Saudi Arabia's current priority is a permanent Gaza ceasefire, foreign minister says
He was speaking during a visit to Moscow.
In 2024, the Saudi foreign minister said that there can be no normalisation of ties with Israel without resolving the Palestinian issue.
"What we are seeing is the Israelis are crushing Gaza, the civilian population of Gaza," he said. "This is completely unnecessary, completely unacceptable and has to stop."
The local health ministry in Gaza says more than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on the region since an October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
According to Israel, 1,200 people were killed in that attack and more than 250 taken hostage into Gaza.
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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lebanon's Hezbollah rejects cabinet decision to disarm it
Hezbollah said Wednesday that it would treat a Lebanese government decision to disarm the militant group "as if it did not exist", accusing the cabinet of committing a "grave sin". Amid heavy US pressure and fears Israel could expand its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to government forces by year end. The plan is to be presented to the government by the end of August for discussion and approval, and another cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday to continue the talks, including on a US-proposed timetable for disarmament. Hezbollah said the government had "committed a grave sin by taking the decision to disarm Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy". The decision is unprecedented since Lebanon's civil war factions gave up their weapons three and a half decades ago. "This decision undermines Lebanon's sovereignty and gives Israel a free hand to tamper with its security, geography, politics and future existence... Therefore, we will treat this decision as if it does not exist," the Iran-backed group said in a statement. - 'Serves Israel's interests' - The government said its decision came as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in two months of full-blown war. Hezbollah said it viewed the government's move as "the result of dictates from US envoy" Tom Barrack. It "fully serves Israel's interests and leaves Lebanon exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence", the group said. Hezbollah was the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. It emerged weakened politically and militarily from its latest conflict with Israel, its arsenal pummelled and its senior leadership decimated. Israel has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah and other targets despite the November truce, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed. An Israeli strike on the southern town of Tulin on Wednesday killed one person and wounded another, the health ministry said. Israel also launched a series of air strikes on southern Lebanon, wounding at least two people according to the health ministry. The Israeli military said it struck "weapons storage facilities, a missile launcher and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure which stored engineering tools that allowed for the re-establishment of terrorist infrastructure in the area". Hezbollah said Israel must halt the attacks before any domestic debate about its weapons and a new defence strategy could begin. - 'Pivotal moment' - "We are open to dialogue, ending the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal aggression," the group said. Hezbollah is "prepared to discuss a national security strategy", but not under Israeli fire, it added. Two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement walked out of Tuesday's meeting. Hezbollah described the walkout as "an expression of rejection" of the government's "decision to subject Lebanon to American tutelage and Israeli occupation". The Amal movement, headed by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, accused the government of "rushing to offer more gratuitous concessions" to Israel when it should have sought to end the ongoing attacks. It called Thursday's cabinet meeting "an opportunity for correction". Hezbollah opponent the Lebanese Forces, one of the country's two main Christian parties, said the cabinet's decision to disarm the militant group was "a pivotal moment in Lebanon's modern history -- a long-overdue step toward restoring full state authority and sovereignty". The Free Patriotic Movement, the other major Christian party and a former ally of Hezbollah, said it was in favour of the army receiving the group's weapons "to strengthen Lebanon's defensive power". Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview that any decision on disarmament "will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself". "We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions," he added, noting that the group had "rebuilt itself" following setbacks during its war with Israel. lar/lg-nad/js
CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump says there's a "good chance" he'll meet with Putin and Zelenskyy as Russia sanction deadline looms
President Trump said Wednesday there's a "good chance" he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon — as Mr. Trump presses Russia to end its three-year invasion of Ukraine. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that Russia suggested a meeting between the U.S. president and Putin, and Mr. Trump is "open" to the idea of a meeting with both Russia and Ukraine's leaders. Asked hours later whether Putin and Zelenskyy had agreed to a summit, Mr. Trump told reporters, "there's a very good prospect that they will." He said it's not clear where the meeting would take place. Russia and Ukraine have not commented publicly on the possibility of a meeting. Mr. Trump's comments came just days before his Friday deadline for Russia to either strike a ceasefire deal with Ukraine or face sanctions. Putin met with Mr. Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow earlier Wednesday. The U.S. president called the hourslong meeting "highly productive" and wrote that "great progress was made" in a Truth Social post — a change of tone after Mr. Trump expressed frustration with Russia for much of last month. Mr. Trump also held a call Wednesday with European leaders and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. A senior Trump administration official told CBS News earlier Wednesday the meeting between Witkoff and Putin "went well." "The Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States," the official said. Asked about the Witkoff-Putin meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: "We'll have some other discussions throughout the day, and then hopefully there'll be some announcements here fairly soon. Maybe positive, maybe not. We'll see." Mr. Trump has pressed both Russia and Ukraine to reach a ceasefire, but he has oscillated between blaming Putin and Zelenskyy for a lack of progress. In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has grown irritated with Putin over Russia's continued attacks on Ukrainian cities. Last week, Mr. Trump demanded that Putin strike a ceasefire deal with Ukraine within 10 days, or Russia could face repercussions, including sanctions on Russia and countries that do business with it. That deadline runs out on Friday. "The secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday," the senior Trump administration official told CBS News following the Putin-Witkoff meeting. Mr. Trump has already begun targeting some Russian trading partners, slapping an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods Wednesday because the South Asian country continues to buy oil from Russia. That brings the total tax on Indian imports to 50%. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev — the deputy chair of Russia's security council — responded to Mr. Trump's sanction threats last week by warning: "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war." Mr. Trump called Medvedev's statement "highly provocative" and said he was ordering two submarines to be "positioned in the appropriate regions" in response. At other points, Mr. Trump has lashed out at Zelenskyy and accused him of prolonging Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022. He publicly argued with the Ukrainian leader in an Oval Office meeting, and in at least two cases, his administration has temporarily paused crucial U.S. military aid to Ukraine before restoring the shipments.
Wall Street Journal
16 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Targets Russia via India
President Trump wants at long last to raise the pressure on Russia for a cease-fire in Ukraine, and on Wednesday he threatened India with a 50% tariff if it keeps buying Russian oil. The puzzle is why the President is so far giving China a pass, though Beijing buys more Russian oil than does New Delhi. The new tariff is included in an executive order 'Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of the Russian Federation.' India is a target because its purchases of Russian oil are a major source of revenue for Vladimir Putin's war machine. India has long bought Russian crude, but its purchases since Russia invaded Ukraine have increased enormously and help Mr. Putin continue his deadly rampage. India has 'always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE,' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. The executive order would add a 25% tax on India's exports to the U.S. in three weeks if India doesn't adjust its policy. This would be on top of the 25% tariff that Mr. Trump has already applied to imports from India and is set to begin Thursday. Through June this year, India exported some $56.3 billion in goods to the U.S., making it the twelfth largest U.S. trading partner. The exports include medical products, generic drugs and telephones, among other things.
