By JOSEF FEDERMAN and WAFAA SHURAFA, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — A former U.N. Mideast envoy has been chosen to direct President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza, Israel’s prime minister said Thursday, as at least eight more deaths from Israeli strikes were reported there.

The appointment of Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov marks an important step forward for Trump’s Mideast peace plan, which has moved slowly since delivering an October ceasefire ending more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem, identifying him as the “designated” director-general for the board, which is meant to oversee the implementation of the second and far more complicated phase of the ceasefire.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially announced, confirmed Mladenov is the Trump administration’s choice to be the board’s day-to-day administrator on the ground.

Trump has said he will head the board. Other appointments are expected next week, according to Israeli and American officials, who both spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.

Under Trump’s plan, the board is supposed to supervise a new technocratic Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and reconstruction. The U.S. has reported little progress on any of these fronts so far.

Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as the U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015-2020. During that time, he had good working relations with Israel and frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase of the ceasefire halted the fighting and saw an exchange of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel. The deal has largely held, though it has been marred by mutual accusations of violations. Hamas still has not returned the remains of one hostage – an Israeli policeman killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Continued Israeli strikes in Gaza, meanwhile, have killed over 400 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

Israel says the strikes have been in response to violations of the deal, but Palestinian health officials say scores of civilians have been among the dead.

The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israeli gunfire blamed for at least 8 deaths Thursday

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday killed at least eight people, according to Palestinian hospital officials and family members. Hamas called the deaths a “blatant violation of the ceasefire.”

The victims included an 11-year-old girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor, a teenage girl and two boys killed in a tent camp and a man whose daughter wept over his body outside a hospital.

“Talk to me, dad!” she cried outside Nasser Hospital, where the body of Abdullah al-Kassas had been taken after a strike in eastern Khan Younis.

At least a dozen others were injured, hospital officials said.

Israel’s military said it was not aware of any strike-related casualties in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya area, where 11-year-old Hamsa Housou was killed, and did not immediately comment on the others reported Thursday.

Her uncle, Khamis Housou, told The Associated Press that the family had returned home on Oct. 11, a day after the ceasefire went into effect. He said their Falluja neighborhood has been subjected to daily shooting by Israeli troops despite being on the western side of the yellow ceasefire line.

He heard screams early Thursday as Israeli troops combed the area where shells and shrapnel hit. His niece, who he said had dreams of becoming a doctor, was pronounced dead at Shifa Hospital.

“They say that there is a ceasefire and that the war on Gaza has stopped. Is this only through the media, while every day there are explosions and fire belts?” he asked. “Shooting does not stop. Where is the ceasefire?”

The Israeli military has previously said that any actions since the ceasefire began have been in response to violations of the agreement.

The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

‘Hamas refuses to disarm’

On Thursday, Egyptian and European Union leaders meeting in Cairo urged the deployment of an international stabilization force in the Gaza Strip to oversee the October ceasefire.

“The situation is extremely severe. Still, Hamas refuses to disarm. It blocks progress to the next stage of the peace plan at the same time Israel is also restricting the international NGOs that are putting humanitarian aid access at serious risk,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

“There’s no justification for the humanitarian situation in Gaza to have deteriorated to the current level,” she said.

The phased ceasefire agreement remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final hostage in Gaza. Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said on Wednesday that it had been notified that teams had recommenced searching for Ran Gvili. The 24-year-old police officer was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the attack that triggered the war.

Related Articles

Venezuela says it’s releasing a ‘significant number’ of prisoners as gesture to ‘seek peace’

Europe’s most active volcano is erupting, and tour guides are told to stay away

Protests erupt in Iran’s capital after exiled prince’s call; internet cuts out soon after

Denmark sees talks with the US as a chance for ‘the dialogue that is needed’ over Greenland

Today in History: January 8, Lyndon Johnson declares ‘war on poverty’

UN aid group to open office in Turkey

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees warned Thursday that Israeli pressure on the organization risks creating a “huge vacuum” in services.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, told reporters in Ankara that no other body has the capacity or “community trust” to provide health, education, and social services there.

“If the agency cannot or has to stop to operate in Gaza or in the West Bank, this will create a huge vacuum,” he said.

Lazzarini was in Turkey for talks with officials on improving humanitarian access in Gaza.

In June, Turkey and UNRWA signed an agreement for the agency to open an office in Ankara. Lazzarini said the office, which is expected to open “within weeks,” would initially serve as a liaison and advocacy hub, but could later take on additional functions.

Shurafa reported from Deir Al Balah, Gaza Strip. Sam Metz contributed from Jerusalem, Suzan Fraser from Ankara, Turkey. Fatma Khaled from Cairo, Koral Saeed from Herzliya, Israel, Matthew Lee from Washington and Maryclaire Dale from Philadelphia.

During four years at the agency’s helm, Garodnick helped pass the first major citywide rezoning in decades and rezoned five neighborhoods. Mayor Mamdani will have to pick a new head planner that can help him reach his ambitious housing goals.

Dan Garodnick, left, with former Mayor Eric Adams at a rally for the “City of Yes” plan in 2024. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

It’s a “new era” at the Department of City Planning as well.

Director Dan Garodnick informed Mayor Zohran Mamdani that he would be stepping down from the role “in the coming weeks,” according to an email shared with staff earlier this morning, City Limits first reported.

Under Gardonick, the agency passed the first major citywide rezoning since 1961—“City of Yes”—an effort to create more housing in every neighborhood amid a citywide housing shortage that has pushed rents higher.

“After four incredibly productive and rewarding years at the Department of City Planning, the time is right for me to move on from this role. I am incredibly proud of all that we accomplished, including enabling more homes in four years than had been in the past twenty, and have deep affection and respect for the tremendous team at DCP,” said Garodnick in a statement to City Limits.

At DCP’s helm, he oversaw both City of Yes and five neighborhood rezonings—in the Bronx, Midtown Manhattan, Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, Jamaica, Queens, and Long Island City— changes that unlocked 130,000 units of housing, according to the agency.

Garodnick had been in consideration to be one of Mamdani’s top deputies, but the new mayor went in a different direction, appointing Department of Housing Preservation and Development and DCP veteran Leila Bozorg as his deputy mayor for housing and planning.

In December, Garodnick shuttered the agency’s urban design division, a move that puzzled some planners.

Mayor Mamdani has yet to name a replacement for the city’s lead planner. The agency, which can advance large zoning actions and reviews land use applications for individual projects, plays a crucial role in housing development, which Mamdani has promised to accelerate.

“I will be staying on to support Mayor Mamdani and his team during the transition, and wish them only the best as they work to deliver a more affordable city,” said Garodnick in a statement.

It remains unclear how Mamdani wants to use the agency to shape the city.

In his campaign platform, he supported comprehensive planning—a unified vision for growth and development, and the infrastructure investments that come with it. While city leaders have tried and failed to adopt comprehensive planning in the past, New York is the only major U.S. city without a comprehensive plan. 

Mamdani also expressed openness to transit-oriented development on the campaign trail, a policy of increasing housing density near transit hubs.

His team did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the transition.

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Patrick@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post City Planning Director Dan Garodnick, Key to ‘City of Yes’ Passage, To Step Down appeared first on City Limits.

By DAVE SKRETTA

Figure skating has long been a cornerstone of the Olympics, pre-dating the inaugural Winter Games in 1924 with appearances at the Summer Games in 1908 and 1920. The program has changed over the years, and now includes men’s and women’s competitions, the pairs event and ice dance, along with a team competition that combines all of the disciplines. Here’s what to know about figure skating at the Milan Cortina Games.

Related Articles

Winter Olympics: Ilia Malinin is ready to tell his story

High-speed chaos on ice: What to know about short track speedskating at the Winter Olympics

Ready for a trip to the ‘park? Snowboarding set for its spotlight at the Winter Olympics

From big air to moguls and slopestyle, what to know about freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics

What to know about skeleton at the Winter Olympics: Hurtling head first down an icy chute on a sled

How it works

In the singles and pairs events, each skater or team performs a short program and free skate, which is a longer program that contains more elements. For each program, they receive a technical score based on the values of those elements and their execution, and a component score, which judges such things as skating skills and performance. The technical and component score are added together for each program, and the short program and free skate scores are added together to determine the overall medals.

The ice dance competition operates similarly, only instead of a short program each team does a rhythm dance based around a theme determined by the International Skating Union. This season’s theme is “music, dance styles and feeling of the 1990s.”

Who to watch

The U.S. is coming off a dominant world championships in Boston in March last year in which Ilia Malinin won the men’s title, Alysa Liu won the women’s gold medal, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates defended their ice dance championship. All will be favored to win gold in Italy, with Malinin the overwhelming favorite to follow up compatriot Nathan Chen’s gold medal from the Beijing Games.

FILE – Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the United States, compete in the ice dance’s rhythm dance segment at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, central Japan, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

The women’s and pairs competitions will be wide open, though, with the Japanese the biggest threats to Liu and U.S. teammate Amber Glenn, both of whom have gold-medal aspirations. There is no clear favorite in the pairs event.

Venues and dates

Figure skating will take place at the Unipol Forum, though it will be called the Milan Ice Skating Arena during the Olympics. Built in 1988, the arena will host short-track speed-skating along with figure skating during the Winter Games.

The competition begins Feb. 6 and runs nearly every day through Feb. 19, when the women’s free skate wraps up competition. The traditional exhibition gala is schedule for Feb. 21.

Memorable moments

Figure skating at the Olympics has been filled with highs and lows, on the ice and off. Famous names such as Sonja Henie, Dick Button, Peggy Fleming and Katarina Witt have become synonymous with the Winter Games, while more recent stars Yuzuru Hanyu, Tara Lipinski and Yuna Kim have left their indelible mark. But the sport also has generated plenty of controversy, from the Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding assault leading up to the 1994 Games, to the scoring scandal in pairs at the 2002 Games, or the doping case of Russian teen Kamila Valieva four years ago in Beijing.

FILE – Yuma Kagiyama, of Japan, competes in the men’s short program segment at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, central Japan, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Fun facts

The singles and pairs events have been contested at every Winter Games since 1972, while ice dance was added in 1976 and the team event introduced in 2014.

The U.S. has won the most gold medals (17) and overall medals (54) in figure skating. Russia is second in gold medals with 14 while Canada is second in overall medals with 29.

In 2022, the ISU voted to raise the minimum age for skating in the Olympics to 17, citing “the physical and mental health and emotional well-being of the skaters.”

FILE – Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, competes in the women’s free skating segment at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, central Japan, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada hold the record for most Olympic medals with five, three gold and two silver. Sonja Henie of Norway, Irina Rodnina of the Soviet Union and Gilles Grafström of Sweden share the record for golds with Virtue and Moir with three apiece.

The U.S. has not won a pairs medal since Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard in 1988.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged higher this week to just above its 2025 low.

Related Articles

Average US long-term mortgage rate falls to the lowest level of the year at 6.15%

Average US long-term mortgage rate ticks down to 6.18% this week

November US homes sales rose from the previous month, but down from 2024 as prices climb

Average US long-term mortgage rate edges lower, remaining near its low for the year

What to say to a mortgage lender when applying to refinance

The average long-term mortgage rate rose to 6.16%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s up slightly from 6.15% last week, when the average rate dropped to its lowest level since October 3, 2024. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.93%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week to 5.46% from 5.44% the previous week. A year ago it averaged 6.14%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year yield was at 4.17% at midday Thursday.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been mostly holding steady in recent weeks since Oct. 30 when it dropped to 6.17%, which at the time was its lowest level in more than a year. Mortgage rates began easing in July in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, which began in September and continued last month.

The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, but when it cuts its short-term rate that can signal lower inflation or slower economic growth ahead, which can drive investors to buy U.S. government bonds. That can help lower yields on long-term U.S. Treasurys, which can result in lower mortgage rates.

All told, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ended last year nearly a percentage point lower than at the start of 2025, helping boost home shoppers’ purchasing power toward the end of the year. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose on a monthly basis in September, October and November.

Still, even with long-term mortgage rates holding near their 2025 low point, sales in November slowed compared with a year earlier for the first time since May and ended the month on pace to finish the year down from 2024. December existing home sales data are due out next week.

The recent pullback in mortgage rates has been helpful for home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates. The median U.S. monthly housing payment fell to $2,365 in the four weeks ending January 4, according to Redfin. That’s a 4.7% drop from the same period a year earlier.

While lower mortgage rates can help boost how much homebuyers can afford, the housing market remains out of reach for many aspiring homeowners, after years of soaring home prices and lackluster wage growth. First-time buyers have had it particularly tough, because they don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase.

Uncertainty over the economy and job market are also keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines.

Economists generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will remain slightly above 6% this year.