PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 18th, 2025: Gaza Ceasefire Collapses & Syria Reaches Truce With Lebanon
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What happened to the ceasefire in Gaza?
And it collapsed on Tuesday morning, as the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF, launched dozens of strikes throughout Gaza, targeting Hamas leadership. We'll bring you the latest news. Later in the show, after two days of violent clashes along the border of Syria and Lebanon, Lebanese and Syrian defense officials have agreed to a ceasefire. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
What actions did the Israel Defense Forces take?
Der Krieg in Gaza hat geschlossen, als Israel eine Reihe von Luftwaffen über Nacht gegen Hamas-Einsätze über dem Enklaven geöffnet hat, nachdem der Terrorgruppe die letzten Anstrengungen verabschiedet hat, den fragilen Sturz zu erhöhen. Die extensiven Anstrengungen beantragten mittlere Hamas-Kommandanten und einige Senior-Hamas-Politiker in Gaza und kamen als israelische Offiziere, die sagten, dass die Intelligenz gezeigt hat, dass sowohl der Hamas als auch der palästinensische islamische Jihad bereit waren, neue Angriffe gegen Israel voranzubringen und Schritte zu bewegen.
What were the casualties from the recent airstrikes?
Offiziere sagten, dass der Hamas zu einer Kampfkraft von etwa 25.000 zurückgekehrt hat, während der palästinensische islamische Jihad zu einer Kraft von ungefähr 5.000 zurückgekehrt hat. according to a report from Axios. In a statement, Netanyahu's office said the decision to resume strikes, "...followed Hamas's repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all the proposals it's received from U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and also from the mediators." So far, we can confirm that at least four senior Hamas officials were killed in the overnight bombardment, which hit houses and encampments from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip. The dead include Hamas' head of government administration, that's a role akin to prime minister, as well as the heads of their justice ministry, interior ministry and domestic security agency.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad also confirmed that their chief military spokesman was killed in the strikes. All told, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry said that more than 400 people were killed during the aerial assault and nearly 600 were wounded, although those numbers do not distinguish between Hamas militants and civilians and can't be independently verified.
What is the status of the ceasefire between Syria and Lebanon?
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It's Tuesday, the 18th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First, and after recent reporting, this shouldn't be a surprise to you, the ceasefire in Gaza has collapsed.
The airstrikes began around 2 a.m. Tuesday local time, after Israeli officials notified the U.S. about their plans. Reportedly, President Trump gave Israel the green light, citing Hamas' failure to engage in good faith negotiations to release more hostages and to extend the ceasefire first established in January. US-National Security Council Spokesman Brian Hughes said, quote, Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire, but instead chose refusal and war, end quote. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, the Trump administration tried to extend the ceasefire late last week, offering a proposal that would have freed half of the remaining hostages in exchange for Israeli commitments to discuss a permanent ceasefire.
But talks in Doha, that's in Qatar, broke down over the weekend without a breakthrough, with the White House saying that Hamas had rejected the offer. Still officials with Egypt and Qatar, who have been mediating negotiations, condemned Israel's renewed assault.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What happened to the ceasefire in Gaza?
0:59–1:22
2
What actions did the Israel Defense Forces take?
1:22–1:56
3
What were the casualties from the recent airstrikes?
1:56–3:12
4
What are the implications of the renewed conflict?
3:12
5
What is the status of the ceasefire between Syria and Lebanon?
0:17–11:01
Speakers
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