News Digest — 2/13/25
Hamas Will Not Release All Hostages On Saturday, Spokesman Says
Senior Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri spoke to Al Jazeera on Wednesday evening (12th) and stated that Hamas is “committed” to implementing the previously agreed schedule of the hostage deal and that they will not release “all” hostages on Saturday (15th).
Abu Zuhri’s comments likely came as part of a larger statement to Al Jazeera regarding Hamas’ views towards the potential breakdown of the ceasefire agreement.
Earlier on Wednesday (12th), Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that if Hamas does not release the Israeli hostages by Saturday (15th), “all hell will break loose.”
This referenced US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (11th) when he said, “If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 a.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire. Let all hell break loose, Israel can override it.”
“As far as I am concerned… I would say cancel it, and all bets are off,” he added. “All of them, not in dribs and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two,” Trump added.
According to the original terms of Phase 1 of the hostage release and ceasefire agreement, three hostages were scheduled to be released this coming Saturday (15th).
Given Abu Zuhri’s statement that Hamas remains “committed” to the original hostage release schedule, it is likely that they intend to follow through with releasing three Israeli hostages.
Itamar Ben Gvir, former national security minister, stated on his X account that “the Israeli government is on its way to another missed opportunity.”
“After what President Trump said, If Hamas does not release all the hostages, the government intends to settle for the release of only three hostages under a reckless deal that includes the release of hundreds of terrorist murderers from prison while continuing to supply fuel and aid to the Strip,” Ben Gvir stated.
“A reckless deal, a frightened government,” Ben Gvir’s response concluded.
IAF Strikes Two Terrorists Near Rafah Who Collected A Drone Crossing Into Israel
The Israeli Air Force struck a drone and the two terrorists who collected it in the southern Gaza Strip area of Rafah on Wednesday morning (12th), the IDF announced shortly after the incident.
The strike came after a drone sent from the Gaza Strip was identified as it crossed into Israeli territory, the IDF said.
While the drone crossed into Israel, the IDF monitored it throughout its flight and tracked it as it returned to the southern area of the Strip. There the drone was collected by the two suspects.
Subsequently, the IDF said it struck both the drone and the suspects.
Israel’s military noted that it has recently identified several attempts to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip using drones.
On Sunday (9th), the IDF also said it foiled a smuggling attempt on the Egyptian border after identifying a drone that crossed into Israeli territory from Egypt.
Following a pursuit by the military, the smuggling was foiled by the troops that arrived at the location and discovered the drone and three weapons.
“The IDF will not allow any terrorist activity and will continue to act as necessary to ensure the security of Israel’s citizens,” Israel’s military said in response to the strike in the Gaza Strip.
The Hezbollah-run channel Al-Manar reported that one was allegedly killed and another wounded by the Israeli airstrike.
US Said To Accept IDF Request To Remain In Five South Lebanon Posts After February 18 Deadline
Israel wants to remain in several points in Lebanon even after the planned withdrawal date of February 18, a source familiar with the details told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday (12th). Israel requested to keep its troops in five posts in southern Lebanon until February 28, a Lebanese official told Reuters earlier on Wednesday (12th).
IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed the IDF’s extended presence in Lebanon in a post to X on Wednesday (12th).
Under a ceasefire deal agreed on in November between Lebanon and Israel, Israeli troops had until January 26 to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
The deal was already extended until February 18, but the sources said Israel had requested more time through the committee overseeing the ceasefire.
The US conveyed on Monday (10th) that the IDF must withdraw from southern Lebanon by February 18, with no further extensions to the ceasefire being granted.
The IDF had expected to withdraw from other areas in southern Lebanon in the coming days, and the US administration had stated that it appears the Lebanese Army will be fully deployed by February 18.
The US and the Lebanese government agreed to extend the deadline after Israel said the Lebanese Army had not been fully deployed in southern Lebanon – meaning the IDF needed to remain in the area.
However, the United States reportedly authorized a “long-term” Israeli troop presence in southern Lebanon, as Israel sought an extension to a February 18 deadline to withdraw its forces.
The Kan radio broadcaster, cited Israeli senior officials in Israel’s security cabinet as saying late Wednesday (12th) that the US had granted Israeli troops permission to stay “in several locations” in Lebanon beyond February 18, and did not specify a new deadline.
Kan said that the IDF has begun establishing the five outposts where it would like to remain after receiving approval from Washington.
The request to remain in those five outposts came after the US rejected previous requests for the IDF to extend the deadline, Kan said.
While establishing the new outposts, IDF forces are withdrawing from nearby Shiite villages, including in southeast Lebanon and the Mount Dov area, according to Kan.
The withdrawals come as the Israeli security establishment has identified efforts by Hezbollah to re-establish its intelligence-gathering capabilities in southern Lebanon, the network said.
Israel’s UN Ambassador: ‘Why Does Egypt Need All Those Weapons?’ By Hugh Fitzgerald (Frontpage Magazine)
Danny Danon is Israel’s ambassador to the UN. He’s not as suave as such eloquent predecessors Abba Eban and Chaim Herzog. He’s pugnacious.
But at times like this, Israel needs someone pugnacious to punch back at the kangaroo court of the UN General Assembly, with Israel permanently in the dock.
Danon had just given an interview to a journalist on radio station Kol BaRama’s program News of the Week. Danon may be a diplomat, but he has given voice most undiplomatically, and indispensably, to Israel’s alarm about Egypt’s military buildup.
After all, Egypt has no enemies that threaten it, so why does this poor country continue to take delivery of billions of dollars worth of American weapons and spend more billions-of-dollars in American economic aid to buy still more weapons year after year?
More on Danon’s ‘alarm’ that he hopes will be echoed by Israel’s supporters in Washington and lead to a cutback in both American weapons and money sent to Egypt, can be found here: Israeli UN Envoy Warns of Egypt’s Military Buildup: “Why all the Submarines and Tanks?,” Jerusalem Post, January 31, 2025.
Israeli envoy to the UN Danny Danon raised concerns about Egypt’s military expansion questioning its necessity in the absence of threats.
“They spend hundreds of millions of dollars on modern military equipment every year, yet they have no threats on their borders,” Danon said recently during a Kol BaRama radio interview.
“Why do they need all these submarines and tanks? After October 7, this should raise alarm bells. We have learned our lesson. We must monitor Egypt closely and prepare for every scenario.”
Speaking to journalist Mendi Rizel on News of the Week, Danon pointed to Washington’s role in supplying Egypt’s military and agreed a re-evaluation should be done on the issue.
“Israel is already engaged in a seven-front war. Could not another threat arise on its southern border?”
“We can well imagine what could happen if Egyptian tanks came smashing across the border into southern Israel. Egyptian troops, intent on committing mayhem and murder, in a repeat of Hamas’ attack on October 7, while other Arab armies, from Syria and Jordan, could attack the Jewish state from the north and the east.”
Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel – the Camp David Accords of 1979 – in order to get back the entire Sinai that it had lost in the Six-Day War in 1967
But the Egyptian government has not allowed relations to flourish; it’s a “cold peace,” with Egypt rejecting all Israeli overtures for cooperation between the two countries on agriculture, culture, and technology.
The only time an Egyptian leader has visited Israel was when Hosni Mubarak attended the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin, making clear that he was going not as a representative of the state, but because Rabin’s widow had asked him to come as a personal favor.
Egypt is the second largest recipient of American military aid, after Israel.
Egypt is a country where anti-Semitism is widespread, and encouraged in the media, but it has a long history of making war against Israel. Egypt has taken an important part in every major Arab war against Israel.
Egypt fought against Israel in 1948, 1967, and 1973.
Muslim Egypt is not part of the Western Civilization and never will be. As Muslims see things, the world is divided uncompromisingly between Dar al-Islam, the House of Islam, meaning all the lands where Muslims rule and Dar al-Harb, the House of War, where Islam has not yet conquered.
Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world, and has had to fight for its survival many times.
Israel must contend with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Jihadis in Syria and Iraq, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, terrorists in Judea and Samaria, and must attempt to stymie Iran’s nuclear program.
With all these enemies, Israel needs all the weaponry it can get from the United States. Egypt on the other hand has no military threats to worry about from any side.
Washington’s supporters of Israel should echo Danny Danon’s question: why does Egypt, which has no enemies threatening it, need so many tens of billions of dollars in tanks, fighter jets, and other weaponry?
Why should the Americans so massively contribute to an Egyptian military buildup, when the weapons being delivered, if they are ever to be used, will almost certainly be used against Israel?
Can we count on the regime of El Sisi to even keep the “cold peace” with Israel?
56% Of American Jews Changed Behavior In Past Year Over Anti-Semitism Fears, Survey Finds
Most American Jewish adults are altering their behavior due to fears of anti-Semitism, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Jewish Committee and published Tuesday (11th).
When asked in late 2024, about 56% of respondents said they changed their behavior in the preceding 12 months, up from 46% in 2023 and 38% in 2022.
This figure includes respondents who said they avoided wearing clothing or displaying items that might identify them as Jewish, such as Stars of David; chose not to post content on social media that could reveal their identity or views on Jewish issues, or stayed away from certain places due to concerns for their safety or comfort as a Jewish person.
The AJC said the survey was designed to capture how American Jews have experienced anti-Semitism in the year-plus following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The results largely align with findings from other surveys, further documenting the rise in anti-Semitism.
The survey was conducted in October and November via a phone and online questionnaire with 1,732 participants meant to be representative of all American Jewish adults, with a margin of error of 3.3%.
Nearly 8 in 10 respondents reported feeling at least somewhat less safe in the United States following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct.7, 2023, than they did previously.
Seven in 10 said Jews are less secure than they were a year ago, and more than 90% believe antisemitism has increased over the past five years.
About a third of respondents said they were the target of anti-Semitism in the preceding 12 months.
About 95% of American Jewish adults and 90% of all American adults believe that anti-Semitism is a problem for everyone and that combating it is a shared responsibility.
