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20 Ethiopian migrants killed as boat capsizes off Yemen: IOM

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Aden, Jan 22: A total of 20 Ethiopian migrants, including nine women and 11 men, were killed when their boat capsized off the southern Yemeni coast over the weekend, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported.

The vessel, carrying 35 Ethiopian migrants along with a Yemeni captain and his assistant, reportedly departed from the Hammarta area in Djibouti and capsized on Saturday night “amid strong seasonal winds” near Al-Hajjajah in Dubab District, Taiz Governorate, the IOM said in a statement, adding that the survivors have successfully reached the shore.

“This tragedy is a grim reminder of the treacherous conditions migrants endure in their search for safety and a better life,” the statement quoted IOM’s Chief of Mission in Yemen Abdusattor Esoev as saying.

“The international community must strengthen its resolve to address the root causes of irregular migration and prioritise the protection and dignity of migrants,” Esoev said.

Yemen’s coastal waters are among the world’s most dangerous. According to IOM statistics, more than 60,000 migrant arrivals in Yemen were documented in 2024 alone.

Since 2014, 3,435 deaths and disappearances have been recorded along the Eastern Route, including 1,416 lives lost to drowning.

On Tuesday, a Yemeni government official, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, confirmed that “the incident occurred days ago” and said that dozens of people had died, without providing specific casualty figures.

In another significant development, the IOM commended the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS) and 13 government institutions involved in migration data-generating for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and data-sharing protocol on 15 January.

The Ethiopian Statistical Service, the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Labor and Skills, the Ministry of Peace, the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, the Ethiopian Diaspora Service, the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission, the Ethiopian National ID Program, the Immigration and Citizenship Service, and the Refugees and Returnees Service were among the key institutions that formalised this agreement with the ESS.

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Netanyahu says Israeli team to travel to Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks

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Jerusalem, Feb 17: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a negotiation team will travel to Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu said he spoke by phone with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after which he instructed an Israeli negotiation team to depart for Cairo on Monday.

The team will first discuss the “continuation of the implementation of Phase One of the deal,” and will “receive instructions on continuing negotiations regarding the second phase” after a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet scheduled for Monday, the statement said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Witkoff said talks about the second phase have already begun and will continue this week “at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of Phase Two successfully.”

On Saturday, Hamas and Israel completed the sixth prisoner-for-hostage exchange following days of tense negotiations that threatened to undo the precarious ceasefire.

In the exchange, Hamas released three more Israeli hostages held in Gaza, while Israeli authorities freed 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, effective since January 19 and spanning six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. So far, 19 Israeli hostages, along with five Thais, have been released from Gaza, while Israeli authorities have released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and Hamas were supposed to begin talks on the second phase in early February. Hamas said in a statement on February 4 that it had started discussions with international mediators, whereas a spokesman for Netanyahu said on social media platform X on Tuesday that Israel had not yet begun negotiations on the second phase.

The second phase of the agreement is supposed to focus on the release of the remaining hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, and the implementation of a permanent ceasefire.

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369 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails

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Ramallah, Feb 15: The Israeli authorities on Saturday released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from its jails as part of the sixth batch of prisoner-for-hostage exchanges between Israel and Hamas.

Abdullah al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, told news agency that among the freed prisoners were 36 serving life sentences, and 333 detainees who had been arrested by Israel from the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023 attack.

Palestinian sources and eyewitnesses said that the prisoners were received in the courtyard of the Ramallah Cultural Palace in the presence of the Red Cross and their families.

Before the release of the prisoners, eyewitnesses said that Israeli forces stormed the city of Beitunia, west of Ramallah, to prevent Palestinians from assembling near the gate of Ofer prison, where the prisoners were being freed.

Earlier on Saturday, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad released three Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The Israeli authorities have confirmed their arrival in Israel.

The freed hostages — Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, a 29-year-old Israeli-Russian citizen; Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old Israeli-American citizen; and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Israeli-Argentine citizen — were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Troufanov was kidnapped along with his mother, grandmother, and partner, and the three women were released in a previous hostage deal in November 2023. His father was killed on the day of the kidnapping.

Dekel-Chen, a father of three, had a daughter born after his abduction. Horn’s brother, Eitan, remains in captivity in Gaza.

“Thanks to the concentration of our forces in and around the Gaza Strip, and thanks to the clear and unequivocal statement of US President Donald Trump, Hamas has withdrawn and the release of the hostages continues,” said a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump warned on Monday that if “all of the hostages” in Gaza were not freed by noon on Saturday, the truce would be called off, and he would “let hell break out.”

Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, effective since January 19 and spanning six weeks, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians. So far, 19 Israeli hostages, along with five Thais, have been released.

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Three Israeli hostages released in Gaza arrive in Israel

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Jerusalem, Feb 15: Three Israeli hostages previously held by the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad were transferred to Israeli authorities and crossed the border into Israel on Saturday as part of an ongoing ceasefire exchange, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced.

The freed hostages — Alexandre Sasha Troufanov, a 29-year-old Israeli-Russian citizen; Sagui Dekel-Chen, a 36-year-old Israeli-American citizen; and Iair Horn, a 46-year-old Israeli-Argentine citizen — were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Troufanov was kidnapped along with his mother, grandmother, and partner, and the three women were released in a previous hostage deal in November 2023. His father was killed on the day of the kidnapping.

Dekel-Chen, a father of three, had a daughter born after his abduction. Horn’s brother, Eitan, remains in captivity in Gaza.

“Thanks to the concentration of our forces in and around the Gaza Strip, and thanks to the clear and unequivocal statement of U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas has withdrawn and the release of the hostages continues,” said a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump warned on Monday that if “all of the hostages” in Gaza were not freed by noon on Saturday, the truce would be called off, and he would “let hell break out.”

Hamas had initially intended to delay the scheduled hostage release, citing Israeli violations of the agreement. However, by Thursday, the group confirmed it would proceed with the swap of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages.

The three were the sixth group of hostages freed as part of a swap deal between Palestinian militants and Israel under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, with Israel expected to begin releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners later on Saturday.

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