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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join his new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. Trump confirmed Putin's invitation while speaking to reporters at the College Football National Championship Game in Florida, where Indiana defeated Miami. The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that Putin had received the invitation, adding that it is now "studying the details" and will seek clarity of "all the nuances" in communications with the U.S. government. France has also received an invitation but does not plan to join...

Netanyahu said he opposes the deployment of Turkish and Qatari troops in Gaza, though a source told Haaretz on Saturday that his public criticism was largely for show. Two additional sources told Haaretz that Netanyahu has been invited by Trump to take part in the Board of Peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Knesset speech on Monday that Israel is at odds with the United States and will not accept the presence of Turkish or Qatari soldiers in the Gaza Strip, despite a source familiar with the matter telling Haaretz on Saturday that the composition of the Gaza...

A permanent seat on US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" aimed at resolving conflicts will cost countries $1 billion each, according to its charter. Invited world leaders include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. US President Donald Trump's government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his "Board of Peace" aimed at resolving conflicts, according to its charter, seen Monday by AFP. The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier...

The Kremlin has announced that Vladimir Putin has been invited to join Donald Trump’s “board of peace”, set up last week with the intention that it would oversee a ceasefire in Gaza. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Monday that Russia was seeking to “clarify all the nuances” of the offer with Washington, before giving its response. The claim of an invitation comes with Putin showing no signs of ending his invasion of Ukraine, in which hundreds of thousands have been killed and Russian troops have carried out atrocities against civilians. The Russian president has repeatedly rejected proposals...

The White House announced on Jan. 16 the names of members appointed to the Gaza Board of Peace, which President Donald Trump created as part of phase two of a U.S.-backed plan to end the war in Gaza. Among the “founding executive board” members are U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The board also includes private equity executive Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and U.S. national security adviser Robert Gabriel, according to a White House statement. The board, to be chaired by...

The US president is expected to chair the board, which is to oversee a Palestinian committee charged with managing war-ravaged Gaza as the peace plan enters its second stage. Since the plan came into effect in October, Israeli attacks have continued in the enclave, where key questions remain over withdrawal and disarmament. US President Donald Trump on Thursday, January 16, announced the formation of a Gaza "board of peace," a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory. "It is my great honor to announce that the board of peace has been...

The failed ‘ceasefire’ (in which the fire never actually ceased) was premised on Hamas disarming. As anyone with any common sense warned, Hamas would not disarm. And no one would force it to disarm. That hasn’t stopped Steven Witkoff from pushing on with imaginary plans based on fantasies about how Hamas really wants peace despite decades of evidence otherwise.Unmoved by those concerns, US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Wednesday the “launch of phase two,” where the goal will be “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction.“We’ve talked to a number of Hamas people, and we’re hearing throughout...

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to accept an offer to sit on Donald Trump's new 'Board of Peace' to run Gaza following October's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. As part of his 20-point peace plan for the Middle East, Mr Trump has proposed a new international transitional body to oversee the redevelopment of Gaza. The US President will head and chair the Board of Peace alongside other world leaders, with Sir Keir reportedly poised to take up an offer to A senior British official told The Times the group's first meeting is expected to happen next week during the...

Hussam al-Astal, the commander of an anti-Hamas armed militia that operates in the eastern Khan Yunis area, published a video in which he claims that his men eliminated the head of the investigations department in Hamas's Khan Yunis police. The assassination occurred when the department head was shot at close range, close to his home in the Hamas-controlled al-Mawasi area. Hamas initially blamed the Shin Bet for the elimination. In the recorded video, Hussam al-Astal shows off a gun that he claims was taken from the target. He harshly calls out Hamas and claims, "This is a man who harmed...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday said support for terror groups has “no place in our city,” after a pro-Hamas protest in a Jewish neighborhood sparked outrage from other elected leaders. Anti-Zionist activists chanted “We support Hamas,” “Death to the IDF,” “Intifada people’s war,” and other violent and discriminatory slogans during a Thursday night protest against an Israeli real estate event held at a synagogue in the Kew Gardens Hill neighborhood in Queens.

Spain is ready to send troops to Palestine for peacekeeping “when the opportunity presents itself,” just as it is willing to deploy forces to Ukraine, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Thursday. “I will propose to parliament, when the opportunity presents itself, that we send peacekeeping troops to Palestine, once we can see how to advance this task of pacification,” he told a gathering of Spanish ambassadors in Madrid. “Of course, we have not forgotten Palestine and the Gaza Strip… Spain must actively participate in rebuilding hope in Palestine. The situation there remains intolerable.” …

Tensions between Israel and Turkey are rising amid competing visions for Gaza’s reconstruction and widening strategic friction in Syria, even as both countries remain embedded in a U.S.-led diplomatic framework following the ceasefire with Hamas. Israel has made clear it will not allow Turkish armed forces to operate inside Gaza, viewing Ankara as a destabilizing actor despite its public efforts to present itself as a reconstruction partner. Turkish sources told Fox News Digital that Ankara does not seek to deploy troops in Gaza, instead focusing on humanitarian aid, infrastructure projects and political influence. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center...

Security officials assess that alongside strengthening its military capabilities, Hamas is also tightening its control over the Gazan population.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday that he has intelligence indicating Somaliland agreed to accept displaced Gazans in exchange for Israeli recognition. According to the president, intelligence sources also suggest that Somaliland has agreed to allow the establishment of an Israeli military base on its territory and to join the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states. He added that there had already been “some Israeli presence” in Somaliland in the past. Mohamud argued that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was intended to destabilize Somalia and the region. He noted...

It’s hard to be optimistic about the future of Gaza. The cease-fire agreement brokered by the Trump administration is holding, but Israel continues to occupy more than half of the territory, and its forces have killed more than 350 Palestinians since the truce was reached on Oct. 10. Hamas, meanwhile, is resurging in Gaza—replacing key commanders killed in the two-year war with Israel; executing its Palestinian opponents; and hiding weapons and fighters in its tunnel system, more than half of which remains intact. So, where does that leave Palestinians and Israelis? And what does it mean for the rest of...

...Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Sunday that Israel "kidnapped" a terrorist from the Islamic Jihad organization from within Gaza City several days ago. According to the report, the terrorist was kidnapped in the area near Palestine Square, in the heart of Gaza City, and only about a kilometer from the Yellow Line. It was also reported that the terrorist is connected to the possession of the body of hostage Ran Gvili.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have presented a $112 billion reconstruction plan to Gulf officials to build a “high-tech metropolis” atop the remains of Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The 32-page PowerPoint presentation labeled "sensitive" and titled "Project Sunrise" was developed over 45 days and reportedly presented to officials from Qatar, UAE, Egypt, and Turkiye. The plan envisions turning the Gaza Strip into a "high-tech metropolis" over the next two decades with four phases of reconstruction beginning in southern Gaza. It also calls for turning Rafah into Gaza's new "administrative center," housing over 500,000...

Nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria also banned, plus 12 countries already on list; US was already reportedly rejecting Palestinians’ visa requests US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded a travel ban by barring Palestinian Authority passport holders from entering the United States, along with banning five other nationalities. In a social media post, a White House account said that Trump, who has long campaigned to restrict immigration, was acting “to protect the security of the United States.” The policy announced Tuesday will go into effect on January 1, 2026. In June, Trump had announced that...

Context: Omer Shem Tov, an Israeli who spent 505 days as a hostage of Hamas, described the fear and anxiety he observed among his captors following Donald Trump's election victory in November 2024. During his captivity, Shem Tov was forced to work in Hamas's tunnel system, but noted a shift in his treatment after the election, including improved rations, as the group appeared to anticipate significant changes. Released in February 2025, he expressed gratitude toward Trump for his efforts in securing hostages' freedom and fostering peace in the region, as a cease-fire was established following Trump's 20-point peace plan. Shem...

A joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz read: "In response to the detonation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the yellow zone of the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the elimination of the terrorist Ra’ad Sa'ad, head of Hamas’ force-build-up directorate." "Sa'ad was one of the architects of the October 7th massacre and had recently been involved in rebuilding the terror organization, planning and carrying out attacks against Israel, and reestablishing an offensive capability, in blatant violation of the ceasefire terms and...