Thursday Briefing – New York Times

Negotiators agreed to a ceasefire agreement in Gaza

US President Biden and other leaders said yesterday that negotiators from Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 42-day ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, raising hopes that the 15-month war that has killed at least 45,000 Palestinians and destroyed part A major sector may erupt. Soon it comes to an end. The Qatari Prime Minister said that the truce is scheduled to enter into force on Sunday. Read the latest.

The agreement needs to be formally ratified by the Israeli Cabinet and the government, and the two sides are still working to finalize some logistical issues, according to officials from Israel and Qatar. A vote is expected in Israel this morning. Here’s what we know about the deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a brief statement at midnight local time in which he reiterated that he would not make a full statement until after the final details of the agreement were settled. His office said he spoke with Biden and with President-elect Donald Trump. Hamas confirmed the ceasefire agreement and described it as “an achievement for our people.”

What this means for Gaza: In the first phase of the ceasefire, Israeli forces will withdraw to the east, away from populated areas. Israel must release several Palestinian prisoners for every hostage released, including some serving life sentences, and allow 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief supplies daily, according to a copy of the agreement.

What this means for Israel: A total of 33 hostages will be released over 42 days. They include women, children, men over 50 years of age, and the sick or wounded. It is still unclear how many of the 33 people are still alive. About 100 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza, although Israeli authorities believe about 35 of them are dead.

answer: The reaction of many Gazans was filled with hope mixed with sadness, exhaustion and fear. In Israel, supporters of the deal celebrated the new hope for the return of the hostages, but also lamented that a truce would likely only stop the conflict.

In Gaza: The Gaza Civil Defense Rescue and Emergency Service said last night that the Israeli army was “escalating its aggression against civilians,” even with a ceasefire agreement on the horizon. She added: “At this moment, a residential building consisting of several houses was bombed” north of Gaza City.

Poland’s leader commented on a Russian plot

Yesterday, Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. appeared to confirm the conclusions From Western intelligence officials who warned of a Russian plot to blow up cargo planes over Western countries.

“I can only confirm that Russia planned aerial terrorist acts, not only against Poland but against airlines around the world,” Tusk said. He did not go into detail, and it was not clear whether officials believe Moscow continues to actively plan such attacks.

Officials first became aware of the plot over the summer, when incendiary devices placed at shipping hubs in Britain and Germany ignited fires that caused minor damage. Western officials said in November that the fires were part of a test of security measures implemented by Russian military intelligence. The ultimate goal of the conspiracy was not known.

Context: While the Kremlin denied the involvement of its agents in acts of sabotage, Western officials say that Moscow has ordered its intelligence services to find ways to transfer the war in Ukraine, which will soon enter its fourth year, to Europe and the United States.

Ukraine: Students at a summer acting course in Kiev performed a play set in America called “It’s OK!” It gave them hope Their lives will be fine too.

The president of South Korea has been arrested

Yesterday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first president in the country’s history Detained pending criminal investigation.

Investigators along with 1,000 police officers arrived to detain Yoon after his bodyguards rejected an attempt to arrest him last week. The arrest was the latest development in the weeks of political turmoil that followed Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law last month and subsequent impeachment.

What’s the next step: Investigators have 48 hours to question Yoon, after which they can decide to formally arrest him. If arrested, he must be charged within 20 days. Separately, the Constitutional Court The deliberation began Whether he should be removed from office.

The last resident of a quiet house in southern Poland said it was a “great place to raise children”. Decades earlier, that same house was home to Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Auschwitz death camp, and unspeakable atrocities took place on the other side of his garden wall.

The house, the subject of the Oscar-winning film “Area of ​​Interest”, We will soon welcome visitors As part of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Army’s liberation of the camp.

A life he lived: Martin Karpels, a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical chemist, used computers to model how complex systems change during chemical reactions, He died last month at the age of 94.

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Arts and ideas

“Clothes are important”

Writer Jay Tallis keeps notes on everything. In “The City Without Time,” a new collection of his New York writings, the writer notices it all — the chestnut sellers, the pigeons, the doormen, the copy-boys, the ants. And of course clothes.

“When I was working at the New York Times in 1953 as a journalist, men still wore suits, jackets, ties and sometimes fedoras,” said the 92-year-old Tallis, adding: “Men no longer dress well in New York. You go to a good restaurant.” “The women look great. The men dress horribly.”

Read our interview with him.

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