The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 15th, 2024: The UN's Hamas Problem & Slovakia's PM Fights For His Life After Assassination Attempt

Episode Date: May 15, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    Israel revealed Tuesday that during ongoing operations in Gaza, IDF forces discovered and neutralized Hamas terrorists operating out of U.N.-run facilities used for aid distribution, raising urgent questions about their ties with the militant group. In a shocking scene out of Slovakia, the nation’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an assignation attempt on Wednesday, leaving the leader fighting for his life with critical injuries. 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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Get up to 40% off at shopbeam.com slash PDB and use the code PDB. It's Wednesday, 15 May. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. years on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, Israel revealed Tuesday that during ongoing operations in Gaza, IDF forces discovered and neutralized Hamas terrorists operating out of UN-run facilities used for aid distribution, raising, of course, additional questions about their ties with the militant group. Also, in Slovakia, the nation's prime minister Robert Fico was

shot multiple times in an assassination attempt on Wednesday leaving the leader fighting for his life with critical injuries. But first, our afternoon spotlight. The UN's Relief and Works Agency, also known as UNRWA, is once again under scrutiny after Israel revealed on Tuesday that during ongoing operations in Eastern Rafa, they found Hamas terrorists operating out of a key aid facility. Footage released by the IDF, which was reportedly captured on Saturday,

shows several Hamas terrorists near UN vehicles engaging in a firefight just outside the UNRAS logistics warehouse compound in the area, which served as a central hub for the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip, that's according to a report from the Jerusalem Post. Officials have passed their findings to leaders in the international community and have called on the UN to conduct a thorough investigation regarding the UNR's ongoing ties to Hamas. snickering there because the likelihood of that happening is roughly on par with me being selected

in the upcoming NBA draft. A spokesman for the IDF said, quote, the UN needs to answer some serious questions. Imagine what would have happened if we were to target them. The hypocrisy is astounding, end quote. Officials for the UN countered on Wednesday, claiming that while it was a UN facility, its staff had been evacuated and the facility abandoned in the days before his Israel began offensive operations in the region. Oh, so nothing to see here. Everyone just move on. Given the UN's track record in Gaza, however, many in Israel see it as simply more proof that the UN's operations in the region are fundamentally compromised. Foreign Minister Israel Katz expressed his outrage in a post on X, saying, quote, Hamas terrorists firing at civilians from within an

UNRef facility next to UN vehicles in Rafah. No lie from Antonio Gutierrez and Philippin Lazaremi will hide the truth. Unra is an arm of the terrorist organization Hamas, end quote. The revelation came the same day that IDF forces announced they had eliminated more than 10 Hamas terrorists in an air strike in the Central Gaza Strip who were operating out of an UNR school. Hamas reportedly had a war room set up inside what is ostensibly a UN-operated school, which has been used to plan multiple attacks against IDF troops in central Gaza in recent weeks. Officials said the militants were members of Hamas's Nukba military wing who are alleged to have participated in the 7 October attacks. As you'll likely recall, the UN's role in

Gaza has been the subject of intense scrutiny ever since those brutal 7 October attacks by Hamas that started this current conflict. In January, Israel released intelligence, alleging that members of the UNRRA actively participated in the attacks, as well as facilitating logistical support, and assisting in the kidnapping of Israelis. Intelligence shared with the U.S. suggested that approximately 1,200 of the UNRAS 12,000 employees in Gaza have ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic jihad. Around 50% of the organization's employees have close relatives within these Islamist militant groups.

The revelations this week also come amid international outrage over the tragic death of a UN security worker on Monday, who was allegedly killed by Israeli forces in an active combat zone in Eastern Rafa. A UN vehicle he was riding in was riddled with bullets and another worker was also injured. Israel is investigating the incident, but said they were not given any information about aid vehicles being in the area and that the incident occurred during active operations against Hamas fighters. Coming up after the break, we'll bring you the latest on the assassination attempt on Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot multiple times on Wednesday and is now in critical condition. I'll be right back.

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Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. The Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, was the target of an attempted assassination attempt today. A video of the incident shows an assailant in a light-colored shirt, firing five shots at near point-blank range, while the Prime Minister was greeting the public. The shooting took place at a government meeting in Handlova, about 110 miles northeast of Slovak.

FICO's capital. Fico was hit multiple times, including a wound to the abdomen. Video taken just moments after the shooting showed the 59-year-old being carried by his security detail and bundled into a waiting car. He was reportedly rushed to a local hospital and was then airlifted by helicopter to a major trauma center roughly 20 miles away. According to a statement from the government, the prime minister is said to be in life-threatening condition. The assailant, who hasn't been officially identified yet, was detained at the scene and has been taken into custody. The deputy speaker of Slovakia's parliament has blamed the liberal media and progressives for today's shooting, saying at a press conference, quote,

Robert Fico is fighting for his life because of your hatred, end quote. Now Fico has been a polarizing figure in Slovak politics. This is his second stint as the country's prime minister. He was forced to resign in 2018 amid a scandal surrounding the death of a journalist and allegations of corruption. Interestingly, the journalist who died was investigating the allegations of corruption. Fico and his left-wing Smare-S-D political party returned to power last year. Now, Fico has been known for his nationalist and populist stances and has implemented strict limits on refugee intake. He's also widely perceived as having pro-Russian sympathies advocating for for closer ties with Moscow and distancing itself from the West.

He's been an opponent of EU sanctions against Russia and providing arms to Ukraine. This stance has obviously been controversial since Slovakia is a member state of both the European Union and NATO. World leaders were quick to condemn the assassination attempt. Hungarian Prime Minister and frequent ally of Figo, Victor Orban, posted on X, quote, I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery. God bless him and his country, end quote. The attack was also condemned by EU President Ursula von der Leyen,

who said, quote, such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy our most precious common good, end quote. We'll keep tabs on this situation and bring you more details as they surface. And that, my friends, is the people. PPD afternoon bulletin for Wednesday, 15 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And if you want to listen to the show ad-free, be sure to check out our premium membership at pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow.

Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.