“A massive drone attack was attempted tonight… The air defense forces shot down UAVs in the area of Naro-Fominsk and Odintsovo city district, en route to Moscow,” mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Telegram on Sunday morning. Another drone was shot down near Podolsk.
The drones caused no injuries or significant damage on the ground in Moscow, Sobyanin said, adding that the emergency services were responding to the incident and locating the debris.
However, in Tula one of the jammed drones lost control and hit a residential highrise, slightly injuring one person, according to local governor Aleksey Dyumin.
The military announced that yet another “attempted Ukrainian terrorist attack was thwarted” overnight, confirming that by 5am at least 11 drones were intercepted over four regions southwest of the Russian capital. Two hour later, the military added that another nine drones were intercepted over the same regions.
Kiev has repeatedly used drone strikes in what Russian officials described as “terrorist attacks” on civilian infrastructure, reaching as far as Moscow.
Earlier this month, a Ukrainian general in charge of UAV operations claimed that Kiev was gearing up for a massive drone bombing campaign against Russia this winter, as the fighting on the ground is expected to enter a lull due to harsh weather conditions.
On Saturday, Ukraine accused Russia of carrying out its biggest drone attack, with most of its targets located in the country’s capital, Kiev. The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have intercepted over 70 Russian drones overnight. Moscow had previously blamed Kiev for vastly exaggerating its supposed successes, and claiming to take down more munitions than Russia actually fires.
The Iranian top diplomat made the remark in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, on Saturday.
During their conversation, the two foreign ministers discussed the latest developments related to Palestine as well as other issues of mutual interest to both countries.
“Iran and Turkey, along with other Muslim countries, need to take more powerful measures in support of the Palestinian nation,” Iran’s foreign minister said.
Amirabdollahian emphasized that effective steps must be also taken to put a complete end to the Israeli regime’s crimes against the Palestinian nation both in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.
His comments came after Israel’s latest aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians before a four-day truce entered into force on Friday. Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began on October 7 after the territory’s resistance groups launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories.
The Israeli regime has also ramped up its aggression against Palestinians across the West Bank ever since the onset of the war, killing hundreds of Palestinians throughout the occupied territory.
Turning to the issue of bilateral ties, the Iranian foreign minister expressed satisfaction with the developing trend of the two countries’ relations in all areas.
Amirabdollahian expressed hope that continuation of high-level diplomatic exchanges between Tehran and Ankara would further strengthen and deepen bilateral cooperation.
For his part, the Turkish top diplomat stressed Ankara’s resolve to work towards prolongation of the current truce in Gaza.
Fidan described his country’s relations with Iran as diverse and multi-faceted, expressing confidence that continuation of consultations and meetings between the two sides’ high-ranking officials would lead to further expansion of bilateral ties.
According to the report, the current escalation of the conflict, which started on October 7, has deprived the territory of its sole source of income – access to Israel’s labor market. Over the past month, approximately 182,000 Gazans have lost their jobs, representing 61% of its workforce, according to the International Labor Organization. With the enclave’s unemployment rate one of the highest in the world at over 40% even prior to last month, this has left nearly the entire Gazan population without work.
“Gaza’s economy is 100% dependent on two sources of revenue: foreign aid and access to Israel’s labor market. The latter is now gone, probably forever. The only thing remaining is foreign aid,” Marko Papic, chief strategist at Clocktower Group, told CNBC.
According to the United Nations, before October 7, 80% of Gazans relied on international aid for their livelihood and were deemed food insecure. The ongoing escalation has already left nearly 15,000 Palestinians dead and some 1.5 million people displaced – the majority of Gaza’s population.
While Gaza’s economy was close to stagnant for the past 15 years, ever since Israel imposed an air, land and sea blockade on the enclave after Hamas gained power, “Gaza’s economy ceased to function… and will continue to be so indefinitely”, according to the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute.
Experts warn that Palestine will only be able to revive the enclave’s economy with outside help.
“Ultimately, some form of a deal to end the conflict will have to be put in place. But that deal is likely to have to see Gulf Arab monarchies and Saudi Arabia footing much of the bill for the viability of Gaza in the future,” Papic stated.
Israeli soldiers have gunned down four Palestinian youths, including a teenager, during a violent raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
Six other Palestinians were also injured by the Israeli troops’ live fire during the attack that targeted the city on Sunday, with the regime’s forces besieging Martyr Khalil Suleiman and Ibn Sina hospitals, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.
The agency quoted the director of Al-Razi Hospital as identifying the latest victims of Israeli forces’ brutality as Ammar Muhammad Abu al-Wafa (21 years old), Ahmed Abu al-Hija (20 years old), Muhammad Mahmoud Fraihat (27 years old) and Mahmoud Khaled Abu al-Hija (17 years old).
According to the report, a large group of the regime’s forces, accompanied by military bulldozers, stormed the city of Jenin from several directions. In addition to hospitals, they also surrounded the headquarters of the Red Crescent Society.
Israeli soldiers deployed snipers on the roofs of some high-rise buildings, while their bulldozers were destroying several streets in a number of neighborhoods and the outskirts of the Jenin refugee camp. They cut off electricity to several neighborhoods and the surroundings of the camp.
The regime’s troops also attacked people’s homes in Jenin, destroying a large number of Palestinians’ cars and causing damage to the city’s infrastructure.
During the raid, Israeli aircraft flew over the city conducting intense reconnaissance flights.
In Qabatiya, located near Jenin, a 25-year-old doctor was killed outside his home early on Saturday morning, while another Palestinian was killed in al-Bireh, just outside of Ramallah.
The regime has ramped up its aggression against Palestinians across the West Bank, killing hundreds of them throughout the occupied territory, ever since October 7, when it launched a war of genocide against the besieged Gaza Strip.
At least 230 Palestinians have been killed and at least 3,160 others arrested by the Israeli army in occupied West Bank since early October, according to Palestinian figures.
“The use of the Turkish lira and the ruble in the bilateral trade has been increasing. Turkiye’s exports to Russia in the Turkish lira have grown by 400% and Turkey’s imports from Russia in the lira have increased by almost 150%, whereas the imports in the ruble have gone up by 260%. This year, the energy trade has somewhat decreased as prices for energy products and commodities have gone down in the world,” the minister said Saturday at a meeting of the Russia-Turkey intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation.
Trade between Moscow and Ankara reached a record $68 billion in 2022, the minister continued, adding that it could reach some $56 billion in 2023.
During the commission’s session, Bolat and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to discuss prospects of the bilateral economic ties.
Israel’s jail officials said Palestinian prisoners were released early Sunday, with subsequent footage showing them welcomed home by fellow Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of East al-Quds.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari had said ahead of the exchange that in the second phase of the swap deal, 39 Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel. They included 33 youths, who had been captured by Israeli forces when they were children, and six women.
Their release came after Hamas freed 13 Israeli captives, including six women and seven children and teenagers, in addition to four Thai citizens.
Under the prisoner exchange agreement, which was mediated by Qatar and Egypt, during the four-day truce in Gaza, at least 50 Israeli captives are expected to be freed. In exchange, 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be released, all women and children.
The temporary ceasefire entered into force on Friday, after Israel’s latest aggression against Gaza killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians. Israel’s genocidal war began on October 7 after the territory’s resistance groups launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories.
Hamas and Israel carried out the first phase of the prisoner swap deal on Friday. It saw 39 Palestinian female and child prisoners released from Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank. In return, 13 women and children, some holding dual citizenship, were released by Hamas in addition to 10 Thai captives and one Filipino.
The second phase of the prisoner swap came after an hours-long delay, which Hamas said was due to the Israeli regime’s violation of the terms of the truce deal.
On Saturday, friends and family of the captives and many supporters came together in trepidation in what has become known to Israelis as “Hostages Square”, near the Ministry of Defence, amid a delay in the release of the second group of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
“It certainly is the biggest number we’ve seen since this war started,” Al Jazeera’s Sara Khairat reported from Tel Aviv.
“One of the factors is the release yesterday [Friday], they wanted people to come together and spread a message of hope, but also to say that they will continue with these rallies until all of the captives are brought back from Gaza,” she said, adding that there was a feeling of “cautious optimism” among the demonstrators as they waited for hours to hear news of the deal.
Hamas had delayed the release of the second group of captives, accusing Israel of violating the truce, which started on Friday and is expected to last for four days.
A spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently announced that “the obstacles were overcome through Qatari-Egyptian” mediation and the exchange was likely to go ahead on Saturday night, when 39 Palestinians and 13 Israeli captives would be released, in addition to seven foreigners.
“People felt a lot more relieved knowing that this has now been resolved and that they will be seeing more of [the captives] released,” Khairat stated.
The event in Tel Aviv also marked 50 days since the October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people died, according to Israeli officials.
The Israeli aerial and ground assault on Gaza has since killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, including more than 6,000 children.
On Friday, Hamas released 24 captives and Israel freed 39 Palestinian women and children held in its jails.
“Returning hostages is the biggest mitzvah there is,” singer Ehud Banai told the crowd from the stage, The Times of Israel daily reported.
“With Hanukkah coming, we’ll light many candles during this dark time. Our hearts are broken until we see all of them home.”
Many people at the rally were wearing “Bring Them Home” campaign T-shirts, and holding placards with the names and pictures of the captives.
Alon Hadar, whose grandmother Yaffa was released by Hamas on Friday, told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that “she gives us the hope that all will return, but we know we have to fight for the release of all”.
“My grandmother wanted to come here tonight, but we thought, ‘too soon’ – but I’m sure she’s watching now and is proud of all of us,” Hadar said.
Israelis have taken to the streets every weekend in their thousands in the last few weeks to put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the government was ignoring their pleas to prioritise bringing their loved ones home.
Druze community leaders attending the rally on Saturday were warmly welcomed with enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
Demonstrators also gathered in front of one of Netanyahu’s private residences in Jerusalem, calling for his immediate removal from office.
People crowd around a bus carrying released Palestinian prisoners near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on Sunday.
39 Palestinians to be released from Israeli prisons: Qatar spokesman
Majed Al Ansari says that the Palestinians will be released in exchange for 13 Israelis being held in Gaza, in addition to three Thais and a Russian national.
The Israelis and foreign nationals “have already been handed over to the ICRC”, added the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman.
In implementation of the commitments of the third day of the humanitarian truce agreement, 39 Palestinian civilians will be released in exchange for the release of 13 Israeli civilians from Gaza, in addition to a Russian national and 3 Thais who have already been handed over to…
— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 26, 2023
Red Cross has received handover of hostages being released Sunday: IDF
The Red Cross has received a handover of hostages being released from captivity in Gaza on Sunday, according the Israel Defense Forces.
The group of 17 includes both Israelis and foreign nationals, the IDF added.
This group is part of the planned third exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners, which is coming during a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas.
Biden administration has “reason to believe” American will be released: Official
The Biden administration has “reason to believe” one of the Americans held hostage will be released Sunday, a top US official said Sunday.
“We’re dealing with Hamas. We are in a ‘don’t trust, but verify’ situation here. And so we have reason to believe that there will be an American release today,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“Today should be a good day, a joyful day, but until we actually see it happen, we are going to remain really at the edge of our seat,” he added.
Two American women and one child, 4-year-old Abigail Edan, are currently unaccounted-for and are expected to be part of the group of 50 women and children hostages released as part a four-day truce, now in its third day.
No Americans were released as part of the deal on Friday or Saturday. Ten Americans are unaccounted for in total.
The US, Sullivan stated, has “growing optimism” that Edan will be returned, though he declined to provide a timeline.
“We are now hopeful that Abigail will be released and reunited with her family. She turned four just two days ago. She has been through hell. She had her parents killed right in front of her and has been held hostage for the last several weeks,” Sullivan added.
“But I am going to say that we have growing optimism about Abigail and we will now watch and see what happens.”
Sullivan said that it is difficult to know the true status of the Americans being held.
“We cannot say for certain whether all three of them are still alive. But we do know this: we have reason to believe that today, one American will be released,” he added.
West Bank attacks ‘aimed at exterminating our people’: Islamic Jihad
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) says Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank, where at least 240 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, are “a war aimed at exterminating our people and implementing the displacement plan and settlement expansion”.
“We will face Israel’s war everywhere, our people will not surrender, and we will fight this terrorism with everything we have,” it added.
At least eight people have been killed in Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank in the last 24 hours.
UN says 80 percent of population displaced across Gaza
Over 1.7 million people have been displaced across the besieged coastal enclave since October 7, UNRWA has reported.
The UN agency that provides relief to Palestinian refugees added:
More than 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are now sheltering in 156 UNRWA installations across the Gaza Strip, including in the north.
Nearly 920,000 IDPs are sheltering in 99 facilities in central Gaza and in Khan Younis and Rafah.
Israel targets Damascus airport
Israeli air strikes on Sunday made Damascus airport inoperable just hours after flights had resumed following a similar attack last month, a war monitor announced, as state media also reported the attack.
“Israeli warplanes on Sunday afternoon carried out a new raid targeting Damascus international airport… putting it out of service again,” said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
It added the raid targeted the runways, and reported the sound of an explosion from the direction of a military airport elsewhere in the capital.
A military source said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA that at around 4:50pm (13:50 GMT), “the Zionist enemy carried out an air attack with missiles from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan”.
Eight Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in West Bank over past 24 hours: Health Ministry
Eight Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank over the past 24 hours, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Sunday.
The ministry announced five were killed in Jenin during an Israeli military incursion into the city and its refugee camp.
One person was shot and killed in Al-Bireh, near Ramallah.
Two more were killed in Yatma, south of Nablus, early Sunday morning.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and Israeli settlers in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since October 7 to 240, with more than 2,959 injured.
Israel to allocate millions in budget for settlements: Expert
The Israeli government’s budget is being allocated to the “maintenance and expansion” of settlements in the occupied West Bank, says an Israeli humanitarian law and policy consultant who monitors the settlements.
The coffers include approximately $41m, which will be distributed as follows, according to a social media post by Itay Epshtain:
$25.4m for settlement construction,
$10.6m to search for and destroy humanitarian aid projects in Area C of the West Bank,
and $5.3m for West Bank military academies.
BREAKING: Tomorrow, #Israel's government – even more radicalized by hostilities in and around #Gaza – will proceed with special budget allocations to the maintenance and expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the dispossession of #Palestinians, including 153… https://t.co/mwHaygrZdupic.twitter.com/Ub5fNDtxNK
Aid trucks still “drop in the ocean” of Gaza’s humanitarian needs: UN agency
The increased aid entering Gaza these days remains a “drop in the ocean” of the humanitarian needs on the ground, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced Sunday.
“We need 200 aid trucks a day continuously for two months at least to meet the needs,” said UNRWA media adviser Adnan Abu Hasna.
“We need even more fuel so we can operate the services and sectors we support, like water desalination, sewage, hospitals, bakeries and UNRWA services and communications. The aid going in at the moment is just a drop in the ocean of humanitarian needs.”
More desperately needed aid has been allowed into Gaza as part of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on Friday.
“The (humanitarian) situation in northern Gaza is dangerous, there is no drinking water and no food, so the aid we are sending is important. Today we are also sending convoys towards Gaza City and northern Gaza. The humanitarian situation is dangerous in both southern and northern Gaza,” the UNRWA representative added.
One Palestinian killed in Gaza amid truce: PRCS
A Palestinian farmer has been killed and another injured after they were targeted by Israeli forces in the Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent announced.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the report.
The killing comes during a four-day truce deal agreed by Hamas and Israel.
On Friday, at least two Palestinians were reported to have been killed by Israeli forces as they attempted to return to northern Gaza.
Three Palestinian students shot at in Vermont, US
The Ramallah Friends School says three of its graduates who had left the occupied West Bank to study in the United States have been shot at in Burlington, Vermont.
They have been identified as Hisham Awartani, who studies at Brown University, Kinnan Abdel Hamid, who goes to Haverford University, and Tahseen Ahmed, who is a student at Trinity College.
Awartani was reportedly shot in the back, Ahmed in the chest and Abdel Hamid sustained minor injuries.
Family members are calling it a hate crime, but police have yet to assess the motive for the shootings.
Hope Gaza truce can be extended: Qatari minister
Lolwah Rashid al-Khater, Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, says she hopes there is an increase in the quantity of humanitarian aid being delivered into the enclave.
“We hope our efforts aiming at extending the humanitarian truce will be successful. This will enable more parties to deliver more relief aid,” she told Al Jazeera during a visit to southern Gaza.
“There are several paths being followed, including the diplomatic one. To this end … efforts are being made, and talks being held in an attempt to have the truce extended,” she added.
Pope welcomes Gaza truce, captives’ releases
Pope Francis has welcomed the truce between Hamas and Israel and said he prayed for more captives to be released.
“Today we thank God because there is finally a truce between Israel and Palestine and some hostages have been freed,” the Argentinian pontiff said in a statement read by a Vatican official at the weekly Angelus prayer.
“We pray that they all may be [freed] as quickly as possible and that more humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza and that they insist on dialogue,” the 86-year-old added.
“[Dialogue] is the only way, the only path to peace. Those who do not want to hold a dialogue do not want peace.”
Hamas say four of their military commanders were killed in fighting
Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced on Telegram on Sunday that four of their military commanders in Gaza have been killed.
The commanders include Ahmad al-Ghandour, a member of the military council and the commander of the north brigade.
Only three hospitals operating in northern Gaza, with limited capability
A Palestinian Ministry of Health official said on Sunday that only three hospitals are operating in northern Gaza, following seven weeks of intense Israeli bombardment.
The official added that the hospitals have very limited capabilities and are not able to cater to all patients due to the lack of tools, fuel and electricity.
The Ministry of Health reiterated calls for more medicine and medical supplies to be brought into Gaza, as people and hospitals struggle to get hold of basic medicines such as pain killers.
Hundreds of people in Gaza queue up to buy fuel
Photos and footage shared online shows hundreds of cars queuing up to buy fuel, as a small amount was allowed into the besieged enclave during the four day temporary truce.
Israel cut off all fuel, food, water, aid and electricity for Gaza since 9 October, leaving hospitals, shops and petrol stations without resources.
Hundreds of Palestinians line up in front of a petrol station in Rafah, south of the #Gaza Strip, to fill up their cars with fuel after minor amounts of fuel were allowed into the besieged enclave amid the humanitarian pause, which followed 49 days of brutal Israeli aggression. pic.twitter.com/elzRDZ89yF
Foreigners freed from Gaza are in ‘stable condition’ and ‘improving’
All of the foreign nationals released by Hamas from captivity in Gaza are in stable condition, according to medical professionals.
Of the 41 hostages released from Gaza on Friday and Saturday, 15 are foreign nationals: 14 are from Thailand and one from the Philippines.
Dr. Osnat Levtzion Korach, director of the Shamir Medical Center in Israel, said Sunday that all were in stable condition:
“They are in stable condition, and they are improving,” she continued, adding: “They’re very happy to be here and we’re very happy that we can give them the best care that they need.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Saturday that the foreign nationals will remain in the Shamir-Assaf HaRofeh medical center in Beer Yaakov, southeast of Tel Aviv, until medical examinations are complete.
Israel promised to provide “dedicated care” to all of them, the ministry said.
Israel receives list of hostages set for release from Gaza Sunday: PM office
Israel has received a list of hostages due to be released Sunday in accordance with an agreement signed with Hamas, according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s office.
“Security officials are checking the list” and the information has been conveyed to the hostages’ families, the office said in a statement.
The list marks what is set to be the third day of releases since a truce for a temporary pause in fighting came into effect on Friday. Under the agreement, a total of 50 hostages are expected to be freed over the four days, while Palestinian prisoners are also due to be released in waves.
Twenty four hostages — including 13 Israeli civilians and 11 foreign nationals — were freed on Friday, followed by 17 more — 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals — on Saturday.
Israel arresting Palestinians at ‘unstaffed checkpoint’ in Gaza ‘corridor’: UN
The UN office for humanitarian affairs (UNOCHA) has said that Israeli forces are reportedly arresting people moving from north and central Gaza towards the south through a checkpoint that Israel is describing as a “corridor”.
According to UNOCHA, people are being made to pass through an “unstaffed checkpoint” where they are asked to:
Show IDs
“Undergo what appears to be a facial recognition scan”
In one case in the last week, the UN announced a child was left to pass through the checkpoint alone after his father was arrested at the checkpoint.
The UN is also raising concerns about the need for more child protection services to assist unaccompanied children.
Israeli army besieging two West Bank hospitals: PRCS
The Palestine Red Crescent (PRSC) has reported that the Israeli army is besieging the Jenin Governmental Hospital and the Ibn Sina Hospital in the occupied West Bank.
In a post on X, the PRCS also said the Israeli army is obstructing and preventing their emergency medical service teams from reaching the injured and “continuously inspecting” their ambulance vehicles.
🚨🚑 IOF obstruct and prevent the PRCS emergency medical services teams from reaching the injured, continuously inspecting the ambulance vehicles. They are also besieging both Jenin Governmental Hospital and Ibn Sina Hospital.#Jenin#NotATarget#IHLhttps://t.co/HJPkAwD9eNpic.twitter.com/JNixAPxAzh
61 trucks deliver aid to northern Gaza Saturday: UN
Sixty-one trucks delivered food, water, and emergency medical supplies to northern Gaza on Saturday, according to the United Nations, the largest number of trucks to reach the north since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
As day two of the Hamas-Israel truce unfolded, 11 ambulances, three coaches, and a flatbed went to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to help with evacuations, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Saturday.
Two hundred trucks went to the Nitzana border crossing with Egypt, while 187 entered Gaza by 7 p.m. local time (12p.m. ET), according to the UN.
129,000 liters of fuel also crossed into Gaza, it added.
In an earlier statement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it received 187 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent on Saturday and dispatched the largest aid convoy to Gaza City and the northern parts of the strip since October 7.
It announced the convoy was “loaded with food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah (Saturday) as well as from PRCS warehouses in the south”, adding that it successfully distributed the aid.
The PRCS ntoed that it has received 1,946 aid trucks in Gaza since October 21.
Israa Jaabis released from Israeli jail
Israa Jaabis, a 37-year-old Palestinian woman held in an Israeli prison since 2015, has been freed and reunited with her family in their East Jerusalem home.
Jaabis was arrested in October 2015 with burns over half of her body after she and her family say a faulty cylinder of cooking gas burst into flames in front of a checkpoint in East Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities charged her with attempting to detonate a bomb with an intent to harm Israeli soldiers and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
While imprisoned, Jaabis has lived with pain and struggled to receive adequate medical care, according to her lawyer, Lea Tselmel. An appeal against her sentence so that she could be released for treatment was refused by Israeli authorities.
Prominent Palestinian prisoner Israa Jaabis (C) arrives at her home in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem early on 26 November 2023.
“God willing, we will see her in the next few hours,” Israa’s son, Motasem, told Middle East Eye’s correspondent Latifeh Abdellatif at the Jaabis family home in Jerusalem.
“I will see my mother free after eight years. I pray for her freedom and all Palestinian prisoners. Ever since my mother was arrested, she has been denied medical treatment. When I first see her I will hug her and kiss her. And I will place a flower crown on her head.”
“We’re impatiently waiting for my sister to be freed,” Rola Jaabis, Israa’s sister, told MEE.
“Every time we saw her during prison visits we realised how much of an exceptional person she is. Ever since she was a young girl, she was special. She is a very selfless person,” she added.
“I can’t describe our feelings as a family, especially my parents. I can’t find the words. God only knows how much my parents have suffered.”
Shorouq Dwayyat released after eight years in Israeli jail
Shorouq Dwayyat, who was jailed in 2015 and had been serving the longest sentence among Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails, has been released.
Dwayyat was 18 when she was arrested and held in the Damon prison in Haifa, accused of stabbing an Israeli settler with a knife. Her family denies these accusations.
“Shorouq is delicate and cannot harm an animal,” her father, Salah Dwayyat, told Al Jazeera at the time.
Israeli army ‘absolutely vicious’ since October 7: Palestinian official
Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, says since October 7, the Israeli army has become “absolutely vicious”.
“They’ve always been horrible, but they’ve become much more aggressive than anytime before,” Barghouti said, commenting on the latest string of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“It looks like … every Israeli soldier, every Israeli illegal settler, and every Israeli policeman thinks that they have a green light to kill and shoot, and at least harass Palestinians,” Barghouti told Al Jazeera.
“We’ve been receiving reports about very serious injuries and very serious attacks by the settlers on Palestinian communities,” he added.
When asked about the delay in the release of captives and Palestinian prisoners, Barghouti stated, “Israelis always play these games. Even when you conclude an agreement with them, they try to play games to violate it and, and change it in the way they want.”
PRCS says ambulance ‘targeted’ near Ofer Prison
The Palestinian Red Crescent announced one of its ambulances in the occupied West Bank was “targeted” near Ofer Prison.
The attack “resulted in the rear window shattering, and our team is safe”, the PCRS wrote in a post on X.
Dozens of Palestinians gathered outside the vicinity of Ofer awaiting the imminent release of the second round of Palestinian prisoners.
Qatar hopes to extend truce beyond four days: Foreign ministry spokesperson
Doha is hoping to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas beyond the agreed upon four days, Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN Saturday.
“What we are hoping for is that the momentum that has carried from the releases of these two days and from this agreement of four days will allow us to extend the truce beyond these four days and therefore get into more serious discussions about the rest of the hostages,” Al-Ansari said.
Al-Ansari added he continues to work with senior officials in Qatar to address concerns from either side of the conflict regarding the implementation of the hostage deal.
“Within this kind of mediation, you’re always going to find both sides saying that the other side did not abide by the agreement,” Al-Ansari continued.
Al-Ansari added that he could not confirm if any Americans would be released on the third day of the truce.
“The lists are delivered on a daily basis. We are now expecting the list for the third day. Sadly, we can’t know who is going to be on that list beforehand,” he said.
The ministry spokesperson also said Qatar is working with partners in Egypt, the United States, and both parties of the conflict to ensure the agreed amount of aid trucks are allowed into Gaza.
“There are a lot of moving parts on the ground when it comes to humanitarian aid there which we need to work through,” he added.
Al-Ansari responded to the head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs who accused Israel of not abiding by the agreement to release prisoners in order of length of time served.
“We are now hopeful with the third day of this pause we will be able to hash out all of the details that made this day so difficult,” he stated.
Director of Al-Shifa Hospital is still being detained
The Israeli military says it is still detaining the director of northern Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya.
“We are still talking to him, yes,” Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht stated Saturday, in response to a question about Abu Salmiya’s detention.
Hecht described the doctor’s continued detention as a “good idea”, and Al-Shifa Hospital as a “bed of terrorism.”
Hecht added Israeli officials would “see what (they) learn from talking to” Abu Salmiya, and will make a decision regarding his release in “due course.”
Earlier Saturday, the World Health Organization called for the legal and human rights of Abu Salmiya and three other detained health workers to be respected.
Gaza’s Indonesian Hospital in ruins after Israeli raid, days-long siege
The Indonesian Hospital, one of northern Gaza’s largest healthcare facilities, was so severely damaged in Israeli attacks that it may never open again.
On Saturday, Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Al Jazeera, “We are in shock and horrified at the scenes left by Israeli forces at the Indonesian Hospital.”
Israeli tanks and snipers had laid siege to the hospital in Beit Lahia for days, before targeting its main generator and raiding it in the early hours of Friday, shortly before a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect.
The ministry announced on Friday that the hospital was undergoing “heavy bombardment” by the Israeli army and that there was fear for the lives of 200 injured people and medical staff. It added that intense Israeli fire killed a wounded woman and injured at least three others.
Now in ruins, the hospital is overwhelmed with large numbers of wounded people amid severe shortages in medical supplies. “Corridors have become wards and surgeons operate on the floor,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, who gained access to the facility.
“Outside the hospital building, the stench of death forces people to cover their nose, as charred and decomposing bodies, children among them, pile up in corners. No burials have taken place for days because Israeli snipers targeted anyone who ventured out to dig a grave,” he added.
Hundreds of displaced people had previously sought asylum at the hospital, which is also close to the Jabalia refugee camp.
With the facility out of service for weeks and the damage severe, it remains unclear whether it will ever reopen.
Iran confirms mediation for release of Thai nationals by Hamas
Kanaani said Iran began its efforts to secure the release of the Thai nationals one week after the Zionist regime waged a war on Gaza and following contacts by the Thai officials and a meeting between the Thai foreign minister and Iran’s top diplomat in Doha.
He added that Iran gave a list of the Thai nationals to Hamas so the resistance movement would release them on humanitarian grounds.
Israel warned released prisoners could be re-arrested if they celebrate: Palestinian inmate
Speaking to reporters after being released on Saturday night, Shorouq Dwayyat said that Israel warned the newly released Palestinian prisoners that they should not celebrate otherwise they could be re-arrested.
“The occupation told prisoners not to show any celebrations and threatened to arrest us again,” Dwayyat told reporters.
Dwayyat added that the release of her and others has led to a mix of “great joy” as well as pain, alluding to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza as a result of Israeli bombardment.
“We pray for the martyrs of Gaza and hope that the war will stop,” she continued.
Ensaf News cited Haeri as announcing that on his Telegram channel. Haeri said he was sentenced to jail for spreading lies against the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Khomeini and to paying a 15-million-toman fine.
He says he was also required to make up for the insults through widely-circulated newspapers.
Haeri added, “I was also given one year in prison for propaganda against the establishment”.
The court further banned Haeri from media activity for three years and ordered the closure of his Telegram channel.
He has 20 days to file an appeal against the verdict.
Haeri is a critic of the government, blaming it for the economic problems in Iran. He is the son of late Ayatollah Haeri Shiraz, former Friday prayers leader of Shiraz, southern Iran.
