Hamas / Israel / Middle East…2/13/2025…Hamas and Israel agreed to resume hostage swaps….

Both parties are disregarding comments from American President Trump about Hamas releasing ‘ALL’ the hostages, or ‘having hell to pay’….

Nobody is serious about a Trump ‘Resort Vacation Gaza’ and having the Palestains leaving Gaza….

Talks about the second phase of the current agreement have not resumed…..

That phase is about the beginning of rebuilding Gaza, something Israeli RightWingNut are STRONGLY against but essential to the Saudi’s and other Middle East countrries that have relations with Israel and America and that control the supply, and therefore , price of oil….

IDF forces are still in Lebanon going after Hezbollah weapon stocks….

Iran is still busy in Iraq and Syria….

The Israeli government has signalled it intends to stick to the hostage release schedule agreed in the ceasefire deal with Hamas, but warned that if the anticipated three surviving hostages were not released on Saturday, it would go back to war in Gaza.

The statement from the prime minister’s office ends nearly three days of confusion after Donald Trump’s declaration that Israel should demand Hamas release all the remaining hostages, more than 70 people, by Saturday or failing that, end the ceasefire.

Since Trump’s remarks, Benjamin Netanyahu and his government had been vague on how many hostages they wanted released on Saturday, but a spokesperson, David Mencer, confirmed on Thursday that the Israeli demand was for three hostages as laid out in the timetable of the ceasefire agreement.

“There is a framework in place for the release of our hostages,” Mencer said. “That framework makes clear that three live hostages must be released by Hamas terrorists on Saturday.”

Earlier this week Hamas had suggested there might be an indefinite delay in the release of the next three hostages due to violations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but it backpedalled on that threat on Thursday and confirmed the timetable would remain on track….

…

“If Hamas violate this agreement and do not release our hostages, the government has made clear that it has instructed our armed forces – and we have already amassed forces inside and surrounding Gaza – if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon the ceasefire will end and the IDF will resume intense fighting until the final defeat of Hamas,” Mencer said in a video press conference.

It is unclear how many of the remaining 76 hostages are still alive, but the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on 19 January accounts for both the release of live hostages and the repatriation of remains.

In the first, six-week phase of the deal, Hamas is to release 33 hostages in return for about 1,900 Palestinians held in Israel prisons. So far, Hamas has released 16 Israeli and five Thai hostages while Israel has freed about 730 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have pulled back to the periphery of the Gaza Strip. In the second phase of the ceasefire, the IDF is supposed to withdraw entirely from the territory and the remaining hostages are to be released along with hundreds more Palestinians held by Israel.

Negotiations on the implementation of the second phase were due to begin last week, but so far Netanyahu has not empowered his negotiators to discuss that phase, which is intended to lead to the longer-term rebuilding of the territory….

More…

…

The Second Phase involves the beginning of tent, prefab housing and heavy equipment for those in Gaza to begin living…

Mediators between the two sides were following up “to remove obstacles and close gaps” after recent “positive” talks with senior officials from Egypt and Qatar, Hamas said in a statement released earlier Thursday. Hamas has said that Israeli forces have repeatedly opened fire on Palestinians during the truce and not allowed prefabricated homes and heavy machinery to enter Gaza, in violation of the terms of the deal.

Omer Dostri, Mr. Netanyahu’s spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday that Israel was not allowing in prefabricated housing or heavy construction equipment, without explaining the rationale. He did not say whether that might change.

At least 60,000 prefabricated housing units and 200,000 tents should be delivered to Gaza during the first phase of the deal, in addition to equipment for rubble clearance, according to a copy of the agreement’s text seen by The New York Times. Hamas has complained that only a small number of the minimum of 200,000 tents has arrived in Gaza.

Three Israeli officials and two mediators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said this week that Hamas’s claims about not receiving enough tents were accurate. But COGAT, the Israeli military unit that oversees aid deliveries, said in a written response that Hamas’s accusations were “completely false.”

Even if the current roadblocks are surmounted, however, the future of the truce and how long it would last are still far from certain. The first phase is set to expire in early March, and Israel and Hamas have yet to agree on terms to extend the agreement.

Israel and Hamas were supposed to begin indirect talks over the second phase of the deal last week, which would include an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. But on Thursday, Mr. Dostri said Israel was “not currently conducting negotiations over the second phase of the deal.”

More…..

Iran Update, February 13, 2025

Feb 13, 2025 – ISW Press

Israel and Hamas reportedly reached an agreement on February 13 to continue the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. Egyptian and Qatari mediators said on February 12 that they succeeded in preventing a breakdown of the ceasefire agreement.[22] Hamas agreed to release three Israeli hostages on February 15 after mediators confirmed that Israel would allow the entry of tents and engineering equipment into the Gaza Strip.[23] An Israeli Army Radio correspondent reported that the ceasefire agreement requires Israel to permit the entry of these materials to enable the construction of makeshift housing for Gazans and the removal of rubble.[24] Several trailers and trucks loaded with heavy machinery gathered near the Rafah border crossing on February 13.[25] Hamas announced on February 10 that it would postpone the release of Israeli hostages, citing alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.[26] Israel responded by threatening to resume military operations in the Gaza Strip.[27]

My Name Is Jack on Republican lawmakers in Congress are trying to undo Trump’s cutting US Foreign Aid….: “A response to your Republican apologies stuck in moderation” Feb 14, 18:07
jamesb on Republican lawmakers in Congress are trying to undo Trump’s cutting US Foreign Aid….: “Well? Them GOPer’s ain’t happy with the USAID holdup effect on farmers…. Bad days coming at Trump…. WAIT…..” Feb 14, 15:56
My Name Is Jack on Republican lawmakers in Congress are trying to undo Trump’s cutting US Foreign Aid….: “The Hell with the “GOPers” Trump will whip those gutless pieces of garbage into line.” Feb 14, 14:09
jamesb on Republican lawmakers in Congress are trying to undo Trump’s cutting US Foreign Aid….: “GOPer’s already knocking the knucklehead” Feb 14, 13:54
Scott P on THE DOGE… The Musk US Government Consultants Group ….Who are They?: “Missouri has set up a state DOGE and lots of people have been reporting AG Andew Bailey for wasting money…” Feb 14, 13:51

Hamas / Israel / Middle East…2/13/2025…Hamas and Israel agreed to resume hostage swaps….

Like this:

Related

Recent Posts

Share this:

Like this:

Related

Recent Posts

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from Political Dog 101