The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 30th, 2024: Hamas Waffles On Ceasefire & North Korea's War Games

Episode Date: January 30, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     A ceasefire framework has emerged for Israel and Hamas that could see the release of hostages still in captivity in Gaza, however, the proposal’s future remains in doubt as Hamas continues to express reservations. We’ll discuss the latest provocations by North Korea after the DPRK fired multiple cruise missiles toward waters off its west coast, the third salvo of cruise missiles fired by the regime in just the past week. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Tuesday, 30 January. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. A ceasefire framework has emerged for Israel and Hamas that could see the release of hostages still in captivity in Gaza. However, the proposal's future remains in doubt as Hamas continues to express reservations. Also, we'll discuss the latest provocations by North Korea after the DPRK fired multiple cruise missiles toward waters off its west coast, and that's the third salvo of cruise missiles fired by the trigger-happy regime in just the past week. But first, our afternoon spotlight.

As listeners of the PDB will know, we've been closely following the latest ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas that could see the release of some of the hostages who remain captive in Gaza. Qatarie Prime Minister Mohamed bin Abdur Rahman Altani announced Monday that a rough framework had been established for a ceasefire in Gaza between U.S., Qatari, Egyptian, and Israeli officials after discussions were held in Paris this weekend. Those negotiations included the chiefs of the CIA, Israel's Mossad, and Egypt's intelligence service, according to a report by Axios. Now, hopes were briefly dashed on Monday when Hamasso. released a statement rejecting the plan for not including a permanent ceasefire. However, Hamas leader Ishmael Hanyi said Tuesday that he was studying the plan and would travel to Cairo in the coming days to further review its provisions. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had hailed the tentative

agreement on Monday as, quote, a strong one and a compelling one that offers some hope, but conceded it was up to Hamas as to whether they wanted to engage in the process. The deal would include a six-week pause in fighting for the release of roughly 40 Israeli hostages. Israel, in turn, would release a number of Palestinian prisoners. Now, the first phase of hostage releases would include women, men over the age of 60, and those with serious medical conditions. Reportedly, there are plans for a second round of exchanges that would include the release of Israeli soldiers and civilian men under the age of 60, but those terms have not yet been agreed upon as part of the framework. The hope is that any additional releases would extend the ceasefire period in Gaza.

A senior Israeli official said, quote, the goal is to enter Phase A with a statement on phases B and C without closing them down in detail. Whether any deal goes forward hinges on Katari and Egyptian mediator's ability to persuade Hamas to accept the terms at their upcoming meeting this week in Cairo. Despite the Hamas leader saying that he is reviewing the plan, the Palestinian militant group has made it clear that they are seeking a complete end to Israel's military operations in Gaza

and removal of their troops. Hanye said, quote, our response to the proposal will be on the basis that the priority is stopping the aggression against Gaza and withdrawing the occupation forces from the strip. The movement is open to discussing any serious and practical initiatives or ideas provided that they lead to a comprehensive cessation of aggression, securing the shelter and reconstruction process,

lifting the siege, and completing a serious prisoner exchange process, end quote. These demands are unlikely to be met by a resolute Israel. In remarks at a pre-military academy in the West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed a complete victory against Hamas militants in Gaza. Netanyahu said, quote, we will not compromise on anything less than total victory. That means eliminating Hamas,

returning all of our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel. We will not remove the idea from the Gaza Strip, and we will not release thousands of terrorists. None of this will happen, end quote. Semi Abu Zuri, a senior official for Hamas, said Netanyahu's comments, quote, prove he isn't interested in the success of the Paris meeting, and doesn't care about Israeli prisoners' lives, end quote. Now, I won't get into the richness of a Hamas official complaining that someone doesn't care about somebody's life.

The current framework appears to be a slightly watered-down version of the proposal that kicked off discussions between officials in Paris, which called for the release of the remaining 130 hostages currently held in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire lasting up to two months. again U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said on Monday, quote, Hamas will have to make its own decisions. I can just tell you that there is good, strong alignment among the countries involved and that this is a good, strong proposal, end quote.

All right, coming up after the break, we'll discuss the latest provocations by North Korea as the Hermit Kingdom continues to aggressively ratchet up tensions in the region. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. I want to turn now to the Korean Peninsula where North Korea continues its recent string of provocative actions aimed at showing off its latest military hardware. Today, the South Korean military reports that the DPRK fired multiple cruise missiles toward waters off its west coast.

Now, we don't have many details about the launch yet, but South Korea's joint chiefs of staff told reporters that the country's military is working closely with the U.S. to conduct a detailed analysis. What we do know is that this latest launch is the third salvo of cruise missiles fired by North Korea in just the past week. On Sunday, North Korea leader Kim Jong-un personally supervised the test firings of new cruise missiles designed to be launched from submarines and intended to help the country's Navy deliver a nuclear attack. It's not yet clear whether the water launch on Sunday was conducted from an actual submarine or an underwater bird. According to state-run media, Kim expressed great satisfaction over Sunday's test, noting North

Korea's determination to build a, quote, powerful naval force. The state media report added that the North Korean leader separately inspected, quote, the building of a nuclear submarine, and discussed issues related to the construction of other new warships. Now, a few days prior, South Korea's military said it detected North Korea firing multiple cruise missiles over waters near the eastern port of Sinpo, where the north has a major shipyard developing submarines. Now, unlike ballistic missiles, which fly at high altitudes, the testing of these cruise missiles is not banned under United Nations sanctions. However, they're still of major significance, as they can carry nuclear warheads and are harder to detect by radar because of the lower

altitudes at which they fly. As we've been covering here on the PDB, this all comes as the north continues to heighten tensions with neighboring South Korea, which it now openly refers to as its principal enemy. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, 30 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.