Gaza: 1st Phase of Peace Plan Starts

The Palestinian group Hamas said Thursday that it has submitted a list of Palestinians that it wishes Israel to release after both sides signed off on the first phase of a US-proposed Gaza ceasefire deal.

In a statement on Telegram, it said the Palestinians would be released through a prisoner exchange, in line with the agreed-upon criteria in the ceasefire agreement.

The statement added that Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are one of Hamas’ top priorities, and efforts will continue “until the last Palestinian prisoner is freed.”

In an earlier statement, Hamas announced that it has agreed to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, appreciating his efforts along with those of Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt according to Anadolu.

“Hamas announces that an agreement has been reached providing for an end to the war on Gaza, the withdrawal of the occupiers, the entry of humanitarian aid, and a prisoner exchange,” it said.

The group’s statement came right after Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of the US-proposed Gaza deal.

The 20-point plan, first announced on Sept. 29, includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and the rebuilding of Gaza.

Around 250 hostages were taken to Gaza following the Palestinian group’s cross-border attack on Oct 7, 2023. Tel Aviv estimates that nearly 50 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including around 20 who are believed to be alive.

More than 11,000 Palestinians are being held in Israeli jails, with 3,544 of them held without trial, according to the Israeli human rights group the Center for the Defense of the Individual (HaMoked).

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children.

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Jailed Gazan Doctor Nominated For Nobel

A Dutch medical group has nominated Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the kidnapped Palestinian pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The nomination was submitted by Doctors for Gaza in the Netherlands and announced by The Rights Forum, a Dutch human rights organization.

Dr. Abu Safiya became a symbol of courage during the months-long siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he continued treating wounded civilians under relentless Israeli bombardment.

Abu Safiya’s 15-year-old son, Ibrahim, was killed in an Israeli drone strike meant to intimidate him into stopping his work, but he refused to give up.

He remained inside the besieged hospital until Israeli soldiers kidnapped him. He was used as a human shield before being detained. He is now held without trial in Israeli prisons, where reports of torture and medical neglect are widespread.

In its open letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Doctors for Gaza described Abu Safiya as “a man of extraordinary courage, unshakable humanity, and devotion to his patients.” The organization said his nomination “honors the collective sacrifice of Palestinian healthcare workers under fire.”

Israel has killed more than 1,670 medical workers in Gaza since the genocide began. Israel also Kidnapped at least 362 doctors, nurses, and paramedics.

The Rights Forum added that recognizing Abu Safiya’s heroism would send “a message of solidarity with those who continue saving lives under impossible conditions.” The petition supporting his nomination has already gathered nearly 34,000 signatures.

Doctors for Gaza called on the international community to support the petition and pressure Israel to release Abu Safiya immediately.

“Dr. Abu Safiya and his colleagues have continued their life-saving work under the most extreme conditions,” the group said. “Their dedication stands as a profound act of resistance and compassion,” according to the Quds News Network.

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US Funds The Gaza Genocide With $21 Billion

Israel would not have been able to sustain its wars across the Middle East, including the genocide in Gaza, without Washington’s financial support, which has exceeded $21 billion since October 2023, according to new reports.

The reports, released by the Costs of War Project at Brown University on Tuesday, found that without constant US weapons and money, Israel wouldn’t have been able to sustain its genocidal war on Gaza, start a war with Iran, or repeatedly bomb Yemen.

“Given the scale of current and future spending, it is clear the [Israeli army] could not have done the damage they have done in Gaza or escalated their military activities throughout the region without US financing, weapons, and political support,” read the report, US Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023–September 2025, by William D Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

Hartung’s findings and a companion report by Linda J Bilmes, an expert on budgeting and public finance at the Harvard Kennedy School, found that the US spent “a total of $31.35 – $33.77 billion and counting” since October 7, 2023 in military aid to Israel and in “US military operations in the region”.

They show how US support for Israel has helped it continue to wage war on multiple fronts for two years, and analysts backed up the reports’ conclusions.

The US has long been Israel’s most fervent backer. When it comes to US foreign aid, Israel is the largest annual recipient (at around $3.3bn yearly) and the largest cumulative one (more than $150bn until 2022).

Hartung’s report specifically mentions that the administrations of both US President Joe Biden and his successor, Donald Trump, committed tens of billions of dollars in arms sales agreements, including services and weapons that will be paid for in the coming years.

A second report analyzing US spending on broader Middle East activities, such as strikes on Yemen’s Houthis and Iran, puts those costs at between $9.65 billion and $12 billion since Oct. 7, 2023, including between $2 billion and $2.25 billion for the attacks in Iran and associated costs in June according to the Quds News Network.

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