Netanyahu’s Endgame?

The Gaza ceasefire is over although it is not clear what Israel’s precise objectives are in renewing military operations which have reportedly killed more than 430. Of the 59 hostages still in Hamas’ captivity, only 24 are believed to be alive, and their families have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sacrificing them. Netanyahu has said “negotiations will continue only under fire” and “this is just the beginning”. The IDF has moved into the Netzarim Corridor dividing the Gaza Strip in two. A few aid workers died in the strikes but a number of key Hamas figures, including Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the highest-ranking security official, were also killed. Hamas seems to have invited this upon Gaza again as it rejected US and Israeli attempts to extend Phase 1 of the ceasefire, which would see more exchange of hostages and prisoners, asking instead for Phase 2 requiring Israel to pull out. While the US rejection of Hamas’ demands as “impractical” may have been a signal for the resumption of hostilities, civilians on both sides want peace. It all depends on how soon the “beginning” manages to “end” Hamas, if military operations can do so at all.

Gazprom Is in Trouble

The troubles of Russia’s oil and gas industry may ultimately bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. The Russian economy has been resilient in the face of sanctions. But the industry is losing its earnings and market capitalisation so rapidly that Gazprom, the state-owned gas giant, is being reoriented to supply domestic consumers. Putin had thought the Ukraine war would be over quickly, restoring European demand. But Europe seems determined not to return to Russian gas, switching to the US and the Middle East. Gazprom’s export wing has only a few dozen employees left, down from 600 in 2020. The parent company is selling prime real estate in St Petersburg and cutting 1,500 jobs. A Reuters investigation has unearthed details but certain things were always public. Gazprom posted a loss of $7 billion for 2023 and its share of the European market has dropped from 35 per cent to 7 per cent. Its market capitalisation is down to $46 billion from $330 billion in 2007. Russia’s entire war machinery was based on the pipelines to Europe that are now running dry. New lines to China and Asia are still in the works and won’t make up the difference.

More about JFK

A new set of 2,000-plus documents on the assassination of John F Kennedy has been released by the Trump administration after the US president told his staff not to redact anything. A lot of these are old documents re-released with redactions removed while some are new. There is still a lot of redactions left but no answer, of course, to the fundamental questions—or mysteries of the JFK assassination. It seems now that the CIA knew much more about Lee Harvey Oswald than previously thought, having placed him under surveillance. The agency knew someone had overheard him talking about killing JFK on a trip to Mexico City.

 

Benjamin NetanyahuCIAGazpromgeopoliticsIsrael-HamasJohn F KennedyRussiaVladimir Putin