VFI News Hamas Said it Suspends the Release of the Hostages, Israel and the USA Respond

All Hell Will Break Loose! Tensions in Israel are escalating as Hamas accuses Israel of ceasefire violations while refusing to release hostages. With full backing from U.S. President Trump, Israel has issued a firm ultimatum—release the hostages by Saturday noon, or the ceasefire is over. Meanwhile, Egypt has responded by moving tanks to the border, sparking a major international crisis.

In this week's VFI News from Israel, we break down the latest developments, including:

✅ Hamas’ deceptive tactics and Israel’s counter-moves

✅ The IDF’s military preparations and reservist mobilization

✅ President Trump’s plan to evacuate Gaza residents and international reactions

✅ Escalating threats from Hezbollah, the Houthis, and instability in Judea & Samaria

✅ Israel’s economic challenges and recovery efforts

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Hamas has announced that it is suspending the release of hostages planned for Saturday, February 15, until further notice due to “Israeli violations.” Israel has rejected the accusations, stating, “The one who committed the violations is the terrorist organization. Members of the delegation who returned this morning from Qatar claimed that Hamas’ conduct endangers the continuation of the deal.”  

The Israeli PM convened a situational assessment to review the implications of the announcement, with the participation of Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and incoming Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. Reportedly, an ultimatum was issued by Netanyahu and Trump, according to which “if the hostages are not released by Saturday, fighting will resume.”  

Defense Minister Israel Katz also responded to Hamas’ announcement of the cessation of the release of the hostages and said that it was a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal for their release.

Furthermore, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Hamas to continue with the planned release of the hostages, a day after the Palestinian terror group announced its intention to halt the exchange. 

Meanwhile, the release of hostages in the current deal has reportedly brought with it new and encouraging information, when signs of life from seven additional hostages were received. No information had been received about these hostages since October 7th. 

However, only one of them, Eliya Cohen, is expected to be released as part of the current phase. The additional six hostages expected to be released if the second phase of the deal is implemented are twins Gali and Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Nimrod Cohen, Omri Miran and Alon Ohel. (INN/VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we pray that You ensure the release of the hostages tomorrow, as planned initially. Please take care of all the technicalities and hardened hearts of the enemy and bring the hostages back to their families and their homes. We are praying in Yeshua’s name that You release all the remaining hostages and make Israel a haven for all innocent civilians residing in it. ”

Khaled al-Qa’id, one of the Hamas leaders remaining in the Gaza Strip, said that “the October 7 attack was only a prelude to the liberation of all of the Land of Israel from the Jews.”  

He claimed that “the victory in the military campaign was achieved thanks to the unity of the Palestinian people with the fighting forces, and the steadfastness of the Palestinians who cling to their land and refuse to leave it.” 

Al-Hayya thanked Iran for its support of the Palestinians, and noted that the two Iranian missile attacks against Israel had demonstrated “the passing of the time of Zionist, American, and Western bullying, and the dawning of a new day for the Palestinians on the road to the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”  

He further claimed that the Palestinians are no longer afraid of Israel and will continue to fight by violent means that can bring about one of two results, “victory or death.” 

Meanwhile, the Hamas terrorist group on Tuesday, February 11, dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for the release of all remaining Israeli and American hostages from Gaza by noon on Saturday. 

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that “Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties,” adding that threatening language only complicates matters. (INN/VFI News)

“Dear Lord, we pray for peace with the Palestinian people and for the terrorists who incite them to violence and have committed awful crimes to be brought to justice. We pray in Yeshua’s name for unity, brotherhood, and true friendship between our people. May You bring down all the proud who exalt themselves and may the world see Your name exalted through this situation.”

The IDF announced on Tuesday, February 11, that following the situational assessment and the decision to raise the level of readiness in the Southern Command, it was decided to increase reinforcements with additional troops, including reservists.  

The military noted, "reinforcements of troops and mobilization of reservists are being carried out in preparation for various scenarios.” 

It stressed that the homefront guidelines for the Gaza envelope remain unchanged. One additional division, the 252 Reserve Division, which three months ago completed operations in the Netzarim Corridor, will be reactivated.  

Since Monday, many active duty forces have been sent to reinforce the area and special units have already been sent to the south. The IDF stated that there are several additional brigades ready if needed. 

Earlier in the evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement stating: “In light of Hamas's announcement regarding its decision to violate the agreement and not release our hostages, last night I instructed the IDF to amass forces inside – and surrounding – the Gaza Strip. This action is being carried out at this hour and will be completed very soon.”  

Netanyahu added: “The decision that I passed unanimously in the Cabinet is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday afternoon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF will return to powerful fighting until Hamas is completely defeated.” (INN/VFI News)

“The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.” - Proverbs 21:31

Former hostage Daniella Gilboa was forced by her Hamas captors to record a video faking her death in a propaganda effort that sparked distressing rumors about her fate, her mother revealed.    

Orly Gilboa, Daniella’s mother, told British media that “one of the terrorists came to her with a camera and told her: ‘Daniella, I must take a picture of you, like you are dead.’ She started to cry, begging him not to do it, but he told her: ‘No, it’s something they asked me to do and we’re doing it.’” 

Held in squalid tunnels dozens of feet underground under the watch of armed extremists, Daniella had no choice. “She did what she had to do,” her mother told the British news agency in Tel Aviv. 

According to her mother, Daniella pleaded for her life, begging the militants not to proceed with the deception.  Still, they covered her in powder and debris to simulate injuries from an Israeli airstrike in an attempt to make it appear as if she had been hit. The footage later circulated, fueling speculation that she had been killed. 

Furthermore, relatives of former hostages have also revealed to the British media outlet that their loved ones were starved, beaten, made to eat donkey food, and forced to drink filthy water. (DM/VFI News) 

“For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.” - Mark 4:22

Listen as Batya breaks down the beauty of Parashat Yitro in Exodus 18:1-20:23. This section of the Torah speaks volumes about God’s love for his people, the miracle of Exodus, and how we came to receive the Ten Commandments. As a student of the Torah and a follower of Yeshua, Batya’s perspective provides new insight into our promises with God, and how to navigate hard decisions.

The leader of the Houthi rebels in Yemen warned on Tuesday, February 11, that they are ready to mount an attack on Israel if the war in Gaza resumes after the recent breakdown of the fragile cease-fire agreement.  

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the chief of the Iran-backed terror group, said they would go back to attacking the Jewish state and wreaking havoc in the Red Sea at the first sign of conflict in the Gaza Strip after Israel warned that war would resume if Hamas doesn’t release more hostages by noon Saturday. 

“Our fingers are on the trigger, and we are ready to immediately escalate against the Israeli enemy if it returns to escalation in the Gaza Strip,” al-Houthi said in a televised speech.  

The rebel leader also mocked President Trump as a “fool” for giving a similar ultimatum as Israel to Hamas and for his controversial proposal to evacuate Gaza so that the U.S. can take control of it.  

The Houthis have remained loyal to their fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas, with the Yemen rebels launching assaults on Israeli ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, the month after the Palestinian Hamas terrorists infamously attacked Israel. (NYP/VFI News)

Over the last two years, USAID doled out $2.3 billion in “humanitarian assistance” to Omar’s native Somalia. Last year it reported a request for $1.6 billion in aid and even in December 2024, with the Biden administration on the way out the door, it sent an additional $29 million.  

Somalia, along with other Islamic terrorist entities, including the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza, were among the top beneficiaries of USAID cash. 

USAID provided over $3.7 billion to Afghanistan since the Taliban took over with $832 million in the previous fiscal year alone. The money was so unaccountable that USAID refused to cooperate with SIGAR: the government watchdog tracking spending in Afghanistan intent on blocking money from aiding terrorists.  

Further, even while the U.S. was at war with the Houthis, the Islamic terrorist group firing on U.S. Navy vessels out of Yemen, USAID continued to direct billions of dollars to Yemen. In 2024, USAID announced a $2.7 billion aid request for Yemen and allocated $753 million. Over the last 5 years, it doled out $3.4 billion.  

Other Islamic terrorist states that have heavily drawn on USAID include Pakistan which harbored Osama bin Laden but benefited from $600 million in the last 5 years. USAID labored to build plants for Pakistan’s majority Muslim population even while it engaged in the persecution of Christians.

Lastly, according to a recent report from an American news agency, in November 2022, USAID granted $100,000 to an organization led by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terror group, and just six days before Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel, USAID gave $900,000 “to a terror charity in Gaza involved with the son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.” (INN/VFI News)  

“Dear God, we come to You to pray that USAID, which is supposed to deliver humanitarian aid to afflicted peoples, be made accountable for supporting terror in the Middle East. We pray that You remove any deceitful employees and leaders from among them, and entrust it to the hands of faithful people who act according to Your Will. We pray in Yeshua’s name that You prevent USAID and other organizations from funding terrorism, and that You dismantle all organizations like them so that Your Mighty Name may be glorified after the wicked have fallen.”

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas signed a presidential decree on Monday, February 10, to cancel the payments to terrorists or their families, a program colloquially known as “pay for slay.”

Palestinian media reported that the financial aid program and database were transferred from the Ministry of Social Development to the National Palestinian Economic Empowerment Institution, presumably to remove the responsibility from the Palestinian Authority, but the payment will come from an entity operating under its authority.

It was also reported that all families previously eligible for financial aid under the previous laws will be included without discrimination in the social insurance program according to the same criteria applicable to families in need of assistance.

All powers relating to social insurance were transferred to the Palestinian Economic Empowerment Institution, managed by a board of trustees appointed by the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.

The statement noted that the decision was made, among other things, to allow the cessation of Israel’s policy of offsetting tax money from the payments to terrorists and their families. (INN/VFI News)

“Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” - Isaiah 3:10-11

U.S. airstrikes on a cave complex in northeastern Somalia earlier this month killed 14 senior members of the Islamic State’s local group, including an ISIS leader who helped finance the deployment of jihadists into the United States and Europe.  

On Tuesday, February 11, U.S. Africa Command officials said the Feb. 1 strike targeted an ISIS hideout located about 50 miles southeast of Bosaso in the Horn of Africa.  

“Degrading ISIS and other terrorist organizations’ ability to plot and conduct attacks that threaten the U.S. homeland, our partners, civilians remains central to U.S. Africa Command’s mission,” U.S. officials said in a statement.

Among those killed in the airstrikes was Ahmed Maeleninine, identified by Africa Command as a “key ISIS recruiter, financier and external operations leader.”  

The Feb. 1 airstrike was the first military action authorized by President Trump since his inauguration last month. Authorities said no civilians were injured in the U.S.-led attacks. (WT /VFI News) 

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9

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

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