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Hamas says deal reached with Israel to release more than 600 Palestinians

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Hamas says deal reached with Israel to release more than 600 Palestinians

The prisoners will be released in the coming days while Hamas hands over the bodies of four Israeli captives.

Hamas has said it reached a deal to end Israel’s delay in releasing 620 Palestinian prisoners who were supposed to be freed last week, after it upheld its side of the ceasefire deal by freeing six Israeli captives from Gaza.

Hamas confirmed Wednesday that Israel will release more Palestinian women and children from its prisons on Thursday, while the group will simultaneously hand over the bodies of the four Israeli captives.

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, said the exchange was expected to take place on Thursday, with Egypt overseeing the process to ensure that both sides fulfil their commitments.

Hamas accused Israel of “sabotaging” the Gaza truce by delaying the release of the 620 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday. Israel justified the delay by citing concerns over the large public gatherings during which the Israelis were freed, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the process as “humiliating ceremonies”.

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The latest agreement would complete both sides’ obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Hamas is returning 33 captives, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Washington’s Middle East envoy said talks for a second phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal remained on track. The first phase is scheduled to end on Saturday.

“We’re making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak,” Steve Witkoff told an event for the American Jewish Committee.

“It’s either going to be in Doha or in Cairo, where negotiations will begin again with the Egyptians and the Qataris,” he said.

Talks were supposed to begin weeks ago but did not.

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Witkoff, who is expected in the region in the coming days, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining captives held by Hamas are to be released and an end to the war is to be negotiated.

Abu Azzoum said there were growing indications that Israel was looking to obtain an extension of the first phase of the deal rather than engage in negotiations on the second phase.

“Next Saturday, Israel is supposed to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor as part of the first phase,” Al Jazeera’s correspondent said, adding this will be an occasion to put the strength of the deal to the test.

The Philadelphi Corridor, a 14km (8.7-mile) long strip of land that represents the entirety of the border area between Gaza and Egypt, has been a point of contention as Israel attempted to retain control of the area.

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3 officers wounded and a suspect is killed in Omaha shooting

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3 officers wounded and a suspect is killed in Omaha shooting

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Three Omaha police offers were wounded and a suspect killed Wednesday in an exchange of gunfire at a gas station.

The suspect, a man in his 20s, had earlier shot a 61-year-old man several times in the chest about noon at a grocery store, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said. Officers obtained a license plate number from the scene and followed the suspect’s car to the gas station, he said.

The officers watched the suspect get out and enter a restroom. He then left the room and began firing on the officers, the chief said.

Two officers were hit, and a third was hit by shrapnel. The officers returned fire, and the suspect was killed.

“This is a very dangerous day involving this suspect in the city of Omaha,” Schmaderer said.

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The officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a local hospital, Omaha police said. The officer hit by shrapnel was later released.

The condition of the other shooting victim is unclear.

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Russia ups jail sentence of US citizen to 10 years for beating prison staff

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Russia ups jail sentence of US citizen to 10 years for beating prison staff

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Russia once again extended the prison sentence of U.S. citizen Robert Gilman Wednesday after a regional court found him guilty of a new assault on prison staff. 

The ruling adds two more years to the former Marine’s existing term, now bringing his total sentence to 10 years, Reuters reported.

The latest extension came in the Voronezh region, where Gilman continues to serve time. 

Prosecutors accused him of attacking two prison guards, and the court ruled that the incident constituted a new offense which warranted additional punishment.

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US PILOT AND INFLUENCER RELEASED FROM CHILEAN ANTARCTIC DETENTION 2 MONTHS AFTER ALLEGED UNAUTHORIZED LANDING 

Robert Gilman now faces 10 years total after Voronezh court adds two more years for allegedly attacking guards. (REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov)

The move follows a pattern of steadily increasing charges for Gilman since his initial arrest in 2022, highlighting how his prison time has lengthened over consecutive years.

Gilman, from Dracut, Massachusetts, was first arrested in January 2022 after passengers on a train reported he was drunk and causing a disturbance.

NATIONAL GUARDSMAN ACCUSED OF SEEKING TO SEND PHOTOS OF SENSITIVE MILITARY TECHNOLOGY TO RUSSIA 

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The former Marine’s Russian prison sentence keeps growing after a new assault conviction. (REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov)

Transport police took him off the train in Voronezh, where he was detained for petty hooliganism. 

At the time, Russian media reported that Gilman, who had been traveling between Sochi and Moscow to replace a damaged passport, was heavily intoxicated.

He later claimed in court that he believed his drink had been spiked.

Gilman was convicted in 2022 of assaulting a police officer, initially receiving a sentence of three and a half years. 

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At the time, prosecutors recommended four and a half years, of a possible five.

US AND QATAR SECURE RELEASE OF AMERICAN CITIZEN AMIR AMIRY FROM AFGHANISTAN DETENTION

Gilman’s legal troubles escalated since his 2022 arrest for a train disturbance while he was traveling to replace his passport. (REUTERS/Vladimir Lavrov)

Fox News Digital also reported that Gilman bruised a Russian police officer with a kick while being dragged off of the train.

Gilman’s troubles in custody then increased in 2024 when he was found guilty of attacking a prison inspector during a cell check, assaulting an investigator and beating another guard.

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Those convictions brought a sentence of eight years and one month, with Wednesday’s decision pushing the total to a decade.

UKRAINE ARRESTS BRITISH SUSPECT WHO ALLEGEDLY AIDED RUSSIA’S FSB IN ASSASSINATION PLAN

The former U.S. Marine got two more years in a Russian prison for assault. (Vladimir Lavrov/REUTERS)

Local media, including the business newspaper Kommersant, reported that Gilman admitted to some of the assaults, per Reuters.

He said he began breaking prison rules after he was threatened with transfer from his current detention facility, which he described as humane and where he could receive packages from relatives, to a maximum-security penal colony. 

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On Wednesday, Gilman apologized in court and explained he preferred to remain in the Voronezh facility.

According to Reuters, Gilman’s lawyer, Irina Brazhnikova, told the state-run TASS news agency that he would not appeal the newest verdict.

Gilman is among at least nine Americans still imprisoned in Russia following multiple high-profile prisoner exchanges in 2024 and 2025. 

FORMER SECURITY GUARD AT US EMBASSY OVERSEAS IS CONVICTED OF SPYING FOR RUSSIA AND IRAN

Former prisoners released by Russia, journalist Evan Gershkovich, right, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, center, and U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, left, smile after landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Kelly Field, Texas, on August 2, 2024.  (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

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Several, like Gilman, have U.S. military backgrounds, including Michael Travis Leake and Gordon Black.

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Supporters of Gilman in the United States argue he was ill when first detained and was provoked into actions that produced additional charges.

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US House Judiciary Committee subpoenas former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

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US House Judiciary Committee subpoenas former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

Republicans have been probing Smith’s investigations into Trump, which resulted in two indictments.

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The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in the United States has subpoenaed former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith, who led the two federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

The announcement on Wednesday came despite Smith previously volunteering to appear for an open meeting with the Republican-led panel, which is probing the indictments against Trump.

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“Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter,” committee chairman Republican Jim Jordan wrote in a letter to Smith.

Jordan also asked Smith to produce records for the committee in addition to his testimony. Smith has been summoned for a closed-door interview later this month.

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One of the federal indictments that Smith led related to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The second pertained to his hoarding of classified documents at his Florida resort.

Both cases were dropped after Trump’s re-election in November 2024. Longstanding Justice Department policy bars the prosecution of a sitting president.

Trump has portrayed the indictments as part of a coordinated, politically motivated “witch-hunt”.

Peter Koski, one of Smith’s lawyers, criticised the private nature of the planned deposition in a statement.

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“We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics,” Koski said.

“Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation.”

In recent weeks, Republicans in Congress have focused on revelations that Smith’s team analysed phone records of some lawmakers around the time of the January 6 riot.

An artist sketch shows President Donald Trump conferring with defence lawyer Todd Blanche in Washington, DC, during federal hearings, on August 3, 2023 [Dana Verkouteren via AP Photo]

Smith’s legal team has maintained the records showed only basic information about outgoing and incoming calls: their time, date and duration, but not the contents of the telephone conversations.

“Mr Smith’s actions as Special Counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor and without regard for the political consequences,” Smith’s lawyers wrote to lawmakers in October.

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“His investigative decisions were similarly motivated, and the subpoena for toll records was entirely proper, lawful, and consistent with established Department of Justice policy. While Mr Smith’s prosecutions of President Trump have predictably been politicized by others, politics never influenced his decision making,” they added.

When asked about the subpoena during an Oval Office news conference on Wednesday, Trump repeated his attacks on Smith, calling him “a sick man”.

Even so, Trump added, “ I’d rather see him testify publicly because there’s no way he can answer the questions.”

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