Monday Briefing: Gaza ceasefire begins

The beginning of the calm in Gaza

The Israeli military announced that several Israeli hostages were released from captivity in Gaza yesterday and were reunited with their families, as a 42-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect. Follow our live coverage.

The first hostages to be released were three women: Rumi Gonen, Emilie Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher. Israel was expected to release 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors, in exchange for the release of the hostages. The truce sparked celebrations in Gaza, relief for the families of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners, and hope for an end to the devastating 15-month war.

Israeli officers said that their forces had begun withdrawing from parts of Gaza. Hamas sought to regain control, and masked gunmen took to the streets in several cities.

The start of the six-week initial phase was delayed yesterday by about three hours, with Israel saying it had not officially received the names of the first three hostages to be released. During the delayThe Israeli army continued to strike targets in Gaza.

Hostages and prisoners: Hamas is This is expected to lead to the release of 33 hostages – of the approximately 100 hostages still being held – during the first phase of the ceasefire; An Israeli army spokesman said that the “vast majority” of the 33 were still alive. In return, Israel is expected to begin releasing prisoners More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners Detainees in Israeli prisons.

What’s the next step: Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in part by postponing their biggest disagreement until a vague “second phase” that neither side can be sure will arrive. During the first phase, 600 trucks will be allowed to bring aid to Gaza residents daily. Israel will continue to occupy parts of Gaza and hold high-profile prisoners.

TikTok briefly disappeared from American phones

TikTok began to trend again yesterday, just hours after the social media platform was removed from major app stores and hidden for users in the United States. This shift came after President-elect Donald Trump said yesterday on his Truth Social platform that he would do so Issuing an executive order to stop the federal ban.

consensus The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday upheld the law Which called on the app’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app by Sunday or face a ban over national security concerns related to its Chinese ties.

In his post on Sunday, Trump floated the idea that he “would like the United States to have 50% ownership in a joint venture,” but did not provide further details.

background: Trump’s promise to issue an executive order caps a whirlwind of decisions related to TikTok. He tried to regulate the sale of the app to US companies in 2020, and later tried to ban TikTok before reversing course last March. Then enjoy success on the platform during the elections.

impact: If Trump issues an executive order, it will constitute an attempt to neuter a law that passed with broad bipartisan support in Congress, and his action will constitute He could face a legal challenge. TikTok said in legal filings that even A Temporary disappearance may hinder him.

Trump’s transition was already underway

Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery yesterday for the first time since last summer, one of a series of stops on the eve of his presidential inauguration. He also held a rally in an indoor arena, his first such event in Washington since January 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol riot. Read our coverage here.

Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and early Trump supporter, hosted a party at his Washington home on Saturday, with guests that included Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Mark Zuckerberg and several other tech giants, including CEO Sam Altman. From OpenAI. He explained the strong presence Silicon Valley is trending to the right.

Joe Biden on his last day as president. Pardoning five activists and public officials. He offered a posthumous grant of clemency to civil rights leader Marcus Garvey, who mobilized the black nationalist movement and was convicted of mail fraud in 1923.

In the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, migrants headed north through Mexico on foot as part of small caravans, hoping to somehow reach the US border before January 20 in anticipation of a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The journey can be treacherous – the weather can fluctuate between extremes, and gangs in the area have been known to kidnap and kill travellers. A Times photographer followed some of their travels. Read about it here.

A life he lived: Zelia Sanchez was a Cuban-born painter who was in her eighties when she began to receive serious acclaim outside the Caribbean. She died at the age of 98.

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Modern sex scene

The contenders for this year’s Oscar nominations are full of sex. “Anora” is about a sex worker, “Baby Girl” focuses on a woman exploring her desires, and “Nosferatu” focuses on lust.

But their steamy scenes don’t always exude the eroticism of past cinema, and come with an asterisk: the directors use the moments to explore complex power dynamics between characters. here The five scenes that do this particularly well.

Linqian pictures: director david lynch, Who died last weekdeveloped a style so distinctive that “Lynchian” became a popular term for on-screen surrealism. Watch five scenes that define his vision.