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"We absolutely agree on the need for peace and a road map, because the situation in Gaza is intolerable," Starmer told reporters after the two men held a bilateral meeting.

Asked about countries recognizing a Palestinian state, Trump said: "I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements, actually."

US President Donald Trump has authorized Tony Blair to rally regional and international stakeholders around the former UK prime minister’s proposal to establish a postwar transitional body to govern the Gaza Strip until it can be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, four sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani will meet with US lawmakers in Washington this week to discuss the lifting of remaining US sanctions on his country, Senator Lindsey Graham said, according to Axios.

Axios also reported that Shibani is expected to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Shibani's visit.

The announcement of the foreign minister's visit comes after remarks by the Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday that Syria's negotiations with Israel to reach a security agreement could lead to results "in the coming days."

Israel has developed the world’s first operational laser interceptor, having completed a series of successful trials of the Iron Beam high-power laser system in a facility in southern Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Rafael defense technology firm announced on Wednesday.

“The system proved its effectiveness in a complete operational configuration by intercepting rockets, mortars, aircraft, and UAVs across a comprehensive range of operational scenarios,” the two bodies said in a joint statement.

The Iron Beam—to be renamed “Ohr Eitan” (“Eitan’s Light”) after Eitan Oster, who fell in battle in Lebanon and whose father was one of its developers—is set to be integrated into the Israel Defense Forces air defense arrays by the end of this year.

Britain will reportedly recognize a Palestinian state as early as this weekend, British news site The Timesreported Wednesday.

It is estimated that this will occur after US President Donald Trump completes his visit to the UK. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly waited to announce the recognition out of concern that it would overshadow a joint press conference between the two leaders.

Starmer's announcement would come before several European nations are set to recognize a Palestinian State at the UN General Assembly next week. 

The European Commission formally presented its proposal for sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers and a partial suspension of the European Union’s association agreement with Israel, the EU’s executive body announced on Wednesday.

The sanctions, if approved, would strip Israeli imports of their preferential access to the EU. Israeli goods would have duties slapped on them at the same level as imports coming from countries with which the EU does not have a free trade agreement.

The Commission also called to suspend “bilateral support” to Israel, with the exceptions of civil society and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was set to meet with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in London on Wednesday to discuss security arrangements for a third round of U.S.-mediated negotiations, according to Axios.

Sources familiar with the talks told the outlet they have seen progress but no deal between Jerusalem and Damascus appeared imminent.

Israel was said to have conveyed to Syria a detailed proposal for a new buffer zone, including a map from southwest Damascus up to the border with Israel, according to sources familiar with the details.

Israel proposed to divide southern Syria into three zones and limit the types of regime forces and weapons permitted in each, the report said.

President Trump was greeted by the King and Queen as well as other senior royals at Windsor Castle.

It is his second state visit to the UK and is accompanied by the usual pomp and pageantry.

The IDF has launched the next phase of Operation Gideon's Chariots, inside Gaza City. The operation is taking place according to a plan approved in accordance with the instructions of Israel's political echelon.

In the past week, Israeli Air Force planes have attacked dozens of high-rise buildings with terrorist infrastructure. In paralell, forces used artillery and tanks to prepare the area for next stage of the operation.

"We have defeated Hamas wherever we reach, we are resolute and will continue to be decisive until Hamas is crushed," said a security source.

“We are open to any fact finding mission and we are adamant that there is no famine in Gaza,” President Isaac Herzog told European Union head Michael Anthony Mann on Tuesday.

Mann, who is British but carries a German passport, was one of six ambassadors who presented their credentials to the president. Herzog expressed his concern over sanctions that some EU countries have imposed against Israel, and said that he hoped Europe would be smart enough to take steps that are responsible.

He stressed the importance of deepening relations between Israel and the European Union, while warning against measures that could cause lasting damage.

Gazans deserve a better future but eliminating the “barbaric animals” of Hamas is a prerequisite to that future, Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state and national security advisor, told reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the latter’s office in Jerusalem.

In response to a question from one journalist, Rubio said that he doesn’t know anyone “who would not rather see a negotiated settlement in which Hamas agrees to no longer be a terrorist group, lay down their arms, free the hostages.”

Rubio spoke to journalists on Monday before attending the opening of “pilgrimage road” at the City of David that he called “one of the most important archeological sites in the planet” that has “deep meaning to so many people in the United States.”

Arab and Muslim leaders convened an emergency summit in Doha on Monday to address heightened regional tensions following an unprecedented Israeli attack targeting Hamas officials on Qatari territory. The summit, hosted by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, brought together leaders from across the Arab and Islamic world, who voiced strong condemnation of the strike and called for a coordinated political and economic response to Israel.

The attack, which targeted a Hamas delegation engaged in peace negotiations with U.S. and Egyptian mediation, was widely perceived by Gulf states as a “serious violation of Qatar’s sovereignty” and a dangerous risk of regional escalation. In response, the summit’s final 25-point statement expressed “absolute support” for Qatar’s security, stability, and sovereignty and condemned Israel for undermining peace efforts in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met for some three hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday morning.

Attending the meeting were Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Jerusalem’s envoy to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, according to Netanyahu’s office.

“Mr. Secretary, Marco, your visit to our eternal and undivided capital of Jerusalem is a powerful affirmation of a powerful bond,” Netanyahu opened his remarks to the press following the meeting.

Following last week’s Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, US President Donald Trump told reporters Israel must be “very, very careful” about how it handles Qatar, which he called a “great ally.”

In comments at Morristown Airport in New Jersey on Sunday, Trump added that Israel has “to do something about Hamas,” and said Qatar needs to burnish its public image. The brief comments, in response to a reporter’s question, represent the latest time Trump has tried to bridge between condemning the strike on a US ally and saying Hamas’s leaders must be eliminated.

The days since the strike have seen a diplomatic flurry around its fallout. Trump dined with Qatar’s prime minister on Friday, and on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

(photo: Brian Snyder, Reuters)

US President Donald Trump told reporters that Qatar has been a great ally to the US and that Israel has to be "very careful," in response to a question on Sunday.

Trump was responding to a reporter who asked him what is his message was to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel's strikes on Qatar.

Trump answered that Israel has to be "very careful," noting that "they have to do something about Hamas," but that "Qatar has been a great ally to the US. A lot of people don't know that."

The Trump administration is holding a new round of talks with Israeli and Qatari officials in an attempt to restart stalled negotiations over a hostage release agreement, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Over the weekend, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani visited Washington, where he met with US President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy David Witkoff. According to two sources familiar with the talks, US officials stressed the need to “find a proper path” to resume negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Israel on Sunday for meetings in Jerusalem with top officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“My focus will be on securing the return of hostages, finding ways to make sure humanitarian aid reaches civilians, and addressing the threat posed by Hamas,” said Rubio ahead of his departure.

“Hamas cannot continue to exist if peace in the region is the goal,” he added.

US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.

Israel attempted to kill the leaders of the terror group with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.

Trump reportedly expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as in public, and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.

The Israel Defense Forces is continuing widescale strikes on Hamas terrorist infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, hitting around 500 targets as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots II” amid a ground offensive into Gaza City.

This week, the IDF carried out five waves of strikes in Gaza City, with the first three concentrated on the Daraj Tuffah and al-Furqan neighborhoods, and the last two expanding to al-Shati and deeper into al-Furqan.

As part of the strikes, the IDF said it destroyed observation and sniper posts, buildings containing tunnel shafts, weapons depots and other Hamas assets.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel's strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.

Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump's desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorist group and end the Gaza war.

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution advanced by France and Saudi Arabia on Friday, which supports the advancement of an "irreversible" path to Palestinian statehood.

The resolution was approved by a majority of 142 countries, with 10 voting against and 12 abstaining, on the "New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution."

The resolution calls for the Palestinian Authority to assume leadership of a Palestinian state with appropriate international support and demands Hamas end its control of Gaza.

Police have arrested a suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus earlier this week – identified by sources as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident.

"I think with a high-degree of certainty, we have him," President Donald Trump revealed on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning. He added that, "essentially, someone who knew him turned him in."

Trump said he hopes the suspect gets the death penalty if found guilty. He also explained how investigators found the suspect — with help from a minister, a member of the U.S. Marshals Service and the suspect's father.

"We have the person that we think is the person we're looking for, but they drove into the police headquarters, and he's there now," Trump said.

Sources told Fox News that Robinson's father played a role in his surrender.

Article 4 allows member countries to bring their security concerns to the alliance for discussion. It states: “The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.”

(photo: AFP)

Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha on Sunday and Monday to discuss the Israeli attack on the Gulf state’s capital city that targeted Hamas leaders, according to an invitation received Thursday by Qatar’s news agency.

The unprecedented Israeli airstrike on Tuesday targeted a meeting of Hamas’s top leaders, headlined by Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya, as they were said to be gathered at the group’s political offices in Doha to discuss a new US-sponsored hostage-ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

According to Hamas, none of the main leadership members targeted in the strike were killed, and Israel is said to be increasingly pessimistic about the success of the strike but has no definitive intelligence on who was killed.

(photos: AFP / Getty)

The decision to target senior Hamas officials in Qatar was made during a cabinet meeting that extended into Shabbat on January 18, 2025, as Israel was preparing for a second hostage deal. The move was part of a broader package of measures intended to reduce the heavy security costs of releasing hundreds of terrorists as part of the deal.

The goal, according to the discussions, was to launch a series of unconventional operations meant to increase pressure on Hamas until it agreed to surrender and return the hostages. One of these nonconventional measures was the plan to strike Hamas' leadership abroad.

Two other people were questioned yesterday, but neither was determined to be the actual shooter.