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Israel-Gaza Cease-Fire Talks and Hostage Release Negotiations Gain Momentum: What to Know

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Israel-Gaza Cease-Fire Talks and Hostage Release Negotiations Gain Momentum: What to Know

High-level cease-fire talks appeared to be gaining momentum on Monday as Arab and American mediators pressed for an agreement to halt the fighting in Gaza and release hostages held by Hamas before President-elect Donald J. Trump assumes office on Jan. 20.

It was still unclear whether the parties had reached a resolution on all the central disputes that have proved insurmountable in previous rounds of negotiations, but officials expressed optimism that a deal was achievable..

On Monday, President Biden suggested an agreement between Israel and Hamas was imminent. “On the war between Israel and Hamas, we’re on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition,” he said in a foreign policy speech.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, said there was “a distinct possibility” that Hamas and Israel could agree to a deal this week.

“The question is now can we all collectively seize the moment and make this happen,” he told Bloomberg in an interview.

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A Hamas official said in a text message that progress had been made on all issues and that a deal was possible in the coming two days as long as Israel does not change its position at the last minute.

Earlier on Monday, an Arab diplomat said “real progress” was being made in the talks, and two Israeli officials said a draft agreement was awaiting Hamas’s approval, with the next 24 hours seen as being critical.

Other Israeli officials said that the optimal conditions for an agreement had been created, making a breakthrough possible. These officials said that the emerging agreement would allow Israel to maintain a buffer zone in Gaza during its implementation and that Israeli forces would not leave the territory until the release of all hostages.

They also said it would allow displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza to return to the north while unspecified “security arrangements” were enforced.

The Hamas official, the diplomat and the Israeli officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

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For months, repeated rounds of talks have seen hopes rise only to be dashed days later, with Israel and Hamas each blaming the other for the impasse.

If a deal is achieved, it would bring some respite to Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured miserable conditions in displacement camps and relentless bombardments by Israel, and the families of hostages taken from Israel, who have suffered for months wondering about the fate of their loved ones.

  • Hamas leaders want to bring about an end to the Israeli assault, which has severely weakened the group’s armed wing and government, uprooted nearly two million people and reduced cities to rubble. Hamas officials have also said they are seeking a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the return of displaced people in the south of the enclave to the north, the entry of materials for reconstruction, and freedom for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. On Monday, Hamas said in a statement that Palestinian prisoners would be freed soon.

  • The parties have long been discussing an agreement that would have three stages in what Arab and American officials hope will result in the end of the war. But Israeli officials said on Monday that the deal coming together could have only two phases, with negotiations about the details of the second stage commencing on the 16th day of the first stage.

  • A major hurdle to the success of the talks has been the permanency of a cease-fire. While Hamas has demanded a comprehensive end to the war, Mr. Netanyahu has said he wants a “partial” deal that would allow Israel to resume the war after freeing hostages.

  • Israel has been demanding vague language in the text of an agreement that leaves room for a resumption of fighting at some point, according to a Palestinian familiar with the matter and two Israeli officials. Mr. Netanyahu has feared that his right-wing coalition partners could take down his government and jeopardize his political future if he agrees to a deal that ends the war, analysts say.

  • In a post on X on Monday, Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, described “the emerging deal” as “a catastrophe for the national security” of Israel and declared he would not support it.

  • Hamas has not suggested that it would be willing to compromise on its demand to end the war. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told a gathering in Algeria last week that there must be “an absolute end to the aggression.”

  • Another hurdle has been how far into Gaza Israel will be allowed to carry out military operations in the first phase of an agreement. Israel had wanted the ability to maneuver up to 1.5 kilometers, or about a mile, into the enclave, the two Israeli officials and the Palestinian familiar with the matter said. Hamas had wanted any incursions limited to within 500 meters of the border, according to the Palestinian.

  • The Israeli officials, however, have now been saying that the emerging agreement would allow Israel to maintain a buffer zone in Gaza during its implementation and that Israeli forces would not leave the territory until the release of all hostages.

  • Israel has demanded a list from Hamas of which hostages are still alive. Without that, Israeli officials say, there can be no agreement on how many Palestinian prisoners Israel would be willing to release in exchange. As of Sunday morning, Israel had not received such a list, according to an official familiar with the matter.

  • Last week, Hamas representatives indicated that the group had approved an Israeli list of 34 hostages to be released in the first stage of an agreement, but it did not specify how many of them were alive. On Wednesday, the Israeli authorities announced that the body of one of the hostages whose name appeared on the list— Youssef Ziyadne, 53, an Arab citizen of Israel — had been found in Gaza.

  • On Monday, Israeli officials confirmed that the number of hostages to be released in the first stage was 33 and said their assessment was that most of them were alive.

  • But Hamas has agreed to Israel’s request to include 11 contested individuals on the list of hostages to be released in the first phase of a deal. Israel classifies them as civilians, but Hamas considers them soldiers, according to the two Israeli officials and the Palestinian. Israel is weighing Hamas’s demand that the 11 be treated as soldiers who would be exchanged for a higher number of Palestinian prisoners than those released for civilian hostages.

Isabel Kershner contributed reporting to this article.

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Sporticast 510: The Sordid Saga of a Legends’s Former Mansion

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Sporticast 510: The Sordid Saga of a Legends’s Former Mansion

On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest in a strange sports real estate story.

In 2012, Michael Jordan listed his Bulls-era mansion outside Chicago for about $29 million, or $41 million in today’s dollars. It took more than a decade and multiple price drops for the home to sell, which it did late last year for $9.5 million. The buyer, a partner in a local real estate firm, has since tried multiple ways to monetize the property. Initially he tried to sell timeshares for $1 million each, but that plan was thwarted by the local town council. He’s back in front of that same council this week, seeking approvals related to his next plan: to build a “multi-sensory experience focused entirely on personal transformation.” The tourist attraction would require the use of a parking lot on an adjacent nature preserve.

Next the hosts discuss major upset in college sports. Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team, the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, was upset by Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. Riding a wave of volleyball commercial growth, the Huskers spent more on the sport than any other public school in the country, according to numbers from Sportico‘s college finance database. The team reported $2.57 million in ticket sales during the 2023-24 school year, the third highest total for any women’s team at any public school in the country, trailing only Iowa and UConn women’s basketball.

They close by taking about the Big 12‘s proposed private equity plan. A few days after Big 12 member Utah laid out its own on-campus capital ambitions, Sportico reported that the Big 12 is in talks to set up what essentially amounts to a credit facility for its members via a potential partnership with RedBird Capital-backed Collegiate Athletic Solutions.

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Bystanders seen confronting Australian gunman during ISIS-inspired deadly rampage

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Bystanders seen confronting Australian gunman during ISIS-inspired deadly rampage

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Bystanders were seen on video confronting a gunman before his ISIS-inspired deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could begin. 

Despite their efforts to disarm him, the gunman eventually overpowered the two bystanders and killed them, according to authorities.

The bystanders were later identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The outlet reported that the Gurmans were walking by as they saw the assailant exiting a vehicle. Though Boris had the upper hand for a moment after picking up the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly picked up another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.

“We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman,” the family said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.”

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RABBI KILLED IN SYDNEY HANUKKAH ATTACK HAD WARNED AUSTRALIAN PM ABOUT RISING ANTISEMITISM

Bystanders were seen confronting one of the gunmen behind the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)

In the video, obtained and verified by Reuters, an eyewitness replaying the dashcam footage recalls how the incident unfolded.

“You see the shooter here — he fired shots from here, shooting from here. And then look, this guy went and tackled him (shooter), knocking him to the ground. At that point, he had already grabbed the gun,” the witness, who was speaking in Mandarin, said in the video, according to a Reuters translation.

Authorities have identified the shooters as a father, 50, and a son, 24. The father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said that the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.

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On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving more than two dozen injured. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.

GAL GADOT, ASHTON KUTCHER CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC TERROR ATTACK AT BONDI BEACH HANUKKAH EVENT

Police teams take security measures at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday after a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community during the first night of Hanukkah. ( Claudio Galdames A/Anadolu via Getty Images)

During the deadly rampage, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, wrestled a gun away from one of the shooters. His attorney said that Ahmed does not regret intervening, despite being “riddled with bullets” and in intense pain.

“He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,” Ahmed’s attorney, Sam Issa, told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”

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The outlet reported that Ahmed has undergone his first round of surgery and that Issa fears the hero bystander may lose his left arm.

“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” Issa said.

President Donald Trump praised Ahmed for his actions, calling him “a very, very brave person” and saying that he has “great respect” for him.

People attend a floral memorial in honor of the victims of a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. (Flavio Brancaleone/Reuters)

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The Bondi Beach attack is the worst mass shooting Australia has seen since the country implemented sweeping reforms after a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Following the Bondi Beach attack, Australian leaders have vowed to strengthen the country’s already restrictive gun laws.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced several proposed actions, including limiting the number of guns one can possess.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” he said after meeting with his National Cabinet.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano, Bradford Betz and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Machado injured on covert Nobel Prize trip

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Venezuelan opposition leader Machado injured on covert Nobel Prize trip

President Maduro’s rival was hurt as she sped on a boat through choppy waters in secret escape from hiding to reach Oslo ceremony.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was injured as she made a clandestine dash to collect her Nobel Peace Prize last week, her spokesperson has said.

Claudia Macero said late on Monday that the right-wing opposition figure fractured a vertebra during a choppy boat ride that had formed part of a risky cloak-and-dagger journey to reach the Norwegian capital, Oslo, for the Nobel award ceremony.

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Machado has been in hiding since she was banned from running in Venezuela’s July 24 presidential election, fearing that her life is under threat from long-time Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

“The vertebra fracture is confirmed,” Macero told the AFP news agency, adding that no further details would be released beyond what had been reported in the Norwegian daily Aftonbladet.

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The newspaper had earlier reported that the 58-year-old Machado sustained the fracture while crossing the sea in a small fishing boat battered by high waves.

The opposition leader was examined by doctors at Oslo University Hospital during her time in the city.

Dangerous dash

Media reports in the United States said Machado’s escape last week involved wearing a disguise, including a wig, and travelling from a small Venezuelan fishing village on a wooden boat to the island of Curacao, before boarding a private plane to Norway.

Machado has said she feared for her life during the voyage, which saw US forces situated in the Caribbean alerted to avoid a strike on the vessel.

Several similar boats have been attacked in recent months in a campaign that the Trump administration asserts is a bid to avert drug smuggling into the US.

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Maduro has accused Washington of seeking to engineer regime change in the hope of seizing Venezuela’s large oil reserves.

The leader of the opposition Vente Venezuela party was attempting to reach the ceremony at which she was due to be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize.

She was announced the winner of the prestigious award in October, with the selection committee praising her role in the country’s opposition movement and her “steadfast” support for democracy.

‘Broken soul’

Despite her speedy trip, Machado failed to reach Oslo in time for the ceremony. Her daughter received the award on her behalf and delivered a speech that slammed Maduro and warned of the need to fight for democracy.

Hours after the ceremony, early on Thursday morning, Machado greeted supporters from an Oslo hotel balcony in what was her first public appearance in a year.

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Despite the fracture, she climbed over a barrier to greet supporters outside the hotel, AFP reported.

Machado said authorities in Venezuela would have attempted everything possible to prevent her journey to Norway.

Appearing set to challenge Maduro in the vote, the opposition leader was barred from running in the country’s presidential election in July last year.

She then announced that she would be going into hiding within Venezuela due to fear for her life while Maduro is in power.

The Venezuelan president commented dismissively on the reports of Machado’s injury on television on Monday.

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Machado “says she has a broken vertebra”, he said. “What’s broken is her brain and her soul because she’s a demon – she hates Venezuela.”

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