Hamas expected to release 33 hostages
in first phase of emerging ceasefire deal,
Israeli officials say
Posted By: FormerDem, 1/14/2025 8:26:05 AM
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight. Officials have expressed cautious optimism that a deal could soon be announced to halt 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East and devastated Gaza, allow for more aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave, and ensure the return of dozens of hostages held by Hamas since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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More information now on how a potential ceasefire deal would look.
Revealing some potential details of the agreement, a Palestinian official told the BBC that "the detailed technical discussions took considerable time".
Both sides agreed that Hamas would release three hostages on the first day of the agreement, after which Israel would begin withdrawing troops from populated areas.
Seven days later, Hamas would release four additional hostages, and Israel would allow displaced people in the south to return to the north, but only on foot via the coastal road.
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight.
Officials have expressed cautious optimism that a deal could soon be announced to halt 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East and devastated Gaza, allow for more aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave, and ensure the return of dozens of hostages held by Hamas since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is planning to use Tesla Cybertrucks and Starlink technology to provide free internet to areas devastated by wildfires in California.
Musk, who is the CEO of both Tesla and Starlink, wrote in a post on X, another one of his companies, that Cybertruck deliveries would be delayed over the next few days.
"Apologies to those expecting Cybertruck deliveries in California over the next few days," he wrote. "We need to use those trucks as mobile base stations to provide power to Starlink Internet terminals in areas of LA without connectivity. A new truck will be delivered end of week."
Hours before it became official that Donald Trump had returned to the White House, his biggest supporter was already inside the Oval Office.
Elon Musk, who has been a key backer of Trump’s return to the presidency, was in his default wind-up mode as he used his X platform to post a superimposed picture of himself – holding a sink – inside the seat of US power.
“Let that sink in,” he wrote.
DEARBORN, Michigan — Optimism and hookahs were bubbling in concert on Tuesday night at the Arab Americans for Trump election watch party in Dearborn, Michigan, as the major TV networks called one state after another for the former and soon-to-be future US president. It was a scene that was virtually unimaginable just four years ago, ....But riding the community’s utter fury over the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, Donald Trump managed to win a plurality of the vote in Dearborn — 47 percent to 28% for Vice President Kamala Harris,
It was September 1995, and Tim Walz’s Nebraska National Guard unit, the 1-168th Field Artillery, upgraded to the M109A5 self-propelled howitzer. One of its capabilities was firing nuclear artillery shells....Alpha News has learned from a former National Guard colleague of Walz that, during that time, a classified document allegedly went missing—the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual detailing the howitzer’s nuclear capabilities.... According to the retired soldier, Walz had just returned from another trip to China around the time when the manual went missing. He alleges Walz was one of the few with access to the building where the top-secret manual was stored and was “often the only one there.”
You probably know that xAI is Elon Musk’s new artificial intelligence company, launched in July 2023. But you might not know that Grok-2, xAI's newest AI model, is slowly rolling out on X (previously Twitter) for premium users. Its edge over other LLMs is that it was trained on billions of tweets and real-time data on X.
(Reuters) - A U.S. government weather forecaster expects an about 60% chance of the La Nina weather pattern characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the Pacific Ocean emerging in the second half of 2024.
There is an 85% chance that a transition from El Niño to ENSO-neutral is likely to occur by April-June, National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said in a monthly forecast on Thursday.
"The end of El Nino would take away the vertical wind shear that tends to reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic basin. Further, warm ocean temperatures should facilitate the formation of stronger storms," Citi Research said in a note.
Steven Aguirre Giler was shot in a failed kidnapping attempt as a growing number of rural health workers are targeted by extortionists. ose Aguirre Giler never imagined his brother’s work as a doctor in a rural Ecuadorian town would end in kidnapping attempts and fatal gunfire. His youngest brother, Steven, had a bright future ahead of him after graduating from medical school in 2023 and starting a government-mandated year of service at a health centre in Guayas, a south-western province racked by drug gang violence. “He helped out anyone who needed help,” says Jose.
The first kidnapping attempt was in November 2023
Before he got his start in politics, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, chosen on Tuesday to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, was a longtime educator – just like his wife.... Walz first met her husband in western Nebraska, where she began her career teaching English, according to her official biography. They were married in 1994, Shortly after, the two established Educational Travel Adventures, Inc., which organized annual educational trips to China for students.
The only independent observer monitoring the polls in Venezuela said that Sunday’s vote for president did not meet international standards and was undemocratic, raising more questions about the legitimacy of the results. The mission, led by the Carter Center, a pro-democracy organization, said late Tuesday that the election violated Venezuela’s own laws and the government’s failure to release a vote count was a “serious breach of electoral principles.’’ The group joined the United States and many other countries that have said Venezuela’s election was marred by irregularities. At least 16 people have been killed in protests
Imagine a Jan. 6-style crisis, only this time with serious (as opposed to politically manufactured) disagreements over whether the presidential candidate who won a key state is entitled to its electoral votes.
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Michelle Obama will not attend Donald
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Trump’s inauguration after skipping
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Former first lady Michelle Obama is set to snub President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next Monday after skipping former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral last week — where she would have sat next to the one and future commander-in-chief.
“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said in a statement to the Associated Press.
The former first lady’s team did not provide a reason for skipping the inauguration, but Michelle Obama, 60, has been an impassioned critic of Trump, 78, over the past eight years.
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No One Wants A Biden Presidential Library
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During the California leg of a year-long journey across America, I devoted a day to visiting two presidential libraries within a short distance of each other. I started that morning at the Richard Nixon Presidential Museum and Library and a few hours later proceeded to that of Ronald Reagan. Some months earlier I had also stopped at the Harry Truman Library and Museum in Missouri.
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It looks like Kamala Harris's classy streak is over.
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Michelle Obama is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration because she’s “no phony,” we’re told.
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Former President Barack Obama and Trump appeared chummy at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, but Michelle was nowhere in sight because she was reportedly on an “extended holiday vacation” in Hawaii. (Photo)
She isn’t even giving an excuse for Jan. 20.
The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama simply announced that Michelle “will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” in a statement to the Associated Press on Tuesday. And a source familiar with the Obamas’ circle told Page Six it’s “deliberate.”
Special counsel report found Trump engaged
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WASHINGTON — Retiring President Biden lifted Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism Tuesday, less than a week before leaving office — outraging Republican members of Congress who believe more stringent sanctions should remain in effect.
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after Venezuelan President Maduro threatens
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Puerto Rico’s governor has called on President-elect Donald Trump to respond after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro threatened to invade the U.S. territory.
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González-Colón called Maduro’s threat “an open threat to the United States, our national security and stability in the region.”
Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire
and the release of some hostages, officials say 22 replies
and the release of some hostages, officials say 22 replies
Cairo—Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and 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.
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight.
Officials have expressed cautious optimism that a deal could soon be announced to halt 15 months of fighting that has destabilized the Middle East and devastated Gaza, allow for more aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave, and ensure the return of dozens of hostages held by Hamas since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Kamala Harris eyeing post-loss life in
NYC as second gentleman tours $20K-a-month
luxury space 19 replies
NYC as second gentleman tours $20K-a-month
luxury space 19 replies
It’s not the White House. But… it’s a short walk to the Park?
Kamala Harris is eyeing post-loss life in New York, we hear.
Page Six spies say that Doug Emhoff toured a $20,000-a-month three-bedroom at the Park Loggia luxury condo building on the Upper West Side last week. (“The missus was missing,” said the source.) No word yet if the power pair plan to take the apartment.
Meanwhile, a source said, “Not from me, but I heard they were looking to be bicoastal.”
A third said that the soon-to-be-former VEEP and Second Gentleman intend for Los Angeles to continue to be their base when they leave Number One Observatory Circle this week,
Is there a connection between Castro, Inc. and the fires that are ravaging Los Angeles? Yes, definitely. Karen Bass, the city’s mayor, has not only visited Cuba numerous times while serving in public office here in the U.S., but also volunteered to harvest sugarcane with the Venceremos Brigade organized by Fidel Castro in 1969, which served as a training program for leftist American agitators, spies, and terrorists. And when Fidel Castro died in 2016, she whined loudly about what “a great loss to the Cuban people” the passing of their “commander in chief” was.
Comments:
I don't understand how "release all the hostages before I take office" has turned into elease 33 hostages one by one some of whom may be dead and no promises re the others and the price of this is give up israelie security" This is all Witkoff could get with Trump standing behind him? What a terrible deal.