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Hamas is set to release three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for 183 prisoners held by Israel in the fifth exchange of a fragile Gaza ceasefire.The swap comes after President Donald Trump proposed clearing out the Gaza Strip of its inhabitants and for the United States to take over the Palestinian territory — a plan that has sparked global uproar and been rejected by Hamas.Dozens of armed Hamas fighters formed a cordon around an open area in the city of Deir el-Balah early Saturday, apparently to control crowds eager to watch the hostage release.As with past exchanges, a stage was erected for the occasion, festooned with a banner bearing images of destroyed Israeli armoured vehicles and a dejected-looking Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.In Tel Aviv’s “Hostages Square”, where hundreds were expected later to watch the handover, a huge screen counted down the days, hours, minutes and seconds since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack, when the hostages were first seized.Netanyahu’s office confirmed to AFP on Friday that it had received a list of the three hostages due to be released after Hamas first published their names.They are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami.Sharabi, 52, was at his home in kibbutz Beeri with his British-born wife and their two daughters when Hamas stormed it.The armed men shot their dog, before locking the family in their safe room and setting it on fire. The bodies of his wife and two daughters were later identified.Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where gunmen murdered his wife. Ben Ami, who has dual Israeli-German citizenship, turned 56 in captivity.Former hostage Yarden Bibas, who was freed last week by Hamas militants in Gaza, on Friday urged Netanyahu to help bring back his wife and two children from the Palestinian territory.”Prime Minister Netanyahu, I’m now addressing you with my own words… bring my family back, bring my friends back, bring everyone home,” Bibas said in his first public message following his release.Hamas previously said his wife Shiri and his two sons Ariel and Kfir — the youngest hostages — were dead, but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.Netanyahu, who is in Washington, will “monitor this phase of the hostages’ release from the control centre of the delegation in the US”, the premier’s office said in a separate statement.- ‘Now is the time’ -The Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged the government on Friday to stick with the Gaza truce, even as Trump’s comments sparked backlash across the Middle East and beyond.”An entire nation demands to see the hostages return home,” the Israeli campaign group said in a statement.”Now is the time to ensure the agreement is completed — until the very last one,” it added.Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.Palestinian militants, led by Hamas, have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 mostly Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.Negotiations on the second stage of the ceasefire were set to begin on Monday, but there have been no details on the status of the talks.Netanyahu’s office said that after Saturday’s swap, an Israeli delegation will head to Doha for further negotiations on the ceasefire.The second phase aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began with Hamas’s October 7 attack.During the attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-six remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 47,583 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Mehdi al-Shayesh thought he would quickly resettle in his central Syrian home town after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, but like many others stuck in camps, he found his home uninhabitable.”We were unbelievably happy when the regime fell,” the 40-year-old said from his small, concrete-block house in Atme displacement camp, one of the largest and most crowded in the Idlib area in the northwest.But “when we reached our village” in Hama province “we were disappointed”, said the father of four, who has been displaced since 2012.”Our home used to be like a small paradise… but it was hit by bombing.” Now, after years of abandonment, it “is no longer habitable”, he told AFP.Assad’s December 8 ouster sparked the hope of return to millions of displaced across Syria and refugees abroad. However, many now face the reality of finding their homes and basic infrastructure badly damaged or destroyed.Syria’s transitional authorities are counting on international support, particularly from wealthy Gulf Arab states, to rebuild the country after almost 14 years of devastating war.Shayesh said he was happy to see relatives in formerly government-held areas after so many years, but he cannot afford to repair his home so has returned to the northwest.In the icy winter weather, smoke rises from fuel heaters in the sprawling camp near the border with Turkey. It is home to tens of thousands of people living in close quarters in what were supposed to be temporary structures.- Homes ‘razed’ -Shayesh expressed the hope that reconstruction efforts would take into account that families may have changed significantly during years of displacement.”If we go back to the village now… there will be no home for my five brothers” who are now all married, “and no land to build on”, he said, as rain poured outside.”Just as we held out hope that the regime would fall — and thank God, it did — we hope that supportive countries will help people to rebuild and return,” he added.Before Assad’s overthrow, more than five million people were estimated to live in rebel-held areas in the northwestern Idlib and Aleppo provinces, most of them displaced from elsewhere in Syria.David Carden, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, said that “over 71,000 people have departed camps in northwest Syria over the past two months”.”But that’s a small fraction compared to the two million who remain and will continue to need life-saving aid,” he told AFP.”Many camp residents are unable to return as their homes are destroyed or lack electricity, running water or other basic services. Many are also afraid of getting caught in minefields left from former front lines,” he added.Mariam Aanbari, 30, who has lived in the Atme camp for seven years, said: “We all want to return to our homes, but there are no homes to return to.”Our homes have been razed to the ground,” added the mother of three who was displaced from Hama province.- ‘Pitch a tent’ -Aanbari said her husband’s daily income was just enough to buy bread and water.”It was difficult with Bashar al-Assad and it’s difficult” now, she told AFP, her six-month-old asleep beside her as she washed dishes in freezing water.Most people in the camp depend on humanitarian aid in a country where the economy has been battered by the war and a majority of the population lives in poverty.”I hope people will help us, for the little ones’ sakes,” Aanbari said.”I hope they will save people from this situation — that someone will come and rebuild our home and we can go back there in safety.”Motorbikes zip between homes and children play in the cold in the camp where Sabah al-Jaser, 52, and her husband Mohammed have a small corner shop.”We were happy because the regime fell. And we’re sad because we went back and our homes have been destroyed,” said Jaser, who was displaced from elsewhere in Idlib province.”It’s heartbreaking… how things were and how they have become,” said the mother of four, wearing a black abaya.Still, she said she hoped to go back at the end of this school year.”We used to dream of returning to our village,” she said, emphasising that the camp was not their home.”Thank God, we will return,” she said determinedly.”We will pitch a tent.”

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Japan’s Nippon Steel will make a major investment in US Steel, but will no longer attempt to take over the troubled company.Trump, referring to the Japanese car company Nissan but apparently meaning Nippon Steel, said “they’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase.”Spokespeople for Nippon Steel …

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US and European shares fell Friday, with a cooler US jobs report and higher inflation expectations capping the end of a volatile week marked by concerns over a trade war.Official data showed the United States added fewer jobs than expected in January while unemployment ticked down.The jobs data missed expectations, but Wall Street’s three main …

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The United States on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza.The State Department has signed off on the sale of $6.75 billion in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660 million in Hellfire missiles, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).The proposed sale of the bombs “improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,” DSCA said in a statement.And the missile sale would “improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving the ability of the Israeli Air Force to defend Israel’s borders, vital infrastructure, and population centers,” it said.Israel launched a hugely destructive offensive against Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 in response to an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group that month.The war has devastated much of Gaza — a narrow coastal territory on the Mediterranean — resulting in the displacement of much of its population, but a ceasefire has been in effect since last month, bringing a halt to the deadly conflict and providing for the release of hostages seized by Hamas.In response to concerns over civilian deaths, then-president Joe Biden’s administration blocked a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel — larger than those in the latest proposed sale — but his successor Donald Trump reportedly approved the shipment after returning to office.While the State Department has approved the sale of the bombs and missiles, the transactions still need to be approved by Congress, which is unlikely to block the provision of the weapons to Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East.

The International Criminal Court and dozens of countries on Friday condemned sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump over probes targeting America and Israel as a threat to “law based international order”.The United Nations and the European Union urged Trump to reverse the asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees and their families and anyone deemed to have helped ICC investigations.US allies, including Britain, France and Canada, were among 79 of the 125 ICC member states who said the US action “could jeopardize” the safety of victims, witnesses and court officials. Trump on Thursday signed an executive order saying that the court, which was founded in 2002 to investiate genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.The ICC, which is based in The Hague, said the sanctions sought to “harm its independent and impartial judicial work”. It vowed to stand “firmly” with staff “providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world”.Court president Tomoko Akane said: “Such threats and coercive measures constitute serious attacks against the court’s states parties, the rule of law based international order and millions of victims.”- ‘Undermines’ justice system -The United Nations urged Trump to reverse the move.”The court should be fully able to undertake its independent work,” OHCHR UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in an email statement.”The rule of law remains essential to our collective peace and security. Seeking accountability globally makes the world a safer place for everyone.”Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council representing the EU’s 27 member states, wrote on X that the move “undermines the international criminal justice system”.The European Commission expressed “regret” and stressed the ICC’s “key importance in upholding international criminal justice and the fight against impunity”.The 79 ICC member countries said Trump’s sanctions increased the “risk of impunity” for serious crimes and “threaten to erode the international rule of law”.That statement was led by Slovenia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Sierra Leone and Vanuatu but Brazil, Britain, Canada, France and Germany were among the signatories.The court has pursued investigations in several conflict zones and Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy was quick to express concern over the sanctions.”We hope that they will not affect the court’s ability to achieve justice for the victims of Russian aggression,” he said. The Kremlin only reaffirmed that it does not recognise the ICC.- ICC ‘illegitimate’: Trump -The names of individuals affected by sanctions were not immediately released, but previous US sanctions under Trump targeted the court’s prosecutor.Trump’s order said that the tribunal had engaged in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”, referring to ICC probes into alleged war crimes by US service members in Afghanistan and Israeli troops in Gaza.Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar strongly applauded Trump and called the court’s actions against Israel “immoral” and without “legal basis”.Neither the United States nor Israel are members of the court.Following a request by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, judges issued arrest warrants on November 21 for Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif, who was killed last year.The court said it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for the war crime of starvation in Gaza, as well as crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.Netanyahu accused the court of anti-Semitism.During his first term, Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban on the ICC’s then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials in 2020. His administration acted after Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan. She opened a probe into events in the Palestinian territories in 2019.Current prosecutor Khan later effectively dropped the US from the Afghan investigation and focused on the Taliban instead.  President Joe Biden lifted the US sanctions after taking office in 2021.burs-tw/bc

The US Postal Service (USPS) said Wednesday it would continue accepting packages from China and Hong Kong, hours after an order to suspend shipments over President Donald Trump’s new tariffs sparked fears of major trade disruptions.Tensions between the US and China have soared in recent days as the world’s two largest economies slapped a volley …

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Hamas said it would release three Israelis on Saturday in the fifth hostage-prisoner swap between the militants and Israel as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal, in exchange for 183 prisoners to be freed from Israeli jails.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that after completing the swap, an Israeli delegation will head to Doha for further negotiations on the ceasefire.The latest exchange comes amid backlash over US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza, which has triggered an uproar across the region and beyond.The three men set to be released on Saturday are Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami, according to Hamas. Their names were confirmed by Netanyahu’s office.The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel will free 183 prisoners in Saturday’s swap, 111 of whom were Gazans detained after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.After sparking widespread condemnation with his comments earlier in the week, Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that he was in no hurry to advance his controversial plan for Gaza.The plan proposes relocating Gaza’s Palestinian inhabitants out of the territory and placing the war-battered coastal region under US control.”There’s absolutely no rush,” Trump said during his meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.Since his initial declaration, Israel has ordered its military to prepare for the “voluntary” relocation of Gazans, while Hamas has rejected Trump’s plan as “absolutely unacceptable.”Israel and Hamas have completed four swaps under the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.Palestinian militants have so far freed 18 hostages in exchange for around 600 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.The ceasefire, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, aims to secure the release of 33 hostages during the first 42-day phase of the agreement.- Backlash -Freed Israeli hostage, Yarden Bibas, issued a plea to Netanyahu, urging him to bring back his wife and two children still held in Gaza.”Prime Minister Netanyahu, I’m now addressing you with my own words… bring my family back, bring my friends back, bring everyone home,” Bibas said in his first public message following his release.Hamas previously said his wife and two sons — the youngest hostages — were dead, but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.In an interview given to Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, Netanyahu said that it was his “goal to realise” the first stage of the ceasefire.”As for the next phase, it is much more complex but I am hopeful that we’ll be able to achieve it,” he said.His office said later on Friday that an Israeli delegation will depart to Doha after completing Saturday’s swap.Despite an international backlash — and initial backtracking by members of his administration — Trump had doubled down on his statement earlier this week.”The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.”No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”After Trump first floated the idea, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the military to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of Gazans “to any country willing to accept them”.Israel’s military said Friday the head of the US Central Command, General Michael Kurilla, met Israeli army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi this week for talks on the “regional strategic situation”.- ‘Unacceptable’ -Netanyahu also voiced support for Trump’s plan, announced at a joint press conference, calling it “the first original idea to be raised in years”.However, Hamas condemned the remarks as “absolutely unacceptable”.”Trump’s remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.”Gaza is for its people and they will not leave.”Mediator Egypt has also warned that Israeli support for Trump’s plan “weakens and destroys the negotiations on a ceasefire agreement and incites a return to fighting”.The second stage of the ceasefire aims to secure the release of more hostages and pave the way for a permanent end to the war, which began on October 7, 2023 with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel.During the attack, militants took 251 hostages to Gaza. Seventy-six remain in captivity, including 34 whom the Israeli military says are dead.Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 47,583 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.