Hamas and Gaza (and Israel/US?): 1)(Updated) Trump says no right of return for Palestinians in Gaza under his plan for U.S. ‘ownership’; 2) Israeli forces withdraw from a key Gaza corridor as violence surges in West Bank; 3) Hamas releases 3 more Israeli hostages for dozens of Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire
1) (Updated) Trump says no right of return for Palestinians in Gaza under his plan for U.S. ‘ownership’
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Zeke Miller And Sam Magdy, February 10, 2025
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One where he signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 Gulf of America Day as he travels from West Palm Beach, Fla. to New Orleans, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Donald Trump said Palestinians in Gaza would not have a right to return under his plan for U.S. “ownership” of the war-torn territory, contradicting other officials in his administration who have sought to argue Trump was only calling for the temporary relocation of its population.
Less than a week after he floated his plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and turn it in “the Riviera of the Middle East,” Trump, in an interview with FOX News’ Bret Baier that was set to air on Monday, said “No, they wouldn’t” when asked if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory. It comes as he has ramped up pressure on Arab states, especially U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, to take in Palestinians from Gaza, who claim the territory as part of a future homeland.
“We’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,” Trump said. “In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.”
Arab nations have sharply criticized the Trump proposal, and Trump’s latest words were released a day before he is set to host Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday. In addition to concerns about jeopardizing the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.
Trump’s comments risked jeopardizing the already tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after 15 months of war, with the existing framework for negotiations calling for the massive humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for civilians in Gaza.
After Trump’s initial comments last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio respectfully insisted that Trump only wanted Palestinians relocated from Gaza “temporarily” and for an “interim” period to allow for debris removal, the disposal of unexploded ordinance and reconstruction.
Trump last week didn’t rule out deploying U.S. troops to help secure the territory but at the same time insisted no U.S. funds would go to pay for the reconstruction of Gaza, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty’s said there is “Arab consensus” on the rejection of the transfer of Palestinians, as Trump continued to press his suggestion of moving Palestinians out of Gaza.
Abdelatty stressed on “the importance of finding a political horizon for the Palestinian cause, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and for the Palestinian people to enjoy the right of self-determination,” the Egyptian foreign ministry statement said.
A senior Hamas official blasted Trump’s latest remarks about the U.S. ownership of Gaza, as “absurd.”
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas politico bureau, said these comments “reflect a deep ignorance of Palestine and the region.”
In comments released by Hamas early Monday, he said Trump’s approach toward the Palestinian cause will fail.
“Dealing with the Palestinian cause with the mentality of a real estate dealer is a recipe for failure,” he said. “Our Palestinian people will thwart all transfer and deportation plans.”
Magdy reported from Cairo contributed.
2) Israeli forces withdraw from a key Gaza corridor as violence surges in West Bank
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Mohammad Jahjouh and Tia Goldenberg, Feb. 9, 2025
Israeli forces withdrew from a key Gaza corridor on Sunday, Israeli officials and Hamas said, part of Israel’s commitments under a tenuous ceasefire deal with Hamas that is moving ahead but faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension.
Israel agreed as part of the truce to remove its forces from the 4-mile (6-kilometre) Netzarim corridor, a strip of land that bisects northern Gaza from the south that Israel used as a military zone during the war.
At the start of the ceasefire last month, Israel began allowing Palestinians to cross Netzarim to head to their homes in the war-battered north, sending hundreds of thousands streaming across Gaza on foot and by car. The withdrawal of forces from the area fulfills another commitment to the deal, which paused the 15-month war.
However, the sides appear to have made little progress on negotiating the deal’s second phase, which is meant to extend the truce and lead to the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator in talks between the sides, but the mission included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won’t lead to a breakthrough in extending the truce. Netanyahu is also expected to convene a meeting of key Cabinet ministers this week on the second phase of the deal.
Separately on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that two women in their 20s, including one who was eight months pregnant, were fatally shot by Israeli gunfire in the northern occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops have been carrying out a broad operation.
The ceasefire is fragile and its extension is not guaranteed
Since it began on Jan. 19, the ceasefire deal has faced repeated obstacles and disagreements between the sides, underscoring its fragility. But it has held, raising hopes that the devastating war that led to seismic shifts in the Middle East may be headed toward an end.
On Sunday, cars heaped with belongings, including water tanks and suitcases, were seen heading north through a road that crosses Netzarim. Under the deal, Israel is supposed to allow the cars to cross through uninspected, and there did not appear to be troops in the vicinity of the road.
Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua said the withdrawal showed Hamas had “forced the enemy to submit to our demands” and that it thwarted “Netanyahu’s illusion of achieving total victory.”
The Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss troop movement with the media, did not disclose how many soldiers withdrew or to where. Troops currently remain along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt and a full withdrawal is expected to be negotiated in a later stage of the truce.
During the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages captured during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for a pause in fighting, freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a flood of humanitarian aid to war-battered Gaza. The deal also stipulates that Israeli troops will pull back from populated areas of Gaza as well as the Netzarim corridor.
In the second phase, all remaining living hostages would be released in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a “sustainable calm.” But details beyond that are unclear and repeated stumbling blocks throughout the first phase and the deep mistrust between the sides have cast doubt on whether they can nail down the extension.
The truce faces many challenges, including Trump’s Gaza proposal
Israel has said it won’t agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it won’t hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from the territory.
Netanyahu meanwhile is under heavy pressure from his far-right political allies to resume the war after the first phase so that Hamas, which carried out the deadliest attack on Israelis in their history, can be defeated. He is also facing pressure from Israelis who are eager to see more hostages return home and want to deal to continue, especially after the gaunt appearances of the three male captives freed on Saturday stunned the nation.
Complicating things further is a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the population of Gaza and take ownership of the Palestinian territory. Israel has expressed openness to the idea while Hamas, the Palestinians and the broader Arab world have rejected it outright.
The suggested plan is saddled with moral, legal and practical obstacles. But it may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic by Trump, to try to ratchet up pressure on Hamas or as an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That grand deal appeared to be rattled on Sunday as Saudi Arabia condemned remarks by Netanyahu who said Palestinians could create their state in that territory.
Saudi Arabia said his remarks “aim to divert attention from the successive crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are being subjected to.”
In an interview Thursday with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu said: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”
Violence surges in the occupied West Bank
The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities who do not differentiate between fighters and noncombatants in their count. Vast parts of the territory have been obliterated in the fighting, leaving many Palestinians returning to damaged or destroyed homes.
Violence has surged in the West Bank throughout the war and has intensified in recent days with an Israeli military operation in the north of the territory. The shooting of the pregnant woman, Sundus Shalabi, happened in the Nur Shams urban refugee camp, a focal point of Israeli operations against Palestinian militants in the territory. The Palestinian Health Ministry said another woman, identified as Rahaf al-Ashqar, 21, was also killed there Sunday.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday the expansion of the Israeli military operation, which started in the city of Jenin several weeks ago. He said the operation was meant to prevent Iran from establishing a foothold in the occupied West Bank.
Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Isabel DeBre in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
3) Hamas releases 3 more Israeli hostages for dozens of Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Wafaa Shurafa, Mohammad Jahjouh, and Tia Goldenberg, Feb 8, 2025
Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli civilian men they held for the past 16 months on Saturday, and Israel was freeing dozens of Palestinian prisoners as part of a fragile agreement that has paused the war in the Gaza Strip.
Before a crowd of hundreds, armed Hamas fighters led Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34, onto a stage, where they were forced to make a public statement before being handed over to the Red Cross.
The three were among about 250 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. They appeared to be in much poorer physical condition than any of the 18 other hostages released so far during the ceasefire that began Jan. 19.
Hostages’ condition sparks concern
The hostages’ emaciated condition and the stage-managed ceremony — a departure from previous hostage releases where the captives were not made to speak — sparked outrage in Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “we will not accept the shocking scenes” that played out. The statement did not lay out punitive measures.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said the “difficult scenes” were reason to extend the truce with Hamas and bring home the dozens of remaining hostages.
In an apparent response to concerns over the released hostages’ health, Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, claimed it had “made efforts to preserve their lives despite the (Israeli) bombardment.”
Many Palestinians released from Israeli jails during the ceasefire have also appeared gaunt and pale, and have alleged abuses and mistreatment in Israeli custody.
The current phase of the truce, which runs until early March, does not appear to have been affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s stunning proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, welcomed by Israel but vehemently rejected by the Palestinians and most of the international community.
But it could complicate talks over the second and more difficult phase, when Hamas is to release dozens more hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire. Hamas may be reluctant to free more captives — and lose its main bargaining chip — if it believes the U.S. and Israel are serious about depopulating the territory, which rights groups say would violate international law.
This was the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners during the ceasefire. Before Saturday, 18 hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners had been freed.
The gaunt appearance of the three hostages “evoke the horrifying pictures from the liberation of the camps in 1945, the darkest chapter of our history,” said the Hostages Families Forum, a group representing relatives of most of the captives. “We have to get all of the hostages out of hell. There can be no more delays.”
The first phase of the ceasefire calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory. Last week, wounded Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt for the first time since May.
Who was released on Saturday?
Sharabi and Ben Ami were both captured from Kibbutz Beeri, one of the hardest-hit farming communities, during the Hamas-led attack. Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where he was taking shelter in a safe room when the militants arrived.
Sharabi’s wife and two teenage daughters were killed in the attack. His brother Yossi was also abducted and died in captivity. Levy’s wife was killed during the attack and his now 3-year-old son has been cared for by relatives.
It is unclear whether either man knows about what happened to their families.
Ben Ami, a father of three, was kidnapped with his wife, Raz, who was released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
Relatives of the hostages cheered, clapped and cried as they watched live footage of their loved ones being released.
Levy’s brother, Michael, said his brother’s young son, Almog, was already told his father was on his way.
“Mogi, we found daddy,” Michael Levy said he told the boy, using his nickname, in an interview with Israeli Channel 12. “We haven’t seen happiness like that in him for a long time.”
The 183 Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel on Saturday include 18 people serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, 54 serving long-term sentences and 111 Palestinians from Gaza who were detained after the Oct. 7 attack but not tried for any crime. All are men are aged between 20 and 61.
Virtually every Palestinian has a friend, relative or acquaintance who has been imprisoned.
More than 100 hostages were released during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. More than 70 are still in Gaza, and Israel has said 34 of those are believed to be dead. Israel says Hamas has confirmed eight of the 33 to be released during the first phase of the truce are dead.
Ceasefire’s next phase is uncertain
It is not clear whether Israel and Hamas have begun negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached.
Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the ceasefire. A key far-right partner in Netanyahu’s coalition is calling for the war to resume after the ceasefire’s first phase.
Hamas says it won’t release remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
In the Oct. 7 attack, some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory air and ground war, over half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants.
The Israeli military says it killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in residential neighbourhoods.
Senior militants among Palestinian prisoners set for release
Of the 72 prisoners being released Saturday, five are from east Jerusalem, 14 from the Gaza Strip and the remaining 53 from the occupied West Bank. Seven are to be transferred to Egypt ahead of further deportation.
A total of 47 prisoners were being freed Saturday from Ofer prison in the West Bank, and transferred to Palestinian custody near Ramallah where scores of relatives, friends and supporters welcomed some of them cheering and clapping. One extremely frail-looking prisoner was loaded directly from a bus into an ambulance for emergency treatment.
The Palestinian security prisoners were detained over offences ranging from bomb attacks to involvement in militant organizations, in some cases dating back decades.
They include Iyad Abu Shakhdam, 49, who has been locked up for nearly 21 years over his involvement in Hamas attacks in crowded civilian areas that killed dozens of Israelis during the Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s. That included a notorious 2004 suicide bus bombing in Israel’s southern desert city of Beersheba that killed 16 people, including a 4-year-old.
Another is Jamal al-Tawil, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank and former mayor of the village of al-Bireh, abutting Ramallah.
He has spent nearly two decades in and out of Israeli jail, with the military reporting his last arrest in 2021 over his alleged participation in violent riots and efforts to entrench Hamas’ leadership in the West Bank. He was transferred to administrative detention, a repeatedly renewable six-month period in which suspects are held without charge or trial.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
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