Netanyahu to visit White House amid push for ceasefire
The impending visit on Monday was confirmed by two US administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The trip will be Netanyahu's third visit to the White House since Trump returned to office, and it comes after the US inserted itself into Israel's war against Iran by attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
After brokering a ceasefire between the two countries, Trump has signalled that he's turning his attention to bringing a close to the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Trump on Friday told reporters that 'we think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire' in Gaza, but didn't offer any further explanation for his optimism.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump and administration officials were in constant communication with Israeli leadership and that bringing about an end to the Gaza conflict is a priority for Trump.
'It's heartbreaking to see the images that have come out from both Israel and Gaza throughout this war, and the president wants to see it end,' Leavitt added. 'He wants to save lives.'
Meanwhile, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has flagged an end to the conflict.
'We are now approaching the conclusion of the operation in Gaza,' Katz said in a statement on Monday.
He reiterated Israel's objectives in the conflict, including the release of all hostages and the defeat of Islamist group Hamas. The war was sparked by Hamas and other Palestinian militants launching an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The prospect of peace comes as at least 34 people were killed in Gaza City, staff at the nearby Shifa Hospital told dpa, after eyewitnesses reported that a cafe on the promenade was hit by an Israeli attack.
Among the victims were said to be several minors and women, as well as a journalist.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, stated instead that the attack targeted a camp for displaced people on the beach, while the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that a rest area on the beach was struck.
The Israeli military said it was targeting several members of Hamas, saying measures had been taken beforehand to protect uninvolved civilians, including aerial surveillance of the area.
The incident is under investigation.
According to medical sources in the strip, at least 100 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Monday.
At least 13 Palestinians were killed in firing by Israeli soldiers in the south of the Gaza Strip, near an aid distribution centre, WAFA said.
It added that 10 others were killed in Israeli shelling in the area of a warehouse in the south of the city of Gaza.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has denied similar reports of fatal incidents at its aid centres in the past.
The foundation, which has been criticised by the United Nations and aid agencies operating in the Palestinian Territories, began its work last month following an almost three-month-long Israeli blockade of aid supplies.
The US-backed GHF says it has since distributed more than 50 million meals to people in the war-torn coastal strip.
The Israel Defense Forces hinted in a statement on Monday that operations around aid centres could have been handled better.
'Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned,' the statement said.
'The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
38 minutes ago
- Perth Now
US halts some missile shipments to Ukraine
The Pentagon has halted some shipments of air defence missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine over concerns that US stockpiles are too low, two people familiar with the decision says. The slowing of some weapons shipments promised to Kyiv by former President Joe Biden's administration came in recent days, they said, adding that air defence interceptors to help knock down Russian drones and projectiles were among the items delayed. Russia has intensified air attacks on Ukraine's cities in recent weeks, on several nights launching hundreds of drones and missiles at a time, leading to widespread damage and an increase in civilian casualties. Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, he has softened Washington's position towards Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine and raising doubts about future US military support for Kyiv's war effort. Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's national security and defence committee, called the decision to halt the shipments "very unpleasant for us". "It's painful, and against the background of the terrorist attacks which Russia commits against Ukraine, it's a very unpleasant situation," Venislavskyi told reporters on Wednesday. However, last week Trump said he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, has been preparing a summer ground offensive, advancing gradually in the eastern region of Donetsk and northeastern region of Sumy. Ukraine was already experiencing a shortage of 155mm ammunition used for artillery on the front lines, said one Ukrainian defence source, calling the shortages and news of delays in US supplies "all quite sad". In an email, the Pentagon said it was providing Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine in line with the goal of ending Russia's war there. "At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving US forces' readiness for administration defence priorities," said Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for policy. All weapons aid was briefly paused in February with a second, longer pause in March. The Trump administration resumed sending the last of the aid approved under Biden. No new policy has been announced. Politico reported the pause on Tuesday.
Sky News AU
42 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Australia's defence lags behind with not enough munitions to 'last a week' if attacked, as the US puts its house in order
The West's race to build a better equipped defence force has exposed the gaping holes that many nations face with an almost non-existent manufacturing base and a lack of know-how to get the jobs done. President Trump has taken the reins of the US economy at the eleventh hour and may have just saved it in time to re-establish the workforce and reboot their economy. From computer chip manufacturing, rare-earth refining to ship building, the essentials are back on the table in the US to help aid their workforce security and to stave off their reliance on Chinese goods. When it comes to defence manufacturing, the US are still world leaders in weapons exports, supplying munitions, missile defence, and warplanes. According to a report by POLTICO: 'European NATO members have become even more dependent on the US', with arms imports up 155 per cent in the four years leading to 2024 compared to 2015 to 2019 figures. However, the road is not all smooth sailing for US arms manufacturing. After decades of handing over key manufacturing to Japan and China over the last four years, the US is now struggling to remain the military superpower that it has been since the end of World War II. According to the US Center for Strategic and International Studies, a major conflict with China (involving Tawain) would see US munitions stockpiles run out faster than they can be replaced, which include long-range precision-guided munitions. Furthermore, the 'rate at which China has been acquiring high-end weapons systems and equipment is five to six times faster than the United States'. To gauge how depleted US industry sectors are these days, a US naval base in the State of Connecticut saw one submarine built every two weeks during WWII. Now it is struggling to find the thousands of workers needed to undertake submarine building with the new Virginia Class nuclear-powered attack submarines built at a rate of 1.2 per year. The US need to be building at a rate of 2.3 submarines per year to meet US requirements and to supply Australia with the three nuclear submarines promised via the AUKUS trilateral partnerships. Interestingly, in an ABC 4 Corners episode 'Submerged', Republican Congressman Robert Witman points to major issues in putting the workforce back together post Covid, whereas China has emerged more resilient. Now let us look at where Australia sits with its military manufacturing and the broader manufacturing environment. Pointing a lens at the state of Australia's manufacturing base, the picture is a lot worse. According to Strategic Analysis Australia, the 'OECD has placed Australia last among its members for manufacturing'. You read correctly, Australia rates last for its manufacturing output among all of the OECD nations. On top of that, Australian manufacturing is also rated as low complexity, in that there is little in the way of value-added product that is sought after across broad sectors. The irony is that here in Australia and the US, there are manufacturers who are desperate to hire more workers, but the take-up in some industries is low. And the ability for governments and educators to find students interested in trades and see them through a full apprenticeship is a demand not met. Australia's military exports account for 0.6 per cent of global share. Apart from integration systems and parts, and a small boat building capability, Australia's defence industry has dwindled, so much so that it has all but died away, and only now is somewhat being reborn and re-imagined. There are new 'Ghost Bat' drones designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia which is a salient addition to the landscape of national defence, as well as a fledgling homemade missile defence system manufacturing in Australia, which again, is all in its infancy. Most analysts agree that Australia's defences would not last long against a significant attack and that our munitions would not last much longer than a week. While countries such as Germany, the Republic of Korea, and Japan do have solid defence manufacturing, the one nation out-manufacturing them all is of course, China. Australia's abilities to manufacture defence hardware compared to China's and the US is laughable. One has to ask if world dominated manufacturing in China has been their strategic plan over the last 30 to 40 years and if so, they have played it very well. The fact that manufacturing in Australia, the US and many European nations has been handed over blindly and now that national security has come to the fore, it has exposed gaping holes in air land and sea capabilities as they now try to re-establish their various manufacturing sectors. With the right diplomatic approach, and the West's ability to wield strength, superior intelligence and strategy, the collision course that the East and West is on may be avoided. Australia and the West need to find enough national solidarity to back the things they do best in manufacturing, to ensure they are not so reliant on other nations who have strong ambitions to bring them to their knees. Robert Weir is a freelance journalist whose work has also been published in The Spectator Australia. He enjoys writing political, lifestyle, and environmental stories as well as film reviews
7NEWS
43 minutes ago
- 7NEWS
Hamas ready for ceasefire but says it must end war in Gaza
Hamas suggests it's open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel but is stopping short of accepting a US-backed proposal announced by President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza. Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. The US leader has increased pressure on Israel and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war. Trump said the 60 days would be used to work towards ending the war, something Israel says it will not accept until Hamas is defeated. He said a deal might come together as soon as next week. But Hamas's response, which emphasised its demand that the war end, raised questions about whether the latest offer could become an actual pause in fighting. Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the militant group was 'ready and serious regarding reaching an agreement'. Hamas was 'ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war'. A Hamas delegation is expected to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal. Throughout the nearly 21-month-long war, ceasefire talks have faltered repeatedly over whether the war should end as part of any deal. Hamas has said it is willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, fewer than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war. Israel says it will agree to end the war only if Hamas surrenders, disarms and exiles itself, something the group refuses to do. An Israeli official said the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. The mediators and the US would provide assurances about talks on an end to the war, but Israel was not committing to that as part of the latest proposal, the official said. It was not clear how many hostages would be freed as part of the agreement, but previous proposals have called for the release of about 10. Israel has yet to comment publicly on Trump's announcement. On Monday, Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House, days after Ron Dermer, a senior Netanyahu adviser, held discussions with top US officials about Gaza, Iran and other matters. On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that Israel had 'agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise the 60-Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War'. 'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better - IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,' he said. Even before the expiration of the war's longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would include the release of more hostages and a return of more aid to Gaza's civilian populace. Still, Trump views the current moment as a potential turning point in the brutal conflict that has left more than 56,000 dead in the Palestinian territory. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages. The war has left the Palestinian territory in ruins and has sparked a humanitarian crisis, pushing hundreds of thousands of people towards hunger.
