1 week ago This isn’t a real ceasefire in Gaza – it’s a holding pattern before war returns | Sanam Vakil

Israel’s airstrikes have exposed the fragility of Trump’s ‘peace plan’. Without international support, it risks crumbling altogether Israel’s recent airstrikes in Gaza, which have killed more than 100 people, show just how fragile this arrangement truly is. This is not the first violation since it came into effect on 10 October, but rather one of many over past weeks – showcasing that without stronger enforcement mechanisms and determined planning this is a ceasefire in name only.According to Israel, this round of violence resulted from Hamas fire against IDF forces in Rafah, an area still under Israeli control, resulting in the death of an IDF reservist. Hamas has denied involvement. Israel responded with additional strikes on Gaza City and Khan Younis. With each side interpreting violations to suit its own interests, the ceasefire’s vague structure leaves a wide margin for miscalculation and opportunism.Sanam Vakil is a senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa pr...

Events

1 week 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

1 week 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

2 w. ago Labour not ‘bold enough’ says Powell as she becomes deputy leader

Lucy Powell’s victory in the deputy leadership contest could add to Sir Keir Starmer’s headaches at the end of a bruising week.

Politics

2 w. ago Lucy Powell wins Labour deputy leadership race to add to Starmer’s headaches

The Manchester Central MP was sacked from the Government by Sir Keir Starmer and will now be a prominent voice on the back benches.

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2 w. ago Kyiv and European allies prepare Russia peace plan to keep Trump onside

Measures to be discussed on Friday follow Ukraine’s insistence that talks to end war should be based on current frontline

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2 w. ago Putin rejects Trump peace plan after expletive ridden White House meeting with Zelensky

The Kremlin rejected Donald Trump's latest effort to end the war in Ukraine.

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3 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

3 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

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3 w. ago Return our dead! Israeli fury grows and Hamas stalls on returning hostages as Trump 'violently' threatens Hamas amid fears of ceasefire

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out doubling the number of trucks to deliver the much-needed supplies amid mounting anger at the terror group's violation of the peace plan.

Events

3 w. ago The battle to keep peace in Gaza: Experts fear Hamas will bring ceasefire to an end as it unleashes bloody revenge

Experts on the conflict in the Middle East have warned that despite the recent success of Trump's 20-point peace plan, it could easily descend into renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Events

3 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 Trump signs historic Gaza peace deal in Egypt: 'It took 3,000 years to get to this point'

Donald Trump with a stroke of a pen formally solidified the Israel-Hamas peace plan following the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Politics

3 w. ago Sir Keir Starmer hails ‘historic day’ as Gaza peace plan is signed

The Prime Minister said the UK could use its experience with Northern Ireland to help monitor the ceasefire.

Politics

3 w. ago The Guardian view on peace in Gaza: the relief is real, but Trump’s promise of a ‘golden age’ rings hollow | Editorial

Hostage and prisoner releases are bringing joy to families. But there is no guarantee that the ceasefire will end Palestinian sufferingThe reprieve brought by the end of fighting in Gaza is immense. In Israel, the release of the living hostages has led to widespread elation. In Gaza and the West Bank there are also celebrations, as up to 2,000 Palestinian detainees start to be released – though there is distress, too, due to uncertainty about who is being freed and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, people can finally return to dig through rubble for the remains of an estimated 10,000 missing people.As recently as three weeks ago, the likelihood of a ceasefire appeared remote. But it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was cheered in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a high-powered peace summit of more than 20 world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer. The plan for peace begun there is due to be c...

Politics

3 w. ago Hamas releases final hostages as first phase of peace plan is implemented

Israel frees more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners in significant foreign policy success for Donald Trump

Events

3 w. ago Hamas releases final hostages as Trump hails ‘historic dawn’

Israel frees more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners as first phase of peace plan is implemented

Politics

3 w. ago Hamas releases final hostages as Trump hails ‘historic dawn’ in Middle East

Israel frees more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners as first phase of peace plan is implemented

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer expresses ‘deep relief’ at release of all remaining Israeli hostages

Sir Keir also insisted it was now ‘crucial’ to implement US President Donald Trump’s peace plan in the Middle East.

Politics