Hopes Grow for a Gaza Hostage Deal
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Hamas makes key concessions in Gaza ceasefire talks. Summer Saeed has the scoop. The Arab mediators, they're telling Hamas that this is the right time. Let's go for that deal. I mean, some of the officials believe actually that we could even have a deal by next week. Plus, Mark Zuckerberg tries to improve his relationship with Donald Trump and the Biden administration cracks down on bank overdraft fees.

It's Thursday, December 12th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal, and here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. In a journal exclusive, we report that Hamas has conceded on a pair of Israeli demands in connection with a potential Gaza ceasefire deal, a development that is raising hopes that an agreement could be within reach. And here with more is Journal senior Middle East correspondent Summer Saeed.

Summer, your latest reporting here is based on information from Arab mediators. Could you tell us what they are saying about Hamas and the terms that it apparently is willing to agree to? So senior Arab mediators are telling us that on Sunday, Hamas told Egyptian negotiators in Cairo that they would be willing to accept for the first time a partial deal

to release the hostages remaining in Gaza, even despite the fact that we will still have IDF forces remaining in Gaza. So they would accept a gradual withdrawal. The Hamas leaders also submitted a list of the hostages the group is planning to release as part of the swap deal with Israel for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

And that list for the first time includes captives who are U.S. citizens or dual U.S. Israeli citizens. And some are on hostages. Do we know how many in total remain in Gaza and how many of those are likely to still be alive?

So according to Israeli officials, there are now 96 hostages remaining in Gaza. These are the hostages that were taken on October 7th, which includes seven Americans. And there are four hostages that were taken before October 7th, so that's a total of 100. Arab mediators believe that roughly about half of the hostages are still alive, while Israelis have concluded that at least 30 hostages have died.

And with these latest concessions here from Hamas, Samer, are we talking about a permanent end to this conflict, potentially, if this were to be agreed to? This is where it's a bit complicated. The current proposals that are being discussed do not actually include the end of the war. But the Arab mediators believe that once the initial phase is implemented,

whether we get hopefully to the 60 days or if we even go for less like six weeks, that it will be quite difficult for Israeli forces to actually restart the war. And that's the pitch they're telling Hamas, that this is the right time. Let's go for that deal because once it starts, hopefully negotiations will pick up pace and we will reach the end of the war.

And the Israeli word on this? Have we heard a response from them? Unfortunately, they have not responded to us. But they also believe that the time is right for a deal. But we had, of course, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly telling us that he doesn't want to end the war in Gaza.

What should we make of the timing of all of this coming just weeks after the ceasefire in Lebanon? Does that potentially have any bearing on whatever progress we might be seeing now? So the negotiators believe that the ceasefire in Lebanon has definitely taken Hamas' Allahi Hezbollah more or less out of the equation, leaving Hamas isolated and weakened after Israel killed so many of their top officials, including their leader Yahya al-Sunwar in October.

Got it. And on the Israeli side, is there also pressure from the incoming U.S. president to get a deal done quickly? That's definitely what the Arab mediators are hoping for. Of course, we've had him already saying publicly that there would be hell to pay in the Middle East if the hostages are not released.

before he resumes office in January. But they believe that he would put enough pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to go for a deal and end the war. So that's what is making everyone hopeful and putting extra pressure on Hamas to try to get to a deal as soon as possible. I mean, some of the officials believe actually that we could even have a deal by next week. So this is definitely in the back of their mind.

I've been speaking with Wall Street Journal Senior Middle East Correspondent Summer Saeed. Summer, thank you so much for bringing us this story. Thank you. And coming up, the rest of the day's news, including a move by Mark Zuckerberg aimed at mending ties with Donald Trump. That's after the break. If your business needs a new application, then developers will have to write code, a lot of code. If an application needs to be modernized, then developers will have to write code, a lot of code.

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President Biden will commute the sentences of around 1,500 people in what the White House has just announced as the largest single-day act of clemency for any president in modern history. The commutations are for people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the commutations, Biden is also pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes.

In a blow to one of the most prominent efforts to promote diversity on corporate boards, a federal appeals court has ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission overstepped its authority by approving diversity rules proposed by NASDAQ in 2021. In its ruling, the court sided with two conservative groups that argued that the stock exchange's diversity targets amounted to an unlawful quota.

NASDAQ has denied that its diversity targets were a mandatory quota, citing a provision letting companies provide written explanations if they didn't meet targets. However, the exchange said yesterday it respects the court's decision. An SEC spokeswoman said the regulator was reviewing its options, which could include a long-shot appeal to the Supreme Court.

On Capitol Hill, the House approved yesterday a nearly $900 billion defense bill. The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, calls for a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members, but also includes a controversial provision that would block some transgender medical care for minors covered by the military's health care program, a measure that undercut Democratic support for the bill.

Wisconsin Democrat Mark Pocan was one of 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans to vote against the bill. Today I speak out to oppose the NDAA due to the GOP leadership's insistence on inserting right-wing extremist dogma over national defense. Taking away health care for trans kids and not expanding access to fertility treatments like IVF for wanting families are two examples.

Big brother, big government attacks like those just don't belong in this bill. The bill will now head to the Senate, where it's expected to be approved before lawmakers leave D.C. at the end of next week.

The Biden administration is cracking down on overdraft fees that banks can charge customers. Banks will have three options. Charge a flat overdraft fee of $5, cap the fee at an amount that covers their costs and losses, or charge any fee but disclose the terms of the overdraft loan they extend to customers the same way they would for any other loan.

At the moment, there's no limit on the fees banks can charge when customers make payments that exceed their balances. The new rule is set to take effect in October 2025, assuming it isn't overturned or altered before then. MetaPlatforms has donated $1 million to Donald Trump's inaugural fund, marking the latest step by CEO Mark Zuckerberg to bolster his once-fraught relationship with the incoming president.

The donation speaks to the balancing act for tech CEOs whose companies have often been the target of ire from Republicans and whose workforces tend to lean strongly to the left. It also comes after an election campaign in which Trump threatened to punish Zuckerberg if he tried to influence the election against him. And in markets today, Chinese solar stocks have largely shrugged off the announcement of new U.S. import tariffs on key materials used by the sector.

The U.S. Trade Representative's Office said yesterday that tariffs on imports of solar wafers and polysilicon from China would rise to 50 percent starting January 1, saying they would encourage diversification away from Chinese sources.

The European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point later today. Dow Jones Newswire's economics editor Paul Hannan said that while the ECB's decision has been widely telegraphed, investors will be listening closely for its guidance on future moves given the threat of tariffs from the incoming Trump administration. They'll be trying to signal that they will continue to lower interest rates next year.

while at the same time not over committing to that because they don't really know how the tariff situation is going to play out. You know, it could create a real economic slowdown in the eurozone, in which case they would have to cut interest rates. But on the other hand, it could cause inflation if the euro fell very sharply against the dollar. And usually what happens when a country imposes tariffs against another country is its currency appreciates and the other currency weakens.

Earlier today, the Swiss National Bank surprised markets with a half-point cut, lowering interest rates to 0.5% to rein in its strengthening currency. The Swiss franc weakened against the U.S. dollar and the euro after the decision, with investors now watching for any indication that Swiss rates could be reduced into negative territory.

And on deck today, another inflation reading is due from the U.S. This time, the producer price index for November and earnings are due from Costco and chip and software maker Broadcom after the closing bell. And that's it for What's News for Thursday morning. Today's show was produced by Kate Boulevent and Daniel Bach with supervising producer Christina Rocca. And I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show. And until then, thanks for listening.

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