Gaza's Aid Crisis Helps Only Hamas
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff wrote Thursday that Hamas's latest response to mediators 'clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.' He withdrew the U.S. negotiating team from Qatar. Hamas saw the rising international pressure on Israel, U.S. officials believe, and went back on previous concessions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
15 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland to talk trade, Gaza
President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 27. The pair are to meet Monday at Trump's Scotland golf course where they are expected to talk trade and the war in Gaza. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo July 28 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday when the Western leaders are expected to discuss cease-fire plans for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Starmer is to travel to Trump's golf course in Turnberry where the American president on Sunday announced a new trade deal with the European Union. According to a statement from 10 Downing Street, Trump and Starmer are to have "wide-ranging" one-on-one talks, including on the implementation of the Economic Prosperity Deal that the pair signed on May 8 and which came into effect last month. Starmer is also expected to discuss with Trump "what more can be done to secure the cease-fire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long." Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought a cease-fire and hostage-release deal in the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza between Iran-poxy militia Hamas and Israel, but has repeatedly been met with obstacles. On Thursday, Israel and the United States recalled their negotiators, ending talks with Hamas that had initially sparked optimism that a deal could be reached. The Trump administration has blamed Hamas for the breakdown, with Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, stating the Iran-backed militia's latest response "clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza." "It's a shame Hamas has acted in this selfish way," he said in a statement. The Trump-Starmer meeting comes amid a deteriorating situation in Gaza where aid agencies are warning of starvation. Israel has announced a so-called tactical pause to fighting in specific areas to allow the delivery of aid between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., local time, on Sunday. The announcement came as the Middle Eastern country is coming under mounting international pressure over its war in Gaza and its restrictions on aid entering the territory. According to the Save the Children charity, 133 people, including 87 children, have already died from malnutrition and starvation. Britain is among 30 nations that are calling for the war in Gaza to end, describing Israel's aid delivery model as "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity." "We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," the nations said in the joint statement, which calls on Israel to lift the restrictions on the flow of aid. "The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law." Britain, France and Germany separately over the weekend issued a statement calling for Israel and Hamas to end the conflict "by reaching an immediate cease-fire." Trump and Starmer are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine. After the meeting, they will have a private engagement in Aberdeen, 10 Downing Street said. The meeting also comes ahead of Trump being received for a State Visit hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle from Sept. 17 to 19. It will be Trump's second State Visit after a previous trip in 2019 where he was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thai, Cambodian Leaders Set for Peace Talks After Trump's Tariff Deal Threats
(Bloomberg) -- Thai and Cambodian leaders are set for talks Monday to halt the deadliest clash between the neighbors in more than a decade, with the US and China sending envoys after President Donald Trump used tariff threats to press for a ceasefire. The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Can This Bridge Ease the Troubled US-Canadian Relationship? Trump Administration Sues NYC Over Sanctuary City Policy Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet are scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur at 3 p.m. local time, according to Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. The gathering will be at the office of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who's facilitating the dialogue in his role as the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The first talks since clashes began on July 24 come within 48 hours of Trump saying Thai and Cambodian leaders had agreed to 'quickly work out a ceasefire.' After separate calls with Phumtham and Hun Manet on Saturday, Trump had threatened that Washington would not do a trade deal with either as long as the fighting continued. Before departing for the talks, Phumtham questioned Cambodia's commitment as clashes continued into early Monday. The discussions will focus on ending the hostilities and maintaining Thailand's sovereignty, he told reporters. 'After everything that has happened, we don't trust that they have sincerity and determination to solve the problems,' Phumtham said. 'Today's discussions will be focused on ensuring safety for all civilians and stopping aggression into our territory.' The Thai army reported fighting at multiple locations along the border. Cambodia's defense ministry said Thai forces used heavy shelling at two locations from around 3 a.m., the Khmer Times reported, citing a spokesperson. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US officials are on the ground in Malaysia 'to assist these peace efforts.' China, the top trading partner for both Southeast Asian nations and a major backer of Phnom Penh, is due to participate in the talks, officials from Cambodia said. 'Both President Trump and I remain engaged with our respective counterparts for each country and are monitoring the situation very closely,' Rubio said in a statement. 'We want this conflict to end as soon as possible.' Trump's tariff threat set off a series activities on Sunday with Anwar getting the two sides to agree to meet. Rubio also spoke to the foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia and urged them to immediately de-escalate tensions. Speaking to reporters just before meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, Trump acknowledged the phone calls with the two leaders. 'I called the prime ministers of each and I said, 'We're not going to make a trade deal unless you settle the war.' A lot of people killed,' Trump said. 'And I think by the time I got off, I think they want to settle now.' With Trump's Aug. 1 tariff deadline looming, trade-reliant Thailand wants to avoid antagonizing the US president, especially as its officials have been holding talks to lower the steep 36% planned levy on its exports. Trump has claimed credit for helping halt border clashes earlier this year between India and Pakistan by leveraging trade measures. It's an assertion India has consistently denied but Pakistan has embraced. 'When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!,' Trump said on Truth Social after speaking to Thai and Cambodian leaders Saturday. Thailand's trade talks with the US have included offering expanded access for American goods to narrow a $46 billion trade surplus. Neighboring Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have already secured trade deals with the US in recent weeks. Thailand and Cambodia shouldn't have needed the pressure from Trump, and should have turned to Asean as a natural middle ground to mediate the conflict well before US intervention, said Fuadi Pitsuwan, a lecturer in international relations at Thammasat University in Bangkok. 'In the end, Trump will likely frame the situation as a win: he enforced a ceasefire while securing leverage' to impose punitive tariff rates, he said. Despite the economic stakes, Thailand has taken a firm stance ahead of Monday's talks. Officials say any ceasefire must be tied to bilateral resolution of the dispute, the withdrawal of troops, and a halt to the use of lethal weapons. Cambodia, by contrast, has said it is open to an unconditional cessation of hostilities. The talks are 'intended to listen to all proposals that could contribute to restoring peace,' spokesman Jirayu said. 'The Thai government remains committed to defending the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Every square inch of it.' The conflict, which escalated from months of simmering border tension, has killed more than 30 people and displaced over 150,000 civilians on both sides. Thailand has reported 22 fatalities, including eight soldiers, while Cambodia has confirmed 13 deaths, including five military personnel. Heavy artillery fire continued Sunday across their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, with both sides accusing each other of targeting civilians. Thailand has responded by deploying F-16s and Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to strike Cambodian military positions. Thailand and Cambodia share a history of border disputes, though relations have remained largely stable since a deadly 2011 clash that left dozens dead. The last major flare-up centered on the Preah Vihear temple, a historic flashpoint rooted in colonial-era disagreements. Much of the current dispute stems from maps drawn on differing interpretations of early 20th-century Franco-Siamese treaties, which defined the border between Thailand and Cambodia, then part of French Indochina. --With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse. (Updates with comment from Thai leader in fourth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected a chart to show latest tariff rate for Philippines.) Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash It's Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Confessions of a Laptop Farmer: How an American Helped North Korea's Wild Remote Worker Scheme Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Dude! They Killed Colbert! ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
What We Talk About When We Talk About the Right of Return
My mother-in-law, Fatima, can't read or write. She speaks only colloquial Palestinian Arabic and stops walking after just a few steps because of debilitating arthritis in her knees. And yet, thanks to recurrent displacement by the Israeli military, she is now, in her 80s, forced to travel the world. Following a stay in Cairo, she's currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a visa due to expire shortly. She's casting about for where to go next. Fatima was born in a village called Isdud, close to what is now the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. She was about 5 years old when the Israeli military closed in on the village in October 1948. My mother-in-law fled with her parents and thousands of neighbors to Gaza. Shortly after occupying Isdud, the Israeli military expelled its remaining residents and demolished the village. After the war, my future mother-in-law became one of more than 700,000 Palestinian refugees prevented from returning home as part of the nascent state's goal to maintain a Jewish majority in as much of historic Palestine as possible. The Israeli government is now advancing plans to forcibly displace more Palestinians, mostly in Gaza but also in the West Bank. In early July, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he ordered the military to prepare a 'humanitarian city' on the ruins of Gaza's southern city of Rafah, which the Israeli military has almost entirely destroyed. Everyone in Gaza would eventually be concentrated there, he explained. They would not be allowed to return to their homes in other parts of the strip. Mr. Katz said international humanitarian organizations — as yet unnamed — would be charged with managing the area. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has also said he's working with the United States to find third countries to resettle displaced Gaza residents. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
