Zelensky says ready to start conflict settlement talks
“[After the conversation with US President Donald Trump] “we should move on to some kind of format of conversation with Russians. And I would like to see the United States of America, Ukraine, and the Russians at the negotiating table. … And, to be honest, a European Union voice should also be there. I think it would be fair, effective. But how will it turn out? I don’t know,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Communications are maintained with Trump’s administration but consultations are general by nature thus far, Zelensky added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that Zelensky is not a legitimate leader and cannot abolish his own veto on talks with Moscow but there are ways to do so if there is a desire.
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No country dares to violate Iran”s sovereignty
During a visit to Iran’s defense ministry aerospace industries complex, Pezeshkian emphasized that the government fully supports the development of the country’s defense industries, stating that Iran’s military advancements deter any foreign aggression.
Pezeshkian visited the Aerospace Division of the Ministry of Defense on Sunday morning where he inspected various defense and space achievements.
Praising the exhibited technologies as a testament to the creativity and innovation of Iranian youth, Pezeshkian said, “There was a time when our enemy could attack us freely. During the [imposed] war, [the Ba”athist regime of] Iraq had unrestricted access to our land and airspace, allowing them to act as they wanted.”
He stressed that Iran’s modern military advancements now ensure that Iranian soil is no longer vulnerable to foreign threats or ambitions.
Reaffirmed that Iran’s military doctrine is defensive, Pezeshkian stated, “Our enemies can no longer subject our people to missile strikes and bombings as they did in the past. What we see here today is the embodiment of Iran’s defensive strength, designed to protect the Islamic Republic—not to attack others.”
He further emphasized Iran’s commitment to strengthening its defense capabilities through the efforts of dedicated and innovative Iranian scientists and engineers, saying that the Islamic Republic will continue to develop our defense power, not to threaten any nation, but to ensure that no country dares to violate our sovereignty.
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Hezbollah chief to deliver speech on Nasrallah funeral
Sheikh Naim Qassem will deliver the speech on Sunday to comment on the regional developments and the issue of the funeral ceremony of former Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Earlier, media reports suggested that the funeral ceremony of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will be held on Sunday, February 23, in Beirut.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, was martyred in a massive Israeli air attack on Beirut on September 27, 2024.
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Netanyahu to begin talks on second phase of Gaza truce
Netanyahu spoke with the US president”s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday and agreed that negotiations would “begin when they meet in Washington”.
A date for formal talks involving mediators and delegations from Hamas and Israel has not been set, with the 42-day first phase ending next month, Japan Times reported.
Netanyahu”s office said Witkoff would talk to Qatar and Egypt, key mediators, before discussing with the Israeli premier “steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for delegations to leave for talks.”
The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and to include discussions on a more permanent end to the war, something several members of Netanyahu”s government oppose.
As part of the first phase, Hamas on Saturday freed three Israeli prisoners in exchange for more than 180 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody.
The Israeli military later confirmed that all three were back in Israel.
Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have so far handed over 18 prisoners to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israelis among them in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and children.
A total of 183 prisoners were freed Saturday, all of them Palestinian except for one Egyptian.
Hamas sources said a fifth prisoner exchange would take place next Saturday.
The ceasefire”s six-week first phase hinges on the release of a total of 33 prisoners in exchange for around 1,900 people, mostly Palestinians, held in Israeli jails.
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Palestinians freed by Israel show signs of ‘torture, starvation’
As part of ceasefire accord between Hamas and Israel, 183 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails. They emerged wearing stained grey prison jumpsuits and exhibiting signs of years of detention.
Several of them looked tired and frail as they made the short walk from the bus to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, before being cheered through the crowd and reunited with their families.
“Every time prisoners are released, we find the prisoners’ bodies reflecting the level of crimes committed against them, including torture that is unprecedented in its level after October 7, starvation crimes, systematic medical crimes, and the infection of a number of them with scabies, in addition to the severe beatings that the prisoners were subjected to before their release, which continued for days according to many of their testimonies, and which in some cases led to rib fractures,” the organisation said in a statement.
“The Prisoner’s Society confirms again that the occupation practices organized terrorism against the released prisoners and their families, through several methods that have been monitored, the most prominent of which are the severe beatings that the released prisoners were subjected to, and the threats that reached the point of killing if any reception party was organized or if the family showed any sign of reception.”
One of the released Palestinians stated, “For the past 15 months, we were exposed to the most brutal torture … the Israelis treated us in inhumane ways. They treated animals better than us.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Red Cross staff expressed outrage at the way the Israel Prison Service handled the released prisoners from Ketziot Prison on Saturday.
According to their accounts, Palestinian detainees were released handcuffed with their hands above their heads with a band that read: “The people of eternity does not forget.”
Hamas announced the “abuse and torture” Palestinian prisoners endured “confirms the ugliness of what [they] are subjected to” in Israeli prisons.
It added in a statement that its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, did not fail to provide the necessary healthcare to Israeli captives despite the conditions in Gaza, including Israel’s relentless bombing and attacks that killed more than 47,000 people in the besieged enclave since October 2023.
“The good physical and psychological condition of the enemy’s prisoners proves the values of our resistance and its moral commitment towards the prisoners, while the criminal occupation commits the most heinous violations against our prisoners in jails,” the statement read.
Sources told Al Jazeera that one Palestinian, Hussam Shahin, will be transferred to hospital after he underwent surgery without anaesthesia while in jail.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, 33 captives held by Hamas in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israel.
Source: Ifp Media Wire