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Israel has introduced a new ceasefire proposal this week, distinct from the one agreed upon in January, and is trying to force Hamas to accept it through a siege on Gaza, reports AP. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to this plan as the “Witkoff proposal,” claiming it was drafted by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. However, the White House has not confirmed this, simply stating its support for Israel's actions. Palestinians hope Oscar-winning ‘No Other Land’ brings global support The new plan calls for Hamas to release half of its remaining hostages, which are key to the group's leverage, in exchange for an extension of the ceasefire and negotiations towards a long-term peace deal. There is no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners, a part of the original agreement. Hamas has accused Israel of undermining the current ceasefire deal, which stipulates the return of all hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli pullout from Gaza, and a lasting ceasefire. However, no substantive talks have occurred. On Sunday, Israel halted all humanitarian supplies to Gaza and warned of further consequences if Hamas does not accept the new plan. Meanwhile, Arab leaders are working on an alternative vision for Gaza's future, countering Trump's proposal to relocate its population and turn it into a tourist destination. The original ceasefire agreement, reached in January, outlined a three-phase plan to secure the return of hostages and end the war that began with Hamas’ October 2023 attack. While Phase 1 led to the release of several hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, Phase 2 is more complex, as it would require Israel to balance its goal of securing the hostages’ return with the destruction of Hamas. Hamas has stated it will only release the remaining hostages if the war ends, leaving it in control of Gaza. The new plan would require Hamas to release half of the 59 remaining hostages on day one, without any immediate reciprocal actions from Israel. This would weaken Hamas’ position, and the U.S. and Israel have already mentioned new demands, such as the disarmament of Hamas or the exile of its leadership, which were not part of the original agreement. For Netanyahu, this new plan offers a six-week window, crucial for passing a budget and avoiding early elections, which could see him ousted from power. Opposition parties have indicated they will not push for Netanyahu's removal over a deal that returns the hostages, though it would still harm his political standing. Muslims in Middle East observe Ramadan amid political upheaval The U.S. has been silent on the details of the new plan, though Netanyahu claims it has been fully coordinated with the Trump administration. Meanwhile, Trump has given mixed messages, criticizing Hamas’ treatment of the captives while expressing his desire for their immediate release, yet leaving the decision to Israel. Trump's proposal to relocate Gaza’s population to other countries and turn it into a tourist site has been rejected by Palestinians, Arab countries, and human rights experts, who argue that it would violate international law. If implemented, it would likely require resuming the war and intensifying the offensive, which has already caused significant devastation in Gaza. In response, Egypt is finalising a counterproposal, which will be discussed at an Arab summit in Cairo. This plan suggests that Palestinians stay in Gaza, relocate to safe zones, and have Hamas cede power to a transitional authority while the international community strengthens the Palestinian Authority. However, Israel has rejected any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza’s postwar reconstruction, and it remains uncertain whether Trump would support Egypt’s plan.

Palestinians hope the Oscar victory of "No Other Land" will bring support as they face possible expulsion by Israel, reports AP. Just last week, Israeli troops demolished a Palestinian family’s shed in this remote, hilly part of the West Bank, residents reported. It was the latest instance of destruction targeting a group of hamlets whose population is under threat of displacement. ‘No Other Land’ Wins Oscar for Best Documentary Palestinians in Masafer Yatta celebrated the Oscar win of the documentary No Other Land, which portrays life in the embattled community, hoping it would draw attention to their plight. In al-Tuwaneh, one of the hamlets in Masafer Yatta, Salem Adra said his family stayed up all night to watch the Oscar ceremony. They cheered as his older brother, Basel Adra, co-director of the film, took the stage to accept the award for Best Documentary. “It was such a huge surprise, such joy,” he said. The documentary follows Basel Adra as he risks arrest to document the destruction of Masafer Yatta, located at the southern edge of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He is joined by his co-director, Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham. This joint Palestinian-Israeli production has earned multiple international awards, beginning with the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. Five years in the making, it has gained even greater significance amid Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza, which has displaced nearly its entire population, alongside increasing raids in the West Bank that have forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. However, the film has also sparked controversy in Israel, which remains deeply affected by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the war. Salem Adra, who occasionally assisted his brother with filming, expressed hope that the Oscar win would “open the world’s eyes to what’s happening here in Masafer Yatta.” “This is a victory for all of Palestine and for everyone living in Masafer Yatta,” he added. Since the film’s release, he said, threats and pressure against his family have escalated. Their car has been stoned by settlers, and following the film’s recognition at the Berlin International Film Festival, the military repeatedly raided their home. At one point, soldiers detained his father, searched his phone, and questioned him: “Why are you filming?” Masafer Yatta was designated as a live-fire training zone by the Israeli military in the 1980s, leading to an order for the expulsion of its residents, who are mostly Arab Bedouin. Israel argues that they had no permanent structures in the area, while families maintain that they have lived and herded livestock there long before Israel took control of the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. After a two-decade legal battle, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the expulsion order in 2022. While most of the approximately 1,000 residents remain, troops routinely enter to demolish homes, tents, water tanks, and olive orchards. Many Palestinians fear an imminent full-scale expulsion. The latest demolition occurred last Wednesday when troops tore down a family’s shed in a nearby hamlet. Standing on a rocky ridge above al-Tuwaneh, Salem Adra noted that since October 7, 2023, Jewish settlers, with military backing, have established 10 outposts around the village. Shepherd Raed al-Hamamdeh, 48, guided his goats across the rugged land. He pointed to one such outpost—visible across a small valley—where tents and a trailer displayed the flag of an Israeli military unit. Farmers no longer tend to the valley’s olive grove due to fears of attacks. According to al-Hamamdeh, the military uses drones to drive away herds if they venture too close to the outposts. “Settlers attack us. When we herd sheep, we can’t go far, as you can see. We can only go up to this point,” he said, indicating a boundary. He gestured toward the rubble of a house that, he claimed, settlers had destroyed after forcing out the family and burning their furniture. In Israel, the film has received little media attention, and the coverage it has garnered has been largely negative. When it won Best Documentary in Berlin, Israeli director Abraham faced backlash for an acceptance speech calling for an end to the war in Gaza—without mentioning Hamas’ initial attack and the hostages held in Gaza. Anti-US sentiment bubbling up in the West Bank bolsters demand for a local Coke-alternative During his Oscar acceptance speech, Abraham referenced both events, but this did little to quell criticism in Israel. Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar called the win “a sad moment for the world of cinema,” accusing the filmmakers of distorting reality and using “defamation” of Israel to promote their work. Ordinarily, Israeli films nominated for prestigious international awards receive widespread praise at home. However, following the Hamas attack, “everyone is in mourning or in trauma. We can hardly hear any other voice on any other subject,” said Raya Morag, a cinema and trauma expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. On Monday, she noted that it remains uncertain whether the Oscar win will draw more attention to the film in Israel. Still, she added, “it will be impossible for people to ignore the message of the two directors, even if they haven’t seen the film.” During his Oscar speech, Basel Adra called on the world “to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” He expressed hope that his newborn daughter would “not have to live the same life I am living now… always fearing settler violence, home demolitions, and forced displacement.” On Monday, his brother Salem descended the ridge, accompanied by his 4-year-old son, heading towards their family home. He checked the CCTV cameras installed around the house to monitor for settlers. They were still recording.

Israel this week introduced what it said was a new U.S. ceasefire plan — different from the one it agreed to in January — and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to it as the “Witkoff proposal,” saying it came from U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. But the White House has yet to confirm that, saying only that it supports whatever action Israel takes. Netanyahu's remarks came a day after the first phase of the negotiated ceasefire ended, with no clarity on what would come next since the agreement's second phase has not yet been hammered out. The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group's main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners — a key component of the first phase. Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement, which called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. But no substantive negotiations have been held. On Sunday, Israel halted all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s population of some 2 million people and vowed “additional consequences” if Hamas did not embrace the new proposal. Arab leaders are meanwhile finalizing a separate plan for postwar Gaza to counter Trump's suggestion that its population be relocated so it can be transformed into a tourist destination. But all bets are off if the war resumes. The existing agreement is in limbo The ceasefire reached in January, after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, laid out a three-phase plan to return all the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and ending the war triggered by the attack. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people that day, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage. More than 100 were released in an earlier ceasefire. Israeli forces rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies before the current ceasefire took hold. During the first, six-week phase, Hamas released 25 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces withdrew from most of Gaza and allowed an influx of desperately needed humanitarian aid. Each side accused the other of violations, but the deal held. Phase 2 was always going to be far more difficult because it would force Israel to choose between securing the return the hostages and annihilating Hamas — two of Netanyahu's main war goals. Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza, has said it will only release the remaining hostages if Israel ends the war. But that would leave the militant group intact and with major influence over the territory, even if it hands over formal power to other Palestinians, as it says it is willing to do. The new plan favors Israel Israel supports a US proposal to extend Gaza ceasefire's first phase. But Hamas wants Phase 2 Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead. Under the so-called Witkoff plan, it would release half the hostages on the first day — apparently without getting anything new in return. The sides would then have around six weeks — through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday ending April 20 — to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and the return of the remaining hostages. But with fewer hostages, Hamas' hand would be weakened, and Israel and the United States are already speaking about new conditions — like the disarmament of Hamas or the exile of its leadership — that were not part of the original agreement. A political lifeline for Netanyahu Netanyahu's narrow coalition is beholden to far-right allies who want to eliminate Hamas, depopulate Gaza through what they refer to as “voluntary emigration” and rebuild Jewish settlements in the territory. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu enters Phase 2 of the existing agreement and does not resume the war. The new plan would buy Netanyahu six weeks of breathing room and enough time to pass a budget by the end of the month — something he must do to keep his government from automatically falling. If it falls, elections would be held roughly a year and a half ahead of schedule and could see him removed from power. Opposition parties say they would ensure Netanyahu's government is not brought down over a deal that returns the rest of the hostages. But that would still weaken him politically. The American position is unclear Netanyahu says his government has "fully coordinated" its approach with the Trump administration, which has publicly endorsed Israel's war goals, including the eradication of Hamas. But Witkoff has not said a word in public about the plan that supposedly bears his name. Trump himself has sent mixed signals about Gaza. As a candidate, he pledged to end wars in the Middle East, and he took credit for pushing the ceasefire agreement past the finish line just before his inauguration. Palestinians struggle to restart their lives in the ruins of Gaza But he has also expressed revulsion at Hamas' treatment of the captives and suggested that “all hell” should break loose if they are not immediately returned, while leaving that decision to Israel. An Arab counterproposal to Trump's Gaza plan Trump has also floated the idea of relocating Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians to other countries so the U.S. can rebuild it as a tourist destination. Netanyahu welcomed that proposal, which was universally rejected by Palestinians, Arab countries and human rights experts, who warn it could violate international law. It's hard to see how Trump's Gaza plan would be carried out without Israel resuming the war and launching an even bloodier offensive than the last one, which left much of Gaza in ruins and killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They say more than half of those killed were women and children but do not specify how many of the dead were combatants. Egypt has developed a counterproposal expected to be endorsed at an Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday. Under its plan, Palestinians would remain in Gaza and relocate to “safe zones” while cities are rebuilt. Hamas would hand over power to a transitional authority of political independents while the international community works to empower the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. How many hostages are left in Gaza? But Israel, which has ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in postwar Gaza, is unlikely to accept such a plan. And while Trump has called on Arab countries to come up with their own proposal, it's unclear whether he would go for it either.

Muslims in the Middle East are observing the holy month of Ramadan under exceptional circumstances. Ramadan is seen as a time of religious reflection and worship, charity, and community, as they fast from sunrise until sunset. Families broke their first day of fast with loved ones, as towns and cities lit festive lights and held events for communities to mark the occasion as they have for generations during times of peace and economic stability. However, the impact of war and major political transformations that shook the region are still felt. This is the first Ramadan for many Syrian spent without the Assad dynasty ruling the country in over half a century. President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgency in December led by the country’s new Islamist de facto rulers in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Assad’s downfall brought initial joy and hope among Syrians, but the vast destruction following over a decade of war, economic turmoil that has plunged an estimated 90% of its population into poverty, and uncertainty over whether the country’s security will find stability anytime soon has simmered down that initial optimism. Families in once bustling neighborhoods reduced to rubble broke their fast by the ruins as charities arranged Iftar dinners. The widespread poverty in Syria comes as the new interim government has urged the international community to lift sanctions to allow reconstruction and make the country’s battered economy viable again. It is still a novel sight, as Syrians in Damascus walked through its iconic old city markets at night, only this time without the portraits of Assad on every corner, and with Syria’s new flag draped over store fronts. Israel supports a US proposal to extend Gaza ceasefire's first phase. But Hamas wants Phase 2 In the Gaza Strip, it’s the second year Palestinians are marking Ramadan following the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. This year, they are hoping that a shaky ceasefire deal holds, as much of the tiny enclave lays in ruins, where most Palestinians rely on food and medical aid to survive due to the widespread destruction. In the southern city of Rafah, where a monthslong Israeli military operation took place since last summer, Palestinians set strings of lights across the ruins of damaged buildings and a table stretching across the road for Iftar during sunset. Elsewhere, a family in Jabaliya in northern Gaza prepares a modest Iftar dinner over a makeshift stove in their damaged home. It’s a far cry from the larger dinners families hold where they invite relatives and friends to have a meal.

Israel’s government said early Sunday it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramadan and Passover, though Hamas has insisted on negotiating the truce’s second phase instead. The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came minutes after the first phase ended, and as talks have begun on starting the second phase that’s aimed at ending the war and seeing all remaining living hostages in Gaza returned home. The statement gives new details on what Israel described as a U.S. proposal: A ceasefire extension through Passover, or April 20. On the first day, half the hostages, alive and dead, would be released. The rest would be released if agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire. The statement said it was proposed after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff got “the impression that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire.” There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which earlier rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire’s first phase by 42 days — doubling its length — saying it goes against the truce agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Officials from Israel and mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on starting the ceasefire’s second phase in Cairo. But Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told The Associated Press there had been “no progress” before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday. Hamas did not attend, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Under the ceasefire deal’s terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway on phase two. Israel’s new statement says it can return to fighting “if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective,” and it noted Hamas’ refusal to accept the proposal for an extension of the first phase. However, "if Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan,” the statement says. Hamas hands over the first 2 of 6 Israeli hostages  Before Israel's new statement, an Egyptian official involved in the talks spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The official said Hamas, Qatar and Egypt wanted to continue with the existing ceasefire deal, and they rejected Israel’s proposal to extend the ceasefire for four weeks with a release of hostages every Saturday without officially entering negotiations on the second phase. The Egyptian official said the U.S. wants to start negotiations on the second phase but called for hostage releases during the negotiations. Hamas insisted on a full implementation of the ceasefire terms. The first phase, which paused 15 months of fighting in Gaza, saw the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of people returned home to northern Gaza, aid into the territory increased and Israeli forces withdrew to buffer zones. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that left 1,200 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostage. Since then, Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, who do not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say more than half the dead have been women and children. According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead. The two sides agreed to the three-phase ceasefire deal in January. Talks on the second phase were meant to start the first week of February. Israelis rallied Saturday night to urge their government to continue the deal. Hamas has reaffirmed its "full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details” and called on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately proceed to the second phase. Other challenges complicate the ceasefire’s future. Israel has said Hamas cannot be involved in governing Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has also ruled out any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by Hamas’ main rival, Fatah. Hamas leader Mohamed Darwish on Saturday reiterated the group is willing to hand over power to a Palestinian national consensus government or an Egypt-proposed body of technocrats not aligned with Hamas or Fatah. His comments came in an open letter to next week’s summit of Arab leaders in Cairo. Hamas has dismissed Israel’s suggestion that its leadership go into exile. Ramadan in Gaza In Gaza's southern city of Rafah, AP video showed a long table set for the breaking of the day's Ramadan fast, snaking through the ruins and lit by strings of lights as the sky darkened. War-weary Palestinians marked the first day of the holy month with fasting and more worries. "Today there is a lot of goodness, but there is no money,” said Huda Matar about the skyrocketing prices, even though more food and other staples are available compared with last year. “May God have mercy on us and restore reconstruction quickly,” said Rafah resident Fatima Abu Helal. Netanyahu's office said last week that mediators were “also discussing ways to enhance the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of efforts to alleviate the suffering of the population and support stability in the region.” The U.N. food agency said on social media it reached 1 million Palestinians across Gaza during the deal’s first phase. “The ceasefire must hold,” the World Food Program said. “There can be no going back.” New video of hostages Hamas published video footage Saturday showing a group of hostages, including two brothers embracing before one of them was released from Gaza. Hamas to release 6 Israeli hostages as Israel frees 600 Palestinians The video, filmed under duress, was likely taken before Feb. 15, when Iair Horn was released and left his brother, Eitan, behind. The faces of what appear to be other hostages are blurred. “I am very happy that my brother will be released tomorrow, but this is not logical in any way to separate families,” Eitan says. “Sign the second and third phase. enough of war.” ___ Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Hamas has stated that no progress has been made in the indirect talks with Israel regarding the second phase of the ceasefire. It is uncertain whether the talks will resume on Saturday, as reported by a senior Hamas official. The first phase of the ceasefire halted 15 months of conflict in Gaza, leading to the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel's ceasefires with Hezbollah, Hamas uncertain again This first phase will end on Saturday, but fighting is not expected to resume while negotiations for the second phase continue. The second phase aims to bring an end to the war in Gaza and secure the return of all remaining living hostages. The discussions are taking place in Cairo with participation from Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. While Hamas has not attended the talks directly, their position has been represented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told the Associated Press that no progress had been made before Israeli negotiators left on Friday. It is uncertain if the mediators will return on Saturday as planned, and Naim said he did not know when negotiations might continue. Hamas initiated the war on October 7, 2023, with an attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel. Since then, Israel’s military actions have resulted in over 48,000 Palestinian deaths, with Gaza health officials noting that more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel threatens 'all hell will break loose' on Hamas in latest Gaza ceasefire crisis The ceasefire deal, which was agreed upon in January, includes three phases intended to end the war. On Friday, Hamas reiterated its commitment to the terms of the agreement and urged the international community to push Israel to begin the second phase without delay. Alongside the second phase of the ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office revealed that mediators are also discussing measures to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in order to ease the suffering of the population and contribute to regional stability. Hamas has rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire by 42 days, claiming it violates the truce agreement. The proposal would extend the ceasefire through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in exchange for another hostage exchange. The World Food Program reported that during the first phase, it reached 1 million Palestinians in Gaza, restoring distribution points, reopening bakeries, and increasing cash assistance. The agency stressed that the ceasefire must hold, with no turning back.

Syria's new Islamist rulers kicked off a long-awaited national dialogue conference on Tuesday as a “rare historical opportunity” to rebuild the country after fall of former President Bashar Assad and nearly 14 years of civil war. Some 600 people from different parts of Syria were invited to the gathering in Damascus, hosted by the new authorities led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. The group spearheaded the lightening offensive that ousted Assad in early December. “Just as Syria has liberated itself by itself, it is appropriate for it to build itself by itself,” interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa told the conference. “What we are experiencing today is an exceptional and rare historical opportunity in which we must use every moment to serve the interests of our people and our nation and honor the sacrifices of its children,” he said. Syria's country’s new rulers, who have promised an inclusive political transition since seizing power, will be closely watched by both Syrians and the international community, including countries still weighing whether to lift sanctions imposed during Assad’s authoritarian rule. Syria faces major challenges, from rebuilding an economy and war-wrecked infrastructure, to setting up a new constitution and justice mechanisms for those accused of war crimes. Although incidents of revenge and collective punishment have been far less widespread than expected, many in Syria's minority communities — including Kurds, Christians, Druze and members of Assad's Alawite sect — are concerned for their future and not yet convinced by the new rulers' promises of inclusive governance. HTS was formerly affiliated with al-Qaida, although it broke ties and al-Sharaa has since preached coexistence. The organizers of the Damascus conference said all of Syria's communities were invited — but it was not immediately clear how many minority participants showed up. The gathering is meant to come up with non-binding recommendations to the country's interim rules ahead of the drafting of a new constitution and formation of a new government. Syria's new Islamist leaders also also face the challenge of transforming former insurgent factions into a single national army they say should control all of Syria's territory. Some armed groups — mainly the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that holds sway in northeastern Syria — have so far refused to disarm and dissolve their units. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will not allow Syria’s new army or the HTS, the former insurgent group that led the ouster of Assad, to “enter the area south of Damascus.” After Assad's fall, Israeli forces moved into territory in southern Syria adjacent to the Israel-annexed Golan Heights and have made it clear they plan to stay there indefinitely. Syria's new rulers have not directly responded to Netanyahu's warning but al-Sharaa said at the Damascus conference that Syria must “firmly confront anyone who wants to tamper with our security and unity.” Interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said Syria's new authorities "will not accept any violation of our sovereignty or the independence of our national decisions.” He also touted the new government's efforts to rebuild diplomatic ties with Arab and Western countries and push for lifting of sanctions imposed during Assad's rule.

When night falls over northern Gaza, much of the cityscape of collapsed buildings and piled wreckage turns pitch black. Living inside the ruins of their home, Rawya Tamboura’s young sons get afraid of the dark, so she turns on a flashlight and her phone’s light to comfort them, for as long as the batteries last. Displaced for most of the 16-month-long war, Tamboura is back in her house. But it is still a frustrating shell of a life, she says: There is no running water, electricity, heat or services, and no tools to clear the rubble around them. Nearly 600,000 Palestinians flooded back into northern Gaza under the now month-old ceasefire in Gaza, according to the United Nations. After initial relief and joy at being back at their homes — even if damaged or destroyed — they now face the reality of living in the wreckage for the foreseeable future. “Some people wish the war had never ended, feeling it would have been better to be killed,” Tamboura said. “I don’t know what we’ll do long-term. My brain stopped planning for the future.” The six-week ceasefire is due to end Saturday, and it’s uncertain what will happen next. There are efforts to extend the calm as the next phase is negotiated. If fighting erupts again, those who returned to the north could find themselves once again in the middle of it. A massive rebuilding job has no way to start A report last week by the World Bank, U.N. and European Union estimated it will cost some $53 billion to rebuild Gaza after entire neighborhoods were decimated by Israel’s bombardment and offensives against Hamas militants. At the moment, there is almost no capacity or funding to start significant rebuilding. A priority is making Gaza immediately livable. Earlier in February, Hamas threatened to hold up hostage releases unless more tents and temporary shelters were allowed into Gaza. It then reversed and accelerated hostage releases after Israel agreed to let in mobile homes and construction equipment. Humanitarian agencies have stepped up services, setting up free kitchens and water delivery stations, and distributing tents and tarps to hundreds of thousands across Gaza, according to the U.N. Hamas to release 6 Israeli hostages as Israel frees 600 Palestinians President Donald Trump turned up the pressure by calling for the entire population of Gaza to be removed permanently so the U.S. can take over the territory and redevelop it for others. Rejecting the proposal, Palestinians say they want help to rebuild for themselves. Gaza City’s municipality started fixing some water lines and clearing rubble from streets, said a spokesperson, Asem Alnabih. But it lacks heavy equipment. Only a few of its 40 bulldozers and five dump trucks still work, he said. Gaza is filled with over 50 million tons of rubble that would take 100 trucks working at full capacity over 15 years to clear away, the U.N. estimates. Families try to get by day by day Tamboura’s house in the northern town of Beit Lahiya was destroyed by an airstrike early in the war, so she and her family lived in the nearby Indonesian Hospital, where she worked as a nurse. After the ceasefire, they moved back into the only room in her house that was semi-intact. The ceiling is partially collapsed, the walls are cracked; the surviving fridge and sink are useless with no water or electricity. They stack their sheets and blankets in a corner. Tamboura said her 12-year-old son lugs heavy containers of water twice a day from distribution stations. They also have to find firewood for cooking. The influx of aid means there is food in the markets and prices went down, but it remains expensive, she said. With the Indonesian Hospital too damaged to function, Tamboura walks an hour each day to work at the Kamal Adwan Hospital. She charges her and her husband’s phones using the hospital generator. Many of Tamboura’s relatives returned to find nothing left of their homes, so they live in tents on or next to the rubble that gets blown away by winter winds or flooded during rains, she said. Asmaa Dwaima and her family returned to Gaza City but had to rent an apartment because their home in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood was destroyed. It was only weeks after returning that she went to visit their four-story house, now a pile of flattened and burned wreckage. “I couldn’t come here because I was afraid. I had an image of my house in my mind — its beauty, and warmth. ... I was afraid to face this truth,” the 25-year-old dentist said. “They don’t just destroy stone, they are destroying us and our identity.” Her family had to rebuild the house once before, when it was leveled by airstrikes during a round of fighting between Israel and Hamas in 2014, she said. For the time being, they have no means to rebuild now. Hamas to return 4 Israeli bodies, including a mother and her 2 young children “We need to remove the rubble because we want to pull out clothes and some of our belongings,” she said. “We need heavy equipment … There are no bricks or other construction tools and, if available, it’s extremely expensive.” Desperation is growing Tess Ingram, a spokesperson with UNICEF who visited northern Gaza since the ceasefire, said the families she met are “grieving the lives that they used to live as they begin to rebuild.” Their desperation, she said, "is becoming more intense.” Huda Skaik, a 20-year-old student, is sharing a room with her three siblings and parents at her grandparents’ house in Gaza City. It’s an improvement from life in the tent camps of central Gaza where they were displaced for much of the war, she said. There, they had to live among strangers, and their tent was washed away by rain. At least here they have walls and are with family, she said. Before the war interrupted, Skaik had just started studying English literature at Gaza’s Islamic University. She is now enrolled in online classes the university is organizing. But the internet is feeble, and her electricity relies on solar panels that don’t always work. “The worst part is that we’re just now grasping that we lost it all,” she said. “The destruction is massive, but I’m trying to remain positive.” 

Hamas is set to release six more Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday, though the exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is overshadowed by heightened tensions that threaten the fragile ceasefire.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation following what he called “a cruel and malicious violation” of the agreement, referring to the misidentification of a body released by Hamas.  Israeli forensic authorities confirmed that remains handed over overnight belonged to Shiri Bibas, a mother of two. Her body was released by militants on Friday after an earlier set of remains, initially believed to be hers, was later identified as an unknown Palestinian woman.  Three other bodies returned were confirmed as those of Bibas’ two sons and Oded Lifshitz, 83, all taken hostage during the 7 October 2023 attack, in which Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel, igniting the war.  Israeli authorities determined that the three hostages were killed by their captors, while Hamas claimed they died in Israeli airstrikes. The group’s military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said it would proceed with Saturday’s planned release of six Israeli hostages.  The body identification dispute has cast doubt over the ceasefire, which has temporarily halted the war but is nearing the end of its first phase. Negotiations for a second phase—where Hamas would release more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal—are expected to be even more challenging.  Hamas to return 4 Israeli bodies, including a mother and her 2 young children The six Israeli men set for release include Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Omer Wenkert, 23, who were abducted from a music festival. Tal Shoham, 40, taken from Kibbutz Beeri, is also among those to be freed.  Additionally, Avera Mengistu, 39, and Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, who entered Gaza voluntarily years ago, are scheduled for release.  In exchange, Israel will free more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, including 50 serving life sentences, 60 with long terms, and 47 who had previously been released under a past exchange. Another 445 prisoners from Gaza arrested since the war began will also be released.  Hamas has pledged to hand over four more bodies next week, marking the completion of the ceasefire’s first phase. This would leave the group holding approximately 60 hostages, about half of whom are believed to be alive.  Hamas insists it will not release the remaining captives without a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, backed by the Trump administration, remains committed to dismantling Hamas while securing the hostages’ return—two objectives seen as conflicting.  The war has devastated Gaza, with over 48,000 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 fighters, though no evidence has been provided. The conflict has left much of Gaza in ruins, displacing millions.

Hamas is set to return the bodies of four Israeli hostages onThursday, including a mother and her two children who have long been feared dead and had come to embody the nation's agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The remains to be released from the Gaza Strip are of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir. Kfir was the youngest captive taken that day. Hamas has said all three were killed in an Israeli airstrike early in the war. The militant group also plans to release the body of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. “The heart of an entire nation breaks,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday in anticipation of the bodies being returned to Israel. Thousands of people, including large numbers of masked and armed fighters from Hamas and other factions, gathered at the handover site on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where large banners had been set up, including one showing an image of coffins draped in Israeli flags. There were no plans to broadcast the handover live in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, where Israelis have gathered to watch the release of living hostages. The square was empty as it rained on and off in both locations, which are about 100 kilometers (60 miles) apart. Israelis have celebrated the return of 24 living hostages in recent weeks under a tenuous ceasefire that paused over 15 months of war. But the handover on Thursday will provide a grim reminder of those who died in captivity as the talks leading up to the truce dragged on for over a year. It could also provide impetus for negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire that have hardly begun. The first phase is set to end at the beginning of March. Infant was the youngest taken hostage Hamas says it will release more Israeli hostages as planned Kfir Bibas was just 9 months old, a red-headed infant with a toothless smile, when militants stormed into the family’s home on Oct. 7, 2023. His brother Ariel was 4. Video shot that day showed a terrified Shiri swaddling the two boys as militants led them into Gaza. Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was taken separately and released this month after 16 months in captivity. Relatives in Israel have clung to hope, marking Kfir’s first and second birthdays and his brother's fifth. The Bibas family said in a statement Wednesday that it would wait for “identification procedures” before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead. Supporters throughout Israel have worn orange in solidarity with the family — a reference to two boys' red hair — and a popular children’s song was written in their honor. Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife Yocheved, who was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Oded was a journalist who campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews. Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages, including some 30 children, in the Oct. 7 attack, in which they also killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than half the hostages, and most of the women and children, have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and have recovered dozens of bodies of people killed in the initial attack or who died in captivity. It's not clear if the ceasefire will last Hamas is set to free six living hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and says it will release four more bodies next week, completing the ceasefire's first phase. That will leave the militants with some 60 hostages, all men, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Hamas has said it won't release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu, with the full backing of the Trump administration, says he is committed to destroying Hamas' military and governing capacities and returning all the hostages, goals widely seen as mutually exclusive. Israel threatens 'all hell will break loose' on Hamas in latest Gaza ceasefire crisis Trump's proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza so the U.S. can own and rebuild it, which has been embraced by Israel but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, has thrown the ceasefire into further doubt. Hamas could be reluctant to free more hostages if it believes the war will resume with the goal of annihilating the group or forcibly transferring Gaza's population. Israel's military offensive killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its records. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence. The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza, reducing entire neighborhoods to fields of rubble and bombed-out buildings. At its height, the war displaced 90% of Gaza's population. Many have returned to their homes to find nothing left and no way of rebuilding.