1 hour ago Gaza ceasefire LIVE: Starmer to meet Trump as landmark hostage return expected

Israeli families who have spent years waiting to see their loved ones again are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first hostages - as fury grows against Benjamin Netanyahu

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11 h. ago ‘Bring them home now’: Thousands in Israel demand ceasefire holds and last hostages returned

Donald Trump’s top envoy, son-in-law and daughter addressed ecstatic crowds in Tel Aviv

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14 h. 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...

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24 h. ago Trump says ‘for the most part, there is consensus’ on next stages of Gaza ceasefire plan – live

US president adds Hamas were gathering the hostages now, as displaced Palestinians return to northern GazaAs Abdel Fattah al-Kurdi made the long journey back to Gaza City, he found himself getting lost. Though he left the city just a few weeks ago, he could no longer recognise its streets. The buildings he had grown up in between had collapsed, their contents carpeting the roads in a mixture of torn furniture and broken concrete.Al-Kurdi could only recognise the Netzarim checkpoint marking his entry into north Gaza by the bodies lying at its feet – those who had tried to return home too early, their faces obscured by dust after being cut down by Israeli fire. Continue reading...

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25 h. ago Countdown begins for Hamas to release remaining Israeli hostages

Hamas has 72 hours to release the 20 living Israeli hostages it is still holding once Israel’s military withdraws from roughly half of Gaza

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41 h. ago BORIS JOHNSON: Trump made peace in Gaza through sheer strength. Now he needs to put the hard word on Putin

There is still plenty that can go wrong. The remaining hostages have still not been returned. The Israelis have only just begun to withdraw from parts of Gaza.

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56 h. ago RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: This deal would never have flown without the force of nature that is Donald J. Trump

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mr President. The gratitude of the families of the Israeli hostages who will soon be returned home was unconfined.

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61 h. ago Trump says ‘we’re only going to cut Democrat programs’ as Senate again fails to pass dueling funding bills – live

Trump says federal cuts made while government is shut down will ‘only’ target his opponents’s priorities; House-passed bill and Democratic stopgap rejectedThe president has spent much of Thursday morning thanking his allies on Truth social for praising his diplomatic efforts in Gaza. “I would like to thank Republican Congressman Brian Mast, of Florida, for his brilliant words and analysis on the return of the Hostages, and Peace in the Middle East, this morning on Fox & Friends. Thank you Brian!!!,” Trump wrote in a post. Continue reading...

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63 h. ago Trump says ‘we’re only going to cut Democrat programs’ as Senate again fails to advance stopgap funding bill – live

Trump says federal cuts made while government is shut down will ‘only’ target his opponents’s priorities; Democratic measure fails again on ninth day of shutdownThe president has spent much of Thursday morning thanking his allies on Truth social for praising his diplomatic efforts in Gaza. “I would like to thank Republican Congressman Brian Mast, of Florida, for his brilliant words and analysis on the return of the Hostages, and Peace in the Middle East, this morning on Fox & Friends. Thank you Brian!!!,” Trump wrote in a post. Continue reading...

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65 h. ago House speaker Mike Johnson accuses Democrats of ‘political theater’ as shutdown enters day nine – US politics live

Move comes as Donald Trump calls for imprisonment of Brandon Johnson, Chicago’s mayor, and JB Pritzker, the Illinois governorThe president has spent much of Thursday morning thanking his allies on Truth social for praising his diplomatic efforts in Gaza. “I would like to thank Republican Congressman Brian Mast, of Florida, for his brilliant words and analysis on the return of the Hostages, and Peace in the Middle East, this morning on Fox & Friends. Thank you Brian!!!,” Trump wrote in a post. Continue reading...

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66 h. ago ‘It feels like a dream’: protests come to end as Israelis sing in ‘hostages square’

After 733 days, news of agreement greeted with celebration in Tel Aviv and stickers saying: ‘They’re coming home’For 733 days, Israelis have come to Hostage Square in Tel Aviv with a yellow piece of tape on their shirts bearing the number of days since 251 hostages had been taken captive by Hamas-led militants. On Thursday, the yellow stickers remained but the tally was gone. In its place was a simple phrase: “They’re coming home.”For two years, protesters had occupied the square, which faces the Israeli military headquarters, with an encampment and held rallies demanding the hostages be returned from Gaza. The area – soon nicknamed Hostage Square – was filled with art installations, pictures of the hostages and an electronic screen counting the days and seconds that hostages had been in captivity. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Trump tells hostage families their loved ones will return from Gaza in days after peace deal agreed

This is the moment Donald Trump tells hostage families their loved ones will return from Gaza in days after a historic peace deal was agreed.

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3 d. ago Republican lawmakers praise Trump for Gaza deal as Palestinian Americans remain wary: ‘So much remains unclear’

Politicians, poets and academics make posts on social media to laud the US president or share concernsWhile Republican lawmakers lined up to praise Donald Trump on Wednesday for brokering a tentative deal on the “first phase” of an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza, and win the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, Palestinian American were more wary.“President Trump is the peace president! Finally, the living nightmare the hostages have been forced to endure will end and Americans Itay and Omer can be laid to rest,” Joni Ernst, the Iowa senator wrote on social media, referring to Israeli hostages who died in captivity. The tentative agreement would ensure the return of living Israeli hostages, and the remains of those who have died in Gaza since 7 October 2021. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Trump urges negotiators to ‘move fast’ as Gaza ceasefire talks set to begin in Cairo

Talks on Monday expected to focus on release of hostages and end to war, after Israel kills 63 people in Gaza in past dayDonald Trump has urged negotiators to “move fast” in talks focused on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as representatives arrived in Cairo for discussions set to begin on Monday.The talks will focus on the first phase of Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, which is the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Trump urges negotiators to ‘move fast’ as Gaza ceasefire talks set to begin in Egypt

Talks on Monday expected to focus on release of hostages and end to war, after Israel kills 63 people in Gaza in past dayDonald Trump has urged negotiators to “move fast” in talks focused on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as representatives arrived in Egypt for discussions set to begin on Monday.The talks will focus on the first phase of Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, which is the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Israel continues Gaza bombardment as Trump plan negotiators arrive in Cairo

Talks on Monday expected to focus on release of hostages and end to war, after Israel kills 63 people in Gaza in past dayNegotiators have arrived in Cairo before talks on Monday expected to focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as Israel continued strikes on the Palestinian territory, killing 63 people in the last 24 hours.The talks on Monday would focus on the first phase of Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, which is the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago Donald Trump orders Israel to ‘immediately’ stop bombing Gaza as Hamas agrees to free hostages

Palestinian militant group accepts part of US president’s plan but seeks further negotiations on many termsDonald Trump ordered Israel to “immediately” stop bombing Gaza as he welcomed Hamas’s partial acceptance of his ultimatum to end the nearly two-year long war.Hamas has agreed to release all hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, as well as surrender governing power in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with Trump’s plan. Continue reading...

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8 d. ago Hamas AGREES to hand over all hostages under Trump peace plan for Gaza: Rejects Tony Blair

Hamas says it has agreed to release all Israeli hostages and return the remains of the deceased under Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, Reuters has reported.

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8 d. ago Hamas AGREES to hand over all hostages under Trump peace plan for Gaza: Terrorists praise president

Hamas says it has agreed to release all Israeli hostages and return the remains of the deceased under Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, Reuters has reported.

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1 week ago Trump’s peace plan is everything Israelis dreamed of. But it’s a fantasy | Roy Schwartz

The president’s intervention promises a return to ‘normality’ – one that appeals to Israelis unconcerned with Gaza’s futureRoy Schwartz is a senior editor and op-ed contributor at HaaretzIt didn’t take long before the Gospel of Donald became a message that everyone in Israel could embrace. The 20-point plan to end the ongoing war in Gaza, presented on Monday by the US president, is everything the Israelis had dreamed of – even fantasised about. The hostages will finally return, some to their families, others to their graves. Hamas will be gone, at least as a ruling organisation, and the soldiers will come home. The “peace plan” will, supposedly, mean a return to normality.A brief read-through of the one-page plan might suggest that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his people were involved in phrasing it. At times, it reads more like a list of Israeli demands than diplomatic compromises. Perhaps that’s why Netanyahu gave it his blessing rather quickly, which seemed to...

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