3 d. ago Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed, Israeli PM says

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over bodies of deceased hostages. Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing, the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave, would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza. Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said...

Politics

5 d. ago Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations, Rafah border reopening in limbo

Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire. A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its...

Politics

5 d. ago Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations, Rafah reopening in limbo

Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire. A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its...

Politics

6 d. ago Aid resumes in Gaza with Rafah crossing set to reopen after hostage body dispute

Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday, and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and freed all living hostages held by Hamas. However, the...

Events

7 d. ago ‘Can I meet Eric?’: Prabowo’s hot mic moment amplifies private

The viral hot-mic moment in which Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was heard asking US President Donald Trump if he could meet his son Eric shortly after the Gaza ceasefire summit in Egypt has raised questions about Jakarta’s neutrality and its ties to the Trump family business. The offhand exchange has also sparked scrutiny of Prabowo’s diplomatic judgment and stirred debate about whether his Gaza diplomacy reflects national strategy or personal ambition. The brief conversation between the...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump hails ‘tremendous day for Middle East’ as leaders sign Gaza declaration

US President Donald Trump hailed a “tremendous day for the Middle East” as he and regional leaders signed a declaration on Monday meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners. Trump made a lightning visit to Israel, where he lauded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to parliament, before flying to Egypt for a Gaza summit where he and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed the declaration as guarantors to the Gaza...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump hails ‘peace in the Middle East’ as leaders sign Gaza declaration

US President Donald Trump hailed a “tremendous day for the Middle East” as he and regional leaders signed a declaration meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners. Trump made a lightning visit to Israel, where he lauded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to parliament, before flying to Egypt for a Gaza summit where he and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed the declaration on Monday as guarantors to the ceasefire...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump sets off for the Middle East to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump headed off on a high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying “the war is over” in Gaza. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, Agence France-Presse reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also aboard the plane, the White House said. “This is going to be a very special time,” Trump told reporters. “Everybody’s very excited about this moment in...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump says ‘war is over’ as he heads to Middle East to mark Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump headed off on a high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt on Sunday, saying “the war is over” in Gaza. Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, Agence France-Presse reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also aboard the plane, the White House said. “This is going to be a very special time,” Trump told reporters. “Everybody’s very excited about this moment in...

Events

9 d. ago End to hunger? Gaza aid to increase as ceasefire deal brings hope

Preparations were underway on Sunday for a ramp-up of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating two-year-long war. The Israeli defence body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, Cogat, said that the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip is expected to increase on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement. Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza on Sunday. The trucks...

Events

1 week ago Trump says he may go to Middle East, with Gaza deal ‘very close’

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he may travel to the Middle East later this week, as negotiators in Egypt reported “encouraging” progress toward a deal to end the Gaza war. Trump, whose 20-point peace proposal forms the basis of the talks in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, said a peace deal between Israel and Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas is “very close”. “Negotiations are going along very well,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I may go there sometime toward...

Politics

1 week ago Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, a ceasefire and hostage deal that could open the way to ending a bloody two-year-old war that has upended the Middle East. Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas militants’ cross-border attack that triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded an agreement on the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave. The...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel shells Gaza on war anniversary, amid Hamas talks on Trump plan

Israeli tanks, boats and jets pounded parts of Gaza on Tuesday, giving Palestinians no respite on the anniversary of the Hamas attack that led to two years of war and underlining the challenges at talks on US President Donald Trump’s plan to halt the conflict. With no ceasefire in place, residents said Israel pressed on with its offensive after Hamas and Israel began indirect negotiations on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on key issues such as Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and Hamas’...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel, Hamas hold indirect peace talks in Egypt on eve of Gaza war anniversary

Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks on Monday at an Egyptian resort on a US-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary. The talks, which went on for several hours, unfolded amid many questions about the plan presented by US President Donald Trump last week, including the disarmament of the militant group – a key Israeli demand – and the future governance of Gaza. Trump has indicated that an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel, Hamas hold indirect talks in Egypt on eve of Gaza war anniversary

Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks on Monday at an Egyptian resort on a US-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary. The talks, which went on for several hours, unfolded amid many questions about the plan presented by US President Donald Trump last week, including the disarmament of the militant group – a key Israeli demand – and the future governance of Gaza. Trump has indicated that an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a...

Politics