Hamas Submits 'Positive Response' To US-Backed Ceasefire As Pressure Mounts On Netanyahu

Hamas Submits 'Positive Response' To US-Backed Ceasefire As Pressure Mounts On Netanyahu

 TYLER DURDEN

Hamas announced on Friday that it had delivered a "positive" response to the latest US-backed ceasefire and hostage release proposal for Gaza, stating it was ready to begin proximity talks with Israel "immediately" to resolve outstanding issues.

But just like with prior instances of being near the "goal line" - a phrase often heard during the Biden administration - Hamas has put forth several key conditions which could prove serious obstacles toward finalizing a deal. Still, global media is saying this is the closest the warring parties have been to reaching an agreement in a long time.

Israeli media, citing one mediation source, has said that one of Hamas’s main demands is clearer assurances about what happens if negotiations on a permanent ceasefire are not concluded by the end of the proposed 60-day truce.

The militant group's official statement said, "The movement has delivered its response to the brotherly mediators, which was characterized by a positive spirit."

"Hamas is fully prepared, with all seriousness, to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework," it added.

The current draft presented to Hamas says the ceasefire could be extended as long as both sides are negotiating in good faith, but Hamas reportedly wants that clause removed, fearing it gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opening to resume military action. This is precisely what ensued in March when a previous deal unraveled.

Instead, Hamas is pushing for language that guarantees negotiations on a permanent ceasefire will continue until a final agreement is reached, and this is something which Israel has resisted. 

Meanwhile, pressure on Netanyahu continues to grow domestically, as The Times of Israel details:

Tens of thousands of Israelis are set to join hostage families at mass rallies on Saturday night to urge the government to reach a deal that will free all the remaining captives held in Gaza after Israel and Hamas accepted the outlines of a US truce deal.

The rallies will be held as the security cabinet gathers to discuss Hamas’s response to the emerging ceasefire-hostage deal, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the White House on Monday.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded a comprehensive deal to end the war and release the remaining 50 hostages, at least 28 of whom are dead, even as Israeli officials are reportedly working to see which living hostages to prioritize in the partial, phased release under discussion.

Prior statements of Israeli leaders have presented a grim outlook, with the possibility that less than twenty captives taken on Oct.7, 2023 might still be alive.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in its official statement, "Amid reports of a partial deal, and the prime minister’s trip to the United States, hostage families invite Israelis of all stripes to come to Hostages Square and join them in a clear call: 'This is the time to finish the job, reach a comprehensive deal and ensure full Israeli victory.'"

EU preparing to hoard critical supplies over security fears

EU preparing to hoard critical supplies over security fears – FT

RT

The EU plans to build an emergency stockpile of key supplies in light of mounting threats, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing a draft strategy prepared by the European Commission and due to be officially published next week.

The document reportedly says a new mechanism is needed to improve EU member states’ readiness for global risks.

“The EU faces an increasingly complex and deteriorating risk landscape marked by rising geopolitical tensions, including conflict, the mounting impacts of climate change, environmental degradation, and hybrid and cyber threats,” the draft states. It proposes coordinated backup stockpiles of critical goods including food, medicines, nuclear fuel, rare earths, permanent magnets and even cable repair modules “to ensure prompt recovery from energy or optical cable disruptions.”

Brussels reportedly aims to create a “stockpiling network” to improve coordination between EU nations, citing a “limited common understanding of which essential goods are needed for crisis preparedness.”

The plan would also involve compiling updated lists of essential supplies tailored to each region and crisis type. Member states are advised to invest in critical stockpiles and involve the private sector through incentives such as tax credits. 

The draft adds that the EU will cooperate with NATO and other allies on “shared warehousing” and management of resources, as well as dual-use infrastructure

Funding plans for the initiative will reportedly be addressed in proposals for the EU’s new multiannual budget expected later this month. The European Commission did not immediately respond to media requests for comment on the reported initiative.

The strategy comes amid wider EU concern over security. Brussels has been urging increased military spending for months, citing the supposed threat of Russian aggression – a claim Moscow has repeatedly rejected as baseless. 

BlackRock drops Ukraine fund – Bloomberg

BlackRock drops Ukraine fund – Bloomberg

RT

US investment holding BlackRock stopped its search for investors to back a multi-billion dollar fund for rebuilding Ukraine earlier this year, Bloomberg has reported. Interest reportedly dropped after President Donald Trump retook the White House.

The fund was set to be unveiled at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome next week. It had been close to securing backing from firms supported by the governments of Germany, Italy, and Poland, the outlet wrote on Saturday, citing anonymous sources.

Nevertheless, BlackRock reportedly decided to shelve the talks early this year “due to a lack of interest amid increased uncertainty over Ukraine’s future,” after the US changed its stance towards Kiev under the current administration.

Trump has long promised to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has sought avenues to reach a peace deal. He has also pushed European NATO allies to take over the burden of militarily supporting Ukraine. Earlier this week, Washington reportedly froze critical arms deliveries to Kiev to focus on replenishing its own stockpiles, although the US president has insisted some military aid still continues.

The Trump administration “was a notable absence from the fund’s backers in December,” Bloomberg added

In March of last year, BlackRock vice chairman Philipp Hildebrand indicated that the Ukraine Development Fund was on track to secure at least $2.5 billion from private investors, countries and other grant lenders. A consortium of such investors could finance at least $15 billion towards reconstruction work in Ukraine, he said.

However, a BlackRock spokesperson indicated that the firm is no longer engaged in “any active mandate” with Kiev, having finished its pro-bono consulting work with the Ukraine Development Fund last year, Bloomberg wrote.

The investment firm, which controls roughly $11.6 trillion in assets, owns substantial shares in military-industrial giants such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, among many others. Armaments produced by these firms, which are supplied to Kiev by its Western backers, have seen extensive use in the conflict.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned foreign arms supplies to Kiev, arguing that they make pro-Ukrainian Western nations party to the conflict, which Russia views as a NATO proxy war. The Kremlin has stated that the recent freeze in US military aid to Kiev will accelerate settlement of the conflict.

The Monetary War Against the American People:

The Monetary War Against the American People: The Dollar Is Being Killed from Within

Oppose Zone

What we once proudly called the United States of America has devolved into something unrecognizable — a grotesque corporate Frankenstein, masquerading as a nation. It is no longer a free republic guided by constitutional principles; it is a hollowed-out corporate state, ruled by a political class wholly owned by Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and the military-industrial complex.

At the heart of this silent coup is a weapon more lethal than bombs or missiles: the dollar itself. The U.S. dollar — once the backbone of American power and prosperity — has become a ticking time bomb, detonating beneath the feet of every working American. While politicians and media puppets peddle illusions of strength, the real story is catastrophic: the dollar is dying, deliberately gutted from within, its value eroded by design.

Consumers, once the engine of American economic might, are now drowning in debt and despair. They are punished methodically and relentlessly, forced to suffer as consumer demand dries up and personal bankruptcies surge. Defaults on credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages are exploding. Meanwhile, household debt smothers families like a boa constrictor.

This crisis didn’t happen by accident. It is the cold, calculated outcome of a monetary war against the American people. Politicians — acting as the loyal foot soldiers of the 1% — push for a “weaker dollar” under the false promise of boosting exports and global competitiveness. In reality, this is a diabolical psyop, a hypnotic chant meant to strip away the last fragments of middle-class wealth and funnel it straight into the coffers of the ruling oligarchy.

A weaker dollar does not mean stronger America. It means catastrophic inflation, vanishing purchasing power, and a tidal wave of economic despair. The factories are dead. The industrial heartland is a graveyard of rust. The notion that foreign nations will suddenly beg for American goods is a sick joke — we barely manufacture anything meaningful anymore.

This is not capitalism. This is economic cannibalism — a rigged system devouring its own citizens to fatten a tiny cadre of financial parasites.

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Israeli restaurant attacked, synagogue torched within minutes of each other in Melbourne

Israeli restaurant attacked, synagogue torched within minutes of each other in Melbourne

ToI Staff

A mob of pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized an Israeli-owned restaurant in Melbourne on Friday evening just minutes after a nearby historic synagogue was targeted in an arson attack, while worshippers were inside, Australian authorities said.

About 20 anti-Israel protesters stormed the Miznon restaurant at around 8:30 p.m. local time, with the Herald Sun citing witnesses who said the mob chanted “Death to the IDF.” Rap duo Bob Vylan led a crowd in shouting the same phrase at the Glastonbury festival in England days earlier.

The protesters — many of them masked — hurled furniture and food at the restaurant, shattering one of its outer windows as customers dined both inside and outside.

Police said they arrested a 28-year-old protester and questioned several other participants at the scene, identifying each of them for the purpose of follow-up investigation.

Activists say they targeted the Miznon restaurant because it is co-owned by Shahar Segal, who has served as a spokesperson for the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been rejected by other aid groups who say its food distribution sites expose Gazans to IDF gunfire.

Around a half hour before the incident at Miznon, police said a man entered the grounds of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and poured flammable liquid on the door before setting it alight while worshippers were inside.

Roughly 20 people were inside the synagogue at the time of the fire, but they managed to evacuate before anyone was injured, authorities said, adding that firefighters arrived at the scene within minutes to put out the blaze.

Damage from the fire was contained to the entrance of the synagogue, police said, adding that while the suspect remained at large, the incident was caught on security cameras.

Police said they believed the attack was carried out by a male suspect. He has not been identified but is thought to be white and aged in his 30s.

There is “no place in our society for antisemitic or hate-based behavior,” police said.

Responding to the synagogue arson, Acting Victoria Police Commander Zorka Dunstan said, “These crimes are disgusting and abhorrent, but at this stage, we are not declaring this a terrorist incident.”

“In the course of our investigation, we will examine the intent and the ideology of the persons involved, or person, to determine if this is in fact terrorism. At the moment, we are categorizing it as a serious criminal incident and responding accordingly,” she added.

A terrorism declaration opens the investigation to more resourcing and can result in charges that carry longer prison sentences.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said the attacks were terrorist acts and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

“Targeting Jewish houses of worship and an Israeli restaurant is terrorism, aimed at intimidating an entire community simply because of their religion and identity,” wrote Haskel on X.

“The horrifying attacks overnight on a synagogue and an Israeli business in Melbourne are yet another reminder of how far racist, antisemitic hate crimes have spread in the heart of Australia,” she said.