For today, links to eleven reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Cradle, National Public Radio, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (LEBANON , SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Netanyahu says ‘last minute crisis’ with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza truce and hostage deal, by Tia Goldenberg, Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdi | AP TEl AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ceasefire that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters, Middle East Eye and the Cradle.
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What is the role of the U.S. in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas? Leila Fadel of NPR asks longtime diplomat and former Mideast peace negotiator Aaron David Miller about the U.S. role in a phased execution of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM JAN. 15 Gaza ceasefire deal reached between Israel, Hamas; truce to begin Sunday, by Andrew Mills, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell | Reuters DOHA / CAIRO / JERUSALEM — Negotiators reached a phased deal on Wednesday to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. and Qatar said, after 15 months of . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE and HERE to read reports from AP and the Cradle, and to listen to one from NPR.
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FROM JAN. 15 Israel-Gaza ceasefire: Full text of agreement. From Middle East Eye. Here is the full text of the agreement obtained by Middle East Eye. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JAN. 15 Israel ‘single largest perpetrator’ of killing, maiming civilians in 2024: report. From the Cradle. According to a new report from the UK-based conflict monitor Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), Israel has been identified as “the single largest perpetrator of civilian harm in 2024,” responsible for 55 percent of “all civilian casualties from explosive weapons” worldwide. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JAN. 15 Who lost the Gaza war, Hamas or Netanyahu? by Motasem A Dalloul | Middle East Monitor At last, after 15 months of brutal attacks and committing unprecedented crimes, Israeli Occupation state agreed on a ceasefire without achieving any of its declared goals . . . READ MORE . . .