“A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that Hamas did not have 40 living
hostages in Gaza who met the criteria for an exchange under a proposed
cease-fire agreement with Israel being negotiated. A senior Israeli official
said Israel had been relayed Hamas’s claim, and the senior Hamas official said
that the group had informed mediators facilitating the negotiations. The
Israeli official and the Hamas official requested anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the negotiations. The assertion raised fears that more hostages
might be dead than previously believed and came as talks between Hamas and
Israel stalled amid disagreements over the permanency of a cease-fire, the
return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and other issues.
International negotiators have proposed an initial six-week cease-fire during
which Hamas would release a first group of 40 hostages — including women, older
people, ill hostages and five female Israeli soldiers — in exchange for
hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons as well as other demands.
Israeli officials believe there are about 130 hostages remaining in Gaza, and
Israeli intelligence officers have concluded that at least 30 of those have
died in captivity.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 11, 2024



The New York Times: Hamas Does Not Have 40 Hostages Who Meet Terms Of
Potential Swap With Israel, Officials Said
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“A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that Hamas did not have 40 living
hostages in Gaza who met the criteria for an exchange under a proposed
cease-fire agreement with Israel being negotiated. A senior Israeli official
said Israel had been relayed Hamas’s claim, and the senior Hamas official said
that the group had informed mediators facilitating the negotiations. The
Israeli official and the Hamas official requested anonymity because of the
sensitivity of the negotiations. The assertion raised fears that more hostages
might be dead than previously believed and came as talks between Hamas and
Israel stalled amid disagreements over the permanency of a cease-fire, the
return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and other issues.
International negotiators have proposed an initial six-week cease-fire during
which Hamas would release a first group of 40 hostages — including women, older
people, ill hostages and five female Israeli soldiers — in exchange for
hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons as well as other demands.
Israeli officials believe there are about 130 hostages remaining in Gaza, and
Israeli intelligence officers have concluded that at least 30 of those have
died in captivity.”



Associated Press: 2 Alleged Iraqi Militants Arrested In Germany, Accused Of
Keeping Yazidi Girls As Slaves
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“Two Iraqis accused of being members of the Islamic State group and keeping
two young Yazidi girls as slaves as well as sexually and physically abusing
them have been arrested in Germany, prosecutors said Wednesday. The man and the
woman, identified only as Twana H.S. and Asia R.A. in line with German privacy
rules, were arrested in Bavaria on Tuesday, federal prosecutors said in a
statement. They are accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes, along with membership in a terrorist organization. The suspects were
married and were members of IS in Iraq and Syria between October 2015 and
December 2017, prosecutors said. They allegedly kept a five-year-old Yazidi
girl as a slave starting in late 2015 and a 12-year-old from October 2017.
Prosecutors allege that the man raped both girls repeatedly and that the woman
prepared the room and put make-up on one of the girls.”



CEP Mentions



DW: Iran: Lufthansa Suspends Flights To Tehran
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“German airline Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it had suspended flights to
and from Iran's capital, Tehran, probably until Thursday, "due to the current
situation in the Middle East." Meanwhile, an Iranian news agency, Mehr, briefly
stoked tensions when it published a report on social media platform X, formerly
Twitter, saying that all airspace over Tehran had been closed for military
exercises. The agency subsequently removed the report and denied issuing such a
message. Countries in the region and the United States have been on high alert
and preparing for a possible attack by Iran in response to the April 1
airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria suspected to have been conducted by
Israeli warplanes. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused
Israel of the airstrike and said it "must be punished and it shall be."
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would respond
if Iran attacked Israel from its own soil.”



CapX: Britain’s Prisons Are Screwed
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“I’d been thinking about writing a book about our current crisis in prisons
since 2016. Back then, it was the height of the austerity programme that played
an integral role in destroying an organisation I had once proudly served in. I
was once temporarily in charge of Erlestoke prison. It’s a small category C
jail buried in the hills outside Devises in Wiltshire. I had very fond memories
of a cohesive staff group who were able to balance security with fairness.
Prisons are rarely happy places, but at Erlestoke great relations between
prisoners and staff meant hopeful things could happen. In other words, it’s a
hard place to get wrong. But then came the riot.”



United States



Associated Press: Man Pleads Not Guilty To Terrorism Charge In Alleged Church
Attack Plan In Support Of Islamic State
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“An 18-year-old man accused of planning to attack churches in a northern
Idaho city in support of the Islamic State group has pleaded not guilty to a
federal terrorism charge. Alexander Mercurio appeared Wednesday in Idaho’s U.S.
District Court and pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to provide
material support to a designated foreign terror organization, the Coeur d’Alene
Press reported. Prosecutors say he planned to use a metal pipe, butane fuel, a
machete and, if he could get them, his father’s guns in the attack. Mercurio
was arrested Saturday, the day before investigators believe he planned to
attack people attending a church near his Coeur d’Alene home. According to
authorities, Mercurio adopted the Muslim faith against his Christian parents’
wishes and had been communicating for two years with FBI informants posing as
Islamic State group supporters. Mercurio told one informant he intended to
incapacitate his father with the pipe, handcuff him and steal his guns and a
car to carry out his plan, according to an FBI agent’s sworn statement in the
case.”



Voice Of America: US Destroys 11 Houthi Drones
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“The U.S. military said its forces destroyed eight aerial drones late
Wednesday in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi militant group. U.S.
Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement the drones "presented an imminent
threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region." CENTCOM also
reported destroying three other Houthi drones early Wednesday, including two
that were over the Gulf of Aden and one over the Red Sea. The United States is
leading a coalition effort to help protect the key shipping route through the
Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea from attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis. The
Houthis, designated by the U.S. as a terror group, have said their campaign
targeting ships is in solidarity with the Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas
war in the Gaza Strip.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Taliban Leader Stands Firm On His Islamic Governance In
Afghanistan
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“The Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader ruled out any compromise Wednesday on
his hardline Islamic governance in Afghanistan despite persistent global
criticism and calls for him to end sweeping restrictions on women. Hibatullah
Akundzada addressed and led thousands of worshipers in Eid al-Fitr prayers at
the central mosque in the southern city of Kandahar to mark the end of the
Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. “If anyone has any issues with us, we are open
to resolving them, but we will never compromise on our principles or Islam. At
the same time, we expect that Islam will not be disrespected,” stated
Akhundzada in his defiant Pashto-language speech aired by the state-run Afghan
radio station. "I will not take even a step away from the Islamic law."
Akundzada was apparently responding to sustained criticism by the United
Nations and Western countries of the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam
being used to govern impoverished Afghanistan, including the public flogging
and stoning of women for committing adultery.”



Lebanon



The National: Lebanese Man Linked To Hezbollah And Hamas Found Dead Near Beirut

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“A Lebanese man, who was the subject of US sanctions for allegedly funnelling
money from Iran to Hamas, was found shot dead at a villa outside Beirut. The
body of Mohammad Ibrahim Srour was discovered in the village of Beit Meri, a
Lebanese security source told The National. Lebanon's state-run National News
Agency reported late on Tuesday that the body of a man, 57, was found in an
area near Beit Meri, an affluent town that overlooks Beirut. The man had three
bullet wounds, it added. He was found in possession of an undisclosed sum of
money, a security source told AFP. In a press conference, at which two
Hezbollah MPs were present, his family said Mr Srour had been missing for a
week before his body was discovered. The family said he was a money changer who
had "never hurt anyone". They called for a full investigation into the
circumstances of his death but did not accuse any individual, group or
government. Mr Srour was subject to US sanctions and worked for financial
institutions belonging to Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, the source
said. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas and has traded almost daily cross-border
fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza war.”



Qatar



BBC: Qatar Airways Avoids Australian Lawsuit Over Women's Invasive Examinations
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“They and other women were ordered off a flight and checked for whether they
had given birth after a baby was found abandoned in an airport bin in 2020. The
incident sparked public outrage and it was condemned by several nations. An
Australian court found the state-owned airline could not be prosecuted under
the laws governing global travel. The five women filed a claim in the Federal
Court of Australia in 2021, seeking damages over the alleged "unlawful physical
contact" and false imprisonment, which had caused mental health impacts
including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Other passengers -
including from the UK and New Zealand - were not part of the lawsuit. But on
Wednesday, Justice John Halley found that Qatar Airways could not be held
responsible under a multilateral treaty called the Montreal Convention, which
is used to establish airline liability in the event of death or injury to
passengers. He also found that the airline's staff could not have influenced
the actions of Qatari police who removed the women from the flight, nor the
nurses who examined them in ambulances on the tarmac.”



Middle East



Associated Press: A Mission Of Mercy, Then A Fatal Strike: How An Aid Convoy
In Gaza Became Israel’s Target
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“It was hours after sundown when the eight aid trucks drove from the
makeshift jetty, cobbled together from tons of wreckage left across Gaza by
months of war. The trucks were escorted by three vehicles carrying aid workers
from the World Central Kitchen, the relief organization that had arranged the
massive food shipment. All seven aid workers wore body armor. The cars were
marked, including on the roof, with the group’s emblem, a multi-colored frying
pan. After a grueling crawl along a beaten-up road, it seemed like mission
accomplished. The convoy dropped off its precious cargo at a warehouse, and the
team prepared to head home. There wasn’t much more than a sliver of moon that
night. The roads were dark, except for occasional patches where light spilled
from buildings with their own generators. By a few minutes after 10 p.m., the
convoy was moving south on Al Rashid Street, Gaza’s coastal road. The first
missile struck a little more than an hour later. Soon after, all seven aid
workers were dead.”



Associated Press: An Israeli Airstrike In Gaza Kills 3 Sons And 4
Grandchildren Of Hamas’ Top Leader
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“Israeli aircraft killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the
Gaza Strip on Wednesday, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is
holding delicate cease-fire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said
four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh ’s sons are
among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said
they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit
of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally
mediated cease-fire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as
the sides remain far apart on key issues. The slayings also come as Israel is
under intensifying pressure — increasingly from its top ally, the U.S. — to
change tack in the war, especially when it comes to humanitarian aid for
desperate people in Gaza. Haniyeh said Hamas would not cave to the pressure
leveled by the strike on his family. “The enemy believes that by targeting the
families of the leaders, it will push them to give up the demands of our
people,” Haniyeh told the Al Jazeera satellite channel. “Anyone who believes
that targeting my sons will push Hamas to change its position is delusional.””



Russia



Reuters: Russia Launches 'Counter-Terrorist Operation' In Southern Region, RIA
Reports
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“Russia launched a "counter-terrorist operation" in parts of the city of
Nalchik and in the Cherek district of its southern Kabardino-Balkaria region on
Thursday, the RIA news agency cited local authorities as saying. RIA also cited
Russia's National Anti-terrorist Committee as saying a group of gunmen has
opened fire on security forces who had surrounded them outside Nalchik.”



Associated Press: Russian Forces Kill 2 Suspected Of Plotting Terror Attacks,
Authorities Say
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“Russian special forces killed two people suspected of plotting terror
attacks in a shootout in the country’s south on Thursday, the National
Antiterror Committee said. The suspects were blockaded on the outskirts of
Nalchik, capital of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic, and opened fire on special
forces of the Federal Security Service, the committee said. The committee did
not give details of the actions that the suspects were believed to be planning.
But the shootout came amid heightened security concerns after the March 22
attack by gunmen on a Moscow concert hall that killed 145 people. An affiliate
of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Kabardino-Balkaria is in the North Caucasus region where Islamic extremism has
brewed for decades.”



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