The brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm over the weekend as Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.

All these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal. This is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them.

What do we know about the people set free and how will the conflict advance moving forward?

I'm daily wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, November 27th, and this is Morning Wire. Americans hit the stores in the online deals over the weekend, spending record numbers on Black Friday with even more set to be spent today. We break down the billions in sales.

And massive backlash over immigration policy sets Dublin a blaze after a shocking stabbing spree.

Thanks for waking up with MorningWire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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Over the weekend, a temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel held as the terror group released dozens of hostages.

Here with more on those who were released and what comes next as the war approaches its second month as Daily Wire's Senior Editor, Kevitt Phillips. Hey, Kevot. A lot of developments out of Israel over the weekend. What's the latest there?

Well, the biggest news is the pause in fighting. The temporary ceasefire, the result of weeks of negotiating between the US, Israel, Hamas, and Qatar, officially went into effect on Friday. That kicked off a four-day period in which both sides stopped fighting, clearing the skies of drones and planes and allowing for the exchange of prisoners and hostages. Importantly, Israel agreed to allow far more aid to enter Gaza, including hundreds of supply trucks and the delivery of more than 130,000 tons of fuel daily. Now, early on, it appeared the ceasefire would be called off. Fifteen minutes after it started, Hamas appeared to launch rockets into Israel, setting off alarm sirens throughout the country. But the deal ultimately held firm, much to the relief of families who've been holding their breath since October seventh, when their loved ones were taken.

Yeah, I bet. About the hostages, what do we know about those.

Set free? Well, over the weekend, we saw three separate groups of hostages released one each day. First on Friday morning, Hamas released 24 people, including 13 Israelis, a Filipino, and 10 Thais. Then on Saturday, a second group was set free. That group included 13 more Israelis and another four Thais. Finally, Sunday, we saw the release of 17 more hostages, including a four-year-old American girl. According to the family of those hostages, some had not seen the son for weeks and thought they were being prepared for execution when Hamas terrorists finally brought them out of captivity.

I can't imagine.

Yeah, it wasn't until they saw Red Cross workers that they said they realized they were being set free. Now, those hostages were brought out of Gaza into Egypt before returning to Israel, where they received medical care and they were reunited with their families.

Tell us about the prisoners who were set free on the other side. There's been a lot of debate there.

Yeah. In exchange for the release of those hostages, the Israelis released a total of around 100 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and teenage boys. But like you mentioned, it's worth noting there was quite a bit of controversy regarding who exactly was set free. While pro-Palestine activists claimed the prisoners were essentially hostages themselves and had been wrongly detained in the first place, we now know that a large number were in prison for violent attacks on Israeli civilians and service members. For example, one of the prisoners was a 24-year-old woman who attacked an Israeli border agent with a knife eight years ago as a teenager. Another woman set free was convicted of a similar crime seven years ago when she attacked in the Israeli police officer with a butcher knife on the way to school. A number of other prisoners, including teenage boys and women, were charged with attempted suicide bombings, assaulting Israeli service members and police officers, joining terror groups, etc. But despite that fact, the prisoners received a hero's welcome upon their release. With Palestinians gathering in large crowds, setting off fireworks, dancing in the streets, and chanting allahu Akbar or God is Great.

All.

Right, so looking ahead, what do we expect to see after this brief ceasefire ends?

So Israel has agreed to extend the pause further if Hamas agrees to continue releasing hostages. But regardless, whenever this ceasefire comes to a close, Israel has made clear they will resume their effort to destroy Hamas. As the country's defense minister put it, There will be a short pause and then we will continue operating with full military power. We will not stop until we achieve our goals, the destruction of Hamas and bringing home the hostages from Gaza to Israel. The country's military has now warned civilians who fled Northern Gaza not to return to their homes, saying they're preparing to begin the next phase of their war, which will likely include an increase in ground forces and more just brutal urban warfare. Remember, while Israel has gained control of Hamas, strongholds, and political facilities in the north, the terror group is still operating in the area out of their sprawling network of underground tunnels. That system spans countless miles and will be very difficult.

To secure. Yeah, I'm sure it will be. One more thing before we go. We saw another high-profile anti-Israel demonstration last week, this time on Thanksgiving Day. Tell us about that.

Yeah, about an hour and a half into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, a few dozen anti-Israel protesters jumped to police barricade, or some glued themselves to the parade route, while others held a large banner saying, quote, genocide then, genocide now, Palestine forever. More than 30 of those demonstrators were ultimately arrested, and the parade did resume shortly after. But this was yet another example of a highly publicized anti-Israel protest, something that's become increasingly common in cities and on college campuses nationwide.

Yeah, it has. Well, this conflict is certainly far from over, so we'll be keeping on top of this. Cavit, thanks for.

Joining us anytime.

Stores across the country were a bit quieter than years-past Black Fridays, but combined with online sales, Americans still spent big bucks on the retail holiday.

Here to discuss is daily wire reporter, Amanda Prestigacombe. Amanda, my mom and I were shopping downtown in Boston this past Saturday, and we were commenting on how much calmer things were than we were expecting. Were sales still strong this past weekend?

Yeah, generally they were still strong. We know that shopping was up compared to last year, both in-person and online, but it was nowhere near the in-person chaos we used to see before the pandemic. But for online numbers, which are easier to track, that shows that spending was up 7.5% from last year, totaling $9.8 billion on Black Friday. As for in-store traffic, scenes at some malls were busy for sure, but generally the days of people camping out overnight for deals and those insane Walmart stampeds, those are probably things of the past. The main reason for that is this shift toward online shopping. There were also disruptions this year for some in-store shoppers from pro-Palestinian protesters, both outside and inside shopping centers. Here's some audio of that taking place in Los Angeles. How many.

Fans are in sales today?.

You know, still, all told, it's estimated that 182 million people will shop online and in stores between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. According to one survey, consumers expect to take advantage of these sales to the tune of $560-plus each. Now, analytics show that Americans particularly like to buy their electronics online, like smartphones, TVs, smartwatches, and gaming items. What's interesting about those preliminary online numbers is how many people are shopping just on their phones as opposed to desktops or laptops. In fact, purchases by phone made up 54% of all online sales, and that was up 10.4% just from last year.

Now, one question I have is how inflation is affecting spending habits. Obviously, things cost more, so that's going to mean higher spending. But on the other side, you have people trying to save money. Do we know if Americans are buying the same volume of stuff that they used to?

So these predictions of the total amount spent during Black Friday, they're not adjusted for inflation. So while the rate of inflation is slowing down, it probably means you're spending more and getting less stuff. But to offset that, we have seen an increase in what's called buy now, pay later purchases. Americans, to an average, are struggling with debt right now. They seem to be opting for these short-term loans and payment plans to try to avoid high interest rates while still acquiring what they want or what they need. Adobe Analytics found that purchases financed using this method were significantly up from last year and that totaled around $79 million of those Black Friday online sales. There's also been this drop in brand loyalty. Retail giants like Target, Macy's, and Kohl's have seen a decrease in their stored credit card businesses. This is again likely due to these tough economic times. Consumers are switching up their retailers and just trying to find the best possible prices wherever that might be. This also plays into online shopping where it's easier to find the best deal at just the click of a few buttons.

Now, speaking of online shopping, today is Cyber Monday. Do we have any expectations of how that's going to shake out?

It's been projected that Americans will spend up to $10 billion online just Saturday and Sunday. Now, as for today, Cyber Monday, we're expected to hit a record $12 billion.

Well, I'm going to get myself an air fryer. Amanda, thanks for reporting.

You're welcome.

Riots broke out in Ireland last week after the stabbing of three children and an adult staffer outside of a school in Dublin on Thursday.

After word spread that the alleged assailant was an immigrant from Algeria, protesters began to assemble for what became a fiery night of clashes with the police. Here to discuss the events is daily wire contributor David Marcus. Hey Dave. What do we know about this violent attack and this explosive response to it?

Morning. This began with an incident on Thursday afternoon when there was a knife attack outside of a school in Dublin. Five were injured, including three children, a school worker, and the man who is a person of interest in the attack, who as of Sunday was yet to be arrested, but is under guard in the hospital. Word quickly spread that the attack was committed by an immigrant, and that's what lit the fuse for the riots on Thursday night, which saw hundreds of protesters or rioters, violently clashing with police. There were fires set, and according to authorities, nothing like this had occurred in Ireland for decades.

The.

Protests died down over the weekend, but left in their wake some real questions about how Ireland should proceed with immigration policy, as well as threats from Leo Varadkar, the Prime Minister, or Tashia, as it's known in Ireland, to stiffen hate speech laws. Yeah.

Now, some big figures in Ireland have come out in support of the protesters, though not the violence. That includes Connor McGregor, the famous MMA fighter from Ireland. What did he say and why has it gotten so much attention?

As you mentioned, McGregor is one of the most famous athletes in Ireland, if not the most famous. He's also very much a symbol of the country. Where you see McGregor, you see the Irish flag. He's been very vocal since the attack, going so far as to say, quote, Ireland we are at war, unquote. The country has seen a huge upswing in immigration since the 1990s, and now about 20 % of the population is foreign born. Ireland had been viewed as something of an exemplar of successful immigration policy, but that's fraying not just as a result of violence, but more broadly, we're starting to see concerns about the nation's cultural identity emerge as people ask themselves, What does it mean to be Irish?

Right. Now, Bradcar has referred to immigrants as the newest and most vulnerable Irish people. Has he addressed these concerns about Irish cultural identity?

The short answer is no. Ireland is an interesting case because this is a country that has spent centuries trying to maintain its national and cultural identity in the face of England's dominance. This is why we see the Irish language widely used in government, as we just mentioned, and why Irish sports are widely promoted as opposed to soccer or rugby. The question is how to assimilate new arrivals without losing Irish culture? It's a problem being faced by nations all over Europe. We saw this week tightening up borders in several nations, such as Austria and Denmark, and they're facing similar concerns to Ireland. When you look at the decades of immigration anxiety along with now the conflict in Israel and its attendant terror threats, it does feel like Europe is reaching a boiling point on this issue. Yeah, it really does.

We have seen some criticism of the media in the wake of the protest. Is the media putting its thumb on the scale here?

It certainly appears so, and the Irish government may be doing that as well, most likely in an attempt to tamp down the reaction to the attack. The media and government in Ireland have taken a hard line against the protesters and calls for more hate speech laws to protect immigrants brings to mind things like the Biden administration putting forward a strategy to defeat Islamophobia last month in the midst of surging anti-Semitism. These approaches may be well-intentioned, but a lot of people in the West are looking at them and seeing a disconnect between reality and what is being addressed, and they're starting to want real answers.

Yeah, it feels like the clash of cultures is really coming to a head in several countries. Absolutely. Dave, thanks for joining us.

Thanks for having me. That's all.

The time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.