Associated Press: Truce In Israel-Hamas War Extended By A Day, Minutes Before It Was Set To Expire

“Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed to extend a temporary truce by another day minutes before it was set to expire, said Qatar, which has been mediating between the two sides. Negotiations on extending it came down to the wire, with last-minute disagreements over the hostages to be freed by Hamas in exchange for another day of a halt in fighting. Word of the extension came just as the truce was to expire at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) Thursday. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said the truce was being extended under the same terms as in the past, under which Hamas has released 10 Israeli hostages per day in exchange for the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners.”

The Washington Post: Man Sentenced To Life By Canadian Judge Who Says Incel-Inspired Attack Was Terrorism

“A court in Toronto sentenced a Canadian man to life imprisonment for a fatal stabbing at a massage parlor, with a Canadian judge for the first time designating an incel-inspired crime as terrorism. The defendant, Oguzhan Sert, carried out his February 2020 attack “after extensively researching the incel culture,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Suhail Akhtar said Tuesday, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. “He sought it out, he accepted it and he acted upon it,” the judge said, adding that he did not believe Sert’s claims that he was brainwashed by the ideology. “This is the first terrorism prosecution in Canada involving the incel ideology, which has been linked to numerous violent acts in Canada and internationally,” the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said in a statement Tuesday.”

CEP Mentions

DW News: Israel-Hamas War: Truce Extended, Hamas Releases Fifth Group Of Hostages

“Interview with Hans-Jakob Schindler.”

WTOP: The Hunt: Israel Kills Hamas Military Leaders

“Israel announced Sunday that it had “eliminated” four senior Hamas military leaders. In this week’s episode of “The Hunt with WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green”, Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, elaborates on who these men were.”

United States

Senator Cruz: SEN. CRUZ REINTRODUCES BILL TO REIMPOSE TERRORISM SANCTIONS ON IRAN-CONTROLLED HOUTHIS

“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reintroduced his legislation to impose terrorism sanctions on the Iran-controlled Houthis, as acts of terrorism continue to escalate in the Middle East. On February 5, 2021 the Biden State Department announced it would lift terrorism-related sanctions on the Houthis and three of their leaders: Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim. Sen. Cruz repeatedly pushed language to reverse that decision, including filing this bill in 2022. Upon re-introducing the bill, Senator Cruz said, “The Biden administration made a day one politically-driven decision to dismantle terrorism sanctions against the Houthis and their leaders. That decision was an obvious and catastrophic mistake from the very beginning, and it has only become more obvious and more catastrophic as time has gone on. Now the Houthis and other Iranian-controlled terrorists are openly and routinely attacking the United States and our allies, but the Biden administration still refuses to reverse its decision, because they believe doing so would be politically costly. Politics should not be a consideration when American lives and national security interests are at stake. President Biden needs to put an end to enabling the Houthis and other Iran-backed terrorist groups through sanctions relief and sanctions non-enforcement. If he won’t then Congress should mandate that he does so.””

Syria

The National: Rocket Strike On US Coalition In Syria Breaks Week Of Calm

“An attack on US coalition forces in Syria on Wednesday broke a brief period of relative calm amid a spike in regional violence. A US Department of Defence official told The National that the morning rocket attack against at a mission support site in Euphrates, Syria, produced “no injuries and no damage to infrastructure”. This is the first confirmed attack on US and coalition forces since November 23, a day before a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza. “Our forces in Iraq and Syria will stay focused on the mission we have at hand, which is preventing Daesh [ISIS] resurgence and advising, assisting and enabling our partner forces,” the defence official said.”

Iraq

Iraqi News: Iraq Aims To Close Al-Hol Camp In Syria

“The Iraqi National Security Advisor, Qasim Al-Araji, confirmed on Tuesday that the strategic goal of the Iraqi government is to close the Al-Hol refugee camp in Syria. Al-Araji’s remarks took place during his meeting in Baghdad with the Azerbaijani ambassador to Iraq, Nasir Mammadov, where they discussed the political and security situation in the region as well as strategies to enhance cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA). The Iraqi National Security Advisor emphasized that the Iraqi government is eager to close the refugee camp in Syria because it poses a real threat to international peace.”

Middle East

Times Of Israel: Hamas Claims Jerusalem Shooting Attack In Which 3 Were Killed, Calls For ‘Escalation’

“Hamas claims responsibility for the shooting attack at the entrance to Jerusalem this morning, in which three Israelis were killed and six were wounded. In a statement, the terror group hails the two perpetrators, brothers Murad (38) and Ibrahim (30) Nemer, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher, calling them “jihad-waging martyrs.” Three Israelis were killed in the attack: Livia Dickman, 24, Ashdod rabbinical judge Elimelech Wasserman, 73, and Hannah Ifergan, who was in her 60s. The two perpetrators got out of a vehicle at around 7:40 a.m. and opened fire at people at a bus stop.”

NPR: Blinken Arrives In Israel As The Gaza Cease-Fire With Hamas Is Extended Another Day

“Hours after Hamas released another 16 captives in exchange for 30 Palestinians held by Israel, the two sides announced Thursday that they had agreed to extend their cease-fire in Gaza by at least another day to continue the hostages-for-prisoners swaps. News of the extended pause in fighting came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel and amid an early morning shooting at a bus station on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where gunmen opened fire, killing three Israelis. It is the first Palestinian attack on civilians since the Israel-Hamas war began last month. Early Thursday, officials in Qatar, where the truce was negotiated, announced the extension of the pause in fighting under the same conditions agreed in the original deal a week ago. Both Israel and Hamas confirmed the revised deal, meaning more hostages are set for release later Thursday in return for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.”

Associated Press: Israel Likens Hamas To The Islamic State Group. But The Comparison Misses The Mark In Key Ways

“It has become an Israeli mantra throughout the latest war in Gaza: Hamas is ISIS. Since the bloody Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the conflict, Israeli leaders and commanders have likened the Palestinian militant group to the Islamic State group in virtually every speech and public statement. They point to Hamas’ slaughter of hundreds of civilians and compare their mission to defeat Hamas to the U.S.-led campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria. “Hamas is ISIS,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared just after the attack. “And just as the forces of civilization united to defeat ISIS, the forces of civilization must support Israel in defeating Hamas.””

Haaretz: Three Israelis Killed, Six Wounded In Jerusalem Terror Attack; Hamas-Affiliated Assailants Shot Dead

“Three Israelis, a 24-year-old woman, a 60-year-old woman, and a 73-year-old man, were killed in a shooting attack on Thursday at the entrance to Jerusalem. Six other people were injured, two of them seriously, three moderately, and one lightly. The assailants, two Palestinian brothers from the neighborhood of Tzur Baher in East Jerusalem, were shot dead. In a separate incident, two IDF reserve soldiers were lightly injured in an attack at an IDF checkpoint near Beka'ot in the northern West Bank. Other soldiers at the scene shot and killed the driver.”

Africa

Vanguard: Al-Qaeda-Linked Rebels Kill 40 Civilians In Burkina Faso

“No fewer than 40 civilians were killed by al-Qaeda-linked rebels trying to take control of a besieged town in Burkina Faso’s hard-hit northern region. The United Nations Human Rights Office described the attack which happened on Saturday as a war crime said it happened at Djibo near Mali’s border. The Associated Press reported it was one of the largest clashes in recent years in the West African nation under threat from fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. The town, located 210 kilometres (130 miles) from the capital, Ouagadougou, has been under blockade by rebels for more than a year, often struggling to provide essential services.”

Russia

The New York Times: Russia Moves To Label Gay Rights Movement As ‘Extremist’

“In recent years, L.G.B.T.Q. people in Russia have lived under increasing fear as the Kremlin has ratcheted up measures curtailing gay and transgender rights in tandem with the repressive search for “internal enemies” during the war in Ukraine. In the latest threat, the Ministry of Justice will seek a court order on Thursday to declare the international gay rights movement an “extremist organization.” Gay rights activists and other experts say that a ruling in favor would put gay people and their organizations under the threat of being criminally prosecuted at any time for something as simple as displaying the rainbow flag or for endorsing the statement “Gay rights are human rights.” That prospect has heightened angst and alarm in the country’s already beleaguered gay communities.”