Netanyahu, Trump halt Gaza ceasefire talks as humanitarian crisis worsens
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling 'alternative' options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where starvation is spreading and most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be 'hunted down', telling reporters: 'Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job.'
The remarks appeared to leave little to no room, at least in the short term, to resume negotiations for a break in the fighting, at a time when international concern is mounting over worsening hunger in war-shattered Gaza.
French President Emmanuel Macron, responding to the deteriorating humanitarian situation, announced that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognise an independent Palestinian state.
Britain and Germany said they were not yet ready to do so but later joined France in calling for an immediate ceasefire. British Prime Minister Keith Starmer said his government would recognize a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal.
Trump dismissed Macron's move. 'What he says doesn't matter,' he said. 'He's a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn't carry weight.'
Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations on Thursday from the ceasefire talks in Qatar, hours after Hamas submitted its response to a truce proposal.
Sources initially said on Thursday that the Israeli withdrawal was only for consultations and did not necessarily mean the talks had reached a crisis. But Netanyahu's remarks suggested Israel's position had hardened overnight.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas was to blame for the impasse, and Netanyahu said Witkoff had got it right.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Facebook that the talks had been constructive, and criticised Witkoff's remarks as aimed at exerting pressure on Israel's behalf.
'What we have presented - with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation - we believe could lead to a deal if the enemy had the will to reach one,' he said.
Mediators Qatar and Egypt said there had been some progress in the latest round of talks. They said suspensions were a normal part of the process and they were committed to continuing to try to reach a ceasefire in partnership with the U.S.
The proposed ceasefire would suspend fighting for 60 days, allow more aid into Gaza, and free some of the 50 remaining hostages held by militants in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
It has been held up by disagreement over how far Israel should withdraw its troops and the future beyond the 60 days if no permanent agreement is reached.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister in Netanyahu's coalition, welcomed Netanyahu's step, calling for a total halt of aid to Gaza and complete conquest of the enclave, adding in a post on X: 'Total annihilation of Hamas, encourage emigration, (Jewish) settlement.'
MASS HUNGER
International aid organisations say mass hunger has now arrived among Gaza's 2.2 million people, with stocks running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, then reopened it in May but with new restrictions.
The Israeli military said on Friday it had agreed to let countries airdrop aid into Gaza. Hamas dismissed this as a stunt.
'The Gaza Strip does not need flying aerobatics, it needs an open humanitarian corridor and a steady daily flow of aid trucks to save what remains of the lives of besieged, starving civilians,' Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters.
Gaza medical authorities said nine more Palestinians had died over the past 24 hours from malnutrition or starvation. Dozens have died in the past few weeks as hunger worsens.
Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to distribute it, in what the Israeli foreign ministry called on Friday 'a deliberate ploy to defame Israel'. The United Nations says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions.
United Nations agencies said on Friday that supplies were running out in Gaza of specialised therapeutic food to save the lives of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher also has demanded that Israel provide evidence for its accusations that staff with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs were affiliated with Hamas, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
The ceasefire talks have been accompanied by continuing Israeli offensives. Palestinian health officials said Israeli airstrikes and gunfire had killed at least 21 people across the enclave on Friday, including five killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City.
In the city, residents carried the body of journalist Adam Abu Harbid through the streets wrapped in a white shroud, his blue flak jacket marked PRESS draped across his body. He was killed overnight in a strike on tents housing displaced people.
Mahmoud Awadia, another journalist attending the funeral, said the Israelis were deliberately trying to kill reporters. Israel denies intentionally targeting journalists.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns near the border, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, health officials there say, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins. - Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Oil edges down as traders weigh Trump's latest India threat
NEW DELHI: Oil extended a three-day drop, as investors weighed risks to Russian supplies, with US President Donald Trump stepping up a threat to penalise India for buying Moscow's crude. Brent traded near US$68 a barrel after shedding more than 6% over the previous three sessions, while West Texas Intermediate was just shy of US$66. Trump said he would be "substantially raising' the tariff on Indian exports to the US over the nation's purchases of Russian oil as part of a bid to force Moscow to agree a truce in Ukraine. New Delhi slammed the move as unjustified. Oil has been on a round trip, rising a few dollars above $70 and then falling back, as traders try to gauge whether Trump will follow through on his threats to punish Russian oil buyers. Crude prices have held up in recent months in part because inventory builds haven't appeared near vital pricing points and instead have been concentrated on China. "It's pretty hard to predict what's going to happen between Russian sanctions, Iranian sanctions, Chinese storage, and then the underlying fundamentals of the oil markets," BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Murray Auchincloss said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "It's sanctions on Russia, sanctions on Iran, Chinese behavior on storage. Those are the things that'll drive oil market prices moving forward.' The US president's latest warning to India came ahead of his Aug 8 deadline for Russia to reach a truce with Ukraine. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow on Wednesday, Tass reported. India emerged as the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne exports of crude following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, soaking up discounted barrels shunned by western nations and ramping up purchases from almost zero to about one-third of imports. China is also a major taker of Moscow's oil. The comments came just days after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced another bumper output hike, fully completing the return of one layer of supply cuts. The group will now have to decide whether to return more barrels in the coming months, despite forecasts of oversupply into the end of the year. Against that backdrop, both BP and Saudi Aramco said Tuesday that oil demand is holding up well so far. Aramco's Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said US tariffs are having a limited impact on oil demand, while consumption is being supported by gasoline and jet fuel use in the US and China. - Bloomberg
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Belgium's airdrop ignites global aerial aid movement for Gaza
ON August 4, 2025, as part of a coordinated humanitarian mission, the Belgian Air Force dropped 15 tonnes of food and medical aid over Gaza, followed by another 16 tonnes the next day. It was the first European nation to boldly participate in this form of direct aerial aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave — without waiting for Israel's green light or America's diplomatic blessing. This airdrop shattered the illusion that nothing could move into Gaza without Israel or US approval. What followed was just as remarkable. Inspired by Belgium's courage, a number of countries quickly followed. France began its own airdrops, delivering over 40 tonnes of aid. Germany, Spain, and Italy joined with commitments and logistical coordination. Jordan, acting as a central hub, helped facilitate these missions, while the UAE and Egypt also pledged and executed deliveries. The United Kingdom announced its intent to begin airdrops, and Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing its entry into the mission. In total, over a dozen nations are now either actively participating or making logistical arrangements to deliver aid from the skies to a population pushed to the brink of starvation. What makes this different from earlier "statements of concern" is that these actions are material, not symbolic. They directly bypass the decades-long stranglehold that Israel and the US have exerted over humanitarian corridors to Gaza. Belgium's decision didn't come with a negotiated corridor, but with a moral one: the belief that starving people do not need permission slips for mercy. In terms of international relations, this moment could signal the slow dismantling of US-Israeli impunity. For decades, Israel has maintained that any uncoordinated delivery into Gaza is a violation of its sovereignty. The US has echoed that position while shielding Israel from global accountability. But now, as countries like Belgium, France, and Spain take matters into their own hands, that consensus is breaking down. Even in the US, there is growing frustration. The American public is beginning to question why their tax dollars fund weapons but not food. And the same Congress that routinely rubber-stamps military aid to Israel is now watching European nations act with moral clarity. The more countries join this momentum, the harder it becomes for Israel to justify the continued strangulation of 2.3 million civilians. And the harder it becomes for the United States to maintain its credibility as a defender of international law while standing by a partner accused of war crimes. What if the Muslim world now followed suit — not just with speeches and resolutions, but with economic action? If the 57 Muslim-majority countries were to impose a complete embargo on imports from and exports to Israel and the United States until the siege is lifted and a ceasefire implemented, the financial impact would be staggering. Based on conservative trade data from 2024, Muslim countries import approximately US$290 billion worth of goods and services annually from the United States and US$23 billion from Israel. In return, they export around $190 billion to the U.S. and $15 billion to Israel. This results in a total bilateral trade volume of approximately $480 billion with the United States and $38 billion with Israel. If even a partial embargo were enacted — on petroleum, consumer goods, technology, or financial services—the ripple effect could hit supply chains, energy markets, and corporate interests in both countries. Oil exports alone could be used as leverage against US support for continued Israeli aggression. Trade redirection toward pro-Palestinian allies, or toward neutral trading blocs, could shift global economic balances. The Muslim world can also reward those who stand up for justice. Belgium, for example, could be granted Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status among OIC member states. Similar preferential treatment could be extended to France, Germany, and any country that dares to take humanitarian action where superpowers have failed. A reward-based system would reshape international diplomacy — where moral courage earns access and political cowardice invites isolation. What's especially powerful — and painful — is that this initiative has come not from the Islamic world but from Christian-majority European nations. While Muslim governments have delivered strong words, they have stopped short of concrete action. Belgium did not. Neither did Spain or France. Their aid drops have reached Palestinian children before many Muslim leaders even held emergency summits. Yet it's not too late. Imagine a unified Muslim airlift: planes from Turkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, and Egypt dropping food and medicine directly into Gaza, without seeking Israeli clearance. Imagine a simultaneous suspension of trade with the United States and Israel. The political impact would be seismic. It would demonstrate that the Muslim world is not merely a collection of markets and oil wells but a bloc capable of coordinated, morally driven global action. Belgium has done what much of the world failed to do — show up. Not with drone strikes or naval blockades, but with parachutes and provisions. Not with threats, but with compassion. In defying silence and cowardice, Belgium has reminded the world what moral clarity looks like. It has reopened the sky—not just above Gaza, but above all of us.
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Trump administration to impose up to US$15,000 visa bond for travellers from ‘high overstay' countries
WASHINTON, Aug 5 — The US State Department said yesterday that some visa applicants will soon be required to pay bonds of up to US$15,000 to discourage visa overstays as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on migration. Starting later this month, the pilot program will require applicants from certain countries to pay a sum of 'no less than US$5,000' as collateral for the issuance of their visa. The funds will be returned if the applicant complies with all visa terms. If the applicant remains in the United States past the deadline, the funds will be forfeited. 'Consular officers may require covered nonimmigrant visa applicants to post a bond of up to US$15,000 as a condition of visa issuance,' the agency said in a notice to be published Tuesday in the US Federal Register. The 12-month program would only affect foreign nationals from countries considered to have 'high visa overstay rates' based on a 2023 Department of Homeland Security report, the notice said. Bond payments will also be required by applicants from countries 'where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient,' the notice added, as well as those who were granted citizenship without a residency requirement. 'The pilot reinforces the Trump Administration's commitment to enforcing US immigration laws and safeguarding US national security,' a State Department spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry. Neither the notice nor the spokesperson specified which countries would be impacted by the new rule. The program, which will begin on August 20, will apply to B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant visas, and those asked to pay bonds will have to enter and depart from the United States from a list of pre-selected airports. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump and his administration have cracked down on migration to the United States. The State Department justified the launch of the pilot program by calling it 'a key pillar of the Trump Administration's foreign policy to protect the United States from the clear national security threat posed by visa overstays.' — AFP
