The Hostage Deal, Egypt's Panic Attack and Jenin's Terrorists

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

      Or Levy,     Eli Sharabi,   and Ohad Ben Ami, hostages for 497 days since October 7, 2023

The last hostages freed were in very bad shape.  

"Hamas stated that it will fulfill its commitments under the ceasefire agreement and release 3 hostages on Saturday. "Hamas confirms it will release three hostages on Saturday as Israel pushes for all remaining living captives to be freed."

Trucks carrying aid move amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. (Hussam Al-Masri/Reuters)

Egyptian officials said that Israel had committed to increasing the supply of tents, shelters, and heavy equipment into Gaza. Israel has told mediators that it wants more living hostages released in phase 1 of the agreement. Senior spokesman for Hamas Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera that Hamas had no intention of releasing all of the hostages on Saturday, as demanded by President Trump, and called for mass marches against Trump's plans for taking over Gaza. He said, "Trump's threats mean nothing and do not scare us. Egypt and Qatar are making great efforts to push Israel to meet its obligations and we are pleased with the official position of Arab states who reject the plan to uproot Palestinians. The administration of Gaza is a Palestinian affair and we will not be dictated to. We are committed to the deal as it was agreed and will not be releasing all of the prisoners next Saturday."

We expect three of them as planned.  

Egypt is scrambling to put together a coalition of Arab nations to commit to rebuilding Gaza, hoping to preempt the U.S. from carrying out President's Trump plan of taking over the Strip and rebuilding it, after transferring the population to other Arab states. Egypt will host a summit of Arab leaders on Feb. 27 to discuss the issue. Egyptian President el-Sisi has yet to meet with Trump. 

The IDF struck a vehicle packed with explosives in the eastern sector of Jenin. The the car was intended to detonate near troops operating in the area. A terrorist attempted to attack soldiers at the IDF headquarters in northern Samaria, but was neutralized.  

           Judea and Samaria in yellow up against border  on East   

      Jenin skyline  in northern Samaria

• In 2017, Jenin had a population of about 50,000 people 
• In 2021, Jenin had a population of 332,050 people, according to a Palestinian figure  (not possible)  In 2017, Jenin had a population of approximately 50,000 people, whilst the Jenin refugee camp had a population of about 10,000, housing families of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine War. The camp has since become a stronghold of Palestinian militants against British colonialism and Israeli occupation, being the location of several incidents relating to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. 

IDF counter-terror operations continue in and around Jenin in northern Samaria and Tulkarm. Since the start of the operation, the IDF has killed approximately 60 terrorists, arrested over 200 terror suspects, conducted 15 airstrikes and used heavy machinery to demolish buildings and roads where explosives were planted.                                             

                      Ariel view of Tulkarm

                                     Tulkarm close-up:   the capital of the Tulkarm Governorate,  The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of Nablus and Jenin to the east. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2017 Tulkarm had a population of 64,532. Tulkarm is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority.

Resource: 

israelAM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenin

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-842064

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-ceasefire-hostages-02-07-2025-9e32d4507fc402e79c063b7708df439d