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Israel Marks 500 Days Since Oct. 7 Attack With Fasts, Rallies Amid News of Early Release of Four Hostage Bodies
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
Israelis on Monday held rallies, blocked roads, and observed a fast to mark 500 days since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas invaded southern Israel, massacred 1,200 people, and abducted 251 hostages into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
The grim milestone coincided with reports that the bodies of four deceased hostages would be returned on Thursday, two days earlier than the next expected round of captive releases, slated for Saturday.
Hostage families and supporters gathered in major cities. In Tel Aviv, demonstrators blocked Namir Road, holding banners demanding the immediate return of those still held captive. Others gathered outside the Hostages and Missing Families Forum tent in central Jerusalem before marching to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, where relatives of the hostages pleaded for urgent action. A 500-minute fast, symbolizing the 500 days in captivity, began at 11:40 am and concluded at 8 pm with a rally in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, attended by thousands.
Israelis on Feb. 17, 2025, marking 500 days since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Photo: Paulina Patimer
In a screened video message at the rally, Iair Horn made his first public statement since being released on Saturday after 498 days in Hamas captivity. “We’re out of time. We must return them now,” he said.
Horn broke down in tears as he mentioned his brother Eitan, who remains in captivity and is not pegged for release until the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. “Bring back my brother and all of the hostages.”
On Thursday, Israel is set to receive the remains of four hostages, with their identities expected to be revealed that morning. Israel’s KAN public broadcaster cited Israeli officials as saying that preparations were underway for their bodies to be identified and processed at the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv. The four hostages were believed to have been killed in captivity, though the exact circumstances of their deaths remain unclear.
On Saturday, Hamas will release three living hostages, followed by the return of four more bodies next Thursday, Feb. 27. In exchange for the bodies, Israel will release all women and minors under 19 who were arrested in Gaza since the Oct 7 onslaught.
Between Feb. 22 and March 2, Hamas is also scheduled to free the final three living hostages from the first, six-week phase of the ceasefire deal, including Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, who have been held in Gaza for over a decade.
Hamas is believed to be holding the bodies of at least 36 people, out of a total of 70, including soldiers and civilians killed on Oct. 7 and others who died in captivity.
Freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami, who was released earlier this month appearing severely malnourished, urged mass participation in the demonstrations. “What kept me going was knowing people were fighting for me,” he said.
Levi Ben-Baruch, whose nephew Edan Alexander remains in captivity, recited the words of Jewish fast-day prayers — “Please save us!” — as he joined others in fasting. “We fast for 500 minutes,” he said, “but they have already fasted for 500 days.”
Jimmy Miller, cousin of Shiri Bibas. Photo: Lior Rotstein
At Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities devastated in the Oct. 7 attack, residents held a gathering in memory of those taken hostage from their community and killed in Gaza. Nira Sharabi, whose husband Yossi Sharabi was killed in captivity, said that while the focus remained on bringing home the living, Israel also had an obligation to return the bodies of those who had not survived. “Until they are buried here, we can’t say goodbye,” she said.
Nira’s brother-in-law, Eli Sharabi, who was also released this month, only discovered after his release that his wife and two daughters were murdered in their home on Oct. 7.
Maccabit Mayer, whose relatives Ziv and Gali Berman are among the hostages, said each day felt like an eternity. “Day 500 is just like every other day,” she said. “Except that it’s one day longer.”
“I too want to begin the journey of rehabilitation and healing like all those who have returned from there,” she added.
Shay Dickmann, whose cousin, Carmel Gat, was killed by Hamas terrorists while in captivity, recounted how his grandmother languished during the Holocaust after all her family members had perished, and “waited for the world’s nations to decide when she would be freed.”
“She survived and immigrated to Israel, helping build a country so she would never have to wait again. And today, for 500 days, our people are waiting. We cannot let them wait for the world’s nations to decide if they will survive or be murdered,” Dickmann said.
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Hamas Leader Calls Trump’s Gaza Plan ‘Bulls—,’ Vows Palestinians Will Not Depart ‘Homeland’
Palestinian terrorists and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Hamas terrorist group lambasted US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to remove Palestinian civilians from the Gaza strip as a “bull— plan.”
The remarks were made during what appears to be a rally in the Khan Yunis town of southern Gaza celebrating the transfer of the bodies of four hostages—Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz—back to Israel after they had been murdered by Hamas. In the video, a large crowd was circled around a dirt pit, attentively listening to a leader of the terrorist group both criticized Trump as an “unleashed bull” and promise that future generations of Palestinians would continue fighting against Israel.
Hamas erected a large banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a blood-drenched vampire superimposed on pictures of the Bibas family and Lifshitz. Thousands of Palestinian civilians assembled to partake in the event, shouting chants of victory.
“Do you really think that boy that attacked a tank barefooted with his bayonet and IED will leave his homeland because of fear?” the terrorist member said, “What do you think might frighten us? We’ve made very good friends with death lately.”
The Hamas member warned Trump to “think twice” about his proposal to vacate Gaza civilians from the war-torn strip, arguing that the terrorist group is capable of “delivering” death to its opponents.
“The war criminal Netanyahu & his Nazi Army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes,” the banner read.
Earlier this month, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the White House, held a press conference following their private meeting in the Oval Office. Trump asserted that the US would assume control of Gaza and develop it economically into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
Trump has also referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” and said its residents have “no alternative” but to leave, suggesting Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states as possible relocation sites.
Trump has called for Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states in the region to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Thus far, every state in the region has refused to absorb Palestinian migrants from Gaza.
The post Hamas Leader Calls Trump’s Gaza Plan ‘Bulls—,’ Vows Palestinians Will Not Depart ‘Homeland’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Chaos’: Students for Justice in Palestine Forced to Abandon Building Occupation at Swarthmore College
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) members during its illegal occupation of Parrish Hall on February 19, 2025. Photo: Screenshot/X
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania led a failed takeover of an administrative building that it was forced to abandon after just 11 hours, according to a recent report by The Phoenix, the school’s campus daily.
“Chaos and uncertainty ruled campus yesterday,” wrote staff writers Daniel Perrin and Ella Walker on Thursday, describing the welter of events which saw SJP occupy the Parrish Hall administrative building and security officials launch a frenetic operation to boot them out.
While SJP had announced an “emergency rally” scheduled for noon that day, there was little indication that it planned on commandeering the building and remaining inside of it indefinitely, according to the report in The Phoenix.
“Swarthmore students hold sit-in to demand accountability for political repression and complicity in genocide,” SJP said in a statement after revealing its intentions. “We will not rest until Swarthmore College divests from the genocidal Zionist entity and drops all charges against our peers. Free Palestine and long live the student intifada.”
Inside, the students dressed like Hamas fighters, wrapping their faces with keffiyeh in a style coined by the group’s members to avoid being identified as terrorists.
SJP members left the building before the 11pm deadline set by the College. Administrators told The Phoenix that they “do not expect to issue interim suspensions.”
Occupying campus property to protest Israel and Zionism is now an old phenomenon. Thousands of students did so during the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year, precipitating an epidemic of antisemitic hate crime assaults, property destruction, and hate speech which cost several university presidents their jobs. So-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” which sprung in campuses across the United States last year caught university administrators off guard, and they hesitated to discipline protesters who openly violated school rules, creating an impression that rule-breaking was acceptable so long as the students doing it were promoting left-wing viewpoints.
Swarthmore resolved on Wednesday not to make a similar mistake, The Phoenix reported. No sooner had the students captured the building than security officials moved to lock it down to prevent both SJP’s being joined by more students and receiving supplies such as food and water that would sustain and ultimately prolong the demonstration. But it was many hours before Swarthmore’s vice president of student affairs Stephanie Ives sent SJP a letter warning the group that its members were risking being placed on interim suspensions that would carry a ban from campus, as well as their losing “all academic privileges.”
By that time, the students had unleashed a barrage of misconduct, shouting slogans through bullhorns, attempting to break into offices that had been locked to keep them out, and pounding the doors of others that refused to admit them access. Meanwhile, SJP collaborators circumvented security’s lockdown of the building to smuggle food inside. Several students then grew impatient and attempted to end the lockdown themselves by raiding the building, and in doing so caused a physical altercation with security, whom they proceeded to pelt with expletives and other imprecations spoken in the style of inner-city vernacular.
“What the f— is your problem!?” a female student, captured in video shared by The Phoenix, can be heard screaming at an official who used his body to block a protester from forcing his way inside. “B—ch! F—ck you! Stop f—ing touching people bruh!”
In a letter to Swarthmore SJP, Ives said that the group’s activities, which it heavily promoted on social media, had drawn the attention of the local Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office.
“Your actions, and the promotion of them on social media, have triggered a range of responses from within and beyond the community, including local and federal law enforcement agencies,” she wrote. “We have already identified several individuals involved in today’s actions. Those individuals, along with others we identify moving forward, will face interim suspension if the occupation does not end by 11 p.m. tonight.”
In a statement later issued to The Phoenix, Swarthmore College said, “The FBI contacted us based on the nature and volume of social media posts by Swarthmore SJP, along with other regional and national SJP and other accounts, calling for people from outside the campus community to come to Swarthmore and participate in the occupation.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Jewish Man Violently Attacked in England, Assailant Reportedly Said He Was ‘Responsible for Gaza War’
A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
A visibly Jewish man in England was brutally attacked after attending a prayer service, leaving him fearing for his eyesight, in what local police are investigating as a hate crime.
The attack took place on Feb. 3 in Manchester City Center around 1:30 om. As the victim was walking home, he was approached from behind and struck in the face with a hard glass object, shattering his glasses and leaving him covered in blood.
“I thought I could have been blinded in my right eye,” the victim told the Manchester Evening News.
“In the split second before, I gripped my phone tightly in case someone tried to grab it and did not have a chance to protect myself,” he recalled. “I was then hit extremely forcefully with what felt like a bottle around the right side of my face, instantly shattering my glasses and knocking me off balance.”
After being examined by paramedics, the victim said he suffered bruising around his eye and cuts to his upper cheek and side of his face, adding that he still experiences black dots in his vision.
A bystander who witnessed the attack said he heard the attacker shout “murderer” at the victim and accuse him of being “responsible for the war in Gaza.”
“I’m apprehensive walking around and now get nervous anyone could attack me at any time,” the victim said. “I remain very traumatized by what happened.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that an investigation was ongoing, but two weeks after the attack, no arrests had been made. Meanwhile, the British charity Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has offered a £5,000 (around $6,300 US dollars) reward for information about the suspect leading to a conviction.
“This victim’s testimony is horrific. At a time of surging antisemitism, incidents like these are becoming far too common, and those responsible must be held to account,” a spokesperson for CAA said in a statement.
The incident came amid an ongoing surge in antisemitic crimes across the United Kingdom since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
Last week, the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, released data showing the UK experienced its second worst year for antisemitism in 2024, despite recording an 18 percent drop in antisemitic incidents from the previous year’s all-time high
Specifically, CST 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, a drop from the 4,296 in 2023. These numbers compare to 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, 2,261 in 2021, and 1,684 in 2020.
In Greater Manchester, home to the largest Jewish community outside London, 480 cases were reported last year.
In a joint statement addressing the rise in antisemitic incidents, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police and CST said, “Everyone should feel safe and welcome when visiting our city-region.”
“Hate crimes in Greater Manchester will not be tolerated, and we will always endeavor to take action against those responsible for this type of offence to keep our communities safe,” they added.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Last month, both sides reached a ceasefire and hostage-release deal brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar. Under phase one, Hamas agreed to release 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, in exchange for Israel freeing over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving multiple life sentences for terrorism-related offenses.
Talks for a second phase are set to begin in the coming days, focusing on the release of around 60 remaining hostages, about half of whom are believed to be dead, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The post Jewish Man Violently Attacked in England, Assailant Reportedly Said He Was ‘Responsible for Gaza War’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.