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Middle East Eye
27-02-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
More than 600 Palestinian captives freed as first phase of Gaza deal concludes
More than 600 Palestinian detainees were freed on Thursday from Israeli jails in the final batch of the first phase of the Israel-Hamas captive exchange and ceasefire deal. This follows several delays by Israel in the release of more than 640 prisoners, according to figures from the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, which was originally scheduled for Saturday. Around 450 of them were released to Gaza, with several needing immediate medical care upon arrival and were administered into the European Hospital in Khan Younis, in the south of the besieged enclave. More than 15 prisoners serving life sentences or long-term sentences were among those released, including 40 freed to the West Bank. Some prisoners who were handed life sentences were also exiled as part of a group of 97 who were sent to Egypt, including the longest-serving political prisoner in the world, Nael al-Barghouti. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Their release took place as Hamas handed over four bodies of Israeli captives to the Red Cross. Israeli authorities confrimed their identities to be Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsahi Idan. Despite the joy felt across the occupied West Bank and Gaza, many freed detainees showed signs of distress, abuse, starvation and medical negligence in Israeli-run prisons and detention centres. A number of them received medical attention not long after their release. In one clip, a former detainee in a bus entering the Gaza Strip warned about the condition of those remaining in prison, shouting: 'Prisoners [inside Israeli jails] are in danger. Save them.' A freed Palestinian prisoner, released as part of the phase one ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, receives medical attention in Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza (Reuters/ Hatem Khaled) In a different clip, the same Palestinian man describes the torment they endured. "We couldn't sleep, we were exhausted. They tortured us in the Israeli prisons. They tortured us and broke us. We couldn't eat," he says, adding that they had been kept waiting in the buses since 7am. Another Palestinian man described his detention as akin to the horrors of Nazism and hell. "We were in hell, and we came out of hell," he said. Palestinian prisoners endure 'systematic torture' before their release, monitor says Read More » One case of serious health complications upon release was that of Kazem Zawahreh, who had been in a coma for months. He was immediately transferred to a medical facility in the West Bank, according to local reports. Other clips showed freed captives unable to walk due to their injuries, including those who had undergone amputations. Rampant torture has been recorded in civilian and military detention facilities across Israel in recent months, resulting in the deaths of at least 60 known Palestinians since 7 October 2023, among them are at least 39 from Gaza. The latest victim was 34-year-old Raafat Adnan Abdul Aziz Abu Fanouneh, who was taken captive from Gaza, according to the General Authority of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the PPS. The exchanges on Thursday marked the final swaps agreed upon between Israel and Hamas as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which is due to end on Saturday. Discussions for the second phase, involving the release of more Palestinian and Israeli captives, were scheduled earlier this month, but no progress has been made so far.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A Step Toward Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful Bill'
From the The Morning Dispatch on The Dispatch Happy Thursday! It turns out Duo, the owl mascot for the language-learning app Duolingo, faked its 'death' earlier this month in what turned out to be an elaborate marketing ploy. That's the last time we trust the word of a fictional green avian. Hamas returned the bodies of four slain hostages to Israel early Thursday morning as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal. Forensic scientists confirmed that the group included Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, Tsahi Idan, and Shlomo Mantzur—the oldest hostage in Gaza at 86 years old at the time of his abduction. Meanwhile, Israel began the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, 151 of whom had been serving life sentences or long prison terms, into the West Bank and Gaza. The exchange marked the final handover of the first phase of the three-phase ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Negotiators have yet to agree to terms for a second stage of the deal. A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—the United Nations' nuclear watchdog—indicated that Iran grew its supply of uranium enriched to close to weapons grade by 50 percent in the last three months. The confidential report, which was seen by several news outlets on Wednesday, found that Iran had increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent from 182 kilograms to 274 kilograms in the last quarter. The country is now enriching enough uranium for one nuclear bomb each month. 'The significantly increased production and accumulation of high enriched uranium by Iran, the only non-nuclear weapon State to produce such nuclear material, is of serious concern,' the report stated. Texas health officials confirmed Wednesday that an unvaccinated school-aged child died this week from measles—the first death from the disease the country has seen in a decade. The death comes amid a measles outbreak in Texas, where at least 124 people—the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated children and teenagers—have been infected and 18 people have been hospitalized. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to downplay the significance of the outbreak on Wednesday, saying the outbreaks are 'not unusual' and that the hospitalizations were 'mainly for quarantine.' Local hospital representatives said the patients were admitted for respiratory issues, not to quarantine. Kennedy also stated incorrectly that two people had died. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration is preparing to impose sweeping tariffs on the European Union (EU). 'We have made a decision and we'll be announcing it very soon,' the president said from the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. 'It'll be 25 percent generally speaking, and that will be on cars and all other things.' Meanwhile, the European Commission threatened to take retaliatory steps. 'The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade,' it said in a statement. The bloc is reportedly preparing a list of U.S. goods to impose tariffs on in response. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily paused a federal judge's order compelling the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to end their freeze on the disbursement of foreign aid by 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Trump administration, meanwhile, indicated plans on Wednesday night to make sweeping cuts to U.S. foreign assistance programs, including ending nearly 10,000 grants and contracts awarded by the State Department and USAID. The changes, outlined in a court filing by administration attorneys and an internal memo, would save the U.S. government an estimated $58.2 billion, a State Department spokesman claimed Wednesday. The heads of the offices of Personnel Management and Management and Budget shared a memo with executive branch agencies on Wednesdays directing them to prepare for mass firings or 'large-scale reductions in force.' Agency heads were directed to submit 'reorganization plans' by March 13, with a 'focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required function.' The memo did not include a specific percentage of positions to be eliminated, but Trump said Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to cut its workforce by 65 percent. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to see his tax and spending priorities passed in 'one big, beautiful bill' this year. On Tuesday night, House Republicans took one big, beautiful stride toward that goal with the passage of a budget resolution calling for hefty spending and tax cuts. But it's just the beginning of a long and bumpy road for budget negotiations. The resolution's passage, on a near-party-line vote of 217-215, is just the first step in shepherding through a budget for the next fiscal year. To see Trump's single bill realized, House Speaker Mike Johnson will need to corral not only his narrow Republican majority in the lower chamber but also the Senate. GOP leadership is counting on the budget to pass as part of the reconciliation process later this year, allowing it to bypass a Senate filibuster by Democrats. But for that to happen, both chambers of Congress must agree on the eventual bill's framework. At the very least, budget negotiations now have momentum. Following dramatic scenes in which congressional leadership, believing they lacked enough support, canceled a planned Tuesday night vote only to abruptly call lawmakers back to the Capitol 13 minutes later, Republicans are relieved. 'A lot of work yet to be done, but we're going to celebrate tonight, and we'll roll up our sleeves and get right back at it in the morning,' Johnson told reporters after the vote. In addition to calling for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, the budget resolution asks for a $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. The package will effectively extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Trump's main legislative achievement from his first term, for 10 years. But Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Jessica Riedl pointed out earlier this month in our pages that the net effect will be to add more than $3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade. Passing a budget through reconciliation has certain requirements, laid out in the 1974 Congressional Budget Act. Both the House and Senate must pass a budget resolution setting tax, spending, and debt limit targets, which are then turned into specific proposals by congressional committees. Once the legislative specifics are hammered out and both chambers agree, the House and Senate Budget committees work to combine the two into a single 'omnibus' bill, which can then be passed under normal House voting rules and by a simple majority in the Senate, getting around the delays posed by a filibuster (which requires 60 votes to break). However, reconciliation is usually only used once per year, cannot affect Social Security spending, and cannot increase the deficit outside a 10-year window. Even under this streamlined framework, the politics of the proposed budget are iffy, with Social Security off the table, boosting defense spending a priority, and some Republicans, including Trump, saying they refuse to touch Medicaid. But last week Trump endorsed the GOP plan even though the resolution would instruct the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, to find $880 billion in spending cuts. A few hundred billion can be found by reversing Biden-era regulations and cutting in other areas, but the bulk of the savings will almost certainly have to come from the $839 billion annually spent on Medicaid, despite Trump's previous promises. These cuts threatened to upend Johnson's budget plan in the lead-up to its passage. 'I'm really concerned about this,' Rep. David Valadao, a moderate Republican who represents a swing district in California, said last week. More than 60 percent of Valadao's constituents are Medicaid recipients, according to health data compiled by New York University's Grossman School of Medicine. And a review by Politico found that at least 10 other Republicans representing competitive districts are in similarly tight positions. Meanwhile, some fiscal conservatives had argued the resolution's spending cuts didn't go far enough. 'We promised the people we're gonna have cuts, and then we're just gonna turn right around and spend the money at the Pentagon,' Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, said Tuesday. 'The war pimps will get theirs no matter what anyway.' Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Warren Davidson of Ohio, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky also voiced concerns that the budget plan would add to the federal deficit. GOP leaders reportedly assuaged the fears of moderates concerned by possible cuts to Medicaid during a closed-door meeting on Monday. 'There's a lot of space to address the issue without hurting beneficiaries,' such as 'hundreds of billions' spent on waste, fraud, and abuse, said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican from New York. That left the fiscal hardliners. Calls from Trump were reportedly enough to flip Spartz and Burchett. 'This is the best I could get to,' Burchett said Wednesday. 'I've often said you're either at the table or on the menu, and I needed to be at the table.' Davidson also told reporters that he had 'received assurances' that the final bill would include sufficient spending cuts. In the end, Massie provided the only GOP vote against the resolution, citing his concerns about the debt. But now the question is what happens in the Senate. On Wednesday, Republican senators were blunt: as currently constructed, they won't accept the proposed framework, which is why last week the chamber passed a fallback bill written by Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, that avoids the question of tax cuts. The measure includes $175 billion in new funds for immigration enforcement and $150 billion to strengthen military supply chains. It also directs Senate committees to find spending cuts to offset the costs. Some senators, echoing House moderates, are concerned about slashing Medicaid the way the House's bill directs. 'I realize it's just a broad instruction to that committee, but I think there will be concerns about that and what that may lead to,' said Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri. Others pointed out that even if all of the cuts envisaged in the bill were enacted, it would still increase the deficit. 'Acquiescing to a $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling is for me a non-starter,' said Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, also told reporters that the resolution did not reduce spending by enough. Others, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, are insisting that the new budget make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent—something the House resolution does not do. It all could come down to the technical way those cuts are measured, as Charles Hilu explained in a piece for the site earlier this week. A Wednesday White House meeting between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and congressional leaders may have produced enough common ground to get over that hurdle, but much remains to be negotiated over the coming months, with Johnson aiming for the ambitious deadline of April. Congress must also find a way to avert a looming government shutdown in March. But for now, the one-two punch of Trump and Johnson, working to bring together disparate factions of the House, has prevailed. It's a sign that almost no Republican, whether in the Senate or the House, is yet willing to buck Trump's agenda. But eventually, tough talk and bluster will run into concrete fiscal realities. 'Big First Step Win for Speaker Mike Johnson, and AMERICA. Now let's start to BALANCE THE BUDGET. IT CAN BE DONE!!!,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Thursday morning. We'll find out soon if he's right. Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Israel on Wednesday to watch the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her 4-year-old and 9-month-old sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were taken hostage by terrorists on October 7, 2023, and murdered in Gaza. Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped separately and released earlier this month, delivered a heart-breaking eulogy for his wife and children yesterday. 'Mishmish, who will help me make decisions now?' Yarden said, addressing his wife. 'How am I supposed to make decisions without you? Do you remember our last decision together? In the safe room, I asked if we should 'fight or surrender.' You said fight, so I fought. Shiri, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you all. … Shiri, people tell me they'll always be by my side, but they're not you. Shiri, this is the closest I've been to you since October 7th, and I can't kiss or hug you, and it's breaking me! Shiri, please watch over me… Protect me from bad decisions. Shield me from harmful things and protect me from myself. Guard me so I don't sink into darkness. Mishmish, I love you!' Jeff Bezos in a note to Washington Post employees on Wednesday: We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others. Politico: Gavin Newsom Is Launching His Own Podcast—And Inviting MAGA Favorites Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, made the following announcement on Tuesday: Grateful to announce that I am drafting legislation to direct the Bureau of Graving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring Donald J. Trump. Bidenflation has destroyed the economy forcing American families to carry more cash. Most valuable bill for most valuable President! We were sad to learn of the death Wednesday of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman at the age of 95. Hackman—who starred in Bonnie and Clyde, The French Connection, Mississippi Burning, and several other classic films—became known as a veritable Hollywood everyman over the course of his four-decade career. It was an unforgettable performance as Sheriff 'Little Bill' Daggett in Clint Eastwood's 1992 revisionist Western, Unforgiven, that secured Hackman his second Academy Award. In the newsletters: Scott Linciccome unpacked the false assumptions underlying fears of a 'retail apocalypse,' Jonah Goldberg argued that not considering Donald Trump's motives misses the forest for the trees, and Nick Catoggio explored the strange decline of pro-Palestinian activism. On the podcasts: Jonah is joined by Christopher Scalia on The Remnant to discuss the value great books can offer the conservative movement, and Sarah Isgur is joined by Judges Charles Eskridge and Brantley Starr on Advisory Opinions to discuss executive powers and all things Texas. On the site: Kevin Williamson reports from Dallas on the current strange moment for oil and gas industries. What's your favorite Gene Hackman film and why?
Jordan Times
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
Israel frees hundreds of Palestinian prisoners after body handover
Palestinians, released by Israel, gesture as they arrive on a bus at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip early on February 27, 2025 (AFP photo) GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Thursday, shortly after saying Hamas handed over coffins believed to contain the bodies of four minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel had received the coffins of "four fallen hostages", and a process to formally identify them had started. A kibbutz later confirmed two of them were members of its Gaza and the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists saw hundreds of Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel arrive on buses accompanied by Red Cross than 600 had been due to be released in the latest exchange, and Egypt's state-linked Al Qahera News said 97 of them arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza were supposed to have been freed at the weekend, but Israel stopped the process following outrage over elaborate ceremonies Hamas had been holding to hand over hostages seized in its unprecedented October 7, 2023 row had threatened the first phase of a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal that went into effect on January 19 and ends on said on Thursday that Israel now had no choice but to start negotiations on a second phase."We have cut off the path before the enemy's false justifications, and it has no choice but to start negotiations for the second phase," the group said on of the Palestinians freed to Ramallah were hoisted in the air on arrival, some of them conducting interviews from the shoulders of friends or relatives.A group of women broke into tears as they gathered around one released prisoner, and a child held aloft made peace signs with both Hamas said the return of the four Israeli bodies would take place in private "to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay or obstruction".Hours after the coffins were handed over, the kibbutz Nir Oz said two members of its community -- Itzik Elgarat and Ohad Yahalomi -- were among the four bodies media identified the other two as Tsachi Idan and Shlomo Mansour.'Negotiations will begin'The ceasefire has largely halted the war sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, and seen 25 hostages released alive in exchange for more than 1,100 have been sporadic incidents of violence, Israeli military said it carried out air strikes on several launch sites inside Gaza after a projectile was fired from there on Wednesday, though the munition fell short inside the Palestinian Washington, US President Donald Trump's top envoy to the Middle East said Israeli representatives were en route to talks on the next phase of the ceasefire."We're making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Steve Witkoff told an event for the American Jewish Committee."It's either going to be in Doha or in Cairo, where negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris." Minute of silenceOn Wednesday, thousands gathered in Israel for the funeral of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in captivity in Gaza and had become symbols of the country's hostage Israeli parliament held a minute of silence to mourn their deaths, as well as those of other victims of Hamas's October 7 attack."Yesterday, the funeral of Oded Lifshitz took place; today, the funeral of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas is taking place. We remember all the victims of October 7. We remember, and we will not forget," said speaker Amir vowed to destroy Hamas after the attack, the deadliest in the country's history and has made bringing back all the hostages taken that day a central war attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,215 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official retaliation in Gaza has killed more than 48,348 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures that the United Nations considers the Bibas family funeral on Wednesday, father Yarden Bibas, who was abducted separately on October 7 and released alive in a previous exchange, apologised to his late wife and sons. "Shiri, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you all," he said in his eulogy, his voice cracking. Page 2
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bodies of 4 hostages transferred from Hamas to Red Cross: Israeli security official
Israel and Hamas have moved forward with a hostage exchange, with the bodies of four dead hostages transferred from Hamas to the Red Cross, an Israeli security official confirmed. The bodies of the hostages are expected to be transferred to the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas had previously identified the dead hostages as Tzachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur. Hamas was expected to return the bodies late Wednesday local time in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. A convoy of Red Cross vehicles left Ofer prison in Israel early Thursday local time carrying Palestinian prisoners, who remain in Israeli custody. MORE: US officials could face international warrants if steps are taken to displace Palestinians in Gaza The hostage-prisoner exchange is part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that was reached in January. Last week, Israel did not release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners it had agreed to release after Hamas returned a wrong body in place of the body of one of the dead hostages it said it would return. The correct body was later returned to Israel. Phase two of the ceasefire is scheduled to go into effect on Saturday, but negotiations over the details have stalled. "No proposal was presented to the movement regarding the second phase, despite our readiness for it and our keenness to move forward with it to complete all stages of the agreement," Hamas said. MORE: Trump's threats to pull aid if Egypt, Jordan don't accept Palestinians could lead to new alliances, experts say According to the ceasefire agreement, phase two is expected to include the following: Israeli forces are to completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the remaining hostages are to be released in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners, and all military operations and all hostilities are to permanently stop. The Arab League is holding a summit in Egypt on Tuesday to strategize a proposal to counter President Donald Trump's proposal to forcibly expel Palestinians from their land in Gaza and reconstruct the strip -- a proposal that experts and U.S. allies have said violates international law. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Bodies of 4 hostages transferred from Hamas to Red Cross: Israeli security official originally appeared on
