(today)
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has told CNN that a ceasefire-hostage deal for Gaza is currently on the table with a pathway to end the war, and urged Hamas to accept it.
The proposal would see the release of half of the living hostages and half of those who have died in exchange for a temporary ceasefire before negotiations begin for a comprehensive agreement to end the war.
He declined to specify how long that temporary truce would last, which has been a key issue in the negotiations.
(today)
Al Jazeera’s sources said Hamas and the US’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, agreed to the draft deal at a meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha. They said it includes a 60-day ceasefire, and the release of 10 living captives held in Gaza, over two stages.
US President Donald Trump would guarantee the terms of the deal and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The agreement would also allow for the entry of humanitarian aid, without conditions, from day one, the sources said.
(24 hours ago)
Sources told Al Jazeera that representatives of Hamas and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have reached a draft ceasefire agreement in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
However, a US official told Al Jazeera that, according to Witkoff, Hamas has not agreed to a proposal currently on the table, and what he’s seen from the Palestinian group is “disappointing and completely unacceptable”.
Al Jazeera’s sources said the draft of the deal included a 60-day truce, the release of 10 living captives, and the return of bodies of others in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages.
Five Israeli captives would be freed at the start of the agreement, with the other five released on the 60th day, they said.
Witkoff also rejected the notion that Hamas had accepted his offer for a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Gaza, telling Reuters that what he had seen was „completely unacceptable“ and the proposal being discussed was not the same as his.
Several news outlets reported on Monday that Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal that reportedly involves the releasing of 10 captives in two batches and a 70-day truce.
Citign a Hamas source, the AFP reported that Hamas agreed to the new proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
However, Witkoff appeared to walk back the reports. He told Axios on Monday that he was „disappointed“ that Hamas did not accept his proposal.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios on Monday he is „disappointed“ that Hamas has so far failed to accept his proposal for a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
The first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials took place four days after the invasion began, on 28 February 2022, in Belarus, and concluded without result. Later rounds of talks took place in March 2022 on the Belarus–Ukraine border and in Antalya, Turkey. Negotiations in Turkey created an agreement in which Ukraine would abandon plans to join NATO and have limits placed on its military, while having security guarantees from Western countries, and not being required to recognize Russia‘s annexation of Crimea. The draft treaty was almost agreed to, but disagreements over security guarantees and the Bucha massacre ultimately halted negotiations.
The official adds that Israel is expected to present a counteroffer and that an agreement will unlikely be agreed to by the Muslim holiday, set to begin Sunday or Monday.
The real issues are: Who is to blame for failing to prevent Hamas’s October 7 invasion, will the failures be fixed, and will the Shin Bet be turned into a loyalty agency that looks the other way when Jewish extremists perpetrate violence against West Bank Palestinians, as many observers say happened to the police under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which is to say under Netanyahu.
Dismissing the Shin Bet head during the investigation, Bar argues, is tainted with “extraneous considerations and a personal and institutional conflict of interest that could not be more serious.” It risks jeopardizing the investigation, he says, which is a danger to the country’s security.
He also pushes for a state commission of inquiry into October 7: “The urgent national need for such an investigation cannot be subordinated to the personal considerations of those involved in the matter, as it is the only way to ensure that such a multi-system failure will not occur again.”
The announcement was made despite a letter sent to the government by the Attorney General’s Office earlier in the day, which stated that the government must obtain a recommendation from an advisory committee before weighing Bar’s dismissal.
Citing a cabinet resolution from 2016, the office said that the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee must sign off on the dismissal of anyone from seven different senior civil service positions, including the head of the Shin Bet.
(March 16, 2025)
– The investigation, dubbed „Qatar-Gate“ in the Israeli press, focused on alleged payments Netanyahu‘s advisers facilitated and received from Qatar in return for working on improving the image of the country in Israel.
– Qatar is one of the key mediators in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. But Netanyahu‘s decision in 2018 to ask Qatar to transfer money to Hamas in Gaza for humanitarian purposes became one of the main points of criticism against him after the Oct. 7 attack.
– The Shin Bet determined a portion of that money went to Hamas‘ military build-up.
(March 16, 2025)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night said he will propose to the cabinet to fire Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director Ronen Bar about 18 months before his term expires.
Bar is probing several top aides of Netanyahu who are involved in “Qatargate,” a saga in which they allegedly were paid by Qatar at the same time as handling sensitive hostage negotiations policy for the prime minister also connected to Qatar.
(November 4, 2024)
During that period, the US, Qatar, and Egypt were mediating talks between Israel and Hamas, seeking a framework for a ceasefire and a potential hostage release. Both sides ultimately accused the other of obstructing progress. Hostage families, frustrated by the lack of movement, joined journalists in a petition to lift the gag order on Feldstein’s case.
(NOVEMBER 19, 2024)
Yonatan Urich, spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu, verified that the primary suspect in the Prime Minister‘s Office leaks scandal, Eliezar Feldstein, had passed classified information to the German newspaper Bild, according to a report by KAN11.
Urich, who was investigated along with other employees of the PMO, verified with Feldstein that he had passed the classified documents to the „Husid“ (devotee), the codename for Shrulik Einhorn, their main contact at the Bild.
Fifty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after the return of four bodies last week. Of the 59, 24 are thought to be alive, according to Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, aid groups and the United Nations have slammed the Israeli announcement to halt aid, with Egypt, a mediator in the ceasefire deal, saying it “unequivocally rejects the politicization of humanitarian aid and its exploitation as a tool of blackmail.”
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff plans to return to the Middle East “in the coming days to work out either a way to extend Phase I or advance to Phase II” of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, a US State Department spokesperson said on Monday.
Hamas and Israel are set to start talks on advancing to the second phase of the agreement, which includes a permanent cessation of the Gaza war, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the release of dozens of captives still held by Hamas.
However, talks appear to have not yet started, despite being scheduled for earlier this month, with the first phase set to expire in March, creating uncertainty about the future of the agreement.
Accusing Hamas of so-called “humiliating ceremonies” and the “cynical use of hostages for propaganda,” Netanyahu’s office declared that the scheduled release of Palestinian detainees on Saturday would be delayed until Israel secures the next batch of hostages.
(February 17, 2025)
Source accuses government of placing political goals over hostages’ lives; talks for second stage said to be dependent on security cabinet approval, as demanded by Smotrich
When asked if he felt the ceasefire deal should be canceled, the president said that is „Israel’s decision.“
„If all the Gaza hostages aren‘t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,“ Trump said in the Oval Office. „Let all hell break out; Israel can override it.“
(February 10, 2025)
However, Abu Obaida, spokesman for Hamas‘s armed wing the Qassam Brigades, said it will be „postponed until further notice, pending the occupation‘s compliance and retroactive fulfullment of the past weeks‘ obligations“.
„We reaffirm our commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the occupation adheres to them,“ he added.
Abu Obaida said the delay would continue until Israel halted its attacks on Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza and allowed aid into the enclave at previously-agreed-to levels.
(February 9, 2025)
Government delays Security Cabinet talks on Phase II of hostage deal despite public outrage; families urge swift action after freed hostages appeared gaunt and frail, underscoring dire state of 76 captives still held in Gaza
Putin responded on December 26 to a journalist‘s request to comment on the Trump team’s reported early November suggestion to delay Ukraine‘s membership in NATO for 10 to 20 years.[1] Putin stated that it does not matter if Ukraine joins NATO „today, tomorrow, or in 10 years.“ Putin‘s December 26 statement is part of a series of comments he has made recently reiterating his refusal to consider compromises on his late 2021 and early 2022 demands.[2] These demands include forcing Ukraine to become a permanently neutral state that will never join NATO, imposing severe limitations on the size of the Ukrainian military, and removing the Ukrainian government.
His demands continue to include Ukraine’s permanent neutral status, renouncement of NATO ambitions, restrictions on its military size, and regime change in Kyiv.
(December 23, 2024)
From the beginning it was clear that the only feasible post-Hamas arrangement would be a return of the Palestinian Authority, which now runs the West Bank autonomy zones, back to Gaza, from which Hamas expelled it in 2007 by force. Israel itself once yearned for this, back when rational people governed the country. The proposals pushed by President Joe Biden for more than a year now envision versions of this, with the PA rejuvenated and assisted by Arab and perhaps other forces.
An Israel that wanted this would have ensured that Hamas is out of the way, publicly and persistently offering its remaining troops exile. Arab pressure on the group would have been overpowering. Israel would possibly get peace with Saudi Arabia as part of the bargain.
Instead, Netanyahu’s goons flooded the airwaves arguing that Israel cannot pull out of Gaza and end the war because Hamas would regain power.
Grund ist eine fehlende Beschlussfähigkeit des Parlaments, weil sich an der Abstimmung nur 195 Abgeordnete beteiligten.
Mindestens 200 der insgesamt 300 Abgeordneten hätten abstimmen müssen. Somit scheiterte die Abstimmung automatisch an der fehlenden Beschlussfähigkeit.
Trump’s comments came after Hamas issued a video statement saying 33 of its captives have been killed during Israel’s brutal war on Gaza dating back to October last year, when Hamas attacked Israel and took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
“Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site.
He added that, “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”
A new video released by al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas‘s military wing, warns Israel against furthering the war on Gaza and says 33 Israeli captives held in the strip have already been killed by Israeli airstrikes
(June 7, 2017)
The established pattern of constraints on Iran’s nuclear program could be held as the gold standard for the rest of the international community. This option is readily available to the United States and the partners with which it negotiated the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The international community should draw on that agreement and turn its standards into general, global ones, applying them to all countries seeking to enrich uranium or attempting to use plutonium for any purpose.
(November 8, 2024)
The Biden administration has lifted a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine to help the country’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems, particularly F16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems, an official with direct knowledge of the plan told CNN.
(,,,)
It is not clear whether Donald Trump will keep the policy in place when he takes office in January. Trump has said he hopes to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “within 24 hours” of returning to power.
Auch Bundesinnenministerin Nancy Faeser (SPD) warnte vor den zunehmenden Gefahren durch russische Geheimdienst-Aktivitäten in Deutschland. „Wir sehen, dass Putins Regime immer aggressiver agiert“, sagte Faeser dem „Handelsblatt“. Der CDU-Politiker Roderich Kiesewetter warnte in diesem Zusammenhang auch vor Gewalttaten: „Sabotage und gezielte Mordanschläge sind deshalb wahrscheinlich“, sagte er ebenfalls dem „Handelsblatt“.
Nach Informationen der Nachrichtenagentur dpa bestand der glückliche Zufall darin, dass der Weiterflug des aus dem Baltikum stammenden Frachtpakets sich in Leipzig verzögerte. Das Paket hatte einen Brandsatz enthalten, der dort zündete und einen Frachtcontainer in Brand setzte. In Sicherheitskreisen wird davon ausgegangen, dass der Vorfall im Zusammenhang mit russischer Sabotage steht.
„Der Kreml sieht den Westen und damit auch Deutschland als Gegner“, warnte auch Bruno Kahl, Präsident des Bundesnachrichtendienstes (BND), mit Hinweis auf den Ukraine-Krieg.
(…)
Alle drei Geheimdienst-Spitzen mahnten, dass die Sicherheitsdienste mit den nötigen Kompetenzen ausgestattet werden müssten, um die Gefahren abwehren zu können. Rosenberg sagte, sie hoffe auf „eine Realitätsanpassung der Gesetzeslage, um unseren Auftrag bestmöglich erfüllen zu können“.
(October 2, 2024)
Nasrallah‘s assassination followed two weeks of precise Israeli strikes that have destroyed weapons sites, eliminated half of Hezbollah‘s leadership council and decimated its top military command.
On Thursday, Iranian sources revealed that the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Esmail Qaani, is under investigation on suspicion of espionage, after his chief of staff, Ehsan Shafiqi, was suspected of collaborating with Israel.
Nilforoushan, who had flown into Beirut that evening from Tehran, was taken directly from the plane to the operations room beneath the residential neighbourhood of Haret Hreik, the sources said. He arrived there before Nasrallah.
The strike that targeted the meeting took place shortly after Nasrallah entered the room, the sources said.
“The breach was 100 percent Iranian and there is no question about this part,” a source close to Hezbollah told MEE.
Iranian state media announced Nilforoushan’s death as a “martyr” who died alongside Nasrallah.
Sources close to Hezbollah told MEE that Qaani was in Lebanon and had been expected to attend the Shura Council meeting at Safieddine‘s invitation on the day of the air strike.
But Qaani apologised and backed out of the meeting shortly before it began, they said.
)October 3, 2024)
The revelation from Bou Habib could provide insight into how Israel killed Nasrallah, who has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts over the decades.
Another report from Reuters published on Wednesday said that Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sent a messenger to warn Nasrallah that Israel was planning to assassinate him. That messenger, senior Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in the Israeli strike on Friday 27 September.
One of the most important UN resolutions – we mentioned it yesterday – is to be voted on today or tomorrow (unclear). But it is still hidden by those who bring it into the UN General Assembly and by the United Nations Organization itself.
That is bonkers. Mildly spoken.