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US special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly met in Paris with Qatari officials on Thursday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, though Israeli officials sounded skeptical about progress toward an agreement.

The report on Channel 12 news, citing two sources familiar with the details, came as Israel faced mounting global pressure over the war against Hamas in Gaza, with a senior EU official terming the war a “genocide” and Pope Leo XIV telling President Isaac Herzog that a ceasefire must be reached “with urgency.”

Witkoff’s meeting also came a day after the American liaison to Hamas told a Saudi newspaper that the US has crafted a comprehensive deal to end the war and free the 48 hostages held in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive. And on Thursday, the foreign ministers of the Arab League met in Cairo, where they reportedly discussed ways to stop the war.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that the US is involved in “very deep negotiations” with Hamas to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, but added that some of the 20 captives believed to still be alive may have “recently died.”

“We’re in very deep negotiations with Hamas. We said, ‘let ’em all out, right now, let ’em all out, and much better things will happen, ‘” Trump said after being asked by a reporter in the Oval Office about the status of the mediated hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

He gave no details of the talks, but reports said US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Paris with Qatari officials on Thursday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

(photo: Courtesy)

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee appeared to signal that Washington has not taken a stance against Israel’s decision to apply sovereignty to the West Bank, according to a Channel 14 reporter on Friday.

Tamir Morag, a reporter for Channel 14, posted a quote from Huckabee Friday saying that the US has not come out against applying sovereignty.

“The US has never asked Israel to not apply sovereignty,” Huckabee said, according to the post on X. “I have repeatedly stated that the US respects Israel as a sovereign nation and will not tell Israel what to do. This is also what Secretary Rubio has said as recently as this week.”

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. (photo: Reuters)

Netanyahu's office contradicted Egypt's statement on Friday that it would not tolerate mass displacement of Palestinians and what it described as genocide, continuing to ratchet up its criticism of Israel's Gaza offensive as thousands of residents of Gaza City defied Israeli orders to leave.

"The Egyptian Foreign Ministry prefers to imprison in Gaza residents who want to leave the war zone against their will," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. "Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about the free choice of every individual to decide where to live. This is a basic human right at all times and especially during wartime."

"Displacement is not an option, and it is a red line for Egypt, and we will not allow it to happen," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters in Nicosia.

(photos: Reuters / Flash90 / Pool)

The US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is working behind the scenes to renew negotiations for a hostage deal, two sources familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. 

"After Hamas's statement outlining their demands for a comprehensive deal, we've reached a point where both Israel's and Hamas's demands regarding a deal for the release of all hostages are clear," one of the sources said.

The current efforts are focused on finding an efficient mechanism for talks and solutions to bridge the gaps between the sides. Some sources believe that if negotiations for a full deal begin, the mediators will try to ensure the talks proceed at a faster pace than before.

(photo: Shalev Shalom, Pool)

The issue of applying sovereignty to the West Bank has been removed from the agenda of the discussion to be convened on Thursday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following the United Arab Emirates calling the move a "red line," Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post. 

The Thursday discussion will focus on the security situation in the West Bank, in light of the upcoming UN General Assembly, where several countries will recognize Palestinian statehood. 

Israel's defense establishment will warn ministers during the meeting that "the West Bank could erupt instantly," sources told the Post.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned down a request by French President Emmanuel Macron to visit the Jewish state, a former French lawmaker told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster Wednesday.

Russia's Foreign Ministry again warned that Moscow will not accept the presence of any Western troops in Ukraine as part of a future peace deal, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared to meet a group of top European leaders in Paris on Thursday.

Zelenskyy will gather with European leaders -- the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" -- for further talks in Paris on Thursday. The group will then speak with U.S. President Donald Trump virtually at around 8 a.m. ET, according to a schedule published by French President Emmanuel Macron's office.

Macron welcomed the Ukrainian leader to the Élysée Palace -- which houses the presidential office -- on Wednesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will co-chair a Conference on the Two-State Solution in New York on September 22.

In a statement, Macron said the objective is to rally the widest possible international support for a Two-State Solution, calling it “the only way to meet the legitimate aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Macron also criticized Washington’s recent decision to deny visas to Palestinian officials, calling the move “unacceptable” and urging the United States to reverse it in line with its obligations under the UN Host Country Agreement.

Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state and national security advisor, told Jean-Noël Barrot, the French foreign minister, that Washington is strongly opposed to “any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” according to Tommy Pigott, the principal U.S. State Department deputy spokesman.

Recognizing a Palestinian state, which France plans to do, “would reward Hamas for Oct. 7 and hinder efforts to bring all hostages home,” Rubio told Barrot, per the U.S. readout of the Sept. 2 call.

The U.S. and French officials also talked about Russia and Ukraine, Iran, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pigott said.

(photo: Flash90)

Israeli Finance Minister Betsalel Smotrich announced Wednesday a sweeping plan to extend Israeli sovereignty to 82 percent of the West Bank, framing the move as a preemptive measure to “definitively bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

The announcement followed the government’s approval of a controversial settlement expansion in the E1 area near Ma’ale Adumim. 

Speaking alongside Yesha Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz, Smotrich declared: “2025 will be the year of sovereignty in the West Bank.” His strategy, he explained, rests on the principle of “maximum territory, minimum population.”

The E1 project, authorizing 3,401 housing units, would effectively split the West Bank in two, from north to south...

China will host its biggest military parade ever on Wednesday, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and Japan's formal surrender. The massive procession will go down Chang-an Avenue, the name of which means "Eternal Peace."

Joining Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping for the "Victory Day" event — which will showcase some of China's newest and most advanced weapons — will be Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Rehearsals have been underway for weeks, and security in the sprawling Chinese capital has been extra tight. All buildings overlooking the parade route will be locked down as the leaders and other dignitaries from 26 countries take in the spectacle, along with some 50,000 spectators.

North Korea's Kim arrived in Beijing Tuesday aboard his green armored train, stopping to inspect one of his own country's missile production facilities on the way before crossing into China.

The recognition of a Palestinian state by leading Western nations will trigger a sprint towards a two-state solution, the head of the Palestinian mission in London [Husam Zomlot] said on Tuesday.

Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London could halt the process if Israel eased the humanitarian crisis in war-shattered Gaza and committed to a long-term peace process.

The moves are designed to put pressure on Israel to end its assault on Gaza and curtail the building of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, but some question whether recognition is merely symbolic.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly refused to hold a vote on a proposed hostage-ceasefire deal at a stormy cabinet meeting that went on until the early hours of Monday morning, saying it was not on the table and that US President Donald Trump had pushed him not to accept a partial deal.

The premier’s dismissal of the topic came despite far-right ministers pressing him to hold a vote to officially reject the deal, while the chief of staff and some cabinet ministers pushed for it to be accepted, according to multiple leaks from the closed-door meeting that were published on Monday.

The security cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, which lasted almost six hours, focused almost entirely on the Israel Defense Forces’ plans to take over Gaza City, according to reports in Hebrew media.

Belgium will recognize the state of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announces.

“Palestine will be recognized by Belgium at the UN session! And firm sanctions are being imposed against the Israeli government,” Prevot writes on X.

In July, French President Emmanuel Macron said France would recognize a Palestinian state at the UN meeting, due to be held from September 9 to 23 in New York. More than a dozen other Western countries have since called on others to do the same.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee visited Efrat in the West Bank on Friday, the Efrat Municipality announced. 

Huckabee returned to the town for a social visit following a previous declaration to buy a house there, and participated in Shabbat prayers at the Shirat David synagogue.

"US Ambassador Mike Huckabee's visit to Efrat strengthens settlement in Judea and Samaria and illustrates the importance of Efrat as a central axis in settlement," Efrat Council Chairman, Col. (res.) Dovi Shefler said on the visit.

Ahead of the meeting, Israel Hayom has learned that contrary to the hopes of several government ministers, the plan being advanced by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in discussions with senior US officials envisions only partial sovereignty, limited to the Jordan Valley.

A post-war blueprint for Gaza, reportedly developed within the Trump administration and disclosed by The Washington Post, outlines a proposal to place the territory under U.S. trusteeship for at least a decade. 

The 38-page plan envisions transforming Gaza into a hub for tourism and technology, branding it the future “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rebuked on Saturday his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prévot over the latter’s support for the Palestinian Authority, saying that it “serves only the interests of the terrorists, not dialogue, not peace.”

The P.A. has never stopped compensating Palestinian terrorists and their families and inciting violence against the Jewish state, policies that stand in clear violation of its diplomatic commitments, Sa’ar tweeted.

“Therefore, your support for a Palestinian state is clearly a support of a terror state, a basis for further attacks on Israel and October 7-like atrocities,” Israel’s top diplomat continued, referring to the Hamas-led massacre in 2023.