Hamas taking Trump seriously

Hostage deal could come any time

Hamas accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire-for-hostage deal, according to officials involved in the process, with a deal potentially being signed as early as  Jan 14. (Reuters)

• The deal would see the release of 33 hostages, held for over 15 months and most of them alive, in the first six-week stage. Among the 33 are five female Israeli soldiers, who would each be exchanged for 50 Palestinian prisoners, according to a draft of the deal. (Times of Israel)

• During this time, Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of Gaza, Palestinians would begin to start moving back home, and a surge of 600 humanitarian aid trucks would be allowed in each day. (Times of Israel)

• The deal was mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar; President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, also met with top leaders in the region. “I have learned from my many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up,” President Joe Biden said during a wide-ranging foreign policy speech Monday. (Times of Israel)

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to lay out a plan for rebuilding a post-war Gaza in a speech in D.C. (Axios)

• Far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, said they would leave Netanyahu’s government coalition if the deal goes through. Ben-Gvir also acknowledged that he repeatedly foiled plans for a deal last year. (Times of Israel)