Saturday, February 22

We apologize that this article was published slightly late due to a scheduling issue.

The latest hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas went smoothly today despite some recent hostility between the two sides.

This week, Hamas was scheduled to send the remains of four people to Israel, consisting of two children, their mother, and an 85-year-old. The father of the two children, Yarden Bibas, had been recently released by Hamas, as he was also taken hostage in October 2023. Hamas claimed that the two children, Ariel Bibas and Kfir Bibas, and the mother, Shiri Bibas, were killed in an Israeli bombing back in November 2023.

However, the remains were sent back on Thursday, and it sparked outrage across Israel. The autopsy done on the two children, who were 4 years old and around 10 months old, respectively, revealed that they had been "brutally murdered" by Hamas using their "bare hands." Meanwhile, the third body sent back turned out to be that of a Palestinian woman killed during the war, not that of Shiri Bibas.

Her body was later returned, and the Israeli Institute of Forensic Medicine has confirmed her identity with a DNA test. The autopsy is still being completed, but it has been assumed that she was murdered in the same way as her children.

Despite the incident, today, the latest hostage release went through. Hamas released five hostages and is expected to release a sixth later today, and Israel will hand over 600 Palestinian prisoners in exchange-- this makes it the largest release of prisoners in the war so far. The current ceasefire, which is extremely fragile, has been up and down, but it is still holding for now.

Unfortunately, tension between Hamas and Israel is continuing to rise, and this agreement will not last for much longer. The deal is beginning to come to an end, as the six-week ceasefire period ends on March 2, and the next phase must be confirmed before that date or the fighting will resume. No talks have taken place yet, though, as several members of the Israeli government are encouraging additional fighting. However, dozens of living hostages still remain in Gaza, and many Israelis see that as a priority over taking down Hamas.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): You can tell how old an egg is based on whether it floats or not. Old eggs will tilt upward or even float due to the expansion of the air cell inside the egg, meaning that it is too old to consume. However, fresher eggs will sink.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. (Calvin Coolidge)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Jabberwocky (noun, JAB-er-wah-kee) - Jabberwocky refers to meaningless speech or writing.

In a Sentence: When the character gets angry or flustered, she talks in a sort of agitated jabberwocky that is really quite comical.