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US envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas’s new leader in Egypt yesterday, sources with knowledge of the talks told AFP, in a push to revive a Gaza peace plan rejected by Israel.Two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump’s Gaza plan by saying it would hand over weapons to a new governing committee, Kushner pressed for verifiable disarmament.Kushner called for “concrete, verifiable steps” and relayed a message that “Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel”, said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya took part in the discussions in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, making his first trip since assuming leadership of the group in July.In the talks with Kushner, Hamas again voiced its commitment to the agreement, another source with knowledge of the talks said. Source link
Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, in Gaza City, August 15, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Donald Trump’s envoys met with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo yesterday, a diplomatic source said, in a bid to advance the US president’s Gaza peace plan, even as Israel pressed on with airstrikes in the enclave.Hamas officials were present at some of the meetings between mediators and with Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, the diplomat said.A senior Israeli official said Kushner and Mladenov were scheduled to meet on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on August 9 said Trump’s latest roadmap for Gaza peace was ‘unacceptable’.The official said that Israel was concerned about Washington’s demand to end targeted assassinations of Hamas militants in Gaza as the group rebuilds its forces.Trump’s peace plan calls for the immediate cessation of military operations in Gaza. It foresees Hamas disarming as Israeli troops withdraw from the enclave and Gaza is rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration.After scaling back its attacks in the enclave earlier this month, Israel’s airstrikes have resumed in the past few days.The Israeli military said on Sunday that its aircraft struck two fighters in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. At least five Palestinians were injured in the strike which hit a tent encampment, medics in the enclave said.One of the injured in the strike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza died from their wounds, medics at Nasser hospital said later.A separate airstrike, which the Israeli military said targeted another fighter, hit an apartment in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, wounding several people, medics said.Earlier, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya met with Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad in Cairo. Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Hazem Qassem, said al-Hayya would brief mediators on what he said were Israel’s ceasefire violations.Kushner had earlier met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Sisi’s office said.Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, to which both Israel and Hamas had agreed.Hamas said it had agreed to the plan to avoid a resumption of the war, but added that implementation of the deal would depend on Israel first meeting its own commitments, including withdrawing its forces and halting attacks.An October ceasefire halted major fighting in a devastating two-year war in Gaza.Israeli fire has killed more than 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them civilians, since October. It is unclear how many of those killed were fighters, as Hamas does not usually disclose information about dead fighters.Four Israeli soldiers were killed by fighters in Gaza over the same period, according to Israeli figures. …
A general view of Qusra village as Israeli military forces gather on it’s outskirts, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 15, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman Families on the outskirts of Qusra, the West Bank village where Palestinian homes have been under siege for nearly a week, said they have faced sometimes deadly attacks by militant settlers for months.The US wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly condemn militant settlers who have besieged Palestinians in their homes in the occupied West Bank, US and Israeli officials said on Friday.In Qusra, rights groups say militant settlers are mounting a concerted effort to seize more land, further eating into territory where Palestinians aim to establish a state.The Israeli police and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday. The Israeli military has said soldiers have deployed in Qusra since Thursday to protect residents and maintain security.Marmar Ouda said he has been forced to erect metal fences around his home and bars on his windows to protect his family from attacks by militant settlers. Next to his home, the words ‘death to Arabs’ have been spray-painted in Hebrew on a wall.Five months ago, Ouda said his nephew was shot and killed by a settler in an incident during which his brother was also injured. Marmar…
The Pentagon announced a $22.9bn contract with Raytheon yesterday for Tomahawk missiles amid reports of a shortfall due to the war with Iran.Acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao said the contract will “accelerate Tomahawk missile delivery to our warfighters at unprecedented speed.””Guaranteeing our naval and joint forces have the lethal firepower they need to deter aggression and protect the homeland is paramount,” Cao said in a statement. “The Department is utilizing every available tool to meet the demands of our current operations.”An analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank released last month found that US stocks of Patriot and THAAD air defense missiles have been slashed by the conflict with Iran.Before it began in late February, the US had more than 2,300 Patriot and more than 450 THAAD interceptors — figures that CSIS estimated have been roughly halved or more in the subsequent months of war.The Washington Post reported this month that President Donald Trump had demanded answers from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth about munitions shortages at a recent cabinet meeting.Trump and Hegseth both later denied that the US was faced with dwindling missile stocks.Tomahawk missiles are mainly launched from submarines and warships and can travel more than 1,600 kilometers. Source link
Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to “fully offensive” due to the deadlock in efforts to agree a permanent end to its war with the United States, a senior Iranian official told Reuters yesterday. Progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the US and Israel launched on February 28.”Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions,” the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a “timely and precise” military attack to break the US naval blockade if diplomacy failed.There was no immediate response to those comments from Washington, but US President Donald Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News yesterday that Iran “should put up the white flag of surrender”.Throughout the conflict, Trump has alternated between threats of escalation and assertions that a peace deal is imminent. Yesterday marked the day by which Iran and the United States were expected to reach a final deal under a memorandum of understanding agreed in June and aimed at ending the war.Signed on June 17, the MoU set out a 60-day timeframe, extendable by mutual consent, by which Washington and Tehran should reach a broader agreement on issues including limiting Tehran’s nuclear programme and lifting US sanctions.That interim deal, which declared the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, quickly unravelled, however, due to a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.Tehran said point 5 of the MoU gave it the right to manage the strait, which it shares with Oman, while Washington rejected that interpretation. Hostilities resumed as Tehran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through the waterway on an unapproved route.Trump said on July 7 that the pact was “over”. Tehran has repeatedly accused Washington of consistently violating its commitments.”Within the short period of a few weeks set by Iran, all the agreement’s provisions must be implemented by the US. This is a precondition for further negotiations with the US,” the Iranian official told Reuters, adding that mediators would share Tehran’s deadline with Washington and regional states.Tehran has separately been negotiating an agreement with Oman over management of the strait, seen as a key component of a wider deal, and says they are close to agreement, although progress has been slow.”If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb them,” Trump told Fox.There was no immediate comment from Oman. Source link
Trump approval falls from 35% earlier this month, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows64% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s White House performance, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows80% expect US involvement in Iran to continue for an extended period, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency, with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the U.S. war with Iran will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.Just 33% of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, while 64% disapproved. Trump’s approval rating, down from 35% in a poll that closed earlier this month and lower than at any point in his current term, has now tied the lowest level of his prior term reached in December 2017. After returning to the White House in 2025 with just under half the country approving of his presidency, Trump’s popularity this year took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside U.S. ally Israel. The ensuing conflict paralyzed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of gasoline that is weighing on U.S. households – and on Trump’s Republican allies defending congressional majorities in November midterm elections.Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks. But Iran has proved resilient and has kept the oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled. Some 80% of Americans – including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans – think U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time,” the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 16% said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks. TRUMP JUSTIFIES HIGH GAS PRICES Trump told a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” is worth the cost of ensuring “a very evil country” could not have a nuclear weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war. Throughout the conflict, the president has alternated between threats of escalation and assertions that a peace deal is imminent. Only one in five Americans – and just half of Republicans – think the war has been worth it, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Concerns about the war and gasoline prices have Republicans nervous about their hopes of defending their slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3 elections, and Democrats increasingly see the U.S. Senate also within their grasp. Reuters/Ipsos polling this month has shown voters prefer Democrats over Republicans as better stewards of the economy for the first time in about a decade. The latest poll showed 38% of voters think Democrats will handle the economy better, compared to 35% who prefer the Republican approach. Democrats are also seen as better equipped to manage the cost of living. The Republican approach to immigration has remained more popular than that of Democrats throughout Trump’s term, with a sharp fall in border crossings and sustained nationwide crackdown ordered by Trump. But Republicans are losing ground amid deadly confrontations and a surge in detainees, including children. Some 40% of registered voters said Republicans have the better approach on immigration policy, compared to 38% who pick Democrats, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. That 2 percentage point spread is the lowest of Trump’s term. Republicans led by 26 points in January 2025.The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction. Source link
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner discussed putting an American general in charge of verifying Hamas’s disarmament on Monday, an Israeli official said, as the premier insisted there would be no pullout from Gaza until then.Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, flew to the region after Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, publicly rejected the latest part of a US plan aimed at ending the devastating Gaza war.Kushner, who has long family ties to Netanyahu, met with him in Jerusalem a day after holding rare direct talks in Egypt with Hamas, which has publicly committed itself to the plan and to disarmament, winning praise from Trump but prompting deep scepticism in Israel.The two sides “agreed that no redeployment or reconstruction would take place in the Gaza Strip before Hamas is disarmed throughout Gaza”, a senior Israeli official told AFP.”It was also agreed that the first step toward the demilitarisation of the Strip would be to require Hamas to hand over its weapons for decommissioning under the supervision of an American general,” the official said.Kushner was joined in the talks by other members of Trump’s so-called Board of Peace on Gaza, including former British prime minister Tony Blair.The group did not immediately comment on the meeting.The Trump administration has already given a role to the US military and friendly foreign forces in supervising an October ceasefire in Gaza that has reduced, but not ended, Israeli strikes in the ravaged Palestinian territory.The call for a US general’s involvement came after Netanyahu publicly rejected an earlier text by the Board of Peace in which it said Hamas would hand over its weapons to a nascent Palestinian governing committee.Kushner in the talks in Egypt had demanded that Hamas verify it is giving up its weapons and that the group renounce any future role in governing the Palestinian territory, the sources said.A Hamas official said the group, represented by its new leader Khalil al-Hayya, told Kushner it was committed to the Gaza plan and wanted pressure on Netanyahu.Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister whose job is on the line in October 27 elections, has increasingly been willing to defy Trump, whose support he once highlighted in his campaign.The prime minister has also made clear his unhappiness with Trump’s decision to halt the US-Israeli war on Iran launched in late February and instead pursue a settlement with Tehran’s clerical leaders.After initially voicing muted criticism of the Gaza plan, Netanyahu last week told his cabinet that he rejected it.The stance came even though Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace high representative for Gaza, had assured him that Israel would not need to withdraw until a full disarmament by Hamas, backtracking on the Board’s earlier calls for Israel to start a phased withdrawal.In an interview, Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right national security minister in Netanyahu’s cabinet, called for mass killings in Gaza.”I think targeted eliminations should be carried out in Gaza every night. Take out 30 or 40,” Ben Gvir said on a podcast with a former Gaza hostage.”Not only those who endanger you right now. These are people who shouldn’t be alive,” he said. “I’m paying them a compliment by calling them humans.”On Sunday, eight Muslim-majority countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — whose relationship with Israel is considered by Netanyahu to be a key achievement — condemned Israel’s rejection of the Gaza plan in a joint statement. Source link
A drone view shows makeshift tents for patients outside the Ben Mboi Manggarai regional hospital which has been damaged, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in…
A boy carries a rifle, as Houthi supporters rally against the Saudi-led coalition’s restrictions on Houthi-controlled areas, which the group describes as a blockade, in Sanaa,…
This undated handout photograph released on August 17, 2026 by VHP shows a firefighter trying to extinguish a wildfire in the Hautes Fagnes (High Fens) nature…