Israeli cabinet to vote on ceasefire, as US ‘confident’ deal will go ahead

Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, ahead of a ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday, in the southern Gaza Strip January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, ahead of a ceasefire set to take effect on Sunday, in the southern Gaza Strip January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Updated 16 January 2025
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Israeli cabinet to vote on ceasefire, as US ‘confident’ deal will go ahead

Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, ahead of a ceasefire.
  • Saeed Alloush, who lives in north Gaza, said he and his loved ones were “waiting for the truce and were happy,” until overnight strikes killed many of his relatives

JERUSALEM: Israel’s cabinet was set to vote Friday on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, an official said, with mediator the United States “confident” the accord would take effect as planned.
As ministers weighed whether to approve the fragile agreement, new Israeli strikes killed dozens of people, Gaza rescuers said Thursday, and Israel’s military reported hitting about 50 targets across the territory over the past day.
At least two cabinet members have voiced opposition to the ceasefire, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying Thursday that he and his party colleagues would quit the government — but not the ruling coalition — if it approved the “irresponsible” deal.
The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would begin on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalized.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas on Thursday of reneging “on parts of the agreement... to extort last-minute concessions,” and vowed to postpone the cabinet vote until the issues were addressed.
But an Israeli official later told AFP the cabinet would meet Friday to decide on the deal.
Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said there was “no basis” for Israel’s accusations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been involved in months of mediation efforts, said he believed the ceasefire would go ahead on schedule.
“I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” he said.
The foreign ministry of fellow mediator Egypt said in a statement the ceasefire must “start without delay.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory after the deal was announced, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, warned that Israeli strikes were risking the lives of hostages due to be freed under the deal, and could turn their “freedom... into a tragedy.”
The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,788 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
The ceasefire agreement followed intensified efforts from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States, after months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history.
If finalized, it would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
Envoys from both the Trump team and the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden were present at the latest negotiations, with a senior Biden official saying the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.
In Israel and Gaza, there were celebrations welcoming the truce deal, but also anguish.
Saeed Alloush, who lives in north Gaza, said he and his loved ones were “waiting for the truce and were happy,” until overnight strikes killed many of his relatives.
“It was the happiest night since October 7” until “we received the news of the martyrdom of 40 people from the Alloush family,” he said.
In Tel Aviv, pensioner Simon Patya said he felt “great joy” that some hostages would return alive, but also “great sorrow for those who are returning in bags, and that will be a very strong blow, morally.”
In addition to Ben Gvir, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has also opposed the truce, calling it a “dangerous deal.”
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, announcing the agreement on Wednesday, said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released, including women, “children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded.”
Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza’s densely populated areas and allow displaced Palestinians to return “to their residences,” he said.
Announcing the deal from the White House, Biden said the second phase of the agreement could bring a “permanent end to the war.”
He added the deal would “surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also underscored the “importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid” into Gaza.
Cairo said it was ready to host an international conference on reconstruction in Gaza, where the United Nations has said it would take more than a decade to rebuild civilian infrastructure.
The World Health Organization’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, said Thursday that at least $10 billion would probably be needed over the next five to seven years to rebuild Gaza’s devastated health system alone.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to start later this month, welcomed the ceasefire deal.
“What’s needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.


Egypt’s El-Sisi discusses Mideast peace with World Jewish Congress chief

Egypt’s El-Sisi discusses Mideast peace with World Jewish Congress chief
Updated 16 February 2025
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Egypt’s El-Sisi discusses Mideast peace with World Jewish Congress chief

Egypt’s El-Sisi discusses Mideast peace with World Jewish Congress chief

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi told the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder on Sunday that the establishment of a Palestinian state is “the only guarantee” for lasting peace in the Middle East.
During his meeting with Lauder in Cairo on Sunday, El-Sisi called for starting the reconstruction of war-battered Gaza “without displacing its residents from their land,” according to a statement from his office.
The Egyptian leader’s remarks come as Arab countries are scrambling to come up with an alternative to a controversial plan floated by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza, redevelop the coastal territory and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump’s proposal envisages permanently resettling Gaza’s Palestinian residents elsewhere, including Egypt and Jordan, drawing widespread condemnation from Arab and world leaders.
“The establishment of a Palestinian state... is the only guarantee to achieve lasting peace,” El-Sisi told Lauder on Sunday.
According to the Egyptian presidency statement, Lauder praised Egypt’s “wise efforts” to restore stability in the region.
The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are set to met in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss Trump’s proposal, ahead of an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo a week later to discuss the same issue.
 


Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel

Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel
Updated 16 February 2025
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Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel

Shipment of ‘heavy’ US bombs arrives in Israel
  • Development takes place as US secretary of state discusses Gaza truce with Israel PM 
  • Israel, Hamas complete sixth swap of nearly month-old ceasefire after 15-month war

TEL AVIV:  Israel’s defense ministry said Sunday that a shipment of “heavy” US-made bombs arrived overnight in Israel, as Marco Rubio began his first visit to the country as Washington’s top diplomat.
“A shipment of heavy aerial bombs recently released by the US government was received and unloaded overnight in Israel,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to MK-84 munitions recently authorized by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Rubio landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and is due to hold talks with Israeli officials on Sunday when he will highlight Trump’s controversial proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by more than 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel.
Coming from Munich, where he took part in a security conference dominated by the Ukraine war, the top US diplomat is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Netanyahu, who recently visited Washington where he met Donald Trump, expressed his appreciation for the US president’s “full support” for Israel’s next moves in Gaza.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday.
“The United States will back the decision they make!” he added.
Rubio arrived in Israel hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the sixth swap of a nearly month-old ceasefire.
The ceasefire came close to collapse earlier this week and Netanyahu credited “President Trump’s firm stance” with ensuring Saturday’s releases went ahead.
In his meetings, the US top diplomat is expected to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, which should see the release of remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the war but which has yet to be agreed in detail.
A source close to the negotiations said mediators hope to begin talks on the second phase “next week in Doha.”
Washington has expressed openness to alternative proposals from Arab governments but has stressed that currently, “the only plan is Trump’s.”
Trump has proposed taking control of the Palestinian territory and displacing its residents to Egypt or Jordan, both of which strongly oppose the proposal.
Trump has warned of repercussions for Egypt and Jordan if they do not allow in the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.
“Right now the only plan — they don’t like it — but the only plan is the Trump plan. So if they’ve got a better plan, now’s the time to present it,” Rubio said on Thursday.

 


Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza

Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza
Updated 16 February 2025
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Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza

Hamas ministry says Israel strike kills three policemen in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas said an Israeli strike on Sunday killed three police officers near the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a day after Israel and militants carried out a hostage-prisoner swap.

The Hamas-run interior ministry initially reported that two officers were killed and a third was critically wounded in a strike while they were deployed in the Al-Shouka area, east of Rafah, to secure aid.

The third officer later succumbed to his wounds, the ministry said in an updated statement.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its air force struck “several armed individuals moving toward troops in the southern Gaza Strip.”

A fragile ceasefire that came into effect on January 19 between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has largely brought a pause to more than 15 months of fighting in the coastal Palestinian territory.

Since then, Israel has conducted at least one other air strike in Gaza. On February 2, it said one of its aircraft fired toward a “suspicious vehicle” in central Gaza.

The ceasefire was more recently put to test when Hamas said it would not release Israeli hostages on Saturday, accusing Israel of violating terms of the agreement, particularly on the topic of aid entry.

In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned Israel would resume “intense fighting” in Gaza unless Hamas returns the hostages by noon on Saturday.

Following intense mediation by Qatar and Egypt the latest hostage-prisoner swap was carried out on Saturday.


Netanyahu says Israel and Trump have ‘common strategy’ on Gaza

Netanyahu says Israel and Trump have ‘common strategy’ on Gaza
Updated 9 min 25 sec ago
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Netanyahu says Israel and Trump have ‘common strategy’ on Gaza

Netanyahu says Israel and Trump have ‘common strategy’ on Gaza
  • Rubio to discuss Gaza truce with Israel PM on first leg of Mideast tour

TEL AVIV:  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel and US President Donald Trump had a “common stragegy” on Gaza’s future, after he met visiting top US diplmat Marco Rubio.
“We discussed Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future and will work to ensure that vision becomes a reality,” Netanyahu told reporters after the meeting, adding that the two leaders had a “common strategy” for the future of the Palestinian territory.
Rubio landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and is due to hold talks with Israeli officials on Sunday when he will highlight Trump’s controversial proposal to take control of the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by more than 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel.
Coming from Munich, where he took part in a security conference dominated by the Ukraine war, the top US diplomat is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Netanyahu, who recently visited Washington where he met Donald Trump, expressed his appreciation for the US president’s “full support” for Israel’s next moves in Gaza.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday.
“The United States will back the decision they make!” he added.
Rubio arrived in Israel hours after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the sixth swap of a nearly month-old ceasefire.

Israel’s defense ministry also said Sunday that a shipment of “heavy” US-made bombs arrived overnight in Israel. 
“A shipment of heavy aerial bombs recently released by the US government was received and unloaded overnight in Israel,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to MK-84 munitions recently authorized by Trump’s administration.
The ceasefire came close to collapse earlier this week and Netanyahu credited “President Trump’s firm stance” with ensuring Saturday’s releases went ahead.
In his meetings, the US top diplomat is expected to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, which should see the release of remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the war but which has yet to be agreed in detail.
A source close to the negotiations said mediators hope to begin talks on the second phase “next week in Doha.”
Washington has expressed openness to alternative proposals from Arab governments but has stressed that currently, “the only plan is Trump’s.”
Trump has proposed taking control of the Palestinian territory and displacing its residents to Egypt or Jordan, both of which strongly oppose the proposal.
Trump has warned of repercussions for Egypt and Jordan if they do not allow in the more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.
“Right now the only plan — they don’t like it — but the only plan is the Trump plan. So if they’ve got a better plan, now’s the time to present it,” Rubio said on Thursday.

 


Turkiye says it would reconsider its military presence in Syria if Kurdish militants are eliminated

Turkiye says it would reconsider its military presence in Syria if Kurdish militants are eliminated
Updated 16 February 2025
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Turkiye says it would reconsider its military presence in Syria if Kurdish militants are eliminated

Turkiye says it would reconsider its military presence in Syria if Kurdish militants are eliminated
  • The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged an insurgency against Turkiye for decades, seeking greater autonomy for Kurds

BEIRUT: Turkiye’s foreign minister said Saturday his country would reconsider its military presence in northeastern Syria if that country’s new leaders eliminate a Kurdish militant group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.
Hakan Fidan spoke at the Munich Security Conference alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, who did not comment on the remarks. Fidan has expressed such sentiments before.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged an insurgency against Turkiye for decades, seeking greater autonomy for Kurds.
“We can’t tolerate armed militia in any form,” Fidan said. He said such groups should be integrated “under one national army” in Syria and noted that its new leaders have been responsive to that idea.
Al-Shaibani did speak in support of disarming all non-state factions and of including Kurds in Syria’s new government.
The presence of Turkish-backed forces in northeastern Syria has increased substantially since insurgent groups ousted former President Bashar Assad late last year, and the forces have been targeting Kurdish forces more often.
Turkiye also views the Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed military Kurdish alliance in Syria, as an extension of the PKK. That has led to ongoing military confrontations between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF in northern Syria.
While most insurgent groups have agreed to integrate into the new Syrian army, the SDF has refused.
“Kurds are part of the Syrian nation but they can’t have their own army, as this is against our unity,” said another speaker on Saturday’s conference panel, Hind Kabawat of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution.