[Garowe] The Somali government has hired a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm with ties to former U.S. President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... to prevent the potential withdrawal of American troops from Somalia.
In late November 2024, Somalia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Dahir Hassan Arab, signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with BGR Group, founded by prominent Republican figures, including former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The firm’s team also includes Tom Locke, a former deputy assistant director of the FBI.
Trump pulled the U.S. military out of Somalia at the end of his term. His successor, Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. I'm not working for you. Don't be such a horse's ass.... , reversed the decision and sent troops back to the country in 2022.
The Somali government is now seeking continued military support from the U.S., which it believes is vital in its fight against bad boy groups operating within its borders. Somalia’s leaders hope BGR Group can help ensure this support continues.
BGR Group is known for its connections to Republican Party figures and its lobbying efforts for international clients seeking influence in Washington.
#4
^ That assumes that 'Somalia' is more than international borders drawn on a world map! It is educational to see a Tribal/Ethnic Map of 'Somalia': the NW third by Djibouti is composed of two Clans, the elbow is largely one clan and the rest is a dog's breakfast of clans that hate each other centered on Mogadishu. Splitting 'Somalia' into three states would be much more practical.
#5
Strangely enough. the Italians actually controlled it. Given how many governments the Italians have had since the end of WW2, they were probably use to the chaos of the place.
[IsraelTimes] Israelis applying for a tourist visa are being asked about the dates of their service, the locations of their bases, and whether they have ‘been involved in war crimes’
New Zealand’s government immigration authority has begun to require Israelis applying for a visa to report details of their military service as a condition for entry, and at least one person has been denied admission after doing so, The Times of Israel has learned.
Israelis of reserve service age who applied for tourist visas to New Zealand have been asked to report whether they had served in the Israel Defense Forces — as almost all Israeli citizens are required to do — and whether they are active reservists. Those who answered affirmatively were required to complete detailed questionnaires about their military service.
In the first questionnaire, visa applicants were asked about the dates of their military service, the location of their bases, the corps and units in which they served, the military camps where they were stationed, their rank, details of their roles, and their military ID number.
In the second questionnaire, they were asked:
“Have you been associated with any intelligence service or group, or law enforcement agency?”
“Have you been associated with any group or organization that has used or promoted violence or human rights abuses to further their aims?”
“Have you committed or been involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or human rights abuses?”
Those who can’t disclose details of their military service due to security concerns are not exempt from filling out the questionnaire; as a result, they are unable to complete it and obtain a visa.
At least one soldier who served in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas has been denied entry to New Zealand. He said that this was a direct result of his answers to the questionnaire, while noting that he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza.
Australia has been operating a similar policy, and at least two Israelis have been denied entry as a result.
New Zealand’s Immigration Authority (INZ), reached for comment, did not deny the details of this report, but said that serving in the current war did not automatically disqualify Israelis from entering the country.
“INZ understands the difficult situation this crisis is causing for many and has great sympathy for those separated from their loved ones during this stressful time,” the authority told The Times of Israel, in response to a query.
“A visitor visa can be declined for a number of reasons, and it is difficult for us to comment on why a person’s application was declined without the details of their application. Immigration instructions do not prevent individuals who have served in this conflict from applying for or being granted a visitor visa,” the response said.
“Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas started, INZ has put in place processes to ensure consistency and priority allocation for any applications received for people living in these locations. Palestinian and Israeli nationals can apply for any visa category they meet the requirements for,” it said.
“We will continue to prioritize the processing of applications for people impacted by the conflict. However, all applicants must meet the relevant immigration requirements to be granted a visa. Exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis,” it added.
The authority’s response also noted the following statistics: “As of 14 January 2025, we have received 944 applications from Israeli nationals across both temporary and residence visa applications. Of those received, 809 have been approved, 37 declined, 69 [are] in progress and the remainder have been withdrawn.”
During the same period, the authority saw 259 applications from Palestinian passport holders, of which 177 were approved, 53 declined, 21 are in progress and the remainder have been withdrawn, it added.
The statement did not specify the start date for the period covered by these statistics.
An analysis of INZ statistical data indicates that the rejection rate for Israeli visa applications to New Zealand during the war has been approximately four percent. This is not unusually high compared to previous years or the rejection rates for citizens of other developed countries.
About a month ago, Australia’s Sky News revealed that Australia presents a similar questionnaire to Israelis applying for entry and has rejected applications from Israelis who served in Gaza and sought to visit a relative. Additionally, former justice minister Ayelet Shaked was denied entry to Australia in November 2024, reportedly because she might “incite discord.”
[Garowe] The Finnish government could initiate mass deportation of Somalia asylum seekers, it has emerged, in one of the actions that could lead to heated debates among members of the community and various human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. groups.
Last week, Meri Rantanen, the Finnish minister of interior, held sessions with Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre over anticipated deportations, but critics insist that the move is tied to the Finns Party's political agenda ahead of the April municipal and county elections.
Somalia's Interior Minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail also attended the meeting where security and readmission arrangements were discussed. Rantanen argues that her country is interested in establishing effective return mechanisms for Somalis denied residency in Finland.
"Finland appreciates the long-standing cooperation with Somalia. Establishing return arrangements is essential to the partnership," Rantanen stated. She also emphasized Somalia’s critical role in counter-terrorism efforts, recognizing the work of Somali security authorities in stabilizing the region.
In recent months, Finland stopped bilateral development aid to Somalia which was critical in recovery and state-building in the country. The Finnish government has linked future funding decisions to progress on deportation agreements.
However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... critics argue this conditionality politicizes humanitarian aid, leveraging it to secure deportation commitments. UN special representative James Swan also attended the meeting along with EU officials, an indication that Finland wants to align deportation policies with the European framework.
The Finns Party, of which Rantanen is a member, has long advocated stricter immigration policies. Finance Minister Riikka Purra, the party’s chairperson, praised the trip as a step toward resolving issues of undocumented migrants colonists.
Others say the decisions are geared towards exploiting the Somali community for electoral purposes. There are about 200 undocumented Somalis in Finland, raising questions about the motive given that the number cannot tilt political equations.
A Somali asylum seeker in Finland, Ali Hassan, shared his concerns about potential deportation. After eight years in Finland and several rejected asylum applications, Hassan said the uncertainty has been overwhelming. "I’ve built a life here with my family. I fear returning to Somalia, where threats from groups like al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... could put us in danger," he said.
Somali authorities have yet to issue an official statement on the visit but have acknowledged their limited resources for reintegrating deportees. Somalia relies heavily on remittances from its diaspora, which contribute an estimated $1.3 billion annually to the economy.
[MSN - DPA] The German government plans to send border management experts to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, government sources have told dpa.
To facilitate the deployment, Berlin plans to amend a 2005 Cabinet decision that previously allowed only unarmed personnel to be sent, according to the government sources.
The adjustment would permit the deployment of armed forces, as the current security situation is deemed too dangerous for unarmed border guards.
A wise choice. It will be interesting to see how many are Team Israel vs Team Palestine after they spend time there.
The deployment could be part of the European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah), which is set to resume operations after a years-long hiatus.
The mission, first established in 2005 to help control the crossing, was suspended in 2007 when Hamas took control in the Gaza Strip, as the EU refused to cooperate with the Palestinian militant organization.
In an initial phase, a low double-digit number of EU border experts and support staff are to be deployed to supervise border checks, if possible from the beginning of February.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing is part of a three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, and should enable significant amounts of humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday said that Italy, Spain and France are the first three EU countries to send personnel to Rafah.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has publicly advocated for the deployment, calling it an important signal of Europe's commitment to global responsibility.
It was exactly for this kind of simple, common sense action — with a huge impact —that we voted for him. Thank God we beat the margin of cheating this time.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] President Donald Trump is ordering the deportation of foreign students who took part in pro-Hamas protests on college campuses as he launches a wide-ranging crackdown on anti-Semitism.
A new executive order will target resident aliens - including students with visas - who broke laws during demonstrations in the wake of the October 7th attacks in Israel. Trump said he would instruct his Justice Department to 'aggressively prosecute terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews.'
He added: 'To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice...we will find you, and we will deport you.
'I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.'
It was the latest in a slew of orders Trump has signed since becoming president as he looks to fulfill his campaign promises.
Many universities, particularly Columbia University in New York City, became the site of pro-Palestinian protests last year during the Israel-Hamas war. The students involved made radical demands that their schools sever financial ties to Israel and that the U.S. end its military support for its longtime ally.
Trump's latest order, first reported by the New York Post, gives leaders of government agencies and departments 60 days to provide the White House with recommendations on how to identify anti-Semitic threats.
It comes as Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House next week as the first foreign leader to visit in his second term.
The U.S. is pushing Israel and Hamas to keep its ceasefire in place. Talks about the ceasefire's more difficult second phase, which aims to end the war, begin next Monday.
Trump's latest executive order, due to be signed on Wednesday, is his second focusing on anti-Semitism.
He signed another executive order last week calling for the removal of foreign visa holders who 'advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.'
During a rally in New Jersey last May, Trump promised: 'When I am president we will not allow our colleges to be taken over by violent radicals. And if you come here from another country and try to bring jihadism or anti-Americanism or anti-Semitism to our campuses we will immediately deport you.'
He also tackled the issue in his first term.
In 2019, Trump signed an executive order instructing federal officials to expand the interpretation of the Civil Rights Act to include 'discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism.' That added anti-Semitism to the list of prohibited behavior for programs that get federal funding. During the college campus protests some Republicans wanted to use that order to take away federal funding from universities that defended the demonstrations as free speech.
Republicans denounced the protests during the 2024 election campaign as an example of liberal bias at elite universities. Several House committees, led by Republicans, investigated federal funding to colleges and threatened to withhold research grants and other government support. Ultimately, they issued a report calling for more to be done to address anti-Semitism.
Since the ceasefire announcement between Israel and Hamas, college protests have subsided.
The controversy over the protests led to a slew of university presidents - including Harvard's - to resign.
At a high-profile Congressional hearing last year, many Ivy league presidents struggled to answer whether 'calling for the genocide of Jews' would violate each university's code of conduct. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican who Trump nominated to be ambassador to the U.N., posed the question. She later said it became the highest-viewed congressional hearing in history.
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[JustTheNews] "Temporary protected status" or TPS is given to foreign citizens who cannot go back to their home country due to war or natural disasters.
The Trump administration has reportedly revoked the "temporary protected status" for thousands of Venezuelans that are currently in the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday revoked the extension of deportation protections for over 600,000 Venezuelans, according to The New York Times, which cited a copy of the decision.
President Joe Biden extended "temporary protected status" for 18 months for Venezuelans just before President Donald Trump took office Jan. 20.
"Temporary protected status" or TPS is given to foreign citizens who cannot go back to their home country due to war or natural disasters.
Trump requested TPS designations be reviewed in an executive order titled "Protecting the American People Against Invasion."
Under Biden, citizens from El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela were granted TPS, according to news reports.
The Department of Homeland Security under Biden cited "severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime," for granting TPS to Venezuelans.
#4
El Salvador? Why El Salvador? After they rounded up all the criminals and gangsters, its as safe as ever. In fact, the only reason to leave and not want to go back is if...oooohhh, I see now.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] President Donald Trump has unveiled plans to house 30,000 illegal migrants at Guantanamo Bay.
That’s seriously hardcore — levelling waaaaay up.
The U.S. military base in Cuba has historically been used to hold terror suspects since 9/11 and current detainees include the accused mastermind of the attack.
Using it for migrants is the latest symbolic move in Trump's unprecedented crackdown on illegal migration that began the moment he entered office last week.
The symbol being that this is how we do things now.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted raids across the country and deportation flights have left the United States daily – with the administration putting out images of the effort.
Trump said the facility with 30,000 beds will be used to keep the 'worst of the worst' migrants under lock and key, and noted how 'tough' it is to escape. It will include suspects from countries he doesn't trust will detain them when they are deported.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem floated the plan earlier on Wednesday, but Trump has now put the idea into motion.
We do things fast and we do them strong. So if you’re on the evil side of the register and you aren’t in the country legally, you might want to get the hell out of Dodge. Pronto.
'Today, I’m also signing an Executive Order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people,' Trump said.
And if you’re evil but legal, you might want to leave anyway. Because at some point we’ll have cleaned out the illegals, and will start cleaning out the legal 10% who commit 90% of the crimes. That kind of thing quickly becomes a habit, once the Overton Window moves.
He made the announcement while signing the Laken Riley Act at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump added: 'We have 30,000 beds in Guantanamo to detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back.
'So we're going to send them out to Guantanamo Bay. This will double our capacity immediately, and tough. That's a tough - that's a tough place to get out of.'
The George W. Bush administration opened the facility in 2002 to detain 'illegal enemy combatants' during the 'War on Terror.' Ultimately, successive administrations have negotiated a series of arrangements to transfer prisoners out of the facility since then, amid public and congressional pressure to close it.
The population has now dwindled to just 15 after the most recent series of transfers.
Among them is 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who agreed to plead guilty after negotiations with military lawyers, avoiding a potential death sentence, and setting off yet another legal saga.
Trump himself ordered his then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to keep Guantanamo open in 2018, reversing an Obama administration order.
#5
I heard it described as a place to send the real baddies until home can be convinced to take back these serious liabilities they were happy to get rid of, and to countries which are generally a pain in the ass and won't cooperate.
[Breitbart] President Donald Trump’s new homeland security chief, Kristi Noem, has canceled the Democrats’ last-minute amnesty extension to 600,000 economic migrants from Venezuela, according to the New York Times.
The faster return of the Venezuelans to their home country will supercharge pressure for domestic political and economic reform, and it will cut off the migrants’ remittances that help the country’s Cuban-backed dictator, Nicolás Maduro.
The amnesty shift also suggests that Trump plans a pro-freedom foreign policy that can reinvigorate poor countries and boost beneficial U.S. exports to those countries.
In 2021 and 2023, President Joe Biden’s pro-migration czar, Alejandro Mayorkas, granted “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) to two groups of 600,000 Venezuelans who had moved illegally into the United States after 2018.
The status for the 2023 population will formally expire in April 2025. The status for the 2021 population will expire in September 2025. The migrants will lose their work permits and can be repatriated when their status expires.
But on January 10, the Cuban-born Mayorkas announced he would extend the status by 18 months, starting January 17.
The extension would have continued the Venezuelan TPS amnesty until late 2026. That schedule would have forced Trump’s deputies to extend or cancel the TPS status in the run-up to the November 2026 midterm election.
The New York Times reported:
Ms. Noem’s decision finds fault with the move by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary under Mr. Biden, to extend the protections for Venezuelans in the final month of Mr. Biden’s term. The agency generally must decide at regular intervals whether the protections should be extended before they expire. The notice argued that Mr. Mayorkas made his move too early and said the extension should not remain in effect “given the exceedingly brief period” since it was issued on Jan. 17.
A Homeland Security Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, argued that the last-minute extension by the Biden administration appeared to be a way to tie the hands of Trump officials.
The renewable TPS grants 18-month work permits and legal protections to favored nationalities.
Mayorkas used the program to help many groups of migrants to anchor themselves in U.S. society. For example, Mayorkas granted the TPS to roughly 300,000 Haitian migrants. Many also took jobs and housing in Springfield, Ohio, inflicting massive pocketbook penalties on ordinary Americans.
Mayorkas’ welcome for the Haitian migrants also accelerated the political and security crash in their homeland.
Breitbart News reported on December 11:
The latest Congressional Research Service report finds that more than one million foreign nationals remain in the U.S. thanks to TPS. In addition, nationals from Hong Kong, Palestine, Lebanon, and Liberia remain in the U.S. through Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).When Biden took office in late January 2021, fewer than 320,000 migrants were in the U.S. as a result of securing TPS.
Today, 17 countries have TPS designations: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The Times of Israel is liveblogging today’s events here. No doubt the Jerusalem Post, Ynet, Israel National News and others are doing the same, but I stopped to post this just before rushing out of the house.
[IsraelTimes] Yehoud, 29, and Mozes, 80, forced to walk through mob with gunmen in lengthy, chaotic handover at which the 5 Thais also freed; furious Israel delays Palestinian prisoner releases
Eight hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel were released by Palestinian terror groups on Thursday under an ongoing ceasefire deal with Hamas, returning to Israel after 482 days in captivity in Gaza. Seven of them were freed in a long, chaotic process in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis that prompted fury in Israel.
The three Israelis are IDF surveillance soldier Agam Berger, 20, and civilians Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80. The Thai nationals are Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak.
Yehoud, Mozes and the five Thais were released in an uncontrolled and dangerous handover early Thursday afternoon, outside the destroyed home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, surrounded by hundreds of masked gunmen and large, seething crowds.
The two Israeli civilians were forced to walk through the crowds, with gunmen at their side, from the vehicles that delivered them and, later, to the Red Cross vehicles, in protracted, chaotic scenes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the chaotic handover was unacceptable, in a statement immediately after the release. “I view with great severity the shocking scenes during the release of our hostages,” said Netanyahu. “This is further proof of the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
Israel delayed the slated release of Palestinian prisoners in protest of the chaotic handover, with Netanyahu’s office saying it would not proceed “until the safe passage of our hostages can be guaranteed in the next releases.”
It later said it had received a guarantee from mediators that the scenes of chaos would not be repeated, and reports indicated that the Palestinian prisoner release would proceed in late afternoon.
Berger and the Thai hostages were held by the Hamas terror group, while Yehoud and Mozes were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Berger, an Israel Defense Forces surveillance soldier, was abducted from the military’s Nahal Oz base, while Yehoud and Mozes were both taken from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Mozes is the first male Israeli hostage to be freed in the current deal, which provides for 33 hostages to be released in exchange for up to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Living hostages are being released first. Eight of the 33 are understood by Israel to be dead.
The Thai hostages were among 31 foreign nationals kidnapped in the Hamas attack who were working in Israel, many of them as farmhands in Israel’s agricultural heartland near the Gaza border, reportedly including some on Nir Oz.
AGAM BERGER’S RELEASE
Previously, seven hostages — four soldiers and three civilians, all women — were released in two batches since the accord with Hamas came into effect last Sunday. Berger was kidnapped along with the four other soldiers and held together with them by Hamas until they were released on Saturday.
She was released on Thursday morning in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, at a ceremony similar to the one her comrades had to endure five days ago, surrounded by masked Hamas gunmen.
She too was dressed in olive garb meant to look like an IDF uniform and given a Hamas “gift bag” and framed certificate. She waved to the crowd of Gazans gathered in front of the stage before being led by armed men to the Red Cross representatives.
Prior to her release, Red Cross representatives were seen on the stage signing documents.
The Red Cross transported the freed hostage soldier to IDF and Shin Bet forces inside Gaza, after which she was escorted out of the Strip to a military facility near the border to reunite with her parents and undergo initial assessments by doctors and mental health officers.
She emerged from a Red Cross vehicle at the IDF facility no longer wearing the fake military uniform she was forced by Hamas to don for the handover. Video released by the military showed her embracing an IDF medical officer before getting into another vehicle to exit the Strip.
The IDF also released images of Berger reuniting with her parents, Shlomi and Merav, at the military facility. From there, she was helicoptered along with her parents to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.
Shortly after her release, Berger’s family released a statement expressing gratitude to security forces and the public.
“We want to thank the security forces and all the people of Israel for their support and prayers. Now Agam and our family can begin the healing process,” the family said in a statement after the IDF announced that Berger had been reunited with her family.
Berger, from central Israel’s Holon, had arrived at the Nahal Oz base just two days before the October 7 onslaught. She only had time that morning to call her father, Shlomi, and tell him she was under fire.
She was identified later that day in a Hamas Telegram video, in which she was seen being led to a car, still dressed in her pajamas.
Berger is one of seven female soldiers who were abducted from the base.
One of the abducted surveillance soldiers, Ori Megidish, was later rescued alive, and the body of a second one, Noa Marciano, was recovered after she was murdered in captivity.
FORMER HOSTAGE SOLDIERS CELEBRATE THEIR FRIEND’S RELEASE
The other four soldiers — Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag — have requested to stay in the hospital for a few more days to be with Berger as she begins her recovery.
The four reportedly told friends and relatives that it was very hard to leave Berger behind in captivity and at least one of them asked to be allowed to remain with Berger rather than be released.
The young women watched on Thursday morning as their friend and comrade was released from Hamas captivity and reunited with her shortly after she arrived at Rabin Medical Center.
Dr. Lena Koren Feldman, director of Rabin Medical Center, said that when the four former hostages saw Berger being released, “there were screams of joy and great excitement.”
“Her return marks an essential step in their collective healing,” Feldman said.
At Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostages Square, hundreds of people gathered ahead of the releases on Thursday morning, cheering as they watched live footage of Berger’s release on a big screen.
Many in the crowd wore braids in their hair as a tribute to Berger, who braided the hair of fellow female hostages, including children released during a weeklong truce with Hamas in November 2023.
Family members and friends also gathered at Berger’s home in Holon to celebrate her return to Israel, cheering, rejoicing and singing as images showed her being released by Hamas.
Many of the happy family members waved Israeli flags, and danced with a Torah scroll brought into the home.
“This is the happiest moment of my life,” one of the relatives told Channel 12 news. “Now we can breathe again.”
“She is a hero,” said another, as images show her being paraded on the stage in Jabalia. “She is on her feet walking.”
SEVEN RELEASED AT CHAOTIC HANDOVER IN KHAN YOUNIS
Yehoud, Mozes and the five Thai nationals arrived in a large convoy that moved slowly through the crowds in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, with dozens of armed and masked gunmen riding on the back of the trucks. Other vehicles bore heavy machine guns. Many waved Hamas and Islamic Jihad flags in the air.
They were led through a raucous crowd of surging Palestinians holding cameras to film the spectacle, surrounded by masked gunmen, and eventually transferred to the Red Cross.
Netanyahu said he “demands the negotiators ensure that such horrific scenes do not occur again, and to guarantee the safety of our hostages.”
“Whoever dares to harm our hostages — will pay.”
Channel 12 news reported that Israel was in contact with the hostage-ceasefire deal mediators during the tense handover to complain about the terrifying and inhumane conditions to which the abductees were being subjected.
The seven were escorted across the border out of Gaza by Israeli special forces, after being handed over to them by the Red Cross. Like Berger, they were to undergo initial checkups at an IDF facility near the border.
Yehoud and Mozes were to meet with their family members at the IDF facility, while the five Thai nationals were to meet Thai officials.
Channel 12 reported that Mozes was being taken to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital.
Earlier on Thursday morning, PIJ issued a propaganda video showing Yehoud and Mozes, both kidnapped from Nir Oz on October 7, embracing ahead of their release. It was unclear when exactly the video was filmed.
Al Jazeera reported that the reunion was the first time Yehoud saw a fellow hostage since she was kidnapped over 15 months ago.
Mozes’s partner, Efrat Katz, was killed during the October 7 onslaught, apparently by IDF fire. Her daughter Doron Katz-Asher was kidnapped along with her granddaughters Raz, then aged 5, and Aviv, then 2. The surviving three were released in a hostage deal in November 2023.
On Wednesday, the Mozes family said it had “received with great excitement the wonderful news of our beloved Gadi’s return.”
Yehoud was kidnapped from Nir Oz along with her partner Ariel Cunio, who is still held hostage in Gaza. She grew up on the Gaza-adjacent kibbutz, where her family has been living for three generations.
She was initially supposed to be released in last weekend’s exchange, as she is a civilian, but Hamas instead released the four surveillance soldiers.
Her fate was briefly a major sticking point in the deal’s implementation, with Israel blocking the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza on Sunday. Under the ceasefire and hostage release deal, the terror group was required to prioritize the release of civilian women.
The extra batch of hostages released Thursday — in addition to three others who are set to go free on Saturday — was added to the schedule after a dispute over Hamas’s failure to release Yehoud in the previous group was resolved early Monday.
But Hamas accused Israel on Wednesday of jeopardizing the deal by holding up aid deliveries, an allegation Israel promptly dismissed as “fake news.”
The truce deal has allowed truckloads of aid into Gaza, where the war has created a long-running humanitarian crisis.
COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, called this “totally fake news.”
Between Sunday and Wednesday afternoon, “3,000 trucks entered Gaza,” a spokesman said. “The agreement says it should be 4,200 in seven days.”
As the full text of the agreement — mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States — has not been made public, the terms could not be verified.
There has been no official statement on how Thursday’s releases, which were not on the original schedule, will affect the timetable of future releases. Saturday’s scheduled release of three more hostages remains unchanged.
FIVE THAI HOSTAGES RELEASED OUTSIDE OF TRUCE DEAL
A special area was being set up at the hospital in central Israel to receive the freed Thai hostages, and Hebrew media reported that Thai restaurants in Tel Aviv were preparing to provide them with familiar food upon their return.
Tens of thousands of laborers from Southeast Asia were working in Israel when the Hamas attack unfolded. Thai nationals were by far the largest group and the most heavily affected.
During the November 2023 ceasefire-hostage deal, 24 Thai hostages were released.
The hostages were among 251 Israelis and foreigners kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, amid rampant acts of brutality and overt targeting of civilians.
In exchange for the three Israeli hostages freed on Thursday, Israel will free 110 Palestinian security prisoners — 30 for each civilian, and 50 for Berger including 30 terrorists serving life sentences. The 30 inmates released in exchange for Mozes include three who are serving life sentences.
A total of 33 so-called “humanitarian hostages” are set to be released from Gaza in the initial 42-day phase of the deal with Hamas, with fighting stopped in the Strip.
As those hostages — women, children, elderly people, and sick people — are gradually released, Israel is to release some 1,904 Palestinian security prisoners, including more than a hundred serving life sentences for deadly terror attacks.
The three-phase deal’s later stages are subject to negotiations with the stated goal of reaching a “sustainable calm” in the enclave, alongside the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, the release of more Palestinian security prisoners, and an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.
Hamas has shown that it is willing and able to impose its will on Gazans ruthlessly and using deadly force.
The "chaotic scenes", during a transaction of vital importance, unfolded precisely how Hamas (and the state sponsors behind Hamas) wanted them to unfold.
The axis Iran-Qatar-Russia is testing the Trump administration.
Next time don’t start a war with Israel. And especially don’t start with endless atrocities.Really, the Israelis have been quite, quite restrained, given such egregious Gazan provocations.
[IsraelTimes] Hamas claims hundreds of thousands have gone back to northern Gaza, as many residents complain about lack of food, water, power and shelter
The joy of thousands of Palestinian families who made it back home to north Gaza amid the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is turning to despair as the cold reality of uninhabitable, bombed-out homes and dire shortages of basic supplies sets in.
Many have begun complaining about a lack of running water that forces them to line up for hours to fill plastic containers for drinking or cleaning. With most homes now heaps of rubble as far as the eye can see, returnees have scoured whatever useful items remain from their property to erect makeshift tents. Take it up with your Masters - Hamas
At night, residential districts laid to waste by Israeli airstrikes and shelling during the fighting with Hamas sink into darkness for lack of electricity or fuel to operate standby generators.
“There is nothing, no life, no water, no food, no drink, nothing for living. Life is very, very hard. There is no Jabalia camp,” Hisham El-Err said on Wednesday, standing by the ruins of his multi-story house in the biggest and mostly densely populated of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps.
His extended family is now huddling in tents, which offer scant protection from Gaza’s mid-winter chill.
Permission for displaced Gazans to return to the north of the enclave was a key demand by Hamas in the ceasefire that halted the fifteen-month war it started on October 7, 2023, when it led thousands of terrorists to invade southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 who were taken as hostages. Movement from south Gaza to the north began to be allowed on Monday.
By late on Tuesday, Gaza’s Hamas authorities said most of the 650,000 people displaced from the north by the war had re-entered Gaza City and the north edge of the enclave from areas to the south where fighting was less intense and destructive.
Many of those returning, often laden with what personal possessions they still had after months of being shunted around as battlegrounds shifted, had trekked 20 kilometers (12 miles) or more along the coastal highway.
Fahad Abu Jalhoum returned with his family to Jabalia from the al-Mawasi area in south Gaza but the destruction they found was so pervasive they had been forced to go back south.
“It’s just ghosts without souls (in the north),” Abu Jalhoum told Reuters back in Al Mawasi. “We all missed the north but when I went there I was shocked. So I returned to (the south) until we get relief from God.”
HAMAS, ISRAEL, SPAR OVER PACE OF AID DELIVERIES
A Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity said smaller amounts of fuel, cooking gas, and tents had been brought into Gaza than what had been agreed in ceasefire negotiations, which Israel strongly denied.
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office put the initial need for tents at 135,000, but the Hamas official said only around 2,000 had gotten in since the deal took effect on January 19.
He also said work to rehabilitate hospitals and bakeries knocked out by the fighting had not begun and urged mediators to ensure more aid flows in, adding that dissatisfaction among armed groups could affect the truce.
A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli military agency that liaises with the Palestinians, said that tens of thousands of tents have entered Gaza since the ceasefire and that gas and fuel are being delivered daily in keeping with agreements.
Under the deal, 33 hostages held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the ceasefire in exchange for over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, hundreds of them serving life sentences in Israel for deadly terror attacks.
Seven hostages and 290 prisoners have so far been exchanged. Three more hostages are to be swapped for dozens of Palestinian prisoners on Thursday.
In addition, five Thai hostages will be freed Thursday by Hamas, Israeli officials confirmed.
A second stage of the deal, due to begin by February 4, is meant to open the way to the release of over 60 other hostages, including men of military age, and a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
If that succeeds, a formal end to the fighting could follow along with talks on the monumental challenge of reconstructing Gaza, now widely demolished in a war that killed almost 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose unverified figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
In Jabalia, Khamis Amara returned to the ruins of his house to dig for the bodies of his father and brother, among the roughly 10,000 people missing and feared dead in Gaza, according to the local civil emergency service.
“I was once under the rubble with my father and brother, just as they still are. But I made it out,” Amara said.
“Life here is unbearable. Honestly, it’s all a lie. Those in the south should just stay there — it’s better for them.”
#1
as many residents complain about lack of food, water, power and shelter
The combined territory of Arab states is 2000 times the territory of Israel - given the oil income, there should be plenty of food, water, and shelter.
#2
“There is nothing, no life, no water, no food, no drink, nothing for living. Life is very, very hard.
That kinda sucks, but at least you showed the Juice what's what, right?
the ruins of his multi-story house in the biggest and mostly densely populated of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee camps
Maybe I'm old school, but when I think of refugee camps, I think of tents, porta-johns, and families lined up for food, not multi-story houses with electricity and running water. Is it possible that UNRWA is just a long running grift?
[IsraelTimes] Despite family being slated for release in first stage of ceasefire, mother and two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, remain in captivity in Gaza, with grave concern for their lives
Israel has demanded that Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... clarify the condition of hostages Shiri Bibas and her two small boys, Ariel and Kfir, whom the Paleostinian terror group is holding in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.
The three are set to be returned to Israel in the ongoing first phase of the ceasefire and hostage deal that halted the war started by Hamas in October 2023.
While living women and kiddies were supposed to be freed first under the deal, bodies are to be handed over later in the deal. Fears for the fate of the Bibas trio have grown, as Hamas has not returned them among the first hostages released. Husband and father Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped separately to Gaza, is slated to be released later in the deal’s first phase.
Hamas has said that 18 of the 26 hostages yet to be returned under the current phase are alive, without offering specifics on the condition of individuals, and that eight are dead.
The Bibas family members are among the highest-profile hostages still held in Gaza. Ariel, 5, and Kfir, who turned 2 earlier this month, are the only children left there, after a November 2023 deal that saw the release of more than 100 of the 251 people seized in the attack by Hamas bandidosturbans the previous month, in which some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, on the deadliest day in Israel’s history.
At the time, Hamas said the children had been killed along with their mother. Israel said it was investigating that "cruel" claim, but did not confirm it, and the IDF has since said that it has no intelligence to confirm their status.
There have been no signs of life from the boys since the day of their abduction, when they and their mother, Shiri, became an early face of the violence. A video that emerged of Shiri carrying her children as she was taken away by the bandidosturbans quickly gained attention due to her visible distress, the children’s bright red hair, and Kfir’s young age — at 10 months old, the youngest Israeli kidnapped by Hamas.
After announcing their death in November 2023, Hamas released a video showing Yarden, their father, who had been told his family was dead. In February 2024, the IDF found more footage from surveillance cameras in Khan Younis of Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel’s abduction.
The government is now said to be demanding a clear answer on the matter, in order to provide it to their family, multiple outlets reported.
[IsraelTimes] Knesset has barred operation of UN agency, which administers schools, medical clinics, other services for descendants of Palestinian refugees, over employees’ involvement in terror.
[IsraelTimes] Mosssd ...... chief David Barnea reportedly told families of Israeli hostages on Monday evening that the use of bulldozers to clear wreckage in the Gaza Strip could make it impossible to recover some slain captives’ bodies.
Speaking to the families, Barnea said, “It’s awful. It could cause more cases like Ron Arad,” referring to an Israeli Air Force officer who was captured in Lebanon in 1986 and, in the absence of intelligence about his condition or location, was declared dead in 2008.
“We have a responsibility to bring everyone home,” he added, according to a Channel 12 report Tuesday.
During the meeting, Barnea also reportedly told the families that the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the deal’s first stage was prepared after the end of the hostage-ceasefire deal in November 2023 — despite the fact that circumstances have certainly changed for many of the captives since then.
Those included fell into the “humanitarian” categories of women, children, female soldiers, the elderly, and the sick, the latter of whom was determined by a medical panel.
[Yahoo] Iran has ordered its proxy forces across the Middle East to exercise caution as the Islamic Theocratic Republic fears an existential threat following Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s return to the White House, The Telegraph has learned.
Officials have told commanders of Iran-backed militias to avoid provocative actions that could escalate regional tensions.
Commanders have also been instructed to maintain defensive positions while avoiding any actions that could be interpreted as aggressive by US forces or regional allies.
"Forces and allies in the region have been instructed to act with caution as [the regime] feels an existential threat with Trump’s return," one senior Iranian official told The Telegraph from Tehran.
"In Iraq and Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , forces have been told not to target any American assets, and if they do, they are explicitly warned against using Iranian weapons," the official added.
"They have been told to keep defensive positions for a while and to avoid any actions that might provoke the Americans."
"The fall of Assad has intensified fears [in the regime]," the official said. "There are now fears they may not be able to hold onto the country after witnessing what happened to Assad, which no one here expected."
"A large-scale operation is underway to identify and arrest Israeli spies and infiltrators and there are concerns that they may have infiltrated high-ranking offices."
Don’t forget the spy squirrels, guys. And the herons! The spy herons are a key vector, donchaknow.
Iran’s vice president acknowledged successful Israeli infiltrations last week and blamed the impact of international sanctions for the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s vulnerability to Israel.
Mr Trump’s return was another major blow to Tehran. He has discussed bringing back his "maximum pressure" campaign and when asked about military strikes against Iran, he said: "Anything can happen."
"We’ve got to stop some wars, there are some stupid things going on," Mr Trump said on the day of his inauguration.
"Israel would’ve never been hit on Oct 7," he added. "Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... was broke. Anyone that bought oil from Iran ... China passed, everybody passed."
The team Mr Trump has chosen for his second term, including his secretary of state, is expected to take tougher actions against Iran.
The Biden administration had also warned Mr Trump that Iran may pursue building a nuclear bomb after being weakened by conflicts in the Middle East.
Iran is much weaker domestically than eight years ago when Mr Trump first came into power, with its legitimacy at its lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution following the 2022 protests.
"There have been extensive discussions about Trump and the available options to counter any possible strike on Iran," the Iranian official said.
"The main topic of discussion has been how to avoid starting a war with him and how to prevent him from starting one with us.
"He has been making threats, and they are being taken seriously here, as they already know him," he added.
The official explained that talks about acquiring the S-400 air defence system from Russia have also intensified. Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, pushed for the defence system delivery to Iran during his meeting with Putin last week, The Telegraph understands.
A brilliant idea, though the Syrians couldn’t get anything useful out of their S- systems unless the Russian technicians were the ones running it. I think the conclusion was that Islam and air defenses just don’t mix well. Still, maybe it’s actual an Arab problem — or a Sunni one — and you Iranian Shiites won’t have the same negative effect on the machines.
Islamic Theocratic Republic officials have also softened their rhetoric about striking Israel in retaliation for their attacks in October on Iranian military sites since Mr Trump’s election victory.
A foreign ministry said this week that it hopes the new Trump administration adopts a "realistic" foreign policy "based on international law and respect for the interests and desires of the nations of the region, including the Iranian nation".
And who knows? Perhaps the horse will learn to sing.
However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... senior Iranian officials have expressed objections to engaging in talks with the US. Esmaeil Khatib, Iran’s intelligence minister, warned against talks with the Trump administration, arguing such negotiations could disadvantage Tehran.
"If calls for negotiations dominate us, we will lose," Khatib said this week, accusing the US of pressuring Iran under "imposed negotiations".
Yep.
said the US will likely intensify pressure through "attractive offers, enticements, and threats", amid expectations.
That does seem to be his style.
Iranian media remains split too. Reformist outlets suggest potential diplomatic openings, while hardline publications reject engagement.
The ultimate responsibility for deciding whether Iran will talk with the Trump administration or not rests with Khamenei.
Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... ordinary Iranians grappling with 50 per cent inflation and mounting economic hardships express hope that Mr Trump would bring an end to the regime.
"People are struggling to afford basic necessities, with many unable to buy meat because it’s too expensive," one Tehran resident said.
"Many see Trump as a hope and believe he might rescue them from this situation — any alternative feels better than the current situation," he added.
Analysts say Khamenei faces four difficult years ahead that could reshape the region.
They believe the supreme leader must either lift his ban on talks with Washington or risk an all-out war with the US amid growing domestic and international pressure.
The Iranian rial plunged to a record low this week, with the US dollar surpassing 840,000 rials and one pound approaching 1 million rials, which is expected to drive up the prices of essential goods even further.
#1
There are major psychological differences between Iranians and Arabs (Iranians didn't spend thousands of years scavangering on the outskirts of civilization).
#4
Iran has ordered its proxy forces across the Middle East to exercise caution as the Islamic Theocratic Republic fears an existential threat following Donald Trump
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The new Syrian authorities have announced the termination of the previous constitution and the dissolution of the country's parliament.
Unexpectedly]
This was reported on January 29 by the military operations department (the governing body of the new authorities).
“The 2012 constitution, as well as all laws adopted under emergency procedures, are no longer in effect,” the department noted on its Telegram channel.
For the transitional period, Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared the head of the new administration of the interim government of Syria.
The new authorities also announced the dissolution of the Baath Party, which has ruled Syria for more than 60 years, the country's parliament, all security services and armed groups.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on December 8, 2024, Bashar al-Assad resigned as president and left Syria, ordering a peaceful transfer of power. He and his family arrived in Russia, where they were granted asylum. On December 10, 2024, Mohammed al-Bashir announced his appointment as head of the Syrian government for a transitional period that will last until March 1, 2025. The de facto leader of Syria was Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (banned in Russia and recognized as terrorist).
On January 28, the Russian interdepartmental delegation held talks in Damascus with the head of the Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The nearly three-hour meeting was generally constructive, said Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The parties discussed a number of issues, including further mutually beneficial cooperation. At the meeting, Russia also called for resolving problematic issues in Syria through dialogue with the participation of all political forces in the country and ethno-confessional groups.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/30/2025 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...46th president of the U.S. 
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
[Breitbart] President Donald Trump’s new homeland security chief, 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
......
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
