Latest news with #hostages
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump says Gaza ceasefire is possible within a week
President Donald Trump has suggested that a ceasefire in the Gaza could be reached within a week. The US president told reporters on Friday that he believed a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas was close. Mr Trump's administration has been working on a deal after Israel shattered a two-month truce with Hamas by launching strikes in April. Weeks later, he voiced optimism a deal would be reached to stop the conflict and secure the release of more hostages. Interest in resolving the conflict has picked up steam this month after the US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went i nto effect early this week. On Friday, at an Oval Office event celebrating a Congo-Rwanda accord, Mr Trump said he had been just been talking to some of the people involved in trying to reach a cessation of hostilities in the Palestinian enclave. "I think it's close. I just spoke to some of the people involved," he said. "We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire." Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's post-October 7 military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. Mr Trump's surprise prediction of a possible ceasefire deal in the coming days comes at a time when there have been few signs that the warring parties were ready to restart serious negotiations or budge from entrenched positions. A spokesperson for US special envoy Steve Witkoff's office said they had no information to share beyond Mr Trump's comments. Mr Witkoff helped former President Joe Biden's aides broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement shortly before Mr Trump took office in January but the deal soon unravelled. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer plans to visit Washington starting on Monday for talks with Trump administration officials about Gaza, Iran and a possible White House visit by Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter. Mr Netanyahu said on Thursday the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste. "This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm," Netanyahu said in a statement.
CBS News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump says ceasefire in Gaza possible "within the next week"
President Trump said Friday he believes a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is possible "within the next week." "I think it's close," Mr. Trump told reporters when asked about the prospect of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. "We think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire." The Trump administration has pushed for a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas for weeks, but a deal has proven elusive so far. Israel and Hamas have not publicly commented on whether a deal is possible soon. Late last month, Mr. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a 60-day ceasefire. Under that proposal, Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 dead hostages who were taken to Gaza during Hamas' 2023 attack on Israel, according to a copy obtained by CBS News. Israel would release 125 "life sentence" prisoners, 1,111 Palestinian detainees and 180 deceased Palestinians as part of the deal. Israel supported that proposal, but Hamas said it responded with "some notes and amendments." Witkoff called Hamas' response "totally unacceptable" in a May 31 post on X. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, many of whom have since been released. Israel responded with an invasion and intense aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing over 56,000 people, according to figures from the territory's Hamas-run Health Ministry. Residents gather after the Israeli army targets a house belonging to the al-Sus family in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 27, 2025. Hassan Jedi/Anadolu via Getty Images Israel and Hamas have struck two ceasefire and hostage release deals since October 2023, the most recent of which — a 60-day pause in hostilities — ended in mid-March. Since then, the fighting has resumed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced pressure from the families of some hostages to cut a deal to secure their release, but the Israeli leader said last month there is "no way" the war will end until Hamas is defeated, though he left open the possibility of a temporary truce to secure the release of more hostages. Separately, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israel-backed private aid group, began distributing food in the Gaza Strip earlier this month. But the group has been mired in controversy, with frequent reports of people shot by Israeli troops near distribution sites, leading the head of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency to call it a "death trap." The group has defended its efforts. Mr. Trump promoted the aid efforts Friday, saying, "we have a pretty good system now." Meanwhile, an unrelated ceasefire between Israel and Iran that began Tuesday appears to be holding, ending more than a week of fighting between the two archrivals.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Support for Netanyahu's endless wars will not last forever
During its 12-day war with Iran, Israel killed 870 Palestinians in Gaza. However, few mentioned it, as the event that was grabbing the headlines was the Israel-Iran war. This was the perfect excuse for Tel Aviv to shift the public discourse away from its ongoing genocide. For Israel, the West's complacency could no longer be sustained. Western leaders could no longer go against public opinion. That is why Israel needed a way to shift the public discourse and delay any discussion regarding ending the assault on Gaza. The declared main objective of the military campaign is to free the hostages, but as time passes it becomes more and more obvious that the true objective of the Netanyahu government is to eliminate the Palestinian people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's other important goal is to stay in power and out of jail. As former US President Bill Clinton said this week, Netanyahu needs war to cling to power. He added that it is up to President Donald Trump to stop him. Here we have contradictory objectives, even a potential clash. Trump came to power with the promise to finish forever wars. But that will be difficult with Netanyahu. Trump worked toward a quick end to the war between Israel and Iran. As soon as the ceasefire came into effect, Israel found an excuse to break it. Trump went ballistic on both Israel and Iran, saying that they do not know what they are doing. Netanyahu's plan is to take over Gaza and the West Bank. It is an open secret. When he spoke at the UN General Assembly in September 2023, he showed a map of the Middle East in which the Palestinian territories were swallowed up by Israel. The subsequent Oct. 7 attacks gave him a perfect opportunity to execute his plan. As he got the US sucked into the Iran conflict, the Israeli PM is probably planning to get Washington involved in other conflicts too Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib Ethnic cleansing is the goal. This is not only the goal of Netanyahu, but also that of many Israelis. A shocking survey of Jewish Israelis conducted by Pennsylvania State University in May showed that 82 percent support the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza. This view did not come out of the blue or because Israelis are cruel. It is due to the propaganda that the average Israeli is bombarded with all day, every day. This government propaganda promotes the Likud agenda of expulsion and blocks the path to any reconciliation between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The goals of Likud and Netanyahu are now the general public's goals. However, Netanyahu has to deliver on them to become a hero of the people. Thinking from Netanyahu's perspective, if he achieves the goal that the overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis support, he will be forgiven, he will not be threatened anymore. His rule will be consolidated. However, there is a hurdle in achieving this apocalyptic vision: the international community. Even the staunchest supporter of Israel cannot support a genocide. Day by day, the genocide is becoming more obvious and more difficult to hide. Unlike the Second World War era, ethnic cleansing and genocide are today difficult to hide or digest. Netanyahu cannot repeat what Hitler did with the Jews or what Stalin did with the Tatars and get away with it. Times are different. The media, especially social media, shows everything in real time. The tagline 'Israel needs to defend itself' does not pan out when Israel guns down civilians going to get food distributed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. As he got the US sucked into the Iran conflict, the Israeli PM is probably planning to get Washington involved in other conflicts too. Israel has a strong domestic lobby in the US that influences Democrats and Republicans alike. Mainstream media outlets like Fox News, which is owned by Ruppert Murdoch, push a pro-Israel worldview to the average American viewer. The pro-Israel lobby previously promoted the war in Iraq. It promoted America's attack on Iran and will probably push for further American involvement in conflicts that serve Israel's interests — or, more precisely, Netanyahu's interests. Netanyahu needs another war. He needs to distract the world. He needs to convince the world that Israel is under attack Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib Netanyahu needs another war. He needs to distract the world. He needs to convince the world that Israel is under attack. He plays the victim as he butchers civilians in Gaza while they are seeking aid and kicks Palestinians out of their homes in the West Bank, using gruesome and cowardly settlers who are protected by the Israeli army. However, this task is not as easy as expected. Egypt has stood firm. It will not allow the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza into Sinai. On the other hand, while Netanyahu's Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, it will not be able to kill all of them. That is what a friend of mine, a pastor from Palestine, once told me: 'They will never be able to kill all of us.' Hence, Netanyahu's policy of creating and extending conflict to cover up his genocide will end badly. He will not be able to sustain American and Western support for his endless wars, nor will he be able to finish the job of exterminating the Palestinian people. In the US, figures who were traditionally supportive of Israel, like Steve Bannon, are already questioning why the country should follow Israel and get engulfed in unnecessary wars. Netanyahu does not know how to end his wars. He probably wants to end them only when he finishes the job of exterminating the Palestinians. However, this will not be achieved. The most likely scenario is that the US will reach a point where it will be fed up with Israel and Netanyahu. This would be a bad outcome for Netanyahu and Israel. • Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ceasefire in Iran gives rise to new calls for a deal to end Gaza war
CAIRO — Arab mediators and Israeli hostage families are making a renewed push this week for a deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip, using Israel's successful strikes on Iran, as well as a ceasefire brokered by the United States and Qatar, to make the case that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has enough political capital to bring the grueling, 20-month conflict to a close.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Netanyahu says ‘victory' over Iran opens windows to peace
Victory over Iran presents new opportunities for peace agreements which Israel must not waste, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. In a statement, he said: 'This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm. 'Alongside the freeing of hostages and defeat of Hamas, there is a window of opportunity that must not be missed. We cannot waste even a single day.'
