Israel releases Palestinian captives after earlier delays
Buses carrying Palestinian captives left a prison in the West Bank on Thursday, Jan. 30, after an initial delay in their release by the Israeli government. The buses traveled toward the city of Ramallah, where relatives awaited their return.
What does the exchange entail?
Israel agreed to release 110 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
It was the third round of exchanges since a ceasefire between the two sides was reached two weeks ago.
Why did Israel delay the prisoner release?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put the release on hold to demand the safe exit of Israeli hostages going forward.
Later, Netanyahu said he received that commitment and Israeli media reported the Palestinian releases would continue.
Who are the key figures?
Hamas released more than a half-dozen hostages Thursday morning, including 20-year-old Agam Berger, a female Israeli soldier, in northern Gaza.
Hours later, hundreds of militants from Hamas and thousands of watchers gathered in the city of Khan Younis to witness the release of Arbel Yehoud, 80-year-old Gadi Moses and five Thai laborers.
Yehoud was at the center of a dispute earlier in the week over the order in which the hostages would be released. Netanyahu called on international mediators to ensure the safety of hostages in future releases.
What happens next?
The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is still in phase one, which calls for Hamas to release 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli forces pulled back from most of Gaza, allowing thousands of people to return to what was left of their homes.
Israel and Hamas must still negotiate the second phase, which calls for the terror group to release the remaining Israeli hostages. The ceasefire would then continue.
Bodies recovered after passenger jet, Army helicopter collide
A massive search operation is underway in the Potomac River after an American Airlines jet collided midair with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. And from 15 prisoners to tens of thousands, a look into President Donald Trump’s plan to use Guantánamo Bay naval base in Cuba as a detention facility for “the worst criminals” rounded up in ongoing immigration sweeps. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.
Bodies recovered after American Airlines jet, Army helicopter collide
In a Thursday morning press conference, authorities said the mission has switched from rescue to recovery. They believe there are no survivors. As of the time of the press conference, 27 bodies from the plane and one from the helicopter have been recovered.
About 300 first responders continued their search along the Potomac River Thursday morning, Jan. 30, where both aircraft went down. Officials said they do not know if there are any survivors.
However, authorities have confirmed fatalities.
American Airlines flight 5342, flying to Reagan National from Wichita, Kansas, carried 60 passengers and four crew members. It was slated to land in Washington around 9 p.m. ET Wednesday.
The Army confirmed three soldiers were on board the Black Hawk helicopter for a training flight.
It’s unclear what caused the collision, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Army and Pentagon have launched an investigation. President Donald Trump was also briefed on the crash.
“This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented,” Trump posted to Truth Social.
U.S. Figure Skating, which oversees the sport nationwide, said several athletes, coaches and their families, who had been at a development camp in Wichita, were on the American Airlines flight.
Just last weekend, the U.S. National Championships took place at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita. The nationally televised event ended on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Kansas Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall joined Washington officials at Reagan National earlier Thursday morning to speak about the tragedy.
“I know that flight. I’ve flown it many times myself. I lobbied American Airlines to begin having a direct, nonstop flight service to DCA,” Moran said.
He added, “In Kansas and Wichita in particular, we’re going to know people who are on this flight, know their family members know somebody. So, this is a very personal circumstance as well as an official response.”
Marshall lamented the crash.
“You know, when one person dies, it’s a tragedy. But when many, many, many people die, it’s an unbearable sorrow. It’s a heartbreak beyond measure,” Marshall said.
He sent a personal message to his constituents, “I want the folks back home to just know that we care, that we love them, and that this is the time when we will have to join arms together.”
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom released a statement expressing “deep sorrow” over the crash and saying the company would cooperate fully with the investigation.
Reagan National Airport was closed shortly after the crash and airport officials said it will stay that way until at least 11 a.m. ET Thursday.
Extreme cold and windy conditions have made things difficult for crews searching the river.
Hamas releases Israeli soldier in latest hostage-prisoner exchange
Hamas began the process of freeing more hostages Thursday morning. The terror group will release a total of three more Israeli hostages and five Thai captives throughout the day.
This is the third release since a ceasefire began in Gaza earlier this month. Israel is set to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners Thursday as well.
Israel confirmed Thursday morning Hamas released female Israeli soldier Agam Berger, 20. Berger was among five young, female soldiers that Hamas abducted in its terror attack on Israel in October 2023 which set off a widescale war in the Middle East.
🎥 The moment Agam was reunited with the IDF after 482 days of being surrounded by terrorists: pic.twitter.com/V7tAtJJkxC
The Jerusalem Post quoted Berger’s family Thursday morning, saying, “Our hero has returned to us after 482 days in enemy hands.”
The other four female soldiers were released Saturday, Jan. 25.
Hamas is also set to release two more Israelis Thursday; Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Moses, 80. Hamas plans to free another three hostages on Saturday, Feb. 1, in exchange for dozens more Palestinian prisoners.
This is just the first phase of the ceasefire in which Hamas is set to release a total of 33 Israeli hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas said it won’t release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Confirmation hearing Thursday for Trump’s FBI director pick, Kash Patel
Confirmation hearings continue for Trump’s picks to fill key roles in his cabinet. On Thursday, his pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, will travel to Capitol Hill for a high-stakes confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Patel’s nomination comes as calls from Republicans for massive reforms in FBI leadership mount. Democrats, however, have voiced concerns about whether he should lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
Also Thursday, confirmation hearings for the president’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will continue.
Kennedy’s hearing began Wednesday. He faced tough questions from Democrats about his views on issues, including vaccines and abortion.
Kennedy has a long history as a vaccine skeptic. He looked to get ahead of senators’ concerns in his opening statement, prompting a protest from the gallery.
“I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I’m anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither,” Kennedy said before the protester interrupted.
After the protester was removed, Kennedy continued, “I am pro-safety. I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and nobody called me anti-fish. And I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care.”
Kennedy also cleared up his stance on abortion.
In the past, Kennedy voiced support for abortion access until fetal viability. On Wednesday, he told senators he agrees with Trump’s belief that “states should control abortion.”
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who he tapped to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, also face confirmation hearings in front of the Senate on Thursday.
Trump to send ‘worst criminal illegal aliens’ to Guantánamo Bay
On Wednesday, while signing his first bill into law — the Laken Riley Act, Trump announced the U.S. will expand the use of the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Trump said the detention center, known for housing al-Qaida suspected terrorists after Sept. 11, 2001, will soon hold tens of thousands of “the worst criminal aliens.”
The president later signed a memo and directed federal officials to get the facility ready. He said as many as 30,000 detainees could be sent to the prison.
Border Czar Tom Homan said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would run the prison.
There are just 15 prisoners there now, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Previous presidents, including Joe Biden and Barack Obama, sought to shut down Guantánamo Bay.
Federal funding freeze still in effect despite memo rescission
The White House rescinded the original Office of Management and Budget memo ordering a freeze on all federal grants and loans. However, despite invalidating the memo, the freeze remains in “full force and effect” to give agencies time to review programs for their compliance with Trump’s agenda.
The memo sparked confusion among state and local officials when it was released Monday, Jan. 27, about which programs would be affected. That remains unclear.
Concerns also remain about things such as Meals on Wheels, Head Start and Medicaid.
The freeze was set to take effect Tuesday, Jan. 28, but a federal judge paused it to give her time to consider arguments challenging its legality.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the memo was rescinded to “end any confusion” created by the judge’s temporary block.
China celebrates Lunar New Year with debut of 25 panda cubs
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, has officially begun and while this is known as the year of the snake, China kicked off its celebrations with bears.
More than two dozen panda cubs, all born in 2024, made their debut to the world as part of a Chinese New Year celebration.
Caretakers put dragon fruit on the cubs’ feet so they could leave a paw print on a special new year’s backdrop as they gathered for fun and photos with their fuzzy friends.
Thirteen of the cubs are from the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. The other 12 are from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Suspected Hezbollah weapons convoy destroyed by IDF airstrike in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it carried out an airstrike on a Hezbollah weapons convoy in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Jan. 28, targeting a truck and other vehicles suspected of transporting arms. Lebanon’s health ministry reported 14 people were wounded in the strike, which took place in the village of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, about 7 miles from the Israeli border.
Israel defends strike as part of ceasefire agreement
The IDF said the convoy was under surveillance before being struck, claiming the operation was in accordance with a ceasefire agreement that allows for preemptive action against imminent threats. Under the deal, Hezbollah is required to withdraw north of the Litani River, about 18 miles from the Israeli border, while Israel retains the right to act against security threats in the region.
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the strike and urged the United States to pressure Israel into honoring the ceasefire. His office also confirmed that Israel had freed nine Lebanese prisoners of war as part of the ongoing agreement and called for the release of nine more.
Displaced civilians warned not to return
The latest escalation comes as thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians attempt to return home after months of fighting. The IDF has warned residents to stay away, citing ongoing military operations aimed at preventing Hezbollah from reestablishing its presence in southern Lebanon.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, reiterated that Israeli forces remain deployed in the area and that military operations could continue beyond the Feb. 18 withdrawal deadline.
Hezbollah’s attacks displaced over a million in Lebanon
Hezbollah began launching near-daily attacks on northern Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza. In response, Israel launched airstrikes and ground operations against Hezbollah positions.
According to the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, the conflict has displaced approximately 1.3 million Lebanese and forced around 60,000 Israelis to evacuate northern communities. The humanitarian situation remains precarious as both sides continue to trade accusations of ceasefire violations.
Israel was initially expected to withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26 but extended its presence until Feb. 18, citing delays in the Lebanese army’s deployment to the area. With both Israel and Hezbollah accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement, the situation remains volatile, and the risk of further escalation looms over the region.
Colombia accepts deported migrants after tariff showdown with Trump
The showdown between the Trump administration and Colombia over deported migrants is over, but what happens to the tariffs the president threatened to impose? And much-needed rain in Southern California brings new concerns to the region. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Colombia accepts deported migrants after tariff showdown with Trump
The Trump administration claimed a quick and decisive victory after Colombia agreed to allow the U.S. to transport repatriated migrants back to the South American country.
Early Sunday, Jan. 26, Colombia blocked two U.S. military planes carrying deportees from landing. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said the U.S. “can’t treat Colombian migrants like criminals.”
President Donald Trump responded to the move on Truth Social, announcing “emergency 25% tariffs” on all imports from Colombia — which would be raised to 50% in a week, a travel ban for Colombian citizens and a revocation of visas for Colombian officials in the U.S.
Within hours, Petro threatened a 25% retaliatory tariff increase on the U.S. in a series of social media posts objecting to the use of military planes and the treatment of migrants.
However, by late Sunday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Colombia’s government agreed to the “unrestricted acceptance” of migrants from Colombia “without limitation or delay.”
Leavitt added tariffs and financial sanctions will be held in reserve but not signed. Still, the visa sanctions against Colombian officials and stricter customs inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo ships, ordered by Trump earlier Sunday, will remain in effect “until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”
Leavitt’s statement said other countries should take notice and fully cooperate in accepting its deportees who were in the U.S. illegally.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire moves forward after weekend issues
Early Monday, Jan. 27, Qatar announced an agreement was reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the hostage release, which is set for Thursday, Jan. 30, will include civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud and female soldier Agam Berger.
As of Monday morning, Palestinians are now allowed to return to northern Gaza on foot. They were set to start returning on Saturday, Jan. 26, but Israel put that on hold because of Yehoud, whom Israel said should have been released on Saturday.
However, Israel did release 200 Palestinian prisoners Saturday as part of the second phase of an exchange in the ceasefire deal that saw Hamas release four female Israeli soldiers.
Trump weighed in on the issue over the weekend, suggesting most of Gaza’s population be temporarily resettled in other countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, to “just clean out” the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority rejected his idea.
Bird feathers found in engines of crashed South Korean plane: Report
Authorities investigating last month’s deadly passenger jet crash at South Korea’s Muan airport said they found evidence a bird may have caused the plane to go down.
A preliminary report, released Monday, said duck feathers and blood stains were found in both engines of the jet that crashed into a concrete structure that houses a “localizer,” killing 179 of the 181 people on board. The localizer aids in the navigation of an aircraft approaching the runway.
The report said investigators will examine the jet engines and concrete structure further to determine the role each played in the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.
Rain brings relief to wildfire-devastated Los Angeles area
Thousands of South California residents displaced by deadly wildfires hope to return to their homes, or what remains of them, Monday, as the area sees its first significant rainfall in months.
A slow-moving rainstorm settled over Southern California on Sunday, bringing much-needed relief as three major wildfires, now mostly contained, scorch the already devastated area.
However, this morning, major concerns about mudslides, flash flooding, and toxic ash emerged. Experts said rain that falls on recently burned areas picks up contaminants from ash, charred vehicles, and other debris and can carry pollutants into the ecosystem and water supply.
Forecasters said rain showers will continue into Monday afternoon.
New CIA analysis says COVID-19 outbreak ‘more likely’ came from lab leak
The CIA now says the COVID-19 pandemic “more likely” started with a lab leak rather than originating from animals. However, the agency said it would continue evaluating any new intelligence reporting.
On Saturday, a CIA spokesperson said the pandemic’s “research-related origin” is “more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting.”
However, analysts said they have “low confidence” in that assessment, despite former CIA Director Bill Burns telling the agency it needed to look at the existing evidence again and come down on one side or the other.
The decision to release that assessment marks one of the first made under the CIA’s new Trump-appointed director, John Ratcliffe, who took over the agency on Thursday, Jan. 23.
The country has argued over the origin of COVID-19, with other agencies like the FBI and the Energy Department believing the coronavirus most likely came from a leak in a lab in Wuhan, China, and not the theory of an infected animal at an outdoor market, which other intelligence agencies have favored.
Chiefs to meet Eagles in Super Bowl rematch
Super Bowl LIX is now set for Sunday, Feb. 9, in New Orleans. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will play for the title in a rematch from two years ago.
The Chiefs will attempt to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
The defending champs knocked off the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in a thriller at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran for two touchdowns while its defense held off Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills led going into the fourth quarter 22-21, but Mahomes led his team down the field twice, including a game-winning field goal by Harrison Butker with just over three minutes left.
In the first game of the day, the Philadelphia Eagles put up 55 points — the most ever in a conference championship game — and routed the upstart Washington Commanders 55-23.
Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley ran for three touchdowns, including a 60-yarder on the team’s first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Jalen Hurts also showed up to play, running for three touchdowns, as well.
The Israel–Hamas ceasefire in Gaza went into effect on Jan. 19, but there are still plenty of questions about how each part of the three-phase deal will play out. Additionally, world leaders like President Donald Trump aren’t confident the ceasefire will hold.
Each of the three stages of the deal is supposed to last six weeks. Phase one calls for a complete ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, as well as the exchange of 33 hostages for 1,900 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel. The 33 hostages to be released are mostly women and children, but there are some older men included on that list as well.
Civilians can also return to their homes in Gaza under the first phase. Additionally, Israel said it will allow more aid into the beleaguered region.
Phase two would see Israel and Gaza establish a permanent ceasefire, the return of all remaining living hostages, and more Palestinian prisoners being released. The exact terms for phase two would be negotiated while phase one is being carried out.
Phase three deals with returning the bodies of the dead hostages to Israel, and the reconstruction of Gaza. Like the details for phase two, the exact details of Phase Three would be ironed out during the previous phase of the ceasefire.
Less than 48 hours after the leaders of Israel and Gaza started enforcing the ceasefire, Straight Arrow News spoke with Avi Melamed. He’s a former Israeli intelligence officer and hostage negotiator. He now heads the organization Inside the Middle East.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Ryan Robertson: Avi Melamed, we’ve been talking with you over the course of the war. You used to be a negotiator. When you heard of the deal being reached, when you heard of the conditions, what were some of your immediate thoughts?
Avi Melamed: Well, first and foremost, of course, I was happy for the families of those that their loved one had been freed and released. I’m happy for the people of Gaza who have been living in a terrible condition for the last 15 months. At the same time, obviously, there is a deep concern about the rest of the hostages that are still in Gaza Strip and their families, of course, who are longing for them to come back.
So it’s a mixed feeling, of course, as you could understand. And above that, there is, I would say, substantial concern that we will be heading to a very turbulent process ahead, a convoluted one, in the context of releasing the hostages.
Robertson: The deal is, you know, precarious at best. And there could be a lot of opportunities for both sides to, to back out of the deal. Do you feel confident that phase one – which is, you know, supposed to be a weeks-long ordeal – do you feel confident that phase one will eventually go into phase two? Do you feel confidence that this deal will lead to all of the hostages being released?
Melamed: I put it this way, I feel more confident that we will complete phase one. I’m much less confident about the success odds of phase two at this point.
As a matter of fact, I would even say it’s 60-40, meaning that I unfortunately think it’s more likely not to be successful in the second phase. The meaning of that is that we will probably witness a prolonging and continuing and convoluted process way beyond what I think and hope it should be. So this is the way I view things right now.
Robertson: What parts of phase two do you think will fail?
Melamed: Look, Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack for different reasons. One of the major reasons, which always has been Hamas’ major card, was that Hamas told the Palestinians, ‘Look, I will release all the Palestinians that are imprisoned in Israel.’ And that has always been something that Hamas marketed, particularly after the episode of the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, which provided Hamas with a lot of political credibility and popularity within the Palestinians.
Comes Oct. 7, Hamas is attacking Israel, doing what it’s doing. It results in an enormous war. Gaza is destroyed. Dozens of thousands of fatalities. It will take years to rehabilitate Gaza. Billions and billions of dollars. Nobody knows exactly where those dollars are going to come from. And so Hamas, potentially only card in the end of the day to present to his brothers, the Palestinians, as an achievement is the release of the Palestinian prisoners.
Now, here is the difficult thing because Hamas could come and say, “I want to release all the Palestinian prisoners,” let’s say 4,000, 5,000, whatever the number is. And Israel may insist that it’s not willing to release all of the prisoners, but some of the prisoners must remain, and in addition, Israel may say, “No, some prisoners will not go back to Palestinian territories; they will be expelled elsewhere.” In other words, any kind of Israeli refusal, any kind of Israeli counter demand is kind of like grading Hamas’ potential, one and only potential achievement, to put it this way. And so we are looking here at a situation where there is friction, a collision between these two things.
Hamas is in a position that it basically could say to itself, “Look, I have nothing to lose. You know, I have nothing to lose. I must insist to get this card and exhaust this card to the maximum,” which is maybe not the case. Maybe Israel will refuse to do that. Maybe there will be counter pressure on Hamas to be flexible on it.
And so the bottom line of this whole convoluted situation is that it, unfortunately, fuels further, I would say, odds that the whole process will be stumbling and falling apart time and again. And so that’s one of the major reasons for the concern about the continuation and success odds of this process.
Robertson: You used to be a negotiator. Would you have made this deal? Would you have agreed to this deal?
Melamed: There are many things involved here. I was, more than once, often, asked by people, “If you were the prime minister, what would you have done? Or if you were in a policymaking decision, what would you have done?”
It’s a very, very complex situation. I think that, in the end of the day, for the sake of the people, and I’m talking about both Israelis and Palestinians, there is no going back to Oct. 6. Meaning, in the sense that Hamas is continuing to dictate as it was able to dictate the trajectory of the conflict for the last 40 years.
Oct. 7, for me, was not a surprise in the sense that I, on many occasions, including in my recent book, “Inside the Middle East: Entering the New Era,” that was published in 2022, I wrote very specifically, and I said as long as Hamas is going to be exempted from governmental accountability, as long as the Palestinians are going to be exempted from holding their leadership accountable, the outcome of that is only, one and only one, and that is more death and suffering and destruction for both people.
This is exactly what happened. And so that’s what I mean when I say no going back to Oct. 6. How do you do that? What does it take to get there?
These are part of the many questions involved, bearing in mind that I’ve been saying all along the way, and I will say it very clearly: Hamas is not going to disappear. It’s going to be part and parcel of the Palestinian people.
It goes back to the big question: What are the Palestinian people going to do internally following Oct. 7? And what happened following Oct. 7 to Gaza Strip?
This is a question that is enormously significant. Particularly for Western audiences. In our Western mindset, if our leadership, for example, would have done something like Oct. 7 and everything that comes after, we would hold our leadership accountable.
We would say, “You have caused us enormous destruction. You have to pay for it. You have to step down. You have to go away.”
I don’t know. This is terrible, but I will tell you that within the Palestinians and in the Arab world there are those today who say Hamas is marketing victory, and there are Palestinians and Arabs who buy that, who subscribe to that. We could, later on, maybe in some other occasion, elaborate about the psyche involving that, but I think it’s important for Western audiences to understand it because it has a lot of ramifications, unfortunately, negative ones.
In other words, if you don’t hold your leadership accountable, if you always blame somebody else for your leadership’s failure, for your misjudgment, you basically doom yourself to be locked in a tragic loop.
And you know, as it happens, particularly today as we are talking, the Israeli chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi resigned. He resigned basically saying, “I have failed on Oct. 7. This was my mission, and I failed to protect the people of Israel.”
And the interesting thing is that despite the fact that following Oct. 7, he was able to lead the IDF to very, very impressive achievements in many different arenas, in the end of the day, that did not exempt him from responsibility.
He basically said, “Yes, I’m responsible for what happened on Oct. 7, the failure to protect the people of Israel, and I’m resigning,” as he should, because it’s about taking responsibility for your own failure. And that’s the reason why I bring that issue to the discussion, particularly for Western audiences, who should be aware that we are dealing with quite different mindsets.
Israel launches deadly military operation in the West Bank
Israel’s prime minister announced the start of a military operation in the West Bank just days into the Gaza ceasefire. Palestinian media reported a series of air strikes and a large number of troops moving into the region Tuesday, Jan. 21. The attack reportedly killed at least eight Palestinians.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces told AFP News Agency that Israeli troops opened fire on civilians and security forces, injuring at least 35 people.
Why did Israel begin the operation?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military launched the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin, an area known for harboring armed Palestinian groups.
It happened just hours after President Donald Trump rescinded Biden-era executive orders that authorized U.S. sanctions against people who undermine peace in the West Bank, mainly targeting Israeli settlers.
Israel accuses Iran of smuggling weapons and funds to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other armed groups in the West Bank.
A military source told Israeli media it would continue the operation for “as long as necessary.”
How is Palestine responding?
The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Mohammed Mustafa, said the raid is the latest in “aggressive Israeli measures” against Palestinians.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad both called on Palestinians in the West Bank to escalate attacks against Israel in response to the Jenin operation.
This comes after an agreement last week on a multi-phase deal that includes the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip after more than 15 months of war.
Trump expected to sign executive orders shortly after swearing-in
It’s Inauguration Day for Donald Trump, where he will take the oath of office as the nation’s 47th president. And the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is underway, with the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Trump expected to sign executive orders shortly after swearing-in
For just the second time in our nation’s history, the U.S. will see the inauguration of a former president for a non-consecutive second term. President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office to become the 47th president on Monday, Jan. 20.
Last week, Trump decided to move his inauguration ceremony indoors to the Capitol Rotunda due to dangerously cold temperatures in Washington, D.C.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal previewing excerpts from the inaugural address, Trump will call for a “revolution of common sense.” The Journal said Trump is expected to tell the American people the country is “at the start of a thrilling new era of national success.”
President Joe Biden will attend Trump’s inauguration, as well as former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. However, former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend.
Tech CEOs, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Apple’s Tim Cook, will also be in attendance. Foreign leaders, including Argentina’s president, Italy’s prime minister and China’s vice president, will also attend.
Country singer Carrie Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful” along with the Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club.
Following his inauguration, Trump said he will possibly sign as many as 100 executive orders. Trump’s incoming White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller told a small group of Republicans about the president-elect’s plans during a phone briefing Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19.
Reports said Trump will focus on declaring a national emergency on the southern U.S. border and reversing some of Biden’s policies, including those concerning DEI, offshore drilling and repealing rules on electric vehicles.
Trump said he may also sign more executive orders at the Capital One Arena, where the inaugural parade will take place.
On Sunday, Trump held a “Make America Great Again Victory Rally” at that venue. He told an estimated 20,000 people in attendance about his plans for day one.
“Tomorrow at noon, the curtain closes on four long years of American decline, and we begin a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride,” Trump said. “You’re going to see executive orders that are going to make [you] extremely happy, lots of them. We have to set our country on the proper course. By the time the sun sets tomorrow evening, the invasion of our borders will have come to a halt, and all the illegal border trespassers will in some form or another, be on their way back home.”
He added, “We will be a free and proud nation once again. And that will take place tomorrow at 12 p.m. Everyone in our country will prosper, every family will thrive and every day will be filled with opportunity and hope and also filled with a thing called the American dream, that you don’t hear much about anymore.”
The nation will watch as the inauguration ceremonies begin.
3 Israeli hostages, 90 Palestinian prisoners released as ceasefire begins
A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is now in effect and humanitarian aid is flowing into the region. It started Sunday, Jan. 19, with a stop in fighting in the war-torn enclave with the Israeli military saying it has withdrawn from several locations.
The exchange of hostages held by Hamas for the last 15 months and Palestinian prisons in Israeli custody is also underway.
Hamas released three Israelis so far, confirmed as Romi Gonen, 27; Doron Steinbrecher, 31; and Emily Damari, 28. They’ve returned to Israel in good health.
They’re the first of 33 captives Hamas said it would release throughout the six-week ceasefire. In exchange, Israel is releasing almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
On Sunday, Israel released 90 prisoners. According to a list from the Palestinian authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, all of those released were women or teenagers, the youngest 15 years old.
Despite warnings from the Israeli military, Palestinians turned out to celebrate the prisoner release in droves, with crowds surrounding the buses the freed prisoners were riding in after leaving the prison.
Displaced Palestinians also started to return to their homes in Gaza — or what was left of them.
In December, the United Nations reported that Israeli strikes damaged or destroyed more than 170,000 buildings. That’s nearly 70% of Gaza’s total infrastructure.
Experts estimated that the reconstruction of Gaza could take years and cost billions of dollars.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel, killing at least 1,200 people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then said Israel would retaliate with such force that it would crush Hamas and drive the terror group out of Gaza.
Access to TikTok restored in US after Trump steps in
After spending around 12 hours offline following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, TikTok is back online in the United States. The popular social media app was unusable for Americans from late Saturday night, Jan. 18, into Sunday, Jan. 19.
Instead of videos, users who tried to access the app saw a message reading in part, “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
Early Sunday morning, Trump said he would issue an executive order once he’s inaugurated to delay enforcement of the law which would force TikTok parent company ByteDance to sell the app or be banned in the U.S. It appears that time extension would be for 90 days, with Trump saying he would like to see the U.S. have a 50% stake in the company.
Within hours of that announcement, access to TikTok began to return for U.S. users with a message thanking them for their patience and support.
More than 70 million people under winter storm warnings as arctic blast moves east
Temperatures dropped below zero in parts of the upper Midwest, with wind chill temperatures falling to minus 20 degrees in some areas.
The cold front is sweeping east into the mid-Atlantic and northeast, with winter storm warnings now posted. Snow and ice will be seen from New England to the Gulf of Mexico over the next couple of days — even in the south. Charleston, South Carolina, could potentially see snow, and New Orleans, Louisiana, braces for ice.
Notre Dame, Ohio State vie for College Football National Championship
A champion will be crowned in college football in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday night, Jan. 20. Either Notre Dame, the seventh seed, or Ohio State, the eighth seed, will win the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, with Notre Dame looking for a bit of revenge. The Fighting Irish last defeated the Buckeyes in 1936. Ohio State has a powerful offense and is heavily favored.
Over in the NFL, NFC and AFC championship match-ups have also been set after this weekend’s divisional round.
On Saturday, Jan. 18, the sixth-seeded Washington Commanders stunned the top-seeded Detroit Lions 45-31 to reach the NFC Championship game for the first time in 33 years.
Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes, Jason Kelce and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are in their seventh consecutive AFC title game after defeating the Houston Texans 23-14.
In snow conditions on Sunday, Jan. 19, it came down to the final drives in both divisional games. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Los Angeles Rams 28-22 to advance to the NFC championship game.
The Buffalo Bills are headed to the AFC title game after surviving a late rally by the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills got the 27-25 win after the Ravens scored with less than two minutes to go but missed the two-point conversion when the receiver dropped the ball.
Only four teams remain as Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans gets closer.
Bernice King on importance of inauguration falling on MLK Day
While Monday is Inauguration Day, it is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The federal holiday honors the late civil rights leader and is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service.
The youngest of MLK’s four children, Bernice King — the CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change — said that this time of transition in the U.S. is also a good time to remember her father’s legacy.
“I think it’s wonderful that this occurs on the King holiday — the inauguration — because it reminds us of King. It points us back to King. It says, ‘When we move forward, we’ve got to do it in the spirit of King,’” Bernice King said.
She added, “Many people talk about doing the work of Dr. King, but I always ask, ‘Are you doing it in the spirit of Dr. King?’ In the spirit of Dr. King is nonviolence and nonviolence is not just a posture. It’s a mindset for us. We define it as a love-centered way of thinking, speaking, acting, and engaging that leads to personal, cultural, and societal transformation. So, it works on you first. You have to be in the right frame of reference to fight these injustices so that you don’t become like the unjust.”
This will be just the third time Inauguration Day falls on MLK Day. The first was in 1997 for President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration, and the second was in 2013 for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire takes effect in Gaza, halting 15 months of war
After more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, there is a ceasefire that could bring the fighting to an end. A ceasefire agreement took effect at 11:15 a.m. local time Sunday, Jan. 19.
It follows an agreement last week on a multi-phase deal that would include the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
The deal, which was supposed to go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time, saw a roughly three-hour delay after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Hamas turn over a list of the names of the initial hostages who would be released Sunday, beginning the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Phase one, the first 42 days of the ceasefire, would see Hamas release 33 hostages, the first three of which were released Sunday. In return, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners later in the day.
According to the Israeli military, the three hostages are now back in Israel. They have been identified as Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher.
“The 3 released hostages have arrived at the initial reception point in southern Israel, where they will be reunited with their mothers,” the IDF said in a statement.
Following their release, President Joe Biden spoke to the American people during a press conference on his final full day in office. President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath Monday, Jan. 20.
“The deal that I first put forward last May for the Middle East has finally come to fruition. The ceasefire has gone into effect in Gaza, and today, we’re seeing hostages being released –– three Israeli women held against [their] will in the dark tunnels for 470 days,” Biden said.
Biden said he was “pleased” that his team and Trump’s worked together to make the deal a reality.
“Now it falls on the next administration to help implement this deal,” Biden said. “I was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days. It was both necessary and effective and unprecedented, but success is going to require persistence and continuing support for our friends in the region and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence.”
As part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal, Israeli soldiers would move further out from Central Gaza, while displaced Palestinians would move back in.
During phase two, the following 42 days, Hamas would release the remaining hostages in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners and Israeli troops withdrawing from Gaza.
Phase three would be a longer-term ceasefire, involving exchanges of dead bodies between the two sides, the reopening of Gaza’s border crossings, and a plan to rebuild Gaza.
The plan briefly hit a snag after the two sides initially agreed on the terms of the agreement, as Netanyahu held up the required approval vote from his cabinet, alleging Hamas was trying to renege on unspecified key promises. He then scheduled a vote for Friday, Jan. 17, where his cabinet approved the agreement.
The war began when Hamas launched attacks into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people in Israel and taking hundreds more as hostages.
Since then, Israel has launched strikes and invaded Gaza, killing at least 46,000 people based on official Palestinian estimates. A peer-reviewed academic study published earlier this month in medical journal The Lancet suggested that the number could be as high as 64,000.
Israel’s strikes on Hamas targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip led to accusations the country was committing genocide against the Palestinian people, including a report by international human rights group Amnesty International and an ongoing case in the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa.
Israel has repeatedly denied any accusations of genocide, citing its right to self-defense. Both Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have denied Israel’s actions constituted genocide.
Israeli security cabinet approves ceasefire deal with Hamas
The Israeli security cabinet on Friday, Jan. 17, approved a Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas. The move came just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the two countries reached an agreement to return hostages.
The agreement satisfied last-minute snags that held up the deal on Thursday, Jan. 16. It would see a pause in the fighting in Gaza and the phased release of hostages, as well as Palestinian prisoners.
The ceasefire agreement will take effect Sunday.
CNN reported Netanyahu told his security cabinet that he received guarantees from negotiators that the United States would back Israel, returning to war, if future talks with Hamas break down.
Under the three-phase ceasefire agreement, fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days. Hundreds of Palestinians and 33 Israeli hostages, including Americans, will be freed during the first phase.
By day 16 of the 42-day ceasefire, negotiators will begin talks on phase two of the deal, which would see the release of all remaining hostages, including Israeli male soldiers.
In addition, all Israeli troops will withdraw from Gaza, allowing many Palestinians to return to what remains of their homes.
The ceasefire will end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hamas. The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked a music festival in Israel, killing more than 1,000 civilians.
The ensuing war has claimed tens of thousands of lives after Netanyahu vowed to crush Hamas.