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Netanyahu’s Office: List of Hostages Published by Media Submitted by Israel in July
Israelis protest against the government and to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
A list of 34 hostages to be released as part of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement that was published by foreign media on Monday was submitted by Jerusalem to mediators in July, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
“The list of hostages that has been published in the media was not provided to Israel by Hamas but was originally given by Israel to the mediators in July 2024,” the PMO said.
“As yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list. Israel will continue to act relentlessly for the return of all of our hostages,” added the statement.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported earlier Monday that Hamas had agreed in principle to the list but was refusing or unable to confirm whether the designated captives are alive.
Saudi daily al-Sharq had previously published what it claimed are the names on the list. An anonymous Hamas official told the outlet that it would take about a week to determine the condition of each captive, a process the terrorist group is reportedly insisting it will undertake only after a ceasefire is in effect.
The list’s publication had caused distress among the hostages’ families, according to Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
“The families of the hostages are deeply shaken and distressed by the list published this morning,” the forum said. “We call on the media and the public to show sensitivity and responsibility in handling this information and any further developments that may emerge before and during any agreement negotiation,” the statement continued.
“The time has come for a comprehensive agreement that will bring back all hostages — we know more than half are still alive and need immediate rehabilitation, while those who were murdered must be returned for proper burial. We have no more time to waste.”
The Directorate of Abductees and Missing Persons, led by Gal Hirsch, issued a statement saying, “This morning, the Directorate of Abductees, Returnees, and Missing Persons in the Prime Minister’s Office updated the families of the abductees regarding the list reported in the media. This ‘humanitarian’ list, submitted by Israel to mediators several months ago, includes women, children, individuals over 50, as well as the sick and wounded.”
“Hamas has not provided any response regarding the status of the abductees on this list. Negotiations are ongoing, and we are making every effort to bring back all abductees, both living and deceased. The directorate urges the public and media to act responsibly by refraining from publishing names or rumors that could harm the families or the efforts to secure the abductees’ return.”
Mossad chief David Barnea was scheduled to arrive in Doha on Monday for continued ceasefire negotiations, foreign sources involved in the talks told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster on Sunday night.
US Special Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and other top American officials were expected to join as well, according to Ynet.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned senior ministers for an “urgent security discussion,” according to Hebrew media reports.
The discussion included Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and came amid reported progress in the ceasefire negotiations.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich oppose the proposals being reported in recent weeks, and Netanyahu has emphasized that Israeli forces will return to fighting after any ceasefire deal until Jerusalem’s war goals are achieved.
According to Israeli estimates, there are 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza, including 96 abducted during the terror group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 251 people were taken.
Of those, 155 have been returned or rescued, and Hamas is believed to be holding 36 bodies, 34 of them taken on Oct. 7 and the remaining two being IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were kidnapped in 2014.
According to Ynet, Jerusalem is insisting on the release of several hostages before agreeing to a one-week ceasefire to allow Hamas to verify the status of 34 captives listed for potential release.
The main sticking point in the negotiations remains the number of live hostages to be freed. Israel has reportedly pushed for at least 24 hostages to be released in the deal’s initial phase, including injured male hostages under 50, as part of a humanitarian exchange.
Hamas, however, has rejected this demand, claiming it was not part of the original agreement. Instead, Hamas is demanding the release of additional high-profile terrorists or a larger number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the younger hostages.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed optimism on Monday about the likelihood of a ceasefire agreement, though it might not materialize until after President Joe Biden’s term ends on Jan. 20.
Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Blinken stated, “If we don’t finalize it within the next two weeks, I’m confident it will be completed eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later. When it does, it will be based on the plan President Biden proposed.”
President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 31 reiterated his call for the Israelis in Gaza to be released before he takes office.
An interlocutor asked Trump about the captives, at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida, noting that Trump had warned “there will be hell to pay” unless they are freed by the time he is sworn in.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump replied. “They better let the hostages come back soon.”
The post Netanyahu’s Office: List of Hostages Published by Media Submitted by Israel in July first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.