PH to remain a responsible neighbor, ensures, stability
PH to remain a responsible neighbor, ensures, stability;
Possible peace deal could bring pause in fighting to Gaza;
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, dies at 96
Possible peace deal could bring pause in fighting to Gaza;
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, dies at 96
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Good day, I am William Thio and this is PTV News Now.
00:05 President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured that the Philippines will continue to be a
00:09 responsible neighbor and will always work to ensure peace, stability and prosperity
00:14 in the Indo-Pacific region.
00:16 The President admitted that small countries like the Philippines are grappling with the
00:20 need to enhance security capabilities alongside allies and partners and amidst larger regional
00:27 players.
00:28 The Philippines and officials from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command had a candid exchange on the regional
00:33 developments and their critical role in providing peace, safeguarding the international law-based
00:39 order and ensuring resilient, sustainable and inclusive growth.
00:44 Meanwhile, a deal between Israel and Hamas to free dozens of hostages held in Palestinian
00:50 territories may be underway, according to a report.
00:54 Such a deal would likely bring at least a temporary pause to the fighting in Gaza and
00:59 much needed aid across the border.
01:01 VOA's Arash Arabassadi has more.
01:05 The Washington Post reports that Israel and the U.S. designated terror group Hamas are
01:10 now close to agreement on a U.S. brokered deal to release dozens of hostages taken by
01:15 Hamas in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting that would allow a significant boost
01:20 to humanitarian aid.
01:22 We are not finished.
01:23 There is not yet a deal in place and I think it would be premature to conclude that this
01:28 is inevitable given how close we have come in the past.
01:31 And I think one thing that I won't do is go through all the outstanding areas in which
01:36 there are still negotiations.
01:38 We don't negotiate these things in public.
01:40 But it is a very high priority to try to get this done.
01:43 They're making some progress and we hope that that will be concluded soon so that these
01:46 people can finally come home.
01:50 Israel's military has been conducting ongoing assaults on Gaza since Hamas brazenly attacked
01:55 the country on October 7.
01:57 About 1,200 people died in that attack, with what's believed to be around 240 hostages
02:03 taken, many still missing.
02:05 We are hopeful that we can get a significant number of hostages freed in the coming days.
02:14 I don't want to go into the details of these talks.
02:17 They are obviously very sensitive.
02:19 The less we go into the details, the better the chances of such a deal.
02:25 But they are very serious efforts and I'm hopeful that we can have a deal in the coming
02:30 days.
02:31 In the weeks following October 7, Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives killed more
02:36 than 12,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry
02:42 in the West Bank.
02:43 The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, or UNRWA, estimates
02:48 about 900,000 displaced people are sheltering in their facilities across the Gaza Strip,
02:54 a number six times higher than their planned worst-case scenario.
02:59 The World Health Organization reports Gaza's largest medical facility, the Shifa Hospital,
03:04 is littered with medical and solid waste, with a mass grave holding at least 80 bodies
03:09 outside.
03:10 But a recent effort by the WHO and the UN successfully evacuated premature babies to
03:16 a site south of the facility.
03:17 For many of them, it's just, you know, they're thinking about how they should provide for
03:22 their family tomorrow.
03:24 But increasingly people are very worried about what does the future hold for them.
03:30 Where are they going to live?
03:31 Where are they going to get their children educated?
03:34 What does the future hold?
03:35 And that's the big question on the minds of Gazans right now.
03:41 The back and forth between Israel and Hamas is now in its sixth week, with only a fraction
03:46 of humanitarian aid having so far reached Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire.
03:52 For them, a pause in fighting could mean the difference between death and life-saving supplies
03:57 that cross the border.
03:58 Arash Arbasadi, VOA News.
04:04 In other news, former United States President's First Lady and mental health advocate Rosalyn
04:10 Carter has died at the age of 96.
04:13 The Carter Center said the First Lady died after living with dementia and suffering many
04:18 months of declining health.
04:20 She died peacefully with her family by her side.
04:23 Her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, called her an extension of myself.
04:27 U.S. President Joe Biden described the Carters as an incredible family for bringing so much
04:33 grace to the office.
04:37 And this is William Thio.
04:39 Stay informed, be aware, get ahead and get the news right here.
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