JC Israel Briefing Day 553: Hostage returns ‘close’, claims Trump

Yet despite this progress, Israeli defence officials believe Hamas has rebuilt its fighting force to 40,000 combatants and is still deeply entrenched in Gaza, according to Haaretz.

The officials quoted by the report estimated 700,000 Gazans support Hamas, while 600,000 support Fatah, and 650,000 are unaffiliated – splitting the roughly two million-strong population into three camps. 

Anti-Hamas pressure from local clans is believed to be rising, but the officials said it is not enough to force Hamas from power. The estimate comes as politicians in Jerusalem talk of Hamas’ total destruction as a key war aim.

Nonetheless, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the return of the remaining hostages is “close” – though he did not give details. “We’re getting close to getting them back,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting. He added: “We’re dealing with Israel, we’re dealing with Hamas, and it’s a nasty group.”

Meanwhile, the IDF has fired Israeli Air Force reservists who signed a letter calling for an end to the war – meaning they will no longer be called for reserve duty. The letter, signed by nearly 1,000 reservists, claimed that the conflict in Gaza now serves political goals and endangers the lives of hostages – though most were not on active duty, so the number of firings is much smaller.

In a separate protest, more than 100 Israeli Navy veterans have now published a similar letter urging the government to prioritise a hostage deal over continuing the war.

Elsewhere, Axios reports that Iran is considering pushing for an interim nuclear agreement with the US. The proposal would pause key parts of Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for time to negotiate a broader deal. US–Iran talks will start on Saturday, and President Trump has warned that if they fail, military action could be unleashed.

In related news, Hezbollah is open to talks on disarmament if Israel withdraws from positions along the Lebanon border, a Hezbollah-affiliated MP in Lebanon’s parliament said yesterday. The comments come after Lebanon’s new US-backed president, Joseph Aoun, pledged to place all arms under state authority.

And Paris may recognise a Palestinian state in June, French President Emmanuel Macron has stated. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that the plan would legitimise terrorism and reward Hamas, and called the idea dangerous.

Back in Israel, ongoing IDF probes have found that there were serious command failures in Sderot on 7 October 2023. Oversights, including a lack of weapons, left Sderot vulnerable to Hamas’s assault.

Israel has also warned Turkey against establishing military bases in Syria. Jerusalem is increasingly worried about Turkey’s entrenchment in the country following the fall of the Assad regime.

The message was delivered during a closed-door meeting in Azerbaijan between Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Turkish officials. Turkey has been surveying airfields for possible use under a defence agreement. Israel has already targeted some of these sites in past airstrikes.

And the High Court has frozen a state inquiry into alleged irregularities surrounding $2 billion in submarine purchases from Germany. Meanwhile, new details have emerged in Case 1000, which focuses on gifts allegedly given to the Netanyahu family.

A handwritten note was reported on by Haaretz, purportedly written by Sara Netanyahu and listing luxury gift requests – including handbags and jewellery – made to billionaire James Packer. It is unclear what impact this publication will have on legal proceedings.

Finally, as we gear up to mark Passover, a former hostage has shared a remarkable account of how she celebrated the festival while imprisoned in Gaza — using a secret, homemade Haggadah. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Agam Berger recalled the first night of Passover with Liri Albag — who was held with her in Gaza and released in January — “in a small room with no natural light."

She wrote: "We did what we could to set the holiday mood. We cleaned our room and adorned the table with napkins and other small “decorations” made from scraps of paper. As a surprise, Liri wrote me a makeshift Passover Haggadah, the text that recounts our ancestors’ journey out of slavery. Throughout captivity we were moved from tunnels to apartments and, in some, had limited access to television and radio.

"On Passover we heard that people had set us a table in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. Liri listened to her mother’s voice on the airwaves. We cried, then sat down to eat our own ‘bread of affliction,’ the Haggadah’s description of the matzah our fathers ate in Egypt. Our corn flour pitas united us with them."

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