5 d. ago Trump threatens to ‘go in and kill’ Hamas if Gaza killings continue

US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to “go in and kill” Hamas if it keeps killing people in Gaza, in an apparent reference to recent shootings of Palestinian civilians following a ceasefire deal with Israel. Trump’s comments come just days after he said that the Hamas shootings – which include public executions – “didn’t bother me much” and described them as killings of gang members. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go...

Events

7 d. ago Trump says Hamas must disarm or be disarmed, perhaps violently

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had communicated to Hamas that the militant group must disarm or it will be forced to. On Monday, Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees under a ceasefire deal brokered by Trump, but Hamas has not publicly committed to putting down its weapons. “If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently,” Trump said during a meeting at the...

Politics

7 d. ago ‘History shows otherwise’: Anwar casts doubts about Gaza ceasefire deal

As US President Donald Trump continues to hail the peace plan to end the Israel-Gaza conflict, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged caution, saying he was not invited to the ceasefire signing ceremony in Egypt due to his concerns over the deal’s details and its durability. On Monday, Israel began releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners during the first phase of the deal, while Hamas militants released 20 surviving Israeli hostages kidnapped during its assault on southern Israel...

Events

7 d. ago The true test of Gaza peace begins after momentous ceasefire deal

On Monday, the fragile ceasefire in Gaza led to freedom for Israeli hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It was the culmination of a long and tortuous process - but it may, in the end, have been the easier part. The coming weeks, months and years would require more than just rebuilding from the devastation that has left much of Gaza in ruins. Key details of the peace plan may remain unsettled. Granular details would need to be negotiated to keep the plan moving...

Events

8 d. ago Hamas begins releasing Gaza hostages as Trump arrives in Israel

Hamas handed over the first seven of 20 surviving Israeli hostages on Monday, sparking cheers of joy in Tel Aviv where a huge crowd was gathered to support hostage families. Under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump after two years of war, Hamas is due to release all surviving hostages on Monday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The first seven living hostages were released by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, who then...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump says ‘nightmare’ for Israelis, Palestinians over, sparking Gaza peace hope

US President Donald Trump hailed an end to a “painful nightmare” in a speech to Israel’s parliament on Monday, as the last surviving hostages returned home from Gaza and a group of Palestinian prisoners were freed under a ceasefire deal he spearheaded. The US president’s lightning visit came ahead of a summit on Gaza in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, with Trump departing Israel just hours after he had arrived. “From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war,...

Politics

9 d. ago Coming home? Israel expects last hostages to be released early on Monday

Israel expects all hostages held in Gaza to be freed early on Monday, a spokeswoman for the prime minister’s office said, adding that all surviving captives are to be released simultaneously. “The release of our hostages will begin early Monday morning. We are expecting all 20 of our living hostages to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles,” Shosh Bedrosian told journalists on Sunday. Israel will begin releasing Palestinian prisoners once...

Politics

1 week ago End to Gaza hostilities looms after Israel government approves deal with Hamas

Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages held there within 72 hours after that. The Israeli cabinet approved the deal early Friday morning, roughly 24 hours after mediators announced the agreement, which calls for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the start of a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza under US...

Politics

1 week ago Trump to head to Middle East, says hostages to be freed Monday or Tuesday

US President Donald Trump said he expected to travel to the Middle East on Sunday to celebrate the first phase of the Gaza peace deal and be there for the release of hostages by Hamas. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian armed group had “ended the war in Gaza”. The US leader added that “nobody’s going to be forced to leave” the Palestinian territory under his 20-point peace plan, which formed the basis for indirect negotiations...

Politics

1 week ago Israel and Hamas sign ceasefire and hostage deal, sparking hope for peace in Gaza

Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement on Thursday to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet taken to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the attacks that unleashed...

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 Did Indonesia fall into ‘diplomatic trap’ over Trump’s Gaza peace plan?

Indonesia has backed US President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to end the war in Gaza, presenting it as a constructive step towards resolving the two-year conflict and easing humanitarian suffering in the besieged enclave. But the decision has stirred backlash at home, with analysts suggesting that Indonesia – long a vocal supporter of Palestinian statehood – may have stepped into a “diplomatic trap” that benefits Israeli and US interests more than those of Palestinians. “The government’s...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel to deport intercepted Gaza flotilla activists, including Thunberg

Israel said on Thursday it will deport to Europe pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla headed towards Gaza, as the Israeli navy intercepted vessel after vessel in the Mediterranean. The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage to Gaza last month, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg aiming to break Israel’s siege of the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations says famine has set in. The Israeli navy began...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel blocks all Gaza flotilla ships, vows to deport activists

Israel said on Thursday it would deport pro-Palestinian activists on an aid flotilla intercepted at sea as they headed towards Gaza, adding that none of the vessels had successfully breached its maritime blockade. The Global Sumud Flotilla of around 45 vessels began its voyage last month, with politicians and activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg heading to Gaza, where the United Nations says famine has set in. The Israeli navy has intercepted vessel after vessel at sea...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Taken against my will’: Israel detains 12 Malaysians on board Gaza aid flotilla

At least 12 Malaysians on a humanitarian aid trip to Gaza have been detained by Israeli forces who stopped their flotilla outside the blockaded Palestinian enclave early on Thursday morning, triggering condemnation from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The Global Sumud Flotilla, which set sail in August, is seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade and spotlight the siege of a territory where 65,400 people have been killed according to the United Nations, which last month called Israel’s actions a...

Politics

2 w. ago Gaza aid flotilla says it has been intercepted by Israel’s warships

A flotilla carrying aid to Gaza said Israeli forces were on Wednesday intercepting its latest bid to break an Israeli blockade of the war-battered Palestinian territory. The Global Sumud Flotilla – around 45 vessels carrying activists and politicians including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg – left Spain last month aiming to break Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, where the UN says famine has set in. “The warships are moving in to intercept the flotilla – only 81 nautical...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump says Harvard deal is close, university will pay US$500 million

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration was close to a deal with Harvard University that would include a US$500 million payment by the Ivy League institution, after months of negotiations over school policies. The administration has been wrangling with several prestigious universities, threatening to withhold federal funds over issues including pro-Palestinian protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, campus diversity and transgender policies. “We are in the process of...

Economics

3 w. ago Hamas reviewing Trump Gaza plan as Netanyahu insists on Israeli control

Hamas was reviewing Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza on Tuesday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military would stay in most of the territory after he gave the US president his backing. The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself. “Hamas has begun a series of consultations within its political and military...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump gives Hamas ‘three or four days’ for Gaza ceasefire deal

US President Donald Trump gave Hamas an ultimatum of “three or four days” on Tuesday to respond to his plan for Gaza, as the militant group reviewed the proposal backed by Israel. The plan calls for a ceasefire, release of hostages by Hamas within 72 hours, disarmament of Hamas and gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself. World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, welcomed the proposal, but Hamas had yet to issue its...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump says he ‘will not allow’ Israel to annex West Bank after Saudi warning

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from some far-right politicians in Israel who want to extend sovereignty over the area and snuff out hopes for a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced some pressure from allies to annex the West Bank, prompting alarm among Arab leaders, some of whom met Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “I will not allow Israel...

Events