King Abdullah II: Jordan won’t become ‘theater of war’ between Israel and Iran

CAIRO: Two Palestinian sources told AFP on Sunday that an Israeli woman held hostage in Gaza, and whose release Israel has demanded before allowing the return of displaced Palestinians, will be handed over within days.
“Arbel Yehud is expected to be freed before the next (hostage-prisoner) exchange” scheduled for February 1, said a source from the Islamic Jihad militant group.
Another Palestinian source familiar with the issue said Yehud is expected to be released by Friday.
“The release of Arbel Yehud will happen most likely by next Friday in exchange for 30 prisoners serving life sentences,” the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak on the matter publicly.
Israel has accused Hamas of reneging on the ceasefire deal by not releasing Yehud when the second hostage-prisoner took place on Saturday.
As a civilian woman, Yehud “was supposed to be released” as part of the second hostage-prisoner swap under the truce deal, a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Labelling it a violation by Hamas of the ceasefire deal, Netanyahu’s office said it “will not allow the passage of Gazans to the northern part of the Gaza Strip until the release of civilian Arbel Yehud... is arranged.”
On Saturday, two Hamas sources told AFP that Yehud was “alive and in good health,” with one source saying she would be “released as part of the third swap set for next Saturday.”
But on Sunday, the two Palestinian sources said she was expected to be released following an intervention by mediators Egypt and Qatar.
“The crisis has been resolved,” said the source familiar with the issue.
Tens of thousands of displaced Gazans massed on Sunday on the road to the north but were not allowed to pass through, AFP correspondents reported.

LONDON: Emirati explorer Ibrahim Sharaf Al-Hashemi participated in an air mission that completed the first circular flight around Antarctica using two helicopters.

Al-Hashemi is the first Emirati to participate in this historic expedition, which launched on Dec. 4, 2024, and concluded on Jan. 17, 2025, according to WAM, the official news agency of the UAE.

The journey covered 19,050 kilometers and took a month, starting and ending at Union Glacier Camp. The trip reportedly took seven years of meticulous planning to tackle the region’s logistical challenges and extreme weather.

The team flew over remote icy landscapes under explorer Frederik Paulsen’s leadership, encountering massive icebergs, frozen rivers and strong winds.

Al-Hashemi’s endeavor illustrates the UAE’s growing role in global missions and long-haul flights in harsh environments, WAM added.