For today, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (IRAN, LEBANON, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down. GAZA 2-17-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Hamas says it will free 6 living hostages and hand over four bodies, accelerating Gaza release, by Samy Magdy and Natalie Melzer | AP   CAIRO — A top Hamas leader says the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise increase that apparently comes in return for Israel allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Arab Summit on Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza postponed to Friday. From Middle East Monitor. A mini-Arab summit scheduled for Thursday to discuss the response to US President Donald Trump’s ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza has been postponed to Friday, two Arab diplomats said on Monday. A source said the summit has been extended to include . . . READ MORE . . .

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