KHAN YOUNIS/GAZA: Palestinians and the families of Israeli hostages broke into wild celebrations on Thursday after news of a pact between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza and return home all the Israeli hostages, both living and dead.
In Gaza, where most of the more than 2 million people have been displaced by Israeli bombing, young men applauded in the devastated streets, even as Israeli strikes continued in some parts of the enclave.
“Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing,” said Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
“I am not the only one happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed. Thank you and all the love to those who stood with us.”
In Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square, where families of those seized in the Hamas attack that sparked the war two years ago have gathered to demand the return of loved ones, Einav Zaugauker, the mother of a hostage, was ecstatic.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t explain what I’m feeling ... it’s crazy,” she said, speaking in the red glow of a celebratory flare.
“What do I say to him? What do I do? Hug and kiss him,” she added, referring to her son, Matan. “Just tell him that I love him, that’s it. And to see his eyes sink into mine ... It’s overwhelming — this is the relief.”
Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Palestinian enclave, a ceasefire and hostage deal that could open the way to ending a bloody two-year-old war that has disrupted the Middle East.
“I have no words to describe it,” said former hostage Omer Shem-tov, when asked how the moment felt.
Just a day after the second anniversary of the cross-border attack by Hamas militants that triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded a deal on the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point framework for peace.
In Gaza, circles of young men in the streets applauded the news, one of them clapping as he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a friend.
“These are moments ... long awaited by Palestinian citizens after two years of killing and genocide,” said Khaled Shaat, a Palestinian in the city of Khan Younis.
If fully adopted, the accord would bring the two sides closer than any prior effort to halt a regional war that drew in neighbors Iran, Lebanon and Yemen, deepened Israel’s international isolation and changed the Middle East.
Gaza authorities say more than 67,000 people have been killed and much of the enclave flattened since Israel began its military response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage back to Gaza, according to Israeli officials, with 20 of the 48 hostages still held believed to be alive.
Celebrations erupt in Gaza and Israel at news of deal to end two-year war
https://arab.news/4z658
Celebrations erupt in Gaza and Israel at news of deal to end two-year war
- If fully adopted, accord would bring two sides closer than before to end of regional war
- Gaza authorities say more than 67,000 people killed in Israeli military response to Oct. 7 attack
Soleimani warned Al-Assad about ‘spy’ Luna Al-Shibl: Al-Majalla
LONDON: The late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani confronted Syria’s National Security Bureau chief Ali Mamlouk in late 2019 after seeing Luna Al-Shibl leaving his office. Al-Majalla magazine claims its reporters reviewed a document containing the full Arabic transcript of their exchange.
Soleimani reportedly asked, “Who is this?” and Mamlouk replied, “She is Louna Al-Shibl, the president’s adviser.”
The Quds Force commander pressed further: “I know, I know… but who is she really? Where did she work?”
According to Al-Majalla, a sister publication of Arab News, he said her former salary was “ten thousand dollars,” compared with her current salary of “five hundred thousand Syrian pounds,” before asking: “Does it make sense for someone to leave ten thousand dollars for five hundred thousand pounds? She is a spy.”
Both Soleimani and Maher Al-Assad, commander of the Syrian army’s powerful Fourth Division, had warned the ousted president’s inner circle about Al-Shibl, Al-Majalla reported.
‘Suspicious’ car crash
On July 2, 2024, Al-Shibl was involved in what officials described as a traffic accident on the Damascus-Dimas highway. She was hospitalized and died four days later.
But Al-Majalla reported that photos of her armored BMW showed only minor damage, raising immediate questions among those close to the case.
Eyewitnesses told the magazine that the crash was intentional. One said, “a car approached and rammed her vehicle,” and before her bodyguard could exit, “a man attacked her and struck her on the back of the head,” causing paralysis that led to her death.
She was first taken to Al-Saboura clinic, then transferred to Al-Shami Hospital. Several senior regime-linked figures, including businessman Mohammed Hamsho and an aide to Maher Al-Assad, were present when her condition deteriorated. One witness told Al-Majalla that when her bodyguard tried to explain what had happened, “he was arrested immediately in front of the others.”
The presidency later issued a brief statement announcing her death. Her funeral was attended only by a handful of officials. Then president Al-Assad did not attend.
