Hamas and Israel reach a ceasefire agreement
Israeli and Hamas negotiators yesterday agreed to a 42-day ceasefire and hostage release in the Gaza Strip, President Biden and other officials announced. Qatar’s prime minister said the agreement would come into force on Sunday. Israeli and Qatari officials said both sides were still working out final details and the Israeli cabinet and government still needed to ratify. Here is the latest one.
The deal raised hopes that more than a year of war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians could soon come to an end. About 100 hostages are believed to still be in Gaza, but Israeli authorities believe about 35 of them have died.
Hamas confirmed the ceasefire agreement in a statement to Telegram, praising the “legendary resilience” of Gazans in the face of war.
Biden said he was “confident” the deal would hold and that the first phase would free American hostages. Officials said the ceasefire agreement is broadly similar to the three-stage framework announced by the United States in May.
detail: The first stage lasts 6 weeks. Qatar’s prime minister said Israeli forces would withdraw to the east, away from populated areas, and that about 33 hostages would be freed in 42 days. In addition to the release, Biden said Palestinians would be able to return to their homes and have access to a surge of humanitarian supplies.
U.S. Senate confirmation hearings forced
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, appeared in the Senate yesterday. It is widely expected to be easily approved next month.
Two hours after the hearing began, it was announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on a temporary ceasefire. In the past, he has defended Israel’s actions in wars. He argued at the hearing that Ukraine needs to make peace with Russia, saying both sides “need to make concessions.” He said he still supported NATO but shared Trump’s view that Europe should spend more on collective defense.
Rubio also mentioned China, which is on track to overtake the United States as the world’s preeminent power.
Other hearings: Pam Bondi, President Trump’s nominee for head of the Department of Justice, has not vowed to defy pressure from the White House to serve in that role and has not acknowledged that Trump lost the 2020 election. Bondi served on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020.
White House: President Biden will deliver his final address to the nation as president, ending his 50-year career as a politician.
South Korean president arrested
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol yesterday became the first sitting president in South Korean history to be detained in a criminal investigation. The detention ended a week of political turmoil that saw Yun impeached for briefly imposing martial law last month. Yun’s bodyguards tried to detain him last week, but when he refused, law enforcement authorities showed up with 1,000 police officers and took him into custody.
What’s next: Investigators have 48 hours to interrogate Yoon, after which they can decide whether to formally arrest him. If he is arrested, they must indict him within 20 days. Separately, the Constitutional Court has begun deliberations on whether he should be removed from office.
analysis: My colleague Choi Sang-hoon, Seoul bureau chief for The Times, explains what led to yesterday’s arrest and what it means for the future.
Other top news
In Ukraine, it has become difficult to imagine a future without conflict. An acting teacher in Kiev wrote a play for his students during a summer acting course. She wanted to give them some rest.
And somehow, during rehearsals and subsequent performances, Hope entered stage left, at least for a while. Click here for details.
Life lived: J. Fraser Stoddart built a molecular machine 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and shared the Nobel Prize. He died at the age of 82.
Start a conversation
virtual love: A 28-year-old woman spends hours talking to her AI boyfriend for advice and comfort. And yes, they have sex.
Please don’t fly me to the moon. The World Monuments Fund has added the moon to its list of dangerous places, warning that space tourism is at risk if left unregulated.
Not dry, but humid January: There is “Sober” The practice, also known as “sober curiosity,” is gaining popularity in the United States and other countries as people learn more about the health risks of alcohol.
Where Celtic women were influential
Ancient cemeteries in southwest England provide a fascinating picture of a female-dominated society. About 2,000 years ago, women of the Celtic Durotriges tribe remained in their ancestral homes, while men migrated to marry, a new study has found.
This is the first time that this type of society, called matrilocality, has been identified in European prehistory. The discovery further strengthens hints of flexible gender power relations in the British Iron Age.
