The pictures of released hostages ARE all over the Israeli and World media….
There are more hostages to be released over a month and half….
There are ALSO images of Hamas fighters armed with green headbands….
THAT was NOT supposed to be….
After more that a year since last years Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that cost 1,800+ Israeli’s their lives and the follow up by Israel that has cost over 40,000 lives….
Reality….
Hamas is closer to its goal’s than Israel is to theirs….
Taking the hostages assured Hamas of remaining IN Gaza as a political force as it STILL IS now….
America just helped secure a cease-fire for the return of the hostages…
And THOUSAND”S of Palestinian’s….
While President Biden was timid in his dealing with the Israeli Prime Minister….
President Trump is NOT….
Trump IS about his OWN self interest …
THAT is tied to Saudi Arabia, which wants a end to the Gaza and West Bank Israeli attacks situation that will take pressure off of other Middle East countries…
Netanyahu has RightWingNut’s insist on continuing a hopeless goal of getting rid of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi’s…
That is NOT gonna happen…
Even most Israeli’s understand that…
They, like EVERYONE else want peace in the region…
Even if that means Hamas and Gaza end up being a separate State….
Hamas on Saturday released four female Israeli soldiers held hostage in Gaza, in a carefully choreographed show of force that highlighted how powerful the group remains inside the enclave. Hours later, Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners to complete the exchange, part of the initial six-week cease-fire deal in the Gaza war.
The Israeli government said in a statement that the women had been brought back to Israel, where they were reunited with their families after more than 15 months in captivity. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, crowds of Palestinians held aloft the returning prisoners, many of whom had been jailed for deadly militant attacks against Israelis.
The swap is seen as a crucial test of how the 42-day truce between Israel and Hamas — the first stage of a multiphase agreement — will develop in the coming weeks. Mediators hope the deal leads to a permanent end to the devastating war, which has killed tens of thousands in Gaza and destroyed large parts of the enclave.
Israel’s government identified the released women as Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19. All four were abducted from the military base near Gaza where they had been serving during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which started the war.
On Saturday, in scenes streamed live on Al Jazeera and watched breathlessly in Israel, armed and masked Hamas fighters marched the four soldiers past a cheering crowd in downtown Gaza City. They paraded them — in military-style clothes — onto a makeshift stage that displayed a banner reading “Zionism will not prevail” in Hebrew.
After a brief ceremony, Hamas gunmen handed the women over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which transported them to Israeli forces. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, called Hamas’s display with the four hostages “a cynical show.”
In central Tel Aviv, crowds of family, friends and supporters, who had gathered to watch the handover live, were cheering, chanting the hostages’ names and crying with joy. “After 477 tumultuous days of pain, worry, and endless anxiety — we finally got to embrace our beloved Karina,” Ms. Ariev’s family said in a statement.
Here is what else to know:
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Returning north: Under the terms of the cease-fire deal, Israeli forces are expected to partly withdraw from a major zone in central Gaza, enabling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. But that was uncertain on Saturday after the Israeli prime minister’s office said it would not allow Gazans to head north until the release of Arbel Yehud, one of the last civilian women in captivity, “is arranged,” as it says is stipulated by the deal.
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Prisoner releases: Many of the 200 Palestinian prisoners whom Israel released on Saturday were serving life sentences for involvement in attacks against Israelis. Around 70 are being exiled abroad as part of the agreement and will not be allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to a list provided by the Palestinian authorities.
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Four soldiers: The hostages had been recent recruits, working as “spotters” for Israel’s army, reporting on suspicious activity across the border. Here is more detail about them.
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Cease-fire deal: Hamas agreed in the deal to release 33 of the nearly 100 hostages who remained in Gaza over the first six weeks of the deal. So far, it has released seven, including the four on Saturday. Israel agreed to free over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in exchange….
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A clash of strategies
Trump’s motivations are clear and decidedly pragmatic. His vision for the Middle East centres on two major strategic goals: securing a comprehensive deal with Saudi Arabia (based on the Abraham Accords) and establishing a Qatari gas route through Syria to Europe.
The Saudi deal would include a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, as well as a defence pact between Riyadh and Washington that could inject significant funds into the US economy. Saudi Arabia has already pledged to invest $600 billion in the US over four years, and is an important customer for US-made weapons.
The Qatari gas project could provide an alternative energy source for Europe and create new economic opportunities to help bind the Gulf and Levant together.
Both objectives represent the kind of grand economic achievements Trump hopes to showcase in his new administration – but they require regional stability and cannot materialize while Gaza remains a war zone.
This creates a direct conflict with Netanyahu’s domestic political strategy. Since the beginning of the war his main focus was the survival of his right-wing coalition in order to avoid early elections.
His promise of ‘total victory’ to the Israeli public allows him to wage war in Gaza indefinitely, since the government vehemently objects to any political solution – specifically the return of the Palestinian Authority (PA) – in the territory. Thus, Hamas has remained in control of Gaza, granting Netanyahu justification to continue the war.
Public opinion polls in Israel consistently show overwhelming support for the ceasefire deal, with an astonishing 72 per cent of Israelis in favour. 69 per cent of Israel’s public also wants parliamentary elections ‘the day after the war ends’ – a prospect that Netanyahu fears. His party, and most importantly his coalition, have performed poorly in polls since 7 October….
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His approach towards Trump is expected to be more cautious. Trump’s popularity in Israel and his more direct and forceful approach to international relations presents a different dynamic. Openly challenging the new US president could carry greater risks.
It goes without saying that the regional partners of Israel and the US are working hard to make sure the deal is fully implemented. Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Morocco didn’t cut relations with Israel during the war due to their deep running interests.
However, resuming fighting and backing off from the deal will not be well received in Arab capitals, whose own stability might be disrupted by renewed hostilities.
It seems that Netanyahu and his coalition find themselves alone in the war camp while Trump, the PA, moderate Arab countries and many Israeli citizens are aligned together at the other end….
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