Gaza, 1-17-25

For today, links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, the Cradle, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (LEBANON, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE. A POETRY entry is HERE). — MCM

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Israel’s security Cabinet recommends approval of ceasefire in Gaza; deal now goes to full Cabinet, by Sam Mednick and Samy Magdy | AP  JERUSALEM — Israel’s security Cabinet recommended approval today of a ceasefire deal after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza and release dozens of hostages held by militants there. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE listen to report from NPR and read one from the Cradle.

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Hamas refutes Netanyahu’s claim it is blocking ceasefire deal. From Middle East Monitor. Hamas is committed to the ceasefire deal in Gaza,  member of the movement’s Political Bureau, Ezzat Al-Rishq, said on Thursday, refuting claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it had backtracked on parts of the deal. Earlier in the day . . . READ MORE . . .

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Netanyahu’s pledge to resume Gaza war breaches ceasefire deal: officials. From Middle East Monitor. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to his coalition partners to resume the war in Gaza after implementing the first stage of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, would breach the terms of the deal, informed officials have said. READ MORE . . .

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Gaza’s devastated health system needs $10bn, at least five years to rebuild: WHO. From the Cradle. “The needs are massive,” said Rick Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s representative in the Palestinian territories, following an initial assessment completed by the UN agency. READ MORE . . .

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Biden adviser Amos Hochstein discusses how the Gaza ceasefire deal came together. Michel Martin of NPR talks with Amos Hochstein, senior adviser to President Biden, about the latest ceasefire deal in Gaza and his earlier negotiations for a ceasefire in Lebanon. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM JAN. 16  Satellite photos show the Gaza Strip before and after the devastation of the Israel-Hamas war, by Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — The Israel-Hamas war, now nearing a potential ceasefire, has devastated the Gaza Strip. Satellite photos offer some sense . . . Click HERE for article and photos. 

Lebanon, 1-17-25

For today, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE. A POETRY entry is HERE.) —MCM

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FROM JAN. 15  Saudi Arabia, Kuwait offer ‘conditional funding’ for Lebanon’s reconstruction. From the Cradle. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have signaled readiness to financially support the reconstruction of Lebanon after the brutal Israeli war on the country, but under certain conditions – according to a report Wednesday from Al-Akhbar newspaper. READ MORE . . .

Syria, 1-17-25

For today, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE. A POETRY entry is HERE.) — MCM

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PKK to leave Syria on condition Kurds ‘maintain leadership role.’ From the Cradle. An official from Turkiye’s main foe, the Kurdistan Workers Party, said that the militant group would be willing to end its presence in Syria if U.S.-backed Kurds in the country maintain a leadership role there. READ MORE . . .

Ukraine, 1-17-25

For today, links to five reports: from the Moscow Times, Reuters, Kyiv Post, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA, LEBANON and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE. A POETRY entry is HERE.) — MCM   

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Russian army claims liberation of over 60% of occupied Kursk territory. From the Moscow Times. Following a surprise incursion last August, Ukrainian troops seized control of 1,268 square kilometers (490 square miles) in Russia’s southwestern Kursk region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Since then, it said today . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Four killed in Russian missile attack on Ukrainian city of Kryvyi. From Reuters. KYIV — A Russian missile attack killed at least four people and partially destroyed an educational facility in the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern-central Ukraine today, officials said. The  governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region said . . .  READ MORE . . .

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Over 2,000 air force troops to be transferred to infantry, commission formed to prevent loss of specialists. From Kyiv Post. More than 2,000 specialists from the Ukrainian Air Force could be reassigned to infantry and attack units, Ruslan Horbenko, a People’s Deputy from the “Servant of the People” party, said Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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Russian troops liberate eight communities in Kharkov area, Donbass region over week. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops liberated eight communities in the Kharkov area and the Donbass region over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

Poetry, 1-17-25

Two poems, with thanks to the Emily Dickinson Museum and the Poetry Foundation; others are accessible by clicking on the poets’ names below. — MCM

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I suppose the time will come
Aid it in the coming
When the Bird will crowd the Tree
And the Bee be booming –
.
I suppose the time will come
Hinder it a little
When the Corn in Silk will dress
And in Chintz the Apple
.
I believe the Day will be
When the Jay will giggle
At his new white House the Earth
That, too, halt a little –
.
Fr1389
.
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.
.
I will tell you why she rarely ventured from her house.
It happened like this:
.
One day she took the train to Boston,
made her way to the darkened room,
put her name down in cursive script
and waited her turn.
.
When they read her name aloud
she made her way to the stage
straightened the papers in her hands —
pages and envelopes, the backs of grocery bills,
she closed her eyes for a minute,
took a breath,
and began.
.
From her mouth perfect words exploded,
intact formulas of light and darkness.
She dared to rhyme with words like cochineal
and described the skies like diadem.
Obscurely worded incantations filled the room
with an alchemy that made the very molecules quake.
.
The solitary words she handled
in her upstairs room with keen precision
came rumbling out to make the electric lights flicker.
.
40 members of the audience
were treated for hypertension.
20 year old dark haired beauties found their heads
had turned a Moses White.
.
Her second poem erased the memory of every cellphone
in the nightclub,
and by the fourth line of the sixth verse
the grandmother in the upstairs apartment
had been cured of her rheumatism.
.
The papers reported the power outages.
The area hospitals taxed their emergency generators
and sirens were heard to wail through the night.
.
Quietly she made her way to the exit,
walked to the terminal and rode back to Amherst.
.
She never left her room again
and never read such syllables aloud.

Gaza, 1-16-25

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 . . .

Lebanon, 1-16-25

For today, a link to a Jan. 14 report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA , SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE. LEBANON 1-15-25 and LEBANON 1-14-25 entries are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 14  After economic meltdown and war with Israel, Lebanon’s new prime minister vows to rebuild, by Bassem Mroue | AP  BEIRUT — Lebanon’s prime minister-designate, Nawaf Salam, vowed Tuesday to work on building a modern state in the crisis-hit country, saying his priorities will be to rebuild the destruction caused by a yearlong war with Israel and work on pulling the small nation out of its historic economic meltdown. Lebanon’s new President Joseph Aoun himself . . . READ MORE . . .

 

Syria, 1-16-25

For today, a link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA, LEBANON and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Aaron Zelin discusses the group now controlling Syria and its ‘terrorist’ designation. Leila Fadel of NPR talks with Aaron Zelin of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy about the group that now controls Syria and why it’s so hard to shed the label of “terrorists.” Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

Ukraine, 1-16-25

For today, links to five reports: from Agence France-Presse, Tass, Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, and the Associated Press; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and LEBANON entries  for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM   

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Ukrainian army says it captured 27 Russian soldiers in Kursk Region. From AFP. The Ukrainian military said today its forces had captured more than two dozen Russian soldiers in the southwestern Kursk region, where it has been battling Moscow’s army since launching an incursion in August. READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces pound Ukrainian military airfields, UAV assembly, storage sites. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces struck Ukrainian military airfields and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) assembly and storage sites over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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Rubio: ‘Concessions’ needed from both Kyiv, Moscow. From Kyiv Post. Marco Rubio, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as Secretary of State, on Wednesday reiterated his view that the war in Ukraine “has to end” calling for concessions to be made by Kyiv, Washington and Moscow. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine, UK sign 100-year partnership agreement, by Martin Fornusek and news desk | The Kyiv Independent  President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a 100-year partnership agreement during their meeting in Kyiv today. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from AP.

Ukraine, 1-15-25

NOTE: ONLY TWO SHORT ENTRIES TODAY.

Links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters, and to commentary from ScheerPost; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (LEBANON entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM   

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Russian missile attack forces Ukraine to shut down power grid, by Hanna Arhirova and Yehor Konovalov | AP  KYIV — Russia today launched a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas despite freezing winter weather, officials said. READ MORE . . .

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Trump advisors concede Ukraine peace deal is months away, by Gram Slattery | Reuters  WASHINGTON — Advisers to President-elect Donald Trump now concede that the Ukraine war will take months or even longer to resolve, a sharp reality check on his biggest foreign policy promise — to strike a peace deal on his first day in the White House. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 13  The nihilism of Antony Blinken, by Patrick Lawrence | Original to ScheerPost Blinken and his colleagues anticipated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine before it started in February 2022 because the Biden regime provoked it to the point Moscow had no other choice. Washington spent the autumn of 2021 arming Kiev, but . . . READ MORE . . .