The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 5th, 2024: Syrian Rebels Deal Another Blow To Assad & Israel Renews Ceasefire Push In Gaza

Episode Date: December 6, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, rebel insurgents in Syria are on the move, capturing another key city from the Syrian army in their quest to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad. We’ll discuss the latest developments, and spotlight the shadowy former al-Qaida operative leading the bloody revolt. Then, an update on the war in Gaza, as Israel submits a new ceasefire proposal to Hamas that could bring about a 60 day truce and see the return of the remaining living hostages still being held in the enclave. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Go to PatriotGoldgroup.com or call 1-88-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Thursday, 5 December. Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, rebel insurgents in Syria are on the move, capturing another key city from the Syrian army in their quest to overthrow the regime of President Assad.

We'll discuss the latest developments and spotlight the shadowy former al-Qaeda operative that's leading the bloody revolt. Then, an update on the war in Gaza, as Israel submits a new ceasefire proposal to Hamas that could bring about a 60-day truce and see the return of the remaining living hostages still being held in the enclave. But first, our afternoon spotlight.

We'll begin with the latest on the violence engulfing Syria where rebel insurgents have dealt another embarrassing blow to the regime of President Assad and his allies in Russia and Iran. Now, the Syrian rebels managed to capture the central city of Hamas, on Thursday as their bloody advance begins to move south from northern Syria, forcing the Syrian army to flee the city and retreat. The setback for the Assad regime came after three days of intense clashes between the rebels and government forces on the outskirts of the city,

and just a week after the rebels seized the country's most populous city, Aleppo. The Syrian army accused the Islamic insurgents of relying on suicide attacks to break through the city's defenses. Representatives for the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the rebels had seized the city's police headquarters, a large military air base, and the central prison, releasing hundreds of detainees and enlisting them in their cause. The strategic importance of Hamas, Syria's fourth-largest city,

makes it a critical victory for the rebels in their campaign to overthrow Assad. During the most intense days of the Civil War, which began back in 2011, it was one of the few cities that remained under full government control. Representatives for the Syrian Observatories said, quote, if Hamas falls, it means that the beginning of the regime's fall has started. With large parts of northern Syria now firmly under their control, the rebels are setting their sights on Syria's third largest city, Holmes, lying to the south where it serves as the gate to the capital Damascus.

That's, of course, Assad's seat of power. As we've been tracking on the PDB, the rebel coalition, led by the Islamist militant group, Hayat Tharir Asham, known as HTS, launched a surprise offensive last week against the Assad regime, reigniting the country's brutal civil war, which had largely been stalled since 2020. They are led by Abu Muhammad Al-Golani, a shadowy figure who has largely kept away from the public eye. He's a Syrian native, and he began as a fighter for the Islamic State of Iraq. Iraq before being dispatched back to Syria after the Civil War kicked off in 2011 to establish a branch of al-Qaeda called the Nusra Front. But his ambitions soon grew. He turned on his ISIS backers

in Iraq, fighting ISIS in Syria alongside al-Qaeda as fissures between the terrorist groups deepened. He then moved to brutally eliminate competitors and former allies among the many extremist organizations opposing Assad, eventually renouncing his longtime ties to al-Qaeda. As the fighting died down following Assad's recapture of Aleppo in 2016, with the help, of course, of the Russian military, he worked to consolidate his power from the shadows and remake his public image. Oh, I see.

Okay, so he was with ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Now he's just going to try to burnish his image. He rebranded his organization as HTS and framed it as, quote, Salvation Government, rooted in the values of pluralism and tolerance. Okay, well, anybody buying this? it appears a cynical rebranding worked, broadening the group's public support, particularly among the country's religious and ethnic minorities. Following the capture of Hamas on Thursday, Al-Galani released a video message, declaring that his

insurgents are on a mission of, quote, conquering that is not vengeful but one of mercy and compassion. Oh, this guy is a politician, end quote. So far, tens of thousands have been displaced by the renewed fighting since November 27th, and the progress of the rebels shows no signs of slowing. Assad's allies in Russia and Iran have lent assistance in the form of air support and militant militias, but they are largely preoccupied, well, with their own conflicts. The rebels are hoping this will continue to play to their advantage and limit Russia and Iran's

ability to fully commit to the defense of the Assad regime. Coming up, Israel has submitted a new ceasefire proposal to Hamas that could bring about a 60-day truce and see the return of the remaining living hostages still being held in Gaza. I'll be right back. If data management is slowing down your business, you need the Intuit ERP. If one entity is here and one here and one here and one here, you need the Intuit ERP. If scaling your business feels like starting a starting over, you need the Intuit ERP. Intuit Enterprise Suite is the AI native ERP.

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Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Israel has presented the terror group Hamas with an updated proposal aimed at securing the release of some of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza and initiating a temporary ceasefire. The proposal comes after three months of stalled talks with recent developments, including the killing of a Hamas leader, a ceasefire in Lebanon with the Iran-backed terror organization, Hezbollah, and pressure for. from President-elect Donald Trump as he prepares to take office, offering what Israeli officials hope is a fresh opportunity for negotiations. The proposal conveyed to Hamas through Egyptian intermediaries on Monday and Tuesday builds on an earlier deal from August that failed to materialize.

According to our report from Maxios on Wednesday, while the framework remains largely similar, it includes critical adjustments extending the ceasefire from 42 to 60 days and prioritizing the release of hostages in vulnerable categories, such as women, men over 50 years old, and those in critical medical condition. It's important to note that Israel previously requested the release of 33 hostages from those listed categories,

but officials now concede that some may no longer be alive. The Israeli defense forces, the IDF, estimate that of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza, only 40 to 50 are likely alive. In exchange, Israel has reaffirmed its willingness to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of deadly terror attacks. According to Israeli officials, Hamas has reportedly shown greater flexibility toward partial implementation, but the Iran-backed terror group's official response remains unclear. Egyptian intelligence officials are expected to communicate Hamas' position in the coming days.

Now, President-elect Trump's team has actively intervened, to accelerate progress. Trump's selected Middle East advisor told French media that, quote, both sides have agreed on the broad outlines of an agreement. An advisor to Trump told Axios that the president-elect supports a deal provided that it is acceptable to Israel and emphasized the urgency of finalizing it before his inauguration in January, stating, quote, the lives of the hostages are in danger, end quote. Now, in late November, Trump's envoy, Steve Whitkoff, visited Qatar and Israel, meeting with Israel, meeting with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Prime Minister of Qatar to push for a resolution.

Shur Hamas respond positively, Israeli officials plan to travel to Cairo to finalize critical details, such as the number of hostages and prisoners to be exchanged in the ceasefire's precise duration. Israeli sources emphasize that the next few days will reveal whether this updated framework can break the deadlock or, if negotiations will falter yet again. And that, my friend, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 5 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And of course, don't forget, I'm sure you won't, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com.

I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money Because behind every headline is a bottom line Whether it's the funds fueling AI Or crypto's trillion dollar swings There's a money side to every story

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