Tens of Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza Commemorate 13th Anniversary of Arafat Death

A Palestinian women carries a poster of late leader Yasser Arafat during a Gaza rally to commemorate the anniversary of his death on November 9, 2017. (AFP)
A Palestinian women carries a poster of late leader Yasser Arafat during a Gaza rally to commemorate the anniversary of his death on November 9, 2017. (AFP)
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Tens of Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza Commemorate 13th Anniversary of Arafat Death

A Palestinian women carries a poster of late leader Yasser Arafat during a Gaza rally to commemorate the anniversary of his death on November 9, 2017. (AFP)
A Palestinian women carries a poster of late leader Yasser Arafat during a Gaza rally to commemorate the anniversary of his death on November 9, 2017. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of Palestinians commemorated in Gaza on Saturday the 13th anniversary of the death of leader Yasser Arafat.

This was the first memorial of its kind held in the Hamas-controlled coastal strip since 2007.

The movement had seized Gaza in bloody clashes with Fatah in 2007. The schism created by the clashes was resolved last month when representatives from both rival Palestinian factions met in Cairo for a reconciliation agreement.

Saturday’s anniversary event was billed as a show of national unity after the reconciliation agreement with Fatah, which was founded by Arafat.

The deal, which is supposed to see Hamas cede civil control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority led by current Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas by December 1, ended years of bitter division between the rival factions.

Tens of thousands of people from across the Gaza Strip poured into Saraya Square in Gaza City from early morning, hours before the keynote speeches were due to be delivered.

The rally drew in people from all over the coastal enclave, waving flags, raising posters of Abbas, Arafat and donning his landmark kaffiyeh.

"Today is a day for loyalty, unity and reconciliation. We say to the president and the government: Your sons in Fatah are waiting for your support of Gaza," said 20-year-old Shukri Antar.

Rania Barbekh, 50, who was carrying a Fatah flag and a picture of Abbas, said she and her son had arrived at the square at 7 am from their home in Khan Younes in the south of the Gaza Strip.

"We are all with Abou Ammar," she said, referring to Arafat by his Arabic nickname. "From this festival, we want Fatah and Hamas to unite against the enemy."

Fatah has held other events in Gaza since 2007, including a major celebration in 2013, but Hamas has often suppressed its activities.

On Thursday, several thousand people attended an Arafat anniversary event in Gaza organized by Fatah.

On Friday, hundreds of people took part in a "national unity marathon" organized by the Palestine Athletic Federation to support reconciliation between the rival factions.

Tawfiq Abou Naim, head of Hamas's internal security forces in Gaza, said he had instructed them to protect and support Saturday's commemoration, which he described as a "festival of unity".

Arafat died in 2004 at a hospital in France after two years of Israeli siege on his West Bank headquarters. Palestinians accuse Israel of poisoning him, but offer no proof, adding to the mystery of the death.



Israel Will Begin Negotiations on Next Phase of Gaza Ceasefire This Week, Minister Says

Displaced Palestinians, traveling in vehicles, wait to cross through a security checkpoint at the Netzarim corridor as they make their way from central Gaza to the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians, traveling in vehicles, wait to cross through a security checkpoint at the Netzarim corridor as they make their way from central Gaza to the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Will Begin Negotiations on Next Phase of Gaza Ceasefire This Week, Minister Says

Displaced Palestinians, traveling in vehicles, wait to cross through a security checkpoint at the Netzarim corridor as they make their way from central Gaza to the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians, traveling in vehicles, wait to cross through a security checkpoint at the Netzarim corridor as they make their way from central Gaza to the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)

Israel and Hamas will begin indirect negotiations on a second stage of the Gaza ceasefire deal, officials said on Tuesday, as the Palestinian group said it would hand over more hostages, including the bodies of two children, this week.

Khalil al-Hayya, leader of Hamas in Gaza, said the bodies of four hostages, including those of the Bibas family, would be returned on Thursday. Six living hostages would follow on Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed a deal was reached in Cairo to secure the release of six living hostages on Saturday, four deceased hostages on Thursday and four more next week, but stopped short at naming any of them.

An Israeli official said deceased hostages will undergo identification in Israel before they are named.

Negotiations for the second phase of the deal were supposed to start on February 4 but Qatar, which together with Egypt and the United States is mediating between the sides, said the talks have not officially started yet.

"It will happen this week," Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told a press conference in Jerusalem.

Israel had given mixed signals in the past few weeks about its engagement in the talks over the next stage of the three-phased ceasefire, which came into effect on January 19 with the stated goal of permanently ending the Gaza war.

The Bibas family, including Kfir Bibas, who was less than a year old when he was abducted and his brother Ariel, 4 years old at the time, have been among the highest-profile Israeli hostages seized in the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Their father Yarden Bibas was released this month but their mother Shiri was not. Hamas said in late 2023 that Shiri and the children had been killed by Israeli bombardments.

Israel has not confirmed their deaths and has only said it has grave concern for their lives. After Hamas' announcement, it appealed to respect the hostage families' privacy.

The family said it was "in turmoil" since the announcement by Hamas. "Until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over," it said in a statement.

The identity of the fourth deceased hostage has not yet been announced but the families of the six living hostages to be released on Saturday have been informed.

Eliyah Cohen, 27, Tal Shoham, 40, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Omer Wenkert, 23 were all taken hostage on Oct 7. Two others, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, and Avera Mengistu, 39, crossed over into Gaza independently of each other around a decade ago and have been held since then.

NEGOTIATIONS OVER SECOND PHASE

The initial phase of the ceasefire deal, which includes a 42-day truce and the return of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, has remained on track despite a series of setbacks and accusations of violations that had threatened to derail it.

But negotiations over the second stage, aimed at securing the release of the remaining 64 hostages, are expected to be tough, because they include issues like the administration of post-war Gaza, where there are large gaps between the sides.

"We will not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza," Saar said.

But he added that if the negotiations are constructive, Israel will remain engaged and may prolong the ceasefire.

"If we will see there is a constructive dialogue with a possible horizon of getting to an agreement (then) we will make this time-frame work longer," Saar said.

So far, 19 Israeli hostages have been returned in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. If the six living hostages and four bodies are returned this week, as announced, four more would remain. Based on information from Hamas, all four are thought to be dead.

The hostages were taken in the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, laid waste to much of the enclave, and displaced hundreds of thousands.

An Israeli official said Israel will also start allowing the entry of mobile homes for those Gazans forced to shelter from the winter weather among the ruins left by the 15 months of Israeli bombardments.

Hamas has accused Israel of delaying the delivery and had threatened to postpone the release of hostages until the issue was resolved.

The fragile ceasefire deal has also been overshadowed by US President Donald Trump's call for Palestinians to be moved out and for Gaza to be taken over as a waterfront development under US control.

The plan has been rejected by Palestinian groups, Arab states and Washington's Western allies who say it is tantamount to ethnic cleansing. Israeli leaders have argued that Gazans who want to leave the devastated enclave should be allowed to do so.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday he will set up a new unit in his ministry dedicated to facilitating the exit of Gaza residents who want to move to a third country, after reviewing an initial plan for it.