Free Republic

Hamas has apparently accepted the terms of a ceasefire deal similar to one that was proposed last month but never put in place. The deal would free some remaining hostages in exchange for more than 200 Palestinian prisoners.In a statement, Hamas said it had accepted the new proposal presented on Sunday by Qatar and Egypt.Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said on social media, “The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.”Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received the Hamas...

Special envoy Steve Witkoff says the White House extracted critical wins from its Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump failed to walk away with the ceasefire he was loudly advocated for. Security guarantees offering Ukraine “Article 5-like protections” are the real prize, Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. They’re “game-changing,” he said. “We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified,” Witkoff said on...

Donald Trump's special envoy said Russia had agreed to allow the US and Europe to give Ukraine "robust" security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal. Steve Witkoff told CNN it was agreed at the Alaska summit that the US and Europe could "effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee", referring to Nato's principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Putin has long opposed Ukraine joining Nato, and Witkoff said the arrangement could be an alternative if the Ukrainians "can live with it". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky described the US's security...