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Trump urges Gaza ceasefire deal amid signs of possible breakthrough
US President Donald Trump on Sunday pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-monthlong conflict as the sides appeared to be inching closer to an agreement.
An Israeli official said plans were being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks, a sign there may be movement on a new deal. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalized.
MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!! Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social early Sunday between posts about a Senate vote on his tax and spending cuts bill.
Trump raised expectations Friday for a deal, saying there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.
Trump has repeatedly called for Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza. Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed.
A top adviser to Netanyahu, Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, was set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire.
Trump post slams Netanyahu corruption trial The Gaza message wasn't the only Middle East-related post by Trump. On Saturday evening, he doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, calling it a POLITICAL WITCH HUNT, very similar to the Witch Hunt that I was forced to endure.
In the post on Truth Social, he said the trial interfered with talks on a Gaza ceasefire.
(Netanyahu) is right now in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING, Trump wrote.
The post echoed similar remarks Trump made last week when he called for the trial to be cancelled. It was a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state. And it unnerved many in Israel, despite Trump's popularity in the country.
Israeli military orders new evacuations in northern Gaza The Israeli military on Sunday ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians in large swaths of northern Gaza, an early target of the war that has been severely damaged by multiple rounds of fighting.
Col Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media. It includes multiple neighbourhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as Jabaliya refugee camp.
The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city's northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said.
After being all but emptied earlier in the war, hundreds of thousands of people are in northern Gaza following their return during a ceasefire earlier this year.
An Israeli military offensive currently underway aims to move Palestinians to southern Gaza so forces can more freely operate to combat militants. Rights groups say their movement would amount to forcible transfer.
A sticking point over how the war ends The war in Gaza began with Oct 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in which militants killed 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostage, about 50 of whom remain captive with less than half believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory response has killed more than 56,000 people, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count but say more than half of the dead are women and children.
The war has set off a humanitarian catastrophe, displaced most of Gaza's population, often multiple times, and obliterated much of the territory's urban landscape.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over one major sticking point, whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement.
Hamas says it is willing to free all the hostages in exchange for a full withdrawal of Israeli troops and an end to the war. Israel rejects that offer, saying it will agree to end the war if Hamas disarms and goes into exile, something the group refuses.
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Hindustan Times
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The news of the prison attack was quickly overshadowed by an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Qatar later that same day, which caused no casualties, and the announcement of the ceasefire. Jahangir did not break down the casualty figures but said the attack had hit the prison's infirmary, engineering building, judicial affairs and visitation hall, where visiting family members were killed and injured. On the day of the attack, the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran criticized Israel for striking the prison, seen as a symbol of the Iranian regime's repression of any opposition, saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets. Prison attack came near the end of 12 days of strikes Over the 12 days before a ceasefire was declared, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 of them civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group. In retaliation, Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said in a Saturday letter to United Nations officials that the international body should recognize Israel and the U.S. 'as the initiators of the act of aggression' against Iran over the war and that their targeting of sovereign country and its people should require 'compensation and reparation." 'The Security Council should also hold the aggressors accountable and prevent the recurrence of such heinous and serious crimes to enable it to maintain international peace and security,' Araghchi said in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. At the same time, advocates have said that Iran was legally obligated to protect the prisoners held in Evin, and slammed authorities in Tehran for their 'failure to evacuate, provide medical assistance or inform families' following the attack. Jahangir said some of the injured were treated on-site, while others were taken to hospitals. Iran had not previously announced any death figures, though on Saturday, it confirmed that top prosecutor Ali Ghanaatkar — whose prosecution of dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, led to widespread criticism by human rights groups — had been killed in the attack. He was one of about 60 people for whom a massive public funeral procession was held on Saturday in Tehran, and he was to be buried at a shrine in Qom on Sunday. 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U.S. President Donald Trump says American strikes 'obliterated' the program while Iranians say that he's exaggerating. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CBS' 'Face the Nation' in an interview set to air Sunday that Iran's capacities remain but it is impossible to know the timeline or access the full damage to the program unless inspectors are allowed in, which Iranian officials have not allowed. 'It is clear that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage, first of all. And secondly, Iran has the capacities there, industrial and technological capacities. So if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.'
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
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Yet he excelled in the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and with the support of many Jewish voters. Mamdani's success reflects the ideological realignment of many American Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that led to Israel's invasion of Gaza. Many Democratic voters, including Jews, have grown dismayed by Israel's conduct in the war and are deeply critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is especially true among younger, more progressive voters, many of whom have rejected the once-broadly accepted notion that anti-Israel sentiment is inherently antisemitic. For others, Mamdani's showing has spurred new fears about safety and the waning influence of Jewish voters in a city where anti-Jewish hate crime has surged. Last year, Jews were the target of more than half of the hate crimes in the city. 'Definitely people are concerned," said Rabbi Shimon Hecht, of Congregation B'nai Jacob in Brooklyn, who said he has heard from congregants in recent days who hope Mamdani will be beaten in the November general election, where he will face Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and possibly Cuomo, if he stays in the race. 'I think like every upsetting election, it's a wake-up call for people,' Hecht said. 'I strongly believe that he will not be elected as our next mayor, but it's going to take a lot of uniting among the Jewish people and others who are concerned about these issues. We have to unify." Veteran New York Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf put it more bluntly, predicting a hasty exodus of religious Jews from the city and a decline in long-standing Jewish influence that would be replicated elsewhere. 'It's the end of Jewish New York as we know it,' he said, adding: 'New York is a petri dish for national Democratic politics. And what happened here is what will likely happen in cities across the country." Israel was a key campaign issue Mamdani's top Democratic rival, the former governor, had called antisemitism and support for Israel "the most important issue' of the campaign. Mamdani's backers repeatedly accused Cuomo of trying to weaponize the issue. Many drew parallels to the way Republican President Donald Trump has cast any criticism of Israel's actions as antisemitic, claiming Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel" and their own religion. For some Mamdani supporters, the election results signaled a rejection by voters of one of Cuomo's arguments: that an upstart socialist with pro-Palestinian views posed a threat to New York's Jewish community. Many were focused on issues such as affordability in a notoriously expensive city, or flat-out opposed to Cuomo, who was forced to resign in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations. Aiyana Leong Knauer, a 35-year-old Brooklyn bartender who is Jewish and backed Mamdani, said the vote represented 'New Yorkers, many of them Jewish, saying we care more about having an affordable city than sowing division.' 'Many of us take really deep offense to our history being weaponized against us,' she said. 'Jewish people all over the world have well-founded fears for their safety, but Jews in New York are safe overall.' Others agreed with Mamdani's views on Israel. Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, an anti-Zionist, progressive group that worked on Mamdani's behalf, said Mamdani 'was actually pretty popular among a lot of Jewish voters." 'That is not in spite of his support for Palestinian rights. That is because of his support for Palestinian rights,' she said. 'There has been a massive rupture within the Jewish community and more and more Jews of all generations, but especially younger generations,' she said, now refuse to be tied to what they see as a rogue government committing atrocities against civilians. Polls show support for Israel has declined since the war began. Overall, a slight majority of Americans now express a 'somewhat' or 'very' unfavorable opinion of Israel, according to a March Pew Research Center poll, compared with 42% in 2022. Democrats' views are particularly negative, with nearly 70% holding an unfavorable opinion versus less than 40% of Republicans. Beyond the mayoral race Mamdani's wasn't the only race where Israel was on voters' minds. In Brooklyn, City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, who represents Park Slope and surrounding areas, drew criticism for her Palestinian advocacy. Some said she had failed to respond forcefully to antisemitic incidents in the district. 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Mamdani's record and rhetoric Mamdani has repeatedly pledged to fight antisemitism, including during an appearance on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' where he was grilled on his stance. He was joined on the show by city comptroller and fellow candidate Brad Lander, the city's highest-ranking Jewish official, who had cross-endorsed him. He has also said he would increase funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800%. But many of his comments have angered Jewish groups and officials, most notably his refusal to disavow the phrase 'globalize the intifada," which has been used as a slogan in recent protests. Many Jews see it as a call to violence against Israeli civilians. In a podcast interview, Mamdani said the phrase captured a 'a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights." Mamdani also supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to pressure governments, schools and other institutions to boycott Israeli products, divest from companies that support the country, and impose sanctions. The Anti-Defamation League calls it antisemitic and part of a broader campaign to "delegitimize and isolate the State of Israel.' Mamdani has also said that, as mayor, he would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader tried to enter the city. The ADL in a statement Thursday warned candidates and their supporters not to use "language playing into dangerous antisemitic canards that time and time again have been used to incite hatred and violence against Jews.' In his victory speech, Mamdani alluded to the criticism he'd received and said he would not abandon his beliefs. But he also said he would "reach further to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements.'
Indian Express
an hour ago
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Trump says in Fox interview he has a group of wealthy people to buy TikTok
US President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he had found a buyer for TikTok, a group of 'very wealthy people' who he will reveal in about two weeks. Trump made the remarks in an interview on Fox News Channel's 'Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo'.
