“Oct 7 2023”

Six living hostages set to be returned to Israel from Gaza have been handed over as the ceasefire holds despite being shaken by the misidentification of the body of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas.

The Israeli army said it had received the first two hostages, Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39, from the Red Cross after the handover in Gaza. They were then being transported to hospital in an Israeli air force helicopter accompanied by family members, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.

Hamas freed five hostages and was set to release one more from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees https://t.co/3q000bwQtV pic.twitter.com/mIM05FaIqZ

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 22, 2025

Avoiding generalizations about groups of people is almost always wise. In doing so, we avoid the snares that can lead to prejudicial conclusions that cause us to forget that even those who differ from us in many ways have a common humanity. When people refer to opponents of any kind by saying that “they” (whoever the “they” might be) ”are all alike” and therefore bad, we know they are usually telling us far more about themselves than anything else.

And yet, as much as we might wish it not to be so, there are occasions when groups do exhibit loathsome behavior that are a clear illustration of their beliefs and values.

A BBC documentary about Gaza has been pulled from its iPlayer service while the broadcaster deals with intensifying accusations that the film was biased because it failed to make clear the father of its child narrator was a Hamas deputy minister.

BBC sources indicated the intention was to make the documentary available to watch again once a “due diligence” exercise had taken place, but the decision reflects a frustration that the filmmakers did not inform the broadcaster of the situation before transmission.

The BBC said that while the documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, featured “important stories we think should be told, those of the experiences of children in Gaza” there had been “continuing questions raised about the programme”.

Members of the PLO and other Islamic terrorist groups joined Hamas in a celebration of the kidnapping and killing of Israeli civilians, including the Bibas children.

The coffins of the 1-year-old and 5-year-old boys, and their mother were returned to the sound of upbeat music, jeers and cheers from the gathered Muslim population of Gaza as the coffins were paraded…

UPDATE:

IDF release (this is insane)

IDF: Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police, IDF representatives informed the Bibas family that their loved ones, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, have been…

— The Mossad: Satirical and Awesome (@TheMossadIL) February 20, 2025

H/T Patti Jo

Did Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas halt payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families? Or is he just trying to fool the Americans to persuade them to resume financial aid to the PA?

On February 10, the American media outlet Axios reported:

“Abbas has issued a decree revoking the system of payments to families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails or to families of Palestinians who were killed or wounded during attacks against Israelis.”

The payment program is known as “Pay for Slay.”

Alexander Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen, and Iair Horn appeared thin and pale at the Red Cross handover point in Khan Yunis on Saturday, but were able to stand, support their own weight, and walk independently.

These initial signs suggest their medical condition is stable and does not require emergency hospitalization at Soroka Medical Center or Barzilai Medical Center in the South.

Sagi Dekel Chen and Yair Horn can hardly walk as they exit the car that brought them and Sasha Trupanov to the vile show of their liberation pic.twitter.com/2T81UWis6M

— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) February 15, 2025

President Trump wants the U.S. to control the Gaza Strip, but it isn’t even clear who owns it.

Determining the ownership and control of Gaza might be among the most complicated territorial questions on Earth.

The Palestinian enclave has an almost unique status, as well as a long history of changing hands, making figuring out who ultimately owns the tiny territory a matter of unpacking overlapping land laws laid down over centuries.

Many who were there Wednesday say it was more of anti-Jewish meeting than a school board meeting.

Those in attendance say the public hearing on a report before the Toronto District School Board to protect Jewish students deteriorated into more of anti-Jewish hate fest.

“The anti-Israel mob showed up in full force espousing conspiracy theories, tropes and disinformation about Israel and the Jewish community,” a disgusted Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak said.

And the Star’s version … TDSB report on antisemitism strategy sparks heated reaction at meeting

Shopify, the Ottawa-based multinational e-commerce company, was faced with a dilemma this week: One of its customers was selling T-shirts with swastikas on them using its platform, and the company was facing pressure to take down the store. But oh, free speech! What to do, what to do?!

After President Donald Trump proposed resettling the Arab Muslim settlers currently living in Gaza, there was an outbreak of furious objections from politicians, activists and media outlets.

The objections could be roughly divided into the moral and the practical. The “moral” objection was that it is “wrong” to resettle the population currently occupying Gaza, and the “practical” objection was that it would be impossible to accomplish. Both objections do not hold up.

US President Donald Trump’s recent statements regarding Qatar’s role in reaching the Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal surprised many, especially those who are familiar with the Gulf state’s longtime support for radical Islamist groups.

“Qatar is absolutely trying to help,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “I know them well, and they’re doing everything they can. Very tough situation, but they’re absolutely trying to help.”

Netanyahu sends an ultimatum to Hamas

"Following Hamas' decision to not respect the terms of the agreement, If our hostages are not released by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will be lifted, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is completely defeated." pic.twitter.com/htNLEYJ7BK

— Hamas Atrocities (@HamasAtrocities) February 11, 2025