The President's Daily Brief
December 4th, 2024: Lebanon Ceasefire On The Verge of Collapse & Syrian Rebels Continue To Advance
Wed, 04 Dec 2024
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: An update on the fragile ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, which is already showing signs of strain just one week after being brokered. A report from Syria, where insurgents have captured four new towns as they advance toward the central city of Hama, with intense fighting continuing between rebels and government forces. Details on the U.S.'s latest $725 million military aid package to Ukraine, aimed at bolstering the nation’s defense as its troops are urged to hold on and wait for a potential shift in U.S. policy under President-elect Trump. And in today’s Back of the Brief: surprising revelations from a meeting between President-elect Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, where Trump floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state. 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 Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the status of the Lebanon ceasefire?
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. Today, we begin with an update on the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. After just one week, it's already showing cracks and faces the risk of unraveling.
Now, to be fair, anyone who doesn't base their foreign policy strategy on hopes and dreams can't be surprised if the ceasefire doesn't hold up. Sorry to sound cynical. Later in the show, an update from Syria, where insurgents continue to advance, capturing four new towns in their push toward the central city of Hama. Plus, the U.S.
is sending off a new military aid package to Ukraine as the nation's exhausted troops are told to hold on and wait for Trump. And in today's Back of the Brief, new details emerge from the recent meeting between President-elect Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, including a surprising moment where Trump suggested that Canada should become the 51st state. I kid you not.
But first, today's PDB Spotlight. I want to give you a one-week update on the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, which was announced last Tuesday. The update is that, well, the ceasefire is off to a rocky start. Ooh, there's a surprise. Here's what we know. Families on both sides of the border, Israeli and Lebanese, who fled during the 14 months of fighting, have started to return.
But for many, they've come back to homes that are, well, no longer there, either destroyed or heavily damaged during the conflict. The Lebanese military, a critical pillar of the ceasefire agreement and yet the least effective military element in the region, has deployed troops to southern Lebanon.
Their mission is to enforce the ceasefire by ensuring Hezbollah withdraws its forces north of the Latani River. That's a key demarcation line south of which Hezbollah is prohibited from operating under the terms of the agreement.
However, the violence has not completely stopped Cross-border strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah have continued, albeit on a smaller scale The Israeli Air Force has carried out several airstrikes in recent days These strikes targeted Hezbollah operatives not just in southern Lebanon, but also north of the Latani River Adding to the tension, Israeli drones flew over Beirut on Sunday for the first time since the ceasefire was announced
Israeli officials said these operations targeted areas where Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire by moving weapons, and they were meant to prevent direct threats. Israel notified the United States in advance about some of these strikes. On the Lebanese side, officials claim that Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 50 times since it went into effect last week. And then there's Hezbollah.
On Monday, the militia launched two mortar shells at Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, positions along the border. It was the first Hezbollah attack since the ceasefire began. They claimed the move was a, quote, "...defensive warning strike on an Israeli military position and retaliation for Israeli violations."
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Chapter 2: How are Syrian rebels advancing towards Hama?
Chapter 3: What military aid is the U.S. providing to Ukraine?
Chapter 4: What surprising proposal did Trump make to Trudeau?
On Monday, the militia launched two mortar shells at Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, positions along the border. It was the first Hezbollah attack since the ceasefire began. They claimed the move was a, quote, "...defensive warning strike on an Israeli military position and retaliation for Israeli violations."
Chapter 5: What are the implications of the ceasefire violations?
The IDF responded swiftly, carrying out a series of strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon shortly thereafter. Now, the Lebanese government, well, they're not the only ones claiming Israel has violated the terms of the ceasefire. According to Israeli media, U.S.
Special Envoy Amos Hochstein has also accused the Jewish state of breaching the agreement, as have French diplomats who are part of the international oversight body. Hochstein has reportedly sent a message urging Israel to uphold their end of the bargain.
Now, despite Hochstein's private misgivings, White House spokesperson John Kirby tried to reassure the public, stating on Monday that, quote, sporadic strikes were expected. He emphasized that there's been a dramatic reduction in violence and that, overall, the ceasefire is holding. He also added that the monitoring mechanism is in full force.
All right, coming up next, Syrian insurgents capture four new towns near Hamas, while incoming President-elect Trump delivers a stark warning to Hamas, declaring that there will be, quote, hell to pay if American hostages are not released before he takes office. I'll have those stories when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's talk about trees, shall we? And plants.
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Chapter 6: How is the humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorating?
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Shifting our focus now to Syria, where insurgents have captured four new towns early Tuesday, pushing them closer to the central city of Hama. This marks a significant gain for the insurgents who are now just six miles away from Syria's fourth largest city.
The offensive is part of a broader campaign that has already seen large portions of Aleppo and southern Idlib province fall into opposition hands. Several towns were seized in fierce battles, with opposition forces claiming to have killed 50 government troops in the process.
An HTS member declared that their objective is to push beyond Hama, moving south and eventually reclaiming the entirety of Syria. However, government forces backed by heavy Russian and Syrian airstrikes are not standing idly by. State media reports that Syrian troops have managed to recapture the village of Kaneser, which sits along a key route leading to Aleppo.
Reinforcements are being sent to bolster their positions in the Hama province as the clashes continue. This escalation in Syria comes against the backdrop of a call for diplomacy from Turkey's President Erdogan, a major backer of the insurgents. Erdogan has urged the Assad regime to engage in a, quote, genuine political process to avoid further deterioration of the situation.
Yet with airstrikes pounding opposition held areas and insurgents making steady advances, well, peace talks seem far off. Meanwhile, the humanitarian toll is mounting. The Norwegian Refugee Council has warned of food shortages and rising civilian casualties as thousands of families are displaced by the renewed fighting.
The council's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa issued a stark warning that this escalation could drag Syria back into, quote, the darkest days of its nearly 14-year-long conflict.
To the east, a separate front saw the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDF, claim to have captured seven villages from pro-government fighters Syrian state media, however, disputes these claims, asserting that the attacks were repelled The contested villages are near a U.S.
military base close to the Iraq border, adding, well, yet another layer of complexity to the conflict Oh, that's good, that's what we needed We needed more complexity in the conflict The war in Syria, now in its 14th year, has claimed an estimated half million lives. That would be 500,000 lives.
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