Free Republic

What President Trump said this morning about the Israeli hostages held by Hamas is brutally honest and true. It is always difficult to tell the hard thing to those who need to pretend not to know the truth. However, one of the great benefits of President Trump’s leadership both domestically and on the global stage is his willingness to say the honest thing consistently. [LINK] The way this statement is truthfully worded is a pattern of linguistic assembly exclusive to President Donald Trump.

The Hamas terror organization stated that they appreciated Lavrov's comments, saying his comments "confirms Washington’s criminal role in the continued suffering of our Palestinian people." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, in an interview with Russian media on Thursday, that he doubted the conspiracy theory that Israel knew in advance of plans that Hamas were planning on committing a massacre on October 7. “A lot of conspiracy theories are now appearing. Just the other day, our television and social networks once again conveyed a message from Western media, Western journalists, and researchers that the Israeli leadership, a year before October...

Vladimir Putin's annual end-of-year press conference was thrown into disarray after messages embarassing the Russian President appeared on screen. The 71-year-old was told to "quit" in multiple messages which apearred on giant screens behind him, while he was also accused of not living the same "reality" as the rest of the country. And in another bizarre turn during the event, an AI video of Putin even asked the President whether he used body-doubles to go about his duties. In total about two million questions were submitted for answering, according to state media. The annual press conference gives Russian journalist and...

Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday said Moscow cannot recognize Israel’s methods against the Palestinian group Hamas as "acceptable." -snip- “Neighborhoods are being razed to the ground, more than 18,000 civilians have already died, this figure is increasing every day, two-thirds of them are women and children. The situation is terrible," Lavrov said. His remarks come days after a conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Vladimir Putin, in which the former criticized the cooperation between Russia and Iran, and expressed his dissatisfaction with the positions taken “against Israel by Russian representatives at the UN and in other forums.”

Survey of 1,231 Palestinians, conducted largely during recent truce, shows 44% in West Bank support Hamas, up from 12% in September, while 42% in Gaza back group, rising from 38% A wartime opinion poll among Palestinians published Wednesday shows a dramatic rise in support for the Hamas terror group in the West Bank, with backing appearing to have ticked up as well even in the devastated Gaza Strip, and an overwhelming rejection of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90 percent saying he must resign. The poll found that 72% of respondents believe Hamas was “correct” to launch its...

Russia said that reports of proposals to flood the tunnels were shocking and warned that "if done, this will be a war crime." "Such flooding could be considered analogous to 'do not spare them' order, but it is not only about that and not only about civilians who may be in those tunnels," the statement read. "Of course, there most likely will be civilians, for where else would they go from the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza." Over the last two months, Russia has repeatedly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, with Vladimir Putin initially blaming the Hamas attacks in Israel as...

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Moscow on Thursday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin confirmed Tuesday. Iran's official news agency Irna had earlier reported on the planned visit, saying that the two leaders would discuss "bilateral issues, including economic interactions, as well as discussions about regional and international issues, especially the situation in Gaza, [which] will be high on the agenda of the one-day trip." "I can confirm. There will be Russian-Iranian negotiations on December 7," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday when asked about media reports Raisi’s visit will come a day after...

At first glance, the wars in Israel and Ukraine seem unrelated and bear little similarity. One is a rapid-response counterterrorism operation, the other a years-long, multi-front defensive action focused on reclaiming and protecting sovereign territory. But what is at stake in both conflicts will have rippling effects for generations to come, far beyond Israel and Ukraine. These are existential struggles against murderous aggressors who possess no regard for human rights or civil liberties. Unprovoked, both Hamas and Russia used spurious historical justifications as casus belli to invade democratic countries that they wish to wipe off the map. Their position is...

The Biden administration Monday sent Congress an urgent warning about the need to approve tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv's war effort to defend itself from Russia's invasion might grind to a halt without it. In a letter to House and Senate leaders and released publicly, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned the U.S. will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying that would "kneecap" Ukraine on the battlefield. She added that the U.S. already has run out...

RIGA, Latvia — When a Hamas delegation visited Moscow in late October, Russian diplomats handed them a list of eight Russian-Israeli citizens being held hostage in Gaza — captives Russia wanted the Palestinian militant group to set free. Hamas immediately signaled that the list would get special attention, state-run media reported. SNIP The special treatment for the abducted Russians is a new manifestation of the growing alignment between the Kremlin and Hamas, a relationship in which President Vladimir Putin is seeking to present himself as a leader and champion of a new “multipolar world order” and the Palestinian militant group...

Russia's main rail link to China has been left paralyzed after Ukraine's Security Service blew up a tunnel in the Russian republic of Buryatia, it has been reported. The explosions in the Severomuysky Tunnel were masterminded by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), "paralyzing the only serious route of railway communication between the Russian Federation and China," news outlet RBC-Ukraine reported on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Ukraine's SBU told Newsweek that officially, it can "neither confirm nor deny involvement" in the incident, but added that "death is the only prospect we can offer to the occupiers"...

Hamas has said it will release a number of Russian hostages in a gesture of thanks to President Putin for his support. As negotiations with Israel over prolonging the current truce continue, Hamas political bureau member Moussa Abu Marzouk wrote on X, according to Russian news agency Tass: "We have not released any of the Israeli men that are in Gaza, with the exception of Russian Roni Krivoi, whom we released as a token of appreciation for Russian President Putin's stance. Several other Russians will be released today outside of the truce deal." The acknowledgement of Russian support follows Hamas...

Russia is slated to send Iran advanced fighter jet and attack helicopters, reports say. Iranian state media says the agreement will strengthen the country's air force. The deal comes amid US warnings that Moscow and Tehran are increasing their defense cooperation. Russia has agreed to send advanced fighter jets and attack helicopters to Iran in a deal that would provide a significant boost to the country's air force, Iranian media reports. The reported agreement comes as the US expresses greater concern over what it describes as increasing defense cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. A top White House official said last...

Hamas thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support as it released 25-year-old Russian-Israeli dual national Ron Krivoi from captivity on Sunday in a sign of the growing closeness in the relationship between Moscow and Hamas. Krivoi was among the hostages taken during the Hamas-led terrorist attack against Israel on October 7. “In response to the efforts of Russian president Putin and in appreciation of the Russian position in support of the Palestinian cause, we released a detainee who holds Russian citizenship,” Hamas

The terror group said its release of a Russian citizen from the war-ravaged enclave was taken in appreciation of Moscow’s position . Hamas thanked Vladimir Putin for his support for the “Palestinian cause” as the terror group released a Russian hostage from the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon...

Russia and Iran on Monday denounced recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria’s Damascus International Airport, warning that such actions could further aggravate tensions in the Middle East. “We regard the ongoing attacks on the territory of the Syrian Republic as a gross violation of the sovereignty of this state and the basic norms of international law. We strongly condemn Israel’s latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. -snip- Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani accused Israel of deliberately escalating tensions in the West Asia region through attacks...

Syria's ally Russia on Monday (Nov 27) condemned Israeli air strikes on Damascus International Airport, describing them as provocative and dangerous. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday's strikes could aggravate tensions in the region, already inflamed by the Gaza war. "We strongly condemn Israel’s latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility," Zakharova said in a statement. "We are convinced that such a vicious practice is fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, especially in the context of a sharp aggravation of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the resulting increase in regional tension."...