RSS
Deal to release dozens of hostages appears to be close, US, Israel and Qatar all say
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called special meetings of his war cabinet, security council and full government for Tuesday evening, in the clearest sign yet of an imminent deal to free at least some of the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
The terror group is holding an estimated 240 people hostage in Gaza, including roughly 40 children. According to the Israeli news website Ynet, the deal would see 53 women, children and elderly hostages released in exchange for roughly 150 Palestinian prisoners who are also women and youths. It would also grant Hamas a four-day pause in the fighting, including pauses in aerial reconnaissance as Hamas locates additional hostages to release.
The deal would also reportedly create a mechanism whereby Israel would release three Palestinians prisoners for every additional Israeli hostage freed by Hamas, and would pause the fighting for one day for every 10 hostages released.
For days, a deal to release the children and some other hostages in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners and a pause in fighting has reportedly been in the works. But according to the Washington Post, which initially reported on Saturday that a deal had been reached, Israeli officials had pushed back against a deal that would involve the release of children without their mothers.
Now, a deal appears to be close, with sources telling Israeli media that they expect the mothers and others to be freed over the course of several days under the terms of an agreement.
U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration has been involved in brokering talks between Israel and Hamas with Qatar as an intermediary, said Monday that he believed a deal was near. And the foreign ministry of Qatar, where Hamas’ leadership is based, said it was “very optimistic” about the state of negotiations, which it said were at “the closest point” yet.
Now, Netanyahu has called the meetings, announced in a press release midday Tuesday, saying that the government would meet that evening “in light of the developments regarding the release of our hostages.”
The movement comes 46 days after Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. After freeing four hostages about two weeks later, the terror group has not released any others nor provided evidence of their wellbeing to the Red Cross or public. Israeli forces freed one hostage soldier and retrieved the bodies of three other hostages who died in Gaza. Several of the remaining hostages were known to have been injured, some seriously, on Oct. 7.
The plight of the hostages has riveted the world, with posters and large-scale installations on their behalf going up (and in some cases being taken down) in major cities. Groups of celebrities have promoted their stories.
But within Israel, many of the families of the hostages have said they feel abandoned by the government, and a protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem drew 30,000 people last week. On Monday, as negotiations advanced, far-right lawmakers in Israel’s parliament yelled at relatives of hostages who were exhorting them not to discuss instituting a death penalty for terrorists until their loved ones were freed.
Israeli officials have cautioned that any truce would not amount to a ceasefire, which would end hostilities permanently and leave Hamas in power. Israel has said that its goal in the war — which according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza has killed more than 10,000 people — is to depose the terror group.
—
The post Deal to release dozens of hostages appears to be close, US, Israel and Qatar all say appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
FBI Investigating ‘Targeted Terror Attack’ in Boulder, Colorado, Director Says
FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Trump’s proposed budget request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday the agency was aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado.
While he did not provide further details, Patel said in a social media post: “Our agents and local law enforcement are on the scene already, and we will share updates as more information becomes available.”
According to CBS News, which cited witnesses at the scene, a suspect attacked people with Molotov cocktails who were participating in a walk to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza.
The Boulder Police Department said it was responding to a report of an attack in the city involving several victims. It has not released further details but a press conference was expected at 4 p.m. Mountain Time (2200 GMT).
The attack comes just weeks after a Chicago-born man was arrested in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel.
The shooting fueled polarization in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The post FBI Investigating ‘Targeted Terror Attack’ in Boulder, Colorado, Director Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Terrorist Responsible for Death of 21 Soldiers Eliminated
An Israeli F-35I “Adir” fighter jet. Photo: IDF
i24 News – Khalil Abd al-Nasser Mohammed Khatib, the terrorist who commanded the terrorist cell that killed 21 soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip on January 22, 2024, was killed by an Israeli airstrike, the IDF said on Sunday.
In a joint operation between the military and the Shin Bet security agency, the terrorist was spotted in a reconnaissance mission. The troops called up an aircraft to target him, and he was eliminated.
Khatib planned and took part in many other terrorist plots against Israeli soldiers.
i24NEWS’ Hebrew channel interviewed Dor Almog, the sole survivor of the mass casualty disaster, who was informed on live TV about the death of the commander responsible for the killing his brothers-in-arms.
“I was sure this day would come – I was a soldier and I know what happens at the end,” said Almog. “The IDF will do everything to bring back the abductees and to topple Hamas, to the last one man.”
The post Terrorist Responsible for Death of 21 Soldiers Eliminated first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Stanley Fischer, Former Fed Vice Chair and Bank of Israel Chief, Dies at 81
FILE PHOTO: Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System Stanley Fischer arrives to hear Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney delivering the Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
Stanley Fischer, who helped shape modern economic theory during a career that included heading the Bank of Israel and serving as vice chair of the US Federal Reserve, has died at the age of 81.
The Bank of Israel said he died on Saturday night but did not give a cause of death. Fischer was born in Zambia and had dual US-Israeli citizenship.
As an academic at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Fischer trained many of the people who went on to be top central bankers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as Mario Draghi, the former European Central Bank president.
Fischer served as chief economist at the World Bank, and first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund during the Asian financial crisis and was then vice chairman at Citigroup from 2002 to 2005.
During an eight-year stint as Israel’s central bank chief from 2005-2013, Fischer helped the country weather the 2008 global financial crisis with minimal economic damage, elevating Israel’s economy on the global stage, while creating a monetary policy committee to decide on interest rates like in other advanced economies.
He was vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2017 and served as a director at Bank Hapoalim in 2020 and 2021.
Current Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron praised Fischer’s contribution to the Bank of Israel and to advancing Israel’s economy as “truly significant.”
The soft-spoken Fischer – who played a role in Israel’s economic stabilization plan in 1985 during a period of hyperinflation – was chosen by then Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as central bank chief.
Netanyahu, now prime minister, called Fischer a “great Zionist” for leaving the United States and moving to Israel to take on the top job at Israel’s central bank.
“He was an outstanding economist. In the framework of his role as governor, he greatly contributed to the Israeli economy, especially to the return of stability during the global economic crisis,” Netanyahu said, adding that Stanley – as he was known in Israel – proudly represented Israel and its economy worldwide.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also paid tribute.
“He played a huge role in strengthening Israel’s economy, its remarkable resilience, and its strong reputation around the world,” Herzog said. “He was a world-class professional, a man of integrity, with a heart of gold. A true lover of peace.”
The post Stanley Fischer, Former Fed Vice Chair and Bank of Israel Chief, Dies at 81 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login