Hamas ceasefire proposal
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says it has put forth a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire, with the aim of ending the Israeli war on the besieged territory. A senior Hamas representative in Lebanon says the movement has presented the proposal to Egyptian and Qatari mediators as well as the US. Osama Hamdan says the proposal includes the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and providing them with aid. He says the exchange of Palestinian prisoners with Israeli captives held in Gaza is included as well. Reports say the initial exchange would see the release of Israeli women, children, the elderly, and the sick. They would be freed in return for the release of 700 to 1,000 Palestinians. The Israeli regime has said the new Hamas position is based on what it called unrealistic demands. Hamas has already said any Israeli opposition means that the regime insists on the continuation of the war.
Israel kills aid seekers
Condemnations poured in over Israel’s massacre of over 100 Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday. The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement says Israel’s shelling of aid seekers at the Kuwaiti roundabout is a stain of shame for anyone complicit in the crime. The resistance movement held the US, other Western states and some Arab countries responsible for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Another resistance movement Hamas reacted as well. It criticized the failure of the international community and the UN to take action against Israel. Hamas said the inaction has given the regime the green light to commit horrific crimes against Palestinians. Israel has time and again targeted aid-seekers in Gaza in the past several weeks. The regime unleashed its war on Gaza in early October, killing over 31,300 people.
Russia presidential election
People across Russia are heading to the polls to choose a new president for the next six years. The vote is taking place across the country’s eleven time zones. More than 112mn people are eligible to cast ballots from Friday until Sunday. Incumbent president Vladimir Putin is running for a fifth term. He has three rivals. They are from the New People Party, the Liberal-Democratic Party and the Communist Party. Prior to the election, Putin called on Russians to vote, saying that people are the only source of power in his country. He said Russia is going through a difficult period and needs to stay united and confident to overcome it. The vote is also taking place in the four regions Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2022, namely Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.