The Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal is on the “brink of collapse” due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hardening his stance, an Israeli source has told the Israeli news site Walla, according to The Times of Israel.
Netanyahu has delayed the release of over 600 Palestinians who were supposed to be freed from Israeli jails in exchange for six Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday.
Netanyahu said he postponed the release over Hamas’s “humiliating” handover ceremonies. Under the agreement, Hamas is due to release four bodies of Israeli hostages on Thursday, the last release under the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
The Israeli source speaking to Walla said that Hamas agreed that the release of the four bodies could be done in private without any ceremony. But Netanyahu has hardened his stance further, informing mediators that Hamas’s commitment was not enough and that Israel would only release the more than 600 Palestinians once it received the bodies.
“Unfortunately, there are people in the government who are more interested in Hamas’s ceremonies than they are in returning civilians for burial in Israel,” the Israeli official said.
The first phase of the ceasefire will expire this Saturday, March 1, and Israel has refused to engage in real negotiations on the second phase. The US, which has backed Netanyahu’s decision to delay the release of Palestinians, is now suggesting phase one could be extended.
Under the initial deal, all remaining Israeli hostages were supposed to be released in phase two in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas recently offered to release all Israeli captives “in one go” if Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal, but Netanyahu is now demanding Hamas be disarmed and removed from Gaza.
Israel has also been violating the ceasefire deal since it went into effect on January 19, killing more than 100 Palestinians in that time.
Seeing Omer kiss the heads of his captives drove the Israelis nuts. Why wouldn't he though, they protected him from Israeli bombs. Being sore losers the Israelis are slowly losing American public respect. The public likes strength, even if at times its oppressive. However, if your committing a genocide and your failing in your objectives, the public becomes tired of that.
Every time Israel enters into and agreement a group of them go back on their commitments. Its as reliable as the sun rising and setting everyday.
Same problem the Russians face in the Ukrainian Civil War. Iranians also have the problem of dealing with known liars.
Birds of a feather flock together. Zionists and Christian Zionists. But hopefully things are changing.
Netanyahu always opposed a ceasefire deal. He has no intention of ending his genocide agenda.
Trump echos Netanyahu when he says he wants to "finish the job."
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a78f8804b145c955ca31f2fc79cbe45dedf24a5dd065679eb79b45e077e9580c.jpg
What a shocker…
Trump needs to satisfy its Zionist backers and in-laws and Netanyahu needs perpetual war to stay in power. After the islamo-fascist sudden victory in Syria, their position seems much stronger, however the Palestinian Resistance remains defiant and undefeated and Yemen "keeps the finger on the trigger".
Sadly there will be a second phase of this terrible genocide but I wouldn't bet my money on the success of Zionistan really, because it all may change almost overnight (regimes can be overthrown, Iran may decide to go all out war, etc.)
Nor can we be 100% sure that the Palestinian Resistance will win this time around.
Others who look at it as a global phenomenon say that the battle between the human element and the none human element is being waged as we speak and it is not at all certain yet that the human element will survive, because too many people are sidetracked with all kinds of glitter, show, distractions and diversions.
The resistance may not win but they would survive or go to hibernation…. With Trump claiming to own Gaza… it is more of a showdown between him and the criminal minister…!
Well, they resisted for more than a whole year, with Yemen totally dislodging the trade routes, hitting three US aircraft carriers and growingly bombing core Israel with their home-made hypersonic Palestine 2 missiles. Israel can't afford to attack Gaza again… but they will anyhow, because that's what Netanyahu and Trump agreed in 2017: total genocide of Gaza to *build* a new canal (ref. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170624-saudi-prince-reveals-us-conditions-for-mohamed-bin-salman-to-be-king/ ). *Building* is what Trumps loves more than bragging and bluffing, and also remember what Adelson said: "he delivers" (at least to Zionists).
Trump's family will now own a real estate deal based on genocide, What will we call them?
Landed Genociders.
Very good!
“It’s the end of the World as we know it and I feel fine”!….???!
Israel pounds its chest, threatening to resume the military campaign. However, things were pretty bad for Israel before the ceasefire e.g., Iranians, Iraqi, Hezbollah and Houthi attacks. Disrupted shipping, internal dissent, economic loss, daily casualties in Gaza, loss of reputation, etc. Israel is not made for fighting long wars. It actually turns out that Trump is "better" for Israel than Biden. Whereas Biden aided and abetted in the genocide, Trump is basically mimicking the adage that "friends don't let friends drink and drive." Too bad though, I hope there is still a chance Israel will drive off a cliff in the next four years.
He will let Bibi drive drunk until the unavoidable catastrophe ensues. Trump being "better" in any way is just wishful thinking.
I was being facetious
Trump is a better salesman and con than Bibi. bibi is out there openly suggesting genocide and excusing it with passages of the bible.
Trump clothes it all into some flowery enterprise of America winning and achieving peace and so on.
I wouldn’t buy a pack of paper towels from Trump but I’ll grant you he could call my attention for a split second or two. Netanyahu is only catering the Zios, so I’d spit on him or worse right away.
We’ll see how successful a salesman Trump is when all his card houses crumble into dust, as they will no doubt. Because the problem is not “selling”, the problem is achieving peace (and justice to one extent or another, the two are closely tied).
"Israel is not made for fighting long wars" You are correct in that statement. That is the big failure of Netanyahu leadership. Israel should have crushed Gaza in a month, two at most.
Exactly. Don't you see the depravity of what you say. This exactly reflects the twisted Zionist mind. The extremists inspired by the Torah, were right. They called for that Hitler blitzkrieg. However, the contorted secular/"religious"/nationalists didn't listen. Israel loses twice; it kills and destroys wholesale but fails in its genocide and they lose so badly that they agree to a ceasefire with the "genocidal" Hamas. They can't even get a genocide right. It looks like that crazed bunch of them know how to receive one but not give one. Shame.
@Garrett_Connelly:disqus@disqus_qhuce9v5DO:disqus@disqus_ohIOfcAv3e:disqus@luisaldamiz:disqus@disqus_ky8vtfPjLn:disqus@disqus_zPMJ7rV4CH:disqus@disqus_QczQmccBvz:disqus@disqus_yQfZ1jQKBt:disqus@krzysztfwdi:disqus
Let's slow down and back up a step. Gaza as a national idea has survived attempted genocide. Another attack is imminent. What will the world witness when and if Israel attacks Gaza again? Will Hamas march north to help unite all Palestine?
I am not sure I understand the question. The Palestinian resistance was never meant to liberate Palestine on its own. The Palestinians have always resisted from day one thereby demonstrating their resolve of never giving up to Zionist subjugation. Israel is like a wounded wild animal, the closer it gets to its imminent demise the more it lashes out and becomes more dangerous. Hamas has survived to fight another day, until the conditions are right for one or more of the state actors in the region to make a move and put the wild animal out of its misery.
No one in the west –including most Israelis– realizes the extent to which the Arab world has been on the verge of explosion. The longer the conflict goes on at this accelerated rate of ethnically cleansing Gaza and chipping away at the west bank the greater the eruptive response in the region.
If you recall after Hamas initiated "alaqsa flood," Nasrallah said the Axis of Resistance would not let Hamas fall. He was right. Although Hezbollah has been weakened, other forces are now forming that will not allow the Resistance to fall.
If Israel attacks Gaza again, Hamas will continue to hang on and fight a war of attrition slowly wearing down the Israelis by a thousand cuts.
If your question is will Hamas attack Israel "proper," I am not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't a scenario already considered. Sometimes the best defense is a surprise offense. And the Israelis are cowards. Yes some fanatics will fight, but it won't be enough to save Israel.
A more likely scenario if Israel attacks is a new form of mowing the grass to keep Hamas at bay until the US can somehow bail out Israel. The corrupt Arab regimes have invested in Israel's survival. Either they will collectively with the United States bring an end to the current flair up by getting Israel to compromise on something to give Palestinians a breather or these Arab regimes will ultimately fall and Israel will be facing hostility from all sides.
The best Israel can hope for is a little more of borrowed time. Ultimately Israel will not survive.
Reich Chancellor Trump is doing a pretty good job of distracting the MAGA freaks from the quickly imploding geopolitical situation, judging by the reactions.
Hah
Ceasefire for thee but not for me. "Uneven play fields"? There are no fields, just endless "judgment" that favors the aggressor! The REAL crime manifested itself for 70 plus years BEFORE October 7, 2023!
That has long been shoved into the memory hole of history. Schools do not teach about that, nor do universities, especially not now with the hard crack down on universities to stop anything even faintly looking like supporting Palestinians.
Thomas Knapp can you tell the editors of antiwar.com that when a user clicks on "previous" to see previous days that the links for 2/22/2025, 2/23/2025, and 2/24/2025 are not working? Thanks!
I’ll be glad to pass it on, but I’ll need more information — I’m not able to reproduce the problem, if the page you’re talking about is news.antiwar.com. What OS/browser are you using?
Here is the Hamas’s “humiliating” handover ceremony that angered Netanyahu. Israeli prisoner Alexander Turbanov, who was released, made the following statement at the event:
"Believe me, if I ever return here, it will only be as a mujahedin in your ranks. Because I learned the truth from your people, and I realized that you are not only the rightful owners of the land, but also of principles and a just cause.”
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6860874e9f3477bbaeffbf33f5dc0f1a5b3152c808861ba7fe7f88774e9dcab6.png
“Your kindness has been engraved in my conscience forever. During the 498 days I lived among you, despite the aggression and crimes you endured, I learned the true meaning of manhood, pure heroism, and respect for humanity and values.
You were the free ones under siege, while I was the prisoner, and you were the protectors of my life. You cared for me as a compassionate father cares for his children. You preserved my health, dignity, and grace, and even though I was in the hands of men fighting for their land and stolen rights, and despite the fact that my country’s government was committing the most heinous genocide against a besieged people, you never allowed hunger or humiliation to touch me.
I did not know the true meaning of masculinity until I saw it in your eyes, and I did not realize the value of sacrifice until I lived among you—until I saw you smiling in the face of death, resisting an enemy armed with tools of destruction with nothing but your bare bodies. No matter how eloquent or expressive I may be, I will never find words to reflect your true worth, nor to express my astonishment and admiration for your noble morality.
Does your religion really teach you to treat prisoners in such a way?
What a great faith this must be, to elevate you to such a level that all man-made human rights laws collapse before it, that all protocols of war crumble in its presence!
Even in the most difficult moments, you demonstrated justice and mercy not through empty slogans but through the reality of our experiences, never abandoning your principles even in the darkest conditions.
Believe me, if I ever return here, it will only be as a mujahid in your ranks. Because I learned the truth from your people, and I realized that you are not only the rightful owners of the land, but also of principles and a just cause.”
“IF I EVER RETURN HERE, IT WILL ONLY BE AS A MUJAHIDIN IN YOUR RANKS”
https://substack.com/@emanuelsoaressantos/note/c-94825108
moved
The United States became a shithole long before Donald Trump came on the scene. The deep state, which many us have concluded is the real cause of our aberrant grotesque which some continue to call a government, is the black heart of America.
So far, I give Trump high points for advocating peaceful resolution over our incessant compulsion to ignite violence all over the globe. Israelis when compared to us are merely ineffective pikers. The Israelis slaughter tens of thousands, while we slaughter millions and destroy the lives of millions more.
It's really just a matter of scale.
Expecting Trump to come up with something that works when it comes to the disease called Zionism is a fools errand.
We have to wait and see whether Trump's nonsensical gambit induces Gaza's cowardly neighbors to come up with their own plan to rebuild a home in Gaza for the Palestinians.
If it works, the man deserves two Nobels.
Reich Chancellor Trump Says…
Eye iz gradjewate fruhm Chrump Yoonivursiteee
Make Israel Great Again
Drang nach Osten!
Kinder, Küche, Kirche!
Generalplan Ost!