Hamas official says Trump, mediators assured them that the war is over
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya has said that the Palestinian group has been assured by Trump as well as mediators that the war in Gaza is over.
Al-Hayya said Hamas was serious about returning the bodies of all captives, as required under the ceasefire agreement, but added that the group was finding it very difficult to retrieve the bodies.
Al-Hayya said Hamas also hoped that aid into Gaza would increase to meet the needs of the population there.
Vance’s Israel trip intended to ‘apply heat’ on Netanyahu
US Vice President JD Vance is expected to arrive in Israel this morning to put pressure on Netanyahu not to walk away from this ceasefire deal.
Senior Trump officials have been speaking anonymously to US media, saying that there is growing concern that Netanyahu is going to abandon the deal and go back to full-scale fighting. That’s why these high-level US officials are in Israel – to try and talk about what is going to happen next, beyond phase one of the deal.
Netanyahu remains adamant that Israel will respond to any sort of violations they see within the ceasefire, and that they want their remaining 15 bodies of captives.
But the Americans are hoping to apply this heat to the Israelis to tell them that Trump is not going to tolerate them walking away from this deal. There are at least 60 countries involved in these mechanisms concerning what is going to happen to Gaza to usher it into a post-war era, and Trump does not want that deal to be abandoned.
US Treasury chief urges Smotrich to ‘fully embrace’ ceasefire deal
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to “fully embrace” the ceasefire deal.
A US readout from the meeting in Washington, DC, the second between the pair in seven months, said Bessent had underscored the return of captives and noted the potential for expanding the Abraham Accords.
In recent days, Smotrich – who had voted against the ceasefire agreement – has called for Israel to resume its military operations in Gaza.
US wants to make money with the 'peace' plan, only reason for it. Capitalism stopped the bombs, not the starvation though.
