More than a month after the completion of the first hostage deal with Hamas, six families of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip landed on Friday in Qatar in an attempt to advance negotiations for an additional deal.
Souq Waqif in Doha © Mena Today
More than a month after the completion of the first hostage deal with Hamas, six families of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip landed on Friday in Qatar in an attempt to advance negotiations for an additional deal.
This is the first time since the October 7 massacre that Israeli families have arrived in the hostile country to facilitate the release of the hostages.
The families will meet with the U.S. ambassador to Qatar and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani in an effort to raise awareness and further the release of their loved ones.
Italian prosecutors said on Saturday they had arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through charities based in Italy, in an operation coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units.
Israel’s decision on December 26, 2025 to recognise Somaliland as an independent state has landed like a starting pistol for dealmakers: a rush of exploratory calls, “we should go now” trade missions, and early jockeying for pole positions that tend to vanish once bigger capitals and multilateral lenders pile in.
The fashionable claim in Western commentary is that Israel is sliding into pariah status, scolded by international bodies, shunned in cultural spaces, and punished in reputational terms for the Gaza war.
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