Israel demurs after Hamas agrees to cease-fire plan |
Negotiations over a cease-fire deal in Gaza have hit a “critical stage,” as Israeli and Hamas leaders continue to work on a proposal.
Dr. Basem Naim, Hamas’s head of political and international relations, confirmed to The Hill on Monday that Hamas had communicated with mediators in Egypt and Qatar that it had accepted a cease-fire proposal.
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement that the current proposal put forth by Hamas “has significant gaps” and “is far from Israel’s necessary requirements.”
“Despite this, we continue to turn over every stone and a delegation will go to Cairo,” he said.
The Israeli War Cabinet had earlier unanimously decided to carry on with military operations in Rafah in hopes of striking Hamas targets. “We are at a critical stage right now,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday afternoon.
President Biden and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday morning prior to Hamas issuing a response to the cease-fire plan, according to Kirby.
Kirby expressed caution over Hamas’s offer.
“We want to get these hostages out, we want to get a cease-fire for six weeks, we want to increase humanitarian assistance and the last thing I want to do is say anything at this podium that’s going to put that process at risk,” he said.
The U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, has intensively worked for weeks on a truce proposal between Israel and Hamas in hopes that a cease-fire would allow for more humanitarian aid and allow the more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering in Gaza to get to safety.
Cease-fire mediators have not publicly detailed the full contents of the truce proposal.
Naim did not answer questions from The Hill about the proposal’s details.
The deal broadly outlines a six-to-eight week pause in fighting for Hamas to release the 133 Israeli hostages it has held since the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Hostages would be released in phases, with the most vulnerable released first. |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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Trump trial turns to how ‘hush money’ plot allegedly happened
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Jurors in former President Trump‘s criminal trial in New York examined key documents, as proceedings in the alleged “hush money” case resumed Monday, and heard testimony from Trump business associates for context.
Deborah Tarasoff, who works in the Trump Organization’s accounts payable department, confirmed Trump typically signed documents in marker, rather than pen, and appeared to be the signer of payments made to former “fixer” Michael Cohen.
Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair. Cohen claims he facilitated the payment on Trump’s behalf.
Trump has denied the sexual encounter and any wrongdoing in the case.
Daniels and Cohen are each expected to take the witness stand sometime in the trial. More trial news: After Trump was found in violation of a gag order for the 10th time on Monday, Judge Juan Merchan warned the former president that his next stop could be jail if he doesn’t stop insulting jurors and witnesses.
“Mr. Trump, it’s important you understand, the last thing I want to do is put you in jail — you are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well,” Merchan said. “The magnitude of this decision is not lost on me, but at the end of the day I have a job to do.”
Trump, who said he’s not afraid of going to jail over gag order violations, avoided sanctions over three other statements prosecutors flagged.
The gag order bars Trump from making derogatory statements about witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff or the judge’s family. It doesn’t bar him from attacking the judge himself or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D). Trump must pay $1,000 for each violation.
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| Greene, Speaker Johnson meet amid ouster threat |
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met Monday amid Greene’s long-shot battle to oust Johnson from his leadership post.
Greene announced last week that she would move to force a vote on Johnson’s fate this week, more than a month after filing her proposed motion to vacate.
Her effort has gained little public support, with even some hardliner conservatives voicing concern about continued upheaval and growing rifts in the House GOP.
Johnson took the gavel less than seven months ago, after House Republicans voted to boot former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
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Noem doubles down after story about shooting her family’s puppy
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican rising star viewed as a serious contender to become former President Trump‘s running mate, has a lot to say about her decision to execute her family’s unruly puppy nearly two dozen years ago.
Since an excerpt from her book “No Going Back,” due out Tuesday, revealed the 14-month-old wire-haired pointer named Cricket’s fate, the former congresswoman has continued to discuss and post social media messages in response to the backlash she’s faced.
She “LOVES” dogs, she emphatically shared in a Monday interview on “CBS Mornings” over the weekend.
“I have a dear dog named Foster right now that goes everywhere with me,” she said after explaining that Cricket had been placed with her family after being too aggressive with previous owners.
Noem also doubled down on a suggestion in her book that President Biden’s dog, Commander, should have met a similar fate after biting people at the White House, including at least 24 Secret Service agents.
“Commander, say hello to Cricket,” she wrote in the book.
Commander was relocated from the White House after the attacks.
In the CBS interview, Noem wondered, “How many people is enough people to be attacked and dangerously hurt before you make a decision on a dog and what to do with it?”
“That’s a question that the president should be held accountable to,” she said.
The White House offered Noem some friendly advice in response.
“I would say to her is, she probably should stop digging herself into a hole,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked about Noem, calling her comments about Commander “disturbing” and “absurd.”
“Rolling Stone,” citing unnamed sources, recently reported that Trump also can’t stop talking about the public relations nightmare surrounding Noem’s self-disclosed story. Trump, Rolling Stone’s sources claimed, has repeatedly brought up the dog story in recent days, specifically wondering, “Why would she do that?” and questioning Noem’s political acumen in light of the unforced error behind its reveal.
Noem said in the CBS interview that the Cricket story has been known in South Dakota political circles and she thought someone could try to use it against her some day.
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“Biden’s militaristic policy in Gaza is a failure — diplomacy is the solution,” writes Hala Rharrit, a diplomat who resigned from the State Department last month over the Biden administration’s policy on Israel’s war in Gaza.
“America needs to get ready now for post-election chaos in November,” writes Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence & Political Science at Amherst College. |
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69 days until the Republican National Convention.
105 days until the Democratic National Convention.
186 days until the 2024 general election. |
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11 a.m. Tuesday: President Biden will deliver the keynote address for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony at the Capitol. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) will also speak, along with a group of Holocaust survivors. (Watch live)
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