This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. Protect your retirement assets. Speak with the experts at Patriot Gold. As you may have heard me mention in the past, well, they've been the top-rated gold IRA dealer for seven years in a row. Think about that. That's a lot of years in a row. Go to patriotgoldgroup. Com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Friday, 23 August. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start with a look at the latest strikes and counterstrikes between Israel and Hezbollah as the terror group releases footage of their underground tunnel network in Lebanon, raising concerns that they're preparing for a wider their conflict. Later in the brief, while Kyiv has found success with their incursion into Russia's Khrushchev region, progress has slowed, and now the Russian military is advancing on a critical city in the Donetsk region in Eastern Ukraine. Plus, Venezuela's top court has officially ratified dictator Nicolas Maduro's widely questioned victory, I use that term very loosely, in the country's July 28th presidential elections, sealing institutional backing for his regime as the US considers a slew of fresh sanctions.

Well, I, for one, am shocked that the country's top court, controlled by Maduro, would decide that Maduro was actually the winner. I mean, despite receiving several million fewer votes than the opposition, yeah, simply shocked. In today's Back of the Brief, Hamas leader and seventh October mastermind, Yaya Sinwa, who has regularly bragged that he's happy to sacrifice himself to the cause, is demanding that any ceasefire include guarantees that Israel won't try to kill him. What a tool. He's called Dead Palestinian civilians necessary casualties, while he hides like a rat in the Gaza tunnels and now wants to make a ceasefire dependent on his own safety. But first, today's PDP Spotlight. Fighting has intensified along the Israel-Lebanon border as the IDF trade strikes with Hezbollah militants who continue to voul retaliation against Israel over the 30 July deaths of Hezbollah Deputy Leader Fouad Shulker in Beirut and former Hamas Chief Ishmael Hanei in Tehran. On Wednesday, Hezbollah sent a barrage of 50 missiles and drones into Israel that struck homes in the Golan Heights, leaving one person with shrapnel injuries. Israel responded with targeted strikes on more than 10 areas across Southern Lebanon, hitting weapons depots, military buildings, and a launcher used by Hezbollah.

With the threat of a potential wider conflict looming on the horizon, I wanted to take a moment to look at the military capabilities of the Iranian-backed militants. Now, Hezbollah recently released a video documenting their expansive secret tunnel networks inside Lebanon in a move seen as a direct warning to Israel of the challenges they might face should a full-scale war erupt? And that's according to a report from Francis AFP. Now, while AFP has not been able to verify the authenticity of the footage and cannot rule out the possibility that its computer-generated imagery was used, the four and a half minute video titled Our Mountains or Our Storehouses shows large scale underground tunnels big enough to house a whole convoy full of trucks. In the video, trucks can be seen transporting missiles and launchers through one of the tunnels, but regional experts warn there are likely dozens more. A retired Lebanese Brigadier General told AFP the footage shows, How deep, how large, and how complex the tunnels are. And how difficult or even impossible it would be for Israel to breach them. The underground networks are described by Hezbollah's backers in Iran as, missile cities, many of which are thought to be located under the Jablamal Mountains in Southern Lebanon.

While Israel has known about the existence of the tunnel networks for many years, most were thought to be designed for only a small number of fighters. But a Hezbollah expert at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies told AFP that the tunnels shown in the latest video, quote, completely dwarf those earlier man-sized bunkers. A retired Lebanese general and military analyst also warned that little details were known about these top secret facilities. He added that their location inside Lebanon's mountains and hilltops makes it next to impossible for warplanes and missiles to penetrate the tunnels. Still, experts with the Institute for National Security Studies said the IDF has a lot of experience dealing with Hamas tunnels inside Gaza, and that they could apply a similar strategy regarding Hezbollah's tunnel network. Why is Hezbollah showing off their secret tunnels? That's a good question. It's likely a subtle threat against Israel meant to remind leaders in Jerusalem that Hezbollah could unleash far more powerful weaponry than it has to date if a wider war breaks out. Since the seventh October attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah has launched more than 6,700 rockets, explosive drones, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars into Israel.

According to a report from the dispatch, the strikes have killed 26 civilians and 22 soldiers to date. While forcing some 60,000 to flee their homes along the northern border in Israel. But Hezbollah's massive arsenal has far greater capabilities than we've seen so far. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the militants have more than 60,000 long-range unguided rockets, more than 20,000 unguided ballistic missiles, and at least 150 guided ballistic missiles. In theory, this would allow the group to launch more than 3,000 missiles a day for up to three weeks, a scenario that, of course, could overwhelm Israel's missile defenses. An official with the IDF recently told the dispatch, Hezbollah is the most heavily armed terrorist organization in the world, possessing an arsenal of over 200,000 rockets, precision guided missiles, armed drones, and more. As we recently covered, reports indicate that Iran plans to hold off on their threatened retaliation against Israel for now, but are allegedly encouraging Hezbollah to move forward with their own strikes. Leaders of the militant group have said they will stop their attacks if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza, but But as we've been reporting this week, hopes for a major diplomatic breakthrough, well, they're very low.

All right, coming up after the break. Despite the success of Kyiv's incursion into Kyrsk, the Russian military is advancing on a critical city in the Donetsk region in Eastern Ukraine. Plus, Venezuela's top court has officially ratified dictator Nicolas Maduro's widely questioned victory in the country's July 28th presidential elections, sealing institutional backing for his regime, as the US considers a slew of fresh sanctions. We'll have those stories when we come back.

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Their proximity threatens the city's defenses and increases the pressure on Ukrainian forces to hold the line. A battlefield map, produced by the Finland-based Blackbird Group, which tracks developments in the conflict, indicates that Russian troops are now approaching the final line of Ukrainian anti-tank ditches and trenches near Pokrovsk. Despite the layered defenses around the city, Russian forces have already breached several areas, prompting Ukrainian authorities to urge residents to evacuate. Further to the northeast, Russian forces have been steadily gaining territory. Footage analyzed by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, confirms that Russian troops now control most of the town of New York and are pushing towards Toretsk. The Deputy Commander of Ukraine's Third Separate Assault Brigade noted that Russian forces have largely maintained their focus on the Donetsk region with minimal redeployment to counter the Ukrainian offensive in the Khrushchev region. This prioritization by Russia has allowed their troops to continue pressing their advantage in the east, complicating Ukraine's efforts to sustain its defensive lines. Meanwhile, President Putin accused the Ukrainian military on Thursday of attempting to strike the Khrushchev nuclear power plant. Putin mentioned that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, had been informed and that they promised to send specialists to assess the situation.

The acting governor of the Kyrsk region has assured Putin that the situation at the plant remained stable and under control. The IAEA subsequently confirmed that their top official, Rafael Grossi, would visit the Khrushchev plant next week to assess the situation further. Okay, moving on to the ongoing election turmoil in Venezuela. The nation's top court has ratified dictator Nicolas Maduro's supposed victory in the the eighth July presidential election, strengthening, of course, his administration's grip on power despite widespread domestic and international controversy and despite the fact that he clearly lost to the opposition. The Supreme Justice Tribunal purportedly reviewed evidence from the National Electoral Council that confirmed his victory. Now, we should note the Council is squarely in Maduro's pocket. Officials stated they had validated the results despite the electoral authority not releasing complete voting tallies. The decision which is final and can't be appealed, effectively grants Maduro another six-year term. Well, would you look at that, which is set to begin in January 2025 and promises to deepen the political crisis in Venezuela. The ruling was met with outrage from opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González, who said they have now published 83% of the voting machine tallies online.

They show that González significantly ahead of Maduro with 67% of the vote. The opposition argues that the court has no constitutional authority to intervene in electoral matters, rendering its ruling invalid. Machado and González are currently under investigation by the Maduro regime for allegedly inciting military crimes. It's a move that came in response to their calls for authorities to stop cracking down on demonstrators. These investigations reflect broader efforts by the regime to tighten its grip during growing descent. Tensions in Venezuela continue to escalate with widespread public outrage, leading to the deaths of at least 23 protesters during anti-government demonstrations since the election. According to the UN, Over 2,400 individuals have been arrested. Maduro's regime has labeled the protesters, oh, here's something unusual, as extremists and fascists. There you go. Further intensifying the rift between the government and its critics. The Maduro regime's defiance of international calls for transparency has not deterred support from its allies, with Russia and China offering congratulations on his re-election. Of course they did. Despite this, the international community at large has largely condemned the election results. The US, along with Canada and the EU, increased pressure on the Venezuelian government to publish complete and transparent election results in the wake of the election, but to no avail.

What? You mean Maduro is not being transparent despite calls from the US. The US is now mulling sanctions on approximately 60 Venezuelan government officials and their family members, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. You have to ask yourself, what exactly is there to mull? Just impose the sanctions. While the US considers additional sanctions, its options are constrained by previous measures. In 2019, following the Maduro's previous re-election, which was also widely unrecognized, The US implemented some of the harshest measures yet, targeting Venezuela's crucial oil sector. These sanctions have severely impacted the country's economy, which relies heavily on oil exports, of course. In April of this year, the US further tightened restrictions by deciding not to renew a broad license that allowed Venezuela to freely export its oil. Despite these efforts, the situation in Venezuela remains dire, with the Maduro regime showing little willingness basically no willingness, to concede to international pressure. The looming sanctions could further isolate the regime, but may also deepen the suffering of the Venezuelan people who have already endured years of economic hardship. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, an update on this week's emergency ceasefire negotiations.

As Khamas's current leader demands guarantees regarding his own safety be included in any potential deal. Such a brave man. More on that after the break. In today's Back of the Brief, Hamas leader and seventh October mastermind, Geria Sinmar, who has regularly bragged that he would be honored to sacrifice himself to the cause has reportedly added a new demand for any potential ceasefire in Gaza, and that would be Israel must promise not to kill him. According to our report from our friends of the New York Post, the request was communicated through a senior Egyptian official involved in the current ceasefire negotiations, which, as we discussed earlier this week, are, of course, at risk of collapsing. The unnamed official said the terror chief intimated that if Israel is willing to submit to this demand, meaning his own personal safety, a ceasefire remains possible. The official said, quote, Seymour insists on a guarantee that his safety and security are assured, end quote. Now, the hypocrisy of the terror leader should come as no surprise because he's a terror leader, as he has proudly sacrificed the civilian population of Gaza to his cause while safely hiding deep inside Hamas's expansive tunnel networks ever since the war began, the war which, of course, Hamas started.

Leaked messages reported by the Wall Street Journal in June revealed Sinmar's calloused disregard for the plight of Palestinians, as he told mediators in Egypt and Qatar that he viewed the deaths of civilians as, necessary sacrifices. Sinmar, who was also known by the nickname the Butcher of Khan Younes, was officially named the new leader of the terrorist outfit on August sixth, following the death of their political chief in Tehran on July 30th. Regarding the current ceasefire talks, Hamas appears intent on undermining the negotiations. They're not participating directly and continue to demand that Israel agree to a previous proposal submitted by the terror group in early July. That, of course, favors their interests. When it comes to his life, Sinuar has good reason to worry. Following his rise to the top leadership post, Israel vowed to kill him for his many crimes. Idf spokesman Daniel Hagari did not mince words saying, There is only one place for Yulia Sinuar, and it is beside Mohamed Diif and the rest of the October seventh terrorists. That is the only place we're preparing and intending for him. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 23 August.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirsttv. Com. Of course, to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting bdbpremium. Com. It could not be easier. I'm Mike Baker. Now, I'll be back later today with the BDb Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay safe, stay cool..