Hamas seeks war-end promise as US-led Gaza ceasefire talks advance
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel had accepted the terms of a 60-day ceasefire, designed to allow space for negotiations toward a final resolution of the conflict.While Hamas has not yet officially accepted the plan, the group said it was in consultation with other Palestinian factions and would issue a formal response to mediators shortly.ISRAELI OFFICIALS ARE CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC'If the Hamas response is positive, an Israeli delegation is ready to participate in indirect talks to finalise the deal,' said a senior official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A second source familiar with the talks said Israel expected a reply from Hamas by Friday.The proposal includes the staggered release of 10 living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of 18 more in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, an official familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday. Of the 50 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.Egyptian and Qatari negotiators have reportedly sought international assurances that the two-month ceasefire would serve as a stepping stone toward a broader end to hostilities — an element that Hamas views as non-negotiable.'Efforts for a Gaza truce gathered steam after the US secured a ceasefire to end the 12-day aerial conflict between Israel and Iran,' noted one Egyptian security source. 'Now the priority is getting both sides to commit to deeper talks.'But on the ground, Gaza continues to endure heavy bombardment. Medical officials reported dozens of civilian casualties from Israeli strikes on Thursday alone, as expectations mount for a breakthrough, but without guarantees, Hamas remains hesitant.- Ends(With inputs from Reuters)Tune InMust Watch
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Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump, disappointed by call with Putin, to speak with Zelenskyy on Friday
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Business Standard
43 minutes ago
- Business Standard
US expands militarised zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirs controversy
The Army has posted thousands of the warnings in New Mexico and western Texas, declaring a restricted area by authority of the commander AP Columbus Orange no-entry signs posted by the US military in English and Spanish dot the New Mexico desert, where a border wall cuts past onion fields and parched ranches with tufts of tall grass growing amidst wiry brush and yucca trees. The Army has posted thousands of the warnings in New Mexico and western Texas, declaring a restricted area by authority of the commander. It's part of a major shift that has thrust the military into border enforcement with Mexico like never before. The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering US troops to detain people who enter the country illegally and sidestep a law prohibiting military involvement in civilian law enforcement. It is done under the authority of the national emergency on the border declared by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. US authorities say the zones are needed to close gaps in border enforcement and help in the wider fight against human smuggling networks and brutal drug cartels. The militarisation is being challenged in court, and has been criticised by civil rights advocates, humanitarian aid groups and outdoor enthusiasts who object to being blocked from public lands while troops have free rein. Abbey Carpenter, a leader of a search-and-rescue group for missing migrants, said public access is being denied across sweltering stretches of desert where migrant deaths have surged. Maybe there are more deaths, but we don't know," she said. Military expansion Two militarised zones form a buffer along 230 miles of border, from Fort Hancock, Texas, through El Paso and westward across vast New Mexico ranchlands. 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A judge set aside military trespassing charges for lack of evidence, but sentenced her to two weeks in jail before being transferred for likely deportation. She sells pottery, she's a very simple woman with a sixth-grade education, a public defence attorney told the judge. She told me she's going back and she's going to stay there. Border crossings Border Patrol arrests along the southern border this year have dropped to the lowest level in six decades, including a 30 per cent decrease in June from the prior month as attempted crossings dwindle. On June 28, the Border Patrol made only 137 arrests, a stark contrast with late 2023, when arrests topped 10,000 on the busiest days. The first militarised zones, introduced in April and May, extend west of El Paso past factories and cattle yards to partially encircle the New Mexico border village of Columbus, and its 1,450 residents. It was here that Mexican revolutionary forces led by Pancho Villa crossed into the US in a deadly 1916 raid. 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They decried the designation of a new military zone without congressional authorization for the sole purpose of enabling military action on American soil as "a matter of staggering and unpreceded political significance. A judge has not ruled on the issue. In the meantime, court challenges to trespassing charges in the militarised zone have met with a mixture of convictions and acquittals at trial. Ryan Ellison, the top federal prosecutor in New Mexico, won trespassing convictions in June against two immigrants who entered a militarised zone again after an initial warning. There's not going to be an issue as to whether or not they were on notice, he told a recent news conference. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Rebecca Sheff says the federal government is testing a more punitive approach to border enforcement with the new military zones and worries it will be expanded border-wide. To the extent the federal government has aspirations to establish a much more hostile military presence along the border, this is a vehicle that they're pushing on to potentially do so. And that's very concerning, she said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Trump signs executive order to raise entry fees for foreigners visiting national parks
In a statement, the White House said that the revenue generated from the increased entry fees will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for conservation and deferred maintenance projects to improve national parks read more President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable at "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, on Tuesday, in Ochopee, Fla. AP file US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to raise the entry fees for foreigners visiting US national parks, even as his administration seeks to cut national park spending by more than a third. In a statement, the White House said that the revenue generated from the increased entry fees will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for conservation and deferred maintenance projects to improve national parks. 'Charging higher entrance fees to foreign tourists is a common policy at national parks throughout the world that supports both conservation and affordable access for residents,' the White House statement titled 'President Trump Makes Our National Parks Great Again' said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Trump administration has defended the order, saying that it promotes fairness as American taxpayers help fund national parks and public lands through their taxes, but foreigners pay the same amount as they do to enter. The executive order comes as the Trump administration has proposed cutting more than $1 billion from the Park Service budget in fiscal 2026, which would represent a reduction of more than a third of the agency's budget from the prior year. Permanent staffing at the Park Service since Trump took office in January has dropped 24 per cent, while just 4,500 of the 8,000 seasonal workers his administration pledged for this summer have been hired, according to an analysis on Wednesday from the National Parks Conservation Association, a watchdog-advocacy group. 'During President Trump's first term, he signed the Great American Outdoors Act—the single largest investment in America's national parks and public lands in history and the most significant conservation achievement since Teddy Roosevelt's presidency,' the statement said. With inputs from agencies
