Images of Emaciated Hostages Increase Pressure on Netanyahu as Israeli Forces Withdraw From Key Corridor

Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor at Gaza on Sunday in the latest commitment under a tenuous ceasefire, while shock among Israelis over freed emaciated hostages alternated between calls to take more aggressive military action to free the hostages and renewed pressure to extend the truce beyond the first phase ending three weeks from now.Talks on the second phase, meant to see more hostages released and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, were due to start on February 3. But Israel and Hamas appear to have made little progress.Prime Minister Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator, but it included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won’t lead to a breakthrough. Mr. Netanyahu, who returned to Israel after a visit to meet with President Donald Trump at Washington, D.C., is expected to convene security Cabinet ministers on Tuesday.Families of the remaining hostages warned that time is running out for those still alive. “We cannot let the hostages remain there. There is no other way. I am appealing to the cabinet,” said a daughter of a hostage released on Saturday, Ella Ben Ami, adding she now understands the toll of captivity is much worse than imagined.The father of a current hostage, Kobi Ohel, told Israel’s Channel 13 the newly released men said his son, Alon, and others “live off half a pita to a full pita a day. These are not human conditions.” Mr. Ohel’s mother, Idit, sobbed as she told Channel 12 her son has been chained for over a year.President Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the Superbowl at New Orleans Sunday afternoon, said the released hostages looked like Holocaust survivors. “I don’t know how much longer we can take it,” the president said, according to a pool report of his remarks.The ceasefire that began on January 19 has held, raising hopes that the 16-month war that led to seismic shifts in the Middle East may be headed toward an end.The latest step was Israel forces’ withdrawal from the 4-mile Netzarim corridor separating northern and southern Gaza, which was used as a military zone. No troops were seen in the vicinity Sunday. As the ceasefire began last month, Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to cross Netzarim and return to the north.But the deal remains fragile. On Sunday, civil defense first responders in Gaza said three people were killed by Israeli fire east of Gaza City. Israel’s military noted “several hits” after warning shots were fired and again warned Palestinians from approaching its forces.Israel has said it won’t agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it won’t hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from the territory.During the ceasefire’s 42-day first phase, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages kidnapped during its October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has said Hamas confirmed that eight of the 33 are dead.Complicating things is Mr. Trump’s proposal to relocate the population of Gaza and take ownership of the territory. Israel has expressed openness to the idea while Hamas, the Palestinians and much of the Arab world have rejected it.Egypt said it will host an emergency Arab summit on February 27 to discuss the “new and dangerous developments.”Mr. Trump’s proposal has moral, legal and practical obstacles. It may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic to pressure Hamas or make an opening gambit in discussions aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned Mr. Netanyahu’s recent comment that Palestinians could create their state there. It said his remarks aim to divert attention from crimes committed by “the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are being subjected to.”Qatar called Mr. Netanyahu’s comment “provocative” and a blatant violation of international law.

Images of Emaciated Hostages Increase Pressure on Netanyahu as Israeli Forces Withdraw From Key Corridor

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