Closing summary
We’re about to close this file and move our live coverage to another blog here. A recap of today’s events is below, and you can see our full report here. Thanks for reading.
Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the “first phase” of a peace plan to pause fighting and release some hostages and prisoners held in Gaza.
The US president thanked mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform: “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”
Hamas said it had reached the agreement, confirming the deal includes an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a hostage-prisoner exchange. The militant group said the deal came after “responsible and serious negotiations” over Trump’s proposal.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US “for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages” and said that “with God’s help, we will bring them all home”. He said he would convene the Israeli government on Thursday to approve the deal.
Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt in recent days to close the gaps between Hamas and Israel over the details of the “first phase” of a 20-point plan announced by Trump at the White House last week.
The Hostages Families Forum, representing many of the hostage families, said it received the ceasefire news with “excitement, anticipation and apprehension”. It called on the Israeli government to immediately convene to approve the deal, and praised Trump for his “commitment and determination that led to this historic breakthrough”.
UN chief António Guterres welcomed the Israel-Hamas agreement, calling on all parties to “abide fully” by its terms. World leaders also hailed the deal, with British prime minister Keir Starmer speaking of his “profound relief” at the news, Canadian PM Mark Carney expressing relief that hostages will soon be reunited with their families and Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi welcoming the agreement as a “major step” toward achieving a two-state settlement.
Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The deceased hostages would come out in a later stage in phases. The Israeli army would move out of 70% of the area, they said. In exchange, several hundred Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would be released.
Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement for the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire. The deal “will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”, ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said, speaking on behalf of the deal’s mediators. He said the details would be announced later.
It was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarise – as Trump has demanded – and eventual governance of the war-torn territory.
Trump said earlier that a deal was almost done and that he might travel to Egypt this weekend, possibly leaving as soon as Saturday.
The war began with Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left more than 67,000 Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.
With reporting from Ima Caldwell
Updated
Celebrations have broken out in Israel and Gaza after Donald Trump’s announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of a peace plan to pause fighting and release some hostages and prisoners held in Gaza.
Crowds gathered near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, clapping and cheering in what one Palestinian described as “historic moments” after two years of conflict.
The mother of Israeli hostage Matan Zangauker, Einav Zangauker, celebrated the imminent return of her son, saying: “Thank you to the people of Israel, to the soldiers, thank you to President Trump.”
You can see the footage here:
In the United States, Republican lawmakers have lined up to praise Donald Trump for brokering the Israel-Hamas deal but Palestinian American were more wary.
Robert Mackey and Lauren Gambino report that Brian Mast, a Florida representative who once served as a civilian volunteer in the Israeli military, wrote that the US president “just did what career diplomats never could – he brought the world closer than it’s ever been to peace in Gaza”.
This deal only works if Hamas follows through. We don’t trust terrorists, we trust results.
But Palestinian poet and 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner Mosab Abu Toha wrote on social media:
Trump officially announces that Hamas and Israel signed off the first phase of ‘Peace Plan.’ To be honest, I do not like the language here. The agreement signed should be emphatically about a permanent ceasefire. No more slaughtering of more Palestinians. It must not take phases to end a genocide. This is not truly anything close to peace! To me, it sounds like a pause of bloodshed for a few days or weeks!
I’m old enough to remember the first phase of the previous ‘ceasefire deal’ in January this year.
You can read the full story here:
Updated
What happens now?
A lot of people will want to know what happens next. Agence France-Presse has this report:
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said both sides have already agreed “on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement”.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will convene his government on Thursday to approve the agreement.
The deal will be formally signed on Thursday around midday in Egypt, a source with knowledge of the agreement told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A Hamas official said negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire would begin “immediately”.
Trump said on Wednesday he believed all the hostages, including the deceased will be “coming back” Monday.
Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza had called for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Updated
More international reaction is coming in. In Australia, prime minister Anthony Albanese has said the news is “a ray of light”.
Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong released a statement. Albanese says he hopes “after decades of conflict and terror that we can break the cycle of violence and build something better”.
“The past two years [we have seen] dark days but today we see a ray of light. There is growing international momentum to bring peace and security to the Middle East.”
World leaders hail progress on deal
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed relief that hostages will soon be reunited with their families and called on all parties to implement the agreed terms swiftly.
On Thursday, New Zealand’s government welcomed the announcement of the deal. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Israelis and Palestinians have suffered immensely and that, “Today is a positive first step in bringing that suffering to an end.”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also welcomed the agreement as a “major step” toward achieving a two-state settlement.
Former hostages speak of their joy
Former hostages of Hamas have celebrated the announcement.
Emily Damari, a British-Israeli who was held captive by Hamas for more than a year before being released in January, posted a video to her Instagram celebrating the news with friends, which included fellow former hostage Romi Gonen.
The group can be seen hugging each other and dancing around a room as they toast “L’chaim”, meaning “to life”.
Eli Sharabi, a freed hostage whose wife and two daughters were killed during Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023, wrote on social media: “Great joy, can’t wait to see everyone home.”
Vicky Cohen, the mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, wrote on X: “My child, you are coming home.”
Celebrations are unfolding in Israel and Gaza. Here are some images from the ground:
Updated
Starmer speaks of 'profound relief' at news of deal
British prime minister Keir Starmer, who is in Mumbai, has spoken about the news. He said:
“I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
“This is a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families, and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years.
“I am grateful for the tireless diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and the United States, supported by our regional partners, in securing this crucial first step. This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“We call on all parties to meet the commitments they have made, to end the war, and to build the foundations for a just and lasting end to the conflict and a sustainable path to a long-term peace. The UK will support these crucial immediate steps and the next stage of talks to ensure the full implementation of the peace plan.”
The Israeli military has also issued a warning telling Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza “until official instructions are issued” as it remains a combat zone.
Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said in a post on X (translated below):
Important announcement to all residents of the Gaza Strip
The area located north of the Gaza Valley is still considered a dangerous combat zone
IDF forces are still encircling Gaza City, where returning to it is considered extremely dangerous
For your safety, refrain from returning to the north or approaching areas where the Defense Forces are concentrated and working everywhere in the Gaza Strip, including in the south and east of the Gaza Strip, until official instructions are issued.
Updated
Further to our earlier post on the Israeli military readying to receive hostages, its Arabic-language spokesperson said on social media that the military would be prepared “for every scenario”.
Avichay Adraee posted on X that the army welcomed “reaching an agreement to return the hostages, which is expected to be signed tonight”.
He said:
During a situation assessment conducted tonight, the Chief of Staff ordered all forces on the front and in depth to prepare a strong defensive stance and be ready for every scenario.
The deployment of forces will be carried out according to the directives of the political level and the stages of the agreement, and will be done responsibly while maintaining the security of our soldiers.
Adraee also said the chief of staff had ordered preparations to lead the anticipated operation to return the hostages “with sensitivity and professionalism”.
Updated
What are the main unknowns after today’s ceasefire plan agreement?
Despite the hopes raised for ending the war, crucial details are yet to be spelled out.
These include the timing, a post-war administration for the Gaza Strip and the fate of Hamas, as Reuters reports.
There is no clear indication who will rule Gaza when the war ends. Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, western and Arab states have ruled out a role for Hamas, which has run Gaza since driving out Palestinian rivals in 2007.
Trump’s original 20-point plan envisions a role for the Palestinian Authority but only after it has undergone major reforms.
Trump: US will play role in keeping post-war Gaza 'safe'
Donald Trump has said the US will play a role in helping to rebuild Gaza and keep it safe and peaceful.
“We’ll be involved in helping them make it successful, and helping it stay peaceful,” the president told Fox News hours after he announced Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his peace plan.
Trump added that he was “very confident there’ll be peace in the Middle East”, AFP reported.
Updated
Israeli military 'preparing to receive' hostages
The Israeli army has said it is “preparing to receive” the hostages held in Gaza.
“The Chief of Staff instructed to be prepared to lead the upcoming operation to return the abductees with sensitivity and professionalism,” the Israel Defense Forces posted in Arabic on X.
The military also welcomed the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Updated
In Gaza, as night fell in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi in the south, an AFP contributor described an atmosphere of anticipation before Donald Trump’s deal announcement, with joyful chants of “Allahu akbar” – meaning God is greatest – and some celebratory gunfire into the air.
“We’re closely following every bit of news about the negotiations and the ceasefire,” said 50-year-old Mohammed Zamlot, who had been displaced from northern Gaza.
Analysis: Gaza truce deal a crucial moment but devil is in the detail
For Donald Trump, a peace deal – or even a durable ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – could be the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency.
The details and sequencing of a deal to end Israel’s war in Gaza remain murky, but the statement of purpose by both Israel and Hamas is meaningful. In agreeing to a deal with political backing from Arab states and other regional powers, this is the best chance for an end to the war since a ceasefire broke down in March returning Gaza to a grinding war.
Since March there have been rumblings of a deal but nothing that has come this close. The first phase of the plan is straightforward: the return of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a limited withdrawal by the Israeli military. But locating all the hostages, and managing an Israeli withdrawal, could be complicated.
There is so much left to be discussed. The 20-point peace plan proposed by the Trump administration attempts to thread the needle between creating the conditions for a ceasefire and negotiating a lasting end to the war. The hard questions of Hamas’ future and whether the militant group will disarm, along with Israel’s vision for the future of Gaza, remain to be hammered out.
We have been here before. And yet, this is a crucial moment.
You can read the full analysis here:
Updated
Summary
In case you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of today’s major news of a deal being reached on the war in Gaza.
Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of a peace plan to pause fighting and release some hostages and prisoners held in Gaza.
The US president thanked mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform: “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”
Hamas said it had reached the agreement, confirming the deal includes an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a hostage-prisoner exchange. The militant group said the deal came after “responsible and serious negotiations” over the Trump’s proposal.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US “for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages” and said that “with God’s help, we will bring them all home”. Netanyahu said he would convene the Israeli government on Thursday to approve the deal.
In recent days negotiators have been meeting in Egypt to close gaps between Hamas and Israel over the details of the “first phase” of a 20-point plan announced by Trump at the White House last week.
The Hostages Families Forum, representing many of the hostage families, said it received the news of a ceasefire with “excitement, anticipation and apprehension”. It called on the Israeli government to immediately convene to approve the deal, and praised Trump for his “commitment and determination that led to this historic breakthrough”.
Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The deceased hostages would come out in a later stage in phases. The Israel army would move out of 70% of the area, they said. In exchange, several hundred Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would be released.
A Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement for the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. The agreement “will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”, said Majed al-Ansari, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, speaking on behalf of the mediators of the deal. He said the details would be announced later.
It was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarise – as Trump has demanded – and eventual governance of the war-torn territory.
UN chief António Guterres welcomed the Israel-Hamas agreement, calling on all parties to “abide fully” by its terms.
Trump said earlier that a deal was almost done and that he might travel to Egypt this weekend, possibly leaving as soon as Saturday.
The war began with Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left more than 67,000 Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.
With reporting from Ima Caldwell
Updated
Reaction has begun coming in from Israel and Gaza after today’s reported deal on the first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“I can’t believe the news,” a Palestinian man, Ayman Saber, said of the announcement.
The Khan Younis resident said he planned to return to his home in the city and try to rebuild his house, which was destroyed in an Israeli strike last year.
“I will rebuild the house, we will rebuild Gaza,” he said.
The Associated Press also quotes Daniel Lifshitz, whose grandmother was freed and grandfather was killed in captivity, as thanking world leaders for helping secure the deal, saying in a statement:
We express our deepest gratitude as the historic agreement has been signed – the hostages, our brothers and sisters, are coming home.
From the 20 hostages returned, four are from Lifshitz’s community, including lifelong friends. “This united cooperation and shared moral responsibility have proven that when the right people stand together, humanity prevails,” he said.
“It’s a huge day, huge joy,” said Ahmed Sheheiber, a displaced Palestinian from northern Gaza, at of the truce agreement.
Crying over the phone from his shelter in Gaza City, he said he was waiting “impatiently” for the ceasefire to go into effect to return to his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Updated
Hamas to swap 20 living hostages for almost 2,000 prisoners in first phase – militant source
Hamas will exchange 20 living hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, a source in the militant group has told Agence France-Presse.
The hostages will be released in exchange for 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the war began, the source added.
The exchange would take place within 72 hours of the implementation of the agreement, which is expected to be signed on Thursday, the source said.
Updated
It’s not immediately clear whether Israel and Hamas have made any progress on the thornier questions about the future of the Gaza war, including whether Hamas will demilitarise – as Donald Trump has demanded – and eventual governance of the devastated territory.
But as the AP notes, today’s agreement “nonetheless marked the most momentous development since a deal in January and February that involved the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners”.
Updated
Trump set to visit Israel in 'coming days' – report
Donald Trump has said he is expected to arrive in Israel in the coming days and expressed willingness to speak before its parliament, according to an Israeli journalist.
Barak Ravid said in a post on X on that the US president had told him in a phone interview:
I am expected to arrive in Israel in the coming days. This is a great day for Israel and the world. They want me to speak in the Knesset, and I will definitely do so if they want it that way.
Ravid said Trump added:
My conversation with Bibi was great. He is happy – and rightfully so. This is a big achievement. The whole world rallied to reach this agreement, including countries that were previously enemies.
Updated
UN chief urges all parties to 'abide fully' by peace deal's terms
António Guterres has welcomed the Israel-Hamas agreement while urging all parties to “abide fully by the terms of the agreement”.
The United Nations secretary general said the UN would support the full implementation of the agreement and has been ready to scale up delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza that has been sitting on the borders of Jordan and Egypt.
The Associated Press quoted Guterres as saying:
I urge all stakeholders to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation, recognising the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and achieving a two-state solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.
Updated
United Nations chief António Guterres has urges all sides to fully abide by the Gaza deal, AFP is reporting. More on this soon.
Key event
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal is to be signed on Thursday in Egypt, AFP has quoted a source close to the negotiations as saying.
Hostages and prisoners to be freed within 72 hours of deal starting, says Hamas
Hamas says hostages and Palestinian prisoners are to be exchanged within 72 hours of the peace deal’s implementation, AFP is reporting.
The militant group’s comments came after Donald Trump announced earlier that Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the first phase of his 20-point peace plan.
The US president said on social media that the deal meant “all of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line” as the first steps towards a durable peace.
Updated
Hostage families' group says it is excited at Gaza deal
A group representing hostages’ families has received the ceasefire news with “excitement”.
The Hostages Families Forum said it received the news of a ceasefire with “excitement, anticipation and apprehension”, the Associated Press is reporting.
The forum – a grassroots organisation representing many of the hostage families – called on the Israeli government to immediately convene to approve the deal, and praised Donald Trump for his “commitment and determination that led to this historic breakthrough”.
Trump announced earlier today that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the “first phase” of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners.
The US president posted on his Truth Social platform:
This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.
Updated
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will convene the Israeli government tomorrow in order to approve the peace deal, as reported earlier.
The Israeli prime minister said:
I thank President Trump and his team from the bottom of my heart for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages.
Netanyahu also said he was pleased with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for getting the deal closed. The two – respectively the president’s son-in-law and Trump’s Middle East envoy - earlier arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh to join the talks in Egypt.
Updated
In the lead-up to today’s peace deal announcement, Donald Trump’s secretary of state passed him a Gaza-related note – during an unrelated meeting – that was captured by news photographers and suggested a deal was “very close”.
Here’s our just-launched full report on what happened in the room.
Updated
Hamas to release all 20 living hostages this weekend - reports
Hamas is to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, sources have told the Associated Press, while the Israeli military is to withdraw from the majority of Gaza.
CNN is also reporting that the hostages are expected to be released on Saturday or Sunday, citing an Israeli source as saying.
Updated
Hamas is to release 20 live hostages in the first phase of the Gaza deal, a Palestinian source close to negotiations in Egypt has been quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will convene the Israeli government tomorrow to approve the agreement and bring all the hostages home.
Hamas calls on Trump to ensure Israel implements deal
Hamas has reportedly said it reached an agreement on ending the Gaza war, saying the deal includes an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a hostage-prisoner exchange.
Reuters also quotes a statement from the Palestinian militant as calling on Donald Trump and guarantor states to ensure Israel implements the deal.
Updated
Netanyahu comments after Trump's peace plan announcement
Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “with God’s help we will bring them all home”, after Trump announced the first phase of Israel-Hamas peace deal.
Netanyahu made the comments in a brief statement, Reuters is reporting.
Updated
Trump hails 'great day' and says all parties will be treated fairly
Trump also said that “all parties will be treated fairly” as he announced the agreement, posting on Truth Social:
This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!
The US president’s comments came in a post where he said Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the first phase of his 20-point plan.
Trump also said:
This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.
Updated
Trump says all hostages will be released 'very soon'
US president Donald Trump just said on his Truth Social platform:
I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.
This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.
Updated
Trump says Israel and Hamas have signed off on ‘first phase’ of peace plan
Donald Trump has announced on social media that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of a Gaza peace plan and that it means all of the hostages will be released very soon.
Updated
Hamas’ Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, is meeting with Egyptian intelligence head to put the finishing touches to a “historic” Gaza agreement, a source briefed on the talks said early on Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency.
An agreement could be announced on Thursday, the source added.
Updated
Recapping the latest, Donald Trump has said a deal to end the war in Gaza is “very close” and that he might travel to Egypt this weekend.
The US president offered the upbeat assessment on Wednesday, saying a deal was almost done and that he may travel to the Middle East this weekend, possibly leaving as soon as Saturday, if a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement is reached.
He later clarified that he would likely go to Egypt and the trip would probably be before or just after hostages are released, Reuters reported.
Trump said during an unrelated White House event:
I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly.
The hand-scrawled note on White House stationery read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the Associated Press later reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The developments came after Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the talks in Egypt to try to seal a deal around the president’s 20-point plan.
Updated
Here’s the clip of Trump being passed the note and announcing to reporters that a deal is “very close”, via Sky News.
Watch as Donald Trump is handed a note by Marco Rubio during an event at the White House.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 8, 2025
He tells reporters: 'I was just given a note saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East and they're going to need me pretty quickly'https://t.co/n5edP0ayFu
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/iCKA1W5Gdu
Donald Trump is “considering” going to the Middle East at the end of this week, the White House has reaffirmed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has just released this statement:
On Friday morning, President Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center for a planned meeting and remarks with the troops. While there, President Trump will stop by for his routine yearly check up. He will then return to the White House. President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter.
Note that Rubio hands Trump says Gaza deal is 'very close' and requests approval for a social media announcement
The Associated Press is reporting that the note Marco Rubio just handed Donald Trump appeared to say that a deal was “very close”, along with a request for Trump to give his OK to a social post related to a Gaza deal.
“Very close,” the note says underlined in a photograph captured by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci. “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the hand-scrawled note on White House stationery continues.
A senior White House official has told CNN we can expect a post on Truth Social soon from the US president.
Updated
Trump says ‘we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East’
Donald Trump was just handed a note by US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, during his live roundtable on antifascism, read it and had a brief whispered exchange. The US president then interrupted the discussion to say:
I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly.
Trump added that he would “probably” travel to Egypt either before the Israeli hostages are released in the event of a deal or shortly therafter.
He ended his participation in the White House event by saying:
I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East.
Updated
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi – who has invited Trump to travel to Egypt if a deal is reached – said signs from the talks were “encouraging”, while Hamas, too, expressed “optimism” over the indirect discussions with its foe Israel, Agence France-Presse reports.
Both warring sides have responded positively to Trump’s plan, which calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Al-Qahera News, which is close to Egypt’s intelligence services, reported that the evening sessions for Wednesday’s talks had begun.
Egyptian state-linked media earlier aired footage of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pulling up to the talks.
Trump said he had just come off the phone with officials in the Middle East, where his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had just joined discussions in Egypt.
“’Peace for the Middle East,’ that’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well,” Trump added.
“We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they’re, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen.”
Trump may travel to Middle East at the weekend as he hails progress of talks
Donald Trump says he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week, adding that indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are “very close” and “doing very well”.
The US president was addressing reporters at a roundtable event when he said he may go on Saturday or Sunday.
Talking of “potential peace for the Middle East”, Trump told reporters:
It’s very close, they’re doing very well … It’s something I think will happen, has a good chance of happening. I may go there sometime toward the end of the week. There is a very good chance, negotiations are going very well.
The day so far
We are pausing our live coverage for now after top US, Qatari and Turkish officials joined the third day of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Egypt. With cautious optimism growing that a lasting truce to end Israel’s two-year war in Gaza could be on the horizon, here’s a brief summary of the day’s key developments:
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US president Donald Trump, arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh where talks were being held. Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and head of Turkish intelligence Ibrahim Kalin also attended the Egyptian coastal resort to participate in the talks. Israeli strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a close confidante of Benjamin Netanyahu, is also now in attendance.
The presence of the senior officials from the three countries brought further hope that this round of talks could result in a deal, even as significant gaps remained between the two sides.
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said that negotiations had made “a lot of headway” and that a ceasefire would be declared if they succeed.
Hamas said that it is seeking international guarantees that Israel will not resume bombing Gaza after the group releases all the remaining hostages, living and dead, that it captured on 7 October 2023 – its main leverage over Israel.
Among the points that still need to be negotiated are the demands that Hamas disarm, how and when Israeli troops withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and the makeup of an international technocratic body that is meant to govern Gaza.
Logistics of a hostage-prisoner swap also still need to be ironed out, and Hamas has given mediators a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants to see released from Israeli prisons.
Also today, far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that Netanyahu should seek “complete victory” over Hamas in Gaza, in remarks he made while praying at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem – a disputed area that contains Islam’s third-holiest site and is Judaism’s holiest place – on Wednesday. Hamas called his visit a “deliberate provocation”.
And another Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla aimed at breaking Israel’s naval blockade was intercepted by the Israeli military, days after the detention of activists on an earlier flotilla led to international outrage and widespread protests. The flotilla, which set sail from Turkey, was carrying doctors, nurses and journalists on a ferry converted into a floating hospital, plus medicines, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies intended for Gaza’s health facilities. A statement from the organisers said the Israeli military had no jurisdiction in international waters and the flotilla posed no harm. It said its crews had been “kidnapped”. Demanding their release, Turkey’s foreign ministry described the incident as an “act of piracy” and “an attack on civil activists, including Turkish citizens and members of parliament”.
With that, I’ll leave you with my colleague William Christou’s report.
Updated
Thirteen pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested in the US city of Boston after a “chaotic” clash with police that resulted in four officers being sent to area hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
Everyone arrested at Tuesday’s protest was from the area and ranged in age from 19 to 27, police said. They are due to be arraigned Wednesday and Thursday, most on charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace.
Local news footage showed protesters and police officers shoving one another and even wrestling on the ground. Video showed protesters shouting, “Get off of him,” as officers were restraining someone.
The protest was one of many around the world that coincided with the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 251 people, and Israel responded with a devastating military campaign that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinian people.
Here’s the full story:
Talks are focused on Israeli withdrawal line, timing of hostage release and prisoner swap list
Hamas says the indirect negotiations have so far focused on three issues: halting the conflict, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza and the hostage-prisoner swap deal, Reuters reports.
Two sources familiar with the talks confirmed to the news agency that sticking points included the mechanism for the Israeli withdrawal, with Hamas seeking a clear timeline linked to the release of hostages and guarantees of a complete withdrawal by Israeli forces.
CNN hears similar from an Israeli source familiar with the matter, who said negotiations are focused on where Israeli forces will withdraw to in Gaza, the timeline for the release of the hostages and the list of Palestinian prisoners set for release.
“The fact that senior officials from all the countries are there is encouraging,” the source said.
Updated
As we reported earlier, Hamas handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged in a swap, and, according to Reuters’ sources, was optimistic about the talks so far.
The list of Palestinians Hamas wants freed is expected to include some of the most prominent prisoners ever jailed by Israel, whose release had been off limits in previous ceasefires.
According to a Palestinian source close to the talks, the list includes Marwan al-Barghouti, a leader of the Fatah movement, and Ahmed Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both are serving multiple life sentences for involvement in attacks that killed Israelis.
As I reported earlier, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said the indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas had made “a lot of headway” and that a ceasefire would be declared if they reached a positive outcome.
Trump also expressed optimism about progress towards a deal on Tuesday, and European, Arab and other states will meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss Gaza’s post-war transition, with Washington likely to be represented, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
But crucial details are yet to be spelled out, including the timing, a post-war administration for Gaza and the fate of Hamas.
In case you’re just joining us, talks to end the war in Gaza have been bolstered today by the arrival of senior figures from Israel and the United States in Egypt, after Hamas handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be freed in a swap.
With Donald Trump’s 20-point plan appearing closer than any previous effort to halt the war, delegations were upgrading and expanding their presence at the talks that were launched on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff are now participating in the talks in the Red Sea city, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters, and an Israeli official said strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a close confidante of Benjamin Netanyahu, is also now in attendance.
They joined the talks along with the prime minister of longstanding mediator Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
Updated
Israel halts another Gaza aid flotilla as MEPs demand activists’ release
Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo, Miranda Bryant in Stockholm and Geneva Abdul
A Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla aimed at breaking Israel’s naval blockade has been intercepted by the Israeli military, days after the detention of activists on an earlier flotilla led to international outrage and widespread protests.
Nine sailing vessels flying Italian and French flags and a motor ship registered in Timor-Leste were intercepted and boarded starting at 4.34am on Wednesday in international waters roughly 120 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza, the group’s organisers the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and Thousand Madleens to Gaza said in a statement.
It came as 82 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly and the European parliament called for the immediate and unconditional release of activists from the earlier Gaza Sumud flotilla (GSF) held last week by Israel. At least seven of the more than 450 people detained remain in custody, according to Israeli media reports.
“We urge all governments, international organisations and the international community to condemn the interception of the Global Sumud flotilla and abduction/detention of humanitarian civilians in international waters,” the parliamentarians said.
The latest flotilla, which set sail from Turkey, was carrying doctors, nurses and journalists on a ferry converted into a floating hospital, plus medicines, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies intended for Gaza’s health facilities.
The flotilla’s live tracker said that by 10am on Wednesday all the vessels had been intercepted. A statement from the organisers said the Israeli military had no jurisdiction in international waters and the flotilla posed no harm. It said its crews had been “kidnapped”. The statement said:
This seizure is a blatant violation of international law and defies the binding orders of the international court of justice, which call for unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza. Our volunteers are not subject to Israeli jurisdiction and cannot be criminalised for taking part in a humanitarian mission aimed at delivering aid or for sailing in international waters. Their detention is arbitrary, unlawful and must end immediately.”
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted the boats and that those onboard would be transferred to an Israeli port to be processed and then deported. “Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” it said in a social media post.
Turkey’s foreign ministry described the incident as an “act of piracy” (see my last post) and said all initiatives were being taken for Turkish citizens held by Israel to be freed and returned to Turkey, and that it was coordinating with other countries regarding their citizens.
You can read my colleagues’ full report here:
Updated
'An act of piracy': Turkey urges Israel to release detained lawmakers who were on Gaza aid flotilla
Turkish officials have called for the release of three lawmakers detained after Israeli forces intercepted their boats heading for Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said all nine of its boats were intercepted by the Israeli army as they attempted to approach Gaza to challenge a naval blockade.
Turkey’s foreign ministry slammed the interception as an “act of piracy”, describing it as “an attack on civil activists, including Turkish citizens and members of parliament”.
“This is a serious violation of international law. Our three MPs and all activists illegally detained must be released immediately and unconditionally,” Sena Nur Çelik Kanat, a lawmaker from Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP party, told AFP.
Çelik Kanat was among more than 80 members of the parliamentary assembly of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe who signed a letter calling for the activists’ release.
The pro-Palestinian activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition said the boats were carrying “vital aid worth over $110,000 USD in medicines, respiratory equipment, and nutritional supplies that were destined for Gaza’s starving hospitals”.
Israel has in recent months blocked several international aid flotillas from reaching Gaza, where the UN says famine has set in after two years of devastating conflict.
Updated
Turkey says Gaza negotiations have made 'a lot of headway'
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday that negotiations to end the war in Gaza had made “a lot of headway” and that a ceasefire would be declared if they reached a positive outcome.
Fidan said the talks in Egypt, in which Ankara is taking part, are focused on securing a ceasefire, exchanging hostages and prisoners, allowing more aid and coordinating a timetable for a withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Iran has released a 19-year-old Franco-German national days after throwing out spying charges against him, the French foreign minister has announced.
“Lennart Monterlos is free,” Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X, and is due to travel back to France on Thursday, sources have told AFP.
Monterlos was arrested on 16 June in the southern city of Bandar Abbas, on the third day of the brief war between Iran and Israel. He had been cycling alone across Iran on a Europe-to-Asia bike trip, and was preparing to cross the border into Afghanistan.
Iran’s judiciary announced on Monday that the espionage accusations would be dropped.
France, which has multiple other nationals imprisoned in Iran, had condemned Monterlos’s detention as arbitrary. Iran is believed to hold about 20 Europeans in detention.
French couple Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, accused of spying for Israel, have been in detention in Iran for nearly three and a half years and face the death penalty.
“I have not forgotten Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, whose immediate release we demand,” Barrot said.
Kohler and Paris, who were on the last day of a tourist trip in May 2022, are slated to be part of a potential prisoner swap for an Iranian woman held in France.
Mahdieh Esfandiari was arrested in France in February on charges of promoting terrorism on social media, according to French authorities. Iran has repeatedly called her detention arbitrary but maintains that the French couple were spying on behalf of Israel.
But there have been positive signals from France and Iran for a swap, with Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi saying last month a deal was nearing its final stages.
Barrot said in a media interview on Monday there were “strong prospects of being able to bring them back in the coming weeks”.
In March, Frenchman Olivier Grondeau, who had been detained in Iran since October 2022, was released.
Updated
South Korea’s foreign ministry on Wednesday urged the swift release of its citizen detained after Israel’s navy seized an aid boat en route to Gaza, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Organisers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Israel intercepted at least three boats and detained the activists onboard, with Seoul’s foreign ministry confirming a South Korean national was among them.
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted boats entering waters it says fall under its blockade of the Palestinian territory.
In a pre-recorded video posted on social media after the interception, South Korean activist Kim Ah-hyun appealed to her government to demand her release.
“We will continue to request the Israeli authorities … ensure the swift and fair release of our national as soon as possible,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.
“We will also actively provide necessary consular assistance,” the ministry added, without naming Kim.
Palestinian journalists and local officials rallied against Israeli attacks on Gaza media workers on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists reported.
Dozens of journalists and Palestinian officials marched towards the city’s UN headquarters carrying coffins bearing the names and photos of journalists killed in the Gaza Strip since the war started on 7 October 2023.
Nasser Abu Baker, head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, which organised the event, said:
All of them, every single one of them has his own story.
After the speeches, Abu Baker said he would hand over a letter to the UN representative in Ramallah asking for the secretary general António Guterres to take measures “to protect our journalists in Gaza because they are daily under the fire, under the bombing strike, in a very dangerous situation”.
Abu Baker said that his syndicate had reported the killing of 252 Palestinian journalists in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Here are some of the latest photos of Gaza coming to us through the wires.
Robert Tait is political correspondent for Guardian US, based in Washington DC. He was previously the Guardian’s correspondent in the Czech Republic, Iran and Turkey.
They seemed to be the ties that would for ever bind.
For three-quarters of a century, unshakable support for Israel – in the form of military aid and diplomatic backing, and underpinned by broad public sentiment – has been an indelible feature of the US political landscape.
But Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Michigan, tipped by some as a rising star, detected something had changed as he campaigned in 100 towns and cities across what has long been one of the country’s election swing states.
“There’s no doubt that there’s been a change,” he said. “We’ve now lived through genocide, and that is bound to change public opinion in a pretty profound way.”
Two years after Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023 that killed almost 1,200 – mostly civilians – on the Israeli side and which initially generated a surge in popular solidarity, the views of the American public have indeed undergone a remarkable transformation, polls and analysts say.
You can read more of Robert Tait’s analysis here: Polls and politics point to a sea change in US views on Israel. Will it matter?
Summary of the day so far
It has just gone 5pm in Gaza City and Tel Aviv. Here is a summary of the developments so far on today’s blog:
Delegates from the United States and Turkey as well as Qatar’s prime minister have joined Hamas and Israeli negotiators on Wednesday for a third day of talks aimed at ending the Gaza war. Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, based on a 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump.
Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou said on Wednesday that negotiators from his group and Israel have exchanged lists of prisoners and hostages who would be released should a deal be reached during the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt. Al-Nounou also said Hamas expressed optimism about reaching a deal, stating that the group has demonstrated the necessary positivity.
Hamas have condemned Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa compound on Wednesday as a “deliberate provocation”. Israel’s far-right national security minister prayed at al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday and called on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue “complete victory” over Hamas in Gaza.
Ben Gvir’s remarks came as Israel and Hamas are deep in indirect negotiations in Egypt to release all remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza and end the war there. Gaza’s Islamic Jihad group, which is smaller than Hamas and also holds Israeli hostages, will also join the talks today.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to attend a ministerial meeting on Thursday in Paris with European, Arab and other states to discuss Gaza’s postwar transition, three diplomatic sources told Reuters on Wednesday. The meeting, which will be held in parallel with the negotiations in Egypt, is intended to discuss how to implement Trump’s plan and assess countries’ collective commitments.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday it was neither fair nor realistic to put the burden of achieving peace in Gaza solely on Hamas and Palestinians, and that Israel must stop its attacks in order for peace efforts to succeed. Speaking to lawmakers from his party, Erdoğan said Israel remained the main obstacle to peace in Gaza despite a plan by Trump. Ceasefire talks in Egypt, to which Turkish officials are attending, are critical, he said.
Erdoğan said in a transcript shared by his office on Wednesday that Trump had asked Turkey to “persuade” Hamas to accept his plan for ending the Gaza war. “Both during our visit to the United States and in our most recent phone call, we explained to Mr Trump how a solution could be achieved in Palestine. He specifically requested that we meet with Hamas and persuade them,” Erdoğan told Turkish journalists on board a plane returning from Azerbaijan.
Israel has disputed assertations by a UN children’s agency official that it had repeatedly denied permission to transfer incubators from an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, adding to strain on overcrowded hospitals farther south where newborn babies are now sharing oxygen masks. James Elder, Unicef spokesperson, described mothers and babies lining the corridor floors of Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, and said that premature babies were being forced to share oxygen masks and beds.
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli fire had killed at least eight people across the territory in the past 24 hours, the lowest death toll it has reported in the past week.
Six South African activists who were detained by Israel while attempting to reach Gaza as part of an aid flotilla said on Wednesday that they were subjected to harsher treatment than other detainees because of South Africa’s role in a genocide case against Israel. Speaking after their return, the activists, which include the grandson of Nelson Mandela, said they were singled out after Israeli guards noticed that they were from South Africa. Two Muslim women among the group said they had their hijabs ripped off their heads and were forced to strip naked in front of Israeli soldiers. Israel’s foreign ministry has vehemently denied any claims of mistreatment, and noted that all activists were given the opportunity to voluntarily be deported without detention.
A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests. The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said on Instagram. Turkey criticised the intervention by Israeli forces as an act of piracy and a violation of international law.
Five Irish citizens including author Naoise Dolan are among those who been detained by Israeli authorities who have stopped a second wave of boats heading towards Gaza with humanitarian aid. Ireland’s deputy prime minister Simon Harris confirmed the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv was “actively engaged with the situation” and he expected “all detainees will be transferred to Ashdod port for process and from there to a detention facility south of Tel Aviv”.
A Filipino crew member of a Dutch cargo ship has died from injuries sustained in an attack by Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden last week, the Philippine government said on Wednesday. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the 29 September attack in the busy shipping lane on the MV Minervagracht, causing a fire and injuring two people.
Islamophobic attacks across the US have risen precipitously in the two years since Hamas’s attack on Israel. Last year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) recorded 8,658 complaints, a record.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer will order the home secretary to look at further curbs on protests including potential powers to take action against specific inflammatory chants at pro-Palestinian protests. Speaking to reporters en route to Mumbai, the prime minister said Labour was looking at going even further than the measures announced by Shabana Mahmood, which would look at the “cumulative impact” of repeat protests in certain locations.
South African activists on Gaza flotilla claim harsh treatment by Israel over genocide case
Six South African activists who were detained by Israel while attempting to reach Gaza as part of an aid flotilla said on Wednesday that they were subjected to harsher treatment than other detainees because of South Africa’s role in a genocide case against Israel, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Speaking after their return, the activists, which include the grandson of Nelson Mandela, said they were singled out after Israeli guards noticed that they were from South Africa. Two Muslim women among the group said they had their hijabs ripped off their heads and were forced to strip naked in front of Israeli soldiers.
Since 2023, South Africa has been involved in a highly contentious case in the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Mandla Mandela, the grandson of South Africa’s first black president, said the South African activists on the flotilla were “harshly dealt with” because their country has confronted Israel over its actions in Gaza by launching the case at the International Court of Justice. Their treatment was “because we are a nation that dared through our government to take apartheid Israel to the International Court of Justice and the international criminal court and hold them accountable,” Mandla Mandela said.
South African activists Fatima Hendricks and Zaheera Soomar told reporters at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport on their return that their hijabs were forcibly removed from their heads while they were detained by Israel, which did not happen to other Muslim female activists.
“Both of us were forced behind a screen, our heads pushed against the wall and completely stripped naked in front of Israeli soldiers. This did not happen to other women,” said Soomar. “When they saw our passports, this is how we were treated as South Africans.”
Israel’s foreign ministry has vehemently denied any claims of mistreatment, and noted that all activists were given the opportunity to voluntarily be deported without detention.
The six South Africans were among 450 activists who were arrested as Israeli forces intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, a fleet of 42 boats seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid to the famine-stricken territory. They were detained last week and were brought to Israel.
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was among the activists arrested. Thunberg and activists from other countries have also claimed they were mistreated by Israeli guards, claims Israel has rejected as “brazen lies.”
Mandla Mandela has previously been criticised over his alleged support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas and was denied a visa to travel to the UK last year, reports the AP.
Israel has vehemently rejected the allegation it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and has accused South Africa of being Hamas’ “legal arm” by filing the case.
Updated
Unicef official says Gaza babies forced to share oxygen masks but Israel challenges UN data
Israel has disputed assertations by a UN children’s agency official on Tuesday that it had repeatedly denied permission to transfer incubators from an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, adding to strain on overcrowded hospitals farther south where newborn babies are now sharing oxygen masks.
James Elder, Unicef spokesperson, described mothers and babies lining the corridor floors of Nasser hospital in southern Gaza, and said that premature babies were being forced to share oxygen masks and beds. Meanwhile, vital equipment is stranded in hospitals that have been shut in the north.
Israel on Wednesday disputed the assertion and said it was allowing the transfer of medical equipment from the north of the territory to its south.
“We’ve been trying to recover incubators from a hospital that was evacuated in the north, and we’ve had four missions denied simply to get those incubators,” he told Reuters by video link from Gaza, referring to supplies now stuck at the damaged al-Rantissi children’s hospital in Gaza City.
At a hospital Elder visited in the south, meanwhile, “in one of the paediatric rooms, there were three babies and three mums on a single bed, one source of oxygen, and the mothers would rotate the oxygen 20 minutes to each child,” he said. “This is the level of desperation mums have now got to.”
Cogat, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, said the UN’s data was wrong and that hundreds of coordination requests for humanitarian convoys, including the transfer of food, medical equipment, fuel and teams were being approved.
“The transfer of medical equipment from hospitals in the north to those in the south is being facilitated in accordance with hospital requests,” Cogat said.
The UN humanitarian office said on Tuesday that Israel had either denied or impeded 45% of its 8,000 requested humanitarian missions within Gaza since 7 October 2023.
Unicef has called for the evacuation of ill and premature babies remaining in northern Gaza hospitals. The World Health Organization (WHO) transferred three of them last week to a hospital farther south, but said one died before the mission.
Only 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are now even partially functional, the WHO says.
Updated
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli fire had killed at least eight people across the territory in the past 24 hours, the lowest death toll it has reported in the past week.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to attend a ministerial meeting on Thursday in Paris with European, Arab and other states to discuss Gaza’s postwar transition, three diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
The meeting, which will be held in parallel with the negotiations in Egypt, is intended to discuss how to implement Donald Trump’s plan and assess countries’ collective commitments.
My colleague Stephen Starr reports that Islamophobic attacks across the US have risen precipitously in the two years since Hamas’s attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, and the ensuing destruction Israel has unleashed on Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people and devastated the Strip. Last year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) recorded 8,658 complaints, a record.
Reports of antisemitism have also surged in recent years – a report released on Sunday found that more than half of American Jews say they have faced antisemitism in the past year. Data is difficult to come by because some sources tracking antisemitism don’t make clear distinctions between anti-Zionism and anti-Jewish hate. However, synagogues have widely reported increasing their security budgets over violent threats, and Jewish institutions are especially unnerved after two people were killed in an attack on a UK synagogue last week.
You can read the full story here:
Reuters is reporting that Gaza’s Islamic Jihad group, which is smaller than Hamas and also holds Israeli hostages, will join the talks today.
Hamas wants a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire, a complete pullout of Israeli forces and the immediate start of a comprehensive reconstruction process under the supervision of a Palestinian “national technocratic body”.
Israel, for its part, wants Hamas to disarm, which the group rejects. Hamas has said it won’t hand over its weapons until a Palestinian state has been established.
US officials suggest they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian detainees in Israel would be freed.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images coming in via the newswires:
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday it was neither fair nor realistic to put the burden of achieving peace in Gaza solely on Hamas and Palestinians, and that Israel must stop its attacks in order for peace efforts to succeed, reports Reuters.
Speaking to lawmakers from his party, Erdoğan said Israel remained the main obstacle to peace in Gaza despite a plan by US president Donald Trump. Ceasefire talks in Egypt, to which Turkish officials are attending, are critical, he said.
“Peace is not a bird with a single wing. Putting the entire burden of peace on Hamas and Palestinians is not a fair, correct or realistic approach,” he said, repeating his claim that Hamas is a “resistance group”.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer will order the home secretary to look at further curbs on protests including potential powers to take action against specific inflammatory chants at pro-Palestinian protests.
Speaking to reporters en route to Mumbai, the prime minister said Labour was looking at going even further than the measures announced by Shabana Mahmood, which would look at the “cumulative impact” of repeat protests in certain locations.
The proposals have been attacked by civil liberties group over the threats the potential restrictions pose to the right to protest. But after a terror attack on a Manchester synagogue, Starmer is also under pressure to go further, especially over chants that could invoke violence, such as “globalise the intifada”.
Over the weekend, Mahmood said the new laws would allow police officers to consider the cumulative impact of protest when deciding whether or not they are lawful. Protests could be re-routed or even barred altogether if their impact was considered too disruptive.
But Starmer said there was more that could be done, specifically to address the small minority of protesters on pro-Gaza marches who he suggested engaged in antisemitic hate. He said:
I’ve asked the home secretary to look more broadly at what other powers are available, how they’re being used and whether they should be changed in any way. I think we need to go further than that in relation to some of the chants that are going on at some of these protests.
Starmer also suggested that police forces could take further steps themselves:
That has to be part of the review that we carry into what powers do we have and how they’re being exercised. And then the question of do any of these powers therefore need to be changed or enhanced?
And that’s the exercise we’re going through. But we are talking at length to leaders of the Jewish community about this, as you would expect.
Starmer said the review would take in all of the government’s current powers over public order. He said:
I think we need to review more broadly public order powers and there will be a series of actions that we will agree in due course across Whitehall.
Updated
Five Irish citizens including author Naoise Dolan are among those who been detained by Israeli authorities who have stopped a second wave of boats heading towards Gaza with humanitarian aid.
They have been part of the nine-strong Thousands Madleens flotilla which were intercepted around 5am this morning.
In a piece written for the Guardian before she was detained, Nolan said her resolve and that of six others on the boat had not been dented. “Palestinians do not yet have freedom, and our own freedoms will be compromised until they do,” she wrote.
Also on board with Irish parliamentarian Barry Heneghan, Fionn Macarthur, Veronica O’Keane and Mutaz Jadaan, a dual Irish-Jordanian citizen.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister Simon Harris confirmed the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv was “actively engaged with the situation” and he expected “all detainees will be transferred to Ashdod port for process and from there to a detention facility south of Tel Aviv”. He was due to receive an update from the Israeli ambassador later this morning.
Hamas condemns Israeli minister's visit to al-Aqsa compound as 'deliberate provocation'
Hamas have condemned Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to al-Aqsa compound on Wednesday as a “deliberate provocation”. Hamas wrote in a statement:
This deliberate provocation … reflects the fascist mentality governing the [Israeli] government, which intentionally violates the sanctity of al-Aqsa and the feelings of Muslims worldwide.
Israel’s far-right national security minister prayed at al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday and called on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue “complete victory” over Hamas in Gaza.
According to Reuters, in a video on the edge of one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East, Ben-Gvir said that two years after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war, Israel was “winning” at the Jerusalem compound known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
A second video showed him praying at the compound, in a fresh challenge to a decades-old understanding which allows only Muslim worship at the site.
Ben-Gvir said in the video released by his Jewish Power party:
Every house in Gaza has a picture of the Temple Mount, and today, two years later, we are winning on the Temple Mount. We are the owners of the Temple Mount.
I only pray that our prime minister will allow a complete victory in Gaza as well – to destroy Hamas, with God’s help we will return the hostages, and we will win a complete victory.
His remarks were released as Israel and Hamas are deep in indirect negotiations in Egypt to release all remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza and end the war there.
Updated
As part of the Guardian’s Israel-Gaza: two years on series marking the second anniversary of the Hamas attack into Israel and the war in Gaza, the below has been published:
The children’s names appear on a list of victims of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, maintained by health authorities in the territory. As of the end of July it ran to 60,199 names, of whom 18,457 were under 18s. Far from comprehensive, the list does not include the thousands still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, as well as the war’s many indirect victims.
Updated
Agence France-Presse have a quote from senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou.
Speaking to the news agency from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, where indirect talks began on Monday between Israel and Hamas, al-Nounou said:
The mediators are making great efforts to remove any obstacles to the implementation of the ceasefire, and a spirit of optimism prevails among all parties.
US president Donald Trump asked Turkey to “persuade” Hamas to accept his plan for ending the Gaza war, president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a transcript shared by his office on Wednesday.
“Both during our visit to the United States and in our most recent phone call, we explained to Mr Trump how a solution could be achieved in Palestine. He specifically requested that we meet with Hamas and persuade them,” Erdoğan told Turkish journalists on board a plane returning from Azerbaijan, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, his spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP), as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were being held in Egypt on ending the Gaza war.
The visit is Ben Gvir’s eleventh as minister to the area which contains Islam’s third-holiest site and is Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the first and second Jewish temples.
Turkey on Wednesday criticised an intervention by Israeli forces against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla as an act of piracy and a violation of international law.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said the intervention against the Freedom Flotilla, including Turkish nationals and lawmakers, showed that the “genocidal” Israeli government targeted all peaceful measures and heightened tensions in the region while damaging peace efforts, reports Reuters.
“The intervention in international waters against the Freedom Flotilla … is an act of piracy,” it said in a statement, describing it as “an attack on civil activists, including Turkish citizens and members of parliament”.
It added in its statement that all initiatives were being taken for Turkish citizens held by Israel to be freed and returned to Turkey, and that it was coordinating with other countries regarding their citizens too.
Hamas official says hostage and prisoner lists exchanged with Israel
Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nounou said on Wednesday that negotiators from his group and Israel have exchanged lists of prisoners and hostages who would be released should a deal be reached during the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt.
According to Reuters, al-Nounou also said Hamas expressed optimism about reaching a deal, stating that the group has demonstrated the necessary positivity.
Philippines says crew member of Dutch ship has died after Houthi attack
A Filipino crew member of a Dutch cargo ship has died from injuries sustained in an attack by Houthi rebels in the Gulf of Aden last week, the Philippine government said on Wednesday.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the 29 September attack in the busy shipping lane on the MV Minervagracht, causing a fire and injuring two people.
The second casualty, also a Filipino, is recovering from injuries sustained in the attack, while 10 other Filipino crew members were repatriated to Manila at the weekend, the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Philippine officials are on their way to Djibouti, along with the dead sailor’s sister and wife, to meet the shipowner and arrange for the repatriation of his remains, migrant workers minister Hans Cacdac said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The Houthis have said their attacks on commercial shipping are in support of Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday evening attended a vigil in Manhattan convened by Israelis for Peace, an anti-occupation group of Israelis in New York who have rallied weekly since 2023 to call for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
Sitting in Union Square alongside New York City comptroller Brad Lander, his one-time rival for the Democratic nomination who has been campaigning for him, Mamdani listened as speakers at the event – which marked the two-year anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel – called for an end to the killing and to Israel’s occupation, and for equal rights for Palestinians.
Earlier in the day, Mamdani drew ire from Israel over his statement on the anniversary in which he commemorated both the Israeli victims from that day and Palestinian victims from Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza.
Mamdani said in the statement on Tuesday:
Two years ago today, Hamas carried out a horrific war crime, killing more than 1,100 Israelis and kidnapping 250 more. I mourn these lives and pray for the safe return of every hostage still held and for every family whose lives were torn apart by these atrocities.
He denounced Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government for launching a “genocidal war” in Gaza as well. He also accused the US government of being “complicit”.
Mamdani wrote:
A death toll that now far exceeds 67,000; with the Israeli military bombing homes, hospitals, and schools into rubble.
Every day in Gaza has become a place where grief itself has run out of language. I mourn these lives and pray for the families that have been shattered.
He said the last two years had “demonstrated the very worst of humanity” and called for an end to Israeli “occupation and apartheid”.
Mamdani’s statement prompted a sharp rebuke from the Israeli foreign ministry on X, accusing him of “acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda” and “spreading Hamas’s fake genocide campaign”.
Israel intercepts another Gaza aid flotilla amid criticism over treatment of activists
A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests.
The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said on Instagram.
“The Israeli military has no legal jurisdiction over international waters,” it added. “Our flotilla poses no harm.”
“Three vessels – Gaza Sunbirds, Alaa Al-Najjar, and Anas Al-Sharif – have been attacked and illegally intercepted by the Israeli military” early morning, 220km off the coast of Gaza, organisers said on X.
It said another ship, the Conscience was also “under attack”.
The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed it had intercepted boats attempting to reach Gaza and that those on board would be transferred to an Israeli port where they would be deported.
“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the ministry said in a post online.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is an international network of pro-Palestinian activist groups that organises civilian maritime missions aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians there.
The ships carried aid worth more than $110,000 in medicines, respiratory equipment and nutritional supplies intended for Gaza’s starving hospitals, the FFC said.
The incident was the second such event in recent days, after Israel intercepted about 40 vessels and detained more than 450 activists in an aid convoy, the Global Sumud Flotilla, that was also attempting to deliver supplies to Gaza.
US, Turkey and Qatar join Hamas and Israeli negotiators for third day of Gaza ceasefire talks
Delegates from the United States and Turkey as well as Qatar’s prime minister will join Hamas and Israeli negotiators on Wednesday for a third day of talks aimed at ending the Gaza war.
Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, based on a 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump.
Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are all due to attend the talks, Agence France-Presse reports (AFP).
“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” the US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Trump added:
I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It’s something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.
The talks came as Israel commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack that triggered the war. It resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Militants also took 251 people hostage into Gaza, of whom 47 remain captive, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.
Global pressure to end the war has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli hostage families still longing for their loved ones’ return. A UN commission announced last month that it had found Israel to be committing genocide in Gaza.
We will post updates on the talks aimed at ending the Gaza war as they come in. But first, here are some other developments:
Israelis gathered across the country on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the Hamas-led 7 October attack. Unofficial commemorations were held in the small kibbutzim of southern Israel whose members were killed or kidnapped, and a large rally was held in Tel Aviv to call for the release of the remaining hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza.
A new Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been intercepted by the Israeli army, days after the detention of activists on board vessels bound for the war-torn territory caused international outrage and widespread protests. The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Instagram.
Israeli forces have arrested at least 35 people in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and elsewhere since Monday, according to a group representing Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli military did not immediately confirm the arrests but said “regular counter-terrorism activity” was under way.
Israel has repeatedly denied permission to transfer incubators from an evacuated hospital in northern Gaza, a UN children’s agency official said on Tuesday, adding to strain on overcrowded hospitals farther south where newborn babies are now sharing oxygen masks.
