News Digest — 2/27/25
Israel Working To ID Slain Captives Bodies, Terrorists Released
Israel is currently working to confirm the identities of four slain hostages’ bodies returned by Hamas late Wednesday evening (26th), as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are being freed from Israeli detention.
Unlike previous exchanges, which saw Hamas hold a ghoulish ceremony featuring the public display of murdered captives’ coffins in front of cheering crowds of Gazans, the terror group quietly transferred the remains of what it says are four Israelis kidnapped on October 7th, to the Red Cross in Gaza.
Previously, Israel had waited until all captives were back on Israeli soil before releasing prisoners, but began freeing terrorists within minutes of the bodies being received by the Red Cross.
However, Israel is releasing the terrorists in waves of some 100 every few hours, and will presumably halt the process if the bodies are not positively identified.
The release of the four slain captives’ bodies triggered Israel to advance the release of some 600 terrorists who were originally slated to be released last Saturday (22nd).
Israel indefinitely postponed their release after Hamas held a public ceremony, which included forcing one of the kidnapped Israelis to kiss a terrorist on the forehead.
The body of a Gaza woman, whom Hamas claimed it accidentally sent to Israel in place of Shiri Bibas last Thursday (20th), was returned to the Strip.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, 37 Palestinian prisoners were released to Ramallah in the early hours of Thursday morning (27th).
Videos circulating on social media showed raucous celebrations in the streets of the Palestinian Authority-administrated city, as the freed prisoners were greeted with a hero’s welcome.
Five Palestinians convicted on terror charges were freed to eastern Jerusalem, including Hamza al-Kaluti, a Hamas member sentenced to life for planning deadly suicide bombings, who served 24 years in prison before being freed to his home in eastern Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighborhood.
Global Landmarks Turn Orange To Honor The Bibas Family
Countries around the world paid respects to Shiri Bibas and her sons, Kfir and Ariel, who were murdered while in captivity in Gaza and were brought to rest in Israel on Wednesday (26th), by illuminating buildings in orange.
Among the buildings that were lit in orange were the French Parliament and the Paris City Hall.
In Germany, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate was illumined in orange, along with the words, “Never Forget” and the hashtag #BringThemHomeNow.
The Empire State Building in New York was also lit in orange in memory of the Bibas family.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Consulate in New York City held a ceremony in which orange-colored balloons were released into the skies of New York in memory of the Bibas family.
“The people of Israel stood united today (Wednesday) during the heartbreaking funeral procession of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, brutally murdered by Hamas,” stated Consul General Ofir Akunis at the ceremony. “We will never forget this horrific crime committed by this Nazi-like organization, and we will not rest until Hamas is fully eradicated.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon also took part in the ceremony saying, “New York skies today (Wednesday) were orange in memory of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, may their memories be a blessing.”
“Yarden, an entire nation embraces you in your loss. I promise to do everything in my power to honor their memories and share their story at the UN and around the world,” he added.
IDF Strike Kills Senior Hezbollah Member Involved In Weapons Smuggling To Terror Group
The Israeli Air Force announced Wednesday (26th) that it struck a “central terrorist” in Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is responsible for transporting and smuggling Iranian weapons into Lebanon.
The strike in the al-Qusayr area of northern Lebanon came after the operative “repeatedly violated” the current ceasefire, including being involved in weapons smuggling to the Iran-backed terror group.
The military said the Hezbollah operative was attacked “ while planning more smuggling.”
The army, which has recently carried out airstrikes in the area of the Syrian-Lebanon border, added that Unit 4400 is continuing to smuggle arms to Hezbollah “in a manner that constitutes a threat to Israel’s security.”
Lebanese national news agency NNA reported that “an enemy drone targeted a vehicle on the Hermel-Qusayr road, leaving one dead and one wounded” in the northeast of the country.
The attack came after Israel carried out a similar operation the day before, which left two dead in eastern Lebanon, in the Janta region, Lebanese media said.
According to the Israeli army, Tuesday’s (25th) strike targeted Hezbollah’s terrorists after the IDF identified the operatives at a “strategic weapons” manufacturing and storage facility belonging to the terror group.
The operatives activity at the site was a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF said.
Lebanese terror group Hezbollah began attacking across the border into Israel on October 8, 2023, the day after allied Palestinian terror group Hamas led a massive invasion of southern Israel in which it killed some 1,200 and took 251 hostages.
Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks forced the evacuation of 60,000 northern residents, killed dozens of people, and caused significant damage. Israel hit back with airstrikes, and by September, the conflict escalated into open war, during which Israel decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and stockpiles. The war ended in a late November 2024 ceasefire, which has largely held, despite mutual accusations of violations.
Under the November 27 truce agreement, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Lebanon while Hezbollah was to remove its military infrastructure from the area. IDF troops remain in five points deemed “strategic” by the Israeli military.
7,000 Terrorist Attacks In Judea And Samaria In 2024
Palestinian Arab terrorists carried out or attempted close to 7,000 attacks on Israelis in Judea and Samaria last year, according to a report by the emergency aid group SSF Rescuers Without Borders – Judea and Samaria.
According to the report, released on Tuesday (25th), during 2024, there were an average of roughly 20 attacks or attempted attacks per day in Judea and Samaria alone, not including attacks in or from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, or inside the State of Israel proper.
The attacks left a total of 27 people dead and 305 injured, the SSF Without Borders report said.
More than half of the attacks were rock-throwing incidents, with 3,668 such attacks being reported out on roads across Judea and Samaria last year.
Fire bombings and Molotov cocktail attacks were also common, with 843 such attacks reported in 2024. For an average of 2.3 every day.
There were 671 reported instances of Palestinian Arabs using laser devices to blind Israeli drivers in attempts to cause them to become disoriented and crash.
A total of 526 conventional bombing attacks were reported – excluding firebombs, incendiary devices or attacks using gas tanks.
Israelis reported 179 shooting attacks across Judea and Samaria last year, along with 364 arson attacks or bombings using gas tanks.
In three dozen cases, bottles or bags of paint were thrown at Israeli vehicles, in order to obstruct their windshields and cause the driver to crash.
There were 37 stabbing attacks – 9 of which were successful – and 19 vehicular ramming attacks, 12 of which were successful. In addition, Arab terrorists violently assaulted Israelis in 15 different incidents involving carjackings.
GOP House Foreign Affairs Staffers Told To Say Judea And Samaria Instead Of “West Bank”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla) has instructed the committee’s Republican staffers to refer to Judea and Samaria by their historical names rather than as the “West Bank,” Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported.
Mast wrote to the committee’s staffers, “In recognition of our unbreakable bond with Israel and the inherent right of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will from here forward, refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria in formal correspondence, communication, and documentation.”
He noted that “Jewish roots in this region span centuries” and that it was time for the US to “recognize Israel’s rightful claim to the cradle of Jewish civilization.”
Mast’s memo only applies to Republican staffers, not Democratic staffers.
The term “West Bank”was first applied to Judea and Samaria by Jordan after that country illegally occupied the territory and ethnically cleansed the region of Jews during the 1948 War. The name was meant to signify that Judea and Samaria had become part of Jordan, which controlled both banks of the Jordan River. The term has remained in use even decades after Jordan renounced all claims to Judea and Samaria as world leaders and international organizations have refused to acknowledge the Jewish history of Judea and Samaria or the right of Jews to live in those territories where they previously lived for millennia.
A growing number of Republican officials and lawmakers have advocated for using the Biblical and historical name for the territory, Judea and Samaria, in place of the more recent “West Bank.” Many of these officials also support the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. US President Donald Trump has stated that his administration has not decided whether it supports such an application of Israeli sovereignty. However, an official announcement on the issue is expected in the coming weeks.
In December, Senator Tom Cotton (R.-AR) introduced legislation that would require all official US documents and materials to use the historically accurate term “Judea and Samaria” instead of the “West Bank.”
According to the Senator, the bill, titled the Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of influence by Necessitating Government use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act, would require the use of historically accurate terminology, and align US policy language with the geographical and cultural significance of the region.
The legislation was also introduced in the House by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-Ny)
“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria go back thousands of years. The US should stop using the politically charged term ‘West Bank’ to refer to the Biblical heartland of Israel,” said Senator Cotton.
“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historic and legal claim over Judea and Samaria, and at this critical moment in history, the United States must reaffirm this,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This bill reaffirms Israel’s rightful claim to its territory. I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish State and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”
Their Time Is Up – Liel Leibovitz
Many of the Israeli hostages who return tell of being held captive by ordinary families, abused and tormented not by bearded zealots with guns but by mothers and fathers and daughters and sons. Such gleeful cruelty has no parallel in the civilized world. The assertion that most, or even many, Gazans are innocents hijacked by their tyrannical leaders is a polite fiction. Support for Hamas grew the more adept they proved at slaughtering the Jews.
Enough with the sophistry about international laws and human rights. We’ve seen the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the Red Cross. To take any of these decrepit and callous concubines of evildoers seriously is not an option any morally or intellectually serious person should ever entertain.
Enough also with the insufferable ululations about Jewish morality which has mercy on the monsters who devour our children. The very next holiday on the Jewish calendar, Purim, is a celebration of the time when Jews realized that justice meant not only reversing Haman’s evil decree, but forcing all those who were only too eager to partake in the slaughter to face the consequences of their actions. Like them, we, too, are fighting millions of Hamans, murderous marauders who will grow emboldened the more we offer them mercy.
Gazans aren’t long-suffering innocents who had the misfortune of living through decades of Hamas indoctrination. They are faithful adherents of a stern interpretation of a religion who believe there is glory in putting the enemies of God to the sword. We must insist that their hands be nowhere near our necks. (Tablet)
