logo
US reveals plan for release of 10 hostages amid Gaza ceasefire talks

US reveals plan for release of 10 hostages amid Gaza ceasefire talks

Malay Mail19-07-2025
WASHINGTON, July 19 — Another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, US President Donald Trump said on Friday, without providing additional details.
rump made the comment during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House, lauding the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.
'We got most of the hostages back. We're going to have another 10 coming very shortly, and we hope to have that finished quickly,' Trump said.
Trump has been predicting for weeks that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal was imminent, but agreement has proven elusive.
A spokesperson for the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, on Friday said the group favours reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, but could revert to insisting on a full package deal if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations.
The truce proposal calls for 10 hostages held in Gaza to be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. — Reuters
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Israel seeks to deport activists from Gaza-bound flotilla, says legal group
Israel seeks to deport activists from Gaza-bound flotilla, says legal group

Malay Mail

time5 minutes ago

  • Malay Mail

Israel seeks to deport activists from Gaza-bound flotilla, says legal group

GAZA, July 28 — Israel is seeking to deport pro-Palestinian activists who were detained and brought to shore when their Gaza-bound boat was intercepted by the navy, a legal aid centre advising them said on Sunday. The 21 activists from 10 countries were taken into custody late Saturday when the Handala was boarded in international waters as it attempted to breach an Israeli maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory. The Handala and its crew from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) were brought to the port of Ashdod in Israel, where, according to the legal rights centre Adalah, all but two — a pair of dual US-Israeli nationals — were being held under Israeli immigration law. 'Israel is handling the custody of the volunteers as though they had entered the country illegally — even though they were forcibly taken from international waters and brought into Israel against their will,' Adalah said in a statement after its lawyers were allowed to meet the detainees. 'The authorities presented them with two options: either agree to so-called 'voluntary deportation', or remain in detention and appear before a tribunal, to have their continued detention pending deportation reviewed,' the statement continued. According to Adalah, three detainees — an Italian, an American and a French member of parliament, Gabrielle Cathala — agreed to be deported and are expected to leave Israel in the coming hours. The US-Israeli nationals were interrogated by Israeli police and released, while 12 international activists — including another left-wing French MP, Emma Fourreau — refused to sign voluntary deportation orders and are still in Israeli custody pending legal hearings. The remaining four detainees, including a pair of Al Jazeera journalists, have retained private counsel. 'Peaceful' mission Adalah reiterated that the activists were engaged in a 'peaceful civilian mission', and maintained that both their detention and the Israeli blockade of Gaza were illegal. The Israeli foreign ministry has said the navy stopped the Handala to prevent it from entering coastal waters off Gaza, noting after its intecerption that all the vessel's 'passengers are safe'. Just before midnight local time on Saturday, video streamed live from the Handala showed Israeli troops boarding the vessel. An online tracker showed the ship in international waters west of Gaza. The ship had been on course to try to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza and bring a small quantity of humanitarian aid to the territory's Palestinian residents. The Handala's crew had said before their capture in a post on X that they would go on hunger strike if the Israeli military intercepted the boat and detained its passengers. A previous boat sent by Freedom Flotilla, the Madleen, was also intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters on June 9 and towed to Ashdod. It carried 12 campaigners, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The activists were eventually expelled by Israel. — AFP

Trump pauses export controls to bolster China trade deal, FT says
Trump pauses export controls to bolster China trade deal, FT says

The Star

time35 minutes ago

  • The Star

Trump pauses export controls to bolster China trade deal, FT says

Container vessels in Suzhou, China. — AFP The U.S. has paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping this year, the Financial Times said on Monday. The industry and security bureau of the Commerce Department, which oversees export controls, has been told in recent months to avoid tough moves on China, the newspaper said, citing current and former officials. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and the department did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment outside business hours. Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to resume talks in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies. Tech giant Nvidia said this month it would resume sales of its H20 graphics processing units (GPU) to China, reversing an export curb the Trump administration imposed in April to keep advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns. The planned resumption was part of U.S. negotiations on rare earths and magnets, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said. The paper said 20 security experts and former officials, including former deputy US national security adviser Matt Pottinger, will write on Monday to Lutnick to voice concern, however. "This move represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States' economic and military edge in artificial intelligence," they write in the letter, it added. - Reuters

Iran's foreign minister says he survived assassination attempt during 12-day war with Israel
Iran's foreign minister says he survived assassination attempt during 12-day war with Israel

New Straits Times

time35 minutes ago

  • New Straits Times

Iran's foreign minister says he survived assassination attempt during 12-day war with Israel

ISTANBUL: The Iranian foreign minister said on Sunday that he had survived an assassination attempt during the recent 12-day war with Israel, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported, citing local media. Asked in an interview on state television about whether he had been subjected to an assassination attempt, Abbas Araghchi said that a bomb had been placed outside his house. "But friends (security forces) took control of it," he said. Regarding the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last year, Araghchi said that a meeting was held in the presence of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei following the incident, where a consensus was reached on the necessity of responding to Israel. The top diplomat said that different opinions occurred among the Iranian officials on when and how to respond to Israel. "The army commanders believed that the attack should be carried out when we have full confidence in our ability to defend the country," Araghchi said. In response to a question on nuclear negotiations with the United States (US) despite opposition from the supreme leader, the foreign minister said that "the US practised a policy of maximum pressure and threatened to deploy military forces in the region." "At this point, the leader (Khamenei) stepped in and said that 'We will have negotiations, but indirectly.'" Talks between Iran and the US were being held through Omani mediators until Israel's surprise attack on Iran on June 13, which triggered a 12-day war, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, while the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. The conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24. — BERNAMA

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store