18 h. ago As Trump’s Gaza plan unravels, what’s next for the Middle East? Join live Q&A with Bel Trew

With tensions rising once more and the US rushing to uphold its fragile deal, chief international correspondent Bel Trew will answer readers’ questions on what – if anything – is achievable for the Middle East under the current framework

Politics

5 d. ago Jared Kushner is back – and so are big questions about his financial ties | Mohamad Bazzi

Kushner’s investment firm is backed by three Arab petrostates critical to the Gaza agreement. And the deals keep comingIn Donald Trump’s first term, his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was omnipresent. He worked on criminal justice reform, Covid-19 vaccine development and modernizing technology across federal agencies. His portfolio extended to foreign policy, as he brokered a new North American trade agreement and negotiated peace deals in the Middle East. But when Trump returned to the White House in January, Kushner stayed out of the limelight and declined to take a formal role in the administration.A few weeks ago, Kushner re-emerged as a central player behind Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, which so far has achieved a ceasefire, an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory. Kushner took a victory lap, as Trump and others in the US administration gave him significant credit for helping negotiate ...

Politics

7 d. ago Jordan’s Queen Rania praises Donald Trump for Gaza ceasefire plan

Jordan's Queen Rania has praised Donald Trump for his 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

Politics

1 week ago US Secretary of State accuses UNRWA of being ‘subsidiary of Hamas’ and insists Trump Gaza plan is ‘only option’

US Secretary of State insisted that the ceasefire is holding in place despite concerns over aid and recent clashes in Gaza

Politics

1 week ago Annexing West Bank ‘would put Donald Trump’s Gaza plan at risk’, warns Marco Rubio

A bill applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank won initial approval from Israel's parliament on Wednesday

Events

1 week ago The EU was complicit in the war in Gaza. Trump's plan can't be an excuse to dodge responsibility now | Nathalie Tocci

Tiptoeing around Israel has cost Europe its credibility. It must exert meaningful pressure to ensure the horrors we have seen never happen againThe first phase of Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza has drawn a collective sigh of relief from European leaders. After two years of slaughter, the ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the Israeli military’s partial withdrawal from Gaza and humanitarian access to the territory offer hope – and unfortunately, an excuse for Europe to continue doing nothing.When it comes to the war in Gaza, unlike Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European governments have shown their worst colours. They are divided, and their political splits have led to policy paralysis. But worse than sitting on the sidelines hand-wringing, European governments and EU institutions in Brussels can be accused of complicity in Israel’s war crimes. They have been unwilling to exert any pressure on the perpetrators, while continuing economic, political and...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s peace plan is just about holding together, but may be unravelled by two unresolved issues | Rajan Menon

The withdrawal of Israeli troops and the establishment of an international stabilisation force are key in securing long-term peace, but the plan is dangerously vague on these issuesTwo years of death and destruction in Gaza ended once Israel and Hamas signed off on Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan. A ceasefire is in place. Humanitarian trucks have begun to roll in. Hostages and prisoners are being exchanged. Israel has begun a first-phase pullback from the territories it controls, and under Trump’s plan its troops will eventually be deployed in a buffer zone along Gaza’s land border.Given these developments – all part of the opening phase – dismissing the momentous changes in Gaza is to deny reality. There have already been disputes over the return of the bodies of Israeli hostages, but there are unresolved longer-term problems that could derail the ceasefire and imperil the rest of the Trump plan.Rajan Menon is a professor emeritus of international relations at the City College o...

Politics

2 w. ago Nicola Jennings on the deficiencies in Trump’s Gaza plan – cartoon

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Politics

2 w. ago It’s taken only 24 hours, but Trump’s fairytale of peace in the Middle East seems doomed

As the ceasefire teeters after only a day, the region looks set to remain trapped in a dystopian, ever-violent Groundhog Day, writes chief international correspondent Bel Trew

Politics

2 w. ago Life in Gaza may go from utter hell to mere nightmare. What happens now? | Hussein Agha and Robert Malley

It took an American president unbound by traditional domestic constraints to get this done and provide the parties with what they could acceptDonald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza demands atonement from Palestinians for the horrific acts of 7 October, not from Israel for the barbarity that followed. It calls for Gaza’s deradicalization but not an end to Israel’s messianism. It micromanages the future of Palestinian governance while saying nothing about the future of Israel’s occupation.It is riddled with ambiguities, devoid of timetables, arbiters or consequences for inevitable eventual violations. If all goes according to plan – if the deal’s vagueness is not exploited to torpedo it; unavoidable clashes over subsequent phases do not get in the way of the first stage; Arab and Muslim states maintain pressure on the United States and the United States gets Israel to comply – life for Gazans will transition from utter hell to mere nightmare. Their condition will shift from defenceless pr...

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer to address nation at 12.30pm as he gives major statement to Parliament

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is due to give a statement to MPs in the House of Commons after returning from a summit on Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan in Egypt

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer branded 'John Terry' of politics as he jets into Middle East for Gaza peace plan signing

Keir Starmer is in Egypt for a signing ceremony as the peace deal starts coming into operation.

Politics

3 w. ago Hillary Clinton offers unexpected compliment to Trump over Gaza peace deal

Hillary Clinton stunned Washington by praising Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan, telling CBS News she 'commends' his administration for seeing a 'path forward.'

Politics

3 w. ago Israel dismisses Britain's claims to have played a 'key role' in Donald Trump's Gaza peace deal as Starmer heads to Middle East for 'signing ceremony'

Keir Starmer is set to pay 'particular tribute' to the US President at a summit to mark the agreement starting to be implemented.

Politics

3 w. ago Nadine Dorries sings praises of Donald Trump over Gaza peace plan

Nadine Dorries praised Donald Trump, saying that the Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal was "absolutely all down to" the US president.

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer will heap praise on Trump over Gaza peace deal at signing ceremony in Egypt tomorrow... weeks after PM's 'virtue

Keir Starmer is set to pay 'particular tribute' to the US President at a summit to mark the agreement starting to be implemented.

Politics

3 w. ago Trump’s Gaza plan hinges on security force yet to take shape

Thornier second stage of US president’s proposal includes Hamas’s disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal

Politics

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Latest refinery strike shows ‘no safe places in Russia’s deep rear’

Bashneft oil refinery in Ufa is 1,400km from Ukrainian border; Zelenskyy says Trump can repeat Middle East peace success in Ukraine. What we know on day 1,327Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Bashneft oil refinery in Ufa, 1,400km from Ukraine, causing explosions and a fire, a source in Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters on Saturday. “This is the third SBU deep strike in Bashkortostan in the last month Such strikes demonstrate that there are no safe places in the deep rear of the Russian Federation.”Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine “[like in] the Middle East” during a phone call on Saturday. “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war,” Zelenskyy said, hailing Trump’s “outstanding” Gaza ceasefire plan and calling for the US president to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations.Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five people on Saturday and cut power to parts of Ukra...

Events

3 w. ago Keir Starmer will pay tribute to Donald Trump at 'signing ceremony' for Gaza peace plan in Egypt

The Prime Minister will fly to an international peace summit where he is expected to pay 'particular tribute' to the US President.

Politics

3 w. ago More than 500,000 people return to Gaza City amid ceasefire, as Steve Witkoff addresses Tel Aviv crowd – live

Palestinians return to destruction as US special envoy visits Hostages Square in Israel with Jared Kushner and Ivanka TrumpMalak A Tantesh, a young reporter who has contributed to the Guardian’s coverage, has written about a harrowing two years in besieged Gaza. You can read her account here:The Trump plan calls for Israel to maintain an open-ended military presence inside Gaza, along its border with Israel. An international force, comprised largely of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would be responsible for security inside Gaza. The US would lead a large internationally funded reconstruction effort, reports the Associated Press (AP). The plan envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority – something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform programme that could take years. According to the AP, the Trump plan is even more vague about a future Pale...

Events