Arab leaders unanimously agreed on a five-year $53 billion plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians to counter U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s proposal to “take over” the coastal enclave and turn it into “The Riviera of the Middle East.”
With the ceasefire on the brink of collapse, signs are emerging that the war in Gaza will intensify in an unprecedented manner. Israeli Defense Minister warned that the “gates of hell will open” against Hamas if the remaining hostages are not released. Officials have estimated that, without an agreement between Israel and Hamas, fighting in Gaza could resume within about a week and a half.
At least one person has been killed in a stabbing attack at a bus station in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa before the suspected attacker was shot dead, authorities said Monday.
As the ceasefire teeters on the verge of collapse, the Israeli government is poised to approve the extension of legislation allowing the mobilization of 400,000 reservists. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister has ordered the halt of all aid and supplies to the Gaza Strip, signaling the region’s impending descent into war.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he remains committed to payments to families of prisoners convicted of terror against Israel or to loved ones of those who died while carrying out acts of terrorism.
Israel is urging the U.S. to keep Syria fragmented, including allowing Russia to maintain military bases to counter Turkey’s growing influence, Reuters reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that he has signed a declaration to expedite the delivery of roughly $4 billion in military aid to Israel, as concerns rise that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas may soon collapse and intense conflict could resume.
The Israeli government has agreed to a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover. However, Hamas rejected Israel’s terms for extending the first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal, which would involve maintaining the ceasefire and releasing more hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees and terrorists.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Middle East leaders have a “strong desire” to see expansion of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that led to the normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Israel and Bahrain.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire began in Cairo Thursday amid mounting concerns the truce will collapse.
Israeli Military Intelligence and the Southern Command ignored more than five warnings, such as new SIM activations in Gaza and unusual Hamas activities. Dismissing these as routine, they overlooked signs of the impending October 7 attack. On this day in 2023, Hamas and other terrorists groups launched an unprecedented invasion from Gaza into southern Israel, coinciding with Simchat Torah and marking the start of the ongoing Gaza war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed a negotiation team to “travel to Cairo for talks Thursday evening.” Israeli officials are hopeful to secure the release of additional hostages by as early as Saturday, although “discussions have not yet commenced” and the timeline is still uncertain.
Israel received the bodies of four hostages, held by Hamas in Gaza for over 16 months, in a low-key, nighttime transfer on Wednesday, avoiding the dramatic displays seen in previous handovers.
Mossad Director David Barnea described the September 17, 2024 operation that targeted Hezbollah with explosives embedded in their beepers as the “turning point” in the war against the terrorist organization.
Israel has confirmed that its warplanes hit targets in southern Syria, including around the capital, Damascus, and there were reports of causalities.
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday that Brigade 474 of Division 210 executed multiple brief incursions beyond Israel’s buffer zone into southern Syria, capturing weapons and military gear left by the old Syrian army. The army also released footage from a recent operation showcasing the seized armaments.
Hezbollah, the Iranian backed terrorist group is struggling to fulfill its financial commitments to its followers. The U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Hezbollah acts as a quasi-government in Lebanon, providing jobs and services and compensating families of fighters and others affected by conflict, however the recent war’s financial burden has put these payments at risk, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.
Israel deployed tanks in Jenin for the first time in over 20 years on Sunday, signaling an extended military presence in northern Samaria as it intensifies counterterrorism operations in the region.
Thousands dressed in black converged at Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium to mourn Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli airstrike five months ago. As Israeli jets flew low overhead just as the funeral began, the crowd chanted “Death to Israel, death to America, we respond to your call, Nasrallah.”
Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, just hours after it handed over the body of hostage Shiri Bibas, a mother whose two children were killed.