Hear from Israeli hostages' families after meeting with Witkoff
Steve Witkoff, the United States' Special Envoy to the Middle East, held a nearly three-hour meeting with the families of those still being held in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, telling them that the US' 'first priority' is getting the hostages back to Israel, the forum said. Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. CNN has reached out to Witkoff's team to confirm that he made these comments.
01:16 - Source: CNN
Young Catholics flock to Rome for Youth Jubilee
Pope Leo XIV received a rock star's welcome and led a prayer vigil with young people participating in the Jubilee of the Youth in Rome. CNN's Christopher Lamb reports.
01:23 - Source: CNN
Witkoff visits controversial Gaza aid site
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spent over five hours in Gaza, and visited the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid site. He said the purpose of the visit was to give Trump 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.' CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.
01:53 - Source: CNN
United Nations' Relief Chief: If anyone can shift Israeli Government, 'It's of course, the Americans'
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour that if anyone can shift the Israeli government, it's the US, and addresses reports of how food aid is being intercepted.
02:09 - Source: CNN
Amusement park ride splits in half in Saudi Arabia
At least 23 people were injured, three of them critically, when a fairground ride buckled in Saudi Arabia, sending passengers crashing to the ground, according to state media.
00:33 - Source: CNN
Soldiers in Ukraine battle Russian drones
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports from the frontlines of Ukraine, where soldiers rush to bring in the wounded as drones constantly look for a target.
01:38 - Source: CNN
US diminished a key weapons stockpile fighting Iran
The US used about a quarter of its supply of high-end missile interceptors during the Israel-Iran war, exposing a gap in supplies, and raising concerns about US global security posture. CNN's Tamara Qiblawi reports.
01:35 - Source: CNN
Carney says Canada will recognize Palestinian state
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has joined France and Britain in announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations, as international pressure builds on Israel over the ongoing war and starvation crisis in Gaza. President Donald Trump reacted to the announcement by threatening to derail trade talks with Canada.
00:30 - Source: CNN
Two leading Israeli human rights groups accuse Israel of genocide
Two leading Israeli human rights groups have accused Israel of 'committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,' becoming the first such organizations to make the claim. B'Tselem's Executive Director Yuli Novak and Physicians for Human Rights Israel's Executive Director Guy Shalev tell CNN's Christiane Amanpour what was behind their groups' decisions to use the word genocide.
04:59 - Source: CNN
Watch F-18 fighter jet perform evasive maneuvers to avoid crashing into audience at airshow
A video verified by Reuters shows the moment when a Spanish F-18 fighter jet was forced to perform "evasive maneuvers" to avoid crashing into attendees during the Gijón Air Festival. The military praised the pilot's actions which ensured the safety of the attendees.
00:35 - Source: CNN
Mothers risk their lives to get food in Gaza
Palestinian women face an awful choice between risking their own lives, which could deprive their families of their only remaining provider, or watching their children starve. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
01:33 - Source: CNN
Medics perform surgery during earthquake
Video shows medics in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, continuing a surgery on a patient despite a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off Russia's far eastern coast on July 30.
00:47 - Source: CNN
Tsunami warnings triggered after major earthquake
The strongest earthquake on the planet since 2011 has triggered tsunami warnings for parts of Russia, Japan, and Alaska, as well as all of Hawaii. CNN's Will Ripley reports on the 8.8-magnitude quake.
00:41 - Source: CNN
Israeli settler kills activist who worked on Oscar-winning film
Odeh Hathalin, a prominent Palestinian activist who had worked on an Oscar-winning documentary, was killed on Monday during an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to local journalists and officials. CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains video circulated on social media that shows the gunman firing a hand gun in the vicinity of where Hathalin was said to be killed.
01:36 - Source: CNN
Fans in England celebrate Women's Euro 2025 final win
Fans celebrate in London as England has been crowned champion of Europe for the second successive time after defeating Spain 3-1 on penalties in the Women's Euro 2025 final.
00:30 - Source: CNN
Breaking down Israel's aid drops into Gaza
In the midst of a hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel and other countries have begun dropping aid by plane into the area. CNN's Nic Robertson breaks down how much effect this measure can offer, while the UN calls for substantial relief to come from aid trucks moving in quickly through open corridors.
01:15 - Source: CNN
People fight for scraps of food in Gaza
CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the scarce food conditions in Gaza, with children and mothers fighting off starvation as soup kitchens face shortages.
01:46 - Source: CNN
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New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Wednesday Briefing: Netanyahu's Next Steps in Gaza
Netanyahu is weighing what to do next in Gaza Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, discussed the path forward in the war in Gaza during a meeting yesterday with the military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. The general presented 'the options for continuing the military campaign in Gaza,' the prime minister's office said, without specifying what they were. Netanyahu's office also told some Israeli reporters that the prime minister might expand military operations across all of the Gaza Strip. Three officials briefed on the matter cautioned that no decision had been made about the way forward. Israel, facing growing international condemnation over starvation in Gaza, is now allowing some private businesses to deliver goods to the enclave and is trying to refocus attention on the plight of hostages held by Hamas. At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York, diplomats denounced Hamas but also called for Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Related: The war in Gaza has put Germany, which has a unique relationship with Israel because of the Holocaust, into an uncomfortable position. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
19 minutes ago
- Fox News
Consul general of Israel in NY urges that there is 'no starvation in the Gaza Strip'
Consul General of Israel in New York Ofir Akunis stresses caution of what Hamas can do should it not be stopped on 'America Reports.'
New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Where Can Gaza Go From Here?
First and most obviously: The government of Israel needs to rush, in abundant quantities and to immediate and undeniable effect, food and medicine to the places in Gaza that desperately need them. This is as much a matter of self-interest as it is of humanitarianism. Few things hurt Israel more than the global perception, however tendentious, that it's deliberately starving kids. Nothing helps Hamas more, either. Whatever benefits Hamas might derive from the aid pale next to the propaganda boon it has achieved through the starvation narrative — even if it's Hamas itself that bears the final responsibility for causing and perpetuating Gaza's misery. But then what? There are three basic options. The first is a negotiated settlement. Until just two weeks ago, the prospect of a cease-fire appeared to be tantalizingly close. Then Hamas hardened its stance. It has flatly refused to disarm until a Palestinian state is created. It has also posted atrocity videos of two hostages, Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, visibly starved and nearing death, which were guaranteed to spark anguish and outrage among Israelis, though the rest of the world barely seemed to notice. 'Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,' Steve Witkoff, the American envoy, said after withdrawing from talks. A cease-fire now lies farther out of reach. France's feckless and destructive plan to recognize a Palestinian state, along with promises from Britain and Canada to follow suit, was a guaranteed incentive for Hamas to raise the diplomatic price on Israel. What a perverse reward for the terrorist group, and a punishment for ordinary Gazans. There are other diplomatic opportunities, most promisingly an Arab League declaration last week that condemned Oct. 7 and called for Hamas to disarm and release hostages. But that's a hortatory statement that has no teeth until Arab states like Qatar, which has hosted Hamas's leadership in luxury, exert extreme pressure on the group to come to terms. Until then, diplomacy is a winding road to nowhere. The second option is Israel's complete reoccupation of all of Gaza. Israeli news media are reporting that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has all but settled on this course over the strong opposition of some of his own senior military commanders. This may yet be a negotiating gambit to get Hamas to ease its terms. But it's also something that the far-right ministers in Netanyahu's government have called for since the war's beginning. Whatever the case, it's a risky and potentially catastrophic gamble. It would put the hostages at immediate risk, since their captors have been given execution orders if Israeli troops approach. It would require another round of bloody urban warfare. And it would involve Israel in a draining effort to stamp out every pocket of guerrilla warfare — a war that sooner or later would bring unbearable foreign and domestic pressure to bear on Israel. Beirut in 1982 is not an experience the Israeli government should ever want to repeat. But there's a third option, a middle way between capitulating to Hamas's outrageous demands and lunging for another Pyrrhic victory. Shortly after Oct. 7, I reported on a proposal from former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called a 'squeeze approach,' which he saw as essential to 'not play along with the lines that Hamas wrote for us.' Bennett's central insight was that Israel should avoid being lured into nonstop urban combat and instead surround and isolate the battlefield, allowing food and medicine to get in but not the things Hamas would need to maintain its war machine, particularly fuel for generators in the tunnels. Updated for the present, this would mean an indefinite Israeli occupation of Gaza's inner perimeter, including its border with Egypt, and across the territory's midpoint. But as Jonathan Schanzer writes in Commentary magazine, there should be no reconstruction aid for Gaza until Hamas releases the hostages and agrees to disarm. Food and medicine, yes — in abundance. Concrete and rebar, no — not so long as it might be used to rebuild the territory's terror tunnels. It's time for Hamas to feel the brunt of pressure, most of all from Gazans themselves, for the ruins they created. Those who think of themselves as well-wishers of the Palestinians may want to forever put the moral onus on Israel for all of Gaza's tragedies. But Gaza would not be where it is now had it not been for Hamas, and Gaza cannot be more than it is now so long as Hamas retains effective control. No thoughtful person can be pro-Palestinian without also being anti-Hamas. At the same time, being pro-Israel means looking at Gaza through the wider lens of Israel's overall interests: the return of the hostages to heal Israel's heart; the relief of Gaza to rehabilitate Israel's reputation (above all among wavering friends); the resumption of regional diplomacy to take advantage of Israel's temporary victories over Hezbollah and Iran; and the restoration of deterrence against Israel's larger and still-menacing enemies. If Netanyahu makes the colossal mistake of trying to reoccupy Gaza for the long term, then no thoughtful person can be pro-Israel without also being against him. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here's our email: letters@ Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, WhatsApp and Threads.
