Foreign
Hamas rejects hostage deal, Gallant blames its leadership abroad – report
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Monday the organization was open to discussing ideas but that no deal was yet in place.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant blamed Hamas’s leadership abroad for thwarting a hostage deal by taking a hardline stance, as KAN News reported that the terror group had rejected the latest Israeli initiative.
“I am now hearing the beginning of all kinds of announcements on behalf of all kinds of Hamas officials, who are talking about hostage deals, as a result of their contacts in Egypt and Qatar,” Gallant told soldiers during a visit down south.
He charged that “the most extreme people in the Hamas negotiations are the ones who are the furthest away from the Gaza Strip, those who fly in luxury planes [and] sit in luxury hotels.”
“Those who suffer in Gaza and are constantly under your tanks’ chains are not such heroes. I hear what they say; most of them want to stop” fighting, Gallant said.
Reuters had raised hopes of progress on a deal with its report on Wednesday morning that Israel and Hamas broadly agree in principle that an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners could take place during a month-long ceasefire, but the framework plan is being held up by the two sides’ differences over how to bring a permanent end to the Gaza war.
Hamas has insisted that any deal must include a permanent ceasefire, while Israel has stood on its principled position that the war can only end when the terror group is ousted from the enclave.
KAN said that Hamas, in rejecting the latest proposal, had wanted the IDF to fully withdraw from Gaza in the first stage of the deal. Many of the proposals have included phased releases of the 132 hostages still held in Gaza.
On the American Front
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that special envoy Brett McGurk was in Doha to discuss a hostage deal. Qatar and Egypt have acted as mediators between Hamas and Israel on the issue.
“Brett is in the region right now; this is top of his agenda. He is in Doha today,” Kirby said.
“These are very sober and serious discussions we are having. We certainly want another humanitarian pause so we can get aid in and hostages out,” he stated.
The US has supported Israel’s military goal and has stated publicly that it does not believe there should be a ceasefire until Hamas is defeated.
At the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that this “is a war for our home. It must end – and it will end – with the defeat of the aggression and evil of the new Nazis.
“Anyone who participated took hostages, and raped and murdered our citizens brought unprecedented destruction on themselves,” Netanyahu said.
“There is not, nor will there be, any compromise about safeguarding our existence and our future for generations to come,” he stressed.
THE LATEST round of shuttle diplomacy started on Dec. 28 and has narrowed disagreements about the length of an initial ceasefire to around 30 days, said one of the sources, an official briefed on the negotiations. Hamas had first proposed a pause of several months.
However, Hamas has since refused to move forward with the plans until the future conditions of a permanent ceasefire are agreed upon, according to six sources. Most of the sources consulted for this story requested anonymity in order to speak freely about sensitive matters.
WHILE ISRAEL has sought to negotiate one stage at a time, Hamas is seeking “a package deal” in which there would be a permanent ceasefire before hostages are released during the initial phase, said one of the sources, a Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts. Israel and Hamas are speaking through the mediators rather than talking directly.
Two Egyptian security sources said that there was work underway to convince Hamas to accept a one-month truce, to be followed by a permanent ceasefire. However, in order to agree to the initial truce, Hamas is requesting guarantees that the second phase of the deal will be carried out, the sources said.
The sources did not provide details regarding what such guarantees might consist of.
Asked about the negotiations, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Monday that the organization was open to discussing ideas but that no deal was yet in place.
“We are open to all initiatives and proposals, but any agreement must be based on ending the aggression and the occupation’s complete pullout from the Gaza Strip,” said Abu Zuhri.
One offer by Israel is to end the war if Hamas removes six senior leaders from Gaza, said a seventh source, a senior Hamas official. However, Hamas “absolutely” rejected the proposal, he said.
The source said the list included the masterminds of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, Yahya Sinwar and Mohamed al-Deif, who are Israel’s top targets to kill or capture and are thought to be hiding deep within the terror group’s extensive network of tunnels beneath Gaza.
Qatar said it was appalled that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called them “problematic mediators,” in a conversation he held with relatives of the hostages held in Gaza.
“We are appalled by the alleged remarks attributed to the Israeli Prime Minister in various media reports about Qatar’s mediation role,” Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari wrote in a post on X.
“These remarks if validated, are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives, but are not surprising,” he said.
Ansari accused Netanyahu of undermining the mediation.
“If the reported remarks are found to be true, the Israeli Prime Minister would only be obstructing and undermining the mediation process, for reasons that appear to serve his political career instead of prioritizing saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages,” Ansari said.
“Instead of concerning himself with Qatar’s strategic relations with the United States, we hope Netanyahu decides to operate in good faith and concentrate on the release of the hostages,” he said.
The comments were said during a private meeting that was taped. That tape was then leaked to Channel 12, which published Netanyahu’s remarks on Tuesday night.
Qatar and Egypt have been mediating a potential second hostage deal for the remaining 132 captives, out of the 253 that Hamas seized during its October 7 cross-border massacre attack against Israel.
During a November deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt, 105 were freed. The IDF returned eleven bodies of the captives from Gaza.
Answer said that “for months, and following a successful mediation last year that led to the release of more than a hundred hostages, Qatar has been engaged in regular dialogue with the negotiating parties including Israeli institutions, attempting to establish the framework for a new hostage agreement and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
British Foreign Security David Cameron, who visited Israel on Wednesday and met with Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Israel Katz, wrote in a post on X that he focused on three goals during his visit: securing the immediate release of the hostages, increasing aid to Gaza and ensuring an immediate humanitarian pause, as well as the movement toward a permanent ceasefire.
He is expected to also visit Qatar during his trip to the region.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Earlier this week, Israel killed Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political office, and Salah al-Bardaweel, another senior leader.
Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou was allegedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on northern Gaza, Hamas-affiliated news agency Shehab reported on Wednesday night.
Al-Qanoa was one of Hamas’s most prominent spokesmen in Gaza, and while he avoided media appearances during the months of fighting, he gave multiple interviews to Arab news channels after the ceasefire.
Al-Qanoua was killed when his tent was targeted in Jabaliya, the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa television reported. The same strike wounded several people, medical sources said.
Earlier this week, Israel killed Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political office, and Salah al-Bardaweel, another senior leader.
Both Bardaweel and Barhoum were members of the 20-member Hamas decision-making body, the political office, 11 of whom have been killed since the start of the war in late 2023, according to Hamas sources.
Tents for Palestinians seeking refuge are set up on the grounds of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) centre in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas (credit: MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
The IDF has yet to comment on the alleged elimination.
Increased IDF pressure in the Gaza Strip
Since fighting in Gaza was renewed at the beginning of last week, the IDF has killed 150 terrorists, including 10 top Hamas officials, The Jerusalem Post learned Tuesday.
In certain areas, the military has entered a full kilometer into Gaza, such as around the Nitzanim Corridor in central Gaza.
In addition to central Gaza, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, parts of Khan Yunis, Shaboura, and Tel Sultan, the IDF has been evacuating and moving into Jabaliya.
Hundreds of unclaimed estates reveal untold stories of African migration, wealth, and family ties left behind.
Thousands of people die every year in the United Kingdom without leaving a will or identifying next of kin, and among them are many Nigerians and other Africans whose estates—ranging from property to savings—remain unclaimed.
The UK government’s latest list of unclaimed estates, updated daily, includes over 170 entries connected to African-born individuals, with Nigerians making up a significant portion of the cases.
A Legacy Lost
For many migrants, the UK became a home away from home—a land of opportunity where they built wealth, purchased property, and created a life.
However, the absence of a will often results in their assets being classified as “bona vacantia” (ownerless goods), leaving them to the custody of the Crown.
Families back in Africa are frequently unaware of these estates, leading to a permanent loss of assets.
Cases like that of Adenike Adebiyi, who passed away in Hackney, London, in 2004, or Solomon Adekanmibi, who died in Colchester, Essex, in 2021, highlight the consequences of dying intestate.
With no identified next of kin or missing documentation, their estates remain unclaimed, and their legacies risk being forgotten.
Why It Matters
This phenomenon underscores a critical issue: many African families are unaware of their relatives’ financial situations abroad.
Migration often disrupts communication, and without clear documentation, the wealth built overseas remains beyond reach.
The loss isn’t just financial—it’s deeply cultural and emotional. Unclaimed estates represent untold family histories, connections, and the struggles of migrants who built their lives in the diaspora.
The Challenges
Lack of Awareness:
Most families in Nigeria and other African countries are unaware of their relatives’ estates abroad or how to access them.
Genealogical Gaps:
The information provided in official records is often incomplete. For example, many entries in the UK unclaimed estates list lack detailed family history or next-of-kin information.
Cultural Hesitations:
In many African cultures, discussing death and wills is considered taboo, leading to reluctance in planning for asset distribution.
A Call to Action
African governments, community organizations, and legal professionals need to raise awareness about this issue.
Here’s what can be done:
Encouraging Will Writing: Migrants in the diaspora should be educated about the importance of drafting wills to protect their assets.
Genealogical Support: Families in Africa can be assisted in tracing unclaimed estates through local or international partnerships.
Public Awareness Campaigns: Social and traditional media can highlight the importance of estate planning and share resources for families.
How to Check the List
The UK government maintains a public Unclaimed Estates List that is updated daily.
Families can search the list by name, place of birth, or other identifiers to check for potential claims.
Final Thoughts
For many Nigerians and Africans in the UK, their unclaimed estates represent more than just wealth—it’s a story of migration, resilience, and identity.
By addressing this growing issue, families can reclaim their heritage, and the legacy of those who journeyed to the diaspora need not be forgotten.
Here is the latest daily update as of March 24, 2025. Check the list
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a controversial proposal to facilitate Palestinian emigration from Gaza, a move critics warn could amount to ethnic cleansing.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday said the security cabinet approved the proposal by Defense Minister Israel Katz to organize “a voluntary transfer for Gaza residents who express interest in moving to third countries, in accordance with Israeli and international law, and following the vision of US President Donald Trump.”
The decision marks a remarkable endorsement of a plan once considered a far-right fantasy – and comes despite the prime minister’s earlier pledge not to permanently displace Gaza’s civilian population.
Critics have said that any mass displacement of Gazans in the midst of a devastating war would amount to ethnic cleansing, an act associated with war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law. Israeli officials have countered that emigration would be voluntary and in line with international legal standards.
But aid groups argue that Israel’s war has made life in Gaza nearly impossible. Martin Griffiths, the United Nations’ top emergency relief official, has called the enclave “uninhabitable,” saying its people are “witnessing daily threats to their very existence.”
The Israeli approval would establish an administration within the defense ministry “to prepare and facilitate the safe and controlled movement of Gaza residents who wish to voluntarily move to third countries,” according to a statement from the defense ministry.
Its work would include “establishing movement routes, pedestrian checks at designated crossings in the Gaza Strip,” and infrastructure to enable people to leave.
Israeli officials have presented the plan as a fulfillment of a desire by Trump to take over Gaza, expel its Palestinian population to neighboring countries and turn it into a Middle Eastern “riviera.”
The Palestinian Authority’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shaheen told CNN’s Becky Anderson last month that Palestinians “are steadfast to stay in their land and will not move.”
Trump’s ‘vision’
Katz said Sunday that Israel is using “all means to implement the vision of the US president,” according to the defense ministry statement.
This month, Trump appeared to backtrack on his comments about displacing Palestinians, telling reporters that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians.” Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, said last month that the US initiative to rebuild Gaza won’t necessarily amount to an “eviction plan” and that it was designed to “shake up everybody’s thinking.”
Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country had no intention to displace Palestinians or occupy Gaza.
Related articleTrump says ‘nobody is expelling Palestinians,’ weeks after saying they should be moved to Arab states
“I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,” Netanyahu said in a video statement in January 2024.
Trump’s proposal has, however, brought the idea further into the mainstream, with Israeli politicians now openly discussing mass emigration of Gazans as a solution to the war. And Katz last week said that Israel may maintain a permanent presence in the enclave.
Israeli rights group Peace Now criticized the plan, saying “the establishment of the administration to expel Palestinians from Gaza is one of the stupidest moves by a government that has lost all direction and logical thinking.”
The prospect has also drawn sharp rebuke from Arab leaders, especially Egypt and Jordan, who would be expected to absorb the large number of expelled Palestinians. Experts have also warned that displacing Palestinians would further destabilize the region and threaten the security of neighboring states.
Smotrich said Sunday that the security cabinet also approved the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, noting that 13 areas in the West Bank would be split from existing settlements and would be recognized as independent settlements.
“Instead of hiding and apologizing – we are raising the flag, building, and settling. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” he said, using the name by which Israelis refer to the West Bank.
The Yesha Council, an umbrella body representing Jewish settlements, said that as of January 2024, there were 150 settlements in the West Bank.
It said that the decision exposes a “long-standing lie that (Israel) does not establish new settlements, but only ‘neighborhoods’ of existing settlements” and that it is “another nail in the coffin that the Government of Israel is preparing for the only chance for a future of peace and security.”
A statement sent by Smotrich’s office said the move comes against “the backdrop of the approval of tens of thousands of housing units in Judea and Samaria and represents another significant step in the process of normalizing and regulating the settlement.”
Smotrich and other right-wing ministers have been pushing an aggressive expansion of settlements on the path to declaring Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, which would be in defiance of international law and UN Security Council resolutions.
Israel says it will maintain ‘permanent’ presence in Gaza unless hostages are freed
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