Hamas may agree on deal that allows Israel to stay in Gaza after ceasefire — report
 
The Palestinian movement could agree that Israeli troops could stay in the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and Gaza, and the Netzarim corridor dividing the Gaza Strip in half, the Wall Street Journal reports citing sources. The newspaper added that Hamas also agreed that it would not be present on the Palestinian part of Rafah between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
 
It is noted that the movement also handed over a list of hostages, including US citizens, who will be released in the event of a ceasefire agreement.
 
Under the current proposal, Israel and Hamas are considering a 60-day ceasefire period, during which up to 30 hostages in the Gaza Strip will be released, WSJ stresses. In return, Israel will release a number of Palestinian prisoners and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

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Israel, US vote against UN resolution on ceasefire in Gaza
 
The United Nations General Assembly voted to demand an "immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the immediate release of all hostages, Reuters reports.
 
Russia supported the resolution, while the US and Israel voted against the ceasefire deal.

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🤡 Done with the Dems? Zuck now sucks up to Trump

Meta* CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund to boost his "once-fraught relationship" with the president-elect, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Let's recall some of Zuckerberg's moves towards Trump:

▪️Meta donated $1,825,438 to Kamala Harris' campaign during the 2024 US presidential election, supporting the Democratic contender rather than Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

▪️Mark Zuckerberg and his wife donated around $420 million to election offices across the US, reportedly helping Democrats during the 2020 vote.

▪️In the wake of the 2020 election and the January 6 unrest, the tech entrepreneur banned Donald Trump and some of his supporters on Facebook.

▪️In October 2020, both Facebook and Twitter censored the much-talked-about story of Hunter Biden's "laptop from hell."

Has Zuckerberg changed his political views or is he just a henchman of those in power?🤔

*banned for extremism in Russia

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🔸Pentagon validates Israeli occupation of Syrian territory, fails to explain what legal authority allows US to have a military presence in Syria

🔸Israel, US vote against UN resolution on ceasefire in Gaza

🔸Zuckerberg donated $1 million to Trump

🔸Pardon Hillary Clinton?

Check out Sputnik analysis:

▫️Will Syria fragment along sectarian lines or stay united?

▫️What is the strategic importance of Deir ez-Zor and could it cause new Kurdish-Syrian conflict?

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Top 5 nuclear powers convene in Dubai to discuss nuclear doctrines

Representatives from the five nuclear-armed nations— the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China— convened in Dubai under China's chairmanship, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The meeting took place on December 4 and was characterized as "frank" by Beijing.

In the wake of Ukraine's ATACMS attack, President Vladimir Putin of Russia has authorized an updated nuclear doctrine that outlines the conditions under which Russia may employ its nuclear arsenal. This includes responses to conventional military strikes and situations where a "non-nuclear state" is supported by a nuclear-armed nation.

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❗️Response to Ukrainian strikes on Russia's city of Taganrog with Western missiles will follow when and in the way deemed appropriate, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

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🇨🇳🇷🇺 China and Russia to continue deepening mutual trust and strategic coordination, China's President Xi Jinping says at meeting with Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Medvedev in Beijing.

At the meeting, Medvedev said that he had brought Xi a "personal message" from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Zarya in the Donetsk People's Republic, Russia's Defense Ministry announced

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🇷🇺🪖Key statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 410 militants in the area of responsibility of Russia's Zapad Battlegroup;

▪️Ukrainian losses in Russia's Yug Battlegroup's area of responsibility amounted to up to 295 soldiers;

▪️As a result of the actions of the Russian Sever and Dnepr Battlegroups, Ukrainian troops lost up to 100 fighters;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down four HIMARS shells and 37 Ukrainian drones.

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US intelligence services pressed to assess the consequences of ending Washington's support for Ukraine

American lawmakers have called on key intelligence chiefs to assess the security risks and effects of Ukraine's potential defeat on US national interests, the Hill has written.

The newspaper noted that the assessment should include the ability of Ukraine’s military to fight if the US continues or withholds military and economic support, and if the US maintains or withdraws permission on the use of long-range provided missiles to strike deep into Russia.

Are they preparing for something? 🤔

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🇷🇺⚓️ The Russian naval nuclear group has been completely updated, said the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.

"The naval group of nuclear forces of the Russian Federation has been completely updated - this remains a priority for our country. Nuclear forces have been and will be the guarantor of the security of our state at the global level," Moiseyev said at the plenary session of the XIV International Forum "Arctic: Present and Future".

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🇧🇾 President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the deployment of the medium-range Oreshnik missile systems in the republic and the competent planning of its use, according to Chief of the General Staff of Belarus Pavel Muraveiko.

"There is only one task — to ensure the deployment of Oreshnik on our territory and to competently plan its use," Muraveiko said.

When asked how many such systems are planned to be delivered to Belarus, the military said that "only the president of Russia knows about this."

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🇨🇳Key statements by China's President Xi Jinping at a meeting with Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev:

💬China believes Ukrainian crisis should not be provoked for further escalation

💬It's necessary to promote early detente of situation in Ukraine

💬China is ready to strengthen alignment of development strategies with Russia

💬China will continue to work with the international community to create favorable conditions for political regulation of the Ukrainian crisis

💬Russia and China must work together to maintain global strategic stability and international justice

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❗️🇭🇺 Hungarian PM Viktor Orban proposed an exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine and a ceasefire during a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

On the same day, Moscow submitted exchange proposals to the Hungarian embassy. Judging by Kiev's reaction, Ukraine rejected Orban's proposals, the presidential press secretary emphasized.

Consultations on establishing peace in Ukraine will continue and Moscow supports Orban's efforts, the Kremlin noted.

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Novoivanovka in the Kursk region, its Defense Ministry said

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' total losses during the fighting in the Kursk region has now exceeded 40,000 soldiers, the ministry added.

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❗️NATO is extremely concerned about Moscow's statements about the direct participation of the United States, Britain and France in long-range strikes deep into the country, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has claimed.

The alliance's lawyers fear that Russia may accuse Western states of carrying out armed aggression. And although the case may not reach the courts, such accusations will be perceived with understanding by the countries of the Global South.

NATO's concerns have seriously increased after Russia used the Oreshnik missile. Brussels fears that the accusatory arguments may be used not in the legal plane, but to justify retaliatory actions, the SVR emphasized.

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US, its partners VS China in Oceania: Why the islands matter

The Pentagon has announced the first-ever test intercept of a ballistic missile target off Guam, a US territory in the Western Pacific. The past few years have seen the US and its partners bolster ties with island territories in Oceania, including military ones.

What are the territories of US interest?

🔺December 2024: the Australia-Nauru security deal that stipulates Australia’s veto right if the Pacific atoll opts to enter deals with third countries, including China.

🔺May 2024: Australia’s similar agreement with Tuvalu.

🔺November 2024: The US-Fiji logistics cooperation agreement endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

🔺November 2024: Announcement of plans to invest about $800 million in Tinian, to build up defense operations, reclaiming a WWII military airfield.

🔺February-March 2023: The reopening of US embassies in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

China views Oceania as a strategic region

China considers Oceania as a region of strategic importance, seeking to “increase its engagement” with Pacific Island countries.

▪️As of 2024, eleven states in Oceania have diplomatic relations with China, including Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Solomon Islands.

▪️April 2022: The China-Solomon Islands security agreement, which provides for the deployment of Chinese police, armed police, military personnel.

What do you think is behind the US’ interest in island states?

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❗️Attack on IAEA vehicle on road to Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) indicates intention to harm or intimidate agency experts, the agency's head Rafael Grossi said.

During the drone attack, there were three Ukrainian vehicles in convoy on the road to the ZNPP, and it was the agency vehicle that was the target of the attack, Grossi said, adding that despite attempts to intimidate IAEA experts, the agency will continue working in ZNPP.

IAEA will not point fingers when talking about the drone attack on the agency vehicle, first they need hard evidence, he concluded.

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🇵🇱🇫🇷 Polish PM Donald Tusk told French President Emmanuel Macron that Polish troops will not enter Ukraine even after a ceasefire is reached.

"We are not planning such actions yet," Tusk told reporters after a meeting with Macron, commenting on the French leader's initiative to create an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Poland will cooperate on solutions that will first and foremost protect Europe and Ukraine from a resumption of the conflict after a ceasefire, if it can be achieved, the official added.

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