Well?
The Middle East IS HOPPING…..
Hamas signaling they just could live with Israeli presence in Gaza….
Iran and Russia taking hits in the face….
Netanyahu on trial for corruption taking a ‘Victory Lap’on his campaign against Hamas and Hezbollah ….
The US backed Kurds pull back from a fight with Turkey …..
Biden Sec of State Blinken rushes back to a place he tought he was done with…..
Blinken previously said the U.S. government would “recognize and fully support” the new Syrian government if the transition process is inclusive and transparent.
The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the assault that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime and was formed as an offshoot of al-Qaeda, faces the challenges of consolidating control over a patchwork of rebel forces and demonstrating political inclusivity.
Blinken is also set to discuss a Gaza ceasefire agreement with leaders, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Wednesday. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday to discuss Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Netanyahu’s office said.
A former Egyptian official with knowledge of the discussions, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, said Hamas gave Israel a list of the names of living hostages in Gaza, in a goodwill gesture meant to pave the way to a ceasefire deal. The official said the group was willing to abandon previous demands that Israeli forces withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip.
Here’s what else to know:
- Israel reiterated Thursday that it is expanding airstrikes in Syria and advancing forces across the border to protect Israeli security. France has called on Israel to withdraw its troops from the buffer zone separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory.
- The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that its strikes in Syria have destroyed more than 90 percent of the country’s aerial defense systems. Earlier this week, Israel said it had destroyed most of Syria’s navy.
- The political affairs department of HTS said Thursday that it would “cooperate directly with the U.S. administration to complete the search for the American citizens who were disappeared by the former Assad regime.” It said the search for long-missing U.S. freelance journalist Austin Tice is “ongoing.”
- Gunfire at an Israeli civilian bus south of Jerusalem late Wednesday killed a 12-year-old boy and injured others, according to Israel’s emergency services and hospital authorities. The Israel Defense Forces described it as a terrorist incident and arrested a suspect.
- Rebel fighters destroyed the tomb of late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in the northwestern town of Qardaha, local reports and wire images show. He was the father and predecessor of Assad, whom rebel forces ousted Sunday.
- U.S.-backed Kurdish forces said early Wednesday that they agreed to withdraw from the northern Syrian city of Manbij following a U.S. mediation effort, after fighting Turkish-backed forces for control of the city. The Washington Post could not immediately verify the claims….
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