President Trump said he would speak with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday, as he continued to express optimism that Russia would agree to a proposal to halt fighting in Ukraine for 30 days. “We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air … Read more
Olena Matvienko knows she doesn’t have much to go home to. The Russians captured her city, Mariupol, shortly after invading Ukraine. A Russian missile destroyed her old apartment building. Her daughter and her granddaughter were killed in the city. Still, Ms. Matvienko, 66, would like to return. But after comments by President Trump and his … Read more
President Trump’s Middle East envoy is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Wednesday, according to a spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu. The visit by the envoy, Steven Witkoff, was set to take place as Israeli and Hamas officials prepared for a new round of negotiations aimed at cementing the current cease-fire in … Read more
The sounds of celebration replaced those of explosions in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as a fragile cease-fire came into effect after 470 days of war, allowing some hostages to return home to Israel, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel to be released, and displaced Gazans to search for what was left of their homes. Under the … Read more
With the long-sought cease-fire agreement now in place, both President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump can claim credit for the accomplishment, while Israel and Hamas ponder what precisely they have signed up for. The agreement’s first phase calls for the release of 33 of the about 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, a six-week … Read more
Israeli security and policy chiefs were expected to arrive in Qatar on Sunday for high-level talks about a proposed cease-fire deal in Gaza that would see hostages released in the final days of President Biden’s term and before Donald J. Trump takes office. Biden administration officials have been pressing for a deal that would become … Read more
CNN — Israel and Sudan have finalized the text of a peace agreement to be signed “later this year,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced on Thursday. Speaking upon returning to Tel Aviv from a visit to Sudan’s capital Khartoum, Cohen said the trip was made with the consent of the United States, and that … Read more
CNNE — What began as a hopeful announcement of a six-month ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and other armed groups in Colombia, has ended in a political entanglement that casts doubts on the armed groups’ desire for peace – and raises questions about Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s future announcements regarding the ongoing peace … Read more
Jenin Refugee Camp, West Bank CNN — Four US-made M4 Carbine rifles lean against the back of the sofa. The young men, mostly dressed in black civilian clothes, are relaxed and chatty. Neighbors pop their heads in to say hello through a door open to the street. Which is odd. Because these men are being … Read more