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Arab World

Hamas Names Hostages to Be Freed after Accusing Israel of Breaching Ceasefire

Cars and pedestrians move along a road amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive against Hamas in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP)
Cars and pedestrians move along a road amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive against Hamas in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP)
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Hamas Names Hostages to Be Freed after Accusing Israel of Breaching Ceasefire

Cars and pedestrians move along a road amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive against Hamas in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP)
Cars and pedestrians move along a road amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive against Hamas in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP)

Hamas on Friday announced the names of three Israeli hostages to be released on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners after a delay that underlined the obstacles hanging over a fragile deal meant to end the war in Gaza.

Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi, both taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri during the cross-border Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, and Or Levy, abducted that day from the Nova music festival, will be handed over on Saturday, Hamas said.

The Hamas prisoners' media office said Israel was expected to free 183 Palestinians in exchange, including 18 who have been serving life sentences, 54 serving long sentences and 111 who were detained in the Gaza Strip during the war.

Earlier the Palestinian group accused Israel of breaching their ceasefire accord and held off announcing the names of the three Israelis until a 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) deadline had passed. It was not immediately clear whether the delay would affect the scheduled exchange on Saturday.

Hamas accused Israel of delaying the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal that took effect on January 19, and holding back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide shelter to people returning to their bombed-out homes.

"This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities," Hamas said in a statement.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that is overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation and warned that Israel would "not tolerate violations by Hamas".

The spat compounds the uncertainty around the ceasefire that had already mounted following US President Donald Trump's surprise announcement this week that he expected Gaza to be taken over by the United States.

Trump said on Tuesday he wanted to move the population of Gaza to a third country like Egypt or Jordan and place the small coastal enclave under US control to be developed into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

The statement underlined the fragility of the deal reached last month with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed Trump's vision for Gaza as a "remarkable" plan, but it was immediately rejected by Arab countries, Palestinian groups including Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and many Gazans, who said they would rebuild their homes and restaurants themselves.

However Israeli leaders have repeated the line that Gazans who wish should be able to leave and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow for the departure of Gaza residents who wanted to go.

So far, 13 Israeli hostages of the 33 children, women and older men set to be released in the first, 42-day phase of the agreement have come home, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been released in exchange. Five Thai hostages have also been returned.

Work on the second stage of the multi-phase agreement, aimed at securing the release of around 60 male hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, has begun and an Israeli negotiating team was expected to fly on Saturday to Doha, Israeli media reported on Friday.

However, the accusations levelled by Hamas against Israel underscored how little trust there was between the two sides following more than 15 months of the bloodiest episode in the decades-long conflict.

The Israeli military said on Friday that commanders were conducting situational assessments ahead of the next phase of the agreement currently being discussed, with troops deployed at various points around the Gaza Strip.

'CLEAR MANIPULATION'

Hamas said only 8,500 trucks out of the 12,000 that should have arrived so far had entered the territory, most containing food and secondary goods including chips and chocolate instead of more urgent items.

In addition, only 10% of the 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans needed to provide shelter had arrived, Hamas said, leaving hundreds of thousands in harsh winter weather.

Finally, heavy machinery needed to clear millions of tons of rubble and recover the thousands of bodies thought to be buried had not arrived.

Almost three weeks after the start of the ceasefire, "the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate dangerously", the Hamas statement said.

Israel has rejected accusations that it is dragging its feet on enabling the entry to aid supplies as "a completely unfounded claim", saying it has allowed in thousands of trucks, including tents and shelters.

COGAT said more than 100,000 tents had entered Gaza since the agreement came into force last month and that caravans were also being allowed in, while tractors had entered from Egypt since Sunday. It said 12,600 trucks had entered Gaza so far.

But hundreds of thousands of people are still marooned in tents and other makeshift shelters worn out by months of use as the fighting raged last year.

So far, despite accusations of ceasefire breaches levelled by both sides, the truce has held, leaving the way still open to an end to the war and rebuilding densely populated Gaza, which now lies in ruins.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 as hostages in Israel's heaviest loss of life in a single day since the founding of the state in 1948.

In response, Israel launched an air and ground war in Gaza that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the narrow enclave.

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Arab World

Muscat Detainee Swap Deal Tests Houthi Credibility

Prisoner swap success hinges on Houthi commitment, seriousness (Gov’t Media)
Prisoner swap success hinges on Houthi commitment, seriousness (Gov’t Media)
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Muscat Detainee Swap Deal Tests Houthi Credibility

Prisoner swap success hinges on Houthi commitment, seriousness (Gov’t Media)
Prisoner swap success hinges on Houthi commitment, seriousness (Gov’t Media)

The agreement reached by the Yemeni government in Muscat with the Houthis to exchange about 2,900 prisoners and detainees from both sides marks a new test of the group’s credibility in closing one of the conflict’s most complex humanitarian files after years of delays and failure.

Despite a broad local and international welcome for the deal, doubts still surround its implementation mechanisms, given the absence of final lists and continuing ambiguity over the fate of Mohammed Qahtan, a senior figure in the Islah party who has been abducted for nearly a decade.

According to sources close to the talks, the agreement, sponsored by the office of the United Nations' special envoy for Yemen and supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, remains at this stage only a preliminary understanding, expected to be implemented within a month.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said the first clause of the agreement is limited to the release of prisoners affiliated with the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, in addition to Mohammed Qahtan. Other details of the deal, including the names of those to be included, remain subject to further bargaining and negotiations between the parties and the mediators.

The same sources stated that what has been achieved so far does not amount to a final settlement, noting that previous negotiation rounds have repeatedly been tied to complex Houthi demands. These have included the insertion of names of fighters missing on the front lines, whom the group claims are held by the government without providing evidence, as well as its repeated refusal to include abducted civilians on the grounds that they are “under judicial process.”

Circles close to the negotiations said appointing Yahya al-Razami, the Houthis’ representative on the military committee, to lead the group’s negotiating team instead of Abdul Qader al-Murtada helped create an atmosphere conducive to reaching the preliminary agreement.

They said al-Murtada, who has been accused of involvement in the torture of some detainees, was a key reason behind the failure of several previous negotiation rounds because of his hardline stance and insistence on what were described as unrealistic conditions.

The same sources added that al-Razami’s presence at the head of the Houthis’ team facilitated discussions and paved the way for agreement on the principle of a comprehensive exchange of prisoners and detainees from both sides, although this remains conditional on the Houthis’ commitment to their pledges and the sincerity of their intentions in providing accurate and reliable information about detainees.

In contrast, the Yemeni government, according to the same assessments, has voiced serious concerns that the Houthis may seek to strip the agreement of its humanitarian substance through stalling tactics or by reintroducing the same conditions that derailed previous attempts.

These indications underline that the success of the deal hinges on the Houthis’ seriousness in honoring their commitments and fully disclosing the fate of all abductees, foremost among them Mohammed Qahtan.

The fate of Mohammed Qahtan remains one of the primary obstacles to implementing the agreement. Although his name was included in the first phase of the deal, his fate has been unknown since his arrest in 2015 at a security checkpoint near the entrance to the city of Ibb. To date, the Houthis have not disclosed whether he is still alive.

According to the sources, this ambiguity has undermined previous understandings and led to the collapse of earlier negotiation rounds, after the Houthis demanded 30 prisoners if Qahtan was alive, or 30 bodies if his death was confirmed.

Officials involved in the file said such behavior raises serious doubts about his fate after more than 10 years and eight months of enforced disappearance, weakening the prospects for building the trust needed to advance the remaining stages of the exchange agreement.

The sources emphasized that the success of any prisoner exchange cannot be achieved without addressing the Qahtan case with clarity and transparency, as it represents both a humanitarian and a political issue, and a genuine test of the Houthis’ commitment to international humanitarian law.

Under the announced understandings, the deal is to be implemented in three main phases. The first phase includes the release of prisoners affiliated with the coalition supporting the Yemeni government, in addition to Mohammed Qahtan. In the second phase, which begins approximately a week later, a joint committee will be formed to conduct field visits to detention sites and document the names of all detainees related to the conflict.

The verified lists will then be submitted to the office of the UN special envoy for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross for official approval and the launch of the exchange process. The third phase will be dedicated to the remains file, covering the exchange of bodies of those killed and the search for the remains of the missing in battle areas, with the aim of closing this painful chapter.

The sources stated that it was agreed upon to include a total number of individuals in the exchange from both sides, with names to be finalized within a month, as well as the recovery of all bodies from various fronts and their handover through the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was also agreed to form committees to visit prisons after the exchange and identify any remaining prisoners, in preparation for their release.

The greatest burden, the sources said, will fall on international mediators, particularly the office of the UN special envoy and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to ensure the agreement is implemented, prevent any party from circumventing it, and establish a clear timeline starting with gathering prisoners and abductees at designated points, matching lists, and setting a start date for the exchange operation.

Arab World

Brother Details to Asharq Al-Awsat Luring, Disappearance of Lebanese Retired Officer

Abdul Salam Shukr speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat from Nabi Sheet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Abdul Salam Shukr speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat from Nabi Sheet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Brother Details to Asharq Al-Awsat Luring, Disappearance of Lebanese Retired Officer

Abdul Salam Shukr speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat from Nabi Sheet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Abdul Salam Shukr speaks to Asharq Al-Awsat from Nabi Sheet. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Shock still grips the family of retired Lebanese General Security captain Ahmed Shukr, who was abducted days ago, as Lebanese security and judicial assessments increasingly point to Israeli intelligence as being behind his disappearance, over suspected links to the 1986 vanishing of Israeli airman Ron Arad in southern Lebanon.

His brother, Abdul Salam Shukr, told Asharq Al-Awsat the story began when a Lebanese expatriate living in Kinshasa, identified as A.M., contacted Ahmed and asked to rent his apartment in the Choueifat area, south of Beirut.

The two agreed months ago, and the man paid $500 in rent.

The expatriate made repeated visits to Lebanon and met Shukr at his home during one of them. He later contacted the retired officer to say that a wealthy African investor named Salim Kassab, later found to be a fake name, was interested in purchasing a plot of land in the eastern city of Zahle and needed his assistance.

Abdul Salam said the expatriate inspected the land, then called two weeks after leaving Lebanon to say the investor had agreed to buy it and would visit the country. He asked Ahmed to meet him at the site at 4:30 p.m. on the day of the abduction.

He said the expatriate insisted on the timing because it suited the buyer, despite Ahmed’s objections that darkness would have fallen by then, and the land’s features would not be visible. The expatriate later apologized for not attending, claiming he had broken his foot, and said the investor would visit the site alone with Ahmed.

At the time of the meeting, Ahmed disappeared.

“We know nothing about him except what we have heard through security and judicial leaks,” Abdul Salam said. He added that the abductors had rented a house in Zahle and erased all traces from it after kidnapping Ahmed.

Surveillance cameras tracked the vehicle as it headed toward the town of Souireh in the western Bekaa, where the trail then vanished. Souireh was previously used as a smuggling route from southwestern Damascus into Lebanon.

Loyalty to the state

“My brother served 40 years in the military establishment. His loyalty was only to the state and its institutions. He never belonged to any party,” Abdul Salam said. “We are a family that does not engage in politics.”

Ahmed was lured last week in a carefully planned operation that began in his hometown of Nabi Sheet in the northern Bekaa, before he went missing at a point very close to the city of Zahle.

Family members and residents have been gathering at the home of Nabi Sheet’s mukhtar, Abbas Shukr, to voice their protest and condemnation of the abduction.

The family said Ahmed Shukr retired nine years ago after serving for four decades in the General Security, during which he held several posts, including the Masnaa border crossing with Syria and the Qaa crossing in northeastern Lebanon.

“My brother joined the military in 1979, which means he was an ‘officer of the state’ when Arad disappeared in 1986,” Abdul Salam told Asharq Awsat. “An officer of the state does not belong to parties.”

He rejected attempts to link the family by kinship to Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah leader killed by Israel in July 2024 in Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying no one in the town even knew him.

“He left the town in the early 1980s and never returned. He was distant even from his relatives,” he said, adding that since retiring, his brother “never left the Bekaa. He stayed at home and played cards with friends at night.”

The family home remains in a state of disbelief, a scene that has persisted since his disappearance last week. The case only began to move officially after Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Ali al Khatib contacted Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Interior Minister Ahmed al-Hajjar, according to Abdul Salam.

He said Aoun pledged to instruct security and judicial authorities to expand the investigation and uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident. Officials from the Amal Movement were also in constant contact with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is head of the movement, to follow up on the case.

Mystery remains

“We demand that the judiciary and security agencies confirm or deny the leak about an alleged link to Ron Arad’s disappearance,” Abdul Salam said.

“That leak does not concern us. What matters is what the security agencies say, including General Security, where Ahmed served, and the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces, which is leading the investigation.”

He said the key to the mystery lies with A.M., a native of the southern town of Qana who lives in Kinshasa and has been evading the family’s calls.

“The Lebanese state must ask Interpol to arrest him and bring him to Lebanon for questioning,” he urged, adding that the man no longer answers his phone and that all available information about him, including video clips, is now in the hands of security agencies.

Abdul Salam said the family believes the expatriate coordinated the plot with Israel’s Mossad, guiding them to this point and enabling an operation carried out with precision and professionalism.

He said Lebanese security agencies told the family the abductors left no fingerprints, neither at the Zahle property nor at the Choueifat apartment, and that no evidence has been found. The kidnappers’ vehicle also remains unidentified.

Arab World

UK, Canada, Germany and Others Condemn Israel’s West Bank Settlement Plan

A Palestinian woman walks past the Israeli settlement of Har Homa, southeast of Jerusalem, on November 21, 2025. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman walks past the Israeli settlement of Har Homa, southeast of Jerusalem, on November 21, 2025. (AFP)
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UK, Canada, Germany and Others Condemn Israel’s West Bank Settlement Plan

A Palestinian woman walks past the Israeli settlement of Har Homa, southeast of Jerusalem, on November 21, 2025. (AFP)
A Palestinian woman walks past the Israeli settlement of Har Homa, southeast of Jerusalem, on November 21, 2025. (AFP)

Countries including Britain, Canada and Germany and others on Wednesday condemned the Israeli security cabinet's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West ‌Bank, saying ‌they violated ‌international ⁠law and risked ‌fueling instability.

"We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of ⁠settlements," said a joint ‌statement released ‍by Britain, ‍which also included ‍Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

"We recall that such unilateral actions, as ⁠part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fueling instability," the statement ‌added.