Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported on Friday that the Russian Armed Forces carried out a “massive strike” on Ukraine’s military-industrial complex facilities and the gas and energy infrastructure supporting their operations, launching long-range precision weapons from land, air, and sea, as well as strike drones. Meanwhile, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine previously revealed that the Russian forces launched 416 airstrikes overnight using drones and air- and ground-based missiles. The Ukrainian military said that the main target was “critical” infrastructure facilities from the energy sector in the Kharkiv and Poltava regions, while the regions of Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa and Kiev were also affected by the attacks. According to the military’s report, Ukraine’s air defense systems shot down or suppressed 302 drones, 12 Iskander-K cruise missiles, and five guided aircraft missiles.
Trump: Hamas has until Sunday to accept Gaza deal
US President Donald Trump gave the Palestinian group Hamas until 6 pm ET Sunday to agree to his proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. “An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time. Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,” he wrote in Truth Social. In the post, he further cautioned “all innocent Palestinians” to flee “this area of potentially great future death” in favor of safer areas of Gaza. He added that the lives of all the remaining Hamas fighters are spared by the deal and urged the paramilitary group to release all the hostages, “INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW!”
NN: We are rapidly approaching crunch time. I do not think the Hamas tunnel rats are understanding how serious Trump really is.
Hamas Says It Will Respond to Trumpâs Gaza Plan âVery Soonâ
- A senior Hamas official said the group will respond to US President Donald Trumpâs plan to end the war in Gaza âvery soon.â
- Hamas is âlooking for gray areas that we could work withâ and rejects a âtake it or leave itâ approach to the proposal, according to Mohammed Nazzal.
- Hamas will not accept the surrender of the rights of the Palestinian people after all their âsacrifices,â Nazzal said.
A senior Hamas official said the Palestinian militant group will respond to US President Donald Trumpâs plan to end the war in Gaza âvery soon.âDeliberations between Hamas and other Palestinian factions as well as with mediators Qatar, Turkey and Egypt are ongoing, Mohammed Nazzal, a member of Hamasâs politburo, said to Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV in comments aired on Friday. Hamas is âlooking for gray areas that we could work withâ and rejects a âtake it or leave itâ approach to the 20-point proposal announced on Monday, said Nazzal, whoâs based in the Qatari capital of Doha along with many other Hamas political leaders. Hamas will not accept the surrender of the rights of the Palestinian people after all their âsacrifices,â he said. Trump unveiled the plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, calling it an âhistoric day for peaceâ as he tried to end a two-year war thatâs devastated Gaza, led to growing global isolation of Israel and roiled the wider Middle East.On Tuesday, Trump said Hamas had âabout three or four daysâ to decide. Netanyahu has accepted the plan and itâs unclear if he would be willing to negotiate certain points with Hamas. He said that if Hamas rejects the proposal, Israel will continue with its offensive in northern Gaza until the group is destroyed.The proposal stipulates Hamas must free all the Israeli hostages it holds â 48 people, with Israel believing around 20 are still alive â within three days of a deal being enacted. The group, designated a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and others, will disarm and members who commit to peaceful co-existence with Israel will be given amnesty. Hamas objects to the lack of a clear timeline for an Israeli troop withdrawal and the fact some soldiers would remain in the enclave. The plan says Israeli forces can be in a buffer zone âuntil Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.â Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, spoke to Bloomberg on the likelihood of Trumpâs plan being accepted by Hamas. Trumpâs plan has âmany gapsâ that must be addressed, Egyptâs foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, told local state news outlet Al-Qahera on Thursday. The proposal does back away from the US presidentâs earlier idea of driving Gazaâs 2 million people into exile and turning it into a âriviera.â It also promises a significant increase in aid deliveries and global involvement to rebuild the shattered territory. Hamas leaders abroad might amenable to Arab and American pressure to accept the plan, Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the Bahrain-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said to Bloomberg Television on Friday.
Yet members âwho are still fighting are very much hardcore fighters,â he said. âIf they are still fighting despite all of the losses that Hamas has suffered in terms of personnel, in terms of capabilities, then they are unlikely to lay down their weapons and agree to the Trump plan, especially since it lacks any guarantees for a permanent ceasefire or a comprehensive Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza strip.â
Negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, mediated mainly by Qatar and Egypt, have repeatedly fallen through over disagreements surrounding the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the disarming of Hamas.
Trump will determine how long to give Hamas to accept Gaza plan, White House says
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will draw a red line on how long to give Hamas to accept an Israel-backed proposal to halt fighting in Gaza, the White House said on Thursday, without explicitly saying whether he would enforce a previously set deadline. Trump on Tuesday said he would give Hamas three to four days to accept the 20-point document, which calls on the militant group to disarm — a demand it has previously rejected. Hamas is reviewing the proposal, a source close to the group said on Wednesday. Asked on the Fox News program “America’s Newsroom” to identify a point at which Hamas would be considered to have “walked away” from the proposal, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said: “Well, it’s a very good question, and it’s a red line that the president of the United States is going to have to draw. And I’m confident that he will. But the president and his team worked very hard on this 20-point, comprehensive, detailed plan that has been applauded all over the world.” “This is an acceptable plan, and we hope and we expect Hamas should accept this plan so we can move forward,” Leavitt added. The plan specifies an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of all hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the introduction of a transitional government led by an international body. Many elements of the 20 points have been included in numerous ceasefire deals proposed over the last two years, including those accepted and then subsequently rejected at various stages by both Israel and Hamas.
NN: Hamas Trick:
Oil climbs 1% ahead of OPEC+ meeting
Crude oil prices rose by more than 1% on Friday, slightly recovering from their four-month lows, ahead of the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners (OPEC+) on Sunday. Investors’ concerns of oversupply were eased after the organization’s
Secretariat denied reports of planned output hikes during the upcoming meeting. Investors also digested the recent fire that broke out at Chevron’s oil refinery in California, which is one of the largest refineries on the United States’ west coast.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November’s settlements climbed by 1.46% at 4:59 am ET, going for $61.37 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent’s deliveries for the same month advanced by 1.36% at 5:00 am ET to $64.98 per barrel.
Denmark: Russia’s hybrid war threat against NATO to rise…….Munich Airport closes after drone sightings
The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) said in an unclassified assessment document on Friday that the threat from Russia’s hybrid war against NATO is “likely … [to] increase in the coming years.” According to the report, while the threat from Russia’s regular military attacks against Denmark is “none,” the chance of military provocations against NATO countries in general is “high.” “Russia is using hybrid activities in an attempt to weaken the political cohesion and decision-making power of NATO countries. The goal for Russia is not to achieve quick gains, but to create a persistent state of uncertainty,” it was written in the report. The DDIS believes that Moscow’s behavior will worsen if the alliance doesn’t respond. Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference, DDIS Director Thomas Ahrenkiel (pictured) talked about the sightings of drones that took place last week, revealing that the investigation is ongoing and that it is still not known who was behind the incident.
Munich Airport closes after drone sightings
Munich Airport said on Friday that Germany’s air traffic control (DFS) was forced to fully suspend flight operations due to “several” drone sightings on Thursday evening.
“As a result, 17 flights were unable to take off from Munich that evening, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers,” the airport said in a statement. Another 15 arriving flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt, it added, noting that the temporary halt in operations kicked off at 10:18 pm local time. The incident mirrors those seen in Denmark and Norway, both of which suffered airport closures over a string of drone observations last week, putting an already vigilant Europe on heightened alert over airspace security
NN: Whose afraid of the bog bad Putin? Europe should be.
Egypt trying to pursue Hamas to accept US Gaza plan
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Thursday his country is working alongside Qatar and Turkey to convince Hamas to accept the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza put forth by United States President Donald Trump. Speaking at the French Institute of International Relations, Abdelatty warned that Egypt will not allow the Palestinian people to be displaced from the Gaza Strip. “Displacement will not happen. It will not happen because displacement means the end of the Palestinian cause. We will not allow this to happen under any circumstances,” he pointed out. Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Egyptian authorities of “imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone” after Egypt said it will not become “a gateway for displacement.”
Putin swipes back at Trump for calling Russia a ‘paper tiger’
SOCHI, Russia, Oct 2- President Vladimir Putin swiped back on Thursday at U.S. President Donald Trump for calling Russia a “paper tiger” and said Moscow would respond swiftly if it thinks Europe is provoking it. Trump, who had previously said Kyiv should give up land to make peace with Moscow, reversed his rhetoric sharply last week, saying he thought Ukraine could win back all territory from Russia, and labelling Moscow a “paper tiger”. He repeated the line this week.
Putin, speaking at the Valdai Discussion Group in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, said Russian forces were advancing along the entire front in Ukraine, and that almost all of the U.S.-led NATO alliance was now fighting against Russia.
“A paper tiger. What follows then? Go and deal with this paper tiger,” Putin said. “Well if we are fighting with the entire NATO bloc, we are moving, advancing, and we feel confident, and we are a ‘paper tiger’, then what is NATO itself?”
“If anyone still has a desire to compete with us in the military sphere, as we say, feel free, let them try,” Putin said. “Russia’s countermeasures will not be long in coming.” NATOÂ members, he said, were providing Ukraine with intelligence, weapons and training, and whipping up what he cast as hysteria about alleged plans of Russia to attack a NATO member, which he dismissed as “impossible to believe”. “I just want to say: cool down, sleep calmly, and take care of your own problems. Just take a look at what’s happening on the streets of European cities,” Putin said. Putin said Ukraine’s armed forces had a grave lack of manpower and desertions, while Russia had enough soldiers. He suggested that Kyiv should negotiate an end to the war. Russia, he said, controlled almost all of Luhansk province, about 81% of the Donetsk region, and about 75% of both Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Moscow claimed in 2022 to have annexed the four regions, and says it will not end the war until Ukraine withdraws from them entirely.
NN: Putin is far from a peace deal
Putin: Russia seeks full-scale restoration of US ties…..Putin agrees Trump could have prevented Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated during a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club on Thursday that his country aims for a “full-scale restoration” of relations with the United States.
“Russia reserves the right to be guided by our national interests, one of which, by the way, is the restoration of full-scale relations with the United States,”
Putin added. “No matter the differences, if we treat each other with respect, then even the most firm, persistent bargaining will still pursue the goal of achieving something beneficial.” He added that contradictions between Russia and the United States are “normal” and “natural,” while noting that Russia is ready to work together with other countries.
NN: Putin is stalling for time… see next story
Putin agrees Trump could have prevented Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he agrees with his United States countrepart Donald Trump’s claims that the Ukraine war could have been avoided with him at the White House. The conflict “could have been avoided had the work been built differently with the US administration back in the day,” Putin stated at a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi. He blamed NATO and the European Union for the “absence of peace in Ukraine,” accusing them of turning Kiev into “a destructive weapon in someone else’s arms.” The Russian president also blamed the collective West for the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as for the sensitive situation in the entire Middle East region.
G-7 Nears Agreement to Ramp Up Curbs on Russian Oil Revenue
- Group of Seven nations are closing in on an agreement to significantly increase sanctions on Russia over its continued war in Ukraine.
- G-7 nations are working on a range of options, which include new measures on key economic sectors such as energy, finance and the military industry.
- They agreed to give âserious considerationâ to trade and other restrictions for nations and entities boosting the Kremlinâs war effort and helping Russia work around curbs.
Group of Seven nations are closing in on an agreement to significantly increase sanctions on Russia over its continued war in Ukraine, according to a statement released after a finance ministersâ meeting on Wednesday. âWe are aligned on the need to act together and believe that now is the time for a significant coordinated escalation of measures to bolster Ukraineâs resilience and critically impair Russiaâs ability to wage war against Ukraine,â the statement said. G-7 nations â the US, as well as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada â are working on a range of options, which include new measures on key economic sectors such as energy, finance and the military industry. They also agreed to give âserious considerationâ to trade and other restrictions for nations and entities boosting the Kremlinâs war effort and helping Russia work around curbs, including âon refined products sourced from Russian oil.â Countries including India have already come under severe pressure from Washington to curb their purchases of Russian crude. âWe agreed that now is the time to maximize pressure on Russiaâs oil exports, a major source of their revenue,â the statement said. It suggests that the G-7 could move to sanction Russian oil majors, and target its shadow fleet of oil tankers and the wider energy trade. Ministers also discussed Ukraineâs financial needs, including coordinating ways to make further use of frozen Russian central bank assets. They will reconvene in Washington later this month. Separately, European Union leaders met in Denmark as momentum gathers over a plan to use funds immobilized in the bloc to provide Ukraine with âŹ140 billion ($164 billion) in fresh aid. The EU is also working on a new sanctions package, that would see it ban Russian liquefied natural gas by 2027 and impose more restrictions on Moscowâs energy and financial sectors. Both the EU and the G-7 are hoping to conclude their respective sanctions packages this month, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.