From: Al Jazeera February 10, 2025

Confusion:
There was not much detail in Trump’s remarks.

He did not say:
1. if he was advocating for trashing the decades-old US policy of seeking a two-state solution for Palestine,
2. if he was suggesting a temporary ethnic cleansing of Gaza,
3. or how his idea sat within the painstakingly negotiated three-phase ceasefire agreement.

Reporting from The Times and other outlets has suggested that:
1. large parts of Trump’s announcement appear to have been made without the prior consultation of aides or allies,
2. accounting for much of the international backlash from states unaware of his proposals,
3. and the swift caveating of the President’s plan by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt,
who clarified that:
1. the president’s proposals were temporary
2. and did not represent a US military commitment to Gaza.

former Israeli ambassador and government adviser Alon Pinkas said to Al Jazeera: “Let’s say we take Trump seriously,”
“Israel has to commit to the deal and see it through to at least the second phase [when the population transfer might take place]

“Now, say we don’t?
1. Hamas still has no incentive to stay with the ceasefire.
2. They and everyone else in Gaza, all 2.3 million, will be kicked out anyway.
3. Where’s their motivation to keep with the ceasefire agreement?

Spoilers:
If the US ethnically cleanses Gaza, even temporarily, Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and their allies would feel closer to their long-nurtured hope of colonising it than they have ever been before.

If, as Pinkas suggests, Trump’s intervention leads to the collapse of the ceasefire, they at least get the return to the war they supported through 16 months of unrestrained carnage.

In both cases, Netanyahu would likely emerge stronger, either through a unified and combined cabinet or as a war leader, defending what he frames as the “Jewish homeland”.

Even the threat of an early election, Barak suggested, may play to the prime minister’s end: “New elections would make any government a transitional one,”

He said, referring to the various challenges the government faces in addition to the potential threat posed by its right, such as the upcoming budget and the debate over drafting Israel’s ultra-Orthodox, “meaning it wouldn’t have to overcome any of those hurdles.

Anything that gives Netanyahu time is always good for him. He’s done this before.”

“Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and others are at least clear in what they want [the ethnic cleansing of Gaza]

Pinkas said of the lip service paid to international norms by the Israeli premier:
They don’t trouble themselves with obscure concepts, such as international law, which Netanyahu has to,”

Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flashenberg said of Netanyahu’s recent challenges from his right flank.
“By putting the transfer plan on the table, Trump has pushed Ben-Gvir and Smotrich much closer to Netanyahu,”

He continued, referencing their stated readiness to support the government through at least stage II of the three-phase ceasefire if the endgame is the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
1. Ben-Gvir has said that this brings him closer to getting back to the government
2. Smotrich said that this declaration makes the preservation of the government more critical

From: The Times of Israel February 10, 2025
Hamas says it’s delaying next hostage release, claiming Israeli truce violations

Defense minister calls delay an ‘outright violation’ of deal, orders IDF on highest alert;
PM moves up security cabinet meeting to Tuesday morning;
Mediators concerned;

Hamas said it would delay further hostage releases until Israel complied with the terms of the ceasefire deal and compensated the Palestinians for the breaches.

Hamas said in a statement:
1. The delay in the release of prisoners serves as a warning message to the occupation
2. and to exert pressure for the full compliance with the agreement's terms,
3. it "reaffirms its commitment to the terms of the agreement".

As regards Israel's leverage: I reckon None - lost it all October 7
complacent Israel letting Hamas breach Israel's 'Fort Knox' deterrence vaunted security barriers Iron Wall, Iron Dome and some

From: The Jerusalem Post February 10, 2025
Israel has lost its leverage in the Gaza hostage deal

No one should be surprised at Hamas’s announcement that it is freezing the hostage releases as part of the Gaza deal, citing Israeli violations.

Once the IDF pulled out of the Netzarim Corridor, which splits Gaza City from southern Gaza, effectively splitting the enclave in two, Palestinians who had moved south to avoid the bombings in the north were able to return their homes.

The military even partially opened the Rafah crossing, which separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt to the south.

This means Israel no longer has leverage at this stage of the deal. So, why exactly would this be surprising?

Test: for US and Israel

It is a test for US President Donald Trump’s administration and for his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Trump announced last week – and reiterated on Sunday – his grand Gaza relocation plan to empty the enclave of Gazans by relocating them to neighboring Arab countries and rebuilding the area from the bottom up.

This drew widespread condemnation, immediately from Hamas and from Arab states, and later from within the Republican Party as well.

The test does not end there.

It will also fall on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government, who believed that there is an agreement in place that Hamas signed on to, and so Hamas must fulfill it.

Will we now, once again, see pressure on Israel from Washington to “give Hamas a little more?”

Hamas is testing the limits of the world's patience. Hamas's latest move should serve as a wake-up call.

If this is how it behaves when the world is watching—stalling, posturing, and feigning moral outrage at supposed Israeli violations—then what horrors remain unseen?

The terrorists claim that Israel is not fulfilling its end of the agreement, but it’s Hamas that has already shattered every basic standard of decency by taking civilians hostage in the first place.

This is psychological warfare at its most grotesque.

The group has prided itself on,
1. turning hostage releases into a media spectacle,
2. complete with orchestrated crowds and celebratory fanfare.

When Hamas hands back coffins… will those same crowds gather when the bodies of hostages, starved or tortured to death, are returned?

Will there be certificates of release for the lifeless remains of a Holocaust survivor who survived the Nazis only to perish in Gaza?

Day 494 The world has been watching...
1. taking Israel to task over everything it does or does not do
2. never the terrorists
3. and conveniently forgetting their tunnel-based urban warfare terror using civilians as human shields

Anyone who cover their faces... enough said

As regards Israel's leverage: I reckon None - lost it all October 7
complacent Israel letting Hamas breach Israel's 'Fort Knox' deterrence vaunted security barriers Iron Wall, Iron Dome and some


Terrorists calling the shots and Israel forced to agree to the ceasefire on Hamas' terms

I saw some reserve in Netanyahu's reaction to Trump's Gaza takeover scheme. Though he said it was an example of new and creative thinking by Trump, he didn't outright say he endorsed the plan, and he looked a bit wary when he sat next to Trump when Trump announced it. Reasons (perhaps):

--He may not have known exactly what Trump planned to say beforehand.
--The plan is so radical that he's waiting to see if Trump really means to carry it out.
--The plan could cause huge problems for Israel. Gaza as American territory, with few or no Palestinians, and rebuilt as a "resort," would become a gigantic target for terrorists, America-haters and Jew-haters all around the world. Since Israel is closer and more vulnerable than America, Israel could face a host of new or renewed enemies.
--It would encourage the wildest, craziest dreams of the ultra-religious zealots in his ruling coalition, complicating any plans to negotiate a postwar peace and restore efforts to encourage relations with Saudi Arabia and other anti-Iran nations.

Trump Offered Revolutionary Plan
Haaretz by Noa Shpigel and Ben Samuels 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• 'Trump Offered Revolutionary Plan. You Wanted Gaza's Day After; You Got It'

Prime Minister Netanyahu made a variety of claims at Monday's Knesset session:
1. His Israeli opponents were helping Hamas,
2. the recent return of hostages was due to his insistence
3. and his meeting with Trump was the most important with a US president, in Israel's history

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his policies since the events of October 7, 2023 in Monday's Knesset sitting, during a session about a possible
vote of no confidence in the government

• Day 494 How is Netanyahu defending the failures and security lapses that led to, among others,

1. not keeping the Israelis safe and secure inside Israel's borders
2. Hamas breaching Israel's 'Fort Knox' deterrence vaunted security barriers Iron Wall, Iron Dome and some
3. Hamas committing terror acts of evil barbarism and brutality
4. murdering around 1,200 and taking over 250 Israeli civilians hostage

While there is a lot of anger towards Hamas, Israelis wonder where their Army was on October 7, 2023
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio16 months of brutal war, the terrorists Hamas back in control of Gaza

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed

President proposes letting ‘all hell break loose’ if hostages held by Hamas are not returned to Israel at noon on Saturday

Donald Trump has warned that if all the Israeli hostages held in Gaza are not returned by Saturday at noon he would propose,
1. canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire
2. and letting “all hell break loose”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office late on Monday, the US president also said, He might,
Trump’s comments came after Hamas said it was delaying the release of hostages indefinitely over “violations” of the ceasefire deal,
prompting Israel’s defence minister to put the country’s military on alert with orders to prepare for “any scenario in Gaza”

Trump called the statement by Hamas “terrible” and said, He would,

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump: all of the hostages returned by Saturday

The initial and only ceasefire should have been unconditional surrender by terrorists Hamas and return of ALL the living and dead hostages

Trump said,
The ultimatum could end a three-week-old ceasefire which dictates a strict schedule for the release of the [33] Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails

Trump said,Trump indicated he had not spoken to Benjamin Netanyahu about the timeline he suggested

Asked about any concrete measures he was threatening to take to enforce his demand, Trump said,
He did not directly respond to a question on whether or not that would entail US military action

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• ceasefire at breaking point

Hamas, Israeli and Arab officials have already warned that the ceasefire is at a breaking point and Trump’s radical intervention could stoke fears that Washington does not have any intent to continue with the phased deal

A Hamas spokesperson cited past Israeli violations for halting the exchanges but the militant group’s threat to suspend hostage releases comes against a backdrop of increasingly hardline US and Israeli positions about the long-term future of the strip

• Jordan and Egypt

Trump also said that he could “conceivably” withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt – some of the US’s closest allies in the region – unless they agreed to his plan for the US in what would amount to an effective ethnic cleansing,
1. to “take over” Gaza and
2. to relocate millions of Palestinians to the neighbouring states


Trump's threat came after Egypt in a statement issued earlier Monday after foreign minister Badr Abdelatty met with his US counterpart in Washington,

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• Terrorists calling the shots

Egyptian security sources separately told Reuters that mediators fear the ceasefire could collapse and have postponed talks until they receive a clear indication of Washington’s intent to continue with the phased deal

Israel’s security cabinet has moved forward a meeting to discuss negotiations on the second phase, which had been scheduled for Tuesday evening

the Kan news outlet reported, the army has cancelled all leave for soldiers in the Gaza division, in another sign that Israeli authorities are preparing for the resumption of war

Before Trump’s comments, Hamas said the “door remains open” for the next hostage-prisoner exchange on Saturday

In a statement, the group said it had,Hamas added,

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump's “take over Gaza”

Trump’s comments on the ceasefire were his second apparently unscripted intervention in the crisis on Monday.

Earlier, Trump said that his plan to “take over Gaza”
1. would not include a right of return for the more than 2 million Palestinians
2. the Palestinians have “no alternative” but to leave because of the destruction left by Israel’s military campaign

Hamas' campaign their tunnel-based urban warfare terror using civilians as human shields and their murder, destruction, taking civilian hostagesforced Israel’s military campaign because of Hamas' evil barbarism and brutality

Asked about Palestinians who refused to leave, Trump said,
Arab states have denounced the plan and the United Nations’s top investigator told Politico,what cleansing is? the terrorists ultimate goal of annihilating the Jews and wiping Israel off the map

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• Trump's rebuild Gaza not for the Gazans

In the interview with Fox’s Bret Baier, Trump said that he would,
Asked if Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza, Trump told Baier,Trump added,

• Qatar: ceasefire-hostage deal in jeopardy

Qatar had warned Israeli officials at the weekend that even the first stage of the ceasefire deal was being put in jeopardy by provocative statements from Netanyahu and by his government’s approach to talks on a second stage Haaretz reported Never mind the provocative statements from terrorists Hamas

an Israeli source said, Qatari diplomats sent angry messages to Israeli counterparts, reminding them that as hosts, key mediators and guarantors of the deal’s implementation, they too have a stake in its survival Qatar also reminded the terrorists Hamas?

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• protests in Tel Aviv

In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked streets on Monday night, demanding the return of all hostages, as some relatives accused their government of sabotaging the deal and endangering their loved ones

Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, who is a hostage in Gaza and not listed for release under the first stage of the deal, said,

• remaining hostages' survival

The next exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees had been scheduled for this Saturday and would have been the sixth under the six-week-long first stage of the ceasefire deal

The skeletal appearance of three hostages released on Saturday shocked many Israelis and increased pressure on the government to reach a deal to bring home those still trapped

Several recently returned hostages have said they fear those still inside Gaza will struggle to survive much longer

Trump says Gaza ceasefire should be cancelled if Israeli hostages not freed
The Guardian by Andrew Roth in Washington, Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem 11 February 2025

Extracts:

• Hostage-Prisoner deal

Hamas is due to release 33 hostages during the first stage of the deal, although eight of them are dead

The list of those who will be released includes women – civilians and soldiers – children, the sick and older men
Israel has agreed to release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees

Sixteen Israelis have been released so far, all alive

Hamas also released five Thai citizens last week They had not been included in the negotiations

The second stage of the ceasefire deal under a framework agreed days before Trump’s inauguration in January is intended,
1. to bring the return of all living hostages
2. and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza

Negotiations on the details of that stage were always expected to be even more challenging than agreeing the initial ceasefire

From: Haaretz February 11, 2025
Jordan rejects displacement of Palestinians, supports two-state solution, King Abdullah says

Jordan's King Abdullah pushed back on Trump's plans for Jordan to absorb Gazan immigrants, saying:
"Let's wait and not get ahead of ourselves," but offered to take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza.

Jordan's King Abdullah said, after his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, he had:
"reiterated Jordan's steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank."

1. This is the unified Arab position, the priority for all
2. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians
3. and addressing the dire humanitarian situation

He added that
1. "Achieving a just peace on the basis of the two-state solution is the way to ensure regional stability"
2. and "This requires U.S. leadership."
3. "President Trump is a man of peace,"
4. "He was instrumental in securing the Gaza cease-fire."
5. "We look to the U.S and all stakeholders in ensuring it holds,"

The Jordanian leader also said, in their meeting he:
1. "stressed the importance of working towards de-escalation in the West Bank
2. and preventing a deterioration of the situation there that could have far-reaching implications for the entire region."

From: Reuters February 11, 2025
Egypt offers 'comprehensive proposal' to rebuild Gaza after refusing refugees

Egypt's statement comes as Trump continues to,
1. press for his plan to "take over" the Gaza Strip
2. and "resettle" its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan.

according to a foreign ministry statement on Tuesday:
Egypt plans to offer a "comprehensive proposal" to rebuild Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain on their land

It said it is looking forward to cooperating with US President Donald Trump to reach comprehensive and just peace in the region.

However, Egypt rejected any proposal to allocate land to Gaza residents, the state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV reported, citing Egyptian sources.

From: Reuters February 11, 2025

Jordan and Egypt statements come as Trump continues to press for his plan,
1. to take over the Gaza Strip
2. and resettle its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan despite rejection from Arab states.

Additionally, on Tuesday, Trump met with Jordan's King Abdullah, stating:
1. "Palestinians will live safely in another location that is not Gaza,"
2. "the US wasn't going to buy Gaza but rather "run it very properly."

Trump said he thinks there will be parcels of land in Jordan and in Egypt where Palestinians will live, to which the King replied that he would do what is best for his country and that a future plan has to be in everyone's best interest.

Abdullah did, however, say that Jordan would take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron told CNN news in an interview recorded last week at Elysée palace:
1. 'political operation' is correct solution for Gaza, not a 'real estate operation'
2. "You cannot say to 2 million people, 'okay, now guess what? You will move,"

A political source said the Israeli security cabinet backs "Trump's revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza."

Member of Knesset Yuli Edelstein rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's plan that Egypt and Jordan take in Gaza's two million residents, saying:
"Immigration from Gaza should be directed to more distant countries."

Hamas response:
In an official statement on Thursday, Hamas said:
1. they strongly rejected Trump's plan to relocate Gazans
2. and called on Arab countries to unite with the intent of combating the decision.

Hamas also demanded an emergency summit with Arab countries to confront what the terror group referred to as Trump's "displacement project."

"Trump's talk about Washington's acceptance of the Gaza Strip can be compared to a declaration of its [the US's] desire to occupy the Strip,"

1. "We do not need any country to patrol the Gaza Strip,
2. and we do not accept replacing one occupation with another,"

From: Haaretz February 11, 2025
Trump on his newly imposed deadline:
1. "It's going to be a big moment, we'll see what happens.
2. I don't expect much happening with these people, but we'll see what happens."

Hamas tells Trump ‘threats have no value,’ as Israeli far right praises US ultimatum

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that
"If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday at noon, the IDF will resume intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated."
16 months of brutal war, the terrorists Hamas still in control of Gaza still not defeated

Hamas said, following Netanyahu's statement,
1. it is committed to continuing the Gaza cease-fire deal
2. and holds Israel accountable for any "complications or delays.

The Houthis' leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said: the group is,
1. ready to launch attacks on Israel
2. if it does not commit the cease-fire deal and resumes the fighting in Gaza.

Terrorists still calling the shots

They were not even aware Hamas was inside Israel, running amok, for hours

From: Haaretz February 11, 2025
Impractical, Incomprehensible, Illegal: Trump Traps Netanyahu and Sows Chaos With U.S. Takeover Plan for Gaza

Trump's plan for the Gaza Strip that includes the relocation of 2 million Palestinians is not logical or viable.
Whether it's an imperialist tantrum or an actual 'out of the box' initiative, there is really no way to endorse, refute or examine it

"Ah, you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win."

White House: Trump will 'not waver' from his Gaza proposal
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt highlighted President Trump's commitment to his Gaza proposal

But added that there is an alternative set to be presented to the U.S. after Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President al-Sisi's joint rejection of the proposal to transfer Gaza's population.

Gazans Fear the Return of War:
1. They sentence our children to death
2. 'We Don't Dream of a Future Anymore'

Palestinians are counting down the days to Saturday, hoping that the cease-fire with Israel holds despite escalating threats from Netanyahu, Trump and Hamas.

'They talk about cease-fires and aid - and then sign death sentences for our children,' one man tells Haaretz

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have reacted with intense anxiety and fear after the war of words between Hamas and U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week.

Egyptian source: Some of the issues threatening Gaza cease-fire have been resolved

Several Egyptian sources told the Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that Hamas and the head of Egyptian intelligence had resolved some of the issues threatening to delay implementation of the next phase of the hostage deal.

The paper also reported that Egypt is continuing its efforts to obtain permission from Israel to bring prefabricated housing and tents into the Gaza Strip.

The report added that if Israel approves entry of the caravans by Thursday, it could pave the way for the completion of the next phase of the cease-fire deal over the coming weekend.

From: The Guardian February 12, 2025
Hamas faces hard choice over next hostage release as ceasefire falters

Delay will probably mean return to fighting, but releasing more hostages could force talks on next stage of ceasefire

Hamas is facing hard choices as the Israeli military bolsters troop numbers in and around the Gaza Strip and the three-week-old ceasefire falters.

The Palestinian militant group unexpectedly announced on Monday that it was postponing the next planned release of three Israeli hostages over the weekend, citing alleged Israeli violations of the truce:
1. delaying the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza,
2. blocking the arrival of aid
3. and attacking civilians.

It stressed, however, that it wants the ceasefire to continue, emphasising that mediators had five days before the handover to ensure Israel:
“complies and compensates for the past weeks”.

There are also two unspoken reasons for the group’s decision.

Hamas officials are astute observers of Israeli politics and media;
they took careful note of the furore caused by the emaciated condition of the three hostages released last weekend, which the hostage families forum likened to images of Holocaust survivors.

If the group is releasing the healthiest captives first, and the next to be freed are in even worse shape, Hamas commanders may be worried about pushing Israeli public opinion towards resuming hostilities in revenge for their treatment.

Secondly, Hamas is as vulnerable as the rest of the world to Donald Trump’s tendency to make up policy on the fly.

The militant group did not mention the president’s ill-considered proposal that the US "take over" and “develop” Gaza in its statement on Monday, but the president has essentially already torpedoed:
1. the next two phases of the ceasefire – an end to the war
2. and talks on future governance of the strip.

He has left Hamas with dwindling options.

Trump’s response to the delay of the next hostage release raised the stakes even higher.

In an attempt to back the group into a corner, he has now demanded that Hamas releases “all” of the remaining Israeli hostages on Saturday, although he has acknowledged that the decision ultimately lies with Israel.

For his part, Netanyahu has deliberately fudged his position in order to keep his options open, not explicitly backing Trump’s most recent statement.

Hamas says it rejects US and Israeli ‘threats’ over Gaza ceasefire

Hamas has dismissed Trump’s new deadline, saying that “the language of threats has no value and only complicates matters”