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Archaeologists have unearthed a lavish private bath complex in Pompeii, highlighting the wealth and grandeur of the ancient Roman city before it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, the site said on Friday.

The baths, featuring hot, warm and cold rooms, could host up to 30 guests, allowing them to relax before heading into an adjacent, black-walled banquet hall, decorated with scenes from Greek mythology.

ITALY'S ANCIENT POMPEII PARK CRACKS DOWN ON DAILY VISITORS TO COMBAT OVERTOURISM

The pleasure complex lies inside a grand residence that has been uncovered over the last two years during excavations that have revealed the opulent city's multifaceted social life before Vesuvius buried it under a thick, suffocating blanket of ash.

A central courtyard with a large basin adds to the splendour of the house, which is believed to have been owned by a member of Pompeii's elite in its final years.

"This discovery underscores how Roman houses were more than private residences, they were stages for public life and self-promotion," said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.

Zuchtriegel said the layout recalled scenes from the Roman novel "The Satyricon", where banquets and baths were central to displays of wealth and status.

Decorated with frescoes, the complex draws inspiration from Greek culture, emphasizing themes of leisure and erudition.

"The homeowner sought to create a spectacle, transforming their home into a Greek-style palace and gymnasium," Zuchtriegel said.

The remains of more than 1,000 victims have been found during excavations in Pompeii, including two bodies inside the private residence with the bathhouse - a woman, aged between 35-50, who was clutching jewellery and coins, and a younger man.

The discovery of their bodies was announced last year.

The Israeli government has finalized a historic cease-fire and hostage release agreement with Hamas, marking a critical step in the war since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Approved by the Israeli security cabinet and cabinet, the deal will take effect Sunday, with the first three hostages expected to be released. This agreement follows weeks of intensive negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised U.S. President Biden and President-elect Trump for their roles in advancing the negotiations. Netanyahu thanked Biden for his commitment and lauded Trump’s assertion that Gaza should never again become a "haven for terrorism." 

Trump, in a podcast interview, claimed his involvement accelerated the process, saying, "We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast."

Under the agreement, Hamas will release 33 hostages in the first phase, including women, children, elderly men and individuals with critical medical needs. Among them are 24-year-old Rumi Gonen, abducted from the Nova music festival, and Shiri Bibas with her two young sons, Ariel and baby Kfir. Families have been notified of the initial releases, while details of subsequent phases will be shared 24 hours prior to implementation.

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED: 'AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THAT'

Out of the three Americans believed alive in Gaza, only two — Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen — are included in the first phase. Sagui's wife gave birth to their third child while he was in captivity. Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier, is not on the list.

Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at FDD and former Trump NSC official, told Fox News last week Alexander being left off the initial list "would be a big strategic error."

In return, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, including minors, women and individuals with health issues. Some of the notable prisoners include Nawal Abd Fattah, a 24-year-old convicted of attempting to stab an Israeli man in 2020, and Ibrahim Zmar, a 15-year-old involved in a 2023 shooting in Jerusalem. Those convicted of leading major terror attacks remain excluded from the deal.

The agreement stipulates that released prisoners cannot be arrested again on the same charges and are not required to sign any declarations upon their release. Each woman or child hostage corresponds to the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners, while the release of soldiers entails 30 life-sentenced prisoners and 20 serving long terms.

CEASE-FIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS GETTING CLOSER AMID CONCERNS TERROR GROUP REARMING IN GAZA

The deal also facilitates humanitarian relief, allowing 600 trucks of supplies into Gaza daily. By the 22nd day, displaced Gazans will be allowed to return to northern areas, with security inspections limited to vehicles under Qatari-Egyptian supervision. The Israeli military will reduce its presence in certain areas while retaining control of key routes.

The release schedule begins with three hostages on the first day, followed by four on the seventh day. Over the next five weeks, groups of three hostages will be released weekly until the 35th day. Between the 35th and 42nd days, 12 more hostages will be freed, including long-held captives including Avera Mengistu, who has been held captive in Gaza for a decade, and Hisham al-Sayed, a mentally ill individual who crossed into Gaza on his own and has been held there since before Oct. 7.

Negotiations for the second phase will begin on the 16th day of the first stage, focusing on the release of young men and soldiers and the return of bodies. This phase will start on the 43rd day, lasting 42 days, with discussions addressing the remaining captives.

"When phase two begins, there will be an exchange for the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza, making the temporary cease-fire permanent," President Biden stated during a press conference Wednesday. He also noted that phase three would involve returning the remains of hostages killed in captivity and initiating a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza.

Netanyahu, on the other hand, speaking during a cabinet meeting, emphasized that in his discussions with both President Biden and President-elect Trump, one point was made explicitly clear: If negotiations for the second phase of the agreement fail, Israel will resume military operations.

For families of the hostages, the agreement represents both hope and heartbreak. Ronen and Orna Neutra, whose American-Israeli son Omer was killed by Hamas and whose body remains in Gaza, called the deal bittersweet. 

"It's a tough moment. On the one hand, we're happy and excited for the families that will hopefully get to see their loved ones after such a long time," Orna Neutra told Fox News. 

"We're really hopeful that this new administration will be able to bring the deal to fruition and will have all the gravitas to put on the different parties in the region to follow through on it. We trust President Trump that, you know, this is important to him and that he will make sure that this happens." 

News that Israel and Hamas have finally signed a deal was met with an international sigh of relief on Friday as it could mean the return of all remaining hostages who have long been held in unconscionable conditions, as well as bring an end to the brutal 15-month campaign in Gaza.

The first 42-day phase of the ceasefire and hostage-exchange agreement will begin on Sunday, when three of the 33 hostages slated to be released will be returned to Israel.

The exchange of the remaining 65 hostages, both dead and alive, will be negotiated on the 16th day of the cease-fire. However, the return of those hostages will not begin until the 43rd day of the deal, marking the second phase of the cease-fire. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL: ISRAELI CABINET APPROVES DEAL SIGNED BY NEGOTIATORS

But the family members of hostages still in Gaza have yet to fully rejoice, and as many view the progression with cautious optimism, others believe the deal is not good enough. 

"We are dealing with this deal [for] more than a year, and both sides tried to achieve the best deal for themselves," retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Major General Yaakov Amidror said in a discussion with reporters Thursday afternoon. 

Amidror made clear there was no way to achieve a perfect solution, given the immense complexities and the need to balance the value of human life with that of achieving a strategic security aim.

"This is the deal. It's a bad one. But it's the only one through which we can get out 33 hostages," he said. "And I think that, morally, it should be done."

Amidror pointed to the objections that have been levied against the deal by those who contend that the first phase should have included every single hostage held by Hamas, as well as by others who argue that it is bad for Israeli security.

Part of the cease-fire agreement is reported to include a plan that has Israel withdrawing its forces across the strip to a security perimeter surrounding Israeli communities on the Gaza border.

Details on the IDF's withdrawal remain unclear at this time, particularly as they relate to the phases of the agreement and specific security corridors across the Gaza Strip, though The Times of Israel reported this week that the IDF intends to remain in the Gaza Strip until the last hostage is freed. 

"Israel is losing the ability to destroy Hamas totally," Amidror said. "Israel is losing the ability to continue the momentum, and what will happen after the 42 days, no one knows."

The retired Major General pointed out that as the terms of the deal have not been made public, it is unclear what security agreement Israel has entered into with the U.S. when it comes to Iran and the continued threat that Hamas – despite losing roughly 80% of its military capabilities with an estimated at least 20,000 militants killed – poses in potentially regrouping in Gaza. 

Given these concerns, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir this week reportedly threatened to quit his post if Israel were to agree to the brokered deal. 

ISRAEL, HAMAS CEASE-FIRE HELD UP OVER RENEWED DEBATE OVER PHILADELPHI SECURITY CORRIDOR, TERRORIST EXCHANGE

"Many people don't like it, because it is clear that Israel is losing the ability to destroy Hamas, as we promised," Amidror said. "But we found ourselves in a situation that is the only way to get the hostages home."

Amidror explained that it became undeniably evident that as soon as Israeli forces made advances in areas near where hostages were held, they were then assassinated by Hamas guards.

"We understood that there is no military way to get them. And we had to make a decision, a very tough one – do we give up the hostages [lives], or we are making a deal?"

John Hannah, former National Security Advisor to Dick Cheney and a JINSA Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow, said it was a "tortuous decision, enormously painful, but one that the Israeli people have to make."

Hannah said that while the decision is "incredibly divisive," polls show that the majority of Israelis support returning the hostages over completely destroying Hamas. 

"Hamas is going to be able to claim that it survived," Hannah said. "Israel will achieve one of its major war objectives, God willing, in the return of the hostages, but at the cost . . . [of] the annihilation of Hamas, both in its military and its governing components."

"The best deal is the one which was not achieved," Amidror said. "This is the deal."

"There is no other way to release the hostages, and from within Israeli society, that was very important," the retired Major General said. "Israel is a democracy, the government should hear what the people say."

A Pakistani court on Friday sentenced the country’s already-imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 and seven years in jail after finding them guilty of corruption, officials and his lawyer said.

It's yet another blow for the former premier who has been behind the bars since 2023.

The couple are accused of accepting a gift of land from a real estate tycoon in exchange for laundered money when Khan was in power.

Prosecutors say the businessman, Malik Riaz, was then allowed by Khan to pay fines that were imposed on him in another case from the same laundered money of 190 million British pounds ($240 million) that was returned to Pakistan by British authorities in 2022 to deposit with the national exchequer.

6 DEAD AS PROTESTS ERUPT IN PAKISTAN OVER JAILED FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN

Khan has denied wrongdoing and insisted since his arrest in 2023 that all the charges against him are a plot by rivals to keep him from returning to office.

According to Khan’s legal team, Khan laughed and his wife, Bushra Bibi, smiled when judge Nasir Javed read the verdict.

Later, Khan and Bibi were taken into custody by prison officials after the announcement of the verdict, according to officials. She had earlier served a prison sentence in another graft case until she was freed on bail by a court in October. She recently led a rally to demand her husband’s release.

Later, a post from Khan’s account on the X platform urged his supporters not to panic over the verdict, under which the al-Qadir University built by his wife's charity will also be taken over by authorities in the Punjab province.

"I will never accept this dictatorship and I will stay in the prison cell for as long as I have to in the struggle against this dictatorship, but I will not compromise on my principles and the struggle for the true freedom of the nation," Khan wrote. Khan’s family has said such posts are shared with his consent.

Faisal Chaudhry, a defense lawyer, said the court verdict could be challenged in the superior courts.

Shortly after the announcement of the verdict, lawmakers from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party rallied outside the parliament in the capital, Islamabad, saying the former premier had been wrongly punished.

INDIA STEPS UP DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE TALIBAN AS RIVAL PAKISTAN LOSES INFLUENCE IN AFGHANISTAN

"This is a bogus case, and we will approach an appeals court against this decision," said Omar Ayub Khan, a senior party leader who is not related to the former premier.

Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022, had previously been convicted on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and violating marriage laws in three separate verdicts and sentenced to 10, 14 and seven years respectively. Under Pakistani law, he is to serve the terms concurrently — meaning, the length of the longest of the sentences.

Some of Khan’s supporters were also present outside the Adiala prison in the city of Rawalpindi, and they chanted slogans against the government, demanding the release of their leader.

On Thursday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters in Islamabad that there was "irrefutable evidence" against Khan and his wife in the "mega corruption scandal." Tarar said that Khan even did not tell his own Cabinet members about the money that was returned to Pakistan by Britain.

Tarar also claimed that Khan built a new sprawling house in the eastern city of Lahore after giving benefits to the business tycoon, and that he was unable to prove that from where he got the money from to build it.

The latest development came a day after Khan's PTI party held a crucial round of talks with representatives of the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to demand the release of all political detainees, including Khan and other party leaders.

Sharif became prime minister following the February 2024 election, which PTI claims was rigged.

Two of America’s adversaries are solidifying their ties just days before President-elect Trump makes his historic return to the Oval Office. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are meeting in Moscow to sign a partnership treaty.

Pezeshkian, who won the presidency in Iran’s July runoff election, is set to engage in talks with Putin and participate in the partnership pact-signing during his first trip to Moscow as president.

"Iran is an important partner for us with which we are developing multifaceted co-operation," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told press, according to a Reuters report.

Russia and Iran’s leaders are expected to discuss the development of transit corridors for trade and energy negotiations, Bloomberg reported. While Iran is looking to become a hub for Russian gas, there aren’t signs that the two have made substantial progress on the project, Bloomberg added.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan recently claimed that the Biden administration is leaving Russia, China and Iran "weaker" ahead of Trump’s return to Washington, even as the Kremlin makes its own moves on the world stage.

SULLIVAN CLAIMS BIDEN ADMIN LEAVES RUSSIA, CHINA AND IRAN 'WEAKER,' AMERICA 'SAFER' BEFORE TRUMP HANDOFF

Amid sanctions from the US and its allies, Russia has deepened its ties with other anti-West nations, such as Iran and North Korea. In fact, Russia and Iran’s relationship has grown since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to a yearslong war.

President-elect Trump’s incoming special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg has already urged the US to return to the policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran.

"For the United States, a policy of maximum pressure must be reinstated, and it must be reinstated with the help of the rest of the globe, and that includes standing with the Iranian people and their aspirations for democracy," Kellogg said at an event sponsored by an Iranian opposition group, The National Council of Resistance of Iran, in Paris.

Kellogg is also urging the US to stand with the Iranian people against the regime in Teheran.

BLINKEN CONFIRMS IRAN SUPPLYING RUSSIA WITH SHORT-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILES

Despite the US and its allies’ fears about the treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the partnership pact should not be a cause of concern.

"This agreement, like our treaty with North Korea, is not directed against anyone," Lavrov said, according to Sky News.

In June, Putin met with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, where the two signed an aid pact that brought the two nations closer than ever since the fall of the Soviet Union. Putin also expressed his gratitude for Kim’s "unwavering support" of the ongoing war with Ukraine.

PUTIN TOUCHES DOWN IN PYONGYANG, SAYS 'HEROIC PEOPLE' OF NORTH KOREA WILL 'CONFRONT' WEST WITH RUSSIA

"We’ve seen […] Russia try, in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.

He added that the US will "do everything we can to cut off the support that countries, like Iran and North Korea, are providing."

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by former President Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily restore his passport so that he could attend the inauguration in Washington of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump next week.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who Bolsonaro frequently has called his personal foe, said in the ruling that Bolsonaro currently holds no position that would allow him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president did not adequately prove to the court that he had been invited.

HOW BRAZILIAN POLICE SAY BOLSONARO PLOTTED A COUP TO STAY IN OFFICE

Bolsonaro, under several wide-ranging investigations including over an alleged attempt to stay in office despite his electoral defeat, had his passport seized by federal police last February because he was considered a flight risk. He denies the allegations against him.

Bolsonaro responded to the verdict Thursday on X by accusing Brazil’s judicial system of political persecution against him, comparing his situation to legal cases in the U.S. against Trump. He said that Trump "overcame the judicial activism. I too will overcome it."

The former Brazilian president had requested permission to leave the country from Jan. 17 to 22 to attend the inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20 and a Hispanic inaugural ball. Bolsonaro, an outspoken admirer of Trump, said on his social media channels on Jan. 8 that he was "very happy with this invitation."

"I’ll be representing the conservative, the right-wing, the good, the Brazilian people there in the United States, God willing," Bolsonaro said.

When de Moraes asked Bolsonaro’s lawyers for evidence of his invitation on Saturday, they forwarded an invitation letter signed by inauguration committee co-chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.

Still, de Moraes argued that Bolsonaro had not adequately proven that he was invited to the inauguration. In the ruling, de Moraes followed the recommendation of Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who said Wednesday that Bolsonaro's private interest in the trip did not outweigh the public interest in prohibiting him from traveling abroad.

De Moraes said Bolsonaro remains a flight risk and added that the former president has advocated that his supporters who face legal troubles in cases involving their political allegiance should leave the country and seek asylum. Hundreds of Bolsonaro's supporters involved in Jan. 8, 2023 riots in capital Brasilia have left Brazil to avoid prosecution.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend Trump’s inauguration.

Federal police seized Bolsonaro’s passport in Feb. 2024, during a raid related to the investigation into whether he and top aides plotted to ignore the 2022 election results and stage an uprising to keep the defeated right-wing leader in power.

Brazil’s Supreme Court previously has denied a Bolsonaro request to retrieve his passport, in March 2024, following an invitation from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Last November, federal police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 others, including high-ranking military officers, of attempting a coup. Gonet, the prosecutor-general, will decide whether to charge Bolsonaro or toss the investigation.

Legal experts believe Bolsonaro could be charged and stand trial in the second half of 2025 at the Supreme Court for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status. Analysts also say there’s a reasonable chance he stands trial before 2026 over allegedly embezzling jewels gifted by Saudi Arabian authorities.

The former president denies that he tried to stay in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 to his leftist opponent, Lula.

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The Brazilian ambassador to the U.S., Maria Luiza Viotti, will attend Trump’s inauguration, the government told The Associated Press on Thursday. President Lula was not officially invited to the ceremony.

Trump has invited some global leaders to his inauguration, including China’s President Xi Jinping and Argentina’s President Javier Milei.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a 100-year partnership agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, part of a European show of support and promises to keep helping Ukraine endure in its nearly three-year war with Russia.

The announcement came days before Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president with skepticism of America’s military burden in Europe and what he says is a plan to end the continent’s biggest conflict since World War II.

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"We are with you not just today or tomorrow, for this year or the next, but for 100 years — long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again," Starmer told Zelenskyy during a visit to Kyiv, promising that the U.K. would "play our part" in guaranteeing Ukraine's post-war security.

Starmer said that the landmark century-long agreement commits the two sides to cooperate on defense — especially maritime security against Russian activity in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov — and on technology projects including drones, which have become vital weapons for both sides in the war. The treaty also includes a system to help track stolen Ukrainian grain exported by Russia from occupied parts of the country.

Ukraine’s alignment with the West, and potential future membership in NATO, have angered Russian President Vladimir Putin, who still wants to exert influence over the independent nation.

While Starmer was meeting with Zelenskyy at the presidential palace, debris from Russian drones shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses fell in at least four districts of Kyiv, according to city administration chief Tymur Tkachenko. One was close to the Baroque presidential palace where the two men met.

Starmer said that the drones were "a reminder" of what the Ukrainian people are up against and their resolve.

Starmer’s unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July, though he said that it was his seventh meeting with Zelenskyy.

The Italian defense chief was also in Kyiv on Thursday, two days after Germany’s defense minister visited and three days after Zelenskyy talked by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The flurry of diplomatic activity came in the days leading up to Trump’s inauguration on Monday, which is expected to bring a departure from the outgoing U.S. administration’s pledge to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to defeat Russia. Trump has also indicated that he wants Europe to shoulder more of the burden for helping Ukraine.

Kyiv’s allies have rushed to flood Ukraine with as much support as possible before Trump’s inauguration, with the aim of putting Ukraine in the strongest position possible for any future negotiations to end the full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Ukrainians worry that Trump’s plan will demand unpalatable concessions, such as giving up territory. Zelenskyy has also said that he wants security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again in the future.

"We must look at how this war could end, the practical ways to get a just and lasting peace … that guarantees your security, your independence and your right to choose your own future," Starmer said at a joint news conference.

Zelenskyy said that the two leaders had discussed an idea floated by Macron for Western troops to monitor a future ceasefire, but said that it’s "a bit too early to talk about details."

Starmer left the door open to U.K. participation, telling Ukraine's leader that "we will work with you and all of our allies on steps that would be robust enough to guarantee Ukraine’s security."

"Those conversations will continue for many months ahead," Starmer said.

Zelenskyy has previously discussed a potential peacekeeping force with Baltic countries, France and Poland. But he said that it could only be part of the security solution and noted that "we do not consider security guarantees without the United States."

Starmer agreed that Washington's role in Ukraine is "vital." The United States is the biggest provider of military support and advanced weaponry to the country.

"We will continue to work with the U.S. on this," Starmer said.

Starmer said that in 2025, the U.K. will give Ukraine "more military support than ever before." He said that his country has already committed 3 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) for military aid this year, including 150 more artillery barrels and a U.K.-designed mobile air defense system named Gravehawk. The U.K. has pledged 12.8 billion pounds ($15.6 billion) in military and civilian aid since the war broke out.

During the daylong visit, Starmer and Zelenskyy laid flowers at a wall of remembrance for those killed in the war. The wall outside St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, a Kyiv landmark, is covered in photos of the slain, stretching for a city block. It has become a place of pilgrimage for families paying tribute to their lost loved ones.

Starmer also visited a Kyiv hospital specializing in burns treatment and an exhibition of drone technology.

As the grinding war nears the three-year mark, both Russia and Ukraine are pushing for battlefield gains before possible peace talks. Ukraine has started a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, where it is struggling to hang onto a chunk of territory it captured last year, and has stepped up drone and missile attacks on weapons sites and fuel depots inside Russia.

Moscow is slowly taking territory at the cost of high casualties along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line in eastern Ukraine and launching intense barrages at Ukraine’s energy system, seeking to deprive Ukrainians of heat and light in the depths of winter. A major Russian ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine on Wednesday compelled authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas.

Disputes over the now infamous Philadelphi security corridor are once again plaguing efforts to secure a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, an Israeli spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

Hopes of cease-fire and hostage exchange deal first confirmed by the U.S. and Qatar on Wednesday appeared to be quelled by the time Americans were waking up on Thursday morning.

"The terrorist organization Hamas repeatedly raises new demands at the last minute, even though everything has already been agreed upon with the mediators, including the U.S.," spokesman for the prime minister Omer Dostri said, echoing comments made by Netanyahu in which he accused Hamas of "creating a last-minute crisis" and "backing out" of terms negotiated by the mediators. 

KIRBY 'CONFIDENT' AMERICANS IN GAZA WILL BE FREED SUNDAY AMID REPORTS OF ISRAEL, HAMAS DEAL HOLDUP

When pressed by Fox News Digital for specifics on what issues have once again apparently stalled the deal set to be implemented on Sunday, Dostri pointed to renewed disagreements over the security corridor that runs between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

"[Hamas is calling for] changing the deployment of Israeli military forces in the Philadelphia corridor," Dostri said without expanding on what deployment disagreements have occurred.  

The passage of land has repeatedly proved to be a sticking point in negotiations and may have contributed to the collapse of a July deal in which American-Israeli Hersh Golberg-Polin was slated to be freed, but which never came to fruition. Golberg-Polin and five other hostages were then killed one month later in a tunnel in Gaza. 

Jerusalem has claimed this corridor is vital for its national security interests as Hamas could use it to re-group by relying on smuggling efforts and connections with Jihadi groups in Egypt’s North Sinai region.

In response to Fox News Digital, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said, "We’re aware of these issues and we are working through them with the Israeli government, as well as other partners in the region. We are confident these implementing details can be hammered out and that the deal will move forward this weekend."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed this sentiment and told reporters in a press briefing that the deal will be "implemented on Sunday."

A part of the deal believed to have been agreed to this week said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would remain in the Gaza Strip until the last hostage was freed. But Israel also agreed to begin withdrawing its forces to a security zone surrounding the communities on the Gaza border, reported the Times of Israel.

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL HANGS IN BALANCE AS KEY VOTE IS DELAYED

It is unclear what specifics regarding the Philadelphi corridor were agreed under the deal, though a senior diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that Israeli soldiers were intended to remain in the security corridor through the entirety of the first phase of the cease-fire. 

But Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen – an IDF soldier who is believed to have been killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and whose body was taken into Gaza by Hamas – believes it is the security demands by the far-right in Israel that could once again pose a threat to the hostage deal. 

Chen pointed to right-wing government members like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who have repeatedly rejected any deal that does not include continued IDF presence in the Gaza Strip. 

"The coalition members of Bibi, are giving him a very hard time. And you know, he might be looking to get out of it," Chen said. "It's easy to blame the other side."

Another issue that has allegedly popped up, according to Netanyahu’s spokesman, is Hamas' demands over the release of certain terrorist members currently held by Israel, though Fox News Digital was unable to confirm exactly what new demands have been levied. 

In exchange for the hostages still held in Gaza, Israel has agreed to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners in the initial phase of the deal set to last 42 days. During that period, 33 hostages who fall under "humanitarian categories" including any possible children, women, the elderly and the sick will be freed first.

The second phase, which will be negotiated on the 16th day of the cease-fire, will then involve the release of soldiers held by Hamas, both living and dead. Some reports have suggested that Israel could release more than 1,000 prisoners by the time the exchanges are through. 

Chen has arduously pushed for the release of all the hostages, including the deceased, and argued that the plan to release soldiers and the deceased in a separate stage was no longer good enough.

"[That] was maybe needed seven months ago, when the framework was put in place," Chen said. "Since then, everybody is humanitarian – including the deceased. 

"The only thing that you can predict about the Middle East is that it is unpredictable," Chen added. "The Middle East is always a match-light away from blowing up."

A California resident is being extradited back to the U.S. Thursday after allegedly sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and then reportedly messaging her on Facebook "So I raped you" years later. 

Ian Cleary, who was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service, was handed over to American authorities today at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, prosecutors told The Associated Press. 

Cleary, 31, of Saratoga, California, was detained in April in Metz after a three-year search. He has been held in custody pending extradition proceedings since his arrest. The Appeal Court in Metz ruled in July that he could be extradited. 

An arrest warrant accuses Cleary of stalking an 18-year-old Gettysburg College student at a party in 2013, sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her while she texted friends for help. He was a 20-year-old Gettysburg student at the time, but didn’t return to campus. 

FLASHBACK: COLLEGE RAPE SUSPECT STILL ON THE LOOSE 2 YEARS AFTER EERIE MESSAGE TO VICTIM 

The accuser, Shannon Keeler, had a rape exam done the same day. She gathered witnesses and evidence and spent years urging officials to file charges. She went to the authorities again in 2021 after discovering Facebook messages that seemed to come from Cleary’s account. 

"So I raped you," the sender wrote in a string of messages. 

"I’ll never do it to anyone ever again," "I need to hear your voice," and "I’ll pray for you," read some of the other messages. 

According to the June 2021 warrant, police verified that the Facebook account used to send the messages belonged to Cleary. He allegedly sent the messages in 2020 while Keeler and her boyfriend were on a weekend trip. 

CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS FROM ACROSS US SUE AFTER WORKER SENTENCED FOR PLACING HIDDEN CAMERAS IN GUEST ROOMS 

In 2023, Andrea Levy, Keeler's attorney and the legal director for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, said her client has "had to push and push and put herself out there" while Cleary has "literally gone on with his life." 

"It’s hard to measure that impact on her as a human being [and on] her family, her partner," Levy said at the time. "There’s a cost. There’s a real human cost. It’s someone’s life." 

Cleary left Gettysburg College and went on to graduate from Santa Clara University, worked for Tesla, then moved to France for several years, according to his blog, which touts his self-published medieval fiction. 

The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment by Fox News Digital. 

Fox News’ Audrey Conklin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pope Francis' arm is in a sling Thursday after the Vatican confirmed he was injured in a fall, the second such incident in a matter of weeks.

The Vatican said Francis fell inside his residence Thursday morning and said he is now using a cloth sling to support his right arm. Francis also fell and injured his face just six weeks ago in December.

"This morning, due to a fall at the Santa Marta house, Pope Francis suffered a contusion on his right forearm, without fractures. The arm was immobilized as a precautionary measure," a statement said.

The falls are the latest in a series of health issues that have struck the pope, including longstanding knee issues and multiple surgeries in 2021 and 2023.

BIDEN’S MEDAL OF FREEDOM PICKS SHOW DEMOCRATS ARE ‘OUT OF TOUCH’ AND ‘TROLLING’ REPUBLICANS: COLUMNIST

Francis has pushed back on murmurs of his resignation. He wrote in an autobiography published on Tuesday that he is "well."

"The Church is governed using the head and the heart, not the legs," he wrote.

The fall comes just days after President Biden gifted Pope Francis the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor that can be granted in the U.S. The gift was sent over the phone, however, as Biden canceled a previously planned trip to Rome due to the California wildfires.

Instead, Biden bestowed the award on the pope during a phone call in which they also discussed efforts to promote peace and alleviate suffering around the world.

"Pope Francis is unlike any who came before," a White House announcement reads. "Above all, he is the People’s Pope – a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world."

PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP APPOINTS OUTSPOKEN CONSERVATIVE AS VATICAN AMBASSADOR: ‘BLESSINGS AND RESPONSIBILITIES’

It was the first time during his four years in office that Biden awarded the medal "with distinction," it said.

Biden, 82, leaves office on Jan. 20. The lifelong Catholic is also a recipient of the award with distinction, recognized when he was vice president by then-President Barack Obama in a surprise ceremony eight years ago. That was the only time in Obama's two terms when he awarded that version of the medal, according to the Associated Press.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday morning that he is "confident" that a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal can still be "implemented" Sunday as families of two Americans slated for immediate release await answers. 

"There's a deal," Kirby told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. "We're confident that we're going to be able to start implementing it on Sunday. There are some implementing details that still need to be ironed out. We're working with the Israelis on that very, very hard right now.

"But we're confident that we're going to get there," he added.

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL HANGS IN BALANCE AS KEY VOTE IS DELAYED

Confusion over whether a deal had been successfully reached – as both the U.S. and Qatar had confirmed on Wednesday – erupted after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday claimed Hamas was "creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement."

"Hamas is backing out of the explicit understandings agreed upon with the mediators and Israel in a last-minute blackmail attempt," he claimed, according to a statement shared by Israeli news agency TPS-IL.

Hamas has reportedly rebuffed the Israeli government’s accusations.

Netanyahu deferred a cabinet hearing that was supposed to be set for Thursday morning to vote on the deal until "the mediators announce that Hamas has approved all the details of the agreement."

But Kirby appeared determined to make clear that the deal had not collapsed and told MSNBC, "It’s not breaking down."

Also telling NBC "We're aware of these issues that the prime minister has raised… We're confident that we'll be able to solve these last-minute issues and get it moving."

ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU DELAYS GAZA CEASE-FIRE VOTE, ACCUSING HAMAS OF TRYING TO BACK OUT OF DEAL

Some 33 hostages have been slated to be released in the first phase of the agreement that will prioritize the release any potential children, women, the elderly and the sick or wounded.  The initial phase will last a 42-day period with hostages being incrementally released, including three captives that will be freed on the first day that the deal is implemented.

Some reports have suggested that three Israeli female soldiers may be released on the first day of the agreement.

Though a senior administration official on Wednesday told Fox News, as well as other reporters, that two of the three living Americans in Gaza are slated to be released on the first day.

"We will see – and I don’t want to say until we actually see them – but Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen will come out in the first day and Edan will come out of Gaza, no doubt about it," the official said.

Edan Alexander is a 21-year-old American Israeli who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the day of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, though soldiers are not slated to be released until the second phase, which will begin on the 43rd day of the cease-fire. 

Specifics of the release of the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, will begin to be negotiated on the 16th day of the first phase. 

At least 98 hostages continue to be held in Gaza, 94 of whom were taken on Oct. 7, 2023. While 62 of them are believed to be alive, 36 are assessed to be deceased. 

"We are committed to getting all Americans. These are American-Israeli citizens, all of them out of Gaza," the official said. "Whether living or remains. That is our commitment." 

An Indonesian woman can breathe clearly again after firefighters rescued her from the captivity of an office chair.

The young woman was at work in Bandung City, Indonesia, when she managed to get her nose piercing stuck in the mesh back of an office chair, according to video obtained by ViralPress.

Her coworkers attempted to help remove the septum ring from the chair by yanking it, but were unsuccessful and ultimately called the fire department.

MISSING GRANDMA BELIEVED TO HAVE FALLEN IN SINKHOLE WHILE SEARCHING FOR LOST PET

"The incident wasn't the strangest call we've ever had," firefighter Mochamad Alam Priabadi said.

Firefighters also attempted to free the woman at the office, but ended up wheeling her to the fire station where they had more tools to complete the job.

BALD EAGLE FOUND 'FROZEN AND UNABLE TO FLY' RESCUED BY POLICE: 'READY TO FLY THE COOP'

In an attempt to lighten the mood, the firefighters joked with the woman about cutting off her nose or needing to use a chainsaw to release her from the chair's grip.

After goofing off with heavy-duty tools, a pair of pliers accomplished the mission in about five minutes – and the woman was not injured during the removal.

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"We've had cases involving freeing a finger stuck in a window latch, removing a stubborn ring from a private area and helping a child whose finger was stuck in a table," Priabadi said. "It's all part of the job, but the nose piercing incident was definitely one of the most entertaining."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused Hamas of backing out of a cease-fire deal to release hostages and bring a pause to more than a year of fighting. 

Netanyahu's office said Thursday his Cabinet won't meet to approve the Gaza cease-fire deal until Hamas backs down from what it called a "last minute crisis."

Netanyahu's office accused Hamas, without elaborating, of trying to go back on part of the agreement in an attempt "to extort last minute concessions." 

The Israeli Cabinet was set to ratify the deal Thursday.

President Biden joined Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a Wednesday news conference announcing that the deal would roll out in three phases. 

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED: ‘AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THAT’

Biden said the first phase will last six weeks and "includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded. And I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release and phase one as well. And the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home," he said. 

In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Biden said, and Palestinians "can also return to their neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, and a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin."

Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY., will soon appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to seek confirmation for her role in President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. 

Several former diplomats who spoke to Fox News Digital say that an immediate concern for an incoming U.N. ambassador should be reigning in U.S. expenditures at the world body. Outflows to the organization grew from $11.6 billion in 2020 to $18.1 billion in 2022, when the U.S. covered one-third of the total U.N. budget.

A former senior U.S. diplomat told Fox News Digital on condition of anonymity that, with "many different tasks in front of her, [Stefanik] will need to be selective about what she really wants to pursue." The diplomat cited chief areas of concern as cronyism and corruption, and employing more Americans at the U.N.

STEFANIK MEETS WITH SENATORS AS TRUMP’S AMBASSADOR NOMINEE, TOUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH’

He said the U.N. is "an organization that doesn’t align often with U.S. foreign policy," which makes it "kind of weird to be pouring in all this money," and then "seeing a lot of anti-American sentiment and support of causes that we take issue with."

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, called for Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team, headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, "to halt funding for the U.N. that is totally antithetical to American interests. This immediate cost-saver of billions ought to be low-hanging fruit. At the General Assembly, the United States has but one vote of 193 member states and is routinely and overwhelmingly outvoted by an undemocratic, anti-American, and anti-Israel mob on key issues. But as soon as we lose, we turn around and pay for all the lawfare and antisemitic schemes those very same resolutions concoct."

"DOGE - for which the money is the matter - should have no such inhibitions when it comes to taxpayer dollars being used to fund dangerous and lethal U.N. output," Bayefsky said. "The days of the United Nations as a global money-launderer for terrorists and antisemites dressed up as human rights experts and refugees need to stop right now." 

A spokesperson for Rep. Stefanik, when asked about her plans for reforming the U.N. if confirmed, told Fox News Digital that "Elise Stefanik is deeply honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. She looks forward to earning the support of her Senate colleagues and working through the confirmation process. Once confirmed, she stands ready to push for needed reform and advance President Trump’s America first, peace through strength national security agenda on the world stage on day one at the United Nations." 

To aid the reform effort, Hugh Dugan, former National Security Council adviser on international organizations and U.S. diplomat at the world body, created DOGE-U.N., which he says mimics the "methodology and purpose" of DOGE. 

While Dugan said that DOGE-U.N. is "a standalone resource," he explained that he hopes it can be a tool for collaboration and "save [DOGE] some of the upfront analytical work" about which outlays need to be examined more closely.

ISRAELI OFFICIAL PRAISES STEFANIK AS UN PICK, SAYS HER ‘MORAL CLARITY’ WITH COMBAT BODY’S ‘HATE AND LIES’

Dugan is working to "identify some practicable early wins" that show "the potential for making the U.N. more efficient and cost-saving." This includes reviewing the U.N. procurement manual "to avoid corruption and malfeasance" and "make sure that there’s a sense of consequences attached to all procurement matters on behalf of the American taxpayer." Dugan said that DOGE-U.N. will also look into "where and how the U.N. has been evolving into its own Deep State, and more or less ignoring and overlooking the member states’ desires and will and need for efficiency and accountable resource management." 

The U.S. "can’t be passive shareholders" in the U.N., Dugan said. "We need to develop better competency in Washington, better guidance, more dedicated resources to these dry matters, because if the U.S. doesn’t show up with these questions and concerns and criticisms, no other country will."

Though Dugan says that DOGE-U.N. is "trying to stick with attacking inefficiencies," he said there is the possibility of addressing funding to programs that are "impossible to support from a policy point of view." To that end, Dugan said that "strong accountability" for the secretary-general’s use of U.S. resources is vital to ensure the U.N. does not "play a shell game with our contributions and continue to fund even those things we don’t like." 

While U.S. departments have independent inspectors general who search for waste and fraud, Dugan noted that the secretary-general directs the U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which means that the secretary-general can choose whether the findings of U.N. investigations should be "publicized or kept quiet."

Peter Gallo, formerly an investigator with the OIOS, told Fox News Digital that the independent oversight function lacks independent oversight and said that the investigative function should be taken "out of the hands of the U.N." Gallo said that "in the immediate term," he would suggest making investigations "subject to independent oversight, and every dollar they spent subject to review." 

The extent to which employees of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have been affiliated with terror organizations is especially concerning to Gallo, who says investigations into the issue have been neither transparent nor independent.

Dugan said he believes that stepping back from the organization would be counterintuitive, adding that China is "more than willing to swoop in and fill whatever leadership vacuum we don’t fill and they will use that opportunity to promote their own hegemonic ambitions."

Dugan said he hopes that DOGE-U.N.’s findings will "serve the administration" and "help them identify valuations that have been overlooked, and principally to help us create the resource that the world needs so that China cannot abscond with it."

CONTROVERSY-PLAGUED UN AGENCY THAT EMPLOYED OCT. 7 TERRORISTS FACING NEW PROBLEMS AS COUNTRY REDIRECTS FUNDING

A recent topic of debate at the U.N. illustrates the divergence of the organization from U.S. interests. 

In January 2024, the U.S. ended contributions to UNRWA until March 2025 after evidence emerged that members of the agency participated in the attacks of Oct. 7, which killed 1,200, including 45 Americans.

In October, the Israeli Knesset banned UNRWA from operating within Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, given mounting evidence of Hamas infiltration in UNRWA.

In December, a resolution came before the Fifth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, which is responsible for budgetary and financial matters. The resolution suggested that the International Court of Justice create an advisory opinion on Israel’s UNRWA ban, citing Israel’s "obligations…to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies" and "of basic services and humanitarian development assistance."

The U.S. voted against the resolution. However, on a related vote about funding the estimated $298,900 required to carry out the resolution, the U.S. simply abstained.

When asked about the discrepancy in its votes, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the U.S. "has consistently demonstrated opposition to this request for an advisory opinion, including voting against the relevant General Assembly resolution. The budget is a separate matter.  The role of the U.N. General Assembly’s Fifth Committee is not to second-guess mandates authorized by other U.N. bodies." 

Bayefsky told Fox News Digital that the State Department’s comment represents a "twisted, indefensible strategy" by the Biden administration. "When it comes to spending our money via the U.N.'s budget committee, allegedly the U.S. role is not to ‘second-guess.'"

Leaders in the U.S. and around the world commended the recent Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal on Wednesday.

Biden announced the terms of the cease-fire during a news conference Wednesday at the White House. It will consist of two phases and will take place over the next several weeks. 

The first phase, which is set to begin Sunday, "includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded," Biden said.

The second phase is contingent on Israel negotiating "the necessary arrangements," to mark a complete end to the war.

BIDEN BALKS WHEN ASKED IF TRUMP DESERVES CREDIT FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL: 'IS THAT A JOKE?'

The response to the deal was overwhelmingly positive. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she was "very encouraged" to see the cease-fire come to fruition.

"This is something I've called for many, many months over the last year since the horrific, barbaric attack on innocent civilians in Israel that occurred on October 7 of last year," Hochul said. "My main priority has been bringing home the hostages."

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote on X that he felt "an indescribable sense of relief," about the return of the hostages.

"The return of the hostages will mark the beginning of closure for Israelis and Jews, as well as countless others, who continue to be deeply affected by the indelible terror and trauma of October 7th," Torres wrote. "The hostages have been brought home by the power of the world’s most powerful friendship – the US-Israel relationship."

The deal also attracted international attention. In a statement, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer called the cease-fire "long-overdue news."

FOX NEWS GETS AN INSIDE LOOK AT IDF'S WAR AGAINST HAMAS

"[The Israeli and Palestinian people] have borne the brunt of this conflict – triggered by the brutal terrorists of Hamas, who committed the deadliest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust on October 7th, 2023," Starmer said. "The hostages, who were brutally ripped from their homes on that day and held captive in unimaginable conditions ever since, can now finally return to their families.

"But we should also use this moment to pay tribute to those who won’t make it home – including the British people who were murdered by Hamas. We will continue to mourn and remember them. "

In an X post translated from French to English, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the cease-fire must be respected.

"After 15 months of unjustifiable ordeal, immense relief for the Gazans, hope for the hostages and their families," Macron said. He also referenced Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Calderon, two French-Israeli hostages.

Though many are celebrating, some have expressed caution about the possibility of the deal falling through. 

On Wednesday, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said that the "big hurdle" — which included finalizing the deal — had been "overcome."

Hopefully, come this weekend, we'll start to see some families reunited," Kirby said, adding that he was "confident" that the deal will be implemented, despite hard work ahead.

Fox News Digital's Joshua Comins contributed to this report.

Daniel Chapo of Mozambique's long-ruling Frelimo party was sworn in as president on Wednesday at a sparsely attended ceremony after months of protests against his disputed election victory.

A local civil society monitoring group says more than 300 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since the Oct. 9 vote, which the opposition says Frelimo won through vote-rigging and Western observers say was not free and fair.

DEATH TOLL IN MOZAMBIQUE FERRY DISASTER CLIMBS TO 98

Frelimo denies accusations of electoral fraud.

It has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, clinging on throughout a 15-year civil war that killed a million people before a 1992 truce.

Chapo told a group of about 1,500 supporters from a stage in the capital Maputo that social and political stability would be his government's top priority.

He also promised to shrink the size of the government by reducing the number of ministries, tackle youth unemployment and prioritise health and education.

The city centre was largely deserted with a heavy police and army presence, Reuters witnesses said.

Cyril Ramaphosa, president of neighbouring South Africa, was one of the few heads of state attending Chapo's inauguration.

Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who official results say came second to Chapo in the presidential election, returned from self-imposed exile last week and has urged his supporters to continue demonstrating.

The post-election protests amount to the largest against Frelimo in Mozambique's history and have affected foreign businesses operating in the resource-rich southern African country of 35 million people. They have also disrupted cross-border trade and forced some to flee to neighbouring countries.

TEL AVIV — Israeli negotiators have reached agreement with the Hamas terror group for a hostages-for-cease-fire deal that will also reportedly see the release of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, many with blood on their hands, and an Israeli military withdrawal from key areas of the Gaza Strip.

"I am trying to breathe," Efrat Machikawa, the niece of Israeli captive Gadi Moses, told Fox News Digital in response to the development.

"We will not know for sure that it is really happening until we will get the phone call to come see Gadi at the hospital. Although I am optimistic by nature, I am trying to control myself because we were very close to so many deals since the last one when my aunt Margalit was released," Machikawa said.

ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED

In November 2023, a weeklong Israel-Hamas cease-fire agreement saw 105 hostages freed from Gaza.

Palestinian terrorists are still holding 98 hostages in Gaza, 94 of whom were abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Thirty-six of the hostages have been confirmed dead.

"I am disappointed that this agreement does not talk about all the hostages. It is unacceptable that the second phase is not defined in a way that shows when my son will be released from captivity," Ruby Chen, the father of American-Israeli IDF Sgt. Itay Chen, told Fox News Digital.

Chen visited Qatar last week to meet with U.S. negotiators.

"We will continue the fight until all the hostages come out," he said. "With the inauguration of President-elect Trump next week, my hope is that in his speech he will say, ‘Mr. Chen, I am able to get your son back.’"

"My focus is on the second phase when my son will be released," Yehuda Cohen, the father of IDF soldier Nimrod Cohen who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists near Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7, 2023, told Fox News Digital. 

"He is one of the youngest and one of three living soldiers who were captured in uniform. I assume he will be one of the last to be released," Cohen continued. "He would have been in captivity for about a year and a half then, and I don’t know what condition he is in physically or mentally. Our private fight to get him back to normal life will soon start."

WIFE OF US HOSTAGE KEITH SIEGEL PLEADS FOR HOLIDAY MIRACLE: 'WE NEED TO GET THEM BACK'

The breakthrough in long-stalled negotiations came after the U.S. Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend in Jerusalem. The two held a "tense" meeting, according to local media, with Witkoff having demanded significant concessions.

Trump warned on Monday that the failure to reach an agreement would have consequences.

"If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there like they have never seen before," he stated.

During Hamas’s terror invasion 467 days ago, the Bibas family, including mother Shiri, husband Yarden and their children, Ariel, 4, and 9-month-old baby Kfir, were taken by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

"We hope they’ll come back alive and we can get them treated, to do the best for them to readjust. But we don’t know in what situation they will return. We are very afraid," Jimmy Miller, Shiri Bibas’s cousin, told Fox News Digital.

"I hope for the best, but I don’t want to be disappointed if something bad happens. I try not to think about it too much before it really happens. We thought it would happen before. Saturday is Kfir’s [second] birthday. Maybe he can celebrate it with us even a few days later," he added.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters issued a statement, "We, the families of 98 hostages, welcome with overwhelming joy and relief the agreement to bring our loved ones home. We wish to express our profound gratitude to President-elect Trump, President Biden, both administrations, and the international mediators for making this possible. Since November 2023, we have been anxiously awaiting this moment, and now, after over 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones.

"This is a significant step forward that brings us closer to seeing all hostages return - the living to rehabilitation, and the deceased for proper burial," the statement continues. "However, deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind. We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are carried out."

"We will not rest until we see the last hostage back home."

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal that also ensures the release of hostages, Fox News has confirmed.

"A Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was reached following the Qatari Prime Minister's meeting with Hamas negotiators, and separately Israeli negotiators in his office," a source briefed on the matter told Fox News.

Separately, a senior Hamas official confirmed to Fox News that a deal was reached. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has yet to confirm the deal.

The conflict, which began with Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7, 2023, has left over 1,200 Israelis dead, more than 250 taken hostage, and thousands of others killed on both sides.

The deal, brokered by Qatari negotiators and facilitated by Egyptian intermediaries, also saw significant involvement from the United States. Both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration applied strategic pressure to finalize the agreement, despite concerns about Hamas rearming and internal tensions within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. 

Sources told Fox News Digital that a weekend meeting between Netanyahu and President-elect Trump's incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, led to the breakthrough. Witkoff’s assurances reportedly convinced Netanyahu to accept the deal, despite threats from a right-wing party to withdraw from the coalition if it passed.

CEASE-FIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS GETTING CLOSER AMID CONCERNS TERROR GROUP REARMING IN GAZA

The agreement calls for the release of three hostages on the first day, followed by weekly batches. Women, children, and men over 50 will be prioritized initially, with younger men in humanitarian cases included later. Updates on hostages’ statuses will alternate between announcements of survivors and confirmation of those who did not survive captivity.

The operation’s execution relies on extensive coordination among the IDF, Shin Bet, Israeli Police, the Ministry of Health, the International Red Cross, and Egyptian authorities. Over 42 days, 33 Israeli hostages are expected to be released. Early stages will focus on civilian women, children and female soldiers, followed by elderly men. The final hostage in this group is scheduled for release on the 42nd day.

HAMAS HAS ACCEPTED DRAFT AGREEMENT FOR GAZA CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE: OFFICIALS

On the 16th day, the second phase will begin, addressing the release of younger men, soldiers, and the return of remains. Netanyahu assured hostage families that every captive is accounted for in the deal. Approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners will be freed in exchange, with murder convicts barred from returning to the West Bank. Instead, they will be sent to Gaza, Qatar, or Turkey.

The cease-fire will also facilitate significant humanitarian aid to Gaza, with up to 600 trucks of supplies entering daily. By the 22nd day, displaced residents will be allowed to return to northern Gaza. Qatari and Egyptian teams will manage vehicle inspections, while pedestrian crossings will not require checks. The IDF will withdraw from the Nitzarim corridor but maintain a limited presence along the Philadelphi Route.

Although intelligence on the hostages’ conditions remains limited, assessments suggest that most are alive. Before each release stage, Israel will receive updated information on their identities and health statuses. The International Red Cross will oversee their transfer from Gaza to Israel, ensuring their safety while addressing logistical challenges such as crowd control.

Upon entering Israel, hostages will undergo identity verification and initial questioning by Shin Bet and the IDF. Medical teams stationed at the border will provide immediate care, and those requiring further treatment will be airlifted to hospitals. After receiving necessary care, hostages will be reunited with their families.

Israel’s security forces are preparing for various contingencies to ensure the operation’s success while maintaining stability. The coming weeks will be marked by tension and emotion as families and the nation anticipate the return of those held captive, including seven Americans, in this prolonged conflict.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country "never" plotted to assassinate President-elect Trump and affirmed that "we never will."

Pezeshkian made the statement during an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt on Tuesday in Tehran. U.S. intelligence authorities had stated that Iran was exploring an attempt on Trump's life prior to Election Day. 

"This is another one of those schemes that Israel and other countries are designing to promote Iranophobia. ... Iran has never attempted to nor does it plan to assassinate anyone. At least as far as I know."

"You’re saying there was never an Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump?" Holt asked.

IRAN REGIME UNDER 'IMMENSE PRESSURE' AMID INCOMING TRUMP ADMIN POLICIES, REGIONAL LOSSES, ECONOMIC WOES

"None whatsoever," Pezeshkian replied. "We have never attempted this to begin with, and we never will."

The statement comes as Trump's incoming special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, recently stated that the United States must return to the policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran.

"For the United States, a policy of maximum pressure must be reinstated, and it must be reinstated with the help of the rest of the globe, and that includes standing with the Iranian people and their aspirations for democracy," Kellogg said.

IRAN EXPANDS WEAPONIZATION CAPABILITIES CRITICAL FOR EMPLOYING NUCLEAR BOMB

The retired lieutenant general said that Iran’s development and acquisition of a nuclear weapon would be the most destabilizing event for the Middle East. Kellogg reminded the opposition group that then-President Trump walked away from the Iran nuclear deal during his first term, even with opposition from those who served in the first administration.

ISRAEL EYES IRAN NUKE SITES AMID REPORTS TRUMP MULLS MOVES TO BLOCK TEHRAN ATOMIC PROGRAM

Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, during his first term in 2018 and reapplied crippling economic sanctions. While some, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, applauded the move, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany had urged the president to remain committed to the deal.

Kellog's remarks, made just days before Trump is set to take office for his second term, are yet another signal of how a second Trump administration will face the threat posed by Iran in a new environment with much of the Middle East embroiled in conflict since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. 

The governor of Puerto Rico pleaded for President-elect Trump to intervene after Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro threatened to invade the U.S. island territory.

In a letter addressed to Trump, Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón said, "[J]ust a few days after holding an illegitimate swearing-in ceremony in a desperate attempt to cling to power in Venezuela," Maduro "publicly proposed an invasion of Puerto Rico."

Maduro, who was sworn in for a third six-year presidential term despite international condemnation of his recent reelection as illegitimate, made the threat Saturday at the end of the "International Anti-Fascist Festival" hosted in Caracas. The socialist dictator made an apparent reference to Trump's remarks eyeing U.S. control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, stating: "Just as the North has an agenda of colonization, we have an agenda of liberation." Maduro vowed that the "freedom of Puerto Rico is pending, and we will achieve it with Brazilian troops," according to Latin America Reports.

"This is an open threat to the United States, our national security, and stability in the region," González-Colón told Trump. "I trust your incoming administration will swiftly respond and make clear to the Maduro regime that, under your leadership, the United States, will protect American lives and sovereignty and will not bow down to the threats of petty, murderous dictators." 

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González-Colón, who took office just earlier this month, went on to say that Puerto Rico has been an "essential part of the United States" since 1898, and she reiterated how Puerto Ricans were granted American citizenship in 1917 and "have contributed to every aspect of American life, including the hundreds of thousands of service members from the Island who have fought alongside our fellow citizens in every U.S. military conflict since World War I." 

"Contrary to Maduro's and other adversaries' calls for independence, the people of Puerto Rico have repeatedly rejected this option. Instead, we have voted to strengthen our union with the United States through statehood – most recently in the November 5, 2024, plebiscite held alongside our general elections," González-Colón wrote, referring to the latest nonbinding referendum regarding Puerto Rico’s political status. 

The results showed 56.87% voted in favor of U.S. statehood, while 12.29% opted for "free association with the United States." Meanwhile, 30.84% voted for independence. 

The option of retaining the island's current status as a U.S. territory, as well as U.S. citizenship, was not included on the referendum ballot.

González-Colón, a Republican and member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, also reiterated how Puerto Rico is home to Fort Buchanan – the only U.S. Army installation in the Caribbean – and National Guard facilities like Camp Santiago, Fort Allen, and Muniz Air National Guard Base, "all of which strategically support exercises and operations conducted by the U.S. military and our partners." The letter went on to say how Puerto Rico also hosts "critical U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection assets and units that help secure our borders and combat the drug trafficking networks that fund the Maduro narco-regime." 

She noted that the United States shares a maritime boundary with Venezuela in Puerto Rico.

"Maduro’s calls for an invasion are a clear attempt to get rid of the United States’ presence and grow his influence in the area," González-Colón wrote, telling Trump that she’s "ready to work with you and your administration to counter this and other threats posed by the illegitimate Maduro dictatorship and support the people of Venezuela in their quest for freedom." 

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González-Colón also said she looks forward to meaningful discussions to "best enhance Puerto Rico’s national security role and take a strong stance against the growing presence of our adversaries in the region." 

Rep. Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart, R-Fla., commended González-Colón's "leadership in condemning the absurd and pathetic threats to Puerto Rico from Venezuela’s dictator – a dictator who is desperately clinging to illegitimate power." 

"What a contrast to the courage and inspiration demonstrated by the Venezuelan people and heroine María Corina Machado," Díaz-Balart wrote. "With Biden in the White House, adversaries such as those within the Maduro narco-dictatorship have been emboldened by his weak policy of appeasement. But in less than a week, a new foreign policy will begin where freedom and U.S. national security interests are paramount. Friends will be treated as friends, and adversaries as adversaries." 

"Maduro’s days are numbered," the congressman added. "If the dictator in Venezuela does not want to end up like other dictators Mussolini and Gaddafi, he should leave Venezuela without delay." 

When Maduro was sworn in last week, Biden defended his decision not to toughen sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, saying he was worried it could have created an opening to be filled by Iranian oil.

Despite sanctioning a number of Maduro officials, the administration did not end a license it granted oil giant Chevron to export Venezuelan oil to the U.S. That license has significantly boosted oil production, and state coffers, as a result.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.