Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Hamas on Wednesday proposed exchanging all Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees in "one go" during the second phase of the ceasefire deal to bring a permanent end to fighting and complete the withdrawal of Israel's forces from Gaza.
The group also confirmed it would increase the number of hostages to be released in the next swap on Saturday from three to six. "Doubling the number of prisoners to be released was done in response to a request from the mediators and to prove our seriousness in implementing all the terms of the agreement," said Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman.
In exchange, Israel will free Palestenian detainees serving "life sentences and long sentences," he added. In addition to the six living hostages, Hamas announced on Tuesday it would hand over the bodies of four hostages, including members of the Bibas family who have become symbols in Israel of the October 7, 2023 attack. Hamas militants captured Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their two children – Ariel, who was four when he was kidnapped, and baby Kfir, who was nine months old. Yarden was released on February 1.
Hamas said Shiri and her young sons were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said an understanding was reached in Cairo, under which the six living hostages will be released on Saturday. It confirmed that four bodies will be handed over this Thursday and another four next week.
"We are ready for a second stage in which the prisoners will be exchanged in one go with the criteria of reaching an agreement that leads to a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal from the Strip," Mr Qassem said. Hamas has accused Israel of evading negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire, which were supposed to begin on February 4.
Qatar, which is mediating between Hamas and Israel, together with the US and Egypt, said the talks have not officially started. Israel had given mixed signals about its engagement in negotiations for the second stage of the three-phased truce which came into force on January 19. The initial phase of the ceasefire, which includes a 42-day pause in fighting and the return of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees, has remained on track despite a series of setbacks and accusations of violations that threatened to derail it.
"It will happen this week," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told a press conference in Jerusalem.
Negotiations for the second stage are expected to be tough because they include sticking points such as the administration of post-war Gaza, as disagreements between Hamas and Israel remain.
Israel has repeatedly stated that disarmament and removal of Hamas from the Gaza Strip are conditions for an end to the war.
"We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organisation in Gaza," Mr Saar said.
But, in the same statement, Mr Qassem rejected the proposal. "The occupation’s condition of removing Hamas from the Gaza Strip is a ridiculous psychological war, and the withdrawal or disarmament of the resistance from Gaza is unacceptable," he said.
Hamas has voiced openness to the possibility of a power-sharing agreement with the Palestinian Authority and other Palestinian parties, but rejected a full handover. "We have no objection to the [Palestinian] Authority's participation and supervision, but the notion of a full handover is baseless and unrealistic," Ayman Shannaa, a member of Hamas's political leadership in Lebanon, told The National on Tuesday.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
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