Closing the tabs ...
Adding greater urgency to the talks is a statement from Iranian officials that such a deal would stop Tehran from retaliating against Israel for Hamas political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran two weeks ago. Asked about the matter on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said: “That’s my expectation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a seven-hour series of three meetings on Wednesday before authorizing the makeup of the Israeli delegation and its mandate for the negotiations. Mossad head David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, IDF representative to the talks Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and the prime minister’s diplomatic adviser, Ophir Falk, will be representing Israel in Doha.
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“Given the complexity of the agreement, I do not anticipate coming out of these talks today with a deal,” Kirby said, as he attempted to downplay expectations regarding an announcement that a deal had been finalized to secure the release of the remaining 115 hostages.
“In fact, I'd expect the talks to continue into tomorrow. This is vital work. The remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close,” he said.
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White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby joins @mitchellreports to discuss ceasefire negotiations beginning in Doha today and weigh in on the Middle East bracing for potential Iranian strikes in retaliation for the assassination of a Hamas leader. pic.twitter.com/WMSm8Zq23j
— MSNBC Reports (@MSNBC_reports) August 15, 2024
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Officials from the United States, Qatar and Egypt met with the Israeli team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, in Doha, to attempt to hammer out the details of a long-simmering phased deal to end some 10 months of fighting in Gaza sparked by the October 7 attacks, during which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251, mostly civilians.
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby called Thursday a “promising start,” and said negotiations were expected to run into Friday.
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Ed: Sometimes I find it useful to see how foreign news outlets cover their own news, as opposed to American outlets. This is a long-ish video but it gives a sense of the priorities of Israelis today.
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A top Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group is losing faith in the United States’ ability to mediate a cease-fire in Gaza ahead of a new round of talks scheduled for this week amid mounting pressure to bring an end to the 10-month-old war with Israel.
Osama Hamdan told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that Hamas will only participate if the talks focus on implementing a proposal detailed by U.S. President Joe Biden in May and endorsed internationally.
The U.S. referred to it as an Israeli proposal and Hamas agreed to it in principle, but Israel said Biden’s speech was not entirely consistent with the proposal itself. Both sides later proposed changes, leading each to accuse the other of obstructing a deal.
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WATCH: The IDF has identified and dismantled around 50 Hamas underground terror tunnel routes in the Philadelphi Corridor in Rafah, Gaza.
— Embassy of Israel to the USA (@IsraelinUSA) August 15, 2024
🎥: @IDF pic.twitter.com/8u9DYI8f9i
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Thursday that he did not speak with former President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. ...
One source said Trump's call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he didn't know if this is indeed what the former president told Netanyahu.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement denying the call took place after the story was published. The Trump campaign declined to comment.
Ed: It would be a mistake to intervene in this way, even if Trump just wanted to endorse Biden's position. America should only have one president at a time, and we already have one too many at the moment.
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No fan of Netanyahu. But maybe, just, maybe Hamas, which started the war with a frenzy of rape and murder, that maintains its terror infrastructure in schools and mosques and maintains hostages as shields, bears some responsibility? https://t.co/pdG5C6R9Dg
— davidrlurie (@davidrlurie) August 15, 2024
Ed: Vietor worked in the Obama administration as an spokesman for the National Security Council.
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Ayyoub, a Gaza-born freelance journalist with bylines in the Journal and other outlets, has used her social media presence to push false stories about the Israeli military, promote Hamas propaganda, and denigrate Israel's war effort, according to a review by Honest Reporting, a media watchdog organization.
Such sentiments are increasingly common in the mainstream American press following Hamas's Oct. 7 terror attack, the worst in Israel's history.
A CBS News producer who has worked for the network for more than two decades, for example, spoke at an official Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine event, where he praised the terror group's "path of struggle and martyrdom." A CNN freelancer similarly served in a Hamas-run body and snapped a selfie with one of Hamas's top leaders. The Washington Post, meanwhile, has filled its foreign desk with journalists from Al Jazeera, the Doha-based news outlet bankrolled in part by the Hamas-friendly government of Qatar.
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The call "Seal The Deal Now" is being chanted at the "Last Chance March", led by families of the hostages, calling on the negotiation team: "Don't return without a deal!"
— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) August 15, 2024
While the summit in Qatar is in progress, thousands of people have joined the families of the hostages in a… pic.twitter.com/jOYSpZCl1d
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France and Britain’s foreign ministers will make a brief visit to Israel Friday and meet with Foreign Minister Israel Katz to discuss efforts to prevent a regional conflagration, the ministry announced, as the military remained on high alert in anticipation of potential attacks by Hezbollah and Iran.
The tripartite meeting between Katz, David Lammy and Stephane Sejourne is expected to touch on efforts to reach a hostage deal, with Katz set to tout the need to impose harsh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear, missile and drone programs.
While there was no official confirmation regarding the meeting by either the British or the French foreign ministries, Sky News cited a diplomatic source confirming Lammy’s trip.
Ed: This looks like a signal to Iran to refrain from attacking while the talks continue into tomorrow, at least.
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Hi, @KamalaHarris.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 15, 2024
Check this out.
This is what is known as taking questions from the press.
It's not as difficult as you may think. pic.twitter.com/SF7i4G8wQO
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