Update(1544ET): The deal for a second round prisoner swap is back on, apparently. Hamas is expected to release 13 Israelis and 7 foreigners at some point tonight. According to an updated briefing from the IDF:

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says there is “significant progress” in the efforts to release the hostages from the Gaza Strip tonight, following delays by Hamas.

“The effort to return the hostages is our moral and ethical duty. We are determined to fulfill this in any way,” Hagari says in an evening press conference. “The effort tonight is progressing and we will inform the families and the public when things happen. Patience is required.”

“There is significant progress,” he adds.

Hagari says “nothing is final until it actually happens,” as Israel is indirectly negotiating with an “evil terror group.”

Israel earlier said it may resume bombing the Gaza Strip if Hamas doesn’t come through on its end of the deal. Hamas for its part claimed it was Israel failing to meet certain agreed-upon details of the swap. 39 Palestinians are expected to be released.

As for getting Americans who are among the captives freed, so far President Biden and his White House team have failed to deliver. Will there be US citizens among the foreign captives released?

* * *

Update(1244ET): There are already signs that the tenuous Hamas-Israel truce could be wavering on its second day in effect. On Saturday, it’s expected that 13 Israeli hostages are to be released in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners.

There are contradictory reports that the Israeli hostages may have already been handed over to the Red Cross. But Hamas has late in the day Saturday (local) announced it will delay the release of the second group. Multiple factors have served to hold up the release (it was supposed to happen at 4pm local, per prior statements): the delay in aid trucks getting into Gaza, Israeli reconnaissance drones still operating over the Strip, and certain ‘agreed-upon’ details related to the swap allegedly not being observed. Below is the new Hamas statement: 

“The Al-Qassam Brigades decide to delay the release of the second batch of prisoners until the occupation adheres to the terms of the agreement related to the entry of relief trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, and due to the failure to adhere to the agreed-upon standards for releasing prisoners,” the military wing of Hamas said on Telegram.

Ceasefire crumbling?

⚡️Eilat tonight pic.twitter.com/NgGGVcMJAS

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) November 25, 2023

* * *

The first group of Israeli hostages freed by Hamas Friday as part of the temporary truce deal were found to be in good condition, according Israel doctors who evaluated them. On Friday 13 Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks were let go, along with 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino. 

Schneider Children’s Medical Center chief executive Efrat Bron-Harlev in a press conference said that the four Israeli children and four women evaluated by the facility are in good physical condition. “They are currently undergoing medical and emotional assessment,” she said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday released photos of their homecoming in Israel, including of 9-year old Ohad, who was reunited with his father and family members.

The other five released Israelis were also reported to be “feeling well” according to regional reports.

As part of the swap, and ceasefire – which into late Saturday appears to still be holding – Israel let 39 Palestinian prisoners go who had been held in Israeli prisons. Palestinians in the West Bank held celebrations in the streets when they were released.

Below are some of the photographs released by the IDF after the Israeli captives went free…

A second group is imminently expected to be released from Hamas captivity on Saturday.

But as for this second day of a swap, there have been some delays, as CNN describes:

The list of hostages provided to Israel by Hamas for release Saturday has 13 names on it, multiple sources have told CNN.

Israel however, has made clear it is expecting 14 people to be released on the second day of the temporary truce in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners.

As the hour of their expected release approaches, there have been discussions over the final list, including whether it will be 13 or 14 people, several of which are expected to be children.

Likely more children and elderly are on the list of those to be freed.

The United Nations on Friday confirmed that in total 137 humanitarian aid and trucks were offloaded in Gaza during the first day of the pause.

Tragically, the number of dead in the Gaza Strip after seven weeks of fighting is nearing 15,000.

Here’s what is known about the freed Israelis, via CNN:

• Yafa Adar, 85: Adar is a founder of the Nir Oz kibbutz and is the oldest person to be taken hostage on October 7. Her eldest grandson was also abducted, and is still held hostage, said a Nir Oz spokesperson.
• Margalit Moses, 77: The mother of three and grandmother of 10 is a retired biology teacher. She is also a cancer survivor who has diabetes, “fibromyalgia, and takes many additional medications,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel.
• Hana Katzir, 76: She is also a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz and the wife of the late Rami Katzir, 79, who was killed in their home. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and is still in Gaza.
• Adina Moshe, 72: The retired educator and Nir Oz resident is a mother of four and grandmother of 12. Her husband David (Sa’id) Moshe was killed in their home on October 7.
• Ohad Munder, 9: The kibbutz spokesperson for Nir Oz said Munder “came to Nir Oz to visit family” when he was abducted alongside family members.
• Doron Katz Asher, 34, Raz Asher, 4, Aviv Asher, 2: Doron visited Nir Oz with her family and was kidnapped with her two daughters, Aviv and Raz, as well as other family members.

Above: Top row, from left: Yafa Adar, Margalit Moses, Ruth Munder, Emilia Aloni and Daniel Aloni. Middle row, from left: Hana Katzir, Adina Moshe, Channa Peri, Doron Katz Asher and Aviv Asher. Bottom row, from left: Ohad Munder, Raz Asher and Keren Munder. Source: Hostages Missing Families Forum/AP

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A recent poll shows that failed 2016 Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is among the Democrats’ top picks for the party’s primary if 81-year-old President Joe Biden decides not to run in 2024 due to age or other factors, such as fitness for office.

Most of the 2,000-plus respondents to the Harvard-Harris poll said that they have doubts about President Biden’s mental fitness to serve as commander-in-chief, while more voters said he is worsening as president rather than improving.

Around three in five of all likely voters said President Biden shouldn’t run for a second term, though there were sharp partisan differences, with 33 percent of Democrats compared to 81 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of Independents expressing that view.

At the same time, strong majorities across the political spectrum agreed that the country needs “another choice” other than a matchup between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Clinton Near Top of List

Amid swirling doubts about President Biden’s fitness to continue to occupy the White House, pollsters asked Democrat voters who their pick would be if President Biden decides to opt out of the 2024 race.

The top pick was Vice President Kamala Harris (24 percent), with Ms. Clinton in second spot with 13 percent.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was third (10 percent), followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, both with 7 percent each.

While the poll didn’t gauge voter expectations for the results of a matchup between President Trump and Ms. Clinton, the former president was expected to beat Vice President Harris handily in a head-to-head contest (52 percent versus 41 percent).

In terms of net favorability ratings, President Trump trailed only Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (52 percent versus 51 percent), with the former president well ahead of Ms. Clinton (44 percent), who was in 7th place.

‘Formal Deprogramming’ of Trump Supporters

While President Trump is no stranger to poking fun at Ms. Clinton (e.g. calling her a “marshmallow” or mocking her for barking like a dog at a 2016 campaign event), the former secretary of state has drawn controversy over her recent remarks calling for the reeducation of Trump supporters.

The failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview in October that there have always been “bitter battles over all kinds of things” between Republicans and Democrats—but now things have become more acrimonious.

Back then, there wasn’t “this little tail of extremism wagging the dog of the Republican party as it is today,” she said, adding that, “sadly, so many of those extremists—those MAGA extremists—take their marching orders from Donald Trump who has no credibility left by any measure.”

Ms. Clinton then expressed frustration that President Trump’s supporters continue to stand behind him despite the fact that he faces numerous charges, including dozens of felonies.

“He’s now defending himself in civil actions and criminal actions, and when do they break with him?” Ms. Clinton asked. “Because at some point—you know—maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members. Something needs to happen.”

Ms. Clinton’s call for deprogramming echoed her 2016 sentiment when she expressed disdain for Trump supporters who are mostly in the working and middle classes.

“You can put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call a basket of deplorables,” she said at a 2016 campaign event. “They’re racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it. And, unfortunately, there are people like that, and he has lifted them up.”

While President Trump did not comment on Ms. Clinton’s remarks about deprogramming his supporters, the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC issued a critical statement.

“President Trump has said countless times that they are only coming after him because he stands in their way from coming after you—and Hillary Clinton just confirmed that to be true,” the campaign statement said.

“Tens of millions of Americans will reject the Democrat Party’s re-education camp agenda in November 2024 when we make Donald Trump the 47th president of the United States,” it added.

Biden’s Age in Focus

President Biden celebrated his 81st birthday on Nov. 20, which he spent pardoning two turkeys called Liberty and Bell, as part of the White House’s annual Thanksgiving tradition.

“And by the way, it’s my birthday today,” President Biden announced during the turkey pardoning ceremony on the South Lawn. “I just want you to know it’s difficult turning 60,” he joked.

President Biden is the oldest president in American history. If reelected, he will begin his second term at the age of 82.

While he’s expressed optimism about his reelection chances, numerous polls have shown that President Biden’s age is a concern for most Americans.

According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, 74 percent of Americans said the president was too old to run for another term.

Another poll by NBC News released in September found that nearly 74 percent of respondents were concerned about the president’s mental and physical health and that he was not fit for a second term.

Emel Akan and Matt McGregor contributed to this report.

While much of the globe’s attention remains fixated on Gaza, and the uneasy truce and hostage deal now unfolding, Ukraine on Saturday said that Russia launched its largest drone attack on the country since the war’s start.

“A total of nearly 75 Shahed drones were launched from two directions – Primorsko-Akhtarsk and the Kursk region, Russia. The primary target was the city of Kyiv,” a Ukrainian Air Force statement on Telegram announced. It underscored this marked a “record number” of drones for a single wave of attack.

The air force statement went on to claim that a whopping 71 of these Iranian-made suicide drones were intercepted, mostly over the Kyiv region, describing that “Anti-aircraft missile troops, tactical aviation, mobile fire groups, and electronic warfare units were involved in repelling the air attack.”

Ukraine’s military also said its air defenses shot down a Kh-59 guided missile in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Russian forces typically launch a mix of small drones and missiles in these attacks, which have become somewhat regular since the war’s sart.

Reportedly some of the falling intercepted drone wreckage fell on and damaged residential buildings. At least two Ukrainians were injured in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district, where there were several fires as a result of the attack.

Newsweek reports based on Ukrainian official statements that “At least five people, including an 11-year-old boy, were injured by falling drone debris in the capital.”

A Kyiv city administration statement counted that this was the fourth drone attack on the capital this month, at a moment the front lines in the east and south have been stalled. By all accounts Russia has dug in and solidified is hold over much of the four annexed territories.

Saturday’s massive drone operation appears a direct response to Ukraine sending over a dozen drones against Crimea in the two days prior…

Russia Claims to Foil Major Ukrainian Attack on Crimea

The Russian Defense Ministry reported downing over a dozen drones targeting the peninsula

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks targeting the Crimean Peninsula since Russia invaded the country last year. The… pic.twitter.com/dqHUKG5jPx

— Kyle Anzalone (@KyleAnzalone_) November 24, 2023

For this reason, after what’s been a clearly failed Ukrainian counteroffensive, there have been new reports of quiet efforts of the West to finally push the Zelensky government to the negotiating table with Russia. Ukraine is reportedly suffering a huge manpower shortage, evident in increasingly older men being conscripted and sent to the front.

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

People with protection against COVID-19 following recovery from the illness were better protected than those who received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new study.

People who received a vaccine were nearly five times as likely as the naturally immune to test positive for COVID-19 during the Delta era and 1.1 times as likely to test positive for COVID-19 during the Omicron era, researchers in Estonia found.

The vaccinated were also seven times as likely to be admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 amid the spread of the Delta variant and two times as likely to be admitted to a hospital during the Omicron period, when compared with the naturally immune, the researchers found.

“Our study showed that natural immunity offers stronger and longer-lasting protection against infection, symptoms, and hospitalization compared to vaccine-induced immunity,” Dr. Anneli Uusküla, with the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Tartu, and her co-authors wrote.

Previous studies have also found that post-infection immunity is superior to or similar to the protection bestowed by vaccines.

Dr. Uusküla and her colleagues said they felt there were gaps in the literature on the subject, prompting them to work on the study.

They drew from a pool of 329,496 adults and matched many of the adults in three cohorts. One compared people with natural immunity to those who received a vaccine; one compared the naturally immune to people who did not have documented prior infection or vaccination; and one compared the naturally immune to people with hybrid immunity, or both prior infection and vaccination.

People were defined as vaccinated if they had received a full primary series of a COVID-19 vaccine and did not have a documented infection.

The primary outcome was laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 occurring at any time for people without any immunity, after 60 days of recovery from a prior infection for the naturally immune, at least 14 days after completion of a vaccine for the vaccinated group, and at least 14 days after vaccination or 60 days after recovery for people with hybrid immunity.

The second outcome, hospitalization, was defined as hospitalization with COVID-19 and with certain medical codes.

Researchers utilized national health care records and examined data from between Feb. 26, 2020 and Feb. 23, 2022. The Delta era ended in December 2021.

In the cohort comparing the naturally immune to people without prior immunity or vaccination, researchers found that the naturally immune were much better protected against hospitalization, used as a measure of protection against severe disease.

“During both periods, natural immunity proved to be highly effective in protecting against reinfections progressing to severe disease and was associated with a significantly lower risk of COVID hospitalization than no SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity,” the researchers said.

But they also discovered that the naturally immune, while much less likely to be infected during the Delta era, were actually more likely to test positive during the Omicron era.

In the comparison of the naturally immune to people with hybrid immunity, the researchers determined those with hybrid immunity were better protected against infection during the Delta era, but they were at slightly higher risk during the Omicron period. In the hybrid immunity group, just one COVID-19 hospitalization was recorded, compared to nine among the naturally immune.

“Irrespective of the infection-causing variant, the protective effect of hybrid immunity in preventing infection progression to severe COVID-19 significantly exceeded that of natural immunity (although the absolute numbers of hospitalizations in the hybrid immunity subcohort were small),” the authors said.

Limitations included some people being admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 but not for it, though researchers tried minimizing the issue by only including hospitalizations with codes indicating patients had respiratory disease.

The research was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Estonian Research Council, and European Social Fund.

Authors declared no competing interest.

Another Israeli-linked shipping vessel has been targeted by Iran-backed forces against the backdrop of the Gaza war. A US defense official was cited in the Associated Press as describing that a container ship owned by an Israeli businessman came under attack by an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone on Friday.

Separately, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen said an Israeli ship was targeted. The Malta-flagged, French-operated CMA CGM Symi vessel was in international waters when the suicide drone armed with a bomb exploded into the ship, causing damage but not resulting in injury to crew members.

The US official cited in AP said “we continue to monitor the situation closely” but did not cite any specific evidence showing Iran to be behind the attack.

Maritime security company Ambrey said the vessel had departed a port in the UAE, and soon the ship’s tracking signal went offline. “The vessel was managed by an Israeli-affiliated company, which was assessed to be the reason why it was targeted,” a statement from the security company said.

As for Israeli ties, The Times of Israel has learned that “The ship, its cargo, its operating company and its points of departure and destination did not appear to have any clear ties to Israel. Rather, the Symi is leased to CMA CGM by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.”

According to further emerging details:

CMA CGM, a major shipper based in Marseille, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, the vessel’s crew had been behaving as though they believed the ship faced a threat.

…The ship had its Automatic Identification System tracker switched off since Tuesday when it left Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, according to data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP.

Thus it’s likely the crew switched off the tracker as it suspected a drone was overhead seeking to target the ship. In the attack aftermath, a statement from the operator indicated that as of Saturday, “The vessel in question is currently sailing as planned” and that “all crew are safe and well.”

The following unverified photograph is widely circulating on Saturday…

تعرضت سفينة شحن مملوكة لإسرائيل لهجوم في المحيط الهندي، وفقًا لتقرير لوكالة أسوشييتد برس للأنباء من مصادر أمنية أمريكية، وتعرضت السفينة CMA CGM Symi لهجوم بطائرة بدون طيار إيرانية، بعد أقل من أسبوع من سيطرة الحوثيين في اليمن. سفينة الشحن جالاكسي ليدر. pic.twitter.com/H84f54G9kS

— Dr.Sam Youssef Ph.D.,M.Sc.,DPT. (@drhossamsamy65) November 25, 2023

Tensions have increased in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf areas on fears that Iran-backed groups could escalate attacks on shipping. The Houthis on Nov. 21 seized an Israeli-linked shipping vessel and are holding the 25 international crew members hostage. 

The still captured Galaxy Leader is ultimately owned by Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar. With an estimated 2019 net worth of more than $2 billion, he’s among Israel’s 30 wealthiest individuals. The Biden administration is now threatening to formally designate the Houthis a terrorist organization. The White House has also alleged that Iran is complicit in the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader. It’s as yet unclear whether this latest drone attack had Houthi involvement. 

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

If Black Friday is a bust, it may be a harbinger of what the mainstream has long considered impossible: the American consumer is well and truly tapped out.

Could Black Friday be a complete bust this year? Let’s explore the potential sources of a Black Flag Friday. Black flags are used to denote mourning, as in state funerals, and to warn of danger, for example, black flags posted at beaches mean “don’t go in the water.”

Drivers in auto races who receive a Black Flag must return to their pit–their race is over.

Exhibit One is the Federal Reserve report which stated the bottom 80% of American households have fewer financial resources than they did pre-pandemic. 

The authors project that the cash reserves of this vast cohort would be depleted in the third quarter of 2023, i.e. right now.

Exhibit Two is a report that indicates half of employed consumers have side gigs to earn extra money. Side Gigs Help Ease Paycheck-to-Paycheck Consumers’ Financial Stress This Holiday:

According to findings detailed in The Supplemental Income Edition of ‘New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report’ by PYMNTS Intelligence and LendingClub, half of employed consumers now have supplemental income sources in addition to their regular paychecks. This includes side jobs, other types of supplemental income and active side incomes.

This is critical because the holiday season has emerged as the most financially challenging period for a significant number of individuals, according to separate research from PYMNTS Intelligence, with over 20% pointing to vacation costs as a key contributor to their financial stress.

Exhibit Three is the “revenge spending splurges” on vacations and other luxuries have already depleted savings and boosted credit card balances. Vacations are prime examples of “greedflation” in action, as resorts, AirBNB hosts, et al. jacked prices to the moon knowing that households desperate for a splurge vacation would pay any price without question.

In street parlance, consumers have already shot their wad. There’s not much left to blow on Black Friday.

Exhibit Four is the long-term deterioration of the bottom 80%’s share of financial wealth as indicated by the charts below, courtesy of the Federal Reserve. These charts reflect the reality that the vast majority of financial gains have flowed to the top 20%.

The bottom 50% of America’s 132 million households, representing 165.5 million of the nation’s 331 million residents, owns a meager 2.3% of the nation’s financial assets. There simply isn’t much wealth to tap for splurge spending.

The share of total assets owned by the middle class–those between the 50% and 90% percentiles–has been in decline for 30+ years. No wonder half of all employed consumers are working extra hours on side gigs.

Exhibit Five is the devaluation of Black Friday by “front-running” pre-Black Friday sales. Which one offers the best deals–pre-Black Friday sales, pre-pre-Black Friday sales, or post-Black Friday sales?

Like many other aspects of American life, whatever is modestly successful is ground to dust via crapification and “Calculated Misery” in which the consumer experience is intentionally degraded so consumers are forced to pony up for “premium” or “elite” service–that is, the same mediocre service that was once standard but now requires a hefty fee if you wish to avoid immiseration.

The “Crapification” of the U.S. Economy Is Now Complete (February 9, 2022)

Stainless Steal (February 26, 2023)

The decay in quality reveals that the collapse of the neoliberal-hyper-financialization-hyper-globalization model has already occurred.

If Black Friday is a bust, it may be a harbinger of what the mainstream has long considered impossible: the American consumer is well and truly tapped out, eviscerated by inflation and disgusted by rampant greedflation. It may also reflect a growing awareness of some of the populace that splurging with zero savings is not a stress-free strategy, and not worth the financial anxiety.

*  *  *

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Authored by Brett Lloyd via RealClear Wire,

At a time when divisive American political rhetoric drives the headlines, and sentiment on elected officials and the direction of the country is bleak, it’s hard to find solutions in which Democrats, independents, and Republicans agree. However, in looking at “age limits” or “term limits” for federally elected officials, it’s clear these are two issues that gain vast amounts of support from across the political spectrum.

In the most recent Bullfinch Group National Survey of 1,200 American adults, respondents were asked if they “support or oppose ‘term limits’ for members of Congress and the U.S. Senate, which would limit the amount of terms an elected official is allowed to serve?” While some may be surprised to see that more than 8 in 10 adults support term limits (81%), what may be more striking is the near identical support shown by self-identified Democrats, independents, and Republicans:

Whatever you personally feel about term limits, one only has to look at the abysmal job approval of Congress, along with a possible (if only partial) “solution” that garners 80% support among Democrats, 81% among independents, and 82% among Republicans as at least the beginnings of a workable issue that we as Americans can get behind.

Furthermore, of the 38 different questions asked to respondents in the survey, only one saw sentiment among Republicans and Democrats more aligned: the question of age limits. When respondents were asked if they “support or oppose ‘age limits’ for members of Congress, the U.S. Senate, and the President of the United States, which would serve as an upper age limit for federally elected officials?” over three-quarters of adults supported age limits (78%), with support among self-identified Democrats and Republicans at 80% and 81% respectively:

If we believe the national studies that show congressional job approval in the dumps, that show favorability of elected officials could be better, or that show a majority of Americans thinking some of our elected officials are too old to productively carry out another term, then we need to be looking for tri-partisan solutions aimed directly at improving the offices and office holders in this country. Age limits and term limits seemingly fit that bill.

… Now the only problem: getting our elected officials to agree. 

Brett Loyd is president and CEO of The Bullfinch Group.

The first group of Israeli hostages freed by Hamas Friday as part of the temporary truce deal were found to be in good condition, according Israel doctors who evaluated them. On Friday 13 Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks were let go, along with 10 Thai nationals and a Filipino. 

Schneider Children’s Medical Center chief executive Efrat Bron-Harlev in a press conference said that the four Israeli children and four women evaluated by the facility are in good physical condition. “They are currently undergoing medical and emotional assessment,” she said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday released photos of their homecoming in Israel, including of 9-year old Ohad, who was reunited with his father and family members.

The other five released Israelis were also reported to be “feeling well” according to regional reports.

As part of the swap, and ceasefire – which into late Saturday appears to still be holding – Israel let 39 Palestinian prisoners go who had been held in Israeli prisons. Palestinians in the West Bank held celebrations in the streets when they were released.

Below are some of the photographs released by the IDF after the Israeli captives went free…

A second group is imminently expected to be released from Hamas captivity on Saturday.

But as for this second day of a swap, there have been some delays, as CNN describes:

The list of hostages provided to Israel by Hamas for release Saturday has 13 names on it, multiple sources have told CNN.

Israel however, has made clear it is expecting 14 people to be released on the second day of the temporary truce in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners.

As the hour of their expected release approaches, there have been discussions over the final list, including whether it will be 13 or 14 people, several of which are expected to be children.

Likely more children and elderly are on the list of those to be freed.

The United Nations on Friday confirmed that in total 137 humanitarian aid and trucks were offloaded in Gaza during the first day of the pause.

Tragically, the number of dead in the Gaza Strip after seven weeks of fighting is nearing 15,000.

Here’s what is known about the freed Israelis, via CNN:

• Yafa Adar, 85: Adar is a founder of the Nir Oz kibbutz and is the oldest person to be taken hostage on October 7. Her eldest grandson was also abducted, and is still held hostage, said a Nir Oz spokesperson.
• Margalit Moses, 77: The mother of three and grandmother of 10 is a retired biology teacher. She is also a cancer survivor who has diabetes, “fibromyalgia, and takes many additional medications,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel.
• Hana Katzir, 76: She is also a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz and the wife of the late Rami Katzir, 79, who was killed in their home. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and is still in Gaza.
• Adina Moshe, 72: The retired educator and Nir Oz resident is a mother of four and grandmother of 12. Her husband David (Sa’id) Moshe was killed in their home on October 7.
• Ohad Munder, 9: The kibbutz spokesperson for Nir Oz said Munder “came to Nir Oz to visit family” when he was abducted alongside family members.
• Doron Katz Asher, 34, Raz Asher, 4, Aviv Asher, 2: Doron visited Nir Oz with her family and was kidnapped with her two daughters, Aviv and Raz, as well as other family members.

Above: Top row, from left: Yafa Adar, Margalit Moses, Ruth Munder, Emilia Aloni and Daniel Aloni. Middle row, from left: Hana Katzir, Adina Moshe, Channa Peri, Doron Katz Asher and Aviv Asher. Bottom row, from left: Ohad Munder, Raz Asher and Keren Munder. Source: Hostages Missing Families Forum/AP

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

Mass immigration into Germany is a significant contributing factor in the surge in violent crime being reported across the country, Germany’s federal police office, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), has revealed.

Police crime stats published on Thursday showed a considerable increase in violent crime of around 17 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year.

Violent crime in public rose by 14 percent while reports of violent offenses in private residences increased by around 3 percent, according to the BKA.

The agency cited three primary factors for the concerning rise in offenses: increased mobility after lockdowns, the cost of living crisis, and mass immigration.

It noted that mobility had now returned to pre-pandemic levels, which “creates more opportunities and reasons for crime,” and stated that economic burdens brought by high inflation correlate with the number of violent crimes, particularly in “economically weaker regions”.

The third factor it cited was Germany’s “high immigration rate.”

“When it comes to violent crimes, there is a greater increase in the number of non-German suspects,” the BKA stated.

“It can be assumed that many people seeking protection have several risk factors that make violent crime more likely. These include the living situation in initial reception centers as well as economic insecurity and experiences of violence,” it added.

The number of crimes involving German citizens — which includes dual citizens who may have been born elsewhere — rose by 8 percent compared to non-German suspects which increased by as much as 23 percent. Furthermore, cases involving foreign minors rose considerably by 37 percent.

Read more here…