Tuesday morning news: December 26, 2023

Cease-fire proposal » Egypt is pitching a cease-fire proposal to Israel and Hamas, but neither side appears ready to back down from its war effort.

The plan calls for the phased release of hostages and a Palestinian-run government over Gaza and the West Bank.

Senior Israeli government adviser Mark Regev said that after the most recent cease-fire, the ball is in Hamas’s court.

REGEV: That cease-fire ended because Hamas refused to release more hostages. Had they released more hostages, names that they agreed to release, the cease-fire would have been extended.

Relatives of some of the Hamas-held Israeli hostages protested on Monday outside the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

SOUND: [Protesters in Israel]

Shaked Shechter says her sister Romi was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th. She says her sister was injured, and she and other demonstrators just want their loved ones back.

SHECHTER: We know that nothing is moving right now, but we need someone to talk to us. We need someone to tell us what they are going to do. We need everyone to know that Romi and many more hostages are still held in Gaza, and we want people to remember them and not to forget that they are there, and they need to come home.

The Israeli military says the bodies of five hostages were discovered over the weekend in underground tunnels used by Hamas.

More war updates » Fears that the war could spread throughout the Middle East are mounting after an Israeli airstrike killed an Iranian military leader in Damascus, Syria, on Monday.

The high-ranking general was advising Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Syria. Iran vowed revenge for the strike but did not immediately retaliate.

Christmas travel » In the skies above the U.S., holiday air travelers are much happier this Christmas than they were last year.

TRAVELER: We thought it was going to be crazy, but really, we got in and checked in and, ready to go. I’m not too worried, the weather’s nice.

In 2022, weather and computer errors stranded more than 2 million passengers on Southwest Airlines.

This year, the airline said bad weather in Chicago disrupted some of its flights about 16 percent of Southwest flights were delayed Christmas Day, according to the website Flight Aware.

King Charles Christmas broadcast » In Britain, King Charles the Third delivered his second annual Christmas address, keeping a royal tradition that dates back more than ninety years.

During the broadcast, he encouraged the British people to show compassion in the face of worldwide turmoil.

KING CHARLES: On this Christmas Day, my heart and my thanks go to all who are serving one another, all who are caring for our common home and all who see and seek the good of others.

Environmentalism was also a major theme of the speech with the King urging the public to embrace a green agenda.

Navalny » In Russia, an opposition leader who went missing weeks ago has been found in a prison colony above the Arctic Circle.

Alexei Navalny’s associates said they lost contact with him earlier this month.

SPOKESPERSON: [Speaking Russian]

A spokesperson for Navalny said his team searched detention facilities around Russia. After locating him, a lawyer visited and said he is doing fine.

Navalny was sentenced to 19 years on charges of extremism, but had been imprisoned fewer than two hundred miles from Moscow.

He is now roughly 2,000 miles north of the capital.

New Russian Candidate » Russian President Vladimir Putin will face a challenger in next year’s presidential race.

On Monday, Leonid Slutsky, the leader of an ultranationalist party in Russia officially registered his candidacy for the 2024 Russian presidential election.

SLUTSKY: [Speaking Russian]

Slutsky promised change, saying his party stands ready to expand its leadership and establish its role governing the country.

Putin also registered to run for reelection. Under constitutional changes he oversaw, the 71-year-old is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current one ends next year.

I'm Kristen Flavin.

Straight ahead: Top stories from 2023. Plus, People in business and science who died this year.

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