Hamas / Israel / Middle East…1/28/2025…Arab Countries WANT TO rebuild Gaza….

As Witkoff, a longtime real estate developer, ramps up U.S. diplomacy in the region, he will need buy-ins from oil-rich countries in the Persian Gulf to see through the more ambitious plans. The Arab monarchies here could bankroll the rebuilding in Gaza, diplomats say, but they also want to ensure that the postwar period includes a pathway to a Palestinian state….

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Video footage showed throngs of people walking along the coastal al-Rashid road, marking the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war that Israel has allowed Palestinians to cross the Netzarim Corridor, which splits the enclave in two, and enter the north, where some of the worst fighting and destruction has happened.

Hamas called the return a “victory” against what it said were plans for the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Israeli troops had been blocking passage along the corridor because an Israeli hostage, 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, was not among the female captives Israel said Hamas had agreed to release first. A spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said the two sides reached an “understanding” for Hamas to release Yehud and two other hostages before Friday. Three more hostages will be released Saturday, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.

The statement, issued Sunday, said Israel had also received a list detailing the status of all the hostages who are to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire, including whether they are alive or dead. Israeli officials and families of hostages have sought that information since the deadly Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023. David Mencer, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister’s office, confirmed Monday that eight of the hostages are dead and said their families have been notified.

Seven living hostages have been freed since the ceasefire began, and 18 more, as well as the remains of the eight who died, are to be released in the coming weeks.

In Lebanon, a ceasefire that was set to expire Sunday was extended to Feb. 18, according to the White House and the Lebanese government. The extension came after Israel said it would not withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon by Sunday and as Lebanese civilians, encouraged by Hezbollah, marched into occupied villages, where many were met with Israeli fire. Twenty-four people were killed and 134 injured, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday.

Here’s what else to know

• Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the ceasefires with Gaza and Lebanon will be “strictly enforced.” In a statement on social media, he said anyone who threatens Israel’s military or violates the rules “will bear the full consequences, adding: “We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7th.”
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza, released a video of Arbel Yehud, the 29-year-old Israeli hostage whose delayed release has strained the ceasefire agreement. In the video, Yehud, who says she is speaking on Saturday, calls on Netanyahu and Trump to continue their support for the ceasefire. Her new release date is set to be before Friday, according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
• Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, met in Poland at the Auschwitz concentration camp on Monday with families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
• The European Union is lifting some sanctions against Syria, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Monday, as part of a process that E.U. leaders have called a “step-for-step” approach to Syria linking sanctions relief to conditions, including that the country’s new Islamist leaders govern inclusively.
• President Donald Trump said over the weekend he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinian refugees as part of a plan to “clean out” Gaza, a controversial approach previously advocated by Israel’s right wing and military hard-liners.
• Newly confirmed U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone Sunday. According to a readout released by the secretary’s office, the pair discussed the “unbreakable bond that exists between the United States and Israel” and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Israel’s self-defense….

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In Syria….

And effort to getb the US backed Kurds to join the syrain Government, which would make Turkey VERY happy and help keep the US maybe in the Syria Defense effort….

This while a Russian delegation is in Syria trying et Russia back in the country....

Turkish officials appear to believe that a planned call by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disarm would pressure the SDF into an agreement to disarm and integrate into the HTS-led interim government. Turkey and Ocalan have reportedly reached an agreement in which Ocalan will publicly call on the PKK to “lay down arms” on February 15. Unspecified Turkish officials told regional media on January 27 that Ocalan’s announcement would “easily” pressure the SDF to integrate into the Syrian Defense Ministry.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 28, 2025

Jan 28, 2025 – ISW Press

The first official Russian delegation arrived in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime on January 28 to discuss Russia’s continued use of its military bases in Syria. The Russian delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Presidential Special Representative to Syria Alexander Lavrentyev. Reuters reported that two Syrian sources stated that the delegation will meet with the new Syrian government sometime this week. Bogdanov told Russian state media outlet RT that the visit aims to strengthen Russian-Syrian historical relations based on common interests.