An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday that “about 200 low-level Islamic State fighters” escaped from the al-Shaddadi prison camp on Monday after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the facility.
President Donald Trump spoke by telephone with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Monday to discuss the conflict between Sharaa’s forces and the Kurds of northeastern Syria, who have complained of abuses by government troops and blamed them for releasing around 120 Islamic State terrorists from a Kurdish-run prison in Hasakah province.
President Donald Trump replied that his New Year’s resolution is “peace on Earth” when asked as he entered a New Year’s Eve party.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Arabiya News on Monday that “we trust Trump” to deliver peace in Gaza and stabilize the Middle East.
China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday sought to give Beijing credit for the ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand negotiated by President Donald Trump.
President Donald Trump said the United Nations should become more involved in creating world peace amid the clash between Thailand and Cambodia.
Fighting broke out in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday between Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and security troops loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday announced the elimination of Ra’ad Sa’ad, a Hamas official who planned the October 7 attack.
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to “cease all shooting,” following a tense week of escalating clashes that threatened to destroy the ceasefire agreement he negotiated between the two countries in July.
In an interview with Al Jazeera News on Wednesday, Hamas Abroad leader Khaled Mashaal claimed that “fifty-one percent of American youth are supportive not only of the Palestinian cause, but of Hamas.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday in Turkmenistan to discuss the war in Ukraine. Their meeting was unexpectedly interrupted by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who demanded an audience with Putin to secure his support against India and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia escalated on Tuesday, spreading to more locations along the disputed border.
The Kremlin says talks between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff were “constructive.”
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow for ceasefire talks.
The Maronite Christian bishops of Lebanon issued a joint statement last week denouncing Israel’s “daily attacks on the South and other regions of Lebanon, which are bringing the country to the brink of war once again.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed Sunday that there are still two “pockets” of Hamas terrorists inside the area to which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew under the ceasefire deal.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, said on Wednesday that Hamas violated the terms of the Gaza ceasefire deal when it attacked a group of Israeli soldiers on Tuesday, killing one of them.
Israel and Hamas both said that the ceasefire in Gaza will resume, despite an exchange of attacks that began on Tuesday when Hamas terrorists fired on Israeli soldiers, killing one, and staged a fake return of remains.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered airstrikes on Hamas positions in Gaza on Tuesday night after the terror organization staged a fake transfer of the body of one of the deceased hostages Monday.
Hamas staged a fake recovery of a hostage’s body in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli soldiers who observed the event; and also returned a coffin to Israel Monday that contained more remains of a previously recovered hostage.
Arab and Muslim nations that are expected to contribute to a peacekeeping force in Gaza are reportedly afraid to face Hamas, due to the group’s ferocity and the perception of appearing to be occupiers.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Israel on Tuesday and told reporters that he was confident Hamas was committed to its ceasefire with Israel in Gaza — but that it would be “obliterated” if it failed to disarm.
The Qatari regime has blamed Israel and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ceasefire violations in Gaza, rather than the Hamas terrorists who killed Israeli soldiers on Sunday.
The ceasefire in Gaza is holding, despite the fact that Hamas is violating it by executing rivals in public, delaying the transfer of the bodies of Israeli hostages, and even attacking Israeli soldiers on patrol.
The Department of State issued a warning there were “credible reports” Hamas was planning an attack on the people of Gaza, which would violate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both refused to commit to disarming this week — brazenly defying the peace plan President Donald Trump brokered and both terror groups accepted— with a senior Hamas official telling Reuters he could not say “yes or no” to surrendering weapons.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that he wants negotiations with Israel, mediated by President Donald Trump.
Former President Bill Clinton (D) said in a post to X on Monday that President Donald Trump and his administration “deserve great credit” for negotiating the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
Former President Joe Biden praised President Donald Trump and his administration “for their work” in securing and getting a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas “over the finish line.”
For two years, Hollywood had been demonstrating, protesting, picketing, and pontificating for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Well, on Monday, that ceasefire was achieved with the miraculous return of the 20 remaining living hostages held by Hamas. And yet, the silence from Hollywood has been deafening.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response to the Gaza ceasefire deal on Thursday was tepid and sour, expressing doubt that anything less than the creation of a Palestinian state would bring peace.
U.S. officials said on Thursday that America will send roughly 200 troops to Israel to support and monitor the Gaza ceasefire deal.
The Israeli government published a list of the convicted Palestinian terrorists it agreed to release as part of the ceasefire-and-hostage deal that took effect Friday — and it includes murderers with shocking records.
Netanyahu, speaking in Hebrew, took the opportunity to claim success for his strategy, against media critics and political opponents
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pulled troops out of Gaza and withdrew to agreed ceasefire lines within the territory as a ceasefire with Hamas brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect on Friday morning.
Early responses to President Donald Trump’s peace deal in Gaza have been strongly positive, even from adversarial nations like Russia, which grudgingly admitted the ceasefire would be a positive diplomatic achievement — if it holds up.
During an interview aired on Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Source,” Ronen Neutra, the father of deceased Hamas hostage Omer Neutra, stated that President Donald Trump pressured both Israel and Hamas to get a deal and also stated that “we’re in
President Donald Trump criticized the United Nations in his speech on Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, stating that the U.N. had not attempted to help him reach the ceasefires and peace deals he has brokered since returning to office.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered “legitimate targets for destruction,” unless Russia first agrees to a cease-fire and peace deal. Ukraine’s Western allies are reportedly considering a plan under which the United States would supervise a postwar “buffer zone,” but all boots on the ground would be supplied by non-NATO countries.
Hamas reportedly offered to accept a ceasefire proposal first floated by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff three months ago that would see half of the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages released for a 60-day truce.
