'Well, nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon,' Trump told reporters after being informed Macron would decline his invitation
The US-led Gaza Peace Board, proposed by President Donald Trump, will oversee ceasefire, governance and rebuilding in Gaza, with India among the countries invited to join
Argentine President Javier Milei and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are set to become founding members, they announced on Saturday
The Gaza Board of Peace is Trump's plan to build on the fragile ceasefire in the region
Trump has invited a number of world leaders, to be part of a board of peace for Gaza, which would be formed under the broader umbrella of his new board of peace
Israel's government is objecting to the White House announcement of leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza. The rare criticism from Israel of its close ally in Washington says the Gaza executive committee was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy, without details. Saturday's statement also said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the foreign ministry to contact Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The committee announced by the White House on Friday includes no Israeli official but has an Israeli businessman, billionaire Yakir Gabay. Other members announced so far include two of US President Donald Trump's closest confidants, a former British prime minister, an American general and a collection of top officials from Middle Eastern governments. The White House has said the executive committee will carry out the vision of a Trump-led Board of Peace, whose members have not yet been named. The White House also announced the members of a new
Indian-American President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are among the leaders named to the 'Board of Peace' for Gaza redevelopment under President Donald Trump's comprehensive plan to end the conflict. The White House on Friday released a list of appointed members to the founding Executive Board of the Board of Peace, which it said comprises leaders with "experience across diplomacy, development, infrastructure, and economic strategy". Besides Banga and Rubio, the Executive Board includes US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, private equity firm Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and US Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel. Each Executive Board member will oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza's stabilisation and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, ...
According to Trump's post, with the support of Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, the next phase will aim to secure a comprehensive demilitarisation agreement with Hamas
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 13 people, according to health officials, as US President Donald Trump was expected to announce the Board of Peace to oversee the fragile ceasefire. Health officials and family members said at least one child was among the dead in northern Gaza following several strikes there as well as east of Gaza City. Israel's army said Friday it struck Hamas infrastructure and fighters in southern and northern Gaza in response to a failed projectile launched by militants from the Gaza City area. The phased ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final hostage in Gaza. Officials say next week Trump is expected to announce the Board of Peace, which he has said he will head, marking an important step forward for his Mideast peace plan. The process has moved slowly since a ceasefire in October ended more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas. The US official and anot
The soldier, from the Golani Brigade, posted the video himself on social media, showing him firing shots toward Gaza, which he said was done 'in honour of the new year'
An Israeli strike in Gaza on Monday hit a tent housing displaced people, killing a 5-year-old girl and her uncle and wounding two other children, hospital officials said. The strike took place in the Muwasi area northwest of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, officials at Nasser Hospital said. The Associated Press couldn't independently very those details. Family members wept over the bodies as they were brought to the hospital. The dead are among the more than 400 people killed in Gaza since an October ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Israeli military said on social media it struck a Hamas militant who planned an imminent attack on Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip. It said the strike complied with the ceasefire agreement, and was done in a targeted way to mitigate civilian harm. It was not immediately clear if the statement referred to the fatal tent strike. The military also said that, because of continued ceasefire violations, it had begu
Israel's decision to revoke the licenses of more than three dozen humanitarian organisations this week has aid groups scrambling to grapple with what this means for their operations in Gaza and their ability to help tens of thousands of struggling Palestinians. The 37 groups represent some of the most prominent of the more than 100 independent nongovernmental organisations working in Gaza, alongside United Nations agencies. Those banned include Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians. The groups do everything from providing tents and water to supporting clinics and medical facilities. The overall impact, however, remains unclear. The most immediate impact of the license revocation is that Israel will no longer allow the groups to bring supplies into the Gaza Strip or send international staffers into the territory. Israel says all suspended groups have to halt their operations by March 1. Some groups have already been barred fro
Despite its obligations under international law to meet the basic needs of Palestinians in Gaza, Israel has continued to impose strict limits on humanitarian assistance
Winter rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding camps with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by two years of war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled for an expected meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump in Florida about the second phase of the ceasefire. The first phase that took effect on October 10 was meant to bring a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, including shelter. Netanyahu made no public statement as he departed. Nowhere to escape In the southern city of Khan Younis, blankets were soaked and clay ovens meant for cooking were swamped. Children wearing flip-flops waded through puddles. Some people used shovels or tin cans to remove water from tents. Others clawed at the ground to pry collapsed shelters from the mud. "Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell," said Majdoleen Tarabein, displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. "The tent flew away. We do not know what to
Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day homily on Thursday remembered the people of Gaza exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold and said the world's many conflicts can only be silenced through dialogue. Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar beneath the balustrade of St Peter's Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were set at the feet of a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day. Recalling that God was made flesh through Jesus's birth in a manger in Bethlehem, Leo likened God's word to a fragile tent among us. How then can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold; and of those so many other refugees and displaced persons on every continent, or of the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people in our own cities,' Leo said. The pontiff also recalled the fragility of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars,' and of young people for
Israel vowed on Wednesday to respond to an incident in southern Gaza's Rafah in which a bomb exploded against an Israeli armored personnel carrier, lightly injuring an IDF officer
The year unfolded unpredictably: Trade relations were upended, Trump's tariffs unsettled markets, GenZ took to the streets, Japan saw its first woman Prime Minister, and a museum was left poorer
Washington has been discussed as a potential venue for the conference that could happen as early as next month, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations
With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players including Israel, the Palestinian militant Hamas group, the United States and a diverse list of international parties are to move to a far more complicated second phase that could reshape the Middle East. US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan which was approved by the U.N. Security Council lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas' rule of Gaza. If successful, it would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision, normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. But if the deal stalls, Gaza could be trapped in an unstable limbo for years to come, with Hamas remaining in control of parts of the territory, Israel's army enforcing an open-ended occupation an
Eyal Zamir, who is the chief of the general staff, said Israel would hold onto its current military positions, adding that those positions give it control of more than half of Gaza