The President's Daily Brief
December 31st, 2024: Russia Rejects Trump’s Peace Deal & Hamas Chief Assassination Details
Tue, 31 Dec 2024
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: The Kremlin has reportedly shot down key parts of a peace deal proposed by Donald Trump and his incoming administration. We’ll break down the details. In Gaza, hopes for a ceasefire and hostage deal have seemingly collapsed. Plus, Israel, for the first time, admits its role in the assassination of Hamas chief Ismael Haniyeh. And in today’s Back of the Brief: The return of Little Rocket Man! North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has announced plans to adopt strict anti-U.S. measures ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What key parts of Trump's peace deal did Russia reject?
It's Tuesday, 31 December, which, as you may have heard, is New Year's Eve. We're on the cusp of 2025. And what are the odds that the new year could be as wacky as 2024? Probably pretty good odds. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.
We'll start today with reports that the Kremlin has turned down critical parts of a peace deal pitched by Donald Trump and his incoming administration. We'll have those details later in the show. We'll shift our focus to Gaza, where hopes for a ceasefire and hostage deal have seemingly gone up in smoke again.
Plus, we've got new details about the operation that took out Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh as Israel, for the first time, admits its role in the assassination. And in today's Back of the Brief. Oh, look, we're wrapping up 2024, and it's the return of Little Rocket Man. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced plans to adopt strict anti-U.S.
measures in the weeks leading up to Donald Trump's inauguration. Hmm. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. President-elect Trump has perhaps been dealt a setback regarding his hopes for a quick compromise with the Putin regime to end Russia's war on Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected proposals on Monday that have recently been floated by Trump and members of his national security team on how to achieve a lasting peace in Eastern Europe, saying the Kremlin was, quote, not satisfied with numerous elements of the president-elect's plans, That's according to a report from Newsweek.
Oh, so the invading regime that's carried out a three-year war against a neighboring country and is currently losing upwards of 1,500 Russian soldiers a day in the conflict isn't satisfied. Well, that is a shame. As a reminder, Trump began outlining his plans for bringing the war in Ukraine to a quick conclusion in an interview with Time magazine earlier this month.
While there are apparently multiple ideas being floated by Trump's advisers at this time. They include proposals to block Ukraine from joining NATO for at least 20 years, temporarily ceding portions of Ukrainian territory to Russia, and deploying a European-led coalition of ground troops in Ukraine to keep the peace.
While no official proposals have been communicated to Moscow by Trump's transition team, Lavrov told reporters on Monday that the Kremlin doesn't like what they've heard so far. Again, what a shame.
Lavrov said, quote, We're not happy, of course, with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine's admission to Ukraine for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, end quote.
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Chapter 2: What is the latest on the ceasefire in Gaza?
Chapter 3: What details have emerged about the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh?
The IDF launched a military raid on Friday at a major hotel in northern Gaza, where they carried out one of their largest single arrest operations since the war began. The hospital was described as Hamas's last bastion in the north, doubling as a shelter for hundreds of terror operatives who were using it to hide from Israeli airstrikes.
Hamas claimed that 50 were killed in the operation, including hospital staff, and surprisingly, some international media ran with the story without bothering to fact-check Hamas. Well, that is shocking. Usually, the international media does a terrific job of fact-checking before running with the story.
A subsequent update from the IDF revealed that while 19 terror operatives were killed in the two day raid, there were no known civilian casualties. The IDF actually managed to evacuate 600 civilians and another 95 patients, caregivers and medical personnel from the hospital. during their two-day operation.
The IDF also arrested some 240 alleged terror operatives, including at least 15 who directly participated in the brutal 7 October attacks, along with several prominent commanders of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Some of the militants allegedly attempted to pose as medical staff to evade capture, while others tried to escape on stretchers and in ambulances.
Notably, the director of the hospital was also detained on suspicion of leading a double life as an operative for Hamas. Inside the hospital, the IDF reportedly found stores of weapons, including grenades, handguns, ammunition, and other military equipment. The patients, meanwhile, were transferred to a nearby hospital where the IDF provided fuel, generators, and other medical equipment.
Officials with the IDF said while they're still conducting some limited operations near the hospital, they've successfully disrupted Hamas's efforts to regroup and will soon wind down their campaign in the area. But whether the loss of their last refuge in northern Gaza will encourage Hamas to come back to the negotiating table with concessions, well, that remains to be seen.
And, of course, depends on what the Iranian regime and the IRGC wants Hamas to do. Okay, sticking with Israel, I want to mention a story that we didn't cover over Christmas. For the first time, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed last Monday the country's involvement in the July assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran.
Katz's remarks, delivered at a commemoration event for local security officers, broke months of speculations about Israel's role in the meticulously planned covert mission. The assassination targeting Hadia, who was the leader of Hamas's political wing, occurred during his visit to Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Mossad possession.
To avoid disrupting that event, Israeli operatives delayed the mission until after the inauguration. The operation's details, as reported by The New York Times, reveal the extent of Israeli intelligence capabilities.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of Kim Jong Un's new anti-U.S. measures?
Further complicating matters, Russia and China consistently blocked US-led efforts to tighten UN sanctions on North Korea, providing Pyongyang with opportunities to circumvent those sanctions. And as Trump prepares to return to the White House, the question is, well, can his previous rapport with Kim Jong-un lead to a revival of diplomacy of sorts?
Trump's first-term summit with Kim temporarily eased the tense exchanges that had characterized their relationship. But the talks, of course, ultimately collapsed over disagreements on denuclearization. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 31 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And here's a thought.
As 2025 sits there lurking in the wings, well, do me a favor and send along your New Year's resolutions. Send them to pdbatthefirsttv.com. We'll put together one of our Ask Me Anything episodes and highlight the top resolutions from the PDB community. No doubt, I suspect one of the most popular resolutions for the coming year will be to subscribe to our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief.
It's just a thought. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. It's that simple. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.