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Tag: IDF

Israeli defense minister orders IDF to plan for Gazans to leave

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Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday he welcomes President Donald Trump’s proposal for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip as he instructed the IDF to prepare a plan in line with the controversial plan.

Katz said Trump’s “bold plan” could “create extensive opportunities for those in Gaza who wish to leave.”

Trump’s plan initially stated that Gaza’s population would be “permanently” relocated while the United States rebuilds the territory, but U.S. officials later walked back those comments, saying the relocation would only be temporary.

TRUMP’S PROPOSED US TAKEOVER OF GAZA STRIP ELICITS POSITIVE RESPONSE ACROSS ADMINISTRATION

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, November 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Trump said Tuesday evening in a joint press conference with Netanyahu. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site.”

“Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” he said. “Do a real job. Do something different. Just can’t go back. If you go back, it’s going to end up the same way it has for 100 years.”

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER LAUDS TRUMP’S LEADERSHIP WHEN ASKED IF BIDEN SHOULD TAKE CREDIT FOR CEASEFIRE

Israelis protestors set a fire as they block a road in Tel Aviv on November 5, 2024, after the dismissal of the defense minister, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Katz said he believes that the plan should include multiple exit options for any country willing to receive them.

“The plan will include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air. Countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have falsely accused Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated to allow Gazans to enter their territory. Their hypocrisy will be exposed if they refuse,” said Katz.

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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As of now, the plan has been rejected by the Palestinians as well as many in the international community who believe it is forcible displacement and violates international law. Rights groups said it would amount to forcible displacement in violation of international law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 6, 2025
Moment IDF soldier is reunited with family seen on video

After 482 days in Hamas captivity, Agam Berger, one of the IDF soldiers kidnapped from an observation base during the Oct. 7 attacks, was reunited with her family in Israel. Berger was the last of the soldiers kidnapped from Nahal Oz base to remain in Hamas captivity.

In a video released by the IDF, Berger’s parents were seen rejoicing as they watched their daughter being greeted by Israeli forces prior to their own reunion with her.

Berger’s emotional reunion with her parents was also captured on video and released by the IDF.

“We’re here, and we will not leave you ever again,” Berger’s mother said, hugging her daughter. “It’s a mother’s promise.”

Former Hamas hostage Agam Berger is reunited with her family. (Courtesy: IDF)

THIRD ROUND OF HOSTAGE RELEASES BEGINS AS PART OF HAMAS’ GAZA CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITH ISRAEL

Upon her return, Berger’s family celebrated the return of their “strong, faithful and brave” daughter, saying that they “can begin the healing process, but the recovery will not be complete until all the hostages return home.”

Former Hamas hostages Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Ariev watch as fellow hostage Agam Berger is released. (Courtesy: IDF)

The soldiers who were kidnapped alongside Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Ariev watched from Rabin Medical Center as Berger was released. The five of them were taken hostage together, and Hamas released the other four were released last Saturday as part of Israel and Hamas’ ceasefire deal.

Former Hamas hostage Agam Berger is reunited with the other IDF soldiers who were kidnapped alongside her on Oct. 7, 2023. (Courtesy: IDF)

Berger was one of seven hostages released on Thursday, including Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Moses, Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum celebrated their release in a statement, saying it brought “hope” and showed “the triumph of the human spirit,” while noting that “there are still 82 hostages held in Gaza that need to be saved.” The organization also thanked President Donald Trump, saying his “instrumental efforts made this deal possible.”

Additionally, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum also expressed concern over the “harrowing images” of the hostages’ transfers to the Red Cross.

“After 482 days of unimaginable terror and suffering, these individuals—who have already endured the unthinkable—must not be subjected to further danger,” the statement read. “This process, marked by cruelty and disregard for human dignity, must be unequivocally condemned. In these critical moments, every effort must be made to ensure their protection and immediate reunification with their loved ones.”

STATE DEPT PULLS MILLIONS IN FUNDING FOR ‘CONDOMS IN GAZA,’ AS TRUMP ADMIN LOOKS TO TRIM SPENDING

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement about the “shocking scenes during the release of the hostages.”

“I see with great severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “This is another proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the terrorist organization Hamas. I demand from the mediators to make sure that such threats will not happen again, and to guarantee the safety of our hostages. Whoever dares to harm our hostages – blood on his head.”

Hostages released in the latest ceasefire deal have been seen surrounded by terrorists and large crowds as they make their way to the Red Cross to be taken back home to Israel.

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After the videos and images of the chaotic scenes became public, Netanyahu demanded that hostages be guaranteed a safe exit in the future and delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners until his demand was met. Mediators eventually made a commitment to ensure the safe transfer of hostages in future releases.

On Monday, Israel began allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, the most heavily destroyed part of the territory, and hundreds of thousands streamed back. Many found only mounds of rubble where their homes had been.

In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is set to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, older adults and sick or wounded men, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the hostages to be released in this phase are dead.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.

January 30, 2025
Former Hamas hostage details horrors of captivity, credits kidnapped IDF soldier with saving her life

Former Hamas hostage Amit Soussana is sharing more details about her time in captivity, and she says there was another hostage who was instrumental in her survival. Liri Albag, one of the IDF soldiers who was kidnapped on Oct. 7, “saved” Soussana.

Speaking on Israeli TV, Soussana recalled her captors tying her up and beating her, demanding that she admit to being in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Soussana says her hands and feet were bound, and she was beaten with a stick before one of the captors pointed a gun at her and said, “You have 40 minutes to tell us the truth, or else I kill you.”

Amit Soussana was released after 55 days of hell in a hostage deal. (Getty Images)

ISRAELI WOMAN BRAVELY DESCRIBES HORROR AS HAMAS HOSTAGE: ‘THEY WERE TAKING PLEASURE IN HURTING ME’

Fellow hostage Albag was apparently able to convince their captors that Soussana was not in fact in the military. Soussana who calls Albag “something special, a force,” believes this act saved her life.

“I told her when she came back: ‘I don’t know if they would have killed me or not; as far as I’m concerned, you saved my life,” Soussana said in the interview.

Released Israeli hostage Liri Albag, a soldier who was kidnapped from her army base during Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, embraces loved ones after being released, in an unknown location, in a handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)

Hamas terrorists kidnapped Soussana from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the brutal Oct. 7 attacks. She was forced to walk barefoot in pajamas from her burning house to the Gaza border, being beaten along the way. Soussana fought her kidnappers in what was called “the battle of my life,” trying to stall them in hopes that the IDF would rescue her before she was dragged into Gaza.

Soussana was released from Gaza in November 2023 after 55 days in captivity as part of Israel’s first hostage deal with Hamas.

UN FINALLY RECOGNIZES THAT ISRAELI WOMEN WERE RAPED, SEXUALLY ATTACKED BY HAMAS TERRORISTS

In March 2024, Soussana became the first Israeli woman to speak publicly about being sexually assaulted while in Hamas captivity. She recalled the horrifying incident in an interview with The New York Times. Soussana later testified before the UN Security Council in October 2024 about her experience.

Amit Soussana spoke before the UN on Wednesday, sharing her harrowing experience as a hostage. Hamas terrorists abducted her on Oct. 7, 2023. (UNTV)

During her captivity, Soussana was chained by her ankle, unable to move. “I had to ask for permission to use the bathroom,” she explained, detailing her experience. “In that house, I was sexually assaulted by the Hamas terrorist who had guarded me.”

She described the assault, saying, “He forced me to go to the shower and entered the room, pointed his gun at me. He was breathing heavily and had a monstrous beast-like face.” She recalled his intrusive questioning while he sat next to her in his underwear, lifting her shirt and touching her. “I knew exactly what he was planning to do, and yet I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. I was utterly helpless.”

Soussana said that after the assault she was not “allowed to cry or to be sad.” She recalled feeling isolated and being “forced to act nice to the person who had just sexually assaulted me.”

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Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a deadly war for over 15 months following the terror group’s devastating surprise attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas is expected to release Agam Berger, Arbel Yehoud and 80-year-old Gadi Moses on Jan. 30 as part of the current ceasefire deal with Israel.

Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.

January 29, 2025