Trump's Middle East envoy to travel to Europe and ‘push for Gaza ceasefire'
The official added Mr Witkoff will continue pushing for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
Axios reported that Mr Witkoff is expected to depart for Rome on Wednesday and arrive on Thursday for a meeting with Israeli minister of strategic affairs Ron Dermer and a senior Qatari envoy.
If sufficient progress is made, Mr Witkoff will travel from Rome to Doha toward the end of the week to secure a deal, the news website reported, citing a US and an Israeli source.
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Talks on a proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas are being mediated by Qatar and Egypt with Washington's backing while the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave from US ally Israel's military assault continues to mount.
The ongoing war in Gaza has seen two ceasefires so far, the most recent of which ended after two months when Israeli strikes killed over 400 Palestinians on March 18th.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry says.
The assault has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. – Reuters
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Irish Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Taoiseach welcomes trade deal between EU and US
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has welcomed a deal between the European Union and the United States, which will see a 15% tariff on most EU imports to the US. The deal was reached during a meeting between Donald Trump and the president of the European Commission on Sunday. The US president met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to hammer out the final details on the trading relationship between Europe and the US. Reacting to the deal, Mr Martin said the agreement was very welcome. 'It brings clarity and predictability to the trading relationship between the EU and the US – the biggest in the world,' the Fianna Fail leader said. 'That is good for businesses, investors and consumers. It will help protect many jobs in Ireland. 'The negotiations to get us to this point have been long and complex, and I would like to thank both teams for their patient work. 'We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here. 'The agreement is a framework and there will be more detail to be fleshed out in the weeks and months ahead.' Mr Martin said the higher tariffs will have an impact on trade between the EU and the US, which will make it more expensive and more challenging. US President Donald Trump enjoyed a round of golf before his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen 'However, it also creates a new era of stability that can hopefully contribute to a growing and deepening relationship between the EU and the US, which is important not just for the EU and the US, but for the global economy,' he added. 'Given the very real risk that existed for escalation and for the imposition of punitively high tariffs, this news will be welcomed by many.' The deal was also welcomed by deputy Irish premier and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris, who said it brings clarity to businesses. 'While we have yet to see the detail, I welcome that an agreement has been announced by Commission President von der Leyen and US President Trump,' Mr Harris said in a statement. 'A deal provides a measure of much-needed certainty for Irish, European and American businesses who together represent the most integrated trading relationship in the world. Ireland makes a key contribution to this with the Ireland-US economic relationship valued at more than one trillion euros. 'The US had made clear, and this has been replicated in other recent agreements, which the US has reached with other countries, that a baseline tariff was always going to be part of the outcome. 'I have always stressed that tariffs are damaging and will have a negative impact on companies exporting to the US. 'While Ireland regrets that the baseline tariff of 15% is included in the agreement, it is important that we now have more certainty on the foundations for the EU-US trade relationship, which is essential for jobs, growth and investment. 'President von der Leyen described this as 15% tariffs across the board, all-inclusive.' He said further detail is needed around pharma, aviation and other sectors. Mr Harris said he will examine the details of the agreement over the coming days to establish the effect on Irish businesses and the economy. Earlier, EU commissioner Michael McGrath said the meeting was a 'significant and decisive moment'. Mr McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, said it would involve substantive negotiations between both sides. 'It's a significant moment, we hope a decisive moment, and it builds on an enormous amount of work that has been done over quite a period of time,' Mr McGrath said ahead of the meeting. 'President Trump invited President von der Leyen to Scotland for a meeting. 'This follows on the back of intensive negotiations over a number of months. He added: 'It is not a case of turning up and signing on the dotted line. There will be a real discussion that will happen, and it will take on a dynamic of its own, and let's see what happens over the course of the afternoon. 'But from the EU's point of view, we are determined to do all that we can to get a deal for European businesses, because we recognise the cost of uncertainty. 'It manifests in trade and in investment decisions and ultimately in employment and of course tariffs can cost consumers at the end of the day. 'We want a good deal. We have negotiated hard, and we're at a point now where hopefully the two leaders can today bring it to a concluding phase.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
EU and US agree tariff deal after months of fractious talks
The European Union and United States have agreed a deal that will lock in tariffs on most EU imports to the US, but prevent the prospect of an economically devastating trade war, sources said on Sunday evening. The final terms were worked out during a meeting between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and US president Donald Trump at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. The EU hopes the deal will draw a line under months of uncertainty, shifting deadlines and threats from Mr Trump, which have defined the fractious trade negotiations. Speaking before the meeting on Sunday, Mr Trump indicated pharmaceuticals might not be covered by the terms of any agreement, signalling coming tariffs on the sector. 'We have to have them made in the United States, we want them made in the United States ... We can't be in a position where we're relying on other countries,' he said. Mr Trump flew to Scotland on Friday night and was then seen playing golf at his Turnberry resort on Saturday and again on Sunday. Ms von der Leyen, head of the EU executive that has been negotiating with the Trump administration, was pushing to get a preliminary deal on tariffs over the line after months of talks. Speaking to reporters before the start of the meeting on Sunday afternoon, Mr Trump said there were three or four 'sticking points' between the parties. 'I think the main sticking point is fairness,' he said. Mr Trump said he felt Europe needed to open up its market to American agricultural products, a nod to EU rules that ban chlorine-washed chicken or hormone-treated beef. 'They have to open to American products,' he said. 'We do a deal today with the European Union that will be the end of it, we'll go a number of years before we have to discuss it again.' Mr von der Leyen, who described Mr Trump as a 'tough negotiator' and deal maker, said: 'I think the president is right, we have a 50-50 per cent chance to strike a deal.' Negotiators had been working towards an agreement that would see the EU accept blanket tariffs of 15 per cent on future trade with the US. European governments appeared resigned to stomaching that level of tariffs on future trade in order to end the uncertainty Mr Trump's threat of potentially much higher import levies has created in the European economy, or a possible US-EU trade war if no deal was agreed. The EU believed a deal was close to being done for the last number of days, pending final sign-off from Mr Trump. The commission briefed ambassadors from the EU's 27 states on Sunday, giving diplomats an update on where talks stood before Ms von der Leyen and Mr Trump sat down together. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick travelled from Washington to Scotland on Saturday, with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic flying in from Brussels. Senior commission figures were in contact with officials from the Japanese government over the weekend in order to gauge how the very final stages of their negotiations played out behind the scenes as a US tariff deal was agreed last week. That agreement saw Japan accept 15 per cent tariffs on its products sold to the US. Cars produced in the EU and sold in the US have faced 25 per cent import duties, while steel and aluminium products have been charged twice that amount. US president Donald Trump playing a round of golf at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Sunday. Photograph:A 10 per cent tariff has applied to nearly all trade since the start of April, with two sectors, pharmaceuticals and computer chips, exempt from those measures. Mr Trump has promised to introduce steeper tariffs targeting pharma and semiconductors later. The EU is hoping to secure commitments that future tariffs on pharma, and existing rates on cars, would be capped at 15 per cent. Mr Trump has said the US will impose tariffs of 30 per cent on practically all imports from the EU from August 1st in the event no agreement is reached. In such a scenario the EU has said it will hit back with its own 30 per cent tariffs on €93 billion of US trade. France, Germany and many other EU states are prepared to back the EU opening an investigation to determine if it is facing economic coercion, allowing the bloc to turn to emergency powers in an escalating trade war. The EU's anti-coercion instrument, known as the 'big bazooka', would allow the union to restrict the European operations of US multinationals and tech giants, and introduce export controls on transatlantic trade. Meanwhile, EU commissioner Michael McGrath has said that the European Union is 'aggressively extending' its network of international trade agreements, having recently concluded deals with Mexico, Switzerland, Indonesia and the Mercosur South American trade bloc. He said that the meeting between Mr Trump and the president of the European Commission is a 'significant and decisive moment', with hopes for a tariff deal. The EU is also in trade negotiations with India, Thailand, the Philippines and the UAE as the escalating trade war between Washington and the European bloc continues, Mr McGrath, the EU commissioner for justice and consumer protection, said. The EU's objective is to reach a 'comprehensive final settlement' on all outstanding trade issues, including pharmaceuticals, Mr McGrath told RTÉ's This Week radio programme on Sunday. The 'ideal scenario' would be agreement on a 'zero-for-zero deal' on a range of goods, he added. However, if the US pushes ahead with its threatened 30 per cent tariffs on EU goods, the EU is ready with counter-tariffs on €93 billion worth of US exports, he said. 'The terms of trade that we had up to just six months ago are no longer available. The world has changed, and we have had major disruption to the system of global trade. We have to recognise the reality.' Asked to comment on the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and starvation crisis in Gaza, and the EU's reluctance to place sanctions on Israel, Mr McGrath said the EU was doing 'all that it possibly can to achieve progress on the ground' within its 'limited mandate'. Unfortunately the EU 'does not speak with one voice on this issue', he said. Police snipers are positioned on the roof of the Trump Turnberry hotel during US president Donald Trump's visit in Turnberry, Scotland. Photograph: Getty Images Hundreds of protesters gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen for demonstrations against Mr Trump's visit, organised by the Stop Trump Coalition. Mr Trump has said there was a 50-50 chance that the US and the 27-member European Union could reach a framework trade pact, adding that Brussels wanted to 'make a deal very badly'. - Additional reporting Reuters and PA
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bob Geldof in furious Gaza rant as he shouts 'shut up' in live interview
Sir Bob Geldof has revealed that footage of malnourished youngsters in Gaza "enrages" him whilst condemning the UK Government for failing to take sufficient action. The Band Aid founder accused Israel's administration of "lying" about the absence of "no famine caused by Israel", declaring: "They're dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers." During an impassioned Sky News interview, an incensed Sir Bob questioned how Britain could develop a cutting-edge supercomputer this month whilst infants in Gaza were forced to survive on mere teaspoons of salt and minimal water supplies, demanding: "Shut up. What have we become that we can do this miracle and perpetuate this agony?". He also criticised the UK administration, claiming they had achieved "not enough". Sir Bob dismissed the idea that recognising Palestinian statehood - something Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to do - would make any "difference" to the humanitarian crisis, reports the Mirror. Palestinian Yezen Abu Ful, 2, whose health has deteriorated due to lack of access to food and nutritional supplements. (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images) A charity organization distributed food to Palestinians facing severe difficulties accessing basic necessities due to Israel's ongoing blockade and military operations in the Gaza Strip on July 24, 2025. (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images) He urged Labour MPs to cease signing correspondence calling for recognition, branding it a form of "virtue signalling" at this stage, stating: "Enough. Guys, focus on the issue to hand." The political activist emphasised that the most urgent matter is to prevent starving mothers and infants from being exploited as "instruments of war". Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, he stated: "I'm really not interested in what either of these sides are saying. When you target infants and children, when their wounds are no longer capable of healing, when breastfeeding mothers can no longer do this, then everything goes out the window." Sir Bob expressed his views on the situation in Gaza, suggesting that Israelis who disagree with their government's actions should take direct action: "What's unfair is what's happening to these babies.... What's unfair is that one hour from the hunger, people are sitting down to their unthreatened dinners to turn on the next Netflix show." He boldly proposed a solution for Israeli protesters: "So if Israelis want to protest, get in your cars. This is very bold stuff, I know, sorry about that. Get in your car, stuff your cars full of food and drive through that border and let your own army stop you." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
