Crowds call for Trump's intervention to bring back hostages from Gaza
Protesters displayed banners urging Trump to strike another "big, beautiful deal".
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that another 10 hostages held in Gaza are expected to be released "very shortly," amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Doha between Israeli and Hamas delegations, The Jerusalem Post reported.
"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 during a dinner with lawmakers at the White House on Friday (local time), according to The Jerusalem Post.
The president also praised the work of his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, for his role in the ongoing talks. According to The Jerusalem Post, 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.
Trump has made repeated comments over the past several weeks suggesting that a new hostage deal would soon be agreed upon.
A senior Hamas spokesperson issued a warning on Friday, cautioning that the group would not consider future interim truces unless a deal is achieved in the current round of negotiations.
"We are closely monitoring the ongoing negotiations and hope they will result in an agreement that guarantees the cessation of the war against our people, the withdrawal of occupation forces, and the relief of our people," said Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Ubaida in a video statement, as cited by The Jerusalem Post.
"We know the outlines of a deal exist. What's missing is the final push - the kind of resolve only President Trump can bring. We ask President Trump: lean in. Use your power. Show the world that freedom matters," said Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, whose remains are held in Gaza.
Nadav Rudaeff, whose father, Lior Rudaeff, remains in Gaza, directly thanked Trump and said his efforts are not taken for granted, as per Al Jazeera.
"Please do everything you can to pressure all the parties to reach an agreement," he said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned the international community for failing to act as starvation grips Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.
"The international community, with the complicity of our own government, has not only tolerated but effectively normalised the daily massacre of Palestinian civilians by the far-right government of indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu," CAIR said in a statement, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
"These are not accidents. These are not isolated incidents. These are the predictable consequences of a system of brutality and impunity backed by billions in US taxpayer-supplied weapons and aid," the group said.
"We demand immediate action to end all US support for Israel's genocidal assault. Silence is complicity with genocide, and normalisation of slaughter is a betrayal of humanity."
The US provides Israel with at least USD 3.8bn in military aid annually. Since the Israeli war on Gaza began, it has also provided billions more in assistance and blocked UN Security Council resolutions seeking to pressure Israel to end its assault.
Noureddine al-Baba, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Syria, also said clashes in the southern city have come to a halt. The announcement, shared by Syria's official SANA news agency, comes after the government deployed forces in the Suwayda governorate to try to quell days of sectarian violence, as per Al Jazeera.
Hamas abducted over 250 people during its October 7, 2023, rampage, where the terror group invaded southern Israel and massacred more than 1,200 people.
As of now, The Jerusalem Post reports that 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. The Jerusalem Post added that the ongoing diplomatic efforts are part of a broader push to bring an end to the hostilities and secure the safe return of the remaining hostages.
(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.)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
After EU deal, Trump eyes China trade agreement as Beijing faces deadline amid US tariff standoff
The United States and the European Union clinched a trade agreement on Sunday (July 27, 2025) that will see EU exports taxed at 15 percent. This deal comes as an effort to resolve a transatlantic tariff standoff that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war. US President Donald Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland, describing the deal as the "biggest ever." The deal came as the clock ticked down on an August 1 deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30 percent on European goods. After the European Union, there are high chances that Trump has his eyes on a successful deal with China amid the trade war due to tariffs. Meanwhile, top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to resume talks in Stockholm on Monday (July 28, 2025) to try to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world's top two economies, aiming to extend a truce by three months and keep sharply higher tariffs at bay. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category CXO Data Science Finance Degree Cybersecurity Public Policy PGDM Project Management Technology Management Data Analytics healthcare Leadership Data Science Healthcare MBA MCA Operations Management Design Thinking Product Management Digital Marketing Others Skills you'll gain: Operations Strategy for Business Excellence Organizational Transformation Corporate Communication & Crisis Management Capstone Project Presentation Duration: 11 Months IIM Lucknow Chief Operations Officer Programme Starts on Jun 30, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Technology Strategy & Innovation Emerging Technologies & Digital Transformation Leadership in Technology Management Cybersecurity & Risk Management Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Chief Technology Officer Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Customer-Centricity & Brand Strategy Product Marketing, Distribution, & Analytics Digital Strategies & Innovation Skills Leadership Insights & AI Integration Expertise Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode IIMK Chief Marketing and Growth Officer Starts on Apr 7, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Digital Strategy Development Expertise Emerging Technologies & Digital Trends Data-driven Decision Making Leadership in the Digital Age Duration: 40 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Chief Digital Officer Starts on Jun 30, 2024 Get Details China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from U.S. duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo. The US president, in May 2025, had clarified his intentions behind striking a deal with China when he said that Beijing is in a trade surplus with Washington, and according to him, these are not good signs for America. 'China, as you know, has a tremendous trade surplus with us, and we can't, you know, we just can't have that,' he had said back then, as quoted by The Telegraph. . During a press conference after signing a deal with the UK, Trump in May 2025, had said that a deal with Beijing would be, 'the greatest thing that ever happened to China.' The people will be happier,' he said, according to The Telegraph. 'They'll buy for less. They'll see things that they never saw before … and it'll create great long-term peace,' he added. Trump had further claimed that China 'very much wanted to make a deal'. Live Events In May 2025, Britain and the US concluded a landmark economic agreement. The deal was defined in the General Terms for the Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD). Both countries agreed to begin negotiations on the EPD immediately to develop and formalize the proposals in the General Terms. The government remains relentlessly focused on securing the best outcomes for UK industry and ensuring that businesses up and down the country can feel the benefits of the deal as soon as possible, according to UK government website. US-China Stockholm talks The Stockholm talks come hot on the heels of Trump's biggest trade deal yet with the European Union on Sunday for a 15% tariff on most EU goods exports to the U.S., including autos. The bloc will also buy $750 billion worth of American energy and make $600 billion worth of U.S. investments in the coming years. No similar breakthrough is expected in the U.S.-China talks but trade analysts said that another 90-day extension of a tariff and export control truce struck in mid-May was likely. An extension of that length would prevent further escalation and facilitate planning for a potential meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late October or early November. A U.S. Treasury spokesperson declined comment on a South China Morning Post report quoting unnamed sources as saying the two sides would refrain from introducing new tariffs or other steps that could escalate the trade war for another 90 days. Trump's administration is poised to impose new sectoral tariffs that will impact China within weeks, including on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, ship-to-shore cranes and other products. "We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters on Sunday before European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck their tariff deal.


Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
Govt deliberately delayed it: Congress MP Tariq Anwar on Operation Sindoor to be discussed in Parliament
Ahead of the Parliament discussion on Operation Sindoor today, Congress MP Tariq Anwar accused the government of delaying the discussion on important subjects such as Operation Sindoor and US President Trump's repeated claims of playing a role of mediator between India and Pakistan. Speaking to ANI, Congress MP Anwar said, "There has been a lot of delay. Operation Sindoor, the ceasefire, US President Trump's statement, all these things were very important, and the Prime Minister and the govt should have given them priority, but it was postponed, and after one week, a debate on it will start today (possibly). It seems that the government has deliberately delayed it." Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Others Project Management MCA MBA Leadership Finance healthcare Digital Marketing Design Thinking Healthcare CXO Degree Product Management Data Science Management Data Analytics Cybersecurity Public Policy Technology Data Science Operations Management PGDM Skills you'll gain: Duration: 28 Weeks MICA CERT-MICA SBMPR Async India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT-ISB Transforming HR with Analytics & AI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 months IIM Lucknow SEPO - IIML CHRO India Starts on undefined Get Details "But according to me, all things will be revealed, and the countrymen will get to know about the incidents of Operation Sindoor through this session of the Lok Sabha ," Anwar added. Lok Sabha is set to hold a special discussion on 'Operation Sindoor', India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack , on Monday. A fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor is expected to unfold in Parliament, between top leaders from the ruling alliance and the Opposition. Live Events Lok Sabha List of Business for Monday states, "Special Discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive 'Operation Sindoor' in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam". Twenty-six civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Meanwhile, the first week of the Monsoon session of Parliament witnessed major disruptions with the surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to initiate the discussion on Operation Sindhoor in the Lok Sabha on Monday.


Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
Europe hopes for 'no surprises' as US weighs force withdrawals
After keeping Donald Trump happy with a pledge to up defence spending at NATO's summit, Europe is now bracing for a key decision from the US president on the future of American forces on the continent. Washington is currently conducting a review of its military deployments worldwide -- set to be unveiled in coming months -- and the expectation is it will lead to drawdowns in Europe. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Technology PGDM Product Management Others Cybersecurity Digital Marketing others Finance Healthcare MBA Leadership Artificial Intelligence Data Analytics Operations Management Data Science healthcare MCA CXO Design Thinking Data Science Public Policy Management Project Management Degree Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Weeks MIT xPRO CERT-MIT XPRO Building AI Prod India Starts on undefined Get Details That prospect is fraying the nerves of US allies, especially as fears swirl that Russia could look to attack a NATO country within the next few years if the war in Ukraine dies down. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Undo However, the alliance is basking in Trump's newfound goodwill following its June summit in The Hague, and his officials are making encouraging noises that Europe will not be left in the lurch. "We've agreed to no surprises and no gaps in the strategic framework of Europe," said Matthew Whitaker, US ambassador to NATO, adding he expected the review to come out in "late summer, early fall". Live Events "I have daily conversations with our allies about the process," he said. While successive US governments have mulled scaling back in Europe to focus more on China, Trump has insisted more forcefully than his predecessors that the continent should handle its own defence. "There's every reason to expect a withdrawal from Europe," said Marta Mucznik from the International Crisis Group. "The question is not whether it's going to happen, but how fast." When Trump returned to office in January many felt he was about to blow a hole in the seven-decade-old alliance. But the vibe in NATO circles is now far more upbeat than those desperate days. "There's a sanguine mood, a lot of guesswork, but the early signals are quite positive," one senior European diplomat told AFP, talking as others on condition of anonymity. "Certainly no panic or doom and gloom." 'Inevitable' The Pentagon says there are nearly 85,000 US military personnel in Europe -- a number that has fluctuated between 75,000 and 105,000 since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "I think it is inevitable that they pull out some of their forces," a second European diplomat told AFP. "But I don't expect this to be like a dramatic overhaul. I think it's going to be gradual. I think it's going to be based on consultations." Trump's first target is likely to be the troops left over from a surge ordered by his predecessor Joe Biden after Moscow's tanks rolled into Ukraine. Officials say relocating the rump of that 20,000-strong deployment would not hurt NATO's deterrence too much -- but alarm bells would ring if Trump looked to cut too deep into personnel numbers or close key bases. The issue is not just troop numbers -- the US has capabilities such as air defences, long-range missiles and satellite surveillance that allies would struggle to replace in the short-term. "The kinds of defence investments by Europe that are being made coming out of The Hague summit may only be felt in real capability terms over many years," said Ian Lesser from the German Marshall Fund think tank. "So the question of timing really does matter." 'Inopportune moment' Washington's desire to pull back from Europe may be tempered by Trump now taking a tougher line with Russia -- and Moscow's reluctance to bow to his demands to end the Ukraine war. "It seems an inopportune moment to send signals of weakness and reductions in the American security presence in Europe," Lesser said. He also pointed to Trump's struggles during his first term to pull troops out of Germany -- the potential bill for relocating them along with political resistance in Washington scuppering the plan. While European diplomats are feeling more confident than before about the troop review, they admit nothing can be certain with the mercurial US president. Other issues such as Washington's trade negotiations with the EU could rock transatlantic ties in the meantime and upend the good vibes. "It seems positive for now," said a third European diplomat. "But what if we are all wrong and a force decrease will start in 2026. To be honest, there isn't much to go on at this stage."