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Tag: Netanyahu

  • Trump says Hamas must disarm very soon or

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    President Trump said after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday that Hamas must disarm soon or “there will be hell to pay.” He said the next phase of the Gaza peace plan could move forward quickly if Hamas disarms. 

    Standing alongside Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Mr. Trump also claimed dozens of other countries that supported the peace deal are ready to “wipe out” the terrorist group if Hamas doesn’t disarm, but he did not name any of them. 

    The president said of Hamas, “They’re going to be given a very short period of time to disarm.” Standing alongside Netanyahu, Mr. Trump added, “And we’ll see how that works out. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be in charge of that, from our side. But if they don’t disarm, as they agreed to do — they agreed to it — then there will be hell to pay for them. And we don’t want that. We’re not looking for that. But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.” 

    “We have 59 countries that signed on, big countries, countries that are outside of the Middle East as you know the Middle East,” the president added. “They want to go in and wipe out Hamas. They don’t want Israel, they don’t need Israel; they want to do it because it’s the right thing to do. Because they were for the deal, based on the fact that Hamas pledged, they swore, that they were going to disarm. Now, if they’re not going to disarm, those same countries will wipe out Hamas.” 

    Mr. Trump said he and Netanyahu still don’t agree completely on the West Bank. 

    Netanyahu said he had a “very, very productive meeting” with the president, and he thanked him for his partnership. He told reporters Mr. Trump would receive the Israel Prize, the most prestigious award in Israel, for his work on the peace negotiations. 

    “We’ve never awarded it to a non-Israeli,” Netanyahu told reporters. “And we’re going to award it this year to President Trump.” 

    Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Trump said the second phase of the peace plan could begin “as quickly as we can,” but “there has to be a disarmament” of Hamas.

    The first phase of the peace plan called for an immediate ceasefire, as well as the return of all hostages and the provision of humanitarian aid. 

    But the second phase — which entails the terrorist group’s disarmament, the effective end of Hamas’ rule and its replacement by a transitional governance entity — has not yet been implemented. Hamas has refused to disarm and has not yet returned all Israeli hostage remains, while Israel has recently conducted some strikes in Gaza. The family of Israeli Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili, who was killed during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and whose remains have not yet been returned, was at Mar-a-Lago Monday.

    Mr. Trump also said ahead of the meeting that he would support an Israeli attack on Iran, should Iran begin again to build up its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. The president praised Netanyahu, telling reporters “he’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero.” And the president said he has spoken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog about a pardon for Netanyahu, who is facing bribery and fraud charges. 

    “How do you not give a pardon, you know?” Mr. Trump said. “I think it’s a very hard thing not to do it. … He tells me it’s on its way.” 

    Herzog’s office, however, said in a statement, “There has not been a conversation between President Herzog and President Trump since the pardon request was submitted.” The statement also said that Herzog spoke several weeks ago with a representative of Mr. Trump who had “inquired about the U.S. President’s letter” and who was told “any decision on the matter will be made in accordance with the established procedures.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Netanyahu ahead of Mr. Trump’s meeting. Netanyahu’s visit comes a week after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, met with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to discuss next steps in the peace plan. 

    The Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into effect in November, more than two years after the war began with the attack by Hamas-led terrorists on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. 

    This was the sixth meeting between Mr. Trump and Netanyahu since the president took office in January. 

    Netanyahu’s visit came on the heels of Mr. Trump’s meeting Sunday at Mar-a-Lago with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the U.S. president continues to try to to broker a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. After that meeting, Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy said they’re nearly in agreement on a peace plan for Ukraine, and the Ukrainian leader praised what he called “strong security guarantees” from the U.S. But Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Mr. Trump spoke before and after his meeting with Zelenskyy, hasn’t shown a willingness to compromise on his territorial demands. Russia attacked Kyiv shortly before Mr. Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy. 

    Mr. Trump has been spending the holidays at his Mar-a-Lago estate, mixing in golf with meetings with world leaders. The president will return to the White House after New Year’s Day. 

    Sara Cook and Michal Ben-Gal contributed to this report.

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  • 2025 Lie of the Year: Readers’ Choice winner

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    It’s time to announce PolitiFact’s Readers’ Choice winner for the 2025 Lie of the Year.

    But first, some background. We did something different with our readers’ poll this year. Historically, we’ve asked PolitiFact readers to choose one claim that they thought was the most significant falsehood or exaggeration that worked to undermine an accurate narrative. 

    This time, we wanted you to rank all the options on our ballot on a scale of one to 15, with one being the most significant falsehood and 15 being the least significant. We then looked at the average rank for each option from the 1,082 votes cast.

    PolitiFact editors pick the official winner. This year, PolitiFact is spotlighting three stories that exemplify the consequences of falsehoods in 2025, which we’re calling our Year of the Lies. 

    Our readers’ pick for the 2025 Lie of the Year — with an average ranking of 4.6 — is Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Pants on Fire claim that “there is no starvation in Gaza.”

    At the time of Netanyahu’s statement in July, the hunger crisis in Gaza was well documented in images, by United Nations data, news dispatches, first-person accounts and information from humanitarian organizations. 

    In August, a panel of experts backed by the U.N. confirmed famine in northern Gaza, noting in a report that “over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death.”

    RELATED: Who decides when genocide has occurred? The long legal process hinges on proving intent 

    Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that went into effect Oct. 10, increasing aid delivery. But as of Nov. 7, the U.N. said Gaza remains in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

    This year’s selection breaks readers’ four–year streak of choosing a claim from President Donald Trump as their Lie of the Year. In 2024, both readers and PolitiFact editors chose Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating pets as the Lie of the Year. 

    Here’s how readers ranked our ballot. (Remember: A lower average rating reflects a higher ranking in the poll.) We included some readers’ comments, edited for clarity, about why they voted for certain falsehoods. 

    1. Netanyahu: “There is no starvation in Gaza.” Pants on Fire. Average rank: 4.6

    What readers said: 

    “I feel Netanyahu’s lie about people not starving in Gaza is the worst. He wants the U.S. to support Israel but then lies about the deplorable conditions his administration has helped create.  Regardless of who is to blame for the war, this is a terrible atrocity to overlook and brush under the rug.”

    “Despite most every word out of Trump’s mouth being either an outright lie or exaggeration, Netanyahu’s claim regarding ‘no starvation in Gaza’ was the most significant because its negative impact directly contributed to ending lives.”

    “One look at photos from Gaza says it all.” 

    “Genocide is the most significant of all these issues. It impacts all of humanity. I’m also concerned that world leaders are asking us to believe a false narrative when we can clearly see it with our own eyes or depend on fact checkers like PolitiFact to present independent factual information.”

    “Netanyahu’s lie is the most egregious, easy to disprove, and most impactful in the number of lives being erased by the lie.”

    2. Trump: The Jeffrey Epstein files “were made up by Comey. They were made up by Obama. They were made up by Biden.” Pants on Fire. Average rank: 4.8

    Facing backlash in July from his base over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files, Trump shifted blame to his Democratic predecessors and called the files a “hoax.” As pressure swelled in Congress, Trump signed a bill in November directing the Justice Department to release its files related to its investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender. 

    What readers said: 

    “Trump saying Biden and Comey made up the Epstein files is beyond preposterous and makes zero sense.”

    “Trump promised to release the Epstein files, and he has told lie after lie about them.”

    “Patently false, and it’s one more way victims of child sexual assault are being dismissed and re-victimized.”

    “The Epstein files were not the most important of the choices, but the lie was so out there, and Trump was constantly denying what the materials said, that it overwhelmed all the other lies.”

    3. Trump: Regarding boat strikes off the coast of Venezuela, “Every boat that we knock out we save 25,000 American lives.” Pants on Fire. Average rank: 5.6

    In September, the U.S. military began attacking boats off the coast of Venezuela in what the Trump administration called an effort to thwart drug smuggling. Experts questioned the legality of the strikes, which have killed more than 80 people as of Dec. 2. 

    In October, Trump said each boat strike had saved 25,000 American lives by destroying drugs before they reached the U.S. The Trump administration has provided no evidence about the type or quantity of drugs it says were on boats targeted by the military. The lack of information makes it impossible to know how many lethal drug doses could have been destroyed. Drug experts told PolitiFact that Venezuela plays a minor role in trafficking drugs that reach the U.S.

    What readers said: 

    “Trump’s claims about lives saved by his attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific are not just statistical nonsense; they are a justification for acts that can only honestly be called murder and piracy — and not even murder under the color of law, since those killed were not given even the pretense of a trial.” 

    “There has been little transparency in bombing boats, and no precedent for doing so. Imagine the costs of deploying so much in resources to bombing boats that hold four to six people.”

    “When a president lies to justify killing people, we have lost the moral high ground and our reputation as a nation of laws.”

    “It was a difficult decision. Netanyahu’s claim is so blatantly false that it borders on evil. However, the outrageous executions of what are likely fishermen off the coast of Venezuela pushed me to prioritize this issue, as it signifies a continuing erosion of our country’s traditions and values. Therefore, I have to give it the top spot.” 

    The rest of the ballot 

    1. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: “Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people.” False. Average rank: 5.7

    2. Trump: “Portland is burning to the ground.” Pants on Fire. Average rank: 5.8

    3. Vice President JD Vance: Democrats shut down the government to give health care to illegal immigrants. False. Average rank: 5.9

    4. (tie with below) Trump: Regarding his campaign promise to deport “the worst of the worst,” said “That’s what we’re doing.” See our check. Average rank: 6.9 

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: “Nobody was texting war plans” in the Trump administration Signal group text about bombing Yemen. False. Average rank: 6.9 (Tied with above)

    1. Trump: Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia “had ‘MS-13’ on his knuckles tattooed. … He had ‘MS’ as clear as you can be. Not ‘interpreted.’” Pants on Fire. Average rank: 7.2

    2. Trump: “There’s no downside” to not taking Tylenol when you’re pregnant. Pants on Fire. Average rank: 7.7

    3. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah: The suspect in the Minnesota lawmakers’ shootings was driven by “Marxist” ideology. Pants on Fire. Average rank: 9.1

    4. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker: The federal government “decided to shut down the SNAP machines, so that they can’t be used.” False. Average rank: 12

    5. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “Republicans have effectively ended medical research in the United States of America.” Mostly False. Average rank: 12.1

    6. Jeffries: “The Trump administration just declared that erecting a ballroom is the president’s main priority,” rather than issues such as the cost of living and health care. False. Average rank: 12.5

    7. Social media posts, left-wing influencers: The “Trump is dead” Labor Day weekend conspiracy theory. Special report. Average rank: 12.8

    THIS YEAR: What to make of an abysmal year for truth? PolitiFact names 2025 the Year of the Lies

    LOOKING BACK: Revisit PolitiFact’s Lies of the Year, 2009 to 2025

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  • Full interview: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to CBS News days after Hamas released the last 20 living hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s military withdrew from parts of the Gaza Strip, in the first phase of a peace plan brokered by President Trump and Arab states. Watch his full interview with “CBS Mornings” co-host Tony Dokoupil Tuesday in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.

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  • News Analysis: For Trump, celebration and a victory lap in the Middle East

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    Summoned last minute by the president of the United States, the world’s most powerful leaders dropped their schedules to fly to Egypt on Monday, where they idled on a stage awaiting Donald Trump’s grand entrance.

    They were there to celebrate a significant U.S. diplomatic achievement that has ended hostilities in Gaza after two brutal years of war. But really, they were there for Trump, who took a victory lap for brokering what he called the “greatest deal of them all.”

    “Together we’ve achieved what everyone said was impossible, but at long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” Trump told gathered presidents, sheikhs, prime ministers and emirs, arriving in Egypt after addressing the Knesset in Israel. “Nobody thought it could ever get there, and now we’re there.

    “Now, the rebuilding begins — the rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part,” Trump said. “I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part, because the rest comes together. We all know how to rebuild, and we know how to build better than anybody in the world.”

    The achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza has earned Trump praise from across the political aisle and from U.S. friends and foes around the world, securing an elusive peace that officials hope will endure long enough to provide space for a wider settlement of Mideast tensions.

    Trump’s negotiation of the Abraham Accords in his first term, which saw his administration secure diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, were a nonpartisan success embraced by the succeeding Biden administration. But it was the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and the overwhelming response from Israel that followed, that interrupted efforts by President Biden and his team to build on their success.

    The Trump administration now hopes to get talks of expanding the Abraham Accords back on track, eyeing new deals between Israel and Lebanon, Syria, and most of all, Saudi Arabia, effectively ending Israel’s isolation from the Arab world.

    Yet, while the current Gaza war appears to be over, the greater Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains.

    Trump’s diplomatic success halted the deadliest and most destructive war between Israelis and Palestinians in history, making the achievement all the more notable. Yet the record of the conflict shows a pattern of cyclical violence that flares when similar ceasefires are followed by periods of global neglect.

    The first phase of Trump’s peace plan saw Israeli defense forces withdraw from half of Gazan territory, followed by the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7 in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli custody.

    The next phase — Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s reconstruction — may not in fact be “the easiest part,” experts say.

    “Phase two depends on Trump keeping everyone’s feet to the fire,” said Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who served in the George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.

    “Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction are tied together,” he added. “The Saudis and Emiratis won’t invest the big sums Trump talked about without it. Otherwise they know this will happen again.”

    While the Israeli government voted to approve the conditions of the hostage release, neither side has agreed to later stages of Trump’s plan, which would see Hamas militants granted amnesty for disarming and vowing to remain outside of Palestinian governance going forward.

    An apolitical, technocratic council would assume governing responsibilities for an interim period, with an international body, chaired by Trump, overseeing reconstruction of a territory that has seen 90% of its structures destroyed.

    President Trump speaks during a summit of world leaders Monday in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt.

    (Amr Nabil / Associated Press)

    The document, in other words, is not just a concession of defeat by Hamas, but a full and complete surrender that few in the Middle East believe the group will ultimately accept. While Hamas could technically cease to exist, the Muslim Brotherhood — a sprawling political movement throughout the region from which Hamas was born — could end up reviving the group in another form.

    In Israel, the success of the next stage — as well as a long-delayed internal investigation into the government failures that led to Oct. 7 — will likely dominate the next election, which could be called for any time next year.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic polling fluctuated dramatically over the course of the war, and both flanks of Israeli society, from the moderate left to the far right, are expected to exploit the country’s growing war fatigue under his leadership for their own political gain.

    Netanyahu’s instinct has been to run to the right in every Israeli election this last decade. But catering to a voting bloc fueling Israel’s settler enterprise in the West Bank — long the more peaceful Palestinian territory, governed by a historically weak Palestinian Authority — runs the risk of spawning another crisis that could quickly upend Trump’s peace effort.

    And crises in the West Bank have prompted the resumption of war in Gaza before.

    “Israelis will fear Hamas would dominate a Palestinian state, and that is why disarmament of Hamas and reform of the [Palestinian Authority] are so important. Having Saudi leaders reach out to the Israeli public would help,” Ross said.

    “The creeping annexation in the West Bank must stop,” Ross added. “The expansion of settlements must stop, and the violence of extremist settlers must stop.”

    In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Netanyahu faced broad criticism for a yearslong strategy of disempowering the Palestinian Authority to Hamas’ benefit, preferring a conflict he knew Israel could win over a peace Israel could not control.

    So the true fate of Trump’s peace plan may ultimately come down to the type of peace Netanyahu chooses to pursue in the heat of an election year.

    “You are committed to this peace,” Netanyahu said Monday, standing alongside Trump in the Knesset. The Israeli prime minister added: “I am committed to this peace.”

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    Michael Wilner

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  • Fact-checking Trump’s speech to Israel’s Knesset

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    President Donald Trump, speaking in Israel on the day that Hamas released all living Israeli hostages and Israel released Palestinian prisoners and detainees, framed the agreement he helped broker as a “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” 

    He told the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, “This is not only the end of a war, this is the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God.”

    Trump’s Oct. 13 address focused on his administration’s efforts to produce an agreement between Israel and Hamas, which included a Gaza ceasefire and the release of 20 Israeli hostages, 250 Palestinian prisoners and about 1,700 Palestinian detainees held without charges.

    The future phases of the 20-point plan that could lead to a lasting peace are complicated and uncertain. After his speech, Trump flew to Egypt to sign the deal with world leaders at a summit that launched the first phase of the agreement.

    Under the plan, Arab and international partners will develop a stabilization force to deploy in Gaza, while day-to-day governance would shift from Hamas to a Palestinian committee. The committee will include Palestinians and international experts, with oversight by the “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

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    Trump, the fourth U.S. president to address the Knesset, praised his handpicked negotiator, Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio while taking swipes at his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. He also called for Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced a years-long corruption case.

    Here are fact-checks of some of Trump’s comments:

    Says he “settled eight wars in eight months.”

    The agreement signed today is widely considered a landmark moment in a decades-long conflict, and Trump was a key player. But his repeated talking point about solving eight wars is exaggerated.

    Trump had a hand in ceasefires that have recently eased conflicts between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. But these were mostly incremental accords, and some leaders dispute the extent of Trump’s role. 

    Peace has not held in other conflicts. The U.S. was involved in a temporary peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, but violence in the region has continued, with hundreds of civilians killed since the deal’s June signing. After Trump helped broker a deal between Cambodia and Thailand, the countries have accused each other of ceasefire violations that have led to violent skirmishes.

    A long-running standoff between Egypt and Ethiopia over an Ethiopian dam on the Nile remains unresolved, and it is closer to a diplomatic dispute than a military clash. In the case of Kosovo and Serbia, there is little evidence a potential war was brewing.

    Trump has made notable progress by securing the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage agreement, but the deal involves multiple stages, so it will take time to see if peace holds.

    People gather to greet freed Palestinian prisoners in the Gaza Strip after their release from Israeli jails under a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP)

    “So we dropped 14 bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facilities, totally, as I said originally, obliterating them. That’s been confirmed.”

    It is impossible to know whether Operation Midnight Hammer — in which the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities in June to undercut Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities — succeeded in “obliterating” those sites, because U.S. and allied intelligence is not necessarily available to the public.

    More than three months after the U.S. attack on Fordo, a major underground Iranian nuclear site, it’s not clear how much damage U.S. bombs created. Officials haven’t publicly released a definitive damage assessment. 

    An Aug. 20 analysis by The New York Times said subsequent assessments have found an increasing likelihood that significant damage resulted from the strike. However, the Times concluded that “with so many variables — and so many unknowns — it may be difficult to ever really be certain.”

    “The Iran nuclear deal turned out to be a disaster.” 

    Trump omits that Iran had largely complied with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in which the country agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons and allow continuous monitoring of its compliance in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. The agreement was set to expire over 10 to 25 years.

    Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and did not renegotiate the agreement as he promised.

    Many experts praised the pact for keeping nuclear weapons out of Tehran’s hands. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it found Iran committed no violations, aside from minor infractions that were addressed. 

    After dropping out of the compact, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, and Iran reduced its compliance with the deal.

    People gather to watch a broadcast of Israeli hostages released from Gaza at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP)

    Under the Obama and Biden administrations, “there was a hatred toward Israel, it was an absolute hatred.”

    The two Democratic presidents had somewhat strained relationships with Netanyahu, who has often courted U.S. Republican leaders, but during their tenures, the U.S. continued to support Israeli foreign policy and its military.

    Osamah Khalil, Syracuse University history professor and expert on the modern Middle East, said it’s untrue that Obama or Biden “held a personal animus toward Israel, especially Biden.” 

    “Indeed, both administrations oversaw expansions in U.S. military assistance and coordination with Israel,” Khalil said. “In 2016, Obama signed the largest U.S. military aid package in history.”

    In 2016, the U.S. and Israel signed a 10-year, $38 billion memorandum of understanding. It cited several priorities, including updating the Israeli air fleet and maintaining the country’s missile defense system. 

    Military funding for Israel continued under Biden. In the two years since Oct. 7, 2023, the U.S. government spent $21.7 billion on military aid to Israel.

    Biden ordered U.S. troops to be deployed in and around Israel and Gaza and shielded Israel at the U.N. by blocking many cease-fire resolutions, Khalil said.

    Obama and Biden “did nothing with this incredible document, the Abraham Accords.”

    Obama’s presidency ended years before the Abraham Accords were signed. 

    The 2020 agreement during Trump’s first term brought together the leaders of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. The countries agreed to peace and cooperation with Israel, establishing embassies, preventing hostilities and fostering tourism and trade. 

    The Biden administration tried to bring Saudi Arabia into the accord, but this effort languished after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

    After the 2023 Hamas attacks, “The idea of official Israeli-Saudi relations became much harder,” said Jeremy Pressman, a University of Connecticut political science professor and expert on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

    Trump and fellow dignitaries pose at the Gaza International Peace Summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP)

    “You walk over from Iran to Qatar, you can walk it in one second. You go boom, boom, and now you’re in Qatar.” (To reporters on Air Force One, Oct. 12.)

    Qatar sits across the Persian Gulf from Iran, more than 100 miles over water at its closest point.

    Driving from Qatar to Iran would take at least 24 hours, according to Google Maps, and would require passing through Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. (Border crossings in this part of the world would likely add to the drive’s duration.)

    Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi “liked me so much, he never even got to see Hillary” Clinton in 2016. “He saw her for about two seconds.” (Trump remarks in Egypt, Oct. 13.)

    This is inaccurate. Trump and Hillary Clinton, as their party’s 2016 presidential nominees, both met with Sisi when he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September 2016. 

    Politico reported that Sisi’s session with Clinton “lasted more than an hour.” The Clinton presidential campaign said they discussed counterterrorism, human rights, the Middle East and economic development in Egypt.

    Trump met with Sisi that night.

    RELATED: Fact-checking Trump Cabinet meeting during shutdown, National Guard deployments

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  • Trump hails

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    Trump hails “historic dawn of a new Middle East” during Knesset address – CBS News










































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    President Trump addressed Israel’s Knesset for more than an hour after the release of Oct. 7 hostages from Gaza on Monday, declaring a “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” CBS News’ Haley Ott and Natalie Brand have the latest.

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  • Hamas releases first group of 7 hostages to Red Cross in Gaza, Israel says | Special Report

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    Hamas releases first group of 7 hostages to Red Cross in Gaza, Israel says | Special Report – CBS News










































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    Hamas has handed over a first group of living Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of President Trump’s peace plan. Kelly O’Grady anchored CBS News’ special report.

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  • Trump heads to the Middle East amid Gaza ceasefire

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    President Trump is on his way to the Middle East and plans the address the Israeli Knesset. Nancy Cordes reports.

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  • Inside war-torn Gaza as Israel-Hamas ceasefire continues

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    Inside war-torn Gaza as Israel-Hamas ceasefire continues – CBS News










































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    Displaced Palestinians are returning to the ruins of their homes and new drone video from Gaza City shows what remains after two years of war. Debora Patta is in East Jerusalem with more on the territory’s urgent needs.

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  • Israel prepares for return of last Gaza hostages

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling for unity as his country prepares for the return of the last hostages still alive in Gaza. There are believed to be 20 of them. In Gaza, aid trucks are rolling into the devastated territory with Israel set to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Tony Dokoupil is in Jerusalem with more.

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  • Hamas official: Israel altered prisoner lists, warns Netanyahu will renew war

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    Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad accused Israel of changing prisoner lists under the deal, warning that Netanyahu may resume the Gaza war

    Senior Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad, speaking to Al Jazeera from Cairo on Sunday night, accused Israel of “playing with and changing” the lists of Palestinian prisoners slated for release under the emerging ceasefire-for-hostages deal, and warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would “return to aggression” in Gaza without sustained international pressure.

    He urged Arab states and mediators to “restrain the Zionist madness” and ensure full implementation of the agreement.

    Hamad said Hamas was coordinating with Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, and in contact with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to carry out the exchange “as stated in the agreement,” but alleged that Israeli delays in verifying names on documents sent to the parties were creating obstacles.

    He nevertheless said the process was “moving in a good direction” and that Hamas would “do everything we can” to make both the prisoner exchange and the wider deal succeed.

    His claims came amid mounting disputes over prisoner lists. Israel’s Justice Ministry published 250 names of Palestinian prisoners set for release as part of the deal, while Palestinian officials said no final roster had been agreed upon, highlighting ongoing friction over the criteria and sequencing of releases.

    Ghazi Hamad, member of Hamas Political Office, delivers remarks on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, during a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, October 28, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/AMR ALFIKY)

    Al Jazeera Arabic reporting on Sunday also amplified Palestinian assertions that Israel was trying to impose its own terms on the prisoner file, with sources saying Hamas continued contacts via Cairo, Doha, and Ankara to amend the Israeli-published list.

    The ICRC has reiterated that any exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners must be conducted safely and with dignity, underscoring the organization’s neutral role in transfers and family reunifications under the ceasefire framework.

    20 Israeli hostages to be freed

    The remarks came as Israel and Hamas prepared for the next phase of the agreement. Israeli officials and international media reported that 20 living Israeli hostages were expected to be freed on Monday in parallel with large-scale prisoner releases, part of a broader truce architecture brokered with the help of Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.

    Hamad’s interview echoed past Hamas statements describing Netanyahu as a “war criminal,” rhetoric the group has used repeatedly while rejecting Israeli conditions tied to disarmament or postwar governance arrangements in Gaza.

    Under the ceasefire terms reported over the weekend, Israel has been transferring detainees in preparation for releases while international agencies scale up humanitarian operations inside Gaza. Disagreements over specific prisoner names and categories have persisted in recent days, including last-minute changes approved by Israel’s government to the first batches.

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  • News Analysis: Why the Gaza ceasefire puts both Netanyahu and Hamas at political risk

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    JERUSALEM — Thursday’s ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas delivered a jubilant moment in one of the darkest periods of the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. But for both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas, the deal could be the poison pill that spells their downfall.

    Netanyahu, who with a combined total of 17 years in office is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, now must contend with a day-after in Gaza that looks very different from the vision he used to woo allies and keep his opponents at bay.

    Hamas, on the other hand, faces a war-ravaged populace that was weary of its rule even before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack; two years later, with more than 67,000 killed, many more wounded and most of the Palestinian enclave in ruins, most Gaza residents are enraged at what they view as the militant group’s reckless gamble.

    Daily life continues in war-torn Gaza as Palestinians in Deir al Balah wait on Oct. 9, 2025, for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire to take effect.

    (Ali Jadallah / Anadolu / Getty Images)

    The deal, which President Trump produced after weeks of consultations with — not to mention intense pressure on — Israel and a raft of Arab and Muslim nations, brings about some measure of victory that both sides can claim, namely the swap that will see all remaining Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity exchanged for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

    Netanyahu and Hamas both trumpeted it as an achievement.

    “This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu wrote Thursday on X, crediting the breakthrough to “steadfast resolve, powerful military action,” along with Trump’s efforts.

    Hamas, meanwhile, said in a statement that the deal was a result of the “steadfastness of the Palestinian people” and its “Resistance,” a reference to the Palestinian factions.

    Yet those victories could hardly be called complete.

    Netanyahu had promised Hamas would not only be defeated but also vanquished, with its arsenal removed. He has also made it his long-running mission to ensure no Palestinian state arises — something he hoped to achieve by conquering Gaza and annexing the West Bank.

    Women in head coverings wave green, white, black and red flags and a sign that says Stop War, Stop Genocide

    Students and supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party gather to express their solidarity with Palestinians during an anti-Israel protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Oct. 9, 2025.

    (Aamir Qureshi / AFP/Getty Images)

    Instead, the Israeli military has stopped its offensive with the fate of Hamas’ weapons still unclear, and Trump recently said he will “not allow” Israel to annex the West Bank.

    Also, Trump’s 20-point plan not only put the kibosh on the notion of deporting Gaza residents but also encouraged them to stay. And Netanyahu was forced to accept the prospect of a Palestinian state only a few days after a fire-and-brimstone speech at the United Nations rejecting any such thing.

    Already, the coalition he relies on to remain in power is showing fractures, with extremist figures representing settler interests expressing their anger that Netanyahu didn’t stay the course and continue fighting.

    His opponents, meanwhile, see the conflict’s end as their chance to oust him. And his critics among Israeli voters — elections are slated for October 2026 — are not only set to reject him at the ballot box, but also excise anyone associated with his leadership.

    At the so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israelis demonstrated some of that rage. When Benny Gantz, an Israeli opposition leader who served in Netanyahu’s Cabinet until last year walked through the crowd, hecklers shouted at him “to go home,” accusing him of claiming a success he had not earned.

    “When the war began, Gantz joined Bibi and saved him instead of bringing down his government,” said Einat Mastbaum, a 50-year-old Hebrew teacher, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Those actions, she said, kept Netanyahu’s government in place and prolonged the hostages’ ordeal.

    Udi Goren, 44, whose cousin Tal Haimi was killed Oct. 7, 2023, said Israel needed new faces to effect change many Israelis demand after this war.

    “Now is the time for us — Israelis and Palestinians — to support a better future, to draft a new narrative for ourselves,” he said. “After what we’ve been through these past two years, we don’t want this to happen again.”

    A woman in a blue shirt holds her palms together to her face, surrounded by a jubilant crowd

    Einav Zangauker, in a blue shirt, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, celebrates as people react to news of the Israel-Hamas peace deal at the so-called Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Oct. 9, 2025.

    (Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

    Yet it would be foolish to discount Netanyahu, a consummate politician in Israel’s political landscape who has proved time and again his ability to gauge the national mood and rebound from setbacks, including a prolonged corruption trial he has successfully postponed throughout the war, and an warrant from the International Criminal Court.

    Though his claim of totally defeating Hamas falls short, he can still rightly point to having left Israel the indisputable hegemon in the region, whether by decimating the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah or by dealing a crippling blow to Iran. If the deal’s implementation continues smoothly, he may also manage to extend normalization agreements to other Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia. Polls, meanwhile, show he’s recovered his popularity after taking a hit in the days after the Oct. 7 attack.

    And the deal “will boost him,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a public opinion researcher in Israel.
    “It will make him look like he’s the only one in the country who could work so well with Trump.”

    “He’s much more popular today than he was five days ago,” Trump said at the White House.

    Hamas’ situation appears more complicated. It has said it will play no role in Gaza’s future governance — a key Israeli and American demand. But its main rival in the Palestinian Authority, which governed Gaza until Hamas prevailed in elections in 2006, is viewed by many Palestinians as hopelessly corrupt, not to mention downright traitorous because of its security coordination with Israel, which has seen authority forces attack anti-Israel Palestinian resistance groups and activists.

    At the same time, the notion of Hamas having any power seems untenable.

    “They dragged all of Gaza into the fire. Our homes, our jobs, our futures were all destroyed because of reckless decisions,” said Nidal Laqqan, 37, a former merchant from Khan Yunis who has been displaced for the last two years.

    He said that many people he knows feel the same way.

    “People are angry. This was an uncalculated adventure,” he said. “We need a new Palestinian leadership that puts our interests first. No more military steps taken without thinking of the people who will pay the price.”

    Special correspondent Bilal Shbeir in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.

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    Nabih Bulos

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  • Celebrations erupt over Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza

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    TEL AVIV — After two years of devastating war that killed tens of thousands, left millions displaced and pulverized much of Gaza into an apocalyptic moonscape, Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a deal involving an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees.

    Though Israel had still not formally ratify the pact, it was expected to do so Thursday evening, and celebrations had already broken out in the country. The news was greeted with relief and joy in Gaza, where Hamas said the agreement would end the war and lead to Israel’s full withdrawal from the enclave and to the entry of desperately needed aid.

    The deal caps months of torturous ceasefire negotiations and delivers a denouement to a generation-defining fight in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    Posting on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday, President Trump announced the two sides had signed off on “the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” which would involve the hostage-detainee swap along with the Israeli military’s withdrawal from parts of Gaza — “the first steps towards a Strong, durable, and Everlasting Peace,” according to Trump.

    “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS,” he wrote.

    News of the agreement triggered celebrations across Gaza, with residents exhausted by Israel’s no-holds-barred assault that had upended their lives, erased entire families and brought famine to the enclave expressing cautious hope.

    “I never thought I’d see this day. We’ve been wanting it to come for months now, and then suddenly it happened so fast,” said Ali al-Azab, 34, from the central city of Deir Al-Balah in the enclave.

    “We’ve been living in fear for so long, waiting for the next bomb to come, to lose another friend. But I also know the war isn’t over yet.”

    Word of the ceasefire came early Thursday morning in Gaza, as Mohammad Rajab, 62, was still asleep. His son-in-law, he said, was the first to hear the good news.

    “We’re like drowning people clutching at straws,” he said, adding that the ceasefire meant for him the chance “to return to a normal life.”

    In Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square, the area of this coastal city that has become the de-facto gathering point for Israelis’ large-scale protests to end the war and bring the hostages home, the mood Thursday was jubilant, with people dancing as they waved Israeli and American flags.

    Many sported stickers on their shirts with the words “They’re returning,” in reference to the hostages, replacing stickers that had before depicted the number of days they had spent in captivity. At one point, a man blew a shofar, the traditional musical horn used in Jewish rituals, to the crowd’s applause.

    Udi Goren, 44, a travel photographer whose cousin, 44-year-old Tal Haimi, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and taken to Gaza, said his “first instinct was a sigh of relief.”

    “For the first morning in two years, we can actually have a true smile because we finally see the end: The end of the war, of fallen soldiers, of hostages being tortured and starved, of the horrific sights from Gaza.”

    He credited Trump for pressuring the belligerents to get the deal done.

    “There was no real intervention until what we’ve just seen with President Trump finally saying enough is enough,” he said.

    The deal, which is more of a framework centered on a 20-point plan Trump released last week, would see all 48 hostages — 20 of them alive, the rest deceased — released. Hamas officials have said in recent interviews that retrieving bodies of dead hostages will take time, as many are in collapsed or bombed-out tunnels or under the rubble. Those alive could be released as early as Sunday or Monday.

    Israel will release 1,700 Gaza residents detained during the war, along with 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel. For every Israeli body returned, Israel will release the bodies of 15 Gaza residents.

    Hamas said on Thursday it had handed over the list of prisoners to be released to mediators, and would announce the names once they were agreed upon.

    Earlier reports claimed the ceasefire had already begun, but Israeli airstrikes and artillery still continued to pound the enclave Thursday, with health authorities in the enclave saying at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured.

    Footage taken by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera depicted tanks shelling Gaza’s main coastal road to prevent Palestinians from gathering in the area. Civil defense crews warned people attempting to return to the north of the enclave from doing so they received confirmation Israeli forces had left.

    In a statement to Israeli daily Times of Israel, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire would begin Thursday evening after the government officially ratifies the agreement. The government is set to vote on the agreement at 6 p.m. local time, according to Israeli media.

    The Israeli military said in a statement it had “begun operational preparations ahead of the implementation of the agreement” and would adjust deployment lines “soon.” Meanwhile, it was still “deployed in the area,” it said, and the military’s Arabic-language spokesman said in a statement that Gaza City was still surrounded by the army and that returning to it was dangerous.

    The ceasefire will be accompanied by a surge of aid into the enclave, a crucial component of the agreement meant to alleviate a crushing, months-long Israeli blockade that had triggered famine in parts of the enclave, according to aid groups and experts. Aid groups and the Palestinian Health Ministry said more than 400 people had died of starvation in recent months.

    Writing on X, Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, said the group was “on the ground and ready to scale up operations.”

    “But we need to move NOW — there is no time to waste,” she wrote.

    The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants blitzed into southern Israel, leaving 1,200 people — two thirds of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities — and kidnapping some 250 others.

    In retaliation, Israel launched a furious response that has so far killed 67,183 people, encompassing more than 3% of the enclave’s population and including 20,179 children, the Palestinian Health Ministry says. Though it does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, its figures are seen as reliable.

    Yet much remains unclear, including the fate of Hamas’s arsenal and what sort of presence, if at all, Israel will maintain in the enclave.

    Speaking to the Qatari channel Al-Araby TV, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Israel would pull out militarily from all populated areas in Gaza — including Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Gaza City by Friday. Another spokesman, Hazem Qassem, said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday the group will not be part of Gaza’s governance in the future. but that the group’s arms were to “guarantee the independence of Palestinian decision-making.”

    Other Hamas officials have said handing over weapons would only occur as part of a move towards an independent Palestinian state.

    Despite Trump’s rhetoric, the agreement remains far from the comprehensive peace agreement he has promised. And its success kicks up thornier questions for Netanyahu, a deeply unpopular leader with many Israelis and whose critics accuse of prolonging the war to guarantee his political survival at the expense of hostages’ lives.

    Implementing the agreement is likely to alienate his right-wing allies in the government, including extremist figures such as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for Gaza to be emptied of Palestinians. He said in a statement on X that he will vote against the deal.

    He added the government had “an enormous obligation to ensure that we do not return to the Oslo track,” referring to the Oslo peace process, and to becoming “addicted again to artificial calm, diplomatic embraces, and smiling ceremonies, while mortgaging the future and paying horrific prices.”

    At Hostage Square, Israelis demonstrated their rage at Netanyahu and others associated with his leadership during the war. When Benny Gantz, an Israeli opposition leader who served in Netanyahu’s cabinet until last year walked through the crowd, hecklers shouted at him “to go home,” accusing him of claiming a success he had not earned.

    “When the war began, Gantz joined Bibi and saved him instead of bringing down his government,” said Einat Mastbaum, a 50-year-old Hebrew teacher, employing Netanyahu’s nickname.

    Yet even politicians’ presence couldn’t detract from the happiness of the crowd, according to Mastbaum, who has been coming to Hostage Square every week for the last two years.

    “I’m so excited,” she said, her voice cracking as tears appeared in her eyes.

    “Today I’m crying from happiness and hope, not sadness.”

    Times Staff Writer Bulos reported from Tel Aviv. Special correspondent Bilal Shbeir contributed from Al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

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  • Israel and Hamas will exchange hostages and prisoners after agreeing to 1st phase of Gaza peace plan

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    Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza, paving the way for a pause in the fighting and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians greeted the news cautiously Thursday as a possible breakthrough in ending the devastating 2-year-old war.Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by the administration of President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed most of Gaza and brought famine to parts of it, and triggered other conflicts across the Middle East.The war, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has sparked worldwide protests and increasingly isolated Israel, as well as bringing allegations of genocide that Israel denies.Even with the agreement expected to be signed later in the day, Israeli strikes continued, with explosions seen Thursday morning in northern Gaza. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes but earlier in the day said it had begun preparations for the implementation of the ceasefire, and troops were planning to transition to “adjusted deployment lines.”Following news of the agreement, Alaa Abd Rabbo, originally from northern Gaza but forced to move multiple times during the war, said it was “a godsend.”“This is the day we have been waiting for,” he said from the central city of Deir al-Balah. “We want to go home.”In Tel Aviv, families of the remaining hostages popped champagne and cried tears of joy when the deal was announced.“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote on social media late Wednesday after the agreement was reached. “All Parties will be treated fairly!”Under the terms, Hamas intends to release all 20 living hostages in a matter of days, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details of an agreement that has not fully been made public.In an interview on Fox News, Trump said Hamas will begin releasing hostages “probably” on Monday.The breakthrough came on the third day of indirect talks in Egypt.“With God’s help we will bring them all home,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed on social media shortly after Trump’s announcement. Netanyahu said he would convene the government Thursday to approve the deal.Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has opposed previous ceasefire deals, said he had “mixed emotions on a complex morning.”While he welcomed the return of the hostages, he said he had “immense fear about the consequences of emptying the jails and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders” and said that as soon as the hostages are returned, Israel must continue trying to eradicate Hamas and ensure Gaza is demilitarized.Hamas, meanwhile, called on Trump and the mediators to ensure that Israel implements “without disavowal or delay” the troop withdrawal, the entry of aid into the territory and the exchange of prisoners.Ahmed al-Farra, the general director of pediatrics at Khan Yunis’ Nasser Hospital, which has seen many of the casualties of the war, said he was still skeptical of Israel following through on the deal but held out hope.“We need to go back to living,” he said.Trump’s peace planThe Trump plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that militants in Gaza still hold from their attack on Israel two years ago. Some 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led militants in that assault, and 251 were taken hostage. Israel believes around 20 of the hostages are still alive.Under the plan, Israel would 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 U.S. would lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort in Gaza.The plan also envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu opposes. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years to implement.The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu firmly rejects.Even with many details yet to be agreed, some Palestinians and Israelis expressed relief at the progress.“It’s a huge day, huge joy,” Ahmed Sheheiber, a Palestinian displaced man from northern Gaza, said of the ceasefire deal.Crying over the phone from his shelter in Gaza City, he said he was waiting “impatiently” for the ceasefire to go into effect to return to his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp.Joyful relatives of hostages and their supporters spilled into the central Tel Aviv square that has become the main gathering point in the struggle to free the captives.Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker and a prominent advocate for the hostages’ release, told reporters that she wants to tell her son she loves him.“If I have one dream, it is seeing Matan sleep in his own bed,” she said.This would be the third ceasefire since the start of the war.The first, in November 2023, saw more than 100 hostages, mainly women and children, freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In the second, starting in January of this year, Palestinian militants released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel ended that ceasefire in March with a surprise bombardment.Praying for a dealIn the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians have been desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands fleeing Israel’s latest ground offensive have set up makeshift tents along the beach in the central part of the territory, sometimes using blankets for shelter.More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.The ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-run government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.Ayman Saber, a Palestinian from Khan Younis, reacted to the ceasefire announcement by saying he plans to return to his home city and try to rebuild his house, which was destroyed last year by an Israeli strike.“I will rebuild the house, we will rebuild Gaza,” he said.___Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Madhani from Washington. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, David Rising in Bangkok and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

    CAIRO —

    Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza, paving the way for a pause in the fighting and the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians greeted the news cautiously Thursday as a possible breakthrough in ending the devastating 2-year-old war.

    Uncertainty remains about some of the thornier aspects of the plan advanced by the administration of President Donald Trump — such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza. But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed most of Gaza and brought famine to parts of it, and triggered other conflicts across the Middle East.

    The war, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has sparked worldwide protests and increasingly isolated Israel, as well as bringing allegations of genocide that Israel denies.

    Even with the agreement expected to be signed later in the day, Israeli strikes continued, with explosions seen Thursday morning in northern Gaza. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

    The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes but earlier in the day said it had begun preparations for the implementation of the ceasefire, and troops were planning to transition to “adjusted deployment lines.”

    Following news of the agreement, Alaa Abd Rabbo, originally from northern Gaza but forced to move multiple times during the war, said it was “a godsend.”

    “This is the day we have been waiting for,” he said from the central city of Deir al-Balah. “We want to go home.”

    In Tel Aviv, families of the remaining hostages popped champagne and cried tears of joy when the deal was announced.

    “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote on social media late Wednesday after the agreement was reached. “All Parties will be treated fairly!”

    Under the terms, Hamas intends to release all 20 living hostages in a matter of days, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss details of an agreement that has not fully been made public.

    In an interview on Fox News, Trump said Hamas will begin releasing hostages “probably” on Monday.

    The breakthrough came on the third day of indirect talks in Egypt.

    “With God’s help we will bring them all home,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed on social media shortly after Trump’s announcement. Netanyahu said he would convene the government Thursday to approve the deal.

    Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has opposed previous ceasefire deals, said he had “mixed emotions on a complex morning.”

    While he welcomed the return of the hostages, he said he had “immense fear about the consequences of emptying the jails and releasing the next generation of terrorist leaders” and said that as soon as the hostages are returned, Israel must continue trying to eradicate Hamas and ensure Gaza is demilitarized.

    Hamas, meanwhile, called on Trump and the mediators to ensure that Israel implements “without disavowal or delay” the troop withdrawal, the entry of aid into the territory and the exchange of prisoners.

    Ahmed al-Farra, the general director of pediatrics at Khan Yunis’ Nasser Hospital, which has seen many of the casualties of the war, said he was still skeptical of Israel following through on the deal but held out hope.

    “We need to go back to living,” he said.

    Trump’s peace plan

    The Trump plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that militants in Gaza still hold from their attack on Israel two years ago. Some 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led militants in that assault, and 251 were taken hostage. Israel believes around 20 of the hostages are still alive.

    Under the plan, Israel would 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 U.S. would lead a massive internationally funded reconstruction effort in Gaza.

    The plan also envisions an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority — something Netanyahu opposes. But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform program that could take years to implement.

    The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu firmly rejects.

    Even with many details yet to be agreed, some Palestinians and Israelis expressed relief at the progress.

    “It’s a huge day, huge joy,” Ahmed Sheheiber, a Palestinian displaced man from northern Gaza, said of the ceasefire deal.

    Crying over the phone from his shelter in Gaza City, he said he was waiting “impatiently” for the ceasefire to go into effect to return to his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

    Joyful relatives of hostages and their supporters spilled into the central Tel Aviv square that has become the main gathering point in the struggle to free the captives.

    Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker and a prominent advocate for the hostages’ release, told reporters that she wants to tell her son she loves him.

    “If I have one dream, it is seeing Matan sleep in his own bed,” she said.

    This would be the third ceasefire since the start of the war.

    The first, in November 2023, saw more than 100 hostages, mainly women and children, freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In the second, starting in January of this year, Palestinian militants released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel ended that ceasefire in March with a surprise bombardment.

    Praying for a deal

    In the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians have been desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands fleeing Israel’s latest ground offensive have set up makeshift tents along the beach in the central part of the territory, sometimes using blankets for shelter.

    More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

    The ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-run government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    Ayman Saber, a Palestinian from Khan Younis, reacted to the ceasefire announcement by saying he plans to return to his home city and try to rebuild his house, which was destroyed last year by an Israeli strike.

    “I will rebuild the house, we will rebuild Gaza,” he said.

    ___

    Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Madhani from Washington. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, David Rising in Bangkok and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

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  • Pivotal talks between Israel and Hamas begin in Egypt on eve of Gaza war anniversary

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    Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks Monday at an Egyptian resort on a U.S.-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary.Many uncertainties remain about the plan presented by 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 an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a Middle East peace process that could reshape the region.Despite Trump ordering Israel to stop the bombing, Israeli forces continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing at least 19 people in the last 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said.An Egyptian official said talks began Monday afternoon at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.The Israelis are led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, while Khalil al-Hayyah leads the Hamas delegation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk would be present for Israel, but it was not clear if Dermer had arrived yet.Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News television station reported that the talks began with a meeting between Arab mediators and the Hamas delegation. Mediators will then meet with the Israeli delegation, the station said.Egyptian and Qatari mediators will discuss the outcome of their meetings with both parties, before U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff joins the talks, it said.Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is also expected to join the talks, Egypt’s state-run al-Ahram reported.Hamas said negotiations will focus on the first stage of a ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as the release of hostages held by the militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention.This latest push for peace comes after Hamas accepted some elements of the U.S. plan that Israel also said it supported. Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — about 20 of whom are believed to be alive — within three days. It would give up power and disarm.The talks in Egypt are expected to move quickly. Netanyahu said they would be “confined to a few days maximum,” though some Hamas officials have warned that more time may be needed to locate bodies of hostages buried under rubble.Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi hailed Trump’s efforts, underscoring the importance of preserving the U.S.-crafted “peace system” in the Middle East since the 1970s, which he said “served as a strategic framework for regional stability.”El-Sisi spoke in a televised address commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1973 war with Israel that led to Egypt reclaiming the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located.US wants Israeli bombing to stopThe U.S. has said Israel’s heavy bombardment of Gaza would need to stop for the hostages to be released. Israel says it’s largely heeding Trump’s call. The Israeli military said it is mostly carrying out defensive strikes to protect troops, though dozens of Palestinians have been killed since the military’s statement Saturday night.Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 19 people, including two aid-seekers killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Another 96 were wounded. The deaths brought the Palestinian toll to 67,160 since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war, with nearly 170,000 wounded, the ministry said.The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says more than half of the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the largely Israeli hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages petitioned the Nobel Prize Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Trump for what they called his unprecedented contributions to global peace.“At this very moment, President Trump’s comprehensive plan to release all remaining hostages and finally end this terrible war is on the table,” the families wrote. “For the first time in months, we are hopeful that our nightmare will finally be over.”In a commemoration ceremony for Israelis killed at the Nir Oz Kibbutz on Oct. 7, Daniel Lifshitz said the primary focus of talks should be the swift release of all remaining hostages.“Israel will pay painful concessions by releasing mass murderers and terrorists that killed many among our friends and families here in Israel, but we cherish life and in Trump we trust to make it happen,” said Lifshitz, grandson of slain hostage Oded and released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz.’Living in fear, war and displacement’In Gaza, families of Palestinian babies born on the day the war began hoped to celebrate their second birthday with the sound of laughter and cheers instead of the cacophony of bombs and bullets.The babies’ mothers have been repeatedly displaced and live in constant fear for their safety. They also lack access to health care.Amal al-Taweel and her husband, Mostafa, had their son, Ali, after three years of trying for a child. They now live in a tent without proper sanitation, food, vaccinations or toys.“I was envisioning a different life for him … He couldn’t experience what a safe family life feels like,” al-Taweel said.The Vatican marked the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks by condemning the “inhuman massacre” of innocent people in Israel and calling for the return of hostages. But it also said Israel’s razing of Gaza is itself a disproportionate massacre, and called on countries to stop supplying Israel weapons to wage the war.“Those who are attacked have a right to defend themselves, but even legitimate defense must respect the principle of proportionality,” Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said on the eve of the anniversary. “The perverse chain of hatred can only generate a spiral that leads nowhere good.”___Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press Writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

    CAIRO —

    Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks Monday at an Egyptian resort on a U.S.-drafted peace plan to end the ruinous war in Gaza on the eve of its second anniversary.

    Many uncertainties remain about the plan presented by 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 an agreement on Gaza could pave the way for a Middle East peace process that could reshape the region.

    Despite Trump ordering Israel to stop the bombing, Israeli forces continued to pound Gaza with airstrikes, killing at least 19 people in the last 24 hours, the territory’s Health Ministry said.

    An Egyptian official said talks began Monday afternoon at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.

    The Israelis are led by top negotiator Ron Dermer, while Khalil al-Hayyah leads the Hamas delegation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said foreign policy adviser Ophir Falk would be present for Israel, but it was not clear if Dermer had arrived yet.

    Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News television station reported that the talks began with a meeting between Arab mediators and the Hamas delegation. Mediators will then meet with the Israeli delegation, the station said.

    Egyptian and Qatari mediators will discuss the outcome of their meetings with both parties, before U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff joins the talks, it said.

    Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is also expected to join the talks, Egypt’s state-run al-Ahram reported.

    Hamas said negotiations will focus on the first stage of a ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as the release of hostages held by the militants in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention.

    This latest push for peace comes after Hamas accepted some elements of the U.S. plan that Israel also said it supported. Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — about 20 of whom are believed to be alive — within three days. It would give up power and disarm.

    The talks in Egypt are expected to move quickly. Netanyahu said they would be “confined to a few days maximum,” though some Hamas officials have warned that more time may be needed to locate bodies of hostages buried under rubble.

    Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi hailed Trump’s efforts, underscoring the importance of preserving the U.S.-crafted “peace system” in the Middle East since the 1970s, which he said “served as a strategic framework for regional stability.”

    El-Sisi spoke in a televised address commemorating the anniversary of the start of the 1973 war with Israel that led to Egypt reclaiming the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located.

    US wants Israeli bombing to stop

    The U.S. has said Israel’s heavy bombardment of Gaza would need to stop for the hostages to be released. Israel says it’s largely heeding Trump’s call. The Israeli military said it is mostly carrying out defensive strikes to protect troops, though dozens of Palestinians have been killed since the military’s statement Saturday night.

    Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 19 people, including two aid-seekers killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Another 96 were wounded. The deaths brought the Palestinian toll to 67,160 since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war, with nearly 170,000 wounded, the ministry said.

    The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says more than half of the deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the largely Israeli hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

    Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages petitioned the Nobel Prize Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Trump for what they called his unprecedented contributions to global peace.

    “At this very moment, President Trump’s comprehensive plan to release all remaining hostages and finally end this terrible war is on the table,” the families wrote. “For the first time in months, we are hopeful that our nightmare will finally be over.”

    In a commemoration ceremony for Israelis killed at the Nir Oz Kibbutz on Oct. 7, Daniel Lifshitz said the primary focus of talks should be the swift release of all remaining hostages.

    “Israel will pay painful concessions by releasing mass murderers and terrorists that killed many among our friends and families here in Israel, but we cherish life and in Trump we trust to make it happen,” said Lifshitz, grandson of slain hostage Oded and released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz.

    ‘Living in fear, war and displacement’

    In Gaza, families of Palestinian babies born on the day the war began hoped to celebrate their second birthday with the sound of laughter and cheers instead of the cacophony of bombs and bullets.

    The babies’ mothers have been repeatedly displaced and live in constant fear for their safety. They also lack access to health care.

    Amal al-Taweel and her husband, Mostafa, had their son, Ali, after three years of trying for a child. They now live in a tent without proper sanitation, food, vaccinations or toys.

    “I was envisioning a different life for him … He couldn’t experience what a safe family life feels like,” al-Taweel said.

    The Vatican marked the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks by condemning the “inhuman massacre” of innocent people in Israel and calling for the return of hostages. But it also said Israel’s razing of Gaza is itself a disproportionate massacre, and called on countries to stop supplying Israel weapons to wage the war.

    “Those who are attacked have a right to defend themselves, but even legitimate defense must respect the principle of proportionality,” Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said on the eve of the anniversary. “The perverse chain of hatred can only generate a spiral that leads nowhere good.”

    ___

    Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press Writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

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  • At the Edge of Peace

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    As a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas takes shape, the long shadow of the war in Gaza gives way to a flicker of hope.

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    Ruth Margalit

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  • ‘We want our life back’: Tel Aviv protesters celebrate potential ceasefire with Hamas

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    TEL AVIV — With a heart-shaped balloon in her hand, Gili Coheb-Taguri, a 49-year-old material scientist wearing a Trump mask and a suit matching the president’s sartorial tastes, posed for the array of cameras and smartphones.

    “This? It’s an origami mask,” she said to an inquiring passerby. “And yes, I made it myself.”

    Coheb-Taguri was one of the thousands who came out on Saturday evening to Hostage Square, the courtyard in Tel Aviv that has become the site of weekly protests demanding the Israeli government secure the return of hostages kidnapped by Hamas after Oct. 7, 2023.

    The rally, the first to be held after Hamas accepted President Trump’s ceasefire proposal on Friday, was just one of similar events taking place across Israel. Though the mood was somber, it nevertheless felt more hopeful than most other protests Coheb-Taguri had attended in the last two years.

    “The reason I wore this costume is to thank Trump for what he did. People have been so depressed and when they see Trump here, they smile, ” she said through the mask before she took it off.

    “The key point for us is the hostages,” she said. “It’s been two years and we want them back. We want our life back.”

    The U.S. 20-point plan, which was drafted by the Trump administration with input from Israel and a number of Arab and Muslim nations, would see the Palestinian militant group release all 48 hostages it still has in its custody and hand over the reins of Gaza to a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee overseen by a “Board of Peace” led by Trump.

    Israel, in turn, will return 1,700 detainees from Gaza and 250 prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails. It will also enter into a phased withdrawal of the Gaza Strip and will not occupy or annex the enclave. No Gaza resident will be forced to leave, and those who want to return are encouraged to do so.

    Like many in the crowd here Saturday night, Coheb-Taguri and her husband, 52-year-old Yossi Taguri, credited Trump for doing what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to do: broker a deal that would bring back the hostages.

    “We are not our government. Bibi’s interest and our interests are not aligned,” Taguri said, employing Netanyahu’s nickname.

    Critics accuse Netanyahu of extending the war and succumbing to the demands of extremist ministers in his government’s coalition so as to remain in power.

    A woman reacts while listening to speeches by family members of hostages still held by Hamas during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel.

    (Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

    Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized

    — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

    Taguri expected Netanyahu would find some way to sabotage the deal once more.

    “How many times have we been in this situation, where everyone agrees and then something happens?” he said. “He will find a way to blow it up.”

    In a video statement released Saturday evening, Netanyahu said that he hoped to announce the return of all hostages “in the coming days” and that the Israeli military would maintain ‘“control of all of the dominant areas deep inside the strip” during the first phase of the agreement.

    He insisted his scorched-earth strategy in Gaza — which has killed more than 67,000 people, health authorities in the enclave say, and left Gaza a lunar-esque landscape of rubble — brought about the change in Hamas’ position.

    Hamas had agreed to a number of previous proposals to end the war, including a ceasefire that took hold in January, but which Israel unilaterally broke in March.

    Netanyahu said he hoped negotiations to finalize the deal would be completed soon. After the hostage handover, he said, “Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized.”

    “This will happen either through the diplomatic path by the Trump plan or through the military path — at our hands,” he added.

    People chant slogans and hold placards in support of hostages still held by Hamas during a solidarity protest

    People chant slogans and hold signs in support of hostages still held by Hamas.

    (Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

    Hamas has said it will only disarm in the context of handing over its weapons to a Palestinian state. It did not directly address the stipulation to disarm in Trump’s proposal.

    In a post to his social media site Saturday, Trump said, “Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off” and he would “not tolerate delay.”

    He also thanked Israel for what he said was a temporary stoppage of its bombing campaign to give the deal a chance. Israel did not stop bombing: Palestinian health authorities said at least 67 people were killed in Israeli attacks since dawn Saturday. Israeli media reported the military had been told to shift to defensive operations.

    At the rally, thousands took part in call-and-response chants they have memorized over the last two years of the war.

    “Bring them back!” shouted Omer Shem Tov, a hostage freed in a previous prisoner exchange with Hamas. The crowd responded with a loud “Now!”

    Another speaker, actor Lior Ashkenazi, began by thanking Trump.

    Standing among the crowd, Dor Jaliff, a 35-year-old social worker, nodded at the mention of Trump. Though he didn’t count himself a Trump supporter (“I’m not going to run around with a U.S. flag or stuff like that,” he said), he said he nevertheless appreciated the U.S. president’s impact.

    “I wish our government would consider the hostages as the top priority like Trump does. Look, I’m not happy Trump is getting involved in Israel’s affairs, but at least someone is doing the job,” he said.

    As to whether the deal would go through, he said he was trying to remain hopeful.

    “It’s a need to be optimistic. I want to feel optimistic,” he said.

    Also in the crowd, with his wife and son in tow, was 57-year-old Mindy Rabinowitz. On his chest, he wore a sticker with the number 729 — the number of days since the war began.

    A head of a college, Rabinowitz had made it a ritual to come to Hostage Square at least once a month, but often more than that. Yet before the ceasefire announcement on Friday, he wasn’t sure he would come this week. But when he heard that Hamas accepted the deal late Friday night, he thought differently.

    “I turned to my wife and said, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t stay home and watch this on TV. We should go,’” he said.

    “Maybe it’s the last time we’ll be in that square.”

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    Nabih Bulos

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  • Israel says it has deported 137 flotilla activists to Turkey amid large protests

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    More than 130 activists who were detained by Israel while taking part in an aid flotilla bound for Gaza have been deported to Turkey, the Israeli foreign ministry said Saturday. 

    The agency said online that the 137 activists were from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. Four Italian activists were deported on Friday. The foreign ministry said that Israel “seeks to expedite the deportation” of those detained from the flotilla. 

    The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Spain last month, with politicians and activists, including Greta Thunberg, aboard. Nearly 50 vessels and 500 activists took part, CBS News previously reported. It was the largest attempt yet to break Israel’s 18-year-long maritime blockade of Gaza, and aimed to bring food to Palestinians in the territory. Multiple drone attacks approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu targeted the flotilla as it sailed toward the territory, CBS News previously reported. 

    Most of the flotilla was intercepted by Israeli forces on Thursday. World leaders condemned the action, with Turkey’s foreign ministry calling it a breach of international law. The vessels were sailing in international waters when they were intercepted, CBS News previously reported. The final boat in the flotilla was intercepted on Friday, the Associated Press reported. 

    Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila sit in a vessel making its way to Israel, after Israeli forces intercepted some of the vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla that were aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel’s naval blockade, in a handout image provided by Israel’s government on Oct. 2, 2025.

    ISRAEL FOREIGN MINISTRY/Handout via Reuters


    Israel’s foreign ministry called the detained activists “provocateurs,” and said that some of them were “deliberately obstructing the legal deportation process, preferring instead to linger in Israel.” The ministry also said that some foreign governments “have shown reluctance to accept flights that would return these provocateurs.” Israel did not specify which activists were resisting deportation, or which countries were hesitating to accept flights.  

    Israel’s government has also accused some of the flotilla members of being linked to Hamas, while providing little evidence to support the claim. Members of the flotilla have strongly rejected the accusations and said Israel was trying to justify potential attacks on them.

    Supporters of the flotilla took to the streets in major demonstrations around the world starting Thursday, according to the Associated Press. More than 2 million people in Italy took part in a one-day general strike meant to support Gazans on Friday. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a protest in Rome on Saturday.

    In Spain, 70,000 people turned out for a demonstration in Barcelona. Events are also expected in Madrid and Lisbon, Portugal, the AP said. Officials in Greece are expecting protests in Athens on Saturday and Sunday. 

    APTOPIX Spain Gaza Flotilla Protest

    Demonstrators hold a banner with writing reading in Catalan “Let’s stop the genocide in Palestine, no more arms trade with Israel” during a pro-Palestinian rally in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla after ships were intercepted by the Israeli navy, in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

    Emilio Morenatti / AP


    Meanwhile, Hamas said in a statement Friday that it agreed to parts of a ceasefire deal President Trump outlined earlier this week. A U.S. official told CBS News that the United States views Hamas’ response as positive, though there are still details that need to be hammered out. Netanyahu agreed to the deal on Monday. After Hamas released its statement, Mr. Trump said on Truth Social that he believes the group is “ready for a lasting PEACE” and pushed Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza.” 

    An official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record told the Associated Press that Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike. The official said no forces have been removed from the strip.  

    Israel and Hamas have been at war since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Since then, Israel has waged an intense aerial bombardment and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not specify how many of the dead were civilians or militants.

    Some 50 hostages are still in Gaza, fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive, according to Israeli authorities.

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  • Israel’s army says it will advance preparations for the first phase of Trump’s ceasefire plan

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    Israel’s army said Saturday that it would advance preparations for the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and return all the remaining hostages, after Hamas said it accepted parts of the deal while others still needed to be negotiated.Related video above: President Trump announces ceasefire proposal to end Gaza conflictThe army said it was instructed by Israel’s leaders to “advance readiness” for the implementation of the plan. An official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record said that Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike. The official said no forces have been removed from the strip.This announcement came hours after Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza once Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan. Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE.”Trump appears keen to deliver on pledges to end the war and return dozens of hostages ahead of the second anniversary of the attack on Tuesday. His proposal unveiled earlier this week has widespread international support and was also endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said Israel was committed to ending the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, without addressing potential gaps with the militant group. Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from the international community and Trump to end the conflict. The official told the AP that Netanyahu put out the rare late-night statement on the sabbath, saying that Israel has started to prepare for Trump’s plan due to pressure from the U.S. administration.The official also said that a negotiating team was getting ready to travel, but there was no date specified.A senior Egyptian official says talks are underway for the release of hostages, as well as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention. The official, who is involved in the ceasefire negotiations, also said Arab mediators are preparing for a comprehensive dialogue among Palestinians. The talks are aimed at unifying the Palestinian position towards Gaza’s future.On Saturday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful militant group in Gaza, said it accepted Hamas’ response to the Trump plan. The group had previously rejected the proposal days earlier.Also on Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that the death toll in the nearly two-year Israel-Hamas war has topped 67,000 Palestinians. The death toll jumped after the ministry said it added more than 700 names to the list whose data had been verified.Gaza’s Health Ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.Progress, but uncertainty aheadYet, despite the momentum, a lot of questions remain.Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive — within three days. It would also give up power and disarm.In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw from much of the territory, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction.Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Its official statement also didn’t address the issue of Hamas demilitarizing, a key part of the deal.Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general and chairman of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum, said while Israel can afford to stop firing for a few days in Gaza so the hostages can be released, it will resume its offensive if Hamas doesn’t lay down its arms.Others say that while Hamas suggests a willingness to negotiate, its position fundamentally remains unchanged.This “yes, but” rhetoric “simply repackages old demands in softer language,” said Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. The gap between appearance and action is as wide as ever and the rhetorical shift serves more as a smokescreen than a signal of true movement toward resolution, he said.Unclear what it means for Palestinians suffering in GazaThe next steps are also unclear for Palestinians in Gaza who are trying to piece together what it means in practical terms.Israeli troops are still laying siege to Gaza City, which is the focus of its latest offensive. On Saturday, Israel’s army warned Palestinians against trying to return to the city, calling it a “dangerous combat zone.”Experts determined that Gaza City had slid into famine shortly before Israel launched its major offensive there aimed at occupying it. An estimated 400,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks, but hundreds of thousands more have stayed behind.Families of the hostages are also cautious about being hopeful.There are concerns from all sides, said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held in Gaza. Hamas and Netanyahu could sabotage the deal or Trump could lose interest, he said. Still, he says, if it’s going to happen, it will be because of Trump.”We’re putting our trust in Trump, because he’s the only one who’s doing it. … And we want to see him with us until the last step,” he said.Magdy reported from Cairo.

    TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) —

    Israel’s army said Saturday that it would advance preparations for the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza and return all the remaining hostages, after Hamas said it accepted parts of the deal while others still needed to be negotiated.

    Related video above: President Trump announces ceasefire proposal to end Gaza conflict

    The army said it was instructed by Israel’s leaders to “advance readiness” for the implementation of the plan. An official who was not authorized to speak to the media on the record said that Israel has moved to a defensive-only position in Gaza and will not actively strike. The official said no forces have been removed from the strip.

    This announcement came hours after Trump ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza once Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan. Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE.”

    Trump appears keen to deliver on pledges to end the war and return dozens of hostages ahead of the second anniversary of the attack on Tuesday. His proposal unveiled earlier this week has widespread international support and was also endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

    On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said Israel was committed to ending the war that began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, without addressing potential gaps with the militant group. Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from the international community and Trump to end the conflict. The official told the AP that Netanyahu put out the rare late-night statement on the sabbath, saying that Israel has started to prepare for Trump’s plan due to pressure from the U.S. administration.

    The official also said that a negotiating team was getting ready to travel, but there was no date specified.

    A senior Egyptian official says talks are underway for the release of hostages, as well as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention. The official, who is involved in the ceasefire negotiations, also said Arab mediators are preparing for a comprehensive dialogue among Palestinians. The talks are aimed at unifying the Palestinian position towards Gaza’s future.

    Abdel Kareem Hana

    Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli army strike, outside Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.

    On Saturday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful militant group in Gaza, said it accepted Hamas’ response to the Trump plan. The group had previously rejected the proposal days earlier.

    Also on Saturday, Gaza’s Health Ministry said that the death toll in the nearly two-year Israel-Hamas war has topped 67,000 Palestinians. The death toll jumped after the ministry said it added more than 700 names to the list whose data had been verified.

    Gaza’s Health Ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

    Progress, but uncertainty ahead

    Yet, despite the momentum, a lot of questions remain.

    Under the plan, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive — within three days. It would also give up power and disarm.

    In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw from much of the territory, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction.

    Hamas said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians. Its official statement also didn’t address the issue of Hamas demilitarizing, a key part of the deal.

    People look at photos of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in Jerusalem, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. Hebrew sign reads, "don't forget us". (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

    Ohad Zwigenberg

    People look at photos of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in Jerusalem, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. A Hebrew sign reads, “don’t forget us.”

    Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general and chairman of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum, said while Israel can afford to stop firing for a few days in Gaza so the hostages can be released, it will resume its offensive if Hamas doesn’t lay down its arms.

    Others say that while Hamas suggests a willingness to negotiate, its position fundamentally remains unchanged.

    This “yes, but” rhetoric “simply repackages old demands in softer language,” said Oded Ailam, a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs. The gap between appearance and action is as wide as ever and the rhetorical shift serves more as a smokescreen than a signal of true movement toward resolution, he said.

    Unclear what it means for Palestinians suffering in Gaza

    The next steps are also unclear for Palestinians in Gaza who are trying to piece together what it means in practical terms.

    Israeli troops are still laying siege to Gaza City, which is the focus of its latest offensive. On Saturday, Israel’s army warned Palestinians against trying to return to the city, calling it a “dangerous combat zone.”

    Experts determined that Gaza City had slid into famine shortly before Israel launched its major offensive there aimed at occupying it. An estimated 400,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks, but hundreds of thousands more have stayed behind.

    Families of the hostages are also cautious about being hopeful.

    There are concerns from all sides, said Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is held in Gaza. Hamas and Netanyahu could sabotage the deal or Trump could lose interest, he said. Still, he says, if it’s going to happen, it will be because of Trump.

    “We’re putting our trust in Trump, because he’s the only one who’s doing it. … And we want to see him with us until the last step,” he said.

    Magdy reported from Cairo.

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  • Netanyahu ordered drone attacks on Gaza-bound humanitarian aid boats off Tunisia, sources say

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    Washington — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly approved military operations on two vessels early last month that were part of a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and pro-Palestinian supporters, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, CBS News has learned.  

    Two American intelligence officials briefed on the matter told CBS News that Israeli forces on Sept. 8 and 9 launched drones from a submarine and dropped incendiary devices onto the boats that were moored outside the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said, causing a fire. The officials spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on national security matters. 

    Under international humanitarian law and the law of armed conflict, the use of incendiary weapons against a civilian population or civilian objects is prohibited in all circumstances. 

    Israel has enforced a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, first declaring the restriction in January 2009, when its navy announced the closure of the coastal waters to all maritime traffic. The move came some two years after Hamas took control of the region following a brief but violent civil war with the rival Fatah party, the political and military organization of Arab Palestinians, officially known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. 

    The Israel Defense Forces didn’t respond to CBS News’ request for comment.

    The Global Sumud Flotilla organized the international maritime initiative that aims to break through Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and provide aid to the war-torn territory. 

    On Sept. 8, an incendiary device was dropped onto the Family, a Portuguese-flagged vessel. The Global Sumud Flotilla told CBS News that on the night prior to the attack, Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua was on board. The activists believe the perpetrators deliberately waited until “elected officials or high-profile figures were absent,” the group said in a statement to CBS News on Friday.

    On Sept. 9, the Alma, a British-flagged vessel, was attacked in a similar manner as the Family. In both cases, the group said last month that the boats were damaged by the fire but the crew was able to extinguish the flames quickly. No one was killed or injured. 

    A screengrab from handout CCTV footage shows a fire that struck the Alma, a vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in the waters off the coast of Tunisia, Sept. 9, 2025.

    Global Sumud Flotilla/Handout via Reuters


    “Confirmation of Israeli involvement would not surprise us; it would simply lay bare a pattern of arrogance and impunity so grotesque that it cannot escape eventual reckoning,” the Global Sumud Flotilla said in its statement Friday. 

    The statement added: “Whether the purpose of these attacks was to kill us, scare us away, or disable our boats, they recklessly endangered civilians and humanitarian volunteers. The world must take note: attempts to silence, intimidate, or obstruct our commitment to the Palestinian cause and people will not succeed. We call for urgent, independent investigations into these attacks and full accountability for those responsible.”

    In September, Tunisian authorities disputed that drones dropping incendiary devices caused the fire, instead claiming that an initial inspection indicated the explosion originated inside the boat, according to BBC News. Pro-Israeli accounts on social media claimed the fires were started after the activists did not use a flare gun properly. 

    Footage released by the Global Sumud Flotilla and obtained by CBS News appears to show a ball of flames falling onto the boat, sparking the fire on board, instead of the fire originating from inside the vessel. The stationary cameras affixed to the vessels do not capture where the flames originated from prior to landing on the boat nor do they depict a flare gun being fired. 

    In separate incidents in late September, the activist group said they were attacked by 15 low-altitude drones while sailing south of Greece. The Global Sumud Flotilla said at least 13 explosions were heard on and around several flotilla boats and objects were dropped on at least 10 boats, causing damage. While no casualties were reported, the activist group said that their communications systems were also disrupted. 

    This week, Israeli naval forces intercepted most of the vessels bound for Gaza, detaining dozens of activists along with Thunberg and several European lawmakers, a move that drew swift international criticism. 

    American citizens travelling on the flotilla have also been detained by Israel. A State Department official told CBS News that the department was monitoring the situation and is committed to providing assistance to U.S. citizens. The official also called the flotilla a “deliberate and unnecessary provocation,” particularly as the Trump administration continues to seek a negotiated solution to end the war in Gaza. 

    Two Americans sailing with the Global Sumud Flotilla include Marine Corps veteran Jessica Clotfelter and Greg Stoker, organizer of the veterans’ delegation to the group. On Wednesday, they spoke via Zoom to CBS News Chicago roughly an hour before the Israeli navy intercepted the flotilla. 

    “We are a civilian aid mission, trying to break the siege into Gaza, and we are carrying humanitarian aid in accordance with international humanitarian and maritime law,” said Stoker. 

    Clotfelter told CBS News Chicago that the images that have been coming out of Gaza for the last two years have been “heartbreaking” and “gut-wreching.” 

    She added: “I mean, I’ve cried probably every single day on this boat as the violence since we’ve taken off on 31 August has escalated.”

    Olivia Gazis

    contributed to this report.

    James LaPorta

    James LaPorta is a national security coordinating producer in CBS News’ Washington bureau. He is a former U.S. Marine infantryman and veteran of the Afghanistan war.

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