The President's Daily Brief
December 13th, 2024: Hamas Yields To Israeli Ceasefire Demands & Trump's Vision For Ending The Ukraine War
Fri, 13 Dec 2024
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We'll begin with an update on the war in Gaza, as Hamas reportedly yields to two of Israel’s key demands for a ceasefire, reigniting hopes that a deal can be struck to pause the fighting and rescue the remaining hostages before the year ends. Later in the show, president-elect Donald Trump has begun to outline his plans for bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, advocating a strategy that would see Europe shoulder most of the financial and military burden of supporting Kyiv over the long term. Plus, we’ll bring you the latest news on the mystery drones spooking residents across New Jersey, as the White House downplays any potential threats to national security. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, the Biden administration quietly renewed a controversial sanctions waiver granting Iran access to some $10 billion in electricity payments from Iraq. We’ll discuss the implications, as concerns mount that Iran will use the funds to sponsor terrorism. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Blackout Coffee: https://www.blackoutcoffee.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What updates are there on the Gaza conflict?
Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll begin with an update on the war in Gaza as Hamas reportedly concedes to two of Israel's key demands for a ceasefire, reigniting hopes that a deal can be struck to pause the fighting and return the remaining hostages before the year ends.
Later in the show, President-elect Trump has begun to outline his plans for bringing the war in Ukraine to an end, advocating a strategy that would see Europe shoulder most of the burden of supporting Kyiv over the long term. Plus, we'll bring you the latest news on the mystery drones appearing in the skies over New Jersey as the White House downplays any potential threats to national security.
There's nothing to see here, folks, just some drones that we apparently can't identify. And in today's Back of the Brief, the Biden administration quietly renewed a controversial sanctions waiver granting Iran access to some $10 billion from Iraq. We'll discuss the implications as concerns mount that Iran will use those funds to free up other money to sponsor terrorism.
I know, I know, the Iranian regime and its IRGC sponsoring terrorism seems so unlikely. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin in the Middle East, where hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza have been rekindled as Hamas makes some major concessions to Israel regarding a potential deal According to sources who spoke exclusively with the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian-backed terror group has yielded to two of Israel's key demands for a ceasefire, agreeing to allow Israeli forces to remain in Gaza temporarily once the fighting stops
and promising not to run or have a presence on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. While we've seen optimistic reports that Hamas was close to a ceasefire deal countless times before, only for negotiations to break down, this moment, well, it appears to be different.
In addition to the concessions to Israel, Hamas has for the first time handed over to mediators in Qatar and Egypt a list of hostages who it would release under the proposed ceasefire pact, a list that reportedly includes U.S. citizens, women, the elderly, and captives with medical conditions. The terror group has also said they will turn over the bodies of five slain hostages.
Hamas has long resisted Israel's ceasefire conditions, but appears to have had a change of heart after Israel struck a fragile truce deal with their Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, at the beginning of the month. Since then, the Iranian-backed Assad regime in Syria has fallen, further isolating Hamas from the mullahs' once powerful axis of resistance.
Faced with the prospect of once again feeling Israel's full focus and wrath, the terror group now seems eager to get a deal over the finish line if, frankly, for no other reason than self-preservation.
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Chapter 2: What are Trump's plans for ending the Ukraine war?
would offer under Trump's administration and whether European nations can muster the political resolve and, of course, the resources needed for such a mission. This comes after Trump, in an interview with Time on Thursday, blasted the Biden administration's decision to give Ukraine weapons that can reach deeper into Russia.
So whether Trump's plan will lead to a breakthrough, obviously, that's an open question. But for now, the viability of his approach is probably set to dominate the debate in the weeks leading up to his inauguration.
Chapter 3: What is the significance of the mystery drones in New Jersey?
Chapter 4: What are the implications of the renewed sanctions waiver for Iran?
I know, I know, the Iranian regime and its IRGC sponsoring terrorism seems so unlikely. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin in the Middle East, where hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza have been rekindled as Hamas makes some major concessions to Israel regarding a potential deal According to sources who spoke exclusively with the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian-backed terror group has yielded to two of Israel's key demands for a ceasefire, agreeing to allow Israeli forces to remain in Gaza temporarily once the fighting stops
and promising not to run or have a presence on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza. While we've seen optimistic reports that Hamas was close to a ceasefire deal countless times before, only for negotiations to break down, this moment, well, it appears to be different.
In addition to the concessions to Israel, Hamas has for the first time handed over to mediators in Qatar and Egypt a list of hostages who it would release under the proposed ceasefire pact, a list that reportedly includes U.S. citizens, women, the elderly, and captives with medical conditions. The terror group has also said they will turn over the bodies of five slain hostages.
Hamas has long resisted Israel's ceasefire conditions, but appears to have had a change of heart after Israel struck a fragile truce deal with their Lebanese allies, Hezbollah, at the beginning of the month. Since then, the Iranian-backed Assad regime in Syria has fallen, further isolating Hamas from the mullahs' once powerful axis of resistance.
Faced with the prospect of once again feeling Israel's full focus and wrath, the terror group now seems eager to get a deal over the finish line if, frankly, for no other reason than self-preservation.
The latest proposal reportedly involves a 60-day ceasefire that would see the release of up to 30 hostages in exchange for Israel freeing an unknown number of Palestinian prisoners and allowing humanitarian aid to freely flow into the battered enclave.
The negotiations accelerated this week after an Israeli delegation met with mediators in Cairo on Tuesday, just days after representatives for Hamas were in the Egyptian capital. As part of the proposal, Hamas will now accept Israeli forces temporarily staying in the strategic Philadelphia corridor separating Gaza from Egypt, along with the Nazarene corridor dividing northern and southern Gaza.
Leaders in Jerusalem have long argued that these areas must be held by Israel, at least in the immediate term, to prevent Hamas from reconstituting and smuggling in more weapons across their border with Egypt. Furthermore, Hamas will agree to not deploy their fighters in the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza.
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