Israel recovers soldier’s body held in Gaza since 2014

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the return of the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.

The recovery was made possible through a special operation conducted by the Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) just before the ceasefire came into effect.

Shaul’s body had been held in Gaza since 2014.

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🔥WATCH: Russian Sever Battlegroup destroyed an BTR-4 Butsefal armoured personnel carrier of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Sumy region with a Lancet loitering munition.

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❗️Israel's Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has resigned in protest against a deal with Hamas, Israeli Kan Radio reports.

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❗️Israel has just received a list of hostages from Hamas, Netanyahu's office advisor told Sputnik.

Hamas' military wing announced its decision to release three hostages on Sunday as part of the exchange deal.

"A decision was made today to release three female hostages: Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher," a spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, Abu Ubaida, stated.

Photo from social media

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❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Vozdvizhenka in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🏭German opposition leader pledges 50 gas-fired power plants if elected amid growing energy crisis

Opposition CDU/CSU chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz lambasted Olaf Scholz's government for its "serious strategic mistake" when it decided to "shut down the last three nuclear power plants that guaranteed reliable power generation in the middle of the energy crisis."

Germany faced energy shortages caused by output 25% below prior year levels of wind power last October and November. Gas-fired electricity production in Germany surged by a record 79% in November.

📊 Ahead of the elections, Germany faces more grim economic data:

📍The country’s economy has fallen for the second year in a row, with the Federal Statistical Office reporting a 0.2% contraction in GDP in 2024.

📍Published early fourth-quarter data showed that the economy had also reduced by 0.1% compared to the previous three months.

📍Germany has been mired in a cost of living crisis and scrambled to offset skyrocketing energy prices brought on by its short-sighted move to relinquish cheap Russian gas.

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⚡️Netanyahu's Office: The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 9:15 GMT

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📞Fire? Homicide? Worse – TikTok is banned

Americans are flooding 911 with calls, panicking over the TikTok ban.

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⚡️19 people were killed and 36 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza, including during the ceasefire delay until 09:30 GMT, Gaza's Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal stated.

Casualties included one in Rafah, six in Khan Younis, nine in Gaza City, and three in the north.

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Ukraine lost up to 430 servicemen and a tank in the Russian Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 110 soldiers in the areas of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr and Sever.

▪️Russian air defence systems shot down three HIMARS missiles and 83 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 535 troops and two armored personnel carriers in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's combat zone.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 135 militants in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's combat zone.

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❗️Ukraine lost over 210 militants in the Kursk region over the past day, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said

Russian forces destroyed an infantry fighting vehicle, five armored combat vehicles, six vehicles, an artillery gun, and a mortar in the Kursk region, the Ministry added

In total, the enemy has lost more than 52,870 militants in the Kursk region since the start of hostilities.

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💬 All of NATO could be rendered powerless by EMP weapon – ex-Pentagon analyst

A launch of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapon at a height of about 200 miles from a satellite to explode a nuclear device up in orbit would knock out all the electronics of NATO countries, including the US, Michael Maloof, former Pentagon senior security policy analyst, told Sputnik.

“Alone on the East Coast, 70% of the US population relies on the Eastern grid. Around 90% of all US bases rely on energy from the local community grids. If those are knocked out, there's no communication. And the United States is not geared up for that,” he added.

Looking ahead, he predicted that fissures could tear NATO apart.

“NATO's going to probably begin to fracture and splinter into more regional defense alliances in the years to come,” Maloof said, suggesting that it might begin with the Scandinavian countries and then spread to the Eastern European countries.

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🗣Key points from Hamas' statement:

🔹 With the commencement of the ceasefire, we reaffirm our commitment to fulfilling the terms of the agreement.

🔹 The entire world must honor the legendary resilience of our people in Gaza and recognize their patience and sacrifice over the past 471 days.

🔹 Today, our prisoners have a date with freedom.

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