Two Israeli hostages, set to be released in the second phase of a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, appealed to the Israeli government to finalize their release amid an ongoing ceasefire arrangement. Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal were present during a handover ceremony in Gaza’s Nuseirat, underscoring the urgency of their situation as negotiations continue.

In another segment, historical contributions are brought to light through the work of Ibn Sina—widely known as Avicenna—who was the first to associate diseases with contagion, setting foundational principles for public health. His pioneering studies in medicine are revisited in a recent episode of a series that reimagines the stories of groundbreaking figures using generative AI.

Meanwhile, a maneuver by two Italian Air Force jets safeguarded an American Airlines Boeing 787 after it executed a U-turn above the Caspian Sea en route to Rome following a security alert that was later dismissed as unfounded. At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encountered public backlash at a military graduation ceremony in Tel Aviv for displaying a photograph of an Israeli hostage, an act that triggered criticism from the hostage’s family amid contentious debates over her release and conflicting accounts regarding her fate.

Regional tensions escalated on February 23 when Israel deployed tanks in the occupied West Bank for the first time in over two decades, broke the ceasefire in Gaza, launched airstrikes in Lebanon, and reiterated its occupation strategies in Syria. The situation was further inflamed when a far-right MP, speaking on an ultra-Orthodox radio station, incited aggressive sentiments by calling for extreme measures against the adults in Gaza and using disparaging language to describe Palestinians.

Elsewhere, the grim discovery of a mass grave near Damascus has shed light on the casualties attributed to the former Assad regime. The site, near Sbeneh, has revealed remains bearing evidence of burning and gunfire, with early findings suggesting that some of the bones belong to children, prompting ongoing investigations into additional graves across Syria.

Adding to the global series of distressing events, a bridge collapse at a highway construction site in Cheonan, South Korea, claimed the lives of at least three people while injuring six others on February 25. Emergency crews continued their search for an additional person believed to be trapped under the rubble, highlighting the persistent challenges of disaster response.