KOENIG

(photo: Réseaux Sociaux)

Hamas has declared itself "ready" on Tuesday to proceed with a mass release of all remaining hostages as part of the second phase of negotiations, in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a longtime confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will lead talks on phase two of the hostage release-ceasefire deal with Hamas, according to Hebrew media reports on Tuesday.

Mossad chief David Barnea has led previous rounds.

Netanyahu pushed aside Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and IDF hostage point man Nitzan Alon, with whom he has sparred throughout the negotiations. The security chiefs have long felt that a deal could and should have been reached earlier but that political considerations in Israel hampered those efforts.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met for about three hours with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday as the Trump administration looked for clarity on Riyadh’s position on a pan-Arab plan for post-war Gaza.

Rubio was joined by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, who arrived in Riyadh a short time before the meeting. The three are set to converge again on Tuesday for Saudi-hosted talks with Russia on a potential end to the war in Ukraine.

“We’re glad to work with you and with President Trump. And his administration made a decision, and we can work (for) positive things for Saudi Arabia and America, and also for many countries around the world,” bin Salman said at the top of the meeting.

High-level delegations from the U.S. and Russia held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday over the fate of Ukraine, the negotiations taking place without Kyiv's participation.

The State Department said the talks were aimed to discuss ending the three-year-long war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022 and followed sustained cross-border aggression from Moscow since 2014.

Tuesday's meeting in Riyadh concluded after around five hours, according to the press pool covering the meeting, with the State Department saying the discussions represented "an important step forward" toward "enduring peace."

The Israel Defense Forces will continue to act against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon “at full strength,” Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed on Tuesday morning in a post on X as the military reportedly completed its withdrawal from most of the territory.

“We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7,” Katz declared, referring to the 2023 Hamas-led massacre in Israel’s south and the 16-month-long Hezbollah terrorist campaign that followed the attacks.

Katz reiterated in his statement that, “starting today, the IDF will remain in the buffer zone in Lebanon at five control posts along the border line, to ensure the protection of the northern communities.”

The Israel Defense Forces pulled out of southern Lebanese villages but remained in five key positions Tuesday morning, around an hour before the deadline for the withdrawal expired under the ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.

A Delta Air Lines plane crashed at Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday afternoon, injuring numerous passengers flying from the U.S.

The plane crash, which involved a Delta Air Lines CRJ-900 jet that had departed from Minneapolis, was first reported by CTV. The flight was identified as Delta Connection flight 4819, operated by Endeavor Air, and carried 80 people.

The incident was reported at around 2:15 p.m. local time. Pictures of the scene show the plane upside down and mangled on a snow-covered runway.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene the Security Cabinet on Monday to discuss Jerusalem’s stance toward the Phase 2 talks with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Sunday night.

Following a phone call with U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday evening, Netanyahu “instructed the negotiations team to leave for Cairo tomorrow to discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal,” the statement said.

The Jewish state’s negotiators in Egypt and Qatar are currently only focused on the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza truce.

The Israeli Air Force on Monday eliminated the head of Hamas’s Operations Department in Lebanon near Sidon, according to a joint Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) statement. 

“Muhammad Shaheen was eliminated after recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the State of Israel,” according to the statement.

Shaheen “was a significant source of knowledge within the terrorist organization and was responsible throughout the war for various terror attacks, and rocket launchers aimed at Israeli civilians,” it continued.

According to Israel’s Ynet outlet, which cited government sources, Shahin was planning to attack Jewish targets outside of Israel.

US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that, while difficulties remain in negotiations for the continuation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the second stage of the hostage deal is “absolutely going to begin,” and that the president “wants to see” it happen.

Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff said that he held “very productive and constructive” phone calls Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, where the leaders discussed “the timing of phase two, the positions of the parties so that we can understand where we stand, and we will continue the talks later this week,” in either Cairo or Doha.

He added that phase two “is a little bit more intricate and complicated in terms of how we bring the two sides together on this,” but clarified that talks on phase two will continue in a “location to be determined.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working closely with President Donald Trump, according to a joint statement released on Sunday with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Contrary to what is being reported, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination,” the prime minister told Rubio, according to the statement.

“We have a shared strategy, which cannot always be detailed to the public—including when the gates of hell will open. And they will open if all our hostages are not returned, every last one of them,” it continued.

Trump administrations officials are heading to Saudi Arabia to start peace talks with Russia and Ukraine, Politico reports.

As of Saturday, the Ukrainians say they have not sent a delegate to the talks.

Arab countries are formulating a plan to rehabilitate Gaza without displacing its population, Jordan’s foreign minister said on Friday, in remarks contrary to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call to relocate Gazans to other states in the region.

Ayman Safadi said that his country “cannot afford” any more Palestinians as refugees already comprise 35% of its population, according to Reuters.

“They don’t want to come to Jordan and we don’t want them to come to Jordan,” he stressed at the annual Munich Security Conference.

The three latest returnees from Hamas captivity in Gaza reunited on Saturday with their families in heartfelt scenes of elation and relief.

American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, met with his wife, Avital, and his parents at the IDF’s Re’im camp just outside the Strip before being flown by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan.

Saudi Arabia is spearheading urgent Arab efforts to develop a plan for Gaza's future as a counter to US President Donald Trump's ambition for a Middle East Riviera cleared of its Palestinian inhabitants, 10 sources said.

Draft ideas will be discussed at a meeting in Riyadh this month of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Proposals may involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas, five of the people said.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies were aghast at Trump's plan to "clean out" Palestinians from Gaza and resettle most of them in Jordan and Egypt, an idea immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and seen in most of the region as deeply destabilizing.

President Donald Trump has announced a major trade corridor connecting India, Israel, Italy and the United States.

This ambitious project aims to reshape global trade with extensive investments in ports, railways and undersea cables.

The announcement came during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Thursday.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited the Dachau concentration camp memorial on Thursday, walking the solemn halls with a group that included a Holocaust survivor once held at the site of so much suffering and mass murder.

His experiencing firsthand a powerful symbol of World War II came at a time of ongoing conflict in Europe. Vance on Friday has critical talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the three-year Russia-Ukraine war.

A light rain and sleet mix fell as the vice president and his wife, Usha Vance, spoke to a group of dignitaries near the concentration camp’s gate. The couple then listened intently to details about the camp from its director and other museum officials. Among those participating was 96-year-old Abba Naor, a Holocaust survivor who was held at Dachau.

A US Navy aircraft carrier collided with a merchant vessel near Egypt, the US military said on Thursday, though the nuclear-powered carrier was stable and there were no injuries.

The United States military currently has 11 aircraft carriers, and any damage requiring one of them to be sidelined could strain the Navy.

In a statement, the US Navy said the carrier Harry Truman collided with the Besiktas-M late Wednesday night while operating near Port Said in Egypt.

[Side note: The aircraft carrier is named after President Harry S. Truman who was the first world leader to recognize Israel as an independent nation in 1948. The timing of this event seems significant as the U.S. has been in discussions with Egypt and Jordan about taking in people from Gaza.]

The Oct. 7, 2023, attacks marked the end of the two-state solution, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana told visiting European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Jerusalem on Thursday.

“Today, I welcomed @EP_President Roberta Metsola back to the Knesset to discuss the hostages, Iran & UNRWA’s role in fueling terror,” Ohana tweeted. “I told her Hamas also killed the so-called ‘two-state solution’ on October 7th—and thanked her for her solidarity ever since.”

While the United Arab Emirates regards U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza as “difficult,” Abu Dhabi has yet to see “an alternative to what’s being proposed,” the Emirati envoy to the United States said Wednesday.

Speaking with Al Arabiya‘s Hadley Gamble at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef al-Otaiba said Abu Dhabi was “going to try” to find common ground with Trump.

“We are agile, we make our voices heard and we are very outspoken and unapologetic about this, so just like any relationship, sometimes our friends listen to us, sometimes they don’t, sometimes we agree on certain positions, sometimes we disagree. We’ve always strived to find common ground,” said al-Otaiba.

Israel has reportedly sent a message to Hamas through mediators Egypt and Qatar that the hostage release-ceasefire deal will continue if the terror group releases three more hostages on Saturday.

The message, which was first reported Wednesday by the Walla news site, came a day after Israel put out a series of conflicting statements, including by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which said Hamas must release “our hostages,” “9 hostages,” and “all of them” for the ceasefire to continue.

On Tuesday, the premier declared that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end,” and that the security cabinet “welcomed [US President Donald] Trump’s demand for the release of our hostages.”

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded during the final days of the Biden administration that Israel is considering significant strikes on Iranian nuclear sites this year, aiming to take advantage of Iran’s weakness, officials familiar with the report said.

The Israel Defense Forces is increasing troop reinforcements and mobilizing reservists in the Southern Command following Hamas’s announcement that it would delay releasing hostages.

Describing the reinforcement as “extensive,” the IDF confirmed on Tuesday the deployment of additional brigades and special forces units to the Southern Command. These units will supplement the existing defenses provided by the 162nd Division and the Gaza Division along the Gaza border and the Philadelphi Corridor.

Several more brigades are on standby for potential deployment, and additional divisions are preparing for possible operations in Gaza, depending on how the situation unfolds.

President Donald Trump said he had a "lengthy" call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, which included the Russian leader agreeing to "immediately" begin negotiations over the war in Ukraine.

"We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations," Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday. "We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, to lead the negotiations which, I feel strongly, will be successful."