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Hamas Names Four Israeli Female Soldier Hostages to Be Freed in Second Swap

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas gather to demand a deal that will bring back all the hostages held in Gaza, outside a meeting between hostage representatives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Palestinian terrorist group Hamas announced the names on Friday of four Israeli women soldier hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag would be released on Saturday, the group said.

A combination picture shows Israeli hostages Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Liri Albag, and Daniela Gilboa, soldiers who were seized from their army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, in these undated handout pictures. Photo: Courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/Handout via REUTERS
The exchange, expected to begin on Saturday afternoon, follows the release on the ceasefire’s first day last Sunday of three Israeli women and 90 Palestinian prisoners, the first such exchange for more than a year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the list had been received from the mediators. Israel’s response would be presented later, it said in a statement.
Israeli media reported that the list of hostages slated for release was not in line with the original agreement, but it was not immediately clear whether this would have any impact on the planned exchange.
In the six-week first phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has agreed to release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female soldier released, officials have said. That suggests that 200 Palestinian prisoners would be released in return for the four. The Palestinians slated to be released from Israeli jails were largely detained for involvement in terrorist activities.
The Hamas prisoners media office said it expected to get the names of 200 Palestinians to be freed on Saturday in the coming hours. It said the list was expected to include 120 prisoners serving life sentences and 80 prisoners with other lengthy sentences.
Since the release of the first three women on Sunday and the recovery of the body of an Israeli soldier missing for a decade, Israel says 94 Israelis and foreigners remain held in Gaza.
The ceasefire agreement, worked out after months of on-off negotiations brokered by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States, halted the fighting for the first time since a truce that lasted just a week in November 2023.
In the first phase, Hamas has agreed to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In a subsequent phase, the two sides would negotiate the exchange of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Hamas started the war when it led an invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. During the onslaught, Palestinian terrorists murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The release of the first three hostages last week brought an emotional response from Israelis. But the phased release has drawn protests from some Israelis who fear the deal will break down after women, children, elderly, and ill hostages are freed in the first phase, condemning male hostages of military age whose fate is not to be resolved until later.
Others, including some in the government, feel the deal hands a victory to Hamas, which has reasserted its presence in Gaza despite vows of Israeli leaders to destroy it. Hardliners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have demanded that Israel resume fighting at the end of the first phase.
Most of Hamas‘s top leadership and thousands of its fighters have been killed but the group’s police have returned to the streets since the ceasefire.
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Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media after he met former prisoners following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades, at the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany, August 1, 2024. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.
Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticizing German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20% ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.
“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.
Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference.
Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.
“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defense of Europe’s stance on hate speech.
“No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.”
UKRAINE
The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.
Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.
Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.
Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”
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Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the plan.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, the report said. Special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, will not be in attendance, according to the report.
The post Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut

FILE PHOTO: A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut’s port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL said.
The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack on Saturday, saying that security forces would not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilize the country, according to a statement from his office.
The French government also condemned the attack.
“France calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar called for an emergency meeting before noon on Saturday to discuss the security situation, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
“He affirmed the Lebanese government’s rejection of this assault that is considered a crime against UNIFIL forces,” NNA reported, citing the minister.
He also gave instructions to work on identifying the perpetrators and referring them to the relevant judicial authorities.
The minister told reporters on Saturday that more than 25 people had been detained for investigation over the attack.
The United States earlier condemned the attack. A State Department statement said the attack was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
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