‘A step forward with a deal on the table,': former Israel ambassador on Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Former ambassador to Israel Jon Allen discusses the potential outcome of Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks in Qatar and Trump's impact on both parties' deal.
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Palestinians walk next to a tent camp for displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in west of Gaza Strip, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) CAIRO — The first session of indirect Hamas-Israel ceasefire talks in Qatar ended inconclusively, two Palestinian sources familiar with the matter said early on Monday, adding that the Israeli delegation didn't have a sufficient mandate to reach an agreement with Hamas. The talks resumed on Sunday, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's third visit to the White House since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power nearly six months ago. 'After the first session of indirect negotiations in Doha, the Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorized ... to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers,' the sources told Reuters. Netanyahu said, before his departure to Washington, that Israeli negotiators taking part in the ceasefire talks have clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire agreement under conditions that Israel has accepted. On Saturday evening, crowds gathered at a public square in Tel Aviv near the defense ministry headquarters to call for a ceasefire deal and the return of around 50 hostages still held in Gaza. The demonstrators waved Israeli flags, chanted and carried posters with photos of the hostages. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Around 20 of the remaining hostages are believed to be still alive. A majority of the original hostages have been freed through diplomatic negotiations, though the Israeli military has also recovered some. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's retaliatory military assault on the enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, displaced the population, mostly within Gaza, and left the territory in ruins. Reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi; Writing by Yomna Ehab; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Kim Coghill and Lincoln Feast.
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Israel says it hit ports, power plant in Yemen
Social Sharing Israel has attacked Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports and a power plant, the Israeli military said early on Monday, marking the country's first attack on Yemen in almost a month. The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant were due to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military added. Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have fired at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade, in what it says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Most of the dozens of missiles and drones fired toward Israel have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes. Israel also attacked Galaxy Leader ship in Ras Isa port, which was seized by Houthis in late 2023, the military added. "The Houthi terrorist regime's forces installed a radar system on the ship, and are using it to track vessels in international maritime space, in order to promote the Houthi terrorist regime's activities," the military said. The Houthi military spokesperson said following the attacks that Houthis' air defences confronted the Israeli attack "by using a large number of domestically produced surface-to-air missiles." Residents told Reuters that the Israeli strikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah put the main power station out of service, leaving the city in darkness. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that Israel launched a series of strikes on Hodeidah, shortly after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for people at the three Yemeni ports. The assault comes hours after a ship was attacked off of Hodeidah and the ship's crew abandoned it as it took on water. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security firm Ambrey said the vessel fits the typical profile of a Houthi target. Israel has severely hurt other allies of Iran in the region — Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Tehran-backed Houthis and pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq are still standing. The group's leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, created the force challenging world powers from a group of ragtag mountain fighters in sandals. Under the direction of al-Houthi, the group has grown into an army of tens of thousands of fighters and acquired armed drones and ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia and the West say the arms come from Iran, though Tehran denies this.
