Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old from New Jersey, was taken hostage from his military base during Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war. He is the last known US citizen still held in Gaza. Hamas is believed to be holding 59 hostages, with 35 thought to be dead.
At a protest camp in Tel Aviv outside Israeli military headquarters, families of hostages criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “You want to sacrifice our children for the pleasures of power,” said Itzik Horn, whose son Eitan remains a hostage while another son, Iair, has been freed. Protesters accused Netanyahu of “violating the agreement he signed and abandoning the hostages in Gaza”, as reported by Associated Press (AP).
Late on Saturday, Netanyahu’s office announced that he had instructed negotiators to continue talks on the hostages’ release.
Two Israeli airstrikes in Beit Lahiya, near the Gaza border, killed at least nine people, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported.
A local media watchdog, the Palestinian Journalists’ Protection Centre, stated that three journalists covering aid distribution were among those killed. A local health official, Fares Awad, identified one of them as Mahmoud Islim, who had been operating a drone.
The Israeli military said it targeted two people operating a drone that it considered a threat and later struck a group retrieving the drone’s equipment. The army claimed those targeted were “suspected militants,” but provided no evidence.
Hamas called the attack a “serious escalation” and accused Israel of trying to “sabotage any opportunity” to implement the ceasefire.
Separately, the Israeli military said it had removed a platoon of soldiers from Gaza after a video surfaced online showing them firing weapons during a Purim celebration. The military stated the soldiers would face disciplinary action.
Although a ceasefire began on 19 January, Israeli strikes have continued, killing dozens of Palestinians. The Israeli military claims those killed were either in restricted areas, involved in militant activities, or had otherwise violated the truce.
The US recently proposed extending the ceasefire for several weeks while negotiators work on a long-term truce. However, US officials said that while Hamas appears flexible in public, it is making “entirely impractical” demands behind closed doors.
Ceasefire talks are ongoing in Egypt, with Qatar also mediating. The second phase of the ceasefire was meant to begin in early February, but only preliminary discussions have taken place.
Under this phase, Hamas would release the remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire. The first phase saw 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others released in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces then withdrew to a buffer zone and allowed more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
When this phase ended earlier in March, Israel accepted a US proposal in which Hamas would release half of the remaining hostages in exchange for talks on a permanent ceasefire. Hamas rejected this offer.
On Saturday, Netanyahu’s office confirmed he had met with negotiators and security officials and directed them to prepare for further talks, based on mediator responses to a US proposal.
For two weeks, Israel has blocked food, fuel, and other supplies from entering Gaza, and last week it cut off electricity. These measures are aimed at pressuring Hamas into accepting a new proposal.
Ahmed al-Sufi, a local official in the southern city of Rafah, warned that fuel shortages had forced the city to halt essential services, including pumping water. “This threatens the lives of thousands,” he said.
The war started when Hamas-led militants entered southern Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most of those hostages have been freed in negotiated deals, while Israel has rescued eight and recovered the bodies of dozens more.
Since then, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 48,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claims to have killed about 20,000 militants but has not provided evidence.
(with inputs from AP)
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
