The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they unfold.
Families of 1st-phase hostages not included in upcoming releases say they’re left in the dark
A relative of one of the Gaza hostages who is neither on the list of slain captives slated for release Thursday nor among those expected to be freed alive on Saturday says authorities haven’t contacted them, leaving them in the dark and with grave concern about their loved ones’ fate.
Israel and Hamas have named the four dead hostages to be released Thursday as Shiri Silberman Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel Bibas and Kfir Bibas, as well as Oded Lifshitz. Authorities have notified their families.
Both sides have also said that the six live captives slated for return on Saturday are Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham and Omer Shem-Tov. Their families have been notified as well.
According to the ceasefire and hostage deal, the final batch of abductees included in the ongoing first phase of the deal are to be returned on Thursday next week — consisting of four dead hostages.
The last four captives included in the first phase are Shlomo Mantzur, Itzik Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Tsahi Idan.
While the IDF has confirmed Mantzur’s death, Israeli authorities have not made any kind of declaration about the other three.
“Only from the media do we know that four hostages who aren’t alive are meant to return tomorrow,” Mor Elgarat, Itzik’s nephew, tells the Ynet news site.
“They said who the six living ones are, and we are forced to conclude things,” he says. “We are given scraps. What should we be preparing for and how? What will happen and when?
“Not speaking with your people is simply abandonment. What are they trying to do, make the fallen hostages disappear?” Mor Elgarat charges, adding that the uncertainty is “terrible and agonizing.”
Trump repeats debunked claim that Biden earmarked $100 million for condoms for Hamas
US President Donald Trump again falsely claims that the previous administration of Joe Biden had allocated $100 million in condoms for Hamas.
Trump highlights the figure while going through what he says is the wasteful spending exposed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency during a speech at the FII PRIORITY Summit in Florida.
Last week, Musk admitted that the funds for contraceptives were not earmarked for Hamas and not earmarked for the Gaza Strip either, rather for a province in Mozambique.
The White House first claimed that the figure was $50 million, but Trump has since twice claimed that it is $100 million.
Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s funeral
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani calls for the arrest of a group of leaders from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis who he says will attend Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut.
Nasrallah, who had served as the Lebanese terror group’s secretary general for more than 30 years, was killed on September 27 as Israel ramped up its attacks. His funeral is scheduled for February 23.
Eryani demands that the Lebanese government arrest the Houthi leaders and hand them over to the rival internationally recognized government in a post on X.
He does not name the Houthi officials.
Neither the Lebanese government nor Houthi leaders are immediately available for comment.
The Houthis have not officially announced a delegation will attend the funeral, but the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV has reported a delegation from Yemen will participate.
“We affirm that the movement of these terrorist leaders… in this timing is not a mere participation in the funeral, which is being used as a cover, to gather all the leaders of the Iranian axis and assess the situation after the blows they received,” he adds.
IDF says it struck southern Gaza to foil attempted smuggling-by-drone from Israel
The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip several hours ago, targeting a group of suspects who took possession of a drone that was used in a smuggling attempt.
According to the military, the drone had been identified as crossing from Israel into Gaza, in an attempt to smuggle prohibited goods.
After the drone landed and several suspects took possession of it, the IDF carried out an airstrike against them.
Palestinian media reported several dead and wounded in the strike.
The IDF says it is trying to find those who operated the drone, “to bring them to justice.”
Several such smuggling attempts have been carried out in recent weeks, with the IDF saying suspects on the Israeli side load up drones with weapons or drugs and fly them over the border into Gaza. Some of the attempts have been successful, according to the military.
New York leaders express outrage over ‘antisemitic’ protest in Brooklyn Jewish neighborhood
Political leaders in New York condemn an anti-Israel protest that took place last night in Boro Park, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Orthodox population.
“Mask-wearing protesters chanting antisemitic slogans in the middle of the most Orthodox Jewish community in the city is all about provocation and not about free speech,” says Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. “I applaud the NYPD for keeping order and condemn in strongest terms those who used antisemitic language and symbolism at this event.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul says: “We saw protesters in Boro Park targeting Jewish New Yorkers with hateful rhetoric and antisemitic chants. This is unacceptable.”
The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, also of New York, says: “The vile and antisemitic rhetoric directed at Jewish residents in Borough Park is unacceptable and unconscionable.”
“Antisemitism has no place in New York City, and bringing it to Borough Park is disgraceful,” says Mayor Eric Adams. “We will not tolerate attacks on Jewish New Yorkers or any other diverse community across our city.”
Also condemning the protest are Representative Daniel Goldman; Representative Elise Stefanik, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, progressive city comptroller Brad Lander, Jewish city council members Eric Dinowitz and Julie Menin, the New York Jewish Agenda liberal advocacy group, the UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, and the American Jewish Committee.
Woman seriously injured by axe-wielding assailant in Jerusalem’s Old City
Police say a woman in Jerusalem’s Old City was attacked by a man with an axe in her home.
The suspect then fled the scene.
The woman, in her fifties, was rushed to a hospital in serious condition.
“Numerous police forces… were dispatched to the scene and are currently operating in the area to locate the suspect and investigate the circumstances of the incident,” police say.