Foreign
IDF closing in on Gaza hostages in Khan Yunis, Gallant tells families
Defense minister: Most sensitive locations for Hamas are getting us closer to the two goals of the war.
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday told representatives of Israeli hostage families that there are growing signs that they are hotter on the heels of Hamas’s top leadership and the hostages in Khan Yunis than they have been until now.
“Operations in Khan Yunis are at a high point, and there are early signs that are arriving at the most sensitive locations for Hamas are getting us closer to the two goals of the war,” said Gallant.
The defense minister was referring to the goals of dismantling Hamas and returning the around 130 Israeli hostages.
He made the statement one day after the IDF revealed it had found cages in Khan Yunis where hostages had previously been held by Hamas.
‘Mushroom clouds will continue to cover the skies of Gaza’
Earlier, Gallant visited the 100th Squadron of the Israeli Air Force at the Hatzor base and conducted a flight over the skies of Gaza, accompanied by the squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel S.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant flies above the skies of Gaza with the Israeli Air Force, January 21, 2024 (credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)
Afterward, the defense minister held a conversation with the pilots, aircrew, and ground crews responsible for the aircraft armament.
Gallant expressed his appreciation to the air and ground teams and emphasized the importance of coordination between the Air Force and the forces operating in the Gaza Strip to achieve operational objectives.
“I observed the forces operating in the northern, central, and southern parts of the Gaza Strip,” Gallant said. “I witnessed a real-time attack by the Air Force in the southern part of Gaza City.
“The accuracy, the quality of execution, and the perfect coordination with the forces are very impressive,” Gallant continued. “We are operating with force in the Khan Yunis area, and it will expand. The mushroom clouds from the tanks, artillery, and Air Force planes will continue to cover the skies of Gaza until we achieve our goals, primarily the dismantling of Hamas and the return of the hostages to their homes.”
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
Israeli Businessman Gil Birger transferred funds from a Qatari lobbyist to a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s media team, Eli Feldstein, Birger admitted in recordings published by KAN’s Reshet Bet on Wednesday.
According to the recordings, the lobbyist, Jay Footlik, requested that Briger assist in transferring the funds to Feldstein for VAT purposes. The recordings confirm a report on Tuesday evening by Channel 13’s Baruch Kara.
According to Kara, Feldstein ceased receiving his salary from the prime minister’s office in April 2024 after failing a security background check. However, he continued working for the prime minister until October 2024, when he was arrested on charges of leaking a classified document to the German newspaper Bild on behalf of Netanyahu in order to relieve public outcry over the Hamas killing of six hostages in Rafah due to IDF proximity.
According to Kara, Feldstein’s salary was effectively paid by the Qatari government during that period while at the same time working alongside the prime minister, serving primarily as his liaison to military reporters.
Feldstein’s attorneys respond
Feldstein’s attorneys, Oded Savorai and Sivan Hauzman stated in response to the recordings, “Since a comprehensive gag order has been issued on all details of the investigation known as ‘Qatargate’—and Reshet Bet would not have violated the order—it is clear that Feldstein is not a suspect in the case, and not without reason. As we have claimed from the moment the allegations were first raised, Feldstein has never worked for Qatar, never transferred information to Qatar, and never received money from Qatar. Feldstein worked for the Prime Minister’s Office, and all his activities on political and security matters were conducted solely on behalf of and for the Prime Minister.'”
The Democrats chairman Yair Golan commented on the report in a post on X/Twitter. “The evidence that Qatari money—the same money that funded the October massacre—was used to pay Netanyahu’s advisors is an earthquake. This is not a failure; it is a suspected betrayal of the state,” he noted.
“The corrupt ties between Netanyahu and Qatar have led us to today’s harsh reality: a prolonged war, submission to foreign interests, and a situation in which Hamas still controls Gaza and tortures our brothers in captivity,” he added.
Following Feldstein’s arrest in October, the prime minister’s office initially claimed it had had no connection to him. The prime minister however later admitted that Feldstein had worked closely alongside him, and even argued that the investigation of Feldstein was part of an attempt to remove him from power.
More than 90% of homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, says the UN
Talks to extend the Gaza ceasefire have failed to reach an agreement, a Palestinian official has told the BBC, as the US accused Hamas of making “entirely impractical” demands at meetings in Qatar.
Negotiators have been trying to find a way forward after the first phase of the temporary truce ended on 1 March.
The US proposed to extend the first phase until mid-April, including a further exchange of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
But the unnamed Palestinian official said Israel and Hamas disagreed over key aspects of the deal set out by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff at the indirect talks.
Israel is yet to comment, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would receive a report from Israel’s negotiating team later on Saturday.
The White House accused Hamas of making “entirely impractical” demands in its response to Witkoff’s proposal.
It would extend the ceasefire into April but delay the negotiation of a permanent end to the war.
A statement from Witkoff’s office and the US National Security Council on Friday said: “Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not.”
“Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes.”
A Hamas statement seen by the BBC said negotiations had broken down.
Netanyahu’s office had earlier said Israel accepted the US proposal.
It said Hamas remained “firm in its refusal and has not budged a millimetre,” accusing the group of “manipulation and psychological warfare”.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal involving three stages in January, after 15 months of war.
In the first stage, Hamas returned 25 living Israeli hostages, the remains of eight others, and five living Thai hostages. Israel released about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
The deal says stage two will include the remaining living hostages in Gaza exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
But both sides currently disagree on the number of hostages due to be released next.
They also disagree on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which the original deal states should be happening by now.
Israel resists this point, while Hamas insists it should happen.
Earlier in March, Israel blocked aid shipments to Gaza and then cut electricity, saying it aimed to put pressure on Hamas.
It is believed that Hamas is still holding up to 24 living hostages in Gaza and the remains of 35 others.
As indirect talks continued on Friday, the group said in a statement it was ready to release the last living Israeli-American hostage it is known to be holding.
Edan Alexander, 21, was serving as an Israeli soldier close to Gaza when he was taken.
Under the terms of the original ceasefire agreement, it was expected that he would have been among the last hostages to be released.
The group also said it would hand over the remains of four other dual nationals captured during the 7 October 2023 attacks.
It did not give further details or make clear what it would demand in return.
Witkoff dismissed the offer, saying Hamas was trying to appear flexible in public while being impractical in private.
The attacks led by Hamas on 7 October 2023 killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, with 251 taken hostage.
The assault triggered an Israeli military offensive that has since killed more than 48,520 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry which are used by the UN and others.
Most of Gaza’s 2.1 million population has been displaced multiple times.
An estimated 70% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, healthcare, water, and sanitation systems have collapsed and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
Pro-Palestinian accounts later tried to share the Israeli man’s whereabouts.
Israeli national Tamir Ohayon was spat at and harassed by two local women while visiting Dublin for a business trip, he shared on Instagram with a video of the interaction.
“My heart is truly broken THIS is Ireland in 2025,” Ohayon shared. “During my business trip to Dublin, me and my co-worker were assaulted by an organized group of girls for simply being Israelis.”
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Ohayon claimed that before the filming began, one of the girls approached him and shared the information she had collected on him – including the hotel he was staying at.
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