Trump to meet Bibi, IDF troops to remain on Mt. Hermon 'indefinitely'

A contractor employee operating for a company that carries out engineering operations for the IDF died in the central Gaza Strip, the military announced on Tuesday.  

The IDF added that an investigation had been opened into the incident. 

The employee was later named by Israeli media as 39-year-old Kobi Avitan from Eilat.  

He left behind a wife and three children. 

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, December 10, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

Avitan was shot after being falsely identified as a terrorist, according to the reports.

"Kobi was a man with a huge heart. We can't fathom that we're speaking about him in the past tense. Whatever we needed, he was the first to come and help, always volunteering," Nati Twitto, a friend of Avitan, said. 

"He volunteered in many places, in anything he could help with—he was there. This is a massive tragedy. Everyone is shocked and in disbelief, unable to comprehend that Kobi is no longer with us," he added.

'Devoted to the people of Israel'

"Kobi was a man of kindness who dedicated his life to the community and devoted himself to the people of Israel,"  The ZAKA organization for which Avitan volunteered noted. 

"As part of his volunteer work with ZAKA, Kobi took action in every event, even in the most difficult and complex situations.

"Years ago, when he joined ZAKA, Kobi wrote to ZAKA Eilat commander Rabbi Shimon Eisenbach, 'Any act of kindness I can do—I am ready to do it with love,' and so he did," the organization added. 
  

The UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA has failed in its mandate and will cease operations in Israel by Thursday, Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, after a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

“Israel will not compromise on its security," he said."UNRWA has failed in its mandate, and it will cease its operations inside Israel in 48 hours. Israel is a peaceful nation willing to work with humanitarian agencies that advance peace over terror, but UNRWA has failed in that regard. It has become overrun by Hamas and is no longer an independent humanitarian organization.”

Implementation of a ban on UNRWA in Israel will be disastrous, the UNRWA chief told the Security Council on Tuesday, as the United States accused it of being "irresponsible and dangerous."

The law, adopted in October, bans UNRWA's operation on Israeli land - including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally - and contact with Israeli authorities from Jan. 30.

"UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in Jerusalem, including the properties located in Maalot Dafna and Kafr Aqab," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council.

ISRAEL’S AMBASSADOR to the UN Danny Danon speaks during a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East and the Palestinian question, in November. The UN has yet to demonstrate the solemnity and integrity to lead Holocaust commemorations, asserts the writer. (credit: REUTERS/Kent Edwards)

"Israel will terminate all collaboration, communication and contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf," he said.

UNRWA said operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank will also suffer. It provides aid, health, and education services to millions in the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries of Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

"In two days, our operations in the occupied Palestinian territory will be crippled," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the 15-member Security Council. "Full implementation of the Knesset legislation will be disastrous."

'Irresponsible'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council have described UNRWA as the backbone of the humanitarian aid response in Gaza, which has been decimated by 15 months of war between Israel and Palestinian terrorists Hamas.

The United States, under new President Donald Trump, supports Israel's "sovereign right" to close UNRWA's offices in Jerusalem, acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the Security Council. Under Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, the United States had urged Israel to pause the implementation of the law.

"UNRWA exaggerating the effects of the laws and suggesting that they will force the entire humanitarian response to halt is irresponsible and dangerous," Shea said.

"What is needed is a nuanced discussion about how we can ensure that there is no interruption in the delivery of humanitarian aid and essential services," she said.

"UNRWA is not and never has been the only option for providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza," she said.

Other agencies working in Gaza and the West Bank include the children's organization UNICEF, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization and the UNDevelopment Programme.

Who fills a gap?

But the UNhas repeatedly said there is no alternative to UNRWA and that it would be Israel's responsibility to replace its services. Israel has rejected UN claims that Israel would be responsible for filling any gap left by UNRWA.

"Since October 2023, we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons and vaccinated a quarter of a million children against polio," Lazzarini told the Security Council.

"Since the ceasefire began, UNRWA has brought in 60% of the food entering Gaza, reaching more than half a million people. We conduct some 17,000 medical consultations every day," he said.

Israel has long been critical of UNRWA. It says UNRWA staff took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The UNhas said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed in September by Israel - was also found to have had an UNRWA job.

The UN has vowed to investigate all accusations made and repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided. Lazzarini also said on Tuesday that UNRWA has been the target of a "fierce disinformation campaign" to "portray the agency as a terrorist organization."

Israel must set conditions for an eventual withdrawal from its buffer zone in Syria, and if it stays longer than six months, the situation could start to backfire, according to Dr. Carmit Valensi, the Northern Arena program head for the Institute for National Security Studies and a former IDF intelligence officer.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, she made recommendations for Israel’s Syria policy.

Late Monday night, the European Union announced a road map for lifting its sanctions against Syria to encourage the new regime, run by Abu Mohammed al-Julani of Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS), to move in a more democratic direction focused on Western values.

The EU’s announcement is the furthest the West has come toward normalizing relations with Julani, who overthrew former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on December 7-8, and following the US, making initial limited inroads toward lifting some sanctions as well.

As the West gets closer to Julani – who says his regime will respect the armistice between Israel and Syria from 1974, while also wanting Israel to withdraw from Syrian territory – pressure on the Jewish state to withdraw may grow exponentially.

Given Julani’s past connections to al-Qaeda, IDF Division 210 entered Syria in the days after the Assad regime fell, establishing a buffer zone all along the Israel-Syrian border, including taking over the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and digging a meters-deep defensive trenches along the border.

Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani (credit: REUTERS/Mahmoud Hasano/Media Branch of Syrian Rebel Operations Room/via REUTERS )

On Tuesday, the IDF even announced enhanced temporary facilities on the Syrian side of the Hermon to better keep soldiers warm during the intense winter conditions.

Also on Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz advocated keeping the buffer zone for an indefinite period.

In a recent INSS publication, Valensi said: “The uncertainty surrounding the intentions of Al-Sharaa [another name for Julani] specifically, and the future of Syria in general, alongside the evolving reality, may present new challenges but also create opportunities for Israel.”

Long term benefits

“To achieve long-term strategic and security benefits, Israel should aim to stabilize Syria under a moderate, stable, and effective regime that is open to political engagement, curtails Iranian influence, and eliminates threats from terrorist elements against Israel,” she wrote.

Therefore, Valensi said, Israel should “develop a new border defense plan, including addressing the question of a buffer zone and the role of the UN force (UNDOF).”

More specifically, she said, arrangements with UNDOF, given the UN’s weak peacekeeping record in the Middle East, would be insufficient and would need to be enhanced by additional arrangements with the new Syrian regime and likely also with Turkey, given its influence over the new regime.

In some scenarios, Druze villages on the Israeli-Syrian border could also have a security role given that many of them have positive relations with Israel, Valensi said.

Furthermore, she said, Jerusalem should “explore preliminary communication channels with the new administration in Syria to safeguard Israel’s political and security interests in the Golan Heights and deeper within Syria.”

Israel was in contact with various rebel groups during the Syrian civil war, including providing some rebels with medical care in Israeli territory.

IDF sources said they already had contacts with HTS-affiliated officials on smaller issues, the Post reported on December 11.

After Syrian rebels attacked a UN site and stole some UN items, for example, IDF officers were able to relay messages to senior HTS-affiliated officials, leading to the stolen items being returned within a relatively short time.

The Post understands that various contacts that cannot be publicized due to their sensitivity are ongoing.

Next, Valensi wrote that Israel should “clarify through diplomatic channels to regional forces and local actors that Israel’s presence in Syria is temporary, pending the resolution of issues that ensure its security interests. This includes outlining the conditions for an Israeli withdrawal.”

Regarding these conditions, the sides would need to agree to a set period of time of quiet and stability on the border, as well as the new regime ensuring no one from Syria tries to infiltrate into Israel, she told the Post.

Another condition could be the regime proving that it is thwarting Hezbollah from smuggling weapons through Syria into Lebanon, a major strategic issue under the Assad regime, she added.

Earlier this week, the new regime announced for the second time in January that it had blocked Hezbollah weapons smuggling through its territory.

Other conditions might include ensuring certain more radical jihadist actors connected to HTS do not approach the southern Syria border near Israel, Valensi said, and a general process in which the rights of minorities in Syria are being respected.

Moreover, she recommended establishing “connections with positive elements within Syria and consider providing targeted yet symbolic humanitarian aid.”

In addition, Valensi advocated “formulating understandings with Turkey, which will play a central role in Syria, to avoid framing Turkey – a NATO member – as an adversary. Simultaneously, strengthen dialogue with Jordan and the Gulf States to guide Syria’s reconstruction in a positive direction.”

She also said Israel should “initiate the establishment of an international quadrilateral committee comprising Israel, Turkey, the United States, and Russia. The goal would be to stabilize the new Syrian regime and protect minorities in Syria.”

Finally, Valensi wrote: “Israel must combine security determination with thoughtful diplomatic measures. This is a golden opportunity for Israel to play a constructive role in stabilizing the new Syria, enhance its regional and international standing, and improve its national security on the Syrian front for many years to come.”

At press time on Tuesday there were no new reports of major altercations either between Palestinians approaching IDF defense lines in Gaza or between Lebanese approaching IDF defense lines in southern Lebanon, despite bloody incidents on Sunday and Monday.

Simultaneously, Palestinians continued to stream northward with Hamas saying that well-over 300,000 had already returned to northern Gaza, and some Israeli estimates putting the numbers in the tens of thousands.

In Lebanon, health authorities issued no new reports of deaths or wounded, only a day after they accused IDF forces of having killed two people and wounded 17 in southern Lebanon when they tried to cross through IDF defense lines within Lebanese territory.

On Sunday, the numbers had been even worse, when Lebanese authorities accused the IDF of having killed around 22 people in southern Lebanon and wounded around 120.

It was unclear if the relative quiet on Tuesday was a sign that both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon had halted trying to cross through IDF defense lines.

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

In the case of Hamas, there was clearly less incentive to confront the IDF, at least until Day 42 of the deal, given that the military had already opened the Netzarim Corridor to Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

Day 42 of the deal is when an eight-day period starts in which Israel is supposed to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, and an Israeli failure to do so could lead to Hamas sending more packs of civilians or quasi-civilians to march on IDF positions there.

Hezbollah in Lebanon

Regarding Hezbollah, the picture is less clear.

While the US and Lebanese governments agreed to extend the IDF’s time to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon until February 18, Hezbollah rejected the extension, saying the IDF was bound to withdraw as of January 26.

This means that the drop in altercations on Tuesday could be a quiet recognition on the ground by Hezbollah that they are stuck with the February 18 deadline, even if publicly they have rejected it, or it could be a more temporary recalibration, leading to some other challenge to IDF forces in the coming days.

Regarding those Gazans who returned to their homes in Gaza City in northern Gaza this week, they generally found a city in ruins after 15 months of fighting, with many seeking shelter amongst the rubble and searching for relatives lost in the chaotic return march.

Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, is a shell of the bustling, rough-edged urban center it was before the war, with swathes of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments and piles of rubble and torn up concrete on every side.

"Look at this scene, there is nothing to say," said a man who gave his name as Abu Mohammad as he searched for a place to settle. "People will sleep on the ground. There is nothing left."

Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still have after months of being moved around as the focus of the war shifted, had walked 20 km (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway north.

"I am waiting for my father, mother and brother. We lost them on the way," said Jameel Abed, who walked up from the central area of the Gaza Strip. "We found some lights here and we are waiting for them," he said.

"There is no car, no tuktuk, no donkey cart, no vehicle, nothing that could move on this road."

Even as those who arrived in Gaza looked around for somewhere to settle down, tens of thousands were still moving north as mediators began preliminary work on the second stage of ceasefire negotiations between Israel, Hamas, the US, Qatar, and Egypt due to begin next week.

Three more Israeli hostages are due to be handed over on Thursday by Hamas, with another three expected on Saturday, in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners set for release from Israeli jails, some of whom will go into exile.

In Cairo, a high-profile Hamas team led by Mohammad Darwish, head of the group's leading council, arrived for talks with Egyptian mediators, and to welcome 70 Palestinian prisoners who arrived in Cairo prior to being moved to third countries who would be willing to host them.

These include Qatar, Turkey, and Algiers, according to Hamas and other sources.

Reuters contributed to this report.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he plans to speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that Netanyahu would be traveling to Washington to meet with him.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump did not give a date for the face-to-face meeting but said it would take place "very soon."

The meeting comes amid a fragile six-week ceasefire that has brought a temporary pause to 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Trump also said Monday he wants Egypt to take in Palestinians from Gaza, where much of the population has been displaced.

"I wish he would take some. We help them a lot, and I'm sure he can help us," Trump said of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom he called a "friend."

US President Donald Trump (R) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi take part in a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. (credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via GETTY IMAGES)

"I'd like to get them living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence," Trump said of Palestinians in Gaza.

Moving Palestinians out of Gaza

Trump's comments come after he floated at the weekend the idea that Egypt and Jordan, which border Israel and the West Bank to the south and east, respectively, should take in Palestinians from Gaza because "almost everything is demolished and people are dying there."

The new US president said he made the request in a phone call with Jordan's King Abdullah on Saturday.

Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt. Both countries pushed back over the weekend after Trump said they should take in Palestinians from Gaza, where Israel's military assault has caused a humanitarian crisis and killed tens of thousands.

The suggestion was also rejected by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, and Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who exercises limited self-rule in some areas of the West Bank.

Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab countries oppose removing Palestinians from Gaza, in part because it is land that Palestinians want as part of a future Palestinian state.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, agreed this month with Egyptian and Qatari mediation and US support, 33 hostages are due to be released during a six-week ceasefire, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them serving life sentences in Israeli jails. Seven hostages and 290 prisoners have so far been exchanged.

Displaced Palestinians began returning to their homes in Gaza City this week.

Released hostage, Naama Levy thanked IDF troops and the Israeli public for its support during her time in Hamas captivity in a post on social media on Tuesday. 

"I want to thank the IDF soldiers and all the people of Israel. Even in captivity, I saw how you were fighting for me! Thank you, everyone; I love you," Levy, who was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz base on October 7, wrote. 

"I’m home. After 477 days, I’m finally home," she wrote. 

"I’m safe and protected, surrounded by family and friends, and feeling better with each passing day. During the first 50 days since October 7, I was alone most of the time," she added. 

Levy noted how the IDF observers and civilians with whom she was in captivity gave her "strength and hope." 

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A post shared by Naama is back home alive🔆💛 (@naama_levy_is_home)

She noted how they "supported one another until the day of our release and continue to do so afterward. 

Waiting for the remaining hostages 

"We are waiting for Agam and the rest of the hostages to return so that we can complete the recovery process," she further stated. 

Levy was released last week along with fellow IDF observers Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, and Liri Albag as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal signed between Israel and Hamas.

IDF troops will remain in the newly created Syria buffer zone indefinitely, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday during a meeting with senior IDF officials on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

Katz's statement was the most far-reaching statement to date in terms of the length of time the IDF might remain in Syrian territory given the perceived risks from the new regime run by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) Abu Mohammed al-Julani.

Julani had said he is now more Western-oriented and will not threaten Israel, but many Israeli officials do not trust him because of his past connections to al-Qaeda.

The defense minister said that Israeli security in Syria will "not be dependent on others for our defense - whether here or in any other place."

He said that the IDF would prevent hostile forces from approaching the Syrian Hermon, southern Syria, and the Sweideh-Damascus area.

Defense Minister Israel Katz visits Mount Hermon. January 28, 2025. (credit: ARIEL HERMONI/MOD)

Further, he added that Israel would build relations with the local Druze population.

Netanyahu's previous remarks

Prior to Katz's statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said IDF troops might remain for the year 2025, and IDF officials had said they expected to be around for at least some period of months, but no one has gone as far as Katz to suggest an indefinite holding of Syrian territory.

Such a position could face issues as the West, with the EU taking the lead in removing many sanctions from Syria on Monday, tries to get closer to and normalize relations with Syria. 

Shas Chairman Arye Deri called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move to the second phase of the deal with Hamas to ensure that every hostage returns to Israel on Monday at a faction meeting on the approval of the law to commemorate the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, co-founder of Shas.

“On the one hand, we want to dismantle Hamas and strip it of its military and governmental capabilities, but on the other hand, the hostages are always in front of our eyes," he stated.

Deri highlighted that in the first deal, close to 100 hostages were brought home, although he said, “not everyone agreed with us.”

“I understand the concerns—this is a very difficult deal with significant costs—but we are obligated to save lives," Deri added.

“We are making a great effort to bring back the last of the hostages. We do not act with declarations or threats. We do not threaten anyone! We are obligated to this and will do everything in our power to bring back the last of the hostages, both those alive and those who are not,” Deri stated. 

Israelis gather in hostage square to watch news coverage of the hostages returning 19 January, 2025. (credit: Chen Schimmel/The Jerusalem Post)

However, regarding how this will actually be done, he said, “I don’t ask questions. We know what we need to do. Even those who didn't believe it would happen see that it is happening, and with God's help, it will continue to happen."

Construction and Housing Minister (UTJ) Yitzhak Goldknopf said at the National Economy Conference of the National Federation, according to N12, "Netanyahu, we are behind you, and we are with you. We do not know what is good or not good. For any deal you pursue, we are with you. We must work toward the release of all the hostages, down to the very last one. We pray that all the hostages will return home safely."

Religious Zionism vs haredi ministers

United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni echoed the urgency of returning the hostages held in Gaza in a Tuesday post on X/Twitter, in response to Religious Zionist Party director-general Yehoda Vald, who condemned the haredi support for the hostage deal. “This is our position; this is the directive of the great Torah sages. We stand firmly behind it, and it has nothing to do with all these fabricated claims that it is connected to other matters,” Gafni said.

Vald had earlier commented, “Where is the audacity?! To leave a note and walk away, to call for a ceasefire, knowing that Hamas will remain and grow stronger. After all, we are the ones who will fight and die before and after the next massacre. Not them.” 

He added that they were only supporting the hostage-ceasefire deal to “get applause from the left” and to “signal to them not to insist on a meaningful draft law.” 

During the general cabinet meeting, which carried on into Shabbat, in which cabinet members voted in favor or against the hostage-ceasefire deal, haredi ministers left notes outlining their positions, primarily citing biblical principles in their decision to support the deal.

Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli (Shas) wrote on his ballot: "Whoever saves one soul in Israel is as if he saved an entire world."