As Israel and Hamas edge closer to a possible ceasefire-hostage agreement, a small number of families whose loved ones remain captive in Gaza are saying “No” to a deal.

Many members of the Tikva (Hope) Forum fringe group, including settlers in the occupied West Bank, hold right-wing ideologies. They oppose the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel as part of the deal, arguing that a partial release of Israeli hostages from Gaza is unacceptable. Instead, they insist that defeating Hamas through strong military action should be the top priority, and is the best strategy to retrieve hostages.

The Tikva Forum, which says it was founded to bring the hostages home “from a place of strength, faith, national responsibility and concern for the unity and security of all Israelis,” is distinct from the Hostage Families Forum – which represents the majority of the hostage families, and has been leading protests advocating for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Tzvika Mor, Tikva Forum’s co-founder, believes his son Eitan, who is being held in Gaza, would want him to oppose the deal.

“I know definitely that Eitan wants me to make sure that the State of Israel will be safe,” he said, adding that if his son was not in captivity, he would have been “a soldier in Gaza or Lebanon or Syria.”

The first phase of the deal is expected to see the release of children, women, the sick and the elderly who are held in Gaza for the freeing of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli jails, some of whom were accused of killing Israelis.

Boaz Miran, who is also part of the Tikva Forum, also opposes the deal. His brother Omri was kidnapped by Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nahal Oz in southern Israel, leaving behind his wife, Lishay, their two young daughters. The first phase of the deal is unlikely to see his brother released, given that it prioritizes women, children and the elderly.

Boaz has campaigned against the deal along with other families attached to the Tikva Forum. Members of the group often share views similar to those of Israel’s far-right politicians, who also oppose the deal, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who threatened to withdraw from Netanyahu’s coalition if a deal is signed, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said a deal would be a “catastrophe.”

Both ministers are settlers with hardline views about Palestinians.

‘Monsters as our neighbors’

Mor, the co-founder for the forum, resides in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. His son was kidnapped by Palestinian militants from the Nova Festival on October 7. He said that at least 15 families are part of the forum, but that many prefer to stay out of the limelight.

Miran and other members of the Tikva forum reject the Gaza deal in its current form, saying that hostages should come back in one wave, and that Palestinian “terrorists” should not be freed. “We believe all the captives should be returned in one deal, from a position of strength,” Miran said.

He also believes that the release of Palestinian prisoners would be catastrophic for Israel.

Israel holds at least 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, including 3,376 people who have been held under administrative detention – a controversial procedure that allows Israeli authorities to hold people indefinitely on security grounds without trial or charge, sometimes based on evidence that isn’t made public. Ninety-five children are currently under administrative detention, according to the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.

The proposed deal is set to be implemented in three phases, the first of which would last 42 days. In the first phase, 33 hostages held by Hamas and its allies since October 7 will be released, including women, children, men over the age of 50 and wounded people. Israel would release “many hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners in exchange, an Israeli official said, including Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis.

Negotiations to reach the second and third phases of a ceasefire agreement – which is intended to end the war – would begin on the 16th day of the implementation of the deal, according to the Israeli official.

Miran said that while he celebrates the release of each hostage, the deal as it stands would mean that the joy of some families would mean sadness for others, adding that “this deal will determine the fate of my brother Omri to rot in the tunnels of Hamas for months or even years to come.”

The Israeli government believes 98 hostages are still being held in Gaza – most of whom were abducted on October 7, 2023, dozens of whom are believed to be dead.

The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has raged for 15 months, turning Gaza into a wasteland and displacing at least 90% of Palestinians since October 2023, according to the United Nations. More than 46,000 people have been killed – mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

India on Thursday became the fourth country to successfully achieve an unmanned docking in space, a feat seen as pivotal for future missions as New Delhi cements its place as a global space power.

The United States, Russia and China are the only other countries to have developed and tested the docking capability.

“Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on X.

The Indian space agency’s mission, called the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDex), involved deploying two small spacecraft, weighing about 220 kilograms each, into low-earth orbit. The two spacecraft, called Target and Chaser, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in southern Andhra Pradesh state on December 30 aboard an Indian-made PSLV rocket.

On Thursday, they conducted a rendezvous before docking together.

India’s “SpaDex mission marks the beginning of a new era in space exploration, showcasing India’s technological prowess and ambition,” Minister for Space Jitendra Singh said on X at the time it launched.

In-docking technology is critical for future space endeavors, such as satellite servicing and when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve mission objectives.

Domestically developed docking technology will be crucial if India is to succeed in advancing its ambition of putting an Indian national on the moon, building a home-grown space station, and returning lunar samples, according to the ISRO.

The technology will allow India to transfer materials from one satellite or spacecraft to another, such as payloads, lunar samples or, eventually, humans in space, Singh told reporters at a press conference on December 31.

As part of the mission, the docked spacecraft will also demonstrate the transfer of electric power between them, once they are linked. This is essential for operating in-space robotics, spacecraft control, and payload operations during future missions.

Before the docking, India on Sunday conducted a “trial attempt” where the two satellites were brought progressively closer together in orbit until they reached 3 meters apart, before moving back to a “safe distance.”

The successful docking came after the experiment was twice postponed on January 7 and 9 due to technical issues, and the spacecraft drifting more than expected during a maneuver to bring them closer together.

A global space race

India’s space ambitions have accelerated under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was elected to a third term last June and who has tried to assert India’s place on the global stage.

In 2023, India joined an elite space club becoming the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon. The historic Chandrayaan-3 mission, the first to make a soft landing close to the moon’s unexplored South Pole, has collected samples that are helping scientists understand how the moon was formed and evolved over time.

As part of its ambitious plans, India aims to launch its first crewed mission to space in the next few years, and put an astronaut on the moon – a feat only ever achieved by the US – by 2040.

The country has also set its sights on building its own space station by 2035, which will be called the “Bharatiya Antariksha Station,” and launching its first orbital mission to Venus in 2028. It also plans to return moon samples as part of its ongoing lunar Chandarayaan program in 2027.

India has also made a major push to commercialize its space sector in recent years, allowing private enterprise and easing approvals for foreign investment, which has focused on building and launching small satellites into low-Earth orbit more cheaply.

For Sunday’s docking experiment, the rocket and spacecraft were integrated and tested at private company Ananth Technologies, in a first for the country.

Sydney (Reuters) — Voting began on Thursday to elect a new government in Vanuatu, a month after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific island nation’s capital Port Vila, killing at least 16 people, triggering landslides and damaging several major buildings.

A snap election had to be called after Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu in November dissolved the parliament following a no-confidence motion against him and Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

Vanuatu has experienced 18 months of political instability, with three prime ministers in that time.

The country’s constitution requires an election within 60 days after the dissolution of parliament. There are more than 300,000 registered voters to elect representatives for 52 seats.

Official results could be available only after several days as ballots have to be brought to Port Vila from outlying islands.

Despite widespread damage from the earthquake, Vanuatu’s Principal Electoral Officer Guilain Malessas said the distribution of ballot boxes would be completed by Thursday morning.

“We are grateful for the good weather conditions currently in Vanuatu. The deployments are proceeding safely and on time,” Malessas told the Vanuatu Daily Post on Wednesday.

Among the buildings damaged in December’s earthquake was one housing the new U.S. embassy, which only opened last year.

Washington has been working to boost its diplomatic presence in the Pacific to counter what it sees as a growing threat from China, its main strategic rival.

Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ukraine Thursday with a pledge to help guarantee the country’s security for a century, days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president.

The British government says Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a “100-Year Partnership” treaty in Kyiv, covering areas including defense, science, energy and trade.

Starmer’s unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July. He visited the country in 2023 when he was opposition leader, and has twice held talks with Zelensky in 10 Downing Street since becoming prime minister.

One of Ukraine’s biggest military backers, the UK has pledged 12.8 billion pounds ($16 billion) in military and civilian aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago, and has trained more than 50,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Starmer is due to announce another 40 million pounds ($49 million) for Ukraine’s post-war economic recovery.

But the UK’s role is dwarfed by that of the United States, and there is deep uncertainty over the fate of American support for Ukraine once Trump takes office on January 20. The president-elect has balked at the cost of US aid to Kyiv, says he wants to bring the war to a swift end and is planning to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom he has long expressed admiration.

Kyiv’s allies have rushed to flood Ukraine with as much support as possible before Trump’s inauguration, with the aim of putting Ukraine in the strongest position possible for any future negotiations to end the war.

Zelensky has said that in any peace negotiation, Ukraine would need assurances about its future protection from its much bigger neighbor.

Britain says its 100-year pledge is part of that assurance, and will help ensure Ukraine is “never again vulnerable to the kind of brutality inflicted on it by Russia,” which seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and attempted a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The deal commits the two sides to cooperate on defense — especially maritime security against Russian activity in the Batlic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov — and on technology projects including drones, which have become vital weapons for both sides in the war. The treaty also includes a system to help track stolen Ukrainian grain exported by Russia from occupied parts of the country.

“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure. Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level,” Starmer said ahead of the visit.

“This is not just about the here and now, it is also about an investment in our two countries for the next century, bringing together technology development, scientific advances and cultural exchanges, and harnessing the phenomenal innovation shown by Ukraine in recent years for generations to come.”

Zelensky says he and Starmer also will discuss a plan proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron that would see troops from France and other Western countries stationed in Ukraine to oversee a ceasefire agreement.

Zelensky has said any such proposal should go alongside a timeline for Ukraine to join NATO. The alliance’s 32 member countries say that Ukraine will join one day, but not until after the war. Trump has appeared to sympathize with Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO.

As the grinding war nears the three-year mark, both Russia and Ukraine are pushing for battlefield gains ahead of possible peace talks. Ukraine has started a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, where it is struggling to hang onto a chunk of territory it captured last year, and has stepped up drone and missile attacks on weapons sites and fuel depots inside Russia.

Moscow is slowly taking territory at the cost of high casualties, along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line in eastern Ukraine and launching intense barrages at Ukraine’s energy system, seeking to deprive Ukrainians of heat and light in the depths of winter. A major Russian ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine on Wednesday, and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid in some areas.