In the past few months, Israeli archaeologist have carried undersea excavations in the Mediterranean. Ynet reports on their recent discoveries:

The Israel Antiquities Authority said in the underwater dig off the Caesarean coast they found hundreds of silver coins from the 13th to 16th centuries, along with silver and bronze coins from the Roman period. The affluent central Israeli town inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesarea Maritima, which was built by Herod the Great roughly between 25 and 13 BCE as a major port.

The findings also include a bronze figurine that looks like an eagle, which was the symbol of the Romans, a pantomime mask from the Roman theater, and bronze bells that were used to scare away evil spirits. These items were most likely on [two] ships that sunk some 1,700 years and 600 years ago, [respectively].

The wrecked ships also had rare personal items of people who were on them but did not survive. Among other things, a red gemstone was uncovered, designed to be set on a ring, and on the top side of it, a musical instrument was carved, known as the harp of David in the Jewish tradition. Another artifact that was found was a thick gold ring, shaped in an octagonal form, with a green gemstone, on which a young boy, a shepherd, dressed in a tunic, with a deer or sheep on his shoulders is carved. This image, of the Good Shepherd, is known in ancient Christian art as a symbol of salvation.

Information about a supposedly near-finalized hostage deal continued to trickle out yesterday. While it’s entirely possible that by the time you read this a deal will be much more certain, it is every bit as likely that it will have fallen through by then. More likely still, we will learn that there are indefinite and unspecified delays. Then there are the details: even in the best of scenarios, not all the hostages will be returned at once, and Israel will have to make painful concessions in exchange, including the release of hundreds of hardened terrorists and the withdrawal from key parts of the Gaza Strip.

Unusually—if entirely appropriately—the president-elect’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has participated in the talks alongside members of President Biden’s team. Philip Klein examines the incoming Trump administration’s role in the process:

President-elect Trump has repeatedly warned that there would be “all hell to pay” if hostages were not returned from Gaza by the time he takes office. While he has never laid out exactly what the specific consequences for Hamas would be, there are some ominous signs that Israel is being pressured into paying a tremendous price.

There is obviously more here than we know. It’s possible that with the pressure from the Trump team came reassurances that Israel would have more latitude to reenter Gaza as necessary to go after Hamas than it would have enjoyed under Biden. . . . That said, all appearances are that Israel has been forced into making more concessions because Trump was concerned that he’d be embarrassed if January 20 came around with no hostages released.

While Donald Trump’s threats are a welcome rhetorical shift, part of the problem may be their vagueness. After all, it’s unlikely the U.S. would use military force to unleash hell in Gaza, or could accomplish much in doing so that the IDF can’t. More useful would be direct threats against countries like Qatar and Turkey that host Hamas, and threats to the persons and bank accounts of the Hamas officials living in those counties. Witkoff instead praised the Qatari prime minister for “doing God’s work” in the negotiations.”