International
Israel announces the rescue of four hostages in operations in central Gaza
The Israeli Army rescued four hostages on Saturday in two places in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the center of the Gaza Strip, where they have carried out intense attacks in which at least 50 Palestinians have been killed.
The hostages rescued alive are Noa Argamani, 25, from Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, who were kidnapped by Hamas at the ‘Nova’ music festival on October 7.
“They are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for more medical examinations,” the Army said in a statement.
Both President Isaac Herzog, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke to the rescued hostage Noa Argamani, whose release was widely demanded by Israel for humanitarian reasons since her mother is terminally ill with cancer.
“I hug you on behalf of the entire nation of Israel,” Herzog told her, while Argamani said she was “very excited” and happy to speak Hebrew again in her conversation with Netanyahu, disseminated by her office.
“In Hebrew and at home, which is also important. We don’t give up on you for a moment. I don’t know if you believed it, but we believed it and I’m glad it happened,” the prime minister replied. “Improve with your family and also embrace your mother,” he added.
The operation was carried out between Army troops, Shin Bet agents and the elite police force Yamam, at two points in the heart of Nuseirat, where the Government of Gaza reported shortly before dozens of deaths and injuries in intense bombings, at least 50 at the moment.
The Army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, indicated that during the operation the troops “faced threats,” and a Yaman force agent was seriously injured, the police confirmed.
“In a heroic operational activity, our fighters managed to free four hostages from Hamas’ captivity and return them to their home in Israel,” celebrated the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, who followed the operation from the command room that was carried out “under intense fire.”
The head of the opposition, the centrist Yair Lapid, also celebrated the return, which he considered “a great light in the terrible darkness,” and congratulated the security forces for that “bold and courageous operation.”
“It’s a miraculous triumph. Now, with the joy that floods Israel, the Israeli Government must remember its commitment to recover the hostages that Hamas still holds: those who live for their rehabilitation, those killed for their burial,” demanded the Forum of Families of Hostages and Kidnapped.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that “once again, they have shown that Israel does not surrender to terrorism and acts with unlimited creativity and courage to bring home our kidnapped,” he said.
Netanyahu also greeted “the brave fighters who risked their lives today to save lives,” says a statement from his office accompanied by a photo in which he is seen supervising the rescue operation in the command room along with the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and the chiefs of the General Staff and Shin Bet, among others.
“We are committed to doing it in the future as well. We will not stop until we complete the mission and return all our kidnapped home, both the living and the dead,” the minister promised.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday asked the minister of the war cabinet Benny Gantz not to leave the government of national unity and emergency, as he planned to do today in a public appearance that he canceled after the successful rescue of four hostages in Gaza.
“I aske Benny Gantz not to leave the emergency government. Don’t give up unity,” Netanyahu wrote publicly on his X account.
At least 210 Palestinians have been killed and more than 400 have been injured in the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, the Government of Hamas announced.
These figures refer to the victims who arrived at the Martyrs Hospital of Al Aqsa, in the nearby city of Deir al Balah, and at the Al Awda Hospital, in Nuseirat, according to the Islamist group.
“We condemn the aggression of the ‘Israeli’ occupation against civilians, children and women, and against safe homes in the Nuseirat camp and against the central governorate, and we fully hold the occupation and the US administration responsible for this catastrophic crime in which he spilled the blood of dozens of innocent civilians,” said the Hamas Executive.
Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Qasam Brigades – the armed wing of Hamas -, said on Saturday that in the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in Nuseirat, central of the Gaza Strip, other kidnappees who were in the area were killed.
“The enemy managed to free some of his captives by committing horrible massacres, but at the same time he killed some of them during the operation,” he said in a statement without providing further evidence.
“What the Zionist enemy carried out in the Nuseirat area is an aggravated war crime, and the first harmed by him are his captives. The operation will pose a great danger to the enemy’s captives and will have a negative impact on their conditions and lives,” said Abu Obeida.
The Qasam Brigades assured months ago that at least 70 hostages had died in captivity by the “Sionist bombings” and last month indicated that they had taken captive several Israeli soldiers in Yabalia, north of the enclave.
With this rescue, of the 251 kidnapped on October 7, 116 captives remain in the enclave, at least 40 of them dead according to Israel; while there have been four other hostages for years, of them two dead.
Since the war began, Israel and Hamas only achieved a one-week truce agreement at the end of November, which allowed 105 hostages to be released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
In addition, four hostages were released by Hamas in October; seven rescued by the Army – counting today’s – and the bodies of 20 hostages have been recovered, three of whom mistakenly killed the Israeli troops.
Last month Israel recovered the bodies of seven hostages in several operations in the Yabalia refugee camp, most of them also kidnapped at the Nova festival; and last week it confirmed the death of four hostages – all elderly men – killed in captivity, although their bodies are still held in the Strip.
The Hamas-controlled government of Gaza reported dozens of deaths in another Israeli attack at the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, where on Thursday about 40 people were killed in the bombing of a school of the UN agency to help Palestinian refugees UNRWA.
“The ‘Israeli’ occupation army launches an unprecedented brutal attack against the Nuseirat camp, leaving dozens of martyrs and wounded in the streets, and continues its aggression against the central governorate,” he said in a statement.
The Israeli Army confirmed that it was “attacking terrorist infrastructure in the Nuseirat area,” without providing more details.
The Gazati Government highlighted that the Martíres Hospital of Al Aqsa in the nearby city of Deir al Balah, the only one that works in the central area, has been in a catastrophic situation for days, and in the last few hours it has “a large number of martyrs and wounded, mostly women and children.”
They warned that dozens of injured people lie on the floor of the hospital, which suffers a serious shortage of medicines and fuel, which has caused the shutdown of the main electric generator and only works with one of lower capacity.
On the other hand, the Israeli Army is imposing “security measures” on the coast of the Gaza Strip, so that the dock built by the United States over the Mediterranean Sea for the distribution of aid returns to operate after being repaired after being damaged by a storm.
“The Israel Defense Forces are carrying out security measures on the coast of Gaza so that the US dock is prepared for the continuous delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza people,” a military statement said.
The US Central Command reported yesterday that it had already repaired the dock that was out of service at the end of May since the pontoon that joined it with the beach was damaged by a storm and needed to be repaired.
International
Mexico requests extradition of ‘Mini Lic’ for murder of journalist Javier Valdez
The Mexican government has requested the extradition of Dámaso López Serrano, a former high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, who is accused of masterminding the 2017 murder of Mexican journalist Javier Valdez, the Attorney General’s Office announced on Tuesday.
López Serrano, known as “Mini Lic,” was arrested last Friday in Virginia, United States, on charges of fentanyl trafficking, a crime he committed while on parole.
“This is the key issue for us, he [López Serrano] is the mastermind of this murder. The rest of the perpetrators are already processed and in jail, he was the one missing,” said Attorney General Alejandro Gertz.
“We immediately made the extradition request,” the official added during the routine morning press conference of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Valdez, an award-winning reporter specializing in drug trafficking and correspondent for AFP and the newspaper La Jornada, was murdered on May 15, 2017, in front of the office of his magazine Riodoce in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state.
“Mini Lic” was originally arrested in 2017 when he voluntarily turned himself in to U.S. authorities and pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine. In 2022, he was released on parole.
Gertz confirmed that the Mexican Attorney General’s Office had requested López Serrano’s extradition “countless times,” but Washington had declined to act on the request because he had become a “protected witness” for the U.S. government and “was providing a lot of information.”
“Now, with this situation where they themselves are acknowledging that this individual is still committing crimes, I think there are more than enough reasons for them to support us,” the prosecutor added.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in Mexico and was founded by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is serving a life sentence in the United States.
Culiacán has been shaken by a wave of murders since the arrest of Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, another key leader of the cartel alongside Guzmán, on July 25 in New Mexico, United States.
International
Cuba’s government stresses openness to serious, respectful U.S. relations
Cuba reiterated on Tuesday its willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States, just weeks before Republican President Donald Trump assumes office. During his first term, Trump halted the historic rapprochement between the two countries, which had been initiated just ten years earlier by Democrat Barack Obama.
“It will not be Cuba that proposes or takes the initiative to suspend the existing dialogues, to suspend the existing cooperation. Not even the discreet exchanges on some sensitive issues,” said Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernández de Cossío at a press conference in Havana.
“We will be attentive to the attitude of the new government, but Cuba’s stance will remain the same as it has been for the last 64 years. We are willing to develop a serious, respectful relationship with the United States, one that protects the sovereign interests of both countries,” he added.
His statements come on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the historic rapprochement announcement between Washington and Havana.
On December 17, 2014, Cuban leader Raúl Castro (2006-2021) and Barack Obama (2008-2016) announced the beginning of a thaw in relations, which led to the restoration of diplomatic ties in 2015, after more than half a century of confrontation.
This process of thawing bilateral relations was later halted by businessman Donald Trump, who significantly reinforced economic sanctions against the communist-ruled country. The Republican will return to the White House on January 20.
Cuba, under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962, was re-listed in 2021 on the “blacklist of countries supporting terrorism,” blocking financial and economic flows to the island of 10 million inhabitants.
Subsequently, the administration of current Democratic President Joe Biden made only slight adjustments to the sanctions and also kept Cuba on this list. However, his administration resumed bilateral contacts with Havana on migration issues and the fight against terrorism.
International
Mexican government to use church atriums for gun surrender program to combat violence
The atriums of Mexican Catholic churches will be used for the voluntary surrender of weapons in exchange for economic and legal incentives as part of a plan announced on Tuesday by the government to reduce violence.
According to the Mexican government, there is a link between the illegal trafficking of weapons—almost entirely coming from the United States—and the spiral of criminal violence that has plagued the country since late 2006, when a controversial military anti-drug offensive was launched.
“The idea is to set up areas in the church atriums where people can voluntarily surrender their weapons, and in return, they will receive financial resources based on the weapon they are turning in,” explained President Claudia Sheinbaum during her regular press conference.
The left-wing leader emphasized that the program, called “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace,” guarantees that those who surrender their weapons will not face any “investigation.”
“What we want is to disarm. This will be implemented next year. We also did it in Mexico City, and it had significant results,” added the former mayor of the capital, with a population of 9.2 million.
The disarmament plan is part of the government’s “comprehensive security strategy,” one of whose pillars is promoting a culture of peace, especially in regions severely affected by organized crime violence, Sheinbaum pointed out.
More than 450,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since the government launched its military-led anti-drug operation, alongside about 100,000 people who have gone missing.
Despite being a secular state, the Mexican Catholic Church has played a key role in efforts to contain violence, with priests acting as mediators between citizens and criminals. Several clergy members have been killed for this cause.
Just last week, the Catholic hierarchy called on cartels to declare a truce in their violent actions during the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12 and the upcoming Christmas holidays.
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