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Arab World

Hamas Hands Over Bodies of Four Gaza Hostages

Coffins are placed on stage during the handover of deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Coffins are placed on stage during the handover of deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Hamas Hands Over Bodies of Four Gaza Hostages

Coffins are placed on stage during the handover of deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Coffins are placed on stage during the handover of deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Hamas handed over the bodies on Thursday of Israeli infant Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother Ariel, the two youngest captives taken in the October 7, 2023 attack.
The Palestinian group released the bodies of the two boys and their mother Shiri Bibas, along with that of a fourth hostage, Oded Lifschitz, under the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached last month with the backing of the United States and the mediation of Qatar and Egypt.

Red Cross vehicles drove away from the handover site in the Gaza Strip with four black coffins that had been placed on a stage. Each of the caskets had a small picture of the hostages.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief video statement that Thursday would be "a very difficult day for the state of Israel. An upsetting day, a day of grief."

Kfir Bibas was nine months old when the Bibas family, including their father Yarden, was abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of a string of communities near Gaza that were overrun by Hamas-led attackers from Gaza on October 7.
Hamas said in November 2023 that the boys and their mother had been killed in an Israeli airstrike but their deaths were never confirmed by Israeli authorities and even at the last minute, some refused to accept they were dead.

At the handover site, a large poster was hung up, depicting Netanyahu as a vampire standing over images of the four hostages. "The War Criminal Netanyahu & His Nazi Army Killed Them with Missiles from Zionist Warplanes," the poster read.
Following the handover, the remains will be moved into coffins draped with the Israeli flag and an army rabbi will provide over a short ceremony. They will then be taken into Israel to the national forensic institute to be identified, a process that could take a few hours or even a few days.
Only after identification will there be a formal announcement of their deaths and a funeral.
The handover marks the first return of dead bodies during the current agreement and Israel is not expected to confirm their identities until full DNA checks have been completed.
Despite accusations on both sides of ceasefire breaches, the fragile agreement that took effect on January 19 has held up since the first in a series of exchanges of hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

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Arab World

Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
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Hamas Says Path for Gaza Must Begin with End to ‘Aggression’ 

Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)
Makeshift tents of displaced Palestinian families among the ruins of their homes at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan in Jabaliya northern Gaza Strip on, 19 February 2026. (EPA)

Discussions on Gaza's future must begin with a total halt to Israeli "aggression", the Palestinian movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace met for the first time.

"Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people's legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination," Hamas said in a statement Thursday.

Trump's board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

"We agreed with our ally the US that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarization of Gaza," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Trump said several countries had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilization Force, the unit's American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.

Arab World

Official Contacts Aim to Keep Lebanon out of War on Iran as Israel Raises Readiness on Northern Front 

This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Official Contacts Aim to Keep Lebanon out of War on Iran as Israel Raises Readiness on Northern Front 

This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows a memorial for slain Lebanese Hezbollah longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah at the entrance of the southern village of Qannarit on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

Israel has raised the alert level of its military along the border with Lebanon, raising questions that Lebanon’s south may again be involved in a regional confrontation should the US attack Iran.

Given the heightened tensions between the US and Iran, questions have been asked over whether Hezbollah will become involved in a new war. Its Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem had recently announced that the party will not remain on the side if Iran is attacked.

On the ground, Israel blew up houses in southern Lebanon border towns and carried out air strikes in the south. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the raids targeted “Hezbollah infrastructure,” including arms caches and rocket launchers.

Their presence in the south is a violation of current agreements, he added.

Amid the high regional tensions, Israel’s Maariv quoted a military source as saying that the army has come up with plans, including a preemptive strike against Hezbollah, which would drag the south and the whole of Lebanon into a new war.

Ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the presidency has been carrying out internal and foreign contacts since Thursday morning to keep Lebanon out of any escalation.

Hezbollah had launched a “support front” war against Israel a day after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack. In 2024, the war spiraled into an all-out conflict, with Israel decimating the Hezbollah leadership and severely weakening the party.

Israel believes that Hezbollah has been rebuilding its capabilities since the ceasefire that was struck in November 2024.

Kassim Kassir, a political analyst who is close to Hezbollah, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “No one knows what Hezbollah will do because the situation is tied the extent of the attack, should it happen.”

He noted that Qassem was ambiguous when he said the party will decide what to do when the time is right, but at any rate, he stressed that the party will not remain on the sidelines or abandon Iran.

“No one knows what Hezbollah’s abilities are, so everything is possible,” Kassir said.

Riad Kahwaji, a security and defense affairs expert, said he does not rule out the possibility that Hezbollah would join the war should the US attack Iran.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he stressed that Iran is now the United States’ main target, when previously it used to confront its proxies.

It has now taken the fight directly to the heart of the problem, which is the Iranian regime, he remarked.

The extent of the military mobilization in the region and the frequent American statements about regime change all indicate that a major military operation may be imminent, he added.

Israel’s military also favors preemptive operations, so it is watching Hezbollah, which remains Iran’s most powerful regional proxy despite the blows it received in 2024 war, Kahwaji said.

Hezbollah still possesses a rocket arsenal that can threaten Israel, he remarked.

Israel’s high level of alert on the border with Lebanon could be in readiness for any development. Should Tel Aviv receive word from Washington that it intends to attack Iran, then it could launch operations against Hezbollah as part of preemptive strikes aimed at preventing the party from launching attacks against it, Kahwaji said.

“As long as Hezbollah possesses heavy weapons, such as rockets, and drones, that it has not handed over to the army, then Lebanon will continue to be vulnerable to attacks in the next confrontation. It will be exposed to Israeli strikes as long as this issue remains unresolved,” he added.

Arab World

Israel Keen to Attack Iran’s Regional Proxies before they Can Join the War

Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)
Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)
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Israel Keen to Attack Iran’s Regional Proxies before they Can Join the War

Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)
Two Israeli soldiers launch a drone. (Israeli Army)

The Israeli army is preparing to carry out “massive and unprecedented” strikes against groups backed by Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and armed factions in Iraq, should they join a potential war in the region, revealed Israeli military sources.

Iran is applying great pressure on these groups to take part in any upcoming conflict because the regime in Tehran concluded that their staying on the sidelines during the 12-day June war in 2025 was a strategic error, the sources said according to Israeli estimates.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Thursday warned Iran that his country is making its own preparations for possible Iranian missile strikes in response to any US action.

“We are prepared for any scenario,” he said, adding that if Iran attacks Israel, “they will experience a response they cannot even imagine.”

A military source said the Houthis pose a “direct threat not just to Israel, but to the whole world.” He accused the Houthis of impeding international trade in the Red Sea.

Even though the Houthis are not firing at all ships, they are still a threat to everyone, added the source. The militants are producing weapons and possess advanced technology, he warned, comparing them to a “dangerous ticking timebomb that must be swiftly neutralized.”

Israeli and foreign experts revealed that Iran is providing large financial support to its allied armed groups in the region in order for them to join a war should US President Donald Trump act on his threat to strike Iran.

In 2025, Iran allotted a billion dollars to these groups so that they can carry out rocket attacks against Israel.

It remains to be seen if these groups will respond to Iran’s pressure. Israeli estimates believe that the Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq are unlikely to join a war, while Hezbollah and the Houthis are more prepared to do so.

Israel has turned to mediators to warn these parties that any attack against it will be met with a “massive and unprecedented response.”

In Lebanon, the sources said that the military operations Israel is carrying out against Hezbollah and other armed groups are aimed at undermining the party’s efforts to bolster its combat abilities.

They acknowledged, however, that the Israeli military establishment senses that Hezbollah is rebuilding its capabilities at a faster pace than Israel’s operations at reining it in.

The Houthis, meanwhile, have a relatively greater margin of independence, but they are always ready to take part in any regional war to shift attention away from the situation inside Yemen, said Israeli estimates.

The Houthis are receiving Iranian funds to boost their military capabilities and produce more weapons. They also continue to smuggle weapons to Hamas in Gaza. Israel also accuses them of extorting several countries, whereby they pledge not to attack their ships in exchange for money.

The Houthis are ultimately fully supportive of Iran’s goals despite the blows they have been dealt by Israel. The Houthis are suffering from a drop in combat abilities. The pace of their training of fighters has also dropped, while their airports have been damaged in Israeli attacks and the Houthis are facing difficulties in rebuilding them.

Despite the losses, the Houthis are still a threat. They possess heavy long-range missiles and drones and still have the ability to shut Israel’s southern Eilat port.