3 More Hostages Released on Saturday, 17 More to Be Freed Until Initial Phase Is Over

These Are The 17 Hostages Yet to Be Returned in Phase One of Gaza Ceasefire

New Details: Senior Hamas Figure Reportedly Used Five Women Soldiers as Human Shields

Amid Ceasefire: Hamas Sets up Checkpoints in Gaza, Taxes Humanitarian Aid

More Proof: USAID 'Care Packages' Found with Hezbollah Weapons in Lebanon

WATCH: Holocaust Survivor stories: Rosian Zerner | Vision for Israel

Holocaust Survivor stories: Rosian Zerner | Vision for Israel

Legislation Committee Approves: 'Judea and Samaria' Instead of 'West Bank'

U.S. President Prefers Deal with Iran Over Bombing It

NYC Councilwoman Inna Vernikov Quits Women’s Caucus Over Anti-Israel, 'Woke' Agenda

Largest Business Delegation in Israel's History Heads to India

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3 More Hostages Released on Saturday, 17 More to Be Freed Until Initial Phase Is Over . . . 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/11fYkJ6NImc

With five rounds of hostage-prisoner releases completed in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire deal as of Saturday, February 8, there are 17 Israeli hostages still supposed to be set free in the first phase.  

The three latest hostages who were released from Gaza after 491 days of captivity are suffering from severe physical and mental deterioration, including malnutrition, decreased muscle mass, heart disorders, and prolonged infection, according to health officials quoted by Hebrew media on Sunday. 

Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami, and Eli Sharabi were released by the Hamas terror group Saturday looking gaunt and unsteady on their feet, 16 months after they were kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and the Nova music festival in the October 7, 2023, onslaught. 

Those on the list still to be freed over the initial period of 42 days, are so-called “humanitarian” cases: women, children, elderly individuals, and the infirm.  

The hostages left on the list include Shiri Silberman Bibas, 33, and her two young sons, Ariel, 5, and Kfir, 2, and five older men:  Itzik Elgarat, 70, Shlomo Mansour, 86, Ohad Yahalomi, 50, Oded Lifshitz, 84, Tsahi Idan, 50, and another nine men under 50: Hisham al-Sayed, 36, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, Yair Horn, 46, Omer Wenkert, 23, Sasha Trufanov, 28, Eliya Cohen, 27, Avera Mengistu, 38, Tal Shoham, 39 and Omer Shem-Tov, 22. (TOI/VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for bringing 3 more hostages back to their loved ones and undoubtedly experience immense relief after their release. We thank You and we praise Your name. We are grateful that You kept these people alive and we pray in Yeshua’s name that You heal any physical or mental condition they are experiencing due to their abduction and confinement. We pray that You ensure the release of all the remaining hostages and that You protect us from the terrorists also released as part of the deal. We thank You for never forsaking us and for being close to the broken-hearted, the afflicted, and the oppressed. ”

The five female IDF soldiers released recently from Hamas captivity were held for an extended period in a secret apartment in Gaza City, along with a senior Hamas official, Israeli media reported.  

Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, and Karina Ariev were released on January 25, and Agam Berger on January 30. The terrorist who was with them used them as a human shield and attempted to garner information from them on the IDF’s operations near the border in the days leading up to the October 7 massacre.  

According to the report, a senior Hamas official in northern Gaza was a dominant figure in the apartment in which the five were held. According to the soldiers’ testimonies, he gave instructions to the terrorists, provided them with food, and made sure that they showered, while also being emotionally manipulative and attempting to get them to talk. 

Only after they returned from Gaza did they understand that he was one of the senior figures in the terror group. 

While other terrorists treated the girls like soldiers and avoided significant interference in their actions, one senior Hamas official played the role of “good police officer,” attempting to create closeness and seek intelligence information. (INN/VFI News) 

Amid the ceasefire and the IDF’s withdrawal, Hamas has begun setting up checkpoints in several locations on the main roads in the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.  

Hamas stops humanitarian aid trucks at the checkpoints and has even begun collecting taxes on goods entering the Gaza Strip.  

Due to the ceasefire deal, nobody, including the Israelis, can stop the terror organization from carrying out these measures. Since the deal took effect, more aid trucks have been entering the Gaza Strip. (INN/VFI News)

“Dear Lord, we pray for the Palestinian civilians to realize who their real enemies are and for Hamas to stop exploiting them further. We pray in Yeshua’s name for all Gazans, that they receive their daily bread, and that You take care of their physical and mental health. May You guard them from the terrorists, ensure they are fed adequately and the humanitarian aid intended for them is received free of charge.”

USAID materials were found among weapons used by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, according to a newly released photograph. Asher Fredman, a conservative policy analyst and peace advocate who also served in the IDF as a reservist during the recent conflict in Lebanon, posted a photo on Wednesday, February 5, of a USAID box he had found in a Hezbollah weapons cache. 

The photograph, which has since gone viral, reinforces evidence published by an American news outlet in October 2024 that shows USAID materials among anti-tank missiles found by IDF soldiers after they defeated Hezbollah terrorists.  

The outlet reported: “A video published by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers shows a group of infantrymen surrounding a stockpile of weapons. As the camera pans to the right, a box labeled ‘USAID’ appears among a set of anti-tank missiles.”     

“It is not clear what is in the USAID box, nor why it was found among the weapons, but there is the possibility that terrorists are appropriating USAID assistance for their own purposes. Similarly, photographs and videos from Gaza show Hamas weapons appearing with material from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).” (BB/VFI News)

“Dear God, we ask that You dismantle all organizations who facilitate terrorism, and bring justice regarding the situation with UNRWA. We pray that anyone who is involved in terrorism is removed from their position. We pray with a saddened heart for all the innocent civilians who need to receive humanitarian aid and we ask that You ensure they receive the aid that is intended for them. In Yeshua’s name, we pray that You bring everything to light and that You help Your people rebuild their lives amid the chaos.”

Rosian Zerner was born in 1935 in Lithuania. When Germany invaded Lithuania in 1941, Rosian and her family were confined to the Kovno Ghetto. When she was six years old, her parents helped her escape through a hole they had dug under the ghetto fence, where she was met by her father's secretary. She was hidden by several rescuers over the next three years before being liberated by the Soviet troops in 1944.

The Knesset’s Cabinet Committee for Legislation approved MK Simcha Rothman’s bill on Sunday, February 9, to replace the term “West Bank: with the historically accurate names “Judea and Samaria” in Israeli legislation in a first reading.  

The bill seeks to regularize the use of the term “Judea and Samaria” in Israeli legislation, replacing other terms that refer to the same geographic area. 

This change aligns with the broader trend of reinforcing awareness of Israel’s legal connection to the region and preserving the historical rights of the Jewish People.  

“Replacing the term ‘West Bank’ with ‘Judea and Samaria’ will reflect the legislature’s recognition of the Jewish People’s historical right to the land and correct a historical distortion. We must avoid using language that serves the enemy and supports a false narrative. Therefore, the significance of this change is immense,” MK Simcha Rothman stated.  

“I also congratulate Sen. Tom Cotton and Congresswoman Claudia Tenney who worked tirelessly to promote this important historical accuracy in the United States – and on this occasion, I call on other countries to follow suit. Am Yisrael Chai! The People of Israel live – in Judea and Samaria as well,” he added. (INN/VFI News)

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would prefer to make a deal with Iran rather than “bombing the hell out of it,” in a new media interview, adding that Israel would not carry out a strike if there were an agreement.  

“I would like a deal done with Iran on non-nuclear. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it,” he told a renowned American media outlet on Friday, February 7. 

“They don’t want to die. Nobody wants to die.” “If we made the deal, Israel wouldn’t bomb them,” he predicted, though he also said he would not discuss potential negotiations with Tehran.  

Last week Trump denied the United States and Israel were planning to carry out a military strike on Iran, instead saying that he wanted to make a new nuclear deal with Tehran and that work on the potential pact should start immediately.  

“In a way, I don’t like telling you what I’m going to tell them. You know, it’s not nice,” he told the news agency. “I could tell what I have to tell them, and I hope they decide that they’re not going to do what they’re currently thinking of doing. And I think they’ll really be happy.” (TOI/VFI News)  

“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” - Romans 12:18

A Brooklyn lawmaker is quitting the City Council’s Women’s Caucus to protest its “anti-Israel” agenda and “woke” ways. GOP Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, 40, called out the 30-member caucus in a nearly 90-second video for its refusal to condemn Hamas terrorists after the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel and for catering to far-left gender ideologues.  

“How can I condemn and call out all these women organizations who’ve stayed completely silent [after the massacre] but continue sitting in a body that’s supposed to stand up for women’s rights, that’s supposed to stand against the abuse and rape and captivity of women, but cannot do that when it comes to Jewish women?” Vernikov says in the clip.  

The video includes footage of young, terrified Jewish women as they’re released from Hamas captivity by masked men with weapons. In the clip, Vernikov calls the Hamas captors “Jihadis.”  

She also pointed to the caucus’ bylaws allowing council members to join who “identify as women” — leaving the door open to transgender biological men joining the group. The bylaws also say the caucus “seeks to advance” both “women and women-identifying people’s rights.” 

“This is a Women’s Caucus that obviously cannot agree on what a woman is,” she says in the video. “I will not remain on a body that refuses to acknowledge objective truths and that will only stand up for women when it is politically expedient for them. I’m out,” she concludes. (NYP/VFI News)

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female…?’” - Matthew 19:4

Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat will lead the largest Israeli business delegation ever to India, comprising over 100 pioneering Israeli companies alongside importers aiming to reduce the cost of living. 

Organized by the Israel Export Institute in collaboration with the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the Growth Administration, the Manufacturers Association of Israel, and the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, the delegation will be in India from February 10-13, 2025.  

“The trade volume between Israel and India currently stands at approximately $4 billion per year, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our goal is to increase Israeli exports from $150 billion annually to $1 trillion within 15-20 years,” Minister Barkat stated. 

“The combination of Israeli innovation and India’s massive market presents tremendous opportunities to achieve this target. During the visit, we will also advance the ‘What’s Good for Europe is Good for Israel’ reform, aimed at removing regulatory barriers and reducing import costs.”   

As part of the visit, an Israel-India Business Forum will be held in New Delhi, featuring B2B meetings between companies from both nations, a formal business forum lunch for all participants,  and professional site visits to locations including BEL, India Energy Week 2025, Motherson Group, and Fortis Healthcare. (INN /VFI News) 

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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