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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Sinwar has reportedly agreed to the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official. Axios’ Barak Ravid reports.
Israel and Hamas have both approved a broad framework of a Gaza ceasefire deal, with Doha negotiations currently focused on the final details of the agreement, an Egyptian official said. A senior Hamas official yesterday said the group is still waiting for Israel to submit maps outlining its forces’ withdrawal from Gaza. Claire Parker reports for the Washington Post; Adam Rasgon, Aaron Boxerman, Isabel Kershner, and Michael D. Shear report for the New York Times; Andrew Mills, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters.
If the current draft Gaza ceasefire deal is implemented, fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed, according to a copy of the deal seen by AP News. However, the question of whether the ceasefire will hold beyond the initial phase remains. Lee Keath and Samy Magdy report for AP News.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians in Gaza yesterday, medics said. Separately, an Israeli strike killed at least six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Ali Sawafta reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR – U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday offered his most detailed picture yet of plans for post-war Gaza governance, stressing the importance of not leaving a power vacuum. Jennifer Hansler reports for CNN.
The U.N. is preparing to expand Gaza humanitarian assistance under a potential ceasefire, but uncertainty around border access and security in the enclave remain obstacles, a U.N. spokesperson said yesterday. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
Israel has struck its self-designated Gaza “humanitarian zone” almost 100 times since May, a BBC analysis found. Benedict Garman and Richard Irvine-Brown report for BBC News.
SYRIA
Some governments are hesitant to boost funding for humanitarian aid in Syria under the country’s new interim rules, the U.N. World Food Program director said yesterday. Kareem Chehayeb reports for AP News.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk arrived in Damascus yesterday, where he will meet with officials, civil society groups, diplomats, and U.N. bodies, his spokesperson said. Emma Farge reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
President-elect Trump’s advisers now concede that a Ukraine peace deal is months away, backing away from a key campaign promise to end the war on the first day back in the White House. Gram Slattery reports for Reuters.
Australia will take the “strongest action possible” if Russia has harmed an Australian national captured fighting for Ukraine, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said following reports that the man has “likely” been killed. Eric Cheung and Hilary Whiteman report for CNN.
Russia’s “massive” missile attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure forced emergency power cuts today, Kyiv’s energy minister said. Cassandra Vinograd reports for the New York Times.
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION AND NEW CONGRESS
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg will attend Trump’s inauguration next Monday and be seated together, an official involved with the planning said. Jake Traylor and David Ingram report for NBC News.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) yesterday announced she would vote for Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth, increasing the likelihood Hegseth will secure enough votes to be confirmed following yesterday’s hearing largely void of Republican dissent. Karoun Demirjian reports for the New York Times; Abigail Hauslohner, Liz Goodwin, and Dan Lamothe report for the Washington Post.
Some Senate Republicans are privately harbouring doubts about the qualifications of Trump’s Director of National Intelligence pick, Tulsi Gabbard, after her missteps in meetings with GOP lawmakers, Senate Republican aides say. Vivian Salama reports for the Wall Street Journal.
Today’s planned confirmation hearing of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security pick, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), was postponed to Friday due to delays in her FBI background check, a committee aide said. Sarah Fortinsky reports for The Hill.
Trump’s incoming national and homeland security staff will meet with Biden’s National Security Council today for homeland security threats response exercises. Sean Lyngaas, Priscilla Alvarez, and Kevin Liptak report for CNN.
Trump’s inauguration will be “an attractive potential target” for violent extremists, U.S. national security agencies warned in a threat assessment reviewed by POLITICO. Chris Marquette and Betsy Woodruff Swan report.
Trump is preparing “energy dominance” executive orders aimed at boosting fossil fuels and undoing President Biden’s push for electric vehicles, industry lobbyists said citing talks with Trump’s transition team. Collin Eaton, Benoît Morenne, and Scott Patterson report for the Wall Street Journal.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday sued Elon Musk over his alleged failure to publicly disclose his acquisition of Twitter shares on time in early 2022. Faiz Siddiqui reports for the Washington Post.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the former head of the House select committee investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, yesterday said he has been in talks with the White House about receiving a presidential pardon. Mike Lillis reports for The Hill.
The New Orleans Police Department can start to wind down its longstanding federal monitoring program, a judge ruled yesterday, saying the department has become more transparent and accountable. Jack Brook reports for AP News.
A growing number of military veterans are committing extremist crimes, researchers warn. Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Hegseth described the problem of extremism in the military as “fake” during yesterday’s confirmation hearing. Sareen Habeshian reports for Axios.
U.S FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Biden will remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism as part of a deal expected to free protesters jailed by the Cuban government during a 2021 crackdown on dissent, U.S. officials announced yesterday. Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Frances Robles report for the New York Times
A push for a prisoner swap deal with the Taliban appears deadlocked over Biden’s demand that it include an American who disappeared in Afghanistan in 2022, in exchange for an alleged al-Qaeda associate held at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. officials say. Alexander Ward and Brett Forest report for the Wall Street Journal.
An Iranian engineer held in Boston detention could flee to Iran if granted bail while awaiting trial on charges related to a deadly drone attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan, federal prosecutors argued yesterday. Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.
The Biden administration will block imports from 37 more Chinese companies over their alleged links to forced labor, the Department of Homeland Security said yesterday. Kimberley Kao reports for the Wall Street Journal.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was detained today by criminal investigators over his short-lived martial law imposition, ending a week-long standoff. Yoon said he agreed to submit to questioning to prevent a “bloody” clash between his bodyguards and the police. The investigators have 48 hours to interrogate Yoon unless they request a formal arrest warrant. Choe Sang-Hun, Jin Yu Young, and Victoria Kim report for the New York Times.
Lebanon’s incoming Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has resigned as a member of the International Court of Justice, the court announced yesterday. Benoit Van Overstraeten reports for Reuters.
Brazil’s government yesterday expressed “serious concern” about Meta’s hate speech policy changes, adding it believes they do not comply with the country’s legislation and that a public hearing on the topic will be held later this week. Ricardo Brito reports for Reuters.