two sides entered its second week, with the exchange of four Israeli soldiers for 200 Palestinian prisoners taking place on Saturday.

“Palestinians here in the north are waiting for their loved ones to return from the south,” said Al Jazeera journalist Ibrahim al-Khalili.

He went on to say: “Some of them have not seen their loved ones for 15 months of the Israeli war. But even if the displaced Palestinians get the chance to return today, they will be coming back to nothing but rubble. The Israeli operation in North Gaza governorate – we are talking about Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya – has completely destroyed these areas. The mass devastation that has been inflicted in the area has rendered it unfit to sustain human life. But people are waiting. They say every minute feels like a day. But no one has been allowed to cross over yet.”

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers have continued a large-scale military operation in and near the city of Jenin, killing at least two people, including a two-year old girl.

[sayruq]

Al Jazeera has obtained a copy of the Gaza ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it accepted on Monday. The deal, which was put forward by Egypt and Qatar, would come in three stages that would see an initial halt in the fighting leading to lasting calm and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory. The proposed agreement would also ensure the release of Israeli captives in Gaza as well as an unspecified number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Israel has said that it does not agree to the proposal but that it will engage in further talks to secure an agreement – all while pushing on with its assault on Gaza. Meanwhile, the United States, which is also involved in the negotiations, said it is reviewing the Hamas response. The basic principles for an agreement between the Israeli side and the Palestinian side in Gaza on the exchange of captives and prisoners between them and the return of sustainable calm. The framework agreement aims at: The release of all Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip, civilians or military, alive or otherwise, from all periods, in exchange for a number of prisoners held by Israel as agreed upon, and a return to a sustainable calm that leads to a permanent ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, its reconstruction and the lifting of the siege. The framework agreement consists of three related and interconnected stages, which are as follows: The first stage (42 days) [Herein] a temporary cessation of military operations between the two parties, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces eastward and away from densely populated areas to a defined area along the border all along the Gaza Strip (including Wadi Gaza, known as the Netzarim Corridor, and Kuwait Roundabout, as below). All aviation (military and reconnaissance) in the Gaza Strip shall cease for 10 hours a day, and for 12 hours on the days when captives and prisoners are being exchanged. Internally displaced people in Gaza shall return to their areas of residence and Israel shall withdraw from Wadi Gaza, the Netzarim corridor, and the Kuwait Roundabout: On the third day (after the release of three captives), Israeli forces are to withdraw completely from al-Rashid Street in the east to Salah al-Din Street, and dismantle military sites and installations in this area. Displaced persons (unarmed) shall return to their areas of residence and all residents of Gaza shall be allowed freedom of movement in all parts of the Strip. Humanitarian aid shall be allowed in via al-Rashid Street from the first day without any obstacles. On the 22nd day (after the release of half the living civilian captives in Gaza, including female soldiers), Israeli forces are to withdraw from the centre of the Gaza Strip (especially the Netzarim/Martyrs Corridor and the Kuwait Roundabout axis), from the east of Salah al-Din Street to a zone along the border, and all military sites and installations are to be completely dismantled. Displaced people shall be allowed to return to their places of residence in the north of Gaza, and all residents to have freedom of movement in all parts of the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid, relief materials and fuel (600 trucks a day, including 50 fuel trucks, and 300 trucks for the north) shall be allowed into Gaza in an intensive manner and in sufficient quantities from the first day. This is to include the fuel needed to operate the power station, restart trade, rehabilitate and operate hospitals, health centres and bakeries in all parts of the Gaza Strip, and operate equipment needed to remove rubble. This shall continue throughout all stages.

Exchange of captives and prisoners between the two sides: During the first phase, Hamas shall release 33 Israeli captives (alive or dead), including women (civilians and soldiers), children (under the age of 19 who are not soldiers), those over the age of 50, and the sick, in exchange for a number of prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centres, according to the following [criteria]: Hamas shall release all living Israeli captives, including civilian women and children (under the age of 19 who are not soldiers). In return, Israel shall release 30 children and women for every Israeli detainee released, based on lists provided by Hamas, in order of detention. Hamas shall release all living Israeli captives (over the age of 50), the sick, and wounded civilians. In return, Israel shall release 30 elderly (over 50) and sick prisoners for every Israeli captive, based on lists provided by Hamas, in order of detention. Hamas shall release all living Israeli female soldiers. In return, Israel shall release 50 prisoners (30 serving life sentences, 20 sentenced) for every Israeli female soldier, based on lists provided by Hamas.

The United Nations and its agencies, including UNRWA, and other international organisations, are to continue providing humanitarian services across the Gaza Strip. This shall continue throughout all stages of the agreement. Infrastructure (electricity, water, sewage, communications and roads) across the Gaza Strip shall be rehabilitated, and the equipment needed for civil defence allowed into Gaza to clear rubble and debris. This shall continue throughout all stages of the agreement. All necessary supplies and equipment to shelter displaced people who lost their homes during the war (a minimum of 60,000 temporary homes – caravans – and 200,000 tents) shall be allowed into Gaza. Throughout this phase, an agreed-upon number (not fewer than 50) of wounded military personnel will be allowed to travel through the Rafah crossing to receive medical treatment, and an increased number of travellers, sick and wounded, shall be allowed to leave through the Rafah crossing as restrictions on travellers are lifted. The movement of goods and trade will return without restrictions.

And that's just phase one. Read the rest of the article for the rest of the ceasefire proposal approved by Hamas.

[heritageposts]

. . . ‘Hannibal Directive’ is the name of a controversial procedure used by the Israeli army to prevent, at any cost the capture of soldiers by enemy forces.  The directive, according to Eyal Weizmann, the founder of Forensic Architecture, dictates that “the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces”. According to testimonies by Israeli settlers in the Israel-Gaza border region, the Israeli military had killed many of its own citizens as if to prevent the Resistance from taking them as hostages. These reports even made their way to the Israeli media.  Yasmin Porat, a survivor from the Kibbutz Be’eri, near the fence separating Gaza from Israel, said in an interview with Israeli Radio that Israeli forces “undoubtedly” killed a large number of Israeli civilians following the Hamas operation on October 7. “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages,” she told Israeli radio. “There was very, very heavy crossfire and even tank shelling.” Considering that, per Hamdan’s counter, at least nine Israeli hostages and captives have been killed by the Israeli military – in addition to the latest female soldier – and the failure of Israel to rescue a single hostage – the initial question imposes itself once more: Is Israel killing its own hostages as part of the Hannibal Directive?

. . . continues at PC (16 Des 2023)

[wearenotjustnumbers2]

The child Nofoth Hammad (15y/o) from Jerusalem, was returned to the Damoun jail by the occupation authorities. Hammad is serving a 12 year sentence and was supposed to be released with other Palestinian female detainees, two days ago. 27.11.23

I want to add that Israel arrests Palestinians for no charge and no reason. They are taken captive and tried in military prisons and courts and pro israeli will call them criminals. If you look up most of the charges of the kids, you'll see "charged for stabbing/ attempted stabbing". Almost every single kid in their prisons is charged for attempted stabbing. This is something that israeli forces have been doing for so long. They have a habit of claiming a stabbing attempt or even planting a knife in the scene in order to get away with arresting literal children and putting them in cages. This isn't justifiable. Many people that I know personally were arrested and sentenced when they have done nothing at all. This is just a part of it, occupation has never been just and fair. Many Palestinians in Israeli prisons aren't convicted of anything they don't even bother to charge them.

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

The UN's Official Mission report on Hamas' Sexual Violence in Israel was published

Please take your time to read this. Israeli \ Jewish victims deserve the same protection as any other women.

The brief version can be read here.

----

***I am not going to include any graphic detailing.

The pattern of Sexual Violence used by Hamas is very clear:

It was one of their key goals and tactics on October 7th.

You cannot say "Female Hostages are treated well. you're lying by saying they're raped" anymore!

Notice how they also said **Children**

Civilians were in fact burned inside their homes

This is also clearly a pattern used by Hamas, as this is just one of many examples they detail. -Hamas has also burned soldiers alive in their dorms and offices. That is also further detailed in the report.

This is not fake or propaganda

I can't believe I have to write this but this report is an official report (finally) made by the UN's Sexual Violence Office, as part of their yearly report.

They had a 2-week delegation that toured the actual Kibbutzim (turned crime scenes), interviewed eyewitnesses, spoke to families of victims, etc...

___

I do have to say I was mistaken in my earlier post, besides their conclusion, they have also written their recommendations:

...." V. Conclusions

Overall, based on the totality of information gathered from multiple and independent sources at the different locations, there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred at several locations across the Gaza periphery, including in the form of rape and gang rape, during the 7 October 2023 attacks. Credible circumstantial information, which may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including genital mutilation, sexualized torture, or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, was also gathered. 22

With regards to the hostages, the mission team found clear and convincing information that some hostages taken to Gaza have been subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing.

The mission team was unable to establish the prevalence of sexual violence and concludes that the overall magnitude, scope, and specific attribution of these violations would require a fully-fledged investigation. A comprehensive investigation would enable the information base to be expanded in locations which the mission team was not able to visit and to build the required trust with survivors/victims of conflict-related sexual violence who may be reluctant to come forward at this point.

Regarding the occupied Palestinian Territory, while its scope did not extend to verification, the mission team received information from institutional and civil society sources as well as through direct interviews, about some forms of sexual violence against Palestinian men and women in detention settings, during house raids and at checkpoints. Though the mission team did not visit Gaza, the Office of the SRSG-SVC will continue to monitor the situation for any relevant allegations of CRSV in the context of the ongoing hostilities. The relevant UN entities present in the occupied Palestinian Territory will provide UN-verified information for reporting to the Security Council on allegations of CRSV, which will be complemented by the information obtained by the mission team.

VI. Recommendations

The mission team makes the following recommendations: a) Continue to encourage the Government of Israeli to grant, without further delay, access to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, to carry-out fully-fledged investigations into all alleged violations that would deepen the preliminary findings contained in the present report. b) Urge Hamas and other armed groups to immediately and unconditionally release all individuals held in captivity and to ensure their protection including from sexual violence, in line with international law. c) Call on all relevant and competent bodies, national and international, to bring all perpetrators, regardless of rank or affiliation, to justice based on individual, superior and command responsibility, in accordance with due process of law and fair trial standards. d) Encourage the Government of Israel to consider signing a Framework of Cooperation with the Office of the SRSG-SVC to strengthen capacity on justice and accountability for CRSV crimes as well as security sector engagement, training, and oversight to prevent and address CRSV. 23 e) Strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to monitor and report on incidents, patterns and trends of CRSV in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory through the establishment of the Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Arrangements on CRSV (MARA), convened by dedicated technical specialists, namely Women’s Protection Advisors (WPAs), deployed to the region to ensure prevention, protection and coordinated multi-sectoral assistance to survivors/victims. f) Encourage relevant actors to uphold information integrity and ethical, trauma-informed representations of conflict-related sexual violence, including by respecting and safeguarding the dignity and identity of survivors/victims and witnesses of sexual violence, as sensationalizing headlines, media pressure and scrutiny, exposure of identity, political instrumentalization and pressure, and/or fear of reprisal can result in the suppression, silencing and discrediting of survivors/victims and witnesses, further compound trauma and increase the risk of social stigmatization. g) Urge all parties to the conflict to adopt a humanitarian ceasefire, and to ensure that expertise on addressing conflict-related sexual violence informs the design and implementation of all ceasefire and political agreements and that the voices of women and affected communities are heard in all conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes....."

Israelis have been repeatedly saying all of this for months now, while you deny it. I've personally had people tell me it's all "fake propaganda". You should all be ashamed.

I am infuriated at the fact that for 5 months, our evidence and word isn't enough for Anti-Zionists. Here is some undeniable proof for you.

Believe Jewish Women.

[matan4il]

Today is international Women's Day, but Israeli women are still in captivity, for 5 months now.

Kidnapped, torn from their families, their kids, their parents, their partners, their friends, not getting enough food, most likely held underground where they're not getting enough air, none of their basic hygiene or female hygiene needs are being met, that's if they're even getting enough food to get their periods, some have been repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted, they're being denied proper medical care in general, and in particular that and the right to choose are denied to them in case their rapists have impregnated them, some have been murdered (their pics are in grey in the above image) and Hamas won't even grant them the basic decency of their bodies returned to their families and to the ground from which we all came, as Jewish traditional burial dictates.

And please don't forget all of the women who were brutally murdered on Oct 7, all the seemingly free women, who will never be the same again because of Hamas, the ones who were raped, and the ones who had to fight for their survival, the ones who lost their loved ones, the ones who have lost their mothers, and the ones who weren't supposed to be single parents raising orphans, the ones who continue to die because of anti-Israeli terrorist activity that has been a continuous part of this war, all of us Israeli and Jewish women, who have learned the ease with which our lives and our dignity, as women and human beings, can be taken away, and how the world would doubt our word if we'd testify about it, the women who survived the Holocaust and vowed to "Never again" let it happen, only to see a smaller scale version of it play out, with some of them who survived the Nazis, not surviving the terrorists, all of us who have discovered that there is a pain and a psychological scar we now carry, which will never fully heal.

Never again IS now.

Don't be silent about these women's fate, torment and denial of basic rights on this International Women's Day.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[girlactionfigure]

The parents of the five female observers kidnapped from the Nahal Oz base, who remain in Hamas captivity, decided today (Wednesday), to release the video footage of their daughters' abduction to the public and media. The video, captured by the body cameras of Hamas terrorists on October 7th, spans 03:10 minutes and has been edited and censored to exclude the most disturbing scenes, such as the numerous murdered young men and women at the Nahal Oz base and inside the bomb shelter from which the female observers were taken. The footage reveals the violent, humiliating, and traumatizing treatment the girls endured on the day of their abduction, their eyes filled with raw terror. The video will be distributed in full at 6:00 pm Israel time.

At the Nahal Oz base, 15 female observers who served at the base were murdered on October 7 by Hamas Savages and seven were abducted to the Gaza Strip while alive. 

Uri Magidish was freed by the IDF forces after 23 days in captivity, Noa Marciano was murdered by Hamas Savages while in captivity and her body was returned by the IDF for burial in Israel.

Here is a photo from the video which will be released tonight from body cam from these Savages as they zip tied our female soldiers who's beaten and bleeding on the ground.

What horrors have these precious girls endured in Gaza for the past 7 months... 

They are soldiers which for Hamas Savages are "the worst"

The rapes, beating and so.

The video will be released to Israeli media at 6 pm. 

It is unbelievable that on a day where we have to watch these horrors, three failing nations in Europe decided to reward Hamas and recognize Palestine.

[germiyahu]

I had the brazen lack of judgment to go on Twitter and immediately saw several tweets raging at Mia Schem, calling her ugly, misinterpreting her statements about Palestinian children, standard in the Twitter antizionist playbook really- insults and mistruths.

But I kept seeing the comments, “how does someone rape you with his eyes” “what the fuck does raped me with his eyes mean,” and let me tell you. I am not a woman by any means. I still immediately know what “raped me with his eyes” means and I could immediately envision what that felt like for her, to have a man have absolute control over her, leering at her, mentally undressing her. And this implicit threat hanging over her for nearly 2 months? The fear, anxiety, and disgust she must have felt?

Is it because I have sisters? I’m sure a lot of Twitter has sisters, a lot of them are women, or were assigned female at birth, have experience with creepy men, consider themselves feminists… they can’t all be manosphere goons. Maybe Mia made a mistake giving an interview, because now she’s known to them as a tool of propaganda, and they don’t take her seriously at all. They think everything she says is in service of “dehumanizing Palestinians,” and that her comment was racist and just like the woman who got Emmett Till murdered actually. But I am in no position to judge her choices. It’s her life and body and it’s her healing, not mine. She knows what she’s doing.

But the distinct lack of empathy for Jewish women is appalling, because I know if you removed the context of “genocide in Gaza from settler colonialist white supremacist Zionist entity” I know most of you self proclaimed feminists would implicitly understand what she meant. Many of you have been in similar unsafe and harrowing situations (though probably not for over 50 days!). Many of you don’t trust men for these reasons. If this were a Palestinian woman saying an Israeli prison guard raped her with his eyes, Twitter would believe her. Twitter would spread that like wildfire and there would be a million garbage essays incorporating that interview into their “Zionism is sexual violence” theses at Universität Judenhass.

Most (normal) people even came around and empathized with Kim Kardashian after she was robbed, and explained the fear she felt and the real danger of sexual violence she was in as a woman. But they won’t come around to a young woman who was literally held captive by and was at the mercy of a man who belongs to an organization who already filmed themselves committing war rape and were high fiving each other for it?????????

[queenwille]

@un-women STOP BEING A HYPOCRITE CHALLENGE

post about israeli women in this conflict, most importantly the female israeli hostages, who are being held in captivity for the 416th day today, reported to being sexually and physically abused, starved and held in narrow tunnels underground. either that, or stop hijacking international feminism or claiming for some sort of moral superiority. neutral my ass.

[omgellendean]

Once again, it's revealed that IOF was killing its own on October 7.

'There was crazy hysteria, and decisions started being made without verified information': Documents and testimonies obtained by Haaretz reveal the Hannibal operational order, which directs the use of force to prevent soldiers being taken into captivity, was employed at three army facilities infiltrated by Hamas, potentially endangering civilians as well Communication networks could not keep up with the flow of information, as was the case for soldiers sending these reports. However, the message conveyed at 11:22 A.M. across the Gaza Division network was understood by everyone. "Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza" was the order. ... One of these decisions was made at 7:18 A.M., when an observation post at the Yiftah outpost reported that someone had been kidnapped at the Erez border crossing, adjacent to the IDF's liaison office. "Hannibal at Erez" came the command from divisional headquarters, "dispatch a Zik." The Zik is an unmanned assault drone, and the meaning of this command was clear. ... The Erez border crossing was not the only place this happened. Information obtained by Haaretz and confirmed by the army shows that throughout that morning, the Hannibal procedure was employed at two other locations penetrated by terrorists: the Re'im army base, where the divisional headquarters were located, and the Nahal Oz outpost in which female spotters were based. This did not prevent the kidnapping of seven of them or the killing of 15 other spotters, as well as 38 other soldiers. ...  Regarding the frequency of employing the Hannibal procedure, it seems that nothing changed. Thus, for example, at 10:19 A.M. a report reached divisional headquarters indicating that a Zik had attacked the Re'im base. At that point, the army did not know the number of people who had been kidnapped. "We thought they numbered dozens at that stage," a military source told Haaretz. Firing mortars at the Gaza Strip would endanger them as well. Furthermore, another order given at 11:22 A.M., according to which no vehicle would be allowed to return to Gaza, took this a step further. ... "Everyone knew by then that such vehicles could be carrying kidnapped civilians or soldiers," a source in Southern Command told Haaretz. "There was no case in which a vehicle carrying kidnapped people was knowingly attacked, but you couldn't really know if there were any such people in a vehicle. I can't say there was a clear instruction, but everyone knew what it meant to not let any vehicles return to Gaza." A new development occurred at 2:00 P.M. All the forces were instructed not to exit border communities toward the west, in the direction of the border, with an emphasis on not chasing terrorists. At that point, the border area was under intense fire, directed at anyone in that area, making it a danger zone. "The instruction," says the source in Southern Command, "was meant to turn the area around the border fence into a killing zone, closing it off toward the west."

Previous reports indicating IOF has been killing hostages:

A compilation of quotes from Israeli media

Investigation reveals a military helicopter may have been responsible for some deaths

Another incident of friendly fire

More articles linked

More

On deaths count

[sivavakkiyar]

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has taken effect after a nearly three-hour delay, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Palestinian enclave.

A spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas had begun.

“We confirm that the names of the three captives who will be released today have been handed over to the Israeli side. They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom holds Romanian citizenship and the other British citizenship. Thus, the ceasefire has begun,” Majed al-Ansari said in a statement.

The ceasefire came into effect at 11:15 am local time (09:15 GMT) on Sunday after Hamas handed over to Israel a list of three female captives to be released as part of the deal.

Three-hour delay proved deadly for at least 19 Palestinians, who were killed by Israeli strikes after last-minute issues over a list of captives.

Just before the truce was about to be enforced, Israel said it would continue its attacks on Gaza as Hamas had not provided a list of captives due to be released.

Hamas said it was committed to the ceasefire and the delay in providing the list was due to “technical field reasons”, delivering it later that morning. Due to begin at 8.30 am local time, the ceasefire did not start until 11:15 am.

[odinsblog]

Ynet also reported that Netanyahu’s efforts to respond to the hostages and relatives were met with tense and angry remarks.

A female abductee freed with her children – but without her husband, who remains in captivity – is heard on one recording saying: “The feeling we had there was that no one was doing anything for us. The fact is that I was in a hiding place that was shelled and we had to be smuggled out and we were wounded. That’s besides the helicopter that shot at us on the way to Gaza.”

She adds: “You have no information. You have no information. The fact that we were shelled, the fact that no one knew anything about where we were… You claim that there is intelligence. But the fact is that we are being shelled. My husband was separated from us three days before we returned to Israel and taken to the [Hamas] tunnels” under Gaza.

The former abductee continues: “Do you think the men are strong? My husband would beat himself every day, punch his face until it bled because it was too much for him, and now he is alone, and God knows under what conditions.”

“And you want to topple the Hamas government, to show that you have bigger balls? There is no life here that is more important than others,” she adds. “None of us there deserve any less treatment than any resident of Israel. Return them all and not in a month, two months or a year.”

Referring to reports that the Israeli military is considering flooding Hamas tunnels in Gaza, she continues: “And you are talking about washing the tunnels with sea water? You are shelling the route of tunnels in the exact area where they are. The girls ask me where is their father? And I have to tell them that the bad guys don’t want to yet release him.”

The woman adds: “You put politics above the return of the kidnapped.”

According to the ynet account of the meeting, one man related what family members had told him after being freed. “They were under constant threat from the IDF shelling. You sat in front of us and assured us that it does not threaten their lives. They also roam the street and [are] not only in the tunnels. They are mounted on donkeys and carts. You will not be able to recognize them on the street and you are endangering their lives. It is our duty to return them now.”

(continue reading)

[athena5898]

(Quds) Overwhelming bias revealed in British newspapers coverage of prisoners exchange deal took place yesterday between Hamas and Israel. The UK media ignores all the news about the 90 Palestinian female and children prisoners who were freed from Israeli prisons yesterday, focusing only on the three Israeli captives. The released Israeli captives appeared in good health unlike many Palestinian prisoners, who came out with visible signs of torture, abuse, and starvation. Some released children and women came out in a state of psychological breakdown.

[good-old-gossip]

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza began returning to the northern Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time since the war started after mediators brokered an agreement tied to the release of an Israeli captive. Here are some of the latest updates:

• Footage from Israel’s Channel 12 showed Israeli forces withdrawing from the so-called Netzarim Corridor, enabling civilian movement

• According to the Gaza health ministry, around 650,000 displaced people in the central and southern Gaza Strip will return to their homes in the north of the enclave

• Videos showed trucks, cars, and carts loaded with belongings queuing along the al-Rashid road near the checkpoint, which runs along Gaza’s coastline

• Hamas called the return of displaced Palestinians “a victory” for Palestinians and “a setback for Israel,” Al Jazeera Arabic reported. The group said the images prove “the occupation has failed to achieve its goal of displacing people and breaking their will”

On Sunday, Israel blocked displaced Palestinians from crossing into northern Gaza, following a dispute over the release of a female Israeli captive. Qatar, mediating alongside Egypt and the US, announced late Sunday that Hamas would hand over Arbel Yehud and two other captives by Friday.

Israel will provide a list of 400 Palestinians arrested since 7 October, Doha also said. Following the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X that displaced Palestinians would begin returning north on Monday morning.

✍️ : MEE/Ahmed Aziz and Bilge Kotan

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

In the 26th Jan 25 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

Joyful scenes as released Israeli female hostages are reunited with their families.

Positive news for sufferers of blocked blood vessels, strokes and arthritis.

Donating to Israeli charities? Check their “Seal of Effectiveness”.

New Israeli technology combines digital and traditional learning.

Three end-of-year reports highlight the strength of Israel’s economy.

An Israeli won the Houston marathon.

Read More: Good News From Israel

It has been a heartwarming week, seeing seven captive Israeli "flowers" running into the arms of their ecstatic families, stating that they have been "born again". There has also been a religious flowering within many of the families of the hostages and among many previously secular IDF soldiers. The return of foreign workers to Israel has triggered an agricultural "flowering" in farms and kibbutzim. In the revitalized Israeli north, a new Strauss factory will produce milk products from plants, while Israel's Plantopia has switched from lettuce to sprouted oats for its source of milk proteins. In the medical arena, many immobile patients are flowering again, thanks to an Israeli startup that is opening up blocked blood vessels; while other Israeli startups have been restoring health to sufferers of strokes and rheumatoid arthritis. Israel's economy has certainly been flowering again, fueled by its technology ecosystem and investor confidence. And in the sunshine, the almond trees are in full flower a full three weeks before Tu Bishvat - the Jewish New Year for Trees. Finally, Yuval Raphael survived the Oct 7 Nova music festival and will flower again when she represents Israel at the next Eurovision Song Contest. The photo is of my orchid in full bloom again in the winter sunshine.  We pray that most of the remaining hostages are still alive and will soon flower again in the Israeli sunshine.