Carolyn Moorman, Siddhant Kishore, Alexandra Braverman, Andie Parry, Ria Reddy, Ben Rezaei, Katherine Wells, Johanna Moore, Annika Ganzeveld, and Nicholas Carl

Information Cutoff: 2:00pm ET

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to resume military operations in the Gaza Strip if Hamas fails to release Israeli hostages on February 15. Netanyahu made this announcement after he convened a security cabinet meeting on February 11 to discuss the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement. Hamas stated on February 10 that it would postpone the release of Israeli hostages, which would be a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on February 10 to prepare for any “possible scenario” in the Gaza Strip. The IDF deployed its 252nd Division to the buffer zone along the Israel-Gaza Strip boundary on February 11, bringing the total number of divisions there to three. Hamas could use the remaining hostages to pressure Netanyahu to negotiate again if the IDF resumed operations in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is trying to set informational conditions to be able to blame Israel for a potential breakdown of the ceasefire. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on February 10 that Hamas’ decision to postpone the release of hostages is a “warning” to Israel. Hamdan claimed that Hamas will comply with its ceasefire obligations so long as Israel fulfills its obligations. This statement seeks to preemptively blame any breakdown in the ceasefire on an alleged Israeli failure to fulfill its ceasefire obligations. Hamas has, however, itself violated the ceasefire agreement by postponing the release of Israeli hostages.

Key Takeaways:

• Gaza Strip: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to resume military operations in the Gaza Strip if Hamas fails to release Israeli hostages on February 15. Hamas is trying to set informational conditions to be able to blame Israel for a potential breakdown of the ceasefire.

• Iraq: The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court rejected on February 11 recent lawsuits that sought to suspend the implementation of the General Amnesty Law. Iranian-backed Shia political parties will very likely continue to try to prevent the implementation of the General Amnesty Law, despite the court ruling.

• Iraq: Some Iraqi Sunni political actors are attempting to reduce the influence of Iranian-backed Shia parties in Ninewa Province, northern Iraq.

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