
Middle East updates: Trump says Hamas wants ceasefire – DW – 07/08/2025
"They [Hamas] want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire," Trump said at the start of a White House dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said there was an opportunity to reach an agreement quickly.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that Witkoff "intends to travel to Doha later this week" to participate in the mediation talks.
Leavitt heaped praise on Qatar and Egypt for being "incredibly helpful partners in mediating these negotiations and discussions to bring peace to this region and end this conflict once and for all."
Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in the Middle East on Monday, July 8, 2025.
US President Donald Trump said that he believed that Hamas wants to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize as the two dined together in Washington.
The two leaders hailed recent joint attacks on Iran.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Int'l Business Times
43 minutes ago
- Int'l Business Times
JD Vance Pushed for Answers on Epstein's 'Wealthiest and Most Powerful' Clients in Resurfaced Tweet
A resurfaced tweet from September 2021 shows now–Vice President JD Vance publicly questioning why the full extent of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's alleged ties to elite figures was never investigated. "Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don't talk about it," Vance posted. At the time, Vance also cited an article by columnist Matthew Walther exploring why many Americans were drawn to conspiracy theories like Pizzagate, naming the Epstein scandal as key in fueling public distrust. "Was Trump speaking from personal experience when he said in 2002 that Epstein 'likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side'?" Walther asked in the 2019 article. The resurfaced tweet takes on a new relevance this week as it stands in contrast to the Trump administration's recent Justice Department memo concluding Epstein had no "client list," no blackmail material and died by suicide — findings that have angered many MAGA-aligned commentators who have supported Trump since his 2016 campaign promise to "drain the swamp." With his second election, Trump's pick for FBI Director was Kash Patel, who promised to "roll out the black book" of Epstein's clients "on day one." Trump further signaled his commitment to transparency with an executive order to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. But action regarding the Epstein files has been less decisive, with suspicion mounting with each delay of revelatory details. Tesla CEO Elon Musk heightened speculation when he accused the president of refusing to release the Epstein files because of his alleged personal involvement. Musk later deleted the tweet, but continues to comment critically about the administration's handling of the declassification process. With the DOJ now insisting there's nothing to reveal, the administration's previous messaging on Epstein faces renewed scrutiny. Vance's past misgivings regarding the "wealthiest and most powerful people" associated with Epstein only fuel skepticism of the DOJ's insistence that there's nothing to reveal. Vance has not publicly addressed the apparent tension between his past call for accountability and the administration's current official stance. Originally published on Latin Times


Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Death Toll In Texas Floods Climbs To 108, With More Rain Expected
Hundreds of rescuers on Tuesday continued their search for people swept away by catastrophic Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, officials said, amid threats of more heavy rain. As of Tuesday morning, authorities in worst-hit Kerr County had recovered the bodies of 87 victims, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters. The deceased include at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on the Guadalupe River over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. "At present, five Camp Mystic campers and one counselor still remain unaccounted for," Leitha added. At least 108 flood-related deaths were reported across central Texas, according to local officials. During a Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump said he would travel to Texas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday, and credited his strong ties with the state's Republican governor as having helped the rescue effort. "We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over... They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people. And we got them there fast, and Texas had some good ones too, but the response has been incredible," Trump said. Trump, who previously said that disaster relief should be handled at the state level, earlier this week signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources. Ben Baker with the Texas Game Wardens said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were extremely difficult because of the water and mud. "When we're trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it's very hazardous," Baker said. "It's extremely treacherous, time-consuming. It's dirty work, the water is still there." He added that special attention was being paid to the first responders' mental state, particularly given that the bodies of children were being recovered. In the town of Hunt, the epicenter of the disaster, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead, as hopes dimmed for finding any survivors. Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for the body of his grandmother, after having located the remains of his grandfather. He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river. Officials warned that with more heavy rain forecast, recovery efforts would be rendered even more difficult. "We've had some reports of maybe some additional water coming in, obviously, that's going to impact the search and recovery efforts," said Baker. He said the weather may impact aerial patrol patterns, but "it won't deter them." Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether Trump's funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation. During an at-times tense news conference, Baker skirted a question on the speed of the emergency response. "Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home," he said. Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography, the remnants of tropical storm Beryl, and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall. "This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought. So that's the worst drought conditions that you can have, and we know that since May, temperatures have been above average," Winkley told reporters. The organization's media director, Tom Di Liberto, said staffing shortages at the National Weather Service had contributed to the disaster. "What happens, and this is shared not only in Texas but weather forecast offices across the country, is that the people with the most experience dealing with these extreme (events), but also communicating it, have left in a lot of places, so you can't necessarily replace that experience," Di Liberto said. A search and recovery team prepares a fan boat to launch on Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas AFP Debris lays along the Guadalupe River after flash flooding in central Texas with more than 100 fatalities reported AFP


Int'l Business Times
5 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Faces MAGA Meltdown Over Epstein Reversal
Donald Trump's MAGA base is up in arms after his administration effectively shut down conspiracy theories related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that had become an obsession for the US president's diehard supporters. Trump's Justice Department and the FBI said in memo made public Sunday there is no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures. They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe. It marked the first time Trump's officials had publicly scotched the stories -- pushed by numerous right-wing figures, notably including the FBI's top two officials, before Trump hired them. The backlash was swift and brutal from his "Make America Great Again" movement -- who have long held as an article of faith that "Deep State" elites were protecting Epstein's most powerful associates in the Democratic Party and Hollywood. "Next the DOJ will say 'Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,'" furious pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tweeted. "This is over the top sickening." Trump has managed to avoid much of the direct blame over the fiasco, with ire instead being directed at FBI director Kash Patel, his deputy Dan Bongino and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bongino and Patel spent years pushing conspiracy theories around the so-called "Epstein list." The controversy has clearly rattled Trump, who defended Bongino and Patel on social media as the "greatest law enforcement professionals in the world," without explaining why he had spoken out. Bongino reposted Trump's praise and was deluged with furious responses. But the lion's share of the fury has been reserved for Bondi, who assured Fox News in February she had the Epstein client list on her desk and would get to the truth -- in remarks endorsed by the White House. Bondi was already on thin ice with MAGA after distributing binders labeled "The Epstein Files" to influencers at the White House that turned out to contain largely already public information and no new revelations. "President Trump should fire (Bondi) for lying to his base and creating a liability for his administration," far right influencer Laura Loomer posted on X. "She is an embarrassment and she doesn't do anything to help Trump." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was pressed about the controversy and said that Bondi was actually talking about Epstein-related paperwork as a whole -- sparking even more MAGA fury. "This is what happens when the dog catches the car. Or, to put a finer point on it, when you and the people around you become the very 'Deep State' you have spent years attacking," CNN analyst Chris Cillizza wrote on his Substack newsletter. Epstein died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking. Trump -- who has denied visiting the US Virgin Islands home where prosecutors say Epstein sex trafficked underage girls -- said ahead of his election he would have "no problem" releasing files related to the case. It is one of a number of schisms that have opened in the MAGA movement in recent days, with supporters angry over Trump's announcement that weapons supply to Ukraine would resume. Trump's fiercely isolationist base was already upset at the president's bombing of Iran nuclear sites and his statements calling for an easing of immigration raids on farms. Beyond its insights into the power dynamics that animate Trump's supporters, the affair has raised concerns that MAGA disillusionment will damage Republican prospects in the next election cycle. The row comes with Trump under pressure from the launch of a new political party by his estranged former close aide Elon Musk, who had a bitter public split with the president over federal spending. When the Trump-Musk feud blew up last month, Musk alleged that Trump was named in the Epstein files. "What's the time?" the world's richest man posted on his social media platform X on Monday, alongside an image of an Epstein countdown clock. "Oh look, it's no-one-has-been-arrested-o'clock again!" US President Donald Trump has denied spending time at the US Virgin Islands home where Jeffrey Epstein is said to have trafficked underage girls AFP