May 27th, 2025: Hamas Pulls A Ceasefire Bait-And-Switch & Western Green Light for Ukraine
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What did Hamas announce regarding a ceasefire?
It's Tuesday, the 27th of May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We begin in Gaza, where Hamas just pulled a diplomatic sleight of hand, announcing support for a ceasefire proposal that the U.S. never actually made. We'll break it down. Later in the show, a new investigation reveals that the British government may have been quietly funneling millions to Hamas through, well, UNICEF. Plus, a big win for Ukraine. Germany, France, the UK, and the US are all giving Kyiv the green light to strike deeper inside Russia. And in today's Back of the Brief, heads are starting to roll, we knew they would, in North Korea after Kim Jong-un's prized new warship failed to launch in spectacular fashion. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. We'll start things off today with a bit of a confusing situation out of the Middle East, which of course means business as usual.
On Monday, a Palestinian official claimed that Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire proposal supposedly brokered by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. According to the official, the deal included a 70-day truce the staged release of 10 living Israeli hostages, and the return of several bodies. Five captives would be released at the start of the ceasefire, with the other five released on the final day. It also reportedly called for a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails, many of them serving lengthy sentences. Now, it sounded like a major breakthrough, the kind of deal that could pause or even end one of the most brutal conflicts in the region in recent memory. But, well, there's always a but, isn't there?
There's a problem. Hamas was trying to pull off, what do they call it in Arabic? The old razzle dazzle, or maybe that's Farsi. I'm not sure. As it turns out, the deal that Hamas said it was agreeing to, well, never existed. Shortly after Hamas made its announcement, Witkoff responded publicly and forcefully. In a statement to Axios, he said, quote, What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable. An unnamed Israeli official quoted by Reuters was even more blunt, saying, quote, No responsible government could accept such an agreement. So you say to yourself, what's going on here? And, in fact, is the old razzle-dazzle how they say it in Arabic. Some analysts believe this was a deliberate move by Hamas, an attempt to present themselves as reasonable negotiators while putting public pressure on Israel and the U.S. It also may have been, frankly, a stalling tactic. As we reported yesterday, Israel's ground invasion is escalating rapidly. Every regular army infantry and armored brigade has now been deployed inside Gaza.
We're also learning more about the Israeli military's long-term objectives in the enclave. On Sunday, Israeli commanders announced a plan to take control of 75% of the Gaza Strip within the next two months. The goal is to corner Hamas into just a sliver of the territory, about a quarter of the Gaza Strip, and eventually eliminate the group's ability to operate altogether. As that military plan unfolds, Israel is simultaneously rolling out a new US-backed aid distribution system inside Gaza. According to Israeli officials, the new system will involve four aid complexes, three in southern Gaza and one in the center, where hundreds of American contractors will assist in distributing supplies. Under the plan, each Palestinian family would be required to send a representative to one of the aid centers every five days to receive assistance. But the system is, as you might imagine, already drawing criticism. The UN, well, they're never shy about criticizing anything, and other international aid groups have refused to participate.
Hmm, that doesn't sound very humanitarian, arguing that the plan is too dangerous. They say it forces civilians to travel through a war zone for food and that it compromises their neutrality since Israel is controlling the aid. The rollout comes after a months-long blockade that led to severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine in Gaza.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What did Hamas announce regarding a ceasefire?
0:12–5:03
2
How is the UK reportedly funding Hamas?
5:03–6:50
3
What are the implications of the UK’s support for Hamas?
6:50
4
What military strategies are being implemented by Israel?
3:54–4:13
5
What is the situation with aid distribution in Gaza?
4:13–5:55
6
What is the significance of the BRICS summit?
5:55–18:36
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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