The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | June 14th, 2024: Hostage Horrors In Gaza & Putin's Ceasefire Demands In Ukraine

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    As we begin to learn more about the horrors facing the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, a senior Hamas official has said the terror group doesn��t even know how many hostages are still alive. Russian leader Vladimir Putin issued what Kyiv called "absurd" demands for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine on Friday, as Switzerland prepares to host scores of world leaders to map out first steps towards peace. 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 PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's tasty hot deliciousness in a cup. I just made that saying up, but it's absolutely true. Family owned, premium coffee, fresh roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours. of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com promo code PDB for 20% off your first time purchase. It's Friday, 14 June. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, as we begin to learn more about the extreme difficulties facing the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, a senior Hamas official has said that no one in the terrorist group as any idea how many are still alive. Also, Russian leader Vladimir Putin issued what

Keev called, quote, absurd demands for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine on Friday, as Switzerland prepares to host scores of world leaders to map out first steps towards peace. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We begin with the Israeli Hamas conflict, where hopes for a ceasefire to free Israeli hostages have all but crumbled. As a senior Hamas official claims the terror group doesn't even know how many hostages are still alive. The troubling admission came during an exclusive interview, CNN conducted with Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon. The militant leader also reiterated the terror group's demands that Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and allow Palestinians to determine the future governance of the

enclave. Now, here I'm a bit confused. On what planet does a terrorist organization get to carry out a brutal rampage, slaughtering over a thousand, weaponizing sexual violence, taking hundreds of hostages, and then gets to dictate terms of a ceasefire? Hamden's statement was the clearest public signal yet that Hamas has little interest in a viable ceasefire compromise with Israel, despite their empty diplomatic rhetoric to the contrary. When asked about the remaining 120 or so Israeli hostages still in Gaza, Hamden told CNN that, quote, no one has any idea how many are still alive. Israel has estimated that as many as a third of the hostages have died in captivity or were otherwise killed during the Savage 7 October attacks by

Hamas. Still, officials believe as many as 70 hostages may still be alive in the enclave, being hidden in tunnel networks and among the civilian population throughout Gaza. During the interview, Hamden blamed Israel. Yeah, that's right. Hamden blamed Israel for instigating the war. Yeah, I'm not making this up. He also blamed Israel for the physical and mental suffering of the Israeli hostages, including the four rescued by Israel in a covert operation last September. Hamden told CNN, quote, I believe if they have mental problems, this is because of what Israel has done in Gaza. They saw that with their own eyes, end quote. He went as far as to claim that the hostages looked better after leaving Gaza than when they were initially captured,

despite the surreal claims from Hounden. We are beginning to hear from some of the hostages freed last week during a daring Israeli rescue mission, and the picture they paint of captivity under Hamas is extremely difficult. Rescued Israeli hostage Noah Agamani reportedly told the mother of a female Israeli soldier still being held hostage by Hamas that her daughter and the other women kidnapped on 7 October are being used as slaves by the militants, facing violent assaults and starvation. The mother said that her daughter has been moved into Hamas' underground tunnel network inside

Gaza. The hostages are reportedly only allowed to wash once a month, have no clean clothes, and are barely given enough food to keep them alive. The mother told the times of Israel, quote, I don't want to imagine what they're going through now. As I mentioned earlier, hopes of an imminent ceasefire in Gaza were dashed on Tuesday, after Hamas proposed several amendments to the ceasefire proposal, many of which U.S. officials said were extreme and unworkable. Senior leaders in Hamas reportedly believe they have the upper hand on Israel in the court of public opinion. Well, they certainly have that upper hand in the court of campus protesters

and appear more than willing to sacrifice more Palestinian civilians to the cause as they attempt to cling to power in the enclave. All right, coming up after the break, in a bid to disrupt a peace summit, organized by Ukraine, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has laid out what leaders in Kiev called patently absurd demands for an immediate ceasefire in Eastern Europe. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice.

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Russian President Putin appears intent on undermining a weekend summit being hosted in Switzerland to discuss possible paths to peace regarding Russia's war on Ukraine. In a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, Putin outlined his own plan for peace, promising that Russia would immediately order a ceasefire in Ukraine and begin negotiations with Kiev if Ukrainian leaders met his, quote, simple conditions. Sorry, I'm trying to do this with a straight face. So now what are these simple demands from Putin? Well, only that leaders in Kiev abeyer, their bid to join NATO, that they hand over the entirety of four Ukrainian provinces to Moscow, and unconditionally withdraw all troops from their front minds. Well, that seems like a reasonable

list. Leaders in Kiev quickly hit back at Putin, calling his proposal both manipulative and absurd, according to a report by the Associated Press. Officials with Ukraine's foreign ministry added that it was a brazen attempt by Putin to, quote, mislead the international community undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just peace and split the unity of the world majority." End quote. In addition to Ukraine abandoning their NATO ambitions and handing over their eastern and southern territories, Putin also demanded Ukraine officially recognized Crimea, which Putin annexed back in 2014 as part of Russia. It's Putin is like a toddler making up a Christmas wish list. Just throw everything on there. I'm surprised he had to do.

and ask for a pony. All of these demands are, of course, a non-starter for Ukraine and the Western Allies. Ukraine is seeking the restoration of their territory, including Crimea, and are committed to plans to one day join the NATO alliance. Leaders in Kiev also want reparations from Russia and for leaders in Moscow to be held accountable for alleged war crimes. So one could argue that the two sides, well, don't really see eye to eye. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy brushed off Putin's outlandish demands, saying on Friday, quote, these are ultimatum messages that are no different from messages from the past. A senior advisor to Zelensky added, quote,

he is offering for Ukraine to admit defeat. He is offering for Ukraine to legally give up its territories to Russia, end quote. Now Putin's remarks came in the wake of the G7 summit in Italy, where President Biden signed a 10-year bilateral security pact with Ukraine, which commits the U.S. to provide a. Ukraine with military assistance for the next decade, including training, equipment, and intelligence cooperation. It also came as world leaders prepared for a meeting in Switzerland this weekend to map out first steps towards achieving peace in Eastern Europe. According to our Reuters report,

Russian officials will not be present at the conference. Well, that's because I don't think they were invited, which Putin called on Friday a, quote, ploy to divert everyone's attention, reverse the cause and effect of the Ukrainian crisis and set the discussion on the wrong track. Putin also used a moment, rather ironically, to position Russia as the responsible party in the conflict that was seeking a reasonable peace, saying that if Ukraine and NATO rebuff his proposal, the blood is now on Western hands. Ooh, it's all your fault, he says. Putin said, quote, today we are making another concrete, real peace proposal. If in Kiev and in the Western capitals, they refuse. it as before, then in the end, it is their business, their political and moral responsibility

for the continuation of bloodshed. Putin's not an idiot. I mean, he's a complete douche, but he's a very smart and cunning douche. He knows Ukraine and the West won't accept his ludicrous terms. He's simply posturing, playing the audience in an attempt to create some level of disunity within the NATO community, if possible. And, of course, he's playing to his own population. population, sticking with the narrative that he's the great defender of the motherland, protecting the Russian population from the evil West, which in his make-believe world has rebuked his earnest offer of peace. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 14 June. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com.

And remember, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, be sure to check out our premium membership at PDB Premium.com. And of course, well, look at that. It's Friday, which means, as you know, a new episode of the PDB Situation Report drops on the first TV tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern. We've got terrific guests this week, but frankly, we have terrific guests every week, also available on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief, and of course all podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back on the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobile.

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