The Politics….
Biden’s watch…..
Trump threats….
Netanyahu gets hostages back…..
Hamas STILL has more until the last phase……
Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Stripand the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators from the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to sealing a deal to bring them a step closer to ending 15 months of war.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks.
“I believe we will get a ceasefire,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Tuesday, asserting it was up to Hamas. “It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than it’s ever been before,” and word could come within hours, or days.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the military believes at least a third are dead.
Any deal is expected to pause the fighting and bring hopes for winding down the most deadly and destructive war Israel and Hamas have ever fought, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests….
Draft of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal
PHASE 1: (42 Days)
- Hamas releases 33 hostages, including female civilians and soldiers, children and civilians over 50
- Israel releases 30 Palestinian prisoners for each civilian hostage and 50 for each female soldier
- Halt to fighting, Israeli forces move out of populated areas to the edges of the Gaza Strip
- Displaced Palestinians begin returning home, more aid enters the strip
PHASE 2: (42 Days)
- Declaration of “sustainable calm”
- Hamas frees remaining male hostages (soldiers and civilians) in exchange for a yet-to-be-negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
PHASE 3:
- Bodies of deceased Israeli hostages exchanged for bodies of deceased Palestinian fighters
- Implementation of a reconstruction plan in Gaza
- Border crossings for movement in and out of Gaza are reopened
….
Officials have have expressed optimism before, only for negotiations to stall while the warring sides blamed each other. But they now suggest they can conclude an agreement ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose Mideast envoy has joined the negotiations.
Hamas said in a statement that negotiations had reached their “final stage.”….
Meanwhile in Syria….
Jan 14, 2025 – ISW Press
Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) is confronting small pockets of locally organized fighter cells in areas under its control. Some of these groups are led by known Assad regime officials who have military experience and control pre-existing militias. HTS-led forces have successfully confronted and suppressed these isolated incidents of resistance in a way that mirrors the Assad regime’s counter-revolutionary approach at the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011-2012. The HTS-led forces have deployed tanks and used attack helicopters and drones to target pro-regime forces in coastal Syria.
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