First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Next, a link to a report from ScheerPost about a Nov. 25 New York Times report, followed by that report as republished in The Irish Times. Finally for today, a link to commentary by a Britain-based observer. (UKRAINE and CLIMATE entries for today are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, and free more hostages and prisoners, by Tia Goldenberg, Samy Magdy and Jack Jeffrey | AP TEL AVIV — Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past today, the Qatari government said, bringing the prospect of a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war and further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The announcement came on the final day of the original four-day truce between . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Arab states, EU agree on need for two-state solution to Israel crisis, by Joan Faus | Reuters BARCELONA — Arab states and the European Union agreed at a meeting in Spain today that a two-state solution was the answer to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell saying the Palestinian Authority should rule Gaza. He said . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel and Hamas complete third prisoner-hostage exchange. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR For a third day, Hamas released hostages and Israel released Palestinian prisoners. Also, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli troops in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Hamas, Israel release prisoners; American girl, 4, is freed, by James Mackenzie | Reuters JERUSALEM — Hamas freed 17 hostages held in Gaza, including a 4-year-old American girl, while Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the third day of their truce. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had successfully . . . READ MORE . . .
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Irregular meals, benches as beds. As freed hostages return to Israel, details of captivity emerge, by Julia Frankel | AP JERUSALEM — As former hostages return to Israel after seven weeks of Hamas captivity, information about the conditions of their confinement has emerged. The 58 hostages who have so far been freed under a cease-fire deal over the past three days have . . . READ MORE . . .
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Source close to Hamas says group willing to extend truce. From AFP. A source close to Hamas said Sunday the Islamist movement was willing to extend the current truce with Israel in Gaza for two to four days beyond its initial expiry Monday. “Hamas informed the mediators that . . . READ MORE . . .
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Netanyahu positive on possible extension of pause in Gaza Strip. From Tass. TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden that he was positive on possible extension of a four-day humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip with the condition of up to ten additional hostages to be released per day. In a video address published by his office, he said . . . READ MORE . . .
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Palestinian militants in West Bank say two ‘collaborators’ executed. From Reuters. RAMALLAH — Palestinian militants in the West Bank said they had killed two men accused of collaborating with Israeli authorities and hung their bodies up as a warning, underlining growing fears of increased radicalisation as the war in Gaza continues. A statement from the Tulkarm Brigades, a group based in the West Bank city of Tulkarm that is associated with the Fatah faction, said . . . READ MORE . . .
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Qatar is the go-to mediator in the Mideast war. Its unprecedented Tel Aviv trip saved a shaky truce, by Isabel DeBre | AP JERUSALEM — The deal seemed on the verge of unraveling. Hamas had accused Israel of failing to keep its side of the bargain and Israel was threatening to resume its lethal onslaught on the Gaza Strip. That was the point at which . . . READ MORE . . .
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Aid agencies in Gaza would benefit if the truce between Israel and Hamas is extended. A Martínez of NPR speaks with UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma about how the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas is impacting the agency’s work with Gaza residents. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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NEWER New York Times reports Gaza civilians ‘are being killed at historic pace,’ by Max Jones | ScheerPost The New York Times reported on Saturday that “experts say that even a conservative reading of the casualty figures reported from Gaza shows that the pace of death during Israel’s campaign has few precedents in this century.” Using U.S.-made bombs that weigh 2,000 pounds “that can flatten [apartment towers],” Israel has killed “roughly 10,000 women and children” according to . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER ‘It’s beyond anything I’ve seen’: Gaza civilians are being killed at historic rate, by Lauren Leatherby | The New York Times / The Irish Times While wartime death tolls will never be exact, experts say that even a conservative reading of the casualty figures reported from Gaza shows that the pace of death during Israel’s campaign has few precedents in this century. People are being killed in Gaza more quickly, they say, than in even the deadliest moments of U.S.-led attacks in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, which were themselves . . . READ MORE . . .
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Second Nakba; same Israeli lies, same Western narrative, by Jonathan Cook | JonathanCook.net / Consortium News / Popular Resistance History is repeating itself — and every politician and establishment journalist is pretending they cannot see what is staring them in the face. There is a collective and wilful refusal to join the dots in Gaza, even when they point in one direction only. There has been a consistent pattern . . . READ MORE . . .