DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Middle East Crisis Top U.N. Court Orders Israel to Ensure Aid to Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Conrad said he met Mr. Issa, Mr. al-Jabari and Mahmoud al-Zahar, another senior Hamas official, about 10 times between 2009 and 2011 in Gaza City. “He was the master of the data on the prisoners,” Mr. Conrad said of Mr. Issa. Mr. Awawdeh, the analyst, called Mr. Issa a man who liked to “remain in the shadows” and who seldom granted interviews to the media. Mr. Issa was born in the Bureij area of central Gaza in 1965, but his family hails from what is now the Ashkelon area in Israel. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, has said that Mr. Issa helped plan the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: Marwan Issa, Jake Sullivan, Mr, Issa, —, Mohammed Deif, Ahmed al, Yahya Sinwar, Salah al, Din, Issa’s, ” Maj, Tamir Hayman, Deif, Sinwar’s, “ There’s, ” Mr, Awawdeh, “, ” Michael Milshtein, Qassam, wasn’t, Milshtein, Gerhard Conrad, Conrad, Mahmoud al, ”, Gilad Shalit, Al Jazeera, Daniel Hagari Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Qassam, Palestinian Authority Locations: Israel, Gaza, Gaza City, Palestine, Bureij, Ashkelon

☆ Middle East Crisis Blinken Will Travel to Mideast Again as Cease-Fire Talks Restart
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Issa assumed the role after the assassination of another top commander, Ahmed al-Jabari. Mr. Conrad said he met Mr. Issa, Mr. al-Jabari and Mahmoud al-Zahar, another senior Hamas official, about ten times between 2009 and 2011 in Gaza City. “He was the master of the data on the prisoners,” Mr. Conrad said of Mr. Issa. Mr. Awawdeh, the analyst, called Mr. Issa a man who liked to “remain in the shadows” and who seldom granted interviews to the media. Admiral Hagari has said that Mr. Issa helped plan the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

Persons: Marwan Issa, Jake Sullivan, Mr, Issa, Daniel Hagari, Mohammed Deif, Ahmed al, Yahya Sinwar, Salah al, Din, Issa’s, ” Maj, Tamir Hayman, Deif, Sinwar, “ There’s, ” Mr, Awawdeh, “, ” Michael Milshtein, Qassam, wasn’t, Milshtein, Gerhard Conrad, Conrad, Mahmoud al, ”, Gilad Shalit, Al Jazeera, Hagari Organizations: U.S, Hamas, Qassam, Palestinian Authority Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S, Gaza City, Palestine, Bureij, Ashkelon

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel Is Said to Change Strategy in Cease-Fire Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held since the Oct. 7 attacks gathered Saturday in Tel Aviv to call for their return. International efforts to reach a truce had stalled over Israel’s refusal to release Palestinians convicted of murder and to commit to a permanent cease-fire, two of the measures that Hamas is holding out for. They include five female Israeli soldiers and civilians, including sick, wounded and older people. It does not include male Israeli soldiers, whose release will be the subject of a separate negotiation, one of the officials said. For each of the five female Israeli soldiers in captivity, Israel would release three “heavy” prisoners — those believed responsible for major attacks — and 15 others.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Israel, —, Gilad Shalit, Julian E, Barnes Organizations: Hamas Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Egypt, Qatar, United States, Paris, Washington

These families argue that the price to be paid in any hostage deal — the release of large numbers of Palestinian militants held by Israel — would endanger the country in the future. Protests calling on the government to reach a deal with Hamas have grown in size and intensity as the crisis has dragged on. The Mor family and two other hostages' families founded the Tikva Forum, a loosely organized group whose public members are mostly religious and right-wing. They share the belief that military pressure, not an immediate cease-fire or hostage release deal, is the best way to bring their loved ones home. “We see that when there’s a deal, hostages return, and in between, when there isn’t, only bodies come back,” said Berman.

Persons: Israel —, ”, Tzvika Mor, Eitan, ” Mor, Mor, Benjamin Netanyahu, Alon Nimrodi, Tamir Nimrodi, “, Israel's, ” Netanyahu, Adina Moshe, Netanyahu, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Yehya Sinwar, “ Eitan, Avinatan, Noa Argamani, Avinatan’s, Shimon, Liran Berman, Israel, Gali, Ziv Berman, there’s, Berman, ” Berman Organizations: JERUSALEM, Nova, Associated Press, Hamas, Israel’s, Tikva, West Bank, AP, “ Locations: Israel imploring, Israel, Gaza, Cairo, United States, Kiryat Arba, Hebron, Palestinian, Kfar Aza

☆ Despite Pause, a Long-Term End to Israel-Hamas War Is Not in Sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Michele Chabin | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

Its militants killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, most of them civilians, and fired thousands of rockets into Israel. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants or those killed by IDF airstrikes or errant Palestinian rockets. At the completion of a humanitarian truce that began on Nov. 24, Israel’s goal is to gain military control over northern Gaza and gradually ferret out Hamas in southern Gaza. The operation in the south “will require a very different mode of operation,” Novik said, because 2 million Palestinian civilians – half of them displaced from northern Gaza – live there. As long as Hamas remains a threat, most of the 200,000 Israelis evacuated from southern Israel cannot go home.

Persons: ”, Nimrod Novik, Israel, ” Novik, Jake Sullivan, Israel’s, “, ” Jonathan Rynhold, Joe Biden, Biden, Jeff Horwitt, Gilad Shalit, Sara Hirschhorn, “ Israel, ” Hirschhorn Organizations: Hamas, Israel, “, U.S, Israel Defense Forces, CBS, Bar Ilan University, NBC, Democratic, Hart Research Associates, Biden, Israel Democracy Institute, University of Haifa, Israel’s Finance Ministry, Palestinian Liberation Organization Locations: JERUSALEM, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon

But the three men topping Israel's hit-list remain at large: Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades; his second in command, Marwan Issa; and Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. The three leaders are directing Hamas' military operations and led negotiations for a prisoner-hostage swaps, possibly from bunkers beneath Gaza, three Hamas sources say. The objective of the war remains to dismantle Hamas' military and government capabilities, Michael said, which could involve a turbulent period in Gaza after the war. An Israeli military officer, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the IDF viewed the elimination of such combat-level commanders as essential to dismantling Hamas' military capabilities. Israel has killed Hamas' leaders in the past, including the group's founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and its former leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantisi, assassinated in a 2004 air strike.

Persons: Ilan Rosenberg, Yoav Gallant, Mohammed Deif, Deen al, Marwan Issa, Yahya Sinwar, Issa, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gallant, Sinwar, Michael Eisenstadt, we've, Eisenstadt, Osama Hamdan, Joe Biden's, al, Kobi Michael, Michael said, Michael, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Gerhard Conrad, Conrad, Al, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Abdel, Aziz, Rantisi, Sheikh Yassin, Hamdan, Dan Williams, Samia Nakhoul, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Israeli, Hamas, Brigades, Qatar, Reuters, Military and Security, Washington Institute for Near East, Israel Defense Forces, Israel, Islamic, Israel's Ministry, Strategic Affairs, IDF, German Intelligence Agency, politburo, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Kibbutz Beeri, Israel, Tel Aviv, Deif, Gaza City, Lebanon, East, U.S, States, al Qaeda, Islamic State, Iran, United States, Iraq, Syria, Palestinian, Israeli, Sinwar, Al Jazeera, Rantissi, Jerusalem

Hamas says it is working to locate them in a Gaza Strip shattered by weeks of Israeli bombardment. One Israeli source with knowledge of the issue said Hamas was estimated to be holding 90% of the hostages. Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of an extended six-day truce in the Gaza war. Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said on Wednesday the government held Hamas fully responsible for the abduction of everyone held inside Gaza.

Persons: Abed Sabah, Islamic Jihad, Khalil Al, Hayya, Israel, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Eylon Levy, Maayan Lubell, Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Islamic, HAMAS, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, West Bank, Palestinian Prisoners, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Beach, Gaza City, GAZA, Gaza, Egypt, Iran, Doha, Qatar, Hamas, Jerusalem

☆ Can Hamas Locate Remaining Hostages in Mayhem of Gaza War?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

One Israeli source with knowledge of the issue said Hamas was estimated to be holding 90% of the hostages. Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of an extended six-day truce in the Gaza war. Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. Palestinian sources said Hamas was able to gather some hostages with smaller groups, but it is unclear whether the Islamic Jihad would carry its own swaps or conduct them through Hamas. Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said on Wednesday the government held Hamas fully responsible for the abduction of everyone held inside Gaza.

Persons: Nidal, Andrew Mills, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Islamic Jihad, Khalil Al, Hayya, Israel, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Eylon Levy, Maayan Lubell, Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Hamas, Islamic, HAMAS, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, West Bank, Palestinian Prisoners, Palestinian Locations: Ahmed Mohamed Hassan GAZA, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Egypt, Iran, Doha, Qatar, Hamas, Jerusalem

☆ Hamas Says Commander of Its Northern Gaza Brigade Is Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Iyad Abuheweila | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, said on Sunday that one of its top commanders had been killed in its war with Israel there. The announcement from Hamas came on the third day of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. On Sunday morning the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, issued a brief statement saying that Abu Anas al-Ghandour, who led the group’s fighters in northern Gaza, and three other commanders had been killed. Mr. al-Ghandour was the most senior commander that Hamas has confirmed dead since the group’s announcement last month that Ayman Nofal, a member of its General Military Council and the commander of the Central Brigade in the Qassam Brigades, had been killed. One of those freed in the deal, Yahya Sinwar, eventually became Hamas’s leader in Gaza and, according to Israeli officials, a mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks.

Persons: Abu Anas al, Ghandour, Ayman Nofal, ”, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Yahya Sinwar Organizations: Hamas, Qassam Brigades, The, Military Council, Central Brigade, State Department Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Palestinian women and youths to be swapped for Israeli hostages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jubilant reunions are expected when Palestinian families greet the prisoners on their return as early as Thursday, most of them to their homes in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. Arrested for such offences as attempted stabbings, stone throwings at Israeli soldiers or having contacts with hostile organisations, many were held under administrative detention, meaning Israel held them without trial. Israel has agreed to a four-day truce, the entry of aid to Gaza and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners in return for the hostages, all children or women. Another 150 Palestinian prisoners could be freed in return for another 50 hostages in days to come, a Palestinian official said. "The resistance didn't call this deal a swap deal but it is a deal for truce and ceasefire," he said.

Persons: Shir Torem, Gilad Shalit, Yahya Sinwar, James Mackenzie, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS, West Bank, Jerusalem, Qatari, Palestinian, Commission, Prisoners ' Affairs, Palestinian Authority, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, RAMALLAH, East Jerusalem

☆ Opinion: The deep moral dilemma at the heart of the hostage deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The deal, however, is hardly the stuff of unalloyed joy – for Palestinians or for Israel. And the deal arguably strengthens Hamas, allowing it to claim credit, catch its breath and regroup. But their voices were drowned by the strength of the hostages’ families. They simultaneously support the government’s aim of fighting Hamas so it can no longer threaten Israel. It’s a sign of a deep moral dilemma that will continue playing out in profound human suffering.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Israel, –, Cpl, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Yahya Sinwar, Israel –, It’s, Frida Ghitis It’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammed Al, Masri, embeds, Iran –, ”, “ Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Hamas, Frida Ghitis CNN, Gaza, Israel’s Locations: Israel, Gaza, Sinwar, Egypt, Sinai, Iran, Palestinian

☆ Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu battles on all fronts, amid growing pressure to free hostages
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Only a small handful of families have met with the Israeli leader since the attacks, infuriating the hundreds of other relatives. Freeing hostages should be at the top of the Israeli war cabinet’s agenda, he said. Winds have been shifting against the prime minister as Israel’s war in Gaza drags past its sixth week. Cracks emergeOpposition parties initially rallied behind Israel’s war effort, with National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz joining the wartime government – but cracks have begun to emerge. Freeing hostages from Hamas was worth it, “whatever the cost,” he said.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ” Gil Dickmann, Carmel Gat, ”, Benny Gantz, , Yair Lapid, Lapid, “, ” Lapid, Ada Gansach, Tara John, Israel, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, ’, Ilan Rosenberg, Gilad Shalit, Asher Elyahol, ” Ofir Dagan, Dagan, Yehudit Waiss, Waiss, Elyahol, “ we’ll Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israel’s, CNN, Palestinian, National Unity Party, Likud, Twitter, Israeli, National, Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Family, Hamas, Reuters Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, United States, Gulf, Qatar

☆ The world is turning against Israel’s war in Gaza – and many Israelis don’t understand why
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The bands symbolize solidarity with the roughly 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. It’s a feeling that cuts across the deep divisions within Israeli society: the world does not understand us. In the early days after the Hamas terror attack, many of the hostages’ families were reluctant to criticize the government of Netanyahu. Public displays of solidarity with Gaza or criticism of Israel’s military response are few and far between. “This conflict (between Israel and the Palestinians) isn’t black and white, but this war (with Hamas) is,” he added.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN — Yoav Peled, Peled, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Dan Kitwood, Israel, Sigal Itzahak, Itzahak, It’s, ” Itzahak, Anger, Netanyahu, there’s, Benny Zweig, ”, Zweig, “ You’re, ” Zweig, Ivana Kottasova, CNN It’s, Ruby Chen, Itay, Chen, Gilad Shalit, Yahya Sinwar, “ I’m, –, Israel “, I’ve, ” Yonatan Rapaport, Rapaport, Yonatan, ” Rapaport, Netanyahu’s, “ Lu Yehi, Naomi Shemer Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Pentagon, CNN, Washington DC, Cairo –, Israeli, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Scout, Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Tel Aviv University, Hamas, Israel Police, Zion, Israeli Navy, West Bank, Beatles Locations: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Gaza, Israel’s, –, Israel, London, Washington, Berlin, Paris, Amman, Cairo, HaKirya, Qatar, Zion

☆ Opinion: ‘Dark, terrifying, claustrophobic.’ What it’s like inside Hamas’ tunnels
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Jennifer Smith | Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In the decade since, she has done extensive research into Hamas’ tunnel system as well as the underground network built by Hezbollah. Peter Bergen: What’s it like inside a Hamas tunnel? A Hamas fighter appears inside an underground tunnel in Gaza in 2014. Israeli soldiers went into Hamas’ tunnels during Operation Protective Edge, and they were not trained and not equipped, and there was combat in the tunnels. Bergen: Is a dog force used by Israel inside tunnels?

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Daphné Richemond Barak, Richemond Barak, they’re, Mohammed Salem, Israel, it’s, Rina Castelnuovo, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Israel — Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Peter Bergen CNN, Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, Reichman University, Subterranean Warfare, British, IDF, Israel Defense Forces, Bloomberg, Getty, Hamas, ISIS, Northern Locations: New America, Gaza, Israel, Herzliya, Vietnam, Viet, Messines, Belgium, Iran, Lebanon, Hamas, Bergen, Petah Tikva, —, Mosul, Iraq, Syria

A general view shows the interiors of what the Israeli military say is a cross-border attack tunnel dug from Gaza to Israel, on the Israeli side of the Gaza Strip border near Kissufim January 18, 2018. After the last round of hostilities in 2021, Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yehya Al-Sinwar, said: "They started saying they destroyed 100kms of Hamas tunnels. Tunneling became easier in 2005 when Israel pulled its soldiers and settlers out of Gaza, and when Hamas won power in a 2006 election. Although the military tunnels remained off-limits to outside eyes, during that era Gaza smugglers would show off their scarcely concealed commercial tunnels under the Rafah border. Israeli sources said what awaits them is formidable and they faced an enemy that has regrouped and learned from previous Israeli operations in 2014 and 2021.

Persons: Jack Guez, Lloyd Austin, Yehya Al, Sinwar, Lifshitz, Mahmoud Abbas, Amir Avivi, Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Israel, Yasser Arafat's, Deen al, Gilad Shalit, Abu Qusay, Mohammed Deif, Deif, Joel Roskin, Ilan University, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amnon Sofrin, Daphne Richemond, Barak, Jonathan Saul, Stephen Farrell, Phil Stewart, Nafisa Eltahir, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, U.S . Defense, Israel, United Nations Security Council, LONG, Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, West Bank, Hamas, Brigades, Arafat's, Israel's, Ilan, Israel's Combat Engineering, Combat Intelligence Corps, Israel's Reichman University, IDF, ISIS, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Kissufim, JERUSALEM, LONDON, Hamas, Palestinian, States, Mosul, Islamic, Egypt, Israeli, Viet, Israel's, Egyptian, El Arish, Suez, Yasser Arafat's Palestine, Jordan, Rafah, Syria, Iraq, State, Jerusalem, London, Washington, Cairo

☆ ‘I Went Through Hell,’ Freed Israeli, 85, Says of Subterranean Captivity in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Despite a weekslong bombing effort by the Israeli military, which has left thousands dead, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, Ms. Lifshitz described a seemingly well-organized operation, with operatives given special responsibilities, including doctors, guards and medics. At a certain point a doctor also arrived and made sure that we received our pills and medication,” she said. Ms. Lifshitz said her captors paid special attention to health of the hostages, providing medication, shampoo and feminine hygiene products. The hostages were fed the same meager provisions their guards ate: a single daily meal of pita bread, two kinds of cheese and cucumber. In 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners — including Hamas’s current leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar — in exchange for a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.

Persons: Lifshitz, Nir Oz, Lifschitz, “, ”, Daniel Lifshitz, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Gilad Shalit, Cooper, Judith Raanan, Natalie Organizations: Gaza Health Ministry, International Committee, Hamas Locations: pita, Israel, Gaza

CNN —Queen Rania of Jordan has accused Western leaders of a “glaring double standard” for failing to condemn the deaths of civilians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza, as Israel’s war on Hamas threatens to destabilize relations between US and Arab leaders. “This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” Queen Rania added. Forcing Gaza civilians to relocate amounts “to the war crime of forcible transfer,” the Norwegian Refugee Council said. The people of Palestine should not, [the people] of Gaza should not, be forced to be moved again,” she said. Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty ImagesEven before the war with Hamas, tensions were high between Palestinians and Israelis in the occupied West Bank.

Persons: Rania, Jordan, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “, ”, Israel, we’ve, ” Rania, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, “ We’re, Strategic Communications John Kirby, we’re, Antony Blinken, Gershon Baskin, Gilad Shalit, Baskin, Gilad Schalit, Amanpour, Jordan’s King Abdullah, Gazans, Queen Rania, Alaa Al Sukhni, Khalil Mazraawi Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Ministry of Health, UN, United Nations, West, US, Palestinian Authority, National Security, Strategic Communications, UN Security, Baskin, Norwegian Refugee, West Bank, Palestine, Reuters, Getty, Protesters Locations: Gaza, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Washington, United Kingdom, Jerusalem, Palestine, Amman, AFP

[1/3] People react as residents of Tel Aviv show support and solidarity with the families of hostages who are being held in Gaza in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 21, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and Israeli troops could enter Gaza at any moment, but many families are urging him to focus solely on the hostages. Israel has a long experience of dealing with hostage crises, but has previously shied away from attempting rescue operations in the densely populated Gaza Strip. Some of the freed Palestinians returned to the ranks of Hamas, including its current leader in Gaza, Yahya Al-Sinwar. We have to help these hostages very fast," said Daniel Lifshitz, whose grandparents, aged 83 and 85, were abducted and have vanished into Gaza.

Persons: Ammar Awad, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Noam Alon, Inbar, Isaac Herzog, Carmel Gorni, Yiftah Gorni, Gorni, Ilan, Sandy Feldman, Herzog, Keith Siegel, Jonathan Dekel, Chen, Sagui, Netanyahu, Gilad Shalit, Yahya Al, Shalit, Gal Hirsch, Daniel Lifshitz, Crispian Balmer, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Aviva, Reuters, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Gaza, Israel, Gaza Israel, Jerusalem, Palestinian, Qatar, Qatari

☆ Israeli doctors saved the life of Hamas leader, whom they now blame for the October 7 terrorist attacks, when he was in prison, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Yahya Sinwar has been Hamas's leader in Gaza and a member of its political bureau since 2017. Sinwar has spent 24 years in prison and has been arrested by Israel multiple times, per the report. Israeli doctors reportedly saved his life after operating on a brain tumor during one prison stint. AdvertisementAdvertisementIsraeli doctors saved the life of Hamas' Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar when he was in prison in the country, Orit Adato, Israel's former prison commissioner, said, The Times of Israel reported. He has spent 24 years in prison and has been arrested by Israel multiple times, per the think tank.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar, —, Hamas, Orit, Adato, Avi Issacharoff, Al, Gilad Shalit, Din, Hatem Ali, Richard Hecht, Deif, Michael Milshtein, Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar, Khan Younis, Gazans Organizations: Service, The, Hamas, European Council, Foreign Relations, Brigades, Kfar, AP, Wall Street, IDF, Jewish Virtual Library, Islamic, of, US Department of State Locations: Gaza, Israel, Al Jazeera, Kfar Azza, of Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the mother and daughter were abducted by Hamas while they were staying at Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Israelis are still reeling from the Hamas assault and from images of fellow citizens being bundled off to Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas. An attempt to rescue all those Hamas said were now held in different locations could jeopardise their lives. American and British officials said they have been working with Qatar to secure the release of hostages, including their citizens, held in Gaza. Israel has also said that there will be no end to its full blockade of the enclave unless Israeli hostages are freed.

Persons: Judith Tai Raanan, Natalie Shoshana Raanan, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Natalie Raanan's, Ben Raanan, Judith Raanan's, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Yonatan “ Yoni ” Netanyahu, Izz, Deen al, Abu Ubaida, Joe, Biden, Mia Schem, Gilad Shalit, Enas Alashray, Nidal, Michael Georgy, Steve Gorman, Grant McCool Organizations: Kibbutz, Denver Post, Gaza, Media, Hamas, Air, Qatar, Thomson Locations: GAZA, Chicago, Israel, Denver, Qatar, United States, Evanston, an Illinois, Gaza, Entebbe, Uganda, Air France, Palestinian, Thailand, Argentina, Germany, France, Portugal, Hamas, Cairo

☆ Hamas says it releases two U.S. hostages 'for humanitarian reasons' after Qatari efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Hamas' armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, has released two U.S. hostages from Gaza — a mother and her daughter — "for humanitarian reasons" in response to Qatari mediation efforts in the war with Israel, its spokesman Abu Ubaida said on Friday. It said more than 20 hostages have been killed by Israeli air strikes, but has not given any further details. Israel has also said that there will be no end to its full blockade of the enclave unless Israeli hostages are freed. Hamas has released a video of Mia Schem, a 21-year-old French-Israeli woman captured at a dance party. American and British officials have confirmed they have been working with Qatar to secure the release of hostages, including their citizens, held in Gaza.

Persons: Deen al, —, Abu Ubaida, Joe, Biden, Israel, Mia Schem, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Gilad Shalit Organizations: Tel, Brigades, Hamas, Qatar Locations: Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Israel, Hamas, Gaza, Israel, Thailand, Argentina, Germany, France, Portugal

☆ The last time Hamas released a hostage, it took 5 years for him to be freed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The IDF said Hamas is holding nearly 200 people hostage after carrying out a deadly terror attack. The last time Hamas freed a hostage was in 2011, when it released the IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. AdvertisementAdvertisementHamas is holding nearly 200 people hostage after it carried out a deadly terror attack in Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The last time Hamas released a hostage was in 2011, when it freed the IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip since Hamas' October 7 terror attacks.

Persons: Gilad Shalit, —, Shalit, Mitzpe Hila, Gershon Baskin, Israel, Baskin, Osama al, Mia Schem, Schem Organizations: Service, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, NPR, Israel, International Communities Organization, IDF, Nova Locations: Israel, Gaza, American

☆ A mediator who worked on a 2011 Israeli prisoner exchange says Hamas' hostage-taking is 'unprecedented': 'What do they even do with them now that they have them?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gershon Baskin helped secure the release of an Israeli soldier from Hamas in 2011. He says Hamas' hostage-taking campaign is "unprecedented," per The Wall Street Journal. AdvertisementAdvertisementA mediator who helped negotiate the 2011 exchange of an Israeli soldier said Hamas' hostage-taking in its recent terror attacks was "unprecedented" due to the sheer number of people involved, according to The Wall Street Journal . "It's unprecedented, there's no doubt," Gershon Baskin, the Middle East director for International Communities Organization, a UK-based peace-building NGO, told the newspaper. Baskin, an American-Israeli peace activist, helped secure the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas in 2011.

Persons: Gershon Baskin, —, Baskin, Gilad Shalit, He's, Abu Ubaida, Israel Organizations: Street, Service, Wall Street, International Communities Organization, Israel Defense Forces, Department, West Bank, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, American

☆ Hamas seeks Palestinian prisoners' release, says will free non-Israeli captives
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal gestures as he announces a new policy document in Doha, Qatar, May 1, 2017. Gunmen from Hamas took scores of hostages after rampaging through southern Israeli communities and military bases, killing over 1,300 people. In 2011, Israel swapped hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to win the release of one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was held for five years. Israel, which has bombarded Gaza with strikes that have killed hundreds of Palestinians, has said it would act to free the hostages while eliminating Hamas. Another senior Hamas official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said on Monday that "foreign prisoners cannot be released due to the continued Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip."

Persons: Khaled Meshaal, Naseem Zeitoon, AlAraby, Gilad Shalit, Abu Obeida, Moussa Abu Marzouk, Rami Ayyub, Moaz Abd, Alaziz, Hatem Maher, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Doha, Qatar, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Thailand, Germany

☆ Israel's No.1 Hamas kill target is Yahya Sinwar, the 'Butcher from Khan Younis'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Yahya Sinwar was nicknamed "the Butcher from Khan Younis" for killing Palestinian collaborators. AdvertisementAdvertisementA military spokesman said the Israel Defense Forces are particularly intent on killing Yahya Sinwar, a top Hamas official, The New York Times reports. The 'new face of evil'Palestinian militants march with their weapons in Khan Younis refugee camp south of the Gaza Strip March 27, 2005. That's how he became known as the butcher of Khan Younis," said Col. Hecht, per LBC News. A 2022 security analysis determined that the Palestinian Authority's weakness and Israel's inaction on undermining Hamas' control strengthened Sinwar and Hamas' leadership.

Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Butcher, Khan Younis, —, Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, Abu Mustafa AJ, JJ Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar, Gazans, Yair Lapid, Richard Hecht, Hecht, Din, Israel, Gilad Shalit, Daniel Hagari, Hagari Organizations: Service, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, The New York Times, The Telegraph, Israel, REUTERS, Jewish Virtual Library, Islamic, of, US Department of State, IDF, Israeli, New York Times, LBC, Brigades, European Council, Foreign Relations, European Council of Foreign Relations, Institute for National Security, Tel, Aviv University Locations: Gaza, Qatar, Gaza City, Israel, Khan Younis, of Gaza, The

Search resuls for: "Gilad Shalit"

25 mentions found