Good Morning,
Gaza
The fighting has resumed between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which leaves Palestinian innocents in a frightening unending war, and deep disappointment by Israeli families whose loved ones were snatched by Hamas and other groups on Oct 7.
Hamas’ claim that Israel wouldn’t agree to hostage releases, doesn’t make any sense considering the Israeli Government has shown it was willing to stop the IDF in it’s tracks, if a hostage release was viable.
Overnight negotiations unravelled, when according to Israel, Hamas terrorists refused to release all kidnapped women hostages.
Rockets were fired Friday morning by Hamas from Gaza and Israeli airstrikes began again, as an Israeli Government spokesman promised fierce attacks on Hamas in the coming days.
Eylon Levy said the week-long agreement could have been extended, with the Israeli government having already approved a list of Palestinian prisoners for release.
“Having chosen to hold onto our women, Hamas will now take the mother of all thumpings.”
How many Israeli’s are still being held?
Hamas was still holding 137 hostages, 10 of them aged 75 or older.
That number included “117 males” and 20 females, while 126 were Israelis and 11 foreign nationals: eight Thais, one Nepalese citizen, one Tanzanian and one French-Mexican.
Expect the Israeli army to now move further south in Gaza, where many Palestinians have tried to move and take shelter. As many as 15 thousand Palestinians have died in the Israeli campaign, so fears are growing of more casualties of a war without end.
Israel may change its ground strategy to more pinpoint attacks on Hamas, as allies led by America have said Israel needs to limit civilian deaths.
Could another truce take place?
Israel says yes, if Hamas agreed to release more hostages.
Ukraine War
For the first time Russia may be winning the ground war in Ukraine, according to an assessment by the Economist.
If it’s true, it’s another major wakeup call to the west, that for Ukraine to succeed funding and weapons supplies must increase quickly.
The Economist writes -
“For the first time since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24th 2022, he looks as if he could win. Russia’s president has put his country on a war footing and strengthened his grip on power. He has procured military supplies abroad and is helping turn the global south against America. Crucially, he is undermining the conviction in the West that Ukraine can—and must—emerge from the war as a thriving European democracy”.
This despite people like U.S. Sec of State Anthony Blinken and Sec Def Lloyd Austin saying American stands with Ukraine, because the fact is the U.S. has not approved longer ranges weapons for Ukraine like the HIMARS which can reach Russian bases in Crimea.
Germany too has choked on promises to deliver the Taurus missile which is superior to what Ukraine can currently deploy on the battle field.
Ukrainian leader Zelensky said in an interview “Look, we are not backing down, I am satisfied. We are fighting with the second (best) army in the world, I am satisfied,” he said, referring to the Russian military.
But he also said: “We are losing people, I’m not satisfied. We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted, I can’t be satisfied, but I also can’t complain too much.”
Zelensky also noted a shift in world attention to Gaza, and voiced concerns the Ukrainian war isn’t receiving the same attention.
Navalny
In Russian prison, opposition figure Alexei Navalny was charged with another criminal count, this time vandalism.
"They really do initiate a new criminal case against me every three months. Rarely does an inmate confined to a solitary cell for over a year have such a vibrant social and political existence," said Navalny who was poisoned by members of the Russian FSB, and then jailed on trumped up charges of extremism.
He is serving 30 years in prison after attacking Putin and his inner circle of corruption and Navalny led large opposition marches calling for free elections.
Where are all the critics of Putin?
Hundreds of thousands of Russians now live outside their country, because of the arrests of opposition leaders, the invasion of Ukraine, and Putin’s rotting grip on the Kremlin.
Putin has been in power since 2000, and he and his small power circle, made up of varying clans in Russia, and a core of security service heads, have reversed economic growth, brutally suppressed human rights, and taken the country back decades in development and freedoms.
Navalny is one of the few with the courage to speak out, but pays a high price with his health and freedom.
A Russian court on Friday extended the pre-trial detention of U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. She was arrested in October for failing to register as a "foreign agent.”
Kurmasheva, who holds both Russian and American citizenship, was working for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) media outlet when she was detained by law enforcement officers in the Russian city of Kazan.
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday designated the so-called “international LGBT public movement” as a banned “extremist” organization, setting the stage for a sweeping crackdown on LGBT rights not seen in the country since the Soviet era.
Other News…
-King Charles spoke at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai saying ‘We remain so dreadfully far off track… the dangers are no longer distance risks‘ The King opened his speech by speaking very starkly about the threat facing the planet, warning that the world’s “economy and survivability will be imperiled” without action. A member of the main advisory board of COP28 climate has resigned over reports that the United Arab Emirates presidency used the meeting to secure new oil, gas deals.
-Shou Chew, TikTok’s chief executive, has been getting personally involved in efforts to address concerns that the app has fuelled anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, supposedly in a sign of how seriously the company is taking the criticism
-Billionaire Elon Musk told advertisers that have fled his social media platform X over antisemitic content to "Go fuck yourself" in a fiery Wednesday interview. His profanity-laced remarks followed a moment of contrition in a New York Times DealBook Summit interview. Musk said repeatedly he was sorry for publishing a tweet on Nov. 15 that agreed with an anti-Jewish post.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Dana