As we move into December, I’m going to try to recap the major trends/activity of some of the critical categories and give a rough estimate of the trends going into 2024 and what I’m expecting to see.
Economy –
New home prices have plummeted by a staggering 18%, marking the most significant annual decline on record, surpassing even the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. Mortgage demand hitting its lowest since 1994, and housing defaults soaring to levels not seen since 2013. The average selling price is down almost $90,000 from last year.
OBSERVATION - Time and again, the housing market measures the pulse of the American economy as it touches so many areas. It is the housing market that economists look to to help pull the country out of recessions. This report only shows things getting worse - fast.
CW2 / Domestic violence - Heightened THREAT
Media outlet Business Insider was criticized over the weekend after publishing an article that offered speculation regarding what would happen “if Donald Trump dies while running in the 2024 election.”
After Insider published the speculative article regarding President Trump’s death during the primary, some conservative commentators offered criticism. Some also claimed it’s part of an attempt to normalize President Trump’s death, suggesting a nefarious plot could be carried out.
“First, Levi Strauss heir Rep. Dan Goldman says Trump must be ‘eliminated,’ and now Business Insider is openly asking: What would happen if Donald Trump ‘dies while seeking reelection’ in 2024?” wrote commentator Charlie Kirk on X.
OBSERVATION - The repetitive statements ‘speculating’ on the death of Trump may well be ‘normalizing’ (preparing the mental attitude of the sheeple) the concept, laying the groundwork and base line that the left will employ to keep the right’s anger in check and hold the morale high ground. This continued ‘talk’ is very concerning - like telegraphing a punch. Even with all the lawsuits, Trump is poised in leftist leaning polls to trounce biden. Since biden can’t be improved, Trump is looking to win his court cases, the only other option to the left is to eliminate him.
To state it simply, the country is likely to blow up.
***
“I think we made the point. We came here, we disrupted the event, we canceled Christmas, so give it up for yourselves,” yelled a protester as a pro-Muslim mob stormed a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The mob completely ruined the celebration and terrified children. At one point the grown Muslim sympathizers chanted, “America is a terrorist state.”
RELATED - Pro-Hamas rallying to disrupt the tree lighting at Rockefeller plaza wed 29th.
OBSERVATION - The radical islamists under the pro-Hamas banner seem to be gaining traction in that they are also getting other anti-israeli leftists and Antifa related elements to come and cause trouble. It is apparent that they see themselves as reaching a demographic level - combined with favorable press - that they can start making cultural demands on Americans. NOTE - this trend has hit hard globally as a result of the Gaza war. Currently, intimidation by shear numbers is working for them, but violence underlies islamic efforts globally and the risk of violence grows.
***
Update - Jason J. Eaton has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder over the shooting of three Palestinian nationalists in Burlington, Vt. Leftists & Muslim activists have stated without evidence that it was an Islamophobic hate crime by a white supremacist. Authorities have not commented on a potential motive. Eaton’s social media shows a liberal & left political worldview. (Andy Ngo)
Wuhan and other “new” Plandemics – HEIGHTENED ALERT STATUS
See China below on pneumonia issue
Cyber attacks/warfare – HEIGHTENED ALERT
The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa said on Saturday that one of their booster stations had been hacked by an Iranian-backed cyber group.
OBSERVATION - Infrastructure like water systems has been a commonly warned about target for cyber warfare.
Illegal Immigration –
In the last fiscal year there were over 600,000 known gotaways. This is a level near that of total illegals intercepted in the Before Years. They probably represent the potentially most dangerous of the illegals, since their effort not to be caught and potentially identified by border patrol suggests that they are motivated for criminal means.
China –
China’s Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, a leading wealth manager, told investors it is heavily insolvent with up to $64 billion in liabilities, threatening to reignite concerns that the country’s property debt crisis is spilling over into the broader financial sector.
Beijing police have begun a probe into the wealth management unit of Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, the authorities said over the weekend. The announcement comes just days after the company told investors that it is “severely insolvent.”
The government is only investigating now because it helps insulate the Xi dictatorship from public anger. Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor project tallied 1,777 demonstrations linked to the property sector between June 2022 and October 2023.
Two-thirds of these events involved homebuyers and homeowners raising issues like project delays, contract violations, alleged fraud and shoddy workmanship.
OBSERVATION - These banks are linked to the failure of Chinese real estate titans Evergrande Group and Country Garden.
***
Mystery pneumonia continues to sweep over China causing people to overwhelm hospitals. Some of this may be a fear reaction following China’s brutal zero wuhan lockdowns.
North/South Korea –
United Nations Command has confirmed that North Korean soldiers stationed at the Joint Security Area are now carrying pistols. Countermeasures are currently being considered.
North Korea and South Korea agreed to disarm the JSA as part of reconciliation efforts in 2018.
OBSERVATION - Another catastrophic foreign policy disasters of the biden regime. Trump’s more personal negotiations with Kim worked to reduce tensions on the peninsula. biden’s blundering have only made things worse.
Russia -
WAR WATCH - into the second year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - Feb 24th, 2022
CURRENT ASSESSMENT - Updated Nov 12, 2023
Russia is struggling to gain the initiative on several fronts in easter Ukraine. Attacks to take Adviivka, located near occupied Donetsk has been their priority as well as further north. However, it is on a defensive footing across most of Ukraine.
The Russian army has lost a considerable amount of armor/tanks and personnel in the fight to take Adviivka, causing that offensive to stall considerably and resort to “meat” attacks.
With the arrival of the muddy season, significant offensive actions by Russia are unlikely.
Ukrainian action has forced Russia to move forces laterally to meet the Ukraine advance - thinning critical portions of the line and making them vulnerable to assault.
Russia’s strategic ballistic and cruise missiles continue to show evidence of massively reduced inventories. With the onset of winter, it is believed that Russian is shepherding its stockpile of missiles/drones for an effort to take down the Ukraine power grid as it did last year. This task has become increasingly difficult as Ukraine adds air defense systems and gets better coverage.
The Russian Black Sea fleet is is essentially impotent and hesitant to deploy into now contested waters. Ukraine’s recent attacks on ships in Crimean harbors has forced the majority of the fleet to redeploying out of Crimea and to Russian bases, about 600 Km further away from the front lines.
Russian leadership reportedly planning for a long duration conflict, hoping to wear the Ukraine army down and cause European allies to tire of their support - forcing some sort of cease fire and negotiated peace.
*****
Winter Storm Bettina is wreaked havoc on the Crimean and Black Sea regions of Russia - see Ukraine below for details. Significant potential logistical problems for Russia in the war against Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov threatens naval blockade of the entire EU if it passes any more sanctions against Russia.
Russian Personnel Issues –-
UK Intel notes the past 6 weeks have resulted in the highest casualty rates for Russia since the start of the war.
Ukraine –
WEATHER FORECAST – Temps in the 30 -40 degree range with rain and/or snow across the forecast period.
Winter Storm Bettina aftereffects and recovery underway in southern Ukraine, Crimea and Russia.
24 HOUR ROUND UP –
The after effects of Winter Storm Bettina indicate that it strengthened when it reached the Black Sea and that the brunt of the storm hammered Crimea and coastal areas of Russia, particularly the Sochi area.
Avdiivka -
Russian forces in Ukraine have likely suffered “some of the highest” casualty rates in the past six weeks, mainly caused by Russia’s offensive against Avdiivka, the ministry reported on Nov. 27.
Russian Territory –
Last night, Ukraine attacked the Smolensk Aviation Plant with drones, the media reported, citing sources in the special service. Major fires reported.
Outlook —-
Weather and mud conditions are dictating operations. Much of eastern Ukraine was not hit as hard by the winter storm as they were in the south. In spite of heavy losses in the Adviivka front, in the range 800-1100 per day, Russian doggedly continues to press the attack, with very little to show for it.
Also expect continued drone attacks by each side.
Europe / NATO General –
A large protest against mass migration has broken out in Lyon, France
The protest is a tribute to Thomas and 17 others who were stabbed a week ago in Crépol by a gang of migrants.
Protests continue against mass migration in Spain (in conjunction with protests against the socialist govt pushing migrations), Italy, Ireland, parts of England, Germany etc. As noted under CW2, the islamic component has reached a level that they believe they can now intimidate the population into submission under islam. With this rampant crime that goes unstopped - as if the local police don’t want to make the effort for fear of more protests.
OBSERVATION - This is making the European continent into a powder keg as nationalist movements are on the grow demanding deportation of these intruders.
ISRAEL –
Key overnight developments -
- 11 Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity overnight
- Israel and Hamas agree to extend the truce in Gaza two days
- Hamas has committed to release 20 women and children over the next two days, the bare minimum to sustain the operational pause.
GENERAL ——————————-
Director of Gaza’s Shifa hospital under arrest in Israel on charges of aiding enemy during wartime, providing service to terror organization.
NOTE - There are others that should be in jail as well, representatives of NGOs, Red Cross (Crescent), WHO, etc that knew about the use of the Hospital for terror purposes but remained either silent or parroted the claim of no activity .
***
Qatari Foreign Ministry: We cannot verify the number of hostages remaining with Hamas after the twenty who will be released on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hamas official Hisham Qasem spouted a new propaganda talking point for the terrorist group this week, claiming that Hamas terrorists had kidnapped Thai nationals “for their own protection” during their October 7 attack on Israel. Hamas released a total of 19 foreign nationals in a side deal with Thailand overnight.
Following an hours-long delay, Hamas released 11 Israelis held in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the fourth day of a truce between Jerusalem and the Palestinian terrorist organization. CNN cited an Israeli official as saying there were “a number” of problems with Monday’s lists—one being that they did not contain any mothers. Under the terms of the deal, Hamas agreed that mothers would not be separated from their children, according to Jerusalem.
Two other sources familiar with the matter said at least one mother was included, just not the full group of mothers anticipated.
It appears that Hamas has “found” at least some of the Israeli mothers being held hostage in Gaza and will release them along with their children today. Senior Israeli officials tell me the negotiations were successful and 11 hostages including 2 mothers will be released today
10 month old baby hostage Kfir Bibas, his 4 year old brother Ariel, and their mother were transferred by Hamas to PLFP terrorists in Khan Younis (southern Gaza).
Hamas and PLFP terrorists are REFUSING to release them.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has been designated by the Department of State as a terror organization since October 1997.
OBSERVATION - Hamas is playing a psyop game with Israel. But there is real danger growing with hostages being held by ‘civilian’ as well as these other jihad groups that may not believe that they should follow Hamas’ command.
GAZA FRONT ———————————-
Operation pause holds, though there were reports of a brief gun battle overnight.
LEBANON / HEZBOLLAH——————————-
Relatively quiet
SYRIA / HEZBOLLAH / IRAN———————————-
Relatively quiet
WEST BANK——————————-
IDF / Police continue operations to arrest Hamas related terrorists.
“ISLAMIC RESISTANCE” ———————————
Houthi’s seem to have hit a pause in its piracy actions as international naval forces are repositioning to prevent future attacks.
FORECAST ————————-
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) - The hostages for criminals exchange may well be reaching a end. Hamas is now starting to claim that they cannot ‘find’ them or they are being held by other factions who are refusing to release them. It has been apparent that inspire the smily face Hamas has been trying to put forward, they treated the hostages very poorly, and that is creating anger in the Israeli population and not sympathy. I think that this two day extension will be the last for a while. Israel is ready to get back to killing Hamas wherever they can find them.
The response of US naval elements to the hijack attempt by Houthis seems to have put a pause to their piracy for now.
Biden wants illegals here because they will vote democrat for the first three generations... which might wipe out the Republican Party...forever.
I very much appreciate all your hard work. Thank you.
Globalism / Great Reset –
The newly sworn-in New Zealand government intends not to be pushed around by UN resolutions or by the World Health Organization anymore. According to a coalition agreement with New Zealand First, the new government will undertake a “National Interest Test” before accepting any agreements from the United Nations or the World Health Organization’s proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations.
OBSERVATION - Growing pushback on these new WHO regulations designed to subjugate countries to the globalist narrative.
***
A lead United Nations agency overseeing food and agriculture policy is expected to issue a road map in the coming weeks which will call on the West, including America, to dramatically reduce its meat consumption.
The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) will publish its so-called global food systems’ road map during the upcoming COP28 climate summit in Dubai which will kick off on Thursday and extend nearly two weeks until mid-December. FAO’s first-of-its-kind document will recommend nations that “over-consume meat” to limit their consumption as part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Bloomberg reported.
“The failure of leading meat and dairy companies to reduce emissions underlines the urgent need for more policy focus on the food and agriculture sector,” Jeremy Coller, the chair and founder of the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network that works with financial institutions to promote climate-friendly agriculture worldwide, said in a recent statement.
“Food system emissions deserve a place at the top of the table, alongside energy and transport, as they represent an estimated third of greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of methane,” he continued. “Investors hope the first-ever publication of a food and agriculture road map at COP28 this month will catalyze the transition to 1.5 degrees and a more sustainable food system.”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/united-nations-set-call-americans-reduce-meat-consumption
OBSERVATION - Food - a major tool used by tyranny to control the general population. It is not limited beef, they are also targeting vegetable foods - you know, the ones they want you to switch to - because of the carbon foot print they produce as well!
Starvation as a way to control behavior - not a unlikely tool but one used time and again throughout history.
Here in the US of A, it is highly unlikely that such meat consumption proposal will pass congress. So fully expect the regime to start issuing regulatory ‘law’ to force meat producers essentially out of business - forcing the issue.
BY THE WAY - The United Nations agency that is pushing wealthy nations to curb their meat consumption in the name of climate change is led by a top Chinese Communist Party official who is known for using the agency to serve Beijing.
***
Bill Gates is aggressively pushing his plan to experiment with “cashless societies” and “digital IDs” in the African nation of Nigeria.
Gates and his foundation are attempting to eliminate physical money and replace it with “digital cash” that’s linked to a global identification system.
OBSERVATION - Beta testing in a third world country. Designed to work out the bugs for eventual global deployment.
CW2 / Domestic violence - Heightened THREAT
One thing standing out larger and larger is that in many parts of the US, we have become completely lawless. Crime over the course of the year has skyrocketed, police departments have shrunk and DA’s don’t bother to even force those arrested to post bond, let alone actually go to trial.
***
Attorneys for the Justice Department have revealed documents connected to their search warrant for Donald Trump’s Twitter account, indicating that prosecutors collected a massive collection of data about the former President’s social media activity—including information on every account that liked, followed, or retweeted him.
The extensively redacted search warrant was revealed as a result of a judge’s ruling on November 17, which came after a consortium of media organizations filed an application in August for the warrant and other data to be made public.
OBSERVATION - More and more it becomes apparent that the govt is developing a list of enemies, categorizing and filtering them. Govts have this tendency to eventually use these lists to suppress opposition to the ruling regime. Remember - these same agencies have declared half the country to be domestic terrorists. Throw in a kangaroo court system and bingo - load the trains to the concentration camps.
***
Anti-Israel students were reported running around on campus at University of California Los Angeles UCLA yesterday, brandishing knives while cutting down posters of Israeli civilians kidnapped by Hamas.
OBSERVATION - Using the threat of lethal violence as a way to deter opposition. This is how things escalate to people being seriously injured or killed. Haven’t seen if the campus officials are going to take action against these students or not. If the current trend follows - they are very unlikely to do anything. This will then drive pro-Israel individuals to arm themselves for self defense purposes.
Wuhan and other “new” Plandemics – HEIGHTENED ALERT STATUS
The Chinese National Health Commission claims the new surge is caused by a variety of illnesses, such as influenza, rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus, according to the South China Morning Post. Officials are now calling for a reinstatement of pandemic-era lockdown protocols to help curb the outbreak, even though these measures didn’t really do anything the first time around.
WHO has called upon China to release more information about the outbreak. As yet, it’s unclear whether the communist-run nation has provided this information, as they did not provide much of the requested information during the COVID-19 pandemic either.
RELATED - Washington DC is now seeing an uptick in hospital cases due to the mysterious illness.
MORE- The Netherlands is experiencing a bizarre uptick in pneumonia cases among children, marking the second country to report an outbreak of this type this week.
The Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), a research institute in Utrecht, around 25 miles south of Amsterdam, reports that 80 of every 100,000 children between ages 5 and 14 came down with pneumonia last week.
AND MORE - Public health workers wearing full protective gear have appeared on the streets of northern China, according to footage on social media, evoking memories of the country’s stringent anti-virus measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hazmat-clad personnel were seen spraying disinfectant in public spaces in Sanhe, in China’s northern Hebei Province roughly 50 miles east of capital Beijing, according to the poster of the images and video footage. It remains unclear whether this was a local government initiative or central government directive.
OBSERVATION - China claims no new pathogens have been encountered, but common ones taking advantage of weakened immune systems from the wuhan lockdowns. One is hard pressed to believe China, and they have’t been forthcoming with the WHO either. This is raising concerns that there is more to this than meets the eye. Already it has been documented in recent peer review studies that the jab with the mRNA actually degrades the human immune system on a wide number of fronts - sudden death from heart failures, reproductive issues, “turbo’ cancers, etc.
Now at a closer look, the CDC has been really pushing the jab onto the children - the demographic currently bearing the brunt of this new outbreak - coincidence? I THINK NOT.
***
Pfizer has clearly become the lead for deadly ‘vaccines’.
A recent article published in The British Medical Journal (“The BMJ”) details the debate that has broken out over whether Pfizer should have told pregnant women participating in its trial of maternal respiratory syncytial virus (“RSV”) vaccination that a trial of GSK’s similar vaccine was halted over a safety signal around pre-term birth.
Pfizer’s maternal RSV vaccine is called Abrysvo.
Not only had GSK’s RSV vaccine trials shown a risk of babies being born prematurely but Pfizer was actively studying the risk as an “adverse event of special interest” in its trials.
The BMJ article described its investigation into the safety signal of increased pre-term and neonatal deaths and whether pregnant women who participated in Pfizer’s trial were adequately informed of the risk to their babies.
OBSERVATION - Key is did Pfizer mislead participants and regulatory agencies over these many adverse affects. Given the company history, the answer is a very strong yes.
POLITICAL FRONT –
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Jarkesy which could force federal agencies to bring civil suits in federal court instead of using in-house judges.
OBSERVATION - The folks at Forward Observer nail the implications on this one
“The Supreme Court’s affirmation of the 5th Circuit’s decision that the SEC cannot use in-house judges for civil suits could have widespread effects on federal power. Federal regulators like the SEC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be required to bring civil suits in federal courts, instead of using their own in-house judges, which would require agencies to show they have standing to bring the suit in the first place. This case could also revive the “nondelegation doctrine” that Congress cannot delegate law-making authorities to federal agencies, putting another nail in the Chevron Deference coffin and becoming a thorn in the side of the Biden administration’s green energy agenda.”
I’ve noted that the regime has extensively used regulatory ‘law’ to achieve what it cannot pass through congress. Hopefully the USSC rules in favor of the people and not the bureaucrats.
Biden / Harris Watch –
The White House Christmas tree toppling over. Many are describing this as the perfect depiction of Joe Biden and the state of America. US Parks Service says tree may not be salvageable. All this before the official lighting ceremony.
OBSERVATION - I’m not one who is into reading ‘omens’, but this would fit perfectly as one.
Illegal Immigration –
Two separate incidents unfolded in DuPage County, Illinois, during the Black Friday retail rush. On Friday, police were called to a Kohl’s store in the city of Elmhurst after a trio of suspects executed multiple thefts in a short span of time.
“It is alleged that three individuals, later identified as Ledesma Zapata, Saavedra-Omona and Pineda Avendano, entered Kohl’s, selected multiple items of clothing and then left the store without paying for the merchandise,” the County of DuPage explained in a press release.
“It is further alleged that the trio then reentered the store, again selected multiple items of clothing and left the store without paying, at which time they were detained by officers with the Elmhurst Police Department.”
OBSERVATION - Individuals are in the country illegally. Illegals are also being noted in developing/participating in much larger looting organizations. Cartel crime syndicates are growing in the US as well.
Russia -
WAR WATCH - into the second year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - Feb 24th, 2022
CURRENT ASSESSMENT - Updated Nov 12, 2023
Russia is struggling to gain the initiative on several fronts in easter Ukraine. Attacks to take Adviivka, located near occupied Donetsk has been their priority as well as further north. However, it is on a defensive footing across most of Ukraine.
The Russian army has lost a considerable amount of armor/tanks and personnel in the fight to take Adviivka, causing that offensive to stall considerably and resort to “meat” attacks.
With the arrival of the muddy season, significant offensive actions by Russia are unlikely.
Ukrainian action has forced Russia to move forces laterally to meet the Ukraine advance - thinning critical portions of the line and making them vulnerable to assault.
Russia’s strategic ballistic and cruise missiles continue to show evidence of massively reduced inventories. With the onset of winter, it is believed that Russian is shepherding its stockpile of missiles/drones for an effort to take down the Ukraine power grid as it did last year. This task has become increasingly difficult as Ukraine adds air defense systems and gets better coverage.
The Russian Black Sea fleet is is essentially impotent and hesitant to deploy into now contested waters. Ukraine’s recent attacks on ships in Crimean harbors has forced the majority of the fleet to redeploying out of Crimea and to Russian bases, about 600 Km further away from the front lines.
Russian leadership reportedly planning for a long duration conflict, hoping to wear the Ukraine army down and cause European allies to tire of their support - forcing some sort of cease fire and negotiated peace.
*****
NUCLEAR THREATS –
Russia, current chair of the “Big Five” nuclear-armed states, will not convene any meetings this year but has presented the group with a schedule for 2024, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday, according to Russian news agencies.
Russia took over coordination of the group from the U.S. in August. The “Big Five” are the veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, and also include China, France, and Britain.
“We have outlined our proposals on the agenda and the rough schedule, and can apparently expect to receive feedback from other members of the Five,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying.
Kerch Bridge update –
Satellite imagery shows Naval drone defensive guardrails around the Crimean Bridge built by Russia were destroyed by the storm.
Logistics –
Russia has amassed a large missile stockpile ahead of winter, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
Russia has been making new attempts to strike Ukraine’s power grid and energy infrastructure, “trying to leave Ukraine in the dark and cold,” he said.
NOTE - This assessment is supported by the absence of these missiles from recent strikes against Ukraine.
Russian Personnel Issues –-
Preliminary information came out that Russian Major General Vladimir Vasilyevich Zavadsky, (former) Commander of the Taman Division and deputy of the 14th Army Corps has been killed, reportedly blown up by a mine.
Ukraine –
WEATHER FORECAST – Temps in the 30 -40 degree range with rain and/or snow across the forecast period.
Winter Storm Bettina aftereffects and recovery underway in southern Ukraine, Crimea and Russia.
24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Moderately busy, Ukrainian air defense shot down 21 of 21 Shahed drones and 2 of 3 Kh-59 missiles overnight. Otherwise, generally minor actions along all fronts.
Crimean front —
Recent storms over the Black Sea heavily damaged Russian defenses at the entrance to Sevastopol harbor in Crimea.
Outlook —-
Weather and mud conditions are dictating operations.
Damage to Russian fortifications and infrastructure in Crimea and eastern Black Sea coast is extensive. I expect the Ukraine may take advantage of the situation to strike before Russia has the chance to restore/repair them.
Europe / NATO General –
Anger over the tsunami of migrants continues to keep much of Europe on edge, with more protests ongoing as well as in the works. Absent aggressive govt actions to get serious about blocking the entry of more and aggressive deportation of those there - the tide is that the people will start taking things into their own hands.
ISRAEL –
Key overnight developments -
- IDF says the 12 released hostages from Tuesday’s exchange are in Israeli territory.
- Israel confirmed that it received the list of 10 hostages that are expected to be freed on Wednesday
- Hamas is asking for a four-day extension of the ceasefire agreement
- Israel & Hamas both reported at least one violation of the temporary truce agreement in the Gaza Strip on November 28, but neither side escalated the situation to more general fighting across the strip.
GENERAL ——————————-
RUMINT - Hamas is reportedly offering all the hostages in exchange for a full ceasefire. In other words, if Israel agrees to lose the war, and accept Hamas’s survival, it will give us the hostages.
Hamas is asking for a four-day extension of the ceasefire agreement it reached with Israel on Nov. 24, AFP reported on Wednesday.
“Hamas has informed the mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days and that the movement would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the existing truce,” a source told the news agency.
A total of 60 Israeli women and children, plus one Israeli man, had been freed as of Wednesday, along with 17 Thais and one Filipino.
Hamas kidnapped some 240 people during its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel
GAZA FRONT ———————————-
Operation pause holds, though there were reports of a brief gun battle overnight.
LEBANON / HEZBOLLAH——————————-
Relatively quiet
SYRIA / HEZBOLLAH / IRAN———————————-
Relatively quiet
WEST BANK——————————-
Israeli forces have reportedly completely surrounded the Jenin camp and have entered it, with resulting clashes with Palestinian militants
“ISLAMIC RESISTANCE” ———————————
More maritime alerts of suspicious vessels south of Yemen, very possibly Houthi terrorists testing the waters for another attempt as seizing a ship.
FORECAST ————————-
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) - The hostages for criminals exchange may well be reaching a end. The minor violations yesterday by both sides as well as growing reluctance by Hamas to release hostages past women and children - to captured men and especially any captured military individuals - is growing increasingly unlikely.
Turkey –
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Israel must be held accountable in international courts for what he called war crimes it committed in Gaza, the Turkish president said.
OBSERVATION - Any future rewarming of the relations between Israel and Turkey will only occur when radical islamist leaning Erdogan leaves office and Turkey returns to being a more moderate arab state.