Israeli cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire accord, due to take effect Sunday

Israel's cabinet approved a deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire and release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday, a day ahead of the agreement's scheduled start.

In the early hours of Saturday after meeting for more than six hours, the government ratified the agreement that could pave the way for an end to the 15-month-old war in the Palestinian enclave, which Hamas controls.

"The Government has approved the framework for the return of the hostages. The framework for the hostages' release will come into effect on Sunday," Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement.

In Gaza itself, Israeli warplanes have kept up heavy attacks since the ceasefire deal was agreed. Medics in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike early on Saturday killed five people in a tent in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in the enclave's south.

This brought to 119 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment since the accord was announced on Wednesday.

After the Israeli cabinet approval, lead U.S. negotiator Brett McGurk said the plan was moving forward on track. The White House expects the ceasefire to start on Sunday morning, with three female hostages to be released to Israel on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross.

"We have locked down every single detail in this agreement. We are quite confident... it is ready to be implemented on Sunday," McGurk said on CNN from the White House.

Under the deal, the three-stage ceasefire starts with an initial six-week phase when hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for prisoners detained by Israel.

Thirty-three of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages, including women, children, and men over 50, were due to be freed in this phase. Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 in Israeli jails by the end of the first phase.

The names of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be turned over on Sunday were announced by the Israeli Justice Ministry on Friday.

After Sunday's hostage release, McGurk said the accord called for four more female hostages to be released after seven days followed by the release of three further hostages every seven days thereafter.

HARDLINERS OPPOSE CEASEFIRE

With the accord bitterly opposed by some Israeli cabinet hardliners, media reports said 24 ministers in Netanyahu's coalition government voted in favour of the deal while eight opposed it.

The opponents said the ceasefire agreement represented a capitulation to Hamas. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to resign if it was approved and urged other ministers to vote against it. However, he said he would not bring down the government.

His fellow hardliner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also threatened to quit the government if it does not go back to war to defeat Hamas after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.

After a last-minute delay on Thursday that Israel blamed on Hamas, the Israeli security cabinet voted on Friday in favour of the ceasefire accord, the first of two approvals required.

Israel began its assault on Gaza after Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 during which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The war between Israeli forces and Hamas has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million several times over, according to local authorities.

If successful, the ceasefire could also ease hostilities in the Middle East, where the Gaza war spread to include Iran and its proxies - Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in Iraq as well as the occupied West Bank.

Gaza civilians have faced a humanitarian crisis due to hunger, cold and sickness. The ceasefire agreement calls for a surge in assistance, and international organisations have aid trucks lined up on Gaza's borders to bring in food, fuel, medicine and other vital supplies.

Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said on Friday that it has 4,000 truckloads of aid, half of which are food, ready to enter the coastal strip.

Palestinians waiting for food in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday said they hoped a truce will mean an end to hours of queuing to fill one plate.

"I hope it will happen so we'll be able to cook in our homes and make whatever food we want, without having to go to soup kitchens and exhaust ourselves for three or four hours trying to get (food) - sometimes not even making it home," displaced Palestinian Reeham Sheikh al-Eid said.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's air force says it downed 33 Russian drones launched overnight

Ukrainian air defences downed 33 of 50 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Friday.

It said 9 drones were "lost", in reference to Ukraine's use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones, while one left Ukraine in the direction of Romania.

"Hostile attack drones hit enterprises in Odesa region, and buildings of institutions, private businesses and households in Kharkiv, Cherkasy and Kyiv regions were damaged as a result of the fall of downed enemy drones," the military said on the Telegram messaging app.

Port infrastructure in the Danube region came under attack, they added.

A Kyiv regional official said one child was wounded as a result of falling debris from downed targets during an attack.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian troops liberate eight communities in Kharkov area, Donbass region over week

Russian troops liberated eight communities in the Kharkov area and the Donbass region over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"Battlegroup West units liberated the settlements of Kalinovo in the Kharkov Region and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic in active operations… Battlegroup South units liberated the settlement of Yantarnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of decisive operations… Battlegroup Center units kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and liberated the settlements of Shevchenko, Peschanoye, Ukrainka and Slavyanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic… Battlegroup East units liberated the settlement of Nesckuchnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of active operations," the ministry said in a statement.

Reuters/Tass

The clamour for the separation of the ‘Office of the Attorney General of the Federation’ from that of the ‘Minister of Justice’ which is largely attributable, rightly or wrongly, to the perceived politicisation of the office of the AGF has been raging for quite some time. It, however, gained momentum based on the experiences of Nigerians in the 4th Republic. They question the fidelity of such an appointee of the president to the Constitution under a partisan system. Can he/she consciously discern that his/her functions of the AGF are not subject to the dictates of the President, unlike his/her functions of the Minister of Justice?

While the AGF is the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and is charged with protecting the public interest by ensuring the proper implementation of the laws, the Minister of Justice deals with the implementation of the policies of the government in the justice sector and is subject to the direction of the President in whom the Constitution vests all the executive powers of the federation. Nigerians who hold the view that the offices should be separated believe that one must be a saint to be able to navigate the delicate balance or the rather thin line that separates the appointee when acting as the Attorney General of the Federation from when he is discharging the duties of the Minister of Justice. Since we are all subject to human frailty, it would amount to burying one’s head in the sand to fail to acknowledge that such an appointee may sometimes consciously or unconsciously become susceptible to the political influence of the appointor (the President) or the political party. Where this happens, the appointee may lose the requisite objectivity required to discharge the functions of his/her office equitably, fairly and in accordance with the dictates of the law and conscience.

Given Nigeria’s experience with the holders of the office under a partisan political system, there are palpable fears that an Attorney General who is lacking the requisite integrity, diligence and independence, will unwittingly become a tool in the hands of a powerful president enabling him/her to ride roughshod over the rights of the people. Thus, instead of insisting on his fidelity to the constitution and serving as a check on the excesses of executive power, the appointee may feel obligated to his/her appointer and may be moved to descend into the political arena and have his/her vision beclouded by the murky waters of politics to the detriment of the people.

In view of the foregoing, Nigerians have been vocal in their clamour that the two offices be separated and held by different persons. They want the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to be insulated from politics through an appointment process and remuneration that guarantees its independence from the Minister of Justice. This view has found expression in the ongoing Constitution Review Exercise by the National Assembly which is considering proposals for the amendment of the constitution to separate the office. The practice around the world and some commonwealth jurisdictions supports separating the office. For instance, in the United Kingdon, the Office of the Attorney General is separate from the Minister of Justice. In India, Kenya and South Africa, to name a few jurisdictions, the offices are separate. This means that the concerns of well-meaning Nigerians advocating for such a separation to depoliticise the office are not misplaced.

To achieve the objective of separating the office, views are divided as to whether a constitutional amendment is required. Reacting to these contending positions, my predecessor in office, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, recently opined that an amendment to the constitution was not necessary to achieve such an outcome. In his view, the provisions of section 150 of the constitution merely provide that there shall be an Attorney General of the Federation who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the Federation. He therefore contends that the president is, therefore, free to appoint a separate Minister of Justice in much the same way as he appoints other ministers not expressly mentioned in the Constitution without any consequential amendment of the constitution.

I am, however, of the respectful view that section 150 of the constitution goes beyond providing for the office of ‘Attorney General of the Federation’ and ‘Chief Law Officer.’ It adds a third ‘portfolio’ of a ‘Minister in the Government of the Federation’ to such an appointee thereby making it mandatory for the Attorney General of the Federation to be made a Minister in the Government of the Federation. For the avoidance of doubt. The section is hereby reproduced in ex tenso: “150 (1) There shall be an Attorney General of the Federation who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and a Minister of the Government of the Federation” (emphasis supplied). I, therefore, humbly opine that there is need to amend section 150 of the Constitution by deleting “and a Minister of the Government of the Federation” to effectively separate the offices.

I am convinced that to achieve the objective of depoliticising the office, the Attorney General of the Federation should not be a Minister. This is because by virtue of section 148 of the Constitution, ministers are delegates who exercise executive powers of the president. They must therefore be subject to the direction and control of the president while exercising such powers. The Attorney General of the Federation should, therefore, head the Department of Justice akin to the offices of the Accountant General of the Federation, Auditor General of the Federation, and Surveyor General of the Federation, etc., and should be independent. The Attorney General of the Federation should be guided by the dictates of his/her conscience and the overriding public interest, and reporting on the activities of the office at least once in a year to the National Assembly.

Apart from the physical separation of the offices, care must be taken to address issues that are likely to impinge on the independence of the office holder. These include: the appointment process, qualification, tenure and remuneration. For instance, in the United States of America, the Attorney General is appointed by the President on the confirmation of the Senate while in the United Kingdom, the Attorney General is nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Monarch (King) on the advice of the Prime Minister. Similarly, in Kenya, the Attorney General is nominated by the President with approval of the National Assembly and appointed by the President and reforms are being proposed to limit the tenure to 10 years. In India, the Attorney General is appointed by the President at the instance of the Union Cabinet. In South Africa, the Attorney General is appointed by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs after consultation with the Solicitor General and can be removed with the approval of both Houses of Parliament.

In addition to the appointing process, some jurisdictions prescribe qualifications, the most significant one being where the Attorney General is required to have the same qualification as the Chief Justice or Justice of the Supreme Court as is the case in Kenya and India respectively. In the United States, a Bar qualification will suffice while in the United Kingdom, qualification is not specified, but holders of the office have traditionally been Barristers who continue to practise with the Crown as their client. Also, the remuneration for the office is carefully considered to insulate the appointee from influences that may derail him or her. What is important is to ensure that the appointee is well compensated for the onerous duties he or she is discharging and to insulate him from financial pressures as has been done in some jurisdictions.

Given the peculiarities of Nigeria, care should be taken to ensure that the appointment process is clearly specified in the Constitution establishing the Office of Attorney General of the Federation and his counterparts at the state level. I submit that the Attorney General of the Federation should be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate. The appointee should have the same qualification as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and should be appointed for a fixed, non-renewable tenure of six years only. The appointee should not be removed except for misconduct, violation of the provisions of the enabling law, convictions or inability to discharge the functions of the office due to infirmity of the body or mind. The President should only remove the appointee upon an address supported by two-thirds of the Senate. The remuneration of the appointee should be stated in the Instrument of Appointment and should be reasonable enough to compensate the appointee and insulate him from monetary inducement. The remuneration so specified should be subject to yearly adjustments based on inflation to ensure that the salary is not eroded.

It is also necessary to clarify the duties of the Attorney General of the Federation as well as that of the Minister of Justice to avoid jurisdictional overlaps. The Attorney General, who must be a seasoned lawyer, should be appointed under section 150 of the Constitution to head the Department of Justice. He will be assisted by professional staff such as the Solicitor General, Director, Public Prosecutions, Director, Civil Litigation, Director, Legal Drafting, Director, Solicitors Dept, and Director of International Law. He will also superintend all the law officers and be responsible for posting them as pool officers to other ministries to deal with legal matters and proffer legal opinions on his behalf.

The Attorney General shall not be a Minister but shall attend the Federal Executive Council to render legal advice where required, attend Court as amicus curie even in a matter where the Government is not a Party and attend the National Assembly to render legal advice. The Attorney General shall also superintend the exercise of prosecutorial powers by prosecutorial agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NATIP) and the national Drug law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). To be effective, all these Agencies as well as the Nigeria Police should report to the Department of Justice. For instance, In the United States of America, the Attorney General is assisted by Deputy Attorneys General, Associate Attorney General, the Solicitor General and heads of Litigating Divisions such as Criminal, Civil, Antitrust, Civil rights, Tax, National Security etc. The Enforcement Divisions include Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), US Marshals Service (USMS), and Interpol Washington.

On the other hand, the Minister of Justice need not be a lawyer and should be appointed under section 148 of the Constitution. However, care should be taken to appoint a person with knowledge of the justice sector. The Minister of Justice will be responsible for implementing Government policies in the justice sector. This will cover issues such as government policies on the administration of justice, access to justice, law reform, research, legal education, law reporting, etc. The Minister will be assisted by the bureaucracy comprising relevant professionals and technocrats such as the Permanent Secretary and relevant Directors. The Minister of Justice shall superintend over parastatals such as the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Nigerian Law School, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.

Finally, while the above proposals are designed to strengthen the hand of the appointee to do justice to all those who encounter the justice system, there is no guarantee that the separation alone is enough to insulate the office from politics. The occupants of the office must have the requisite moral fibre and strength of character to resist subtle pressures from the powers that be in the discharge of their onerous duties. The search for a suitable attorney general of the federation or his counterparts at the state level should go beyond mere knowledge of the law to x-raying the antecedents of appointees over a fairly long period to determine their suitability.

** Adoke was Nigeria’s attorney general of the federation and minister of Justice from 2010 to 2015.

Contronym - a word that can mean exactly opposite things, e g pharmakon, poison and remedy in pharmacology and botany

Bene, you were amazonian

A revolutionary, a warrior

A female revolutionary and warrior

But you were also pharmakon

The poison that is also the cure

The foundation of Botany

The queen of all sciences

Poison cured, neutralized

Bene, warrior and revolutionary

Amazon and pharmakon

The roots of your life

Of your unique selfhood

Amazon and/or pharmakon?

More Amazon than pharmakon

Or more pharmakon than Amazon?

A needless riddle or conundrum!

Among plants and herbs

There are killers and healers

In botany, queen of all sciences,

Knowledge of poison and remedy

Among feminist revolutionaries

You were unique, Bene

Amazon and pharmakon rare Among women as among men

Not all men are warriors

Not all women are healers

Most women and most men

Tread and justify a middle ground

Your unique selfhood stood out

Until the end, Bene

Or close to the end

When the pharmakon stopped

YOU fatefully confronted

Poison without its remedy

You, Bene Madunagu,

Essence of cure for poison!

You seemed to have forgotten

Who you were or had been

And a great mystery arose:

Did you know yourself, Bene?

Did we, your comrades, know?

Amazon and pharmakon together

In your life, did we know,

Truly know, this basis of your life?

We knew, Bene, we knew

Only we had no name for it

We saw Amazon and pharmakon

Separately, not in combination

As we mourn and celebrate

As we commit you to earth, Reclaiming your full legacy

Will begin, Amazon/Pharmakon!

The closing chapter of your life

Will not have the last word, Bene

In full and in celebration

We will reclaim your legacy, Bene!

Bene, Bene, Bene, Bene, Bene

We will not forget you!

We dare not forget you!

Amazon and pharmakon!

For the last two years, my colleague Renée Onque has been covering what makes for a happier, longer life. This week, she did the hard work of distilling dozens of interviews and studies into five actionable tips youcan implement today. 

1 Eat a healthy diet. This doesn’t mean eating to lose weight. Super-agers pack their diets with legumes, nuts, grains and vegetables, and they tend to avoid red meat. 

2 Move your body often. Build physical activity into your everyday life. Maybe you walk to the grocery store instead of driving, or ask a friend to take a stroll instead of to grab a drink. 

3 Believe in something. Whether it’s a religion or life philosophy, those who have faith in something tend to live longer.

4 Maintain positive relationships. Spending time around people you enjoy can actually make you happier and extend your life, according to an 86-year Harvard study. 

5 Prioritize lifelong learning. Stay busy by practicing a new skill or hobby regularly. 

These directives seem obvious, but I realized sometimes I do literally none of them. I often have days where I haven’t engaged in one fun conversation with a friend or taken the time to walk around my neighborhood block. 

Reading Renee’s piece reminded me that just because something is easy to do doesn’t mean you don’t have to put effort into doing it – and it’s important to not let the simple things slip your mind.

CNBC

The Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) has thrown its support behind the proposed tax reform bills currently at the national assembly, while proposing a different formula for sharing Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue from the one originally put forward by President Bola Tinubu.

In a meeting held on January 16, 2025, between the NGF and the presidential tax reform committee, the governors endorsed a revised VAT sharing formula that differs significantly from the president's original proposal. The governors recommended distributing VAT revenue as follows:

- 50% based on equality (distributed equally among states)

- 30% based on derivation (where goods and services are consumed)

- 20% based on population

This stands in contrast to Tinubu's original formula in the tax reform bills, which proposed:

- 60% based on derivation

- 20% based on equality

- 20% based on population

The governors' proposal shifts the emphasis from derivation to equality-based distribution, potentially benefiting states with lower consumption rates. While supporting the broader tax reform initiative, the governors also took a firm stance against any increase in the VAT rate or reduction in Corporate Income Tax (CIT), citing the need to maintain economic stability.

Additional recommendations from the governors included removing terminal clauses for TETFUND, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in the sharing of development levies. They also advocated for continuing the exemption of essential goods and agricultural produce from VAT to protect citizens' welfare and promote agricultural productivity.

The Federal Government, through Minister of Information and National Orientation Muhammed Idris, expressed satisfaction with the governors' support for the bills and their counter-proposal on the VAT formula. However, he noted that the final decision rests with the National Assembly, which will consider all inputs and submissions, including those from a public hearing.

The tax reform bills, which include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, have faced varying reactions across the country. While southern leaders have generally supported the reforms, northern governors had initially opposed the bills, citing concerns about their region's interests. The current endorsement by the NGF represents a significant shift toward consensus, though with substantial modifications to the original proposal.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised serious concerns about the potential impact of the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 on public tertiary education, warning that the proposed legislation could undermine the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Dani Mamman, ASUU's Yola Zone Coordinator, stated that the bill's provisions would redirect crucial funding away from TETFund, potentially destabilizing the public university system. "The future of public tertiary education in Nigeria hangs in the balance," he said, emphasizing that the proposed changes could significantly impair universities' operational capabilities.

According to Mamman, the consequences could be far-reaching, potentially leading to declining academic standards, increased brain drain, reduced research capacity, and broader social implications. He expressed particular concern about universities' ability to maintain competitive staffing levels, warning that institutions might struggle to "attract and retain top talent."

The union is now calling for a united front against the bill, urging the National Assembly, government officials, and other stakeholders to protect TETFund's current structure. "We must stand united to defend our education system and ensure that our universities can continue to serve as beacons of knowledge and innovation," Mamman emphasized.

The concerns come amid broader discussions about Nigeria's proposed tax reforms and their potential implications for various sectors of the economy.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

James Nolan, a British national accused in the $9.6 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Ltd scandal, informed the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday that he would not be calling any witnesses in his defense.

Nolan, who is being tried in absentia after fleeing Nigeria while on bail, made this known through his lawyer, Michael Ajara, during proceedings presided over by Obiora Egwuatu.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a 20-count charge against Nolan and Micad Project City Services Limited, a company where Nolan serves as a director, accusing them of money laundering. The defendants were initially arraigned in May 2022 and pleaded not guilty. Nolan, also a director in P&ID Ltd, was remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre before securing bail after meeting a reduced condition of ₦100 million with a surety.

However, Nolan later stopped attending court proceedings and fled the country. The court declared him wanted and ordered his arrest. In January 2024, INTERPOL apprehended Nolan in Italy during a visit to his wife, but he has yet to be extradited to Nigeria to face trial.

During Thursday’s hearing, EFCC counsel Bala Sanga informed the court that the prosecution had decided to forgo calling its final witness after reviewing the case. Nolan’s lawyer, Ajara, raised no objections, stating that the defense would rely on the evidence presented by the EFCC.

“Based on the evidence already before the court adduced by the prosecution, we shall be resting our case on theirs. We do not intend to call any witness,” Ajara said.

Egwuatu adjourned the case to March 10 for the adoption of final written addresses by both parties.

In a related development, a sister court presided over by Donatus Okorowo, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, ruled on July 3, 2024, that two companies linked to Nolan—Trinity Biotech Nigeria Limited and Resorts Express Concept Nigeria Ltd—were guilty of money laundering.

The court ordered the winding up of the two companies and the forfeiture of their assets to the federal government as part of measures to address their involvement in the P&ID Ltd fraud.

Israel set to approve Gaza ceasefire, hostage deal, Netanyahu's office says

The Israeli cabinet will meet to give final approval to a deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday.

In Gaza itself, Israeli warplanes kept up intense strikes, and Palestinian authorities said late on Thursday that at least 86 people were killed in the day after the truce was unveiled.

With longstanding divisions apparent among ministers, Israel delayed meetings expected on Thursday when the cabinet was expected to vote on the pact, blaming Hamas for the hold-up.

But in the early hours of Friday, Netanyahu's office said approval was imminent.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed by the negotiating team that agreements have been reached on a deal to release the hostages," his office said in a statement.

The security cabinet would meet on Friday before a full meeting of the cabinet later to approve the deal, it said.

It was not immediately clear whether the full cabinet would meet on Friday or Saturday or whether there would be any delay to the start of the ceasefire on Sunday.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said Washington believed the agreement was on track and a ceasefire in the 15-month-old conflict was expected to proceed "as soon as late this weekend."

"We are seeing nothing that would tell us that this is going to get derailed at this point," he said on CNN on Thursday.

A group representing families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom are due to be freed in the first six-week phase of the accord, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward quickly.

"For the 98 hostages, each night is another night of terrible nightmare. Do not delay their return even for one more night," the group said in a statement late on Thursday carried by Israeli media.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier on Thursday said a "loose end" in the negotiations needed to be resolved.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this was a dispute over the identities of some prisoners Hamas wanted released. Envoys of President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump were in Doha with Egyptian and Qatari mediators working to resolve it, the official said.

Hamas senior official Izzat el-Reshiq said the group remained committed to the ceasefire deal.

Inside Gaza, joy over the truce gave way to sorrow and anger at the intensified bombardment that followed the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday.

Tamer Abu Shaaban's voice cracked as he stood over the tiny body of his young niece wrapped in a white shroud at a Gaza City morgue. She had been hit in the back with missile shrapnel as she played in the yard of a school where the family was sheltering, he said.

"Is this the truce they are talking about? What did this young girl, this child, do to deserve this?" he asked.

VOTE EXPECTED

Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the security cabinet and government. The prime minister's office has not commented on the timing.

Some political analysts speculated that the start of the ceasefire, scheduled for Sunday, could be delayed if Israel does not finalise approval until Saturday.

Hardliners in Netanyahu's government, who say the war has not achieved its objective of wiping out Hamas and should not end until it does so, had hoped to stop the deal.

Nevertheless, a majority of ministers were expected to back the agreement.

In Jerusalem, some Israelis marched through the streets carrying mock coffins in protest at the ceasefire, blocking roads and scuffling with police. Other protesters blocked traffic until security forces dispersed them.

The ceasefire accord emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces. Dozens of hostages taken by Hamas including women, children, elderly and sick people would be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel.

It paves the way for a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, where the majority of the population has been displaced, facing hunger, sickness and cold.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen burst into Israeli border-area communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and abducting over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

If successful, the ceasefire would halt fighting that has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed over 46,000 people, and displaced most of the tiny enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million, according to Gaza authorities.

Reuters

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

UK and France secretly discussing troops for Ukraine – Telegraph

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed sending soldiers into Ukraine as a peacekeeping force, the Telegraph has claimed citing anonymous sources.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky first mentioned the idea last week, and said he would discuss it with Starmer when he visits Kiev. According to the British outlet, however, Starmer is not fully on board yet.

“There are challenges over what we could support, what would we want to support, and the broader question about the threat that those troops may be under and whether that is escalatory,” the Telegraph quoted a Whitehall source as saying on Wednesday evening.

Spokespeople for 10 Downing Street and the Elysee Palace did not deny that Starmer and Macron discussed the peacekeeper possibility last week at the Chequers estate in the UK, but gave no details about the conversation.

Starmer was in Kiev on Thursday, promising a “100-year partnership”pact with Ukraine.

One of the rumored plans US President-elect Donald Trump might propose after taking office next Monday involves Western troops deployed as peacekeepers along the demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, supposedly running along the current line of conflict. No US forces would be involved, only “European”soldiers not acting under NATO command, according to media reports that have been impossible to verify.

Macron reportedly brought up the idea of “European” peacekeepers with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month, but Warsaw said it was “not planning any such actions.”

Earlier this week, Zelensky wrote on social media that he had discussed with “key allies”the “practical steps” for the implementation of the peacekeeper idea.

“We are getting slightly ahead of ourselves. We are not there yet,”one British official told the Telegraph.

Putting boots on the ground in Ukraine has been endorsed by former PM Boris Johnson, former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, and two ex-defense ministers, Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson.

The UK has given 12.8 billion pounds ($16 billion) in military and civilian aid to Kiev since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated in February 2022, and reportedly trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil.

The British government’s continued support for Kiev means London “clearly does not seek to resolve the conflict,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said recently, accusing the UK of “doing everything possible to make it drag on, thus prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian brigade pioneers remote-controlled ground assaults

The boxy, machine gun-equipped vehicle lumbered across the snow-covered battlefield, with no crew aboard and marking what its remote Ukrainian operators described as a major milestone as Russian artillery fire rained around it.

Sparing soldiers for the infantry assault that came later, the unmanned device was operated at a distance by Ukraine's Khartiia Brigade in the latest advance in a conflict that has been defined by a technology race on both sides.

Khartiia released footage of last month's attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which combined assault and mine- laying and mine-clearing vehicles guided by drones hovering above. The unit said it was the first documented machine-only ground assault in Ukraine's war with Russia.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the claim.

The operation paved the way for a successful infantry advance, the brigade said.

"Our task is to maximally transfer reconnaissance, clearing operations and assaults... to machines that we can afford to lose," said unit spokesperson Volodymyr Dehtiarov.

Units like Khartiia are embracing innovation, seeking to save lives as Russia's full-scale invasion nears its three-year mark.

Ukrainian authorities say some 43,000 soldiers have been killed in the fighting since February 2022, but some Western officials have estimated the number may be higher.

The proliferation of cheap attack drones has made the artillery-heavy war even deadlier, soldiers have said.

Standing inside a humble storage structure at a Khartiia base, a 21-year-old platoon commander with the call sign "Happy" pointed to shelves of spare parts for their vehicles - including "kamikaze" drones fixed with anti-personnel mines used in last month's attack.

"They get as close to their (Russian) dugouts as possible... and then explode," Happy told Reuters.

Ground vehicle crews are typically based at least 2 km away to avoid attacks by enemy drones, added 28-year-old pilot "Khort".

Other Ukrainian military units are using similar technology, such as remote-controlled stretchers, to try to gain a battlefield edge over a larger and better-equipped enemy.

STEPS AHEAD

Domestic production of ground-based remote technology is expanding in Ukraine, including through grassroots companies boosted by government development funds.

In the skies above, Ukraine is also using dozens of domestically made AI-augmented systemsfor drones to reach battlefield targets, a senior official said in October.

Russia's military is also quickly adapting, said Khartiia spokesman Dehtiarov, meaning Ukrainian units like his have to innovate continually both on and off the battlefield.

"Any advantage ... is eaten up after a few weeks - a few months at most - when the enemy begins to understand, analyse, apply and scale the same technologies."

RT/Reuters