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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday fully endorsed Israel's war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas must be eradicated and throwing the shaky ceasefire into further doubt as talks on its second phase are yet to begin. Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over US President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza and redevelop it under US ownership. Netanyahu has welcomed the plan, and said he and Trump have a common strategy for Gaza. Echoing Trump, he said "the gates of hell would be open if Hamas doesn't release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in the militant group's attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, that triggered the 16-month war. The ceasefire's first phase is set to end in two weeks and the second phase has yet to be negotiated, though talks were meant to begin two weeks ago. In the second phase, Hamas would release
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Hamas said Thursday it would release three more Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The militant group had threatened to delay the next release of captives, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to allow in tents and shelters, among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel, with the support of US President Donald Trump, says it will resume fighting Hamas if the hostages are not freed. The announcement from Hamas should allow the ceasefire to continue for now, even after Israel said Thursday that a rocket had been launched from Gaza though doubts remain about the long-term durability of the truce. Hamas said it held talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials and was in contact with Qatar's prime minister about bringing into Gaza more shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing rubble its key demand in recent days. It said in a statement that the mediators had pledged
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US President Donald Trump doubled down on his redevelopment plan for Gaza, stating that Palestinians relocated would not be allowed to return
Trump's Gaza plans are expected to be among the topics when Jordan's King Abdullah II holds a scheduled meeting with him in Washington on Tuesday
Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there, said Netanyahu
Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor in Gaza on Sunday, Israeli officials and Hamas said, the latest commitment under a tenuous ceasefire that faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension. Israelis' shock at the sight of three emaciated hostages released Saturday has added pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the truce instead of returning to fighting when the ceasefire's first phase ends in early March. Israel and Hamas appear to have made little progress on negotiating the deal's second phase, which is also meant to see more hostages released. Talks had been due to start on February 3. Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator, but it included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won't lead to a breakthrough. Netanyahu, who returned to Israel on Sunday after a US visit to meet with President Donald Trump, is expected to convene key Cabinet ministers this week. The 4-mile (6-kilometre) Netzar
Amid the devastation, Gazans vowed to remain steadfast in their homeland, rejecting US President Donald Trump's controversial proposal to seize the enclave
Hamas' spokesperson and representative in Iran, Khalid al-Qadoumi, met hardline Islamist leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman at the latter's home in Pakistan, reportedly for a narrative-building exercise
Israel's defence minister says he has instructed the army to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip in line with President Donald Trump's proposal for the war-ravaged territory. Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday said the plan will include options for exit at land crossings as well as special arrangements for exit by sea and air. He said he welcomed Trump's bold plan, which could allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world. He did not say whether Palestinians would be able to one day return to Gaza, which has been rendered largely uninhabitable by Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas. Trump on Wednesday proposed that most of Gaza's population be permanently resettled elsewhere while the United States rebuilds the territory. US officials later said the relocation would only be temporary, but Palestinians fear Israel would never allow them to return, deepening and perpetuating a refugee crisis dating b
President Donald Trump's top diplomat and his main spokesperson on Wednesday walked back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after American allies and even Republican lawmakers rebuffed his suggestion that the U.S. take ownership of the territory. Trump on Tuesday had called for permanently resettling Palestinians from war-torn Gaza and left open the door to deploying American troops there as part of a massive rebuilding operation. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he only sought to move the roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily to allow for reconstruction. Even that proposal has drawn criticism from Palestinians, who are worried they may never be allowed back in if they flee, and from the Arab nations that Trump has called on to take them in. Rubio, on his first foreign trip as secretary of state, described Trump's proposal as a very generous offer to help with debris removal and ...
Trump said we're going to own and develop the Gaza strip, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of
Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world
Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world
Latest news updates: Catch all the major news updates from around the world
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sharply condemned US President Donald Trump's suggestion to clean out the Gaza Strip and request that Egypt and Jordan take in more Palestinians. In a statement, the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, says the prospect of mass displacement from the Gaza Strip constitutes a violation of the red lines that we have repeatedly warned against. Our people will not leave, the statement said. We warn of the repercussions of such a dangerous Israeli policy that contributes to severing the ties of the Gaza Strip, and displacing its people, which will lead to destabilization and security. Trump's remarks suggesting that Palestinians be encouraged to leave Gaza gets at the core of Palestinian fears that they will be driven from their remaining homeland. The Palestinian presidency said it was ready to assume its full duties in the Gaza Strip in hopes of eventually establishing
President Donald Trump's suggestion that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is likely to be met with a hard no" from the two US allies and the Palestinians themselves who fear Israel would never allow them to return. Trump floated the idea on Saturday, saying he would urge the leaders of the two Arab countries to take in Gaza's now largely homeless population, so that "we just clean out that whole thing. He added that resettling Gaza's population could be temporary or long term. It's literally a demolition site right now, Trump said, referring to the vast destruction caused by Israel's 15-month military campaign against Hamas, now paused by a fragile ceasefire. I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change," Trump said. There was no immediate comment from Egypt, Jordan, Israel or Palestinian officials. The idea is likely to be welcomed by Israel, w