Israel says body returned by Hamas not that of hostage

Hadeel Al-Shalchi

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Friday that the body of a hostage returned a day earlier is not the mother of two young boys whose bodies were also released by the Palestinian militant group Hamas under a ceasefire deal.

"This is a violation of utmost severity by the Hamas terrorist organization," the Israeli military said in a statement.

Elsewhere, three empty buses exploded Thursday night in a southern suburb of Tel Aviv in a suspected terror attack and Israel's prime minister ordered the military to conduct an operation in the occupied West Bank. No casualties were reported in the explosions and there was no claim of responsibility.

Hamas said the bodies of four hostages returned to Israel Thursday were those of Shiri Bibas, 32, her two sons Ariel and Kfir, ages 4 years and 9 months, respectively, when captured, and Oded Lifshitz, 83. All were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.

Hamas claimed all the hostages were killed in Israeli air strikes during the Gaza war. But the Israeli military said forensic testing proved the hostages were all killed by their "captors," but did not specify how.

Israel backs Trump plan and orders military to prepare for Palestinians to leave Gaza

By Lucas Lilieholm, Michael Schwartz and Helen Regan, CNN

CNN — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed US President Donald Trump’s proposal to “take over” Gaza, as Israel’s army was ordered to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the territory.

Trump’s plan triggered an enormous backlash, with leaders from the Middle East and beyond rejecting it as unworkable and illegal.

But Netanyahu insisted the plan - which Trump said would involve sending Gaza’s residents to neighboring countries and taking “long-term ownership” of the enclave - was a “remarkable idea.”

“The actual idea of allowing first Gazans who want to leave to leave, I mean, what is wrong with that?” he told Fox News Wednesday, adding that those who leave the strip “can come back.”

“This is the first good idea that I’ve heard. It’s a remarkable idea and I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued, and done because I think it will create a different future for everyone,” added Netanyahu.

Trump warns Iran of ‘obliteration’ if assassination attempt succeeds

Story by IntelliNews

US President Donald Trump has said that he has issued instructions for Iran to be 'obliterated' should Tehran succeed in assassinating him.

'If they did that, they would be obliterated,' Mr Trump told gathered reporters on February 5 abc news reports. He continued 'I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left.'

America’s abc news on February 5 also revealed that the US Justice Department had managed to block at least one 2024 plot to kill the then Republican nominee, although it was not known if this plot was in direct retaliation for Trump’s own 2020 order to have the former leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qud Force, Qaseem Soleimani, killed. The Iranian officer was killed in a drone attack carried out by US forces while on his way to a meeting with the Iraqi prime minister.

In the event of any assassination of a US president, the serving vice president takes over as happened during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981 when then Vice President George H W. Bush assumed command until Reagan recovered, and the iconic killing of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 in Dallas, when Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in two hours after Kennedy’s death.

Middle East and Europe condemn Donald Trump’s plans to take over Gaza

Countries ranging from Germany to Saudi Arabia reject displacement of Palestinians

Chloe Cornish in Kuwait City, Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper in Beirut and Heba Saleh in Cairo

US allies across Europe and the Middle East have condemned Donald Trump’s plans for Washington to “take over” Gaza and any attempt to expel Palestinians from the devastated territory.

Countries throughout the region and beyond denounced the proposals within hours of the US president’s shock Tuesday evening announcement that Washington should assume control of Gaza and that its 2.2mn-strong Palestinian population should be resettled.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock warned the plan for Gaza, swaths of which are in ruins after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas, would “lead to new suffering and new hatred”.

She added: “There must be no solution over the heads of the Palestinians.”

Arab states, which have long rejected any expulsion of Palestinians, were also quick to attack Trump’s proposals.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday the country would “not establish diplomatic relations with Israel” without an independent Palestinian state, adding its position was “non-negotiable and not subject to compromises”.

‘Dangerous, provocative, illegal’: Arab Americans condemn Trump’s vow to ‘take over’ Gaza

‘Arab Americans for Trump’ group rebrands itself while activists also criticize Biden and Harris’s support of Israel

Anna Betts

Donald Trump’s remarks that the US will “take over” Gaza and resettle the Palestinian population elsewhere have drawn outrage and criticism from Palestinian and Arab Americans across the US.

A group of Arab Americans that supported Trump during the 2024 election rebranded itself following Trump’s comments on displacing Palestinians, from “Arab Americans for Trump” to “Arab Americans for Peace”.

In a statement, the group said that while they still believed that Trump “is committed to achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East that is satisfactory to ALL parties”, they “take issue with the president’s suggestion of taking over Gaza and removing its Palestinian inhabitants to other parts of the Arab world”.

The group added that they were “adamantly opposed to the notion of transferring Palestinians outside of historic Palestine for ANY reason”.

The 2024 US presidential election marked a shift within communities that had long formed part of the Democratic base, as many Muslim and Arab Americans grew disillusioned over the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Trump actively courted those groups and polls indicate he made significant gains.

Protests against the Biden administration’s stance led to more than 700,000 “uncommitted” votes in the Democratic primaries, an attempt to pressure Joe Biden to shift course.

Mexico and Canada outsmarted Trump in his trade war. He still thinks he won. | Opinion

Opinion by Elvia Díaz, Arizona Republic

It’s not clear whether Mexico and Canada played President Donald Trump in his tariffs war, but it sure seems so – at least, temporarily.

Trump is boasting that Mexico and Canada buckled to his 25% tariff after a head-spinning clash with America’s largest trading partners.

At least for now, Mexico and Canada have outsmarted Trump by bolstering border security with measures already underway or that can easily be carried out.

Mexico and Canada made Trump think he won

I love that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau twisted Trump’s ego to back off for 30 days. They obviously figured out that he hates bad press and hates spooking the stock market even more.

All that, no doubt, played a role in Trump agreeing Monday to hold back on imposing a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods if those countries don’t stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration, which are just an excuse for Trump’s bigger endgame.

Trump’s suggestion that US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike

By DAVID RISING and JON GAMBRELL

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump’s proposal that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike.

Trump’s suggestion came at a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who smiled several times as the president detailed a plan to build new settlements for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, and for the U.S. to take “ownership” in redeveloping the war-torn territory into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs.”

The comments came amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, during which the militant group has been turning over hostages in exchange for the release of prisoners held by Israel.

Egypt, Jordan and other American allies in the Middle East have already rejected the idea of relocating more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza elsewhere in the region. Following Trump’s remarks, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement stressing the need for rebuilding “without moving the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.”

Saudi Arabia, an important American ally, weighed in quickly on Trump’s expanded idea to take over the Gaza Strip in a sharply worded statement, noting that its long call for an independent Palestinian state was a “firm, steadfast and unwavering position.”

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses what it had previously announced regarding its absolute rejection of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands or efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land,” the statement said.

Saudi Arabia, in swift response to Trump, says no ties with Israel without Palestinian state

By Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray

CAIRO (Reuters) -Saudi Arabia said it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, contradicting President Donald Trump's claim that Riyadh was not demanding a Palestinian homeland when he said the U.S. wants to take over the Gaza Strip.

In a shocking announcement, Trump said on Tuesday the United States would take over the war-ravaged enclave after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere and develop it economically. He was speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Saudi Arabia rejects any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that its stance towards the Palestinians is not negotiable.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has affirmed the kingdom's position in 'a clear and explicit manner' that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances, the statement said.

Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave

The president met with the Israeli prime minister at the White House, meeting in person with another world leader for the first time since returning to power.

By Michael D. ShearPeter Baker and Isabel Kershner

President Trump declared on Tuesday that the United States should seize control of Gaza and permanently displace the entire Palestinian population of the devastated seaside enclave, one of the most brazen ideas that any American leader has advanced in years.

Hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House, Mr. Trump said that all two million Palestinians from Gaza should be moved to countries like Egypt and Jordan because of the devastation wrought by Israel’s campaign against Hamas after the terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference Tuesday evening. “We’ll own it and be responsible” for disposing of unexploded munitions and rebuilding Gaza into a mecca for jobs and tourism. Sounding like the real estate developer he once was, Mr. Trump vowed to turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

While the president framed the matter as a humanitarian imperative and an economic development opportunity, he effectively reopened a geopolitical Pandora’s box with far-reaching implications for the Middle East. Control over Gaza has been one of the major flash points of the Arab-Israeli conflict for decades, and the idea of relocating its Palestinian residents recalls an era when great Western powers redrew the maps of the region and moved around populations without regard to local autonomy.

Canada, Mexico strike back with retaliatory tariffs on American goods hours after Trump’s executive action

Story by Katherine Donlevy

Canada and Mexico’s top leaders blasted President Trump Saturday hours after he imposed a 25% tariff on the neighboring countries — and announced they would retaliate by enforcing their own on the US.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed he and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo agreed to work together to push back against Trump’s long-awaited taxing program, which he claimed was aimed at halting the influx of drugs into the US.

Trump put a 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports, while Chinese products will receive a more modest 10% tariff.

The US will also impose 10% tariffs on energy products from Canada.

For its part, Canada plans to put a 25% tariff on $155 billion worth of US goods, including beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes.”

“Many of us will be deeply affected. A lot of people will go through dark times. We’re asking you to support one another, to be there for your friends, your neighbors, and your fellow Canadians,” he said, adding that it might be in the country’s best interest to forgo American products altogether, like Florida orange juice.

Trudeau, who is leaving office in the next six weeks, slammed Trump’s tariffs as a “threat targeting the entire country” that would also have serious ramifications for the US.

Canada and Mexico Move to Retaliate on Trump Tariff Orders

NY Times

Where Things Stand

   Trump tariffs: President Trump on Saturday followed through with his threat to impose stiff tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, setting the stage for a destabilizing trade war with the United States’ largest commercial partners. The tariffs were set to begin on Tuesday.

   Tariff retaliation: Mexico and Canada immediately vowed to impose tariffs of their own. The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, announced retaliatory tariffs starting with 25 percent tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of U.S. goods on Tuesday, with $85 billion more to follow within three weeks.

   China’s response: Its commerce ministry said China would file a case against the United States at the World Trade Organization and also vowed unspecified “corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests.” And its foreign ministry defended its record on fentanyl, saying that China had led the world in 2019 when it imposed stringent regulations on fentanyl-related substances.

Trump says he ordered air strikes on Islamic State group in Somalia

George Wright BBC News

Donald Trump says he ordered military air strikes on a senior attack planner and others from the Islamic State (IS) group in Somalia.

"These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," Trump posted on social media.

"The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians."

The BBC could not immediately independently verify the reports.

Trump spoke to Egyptian president about plan to evict Palestinians from Gaza

Barak Ravid

President Trump spoke on Saturday with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah el-Sisi to discuss his idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan in order to rebuild the enclave.

Why it matters: Trump's comments about moving Palestinians from Gaza alarmed the Egyptians, who see the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza to their territory as a threat to national security. Trump's idea would also involve displacing two million people.

   At the beginning of the war, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised this idea, Sisi made it clear that such a move would jeopardize the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

What they're saying: Cairo confirmed the call and said Sisi invited Trump to visit Egypt as soon as possible in order to "strengthen strategic relations between the two countries and discuss the complex issues and crises facing the Middle East," as well as to participate in the opening of the new Egyptian Museum.

   Trump extended an open invitation to Sisi to visit Washington, the Egyptian presidency said.

   Sisi's spokesperson said the call was positive and the leaders discussed "the importance of continuing to implement the first and second phases of the Gaza ceasefire deal in order to stabilize the ceasefire."

Driving the news: Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One last Saturday that he wants Jordan and Egypt to take Palestinians from Gaza into their territory "temporarily or long term" while Gaza is being "cleaned up."

Dozens killed as opposition RSF forces attack open market in Sudan

Assault by the Rapid Support Forces in city of Omdurman also leaves more than 150 people wounded

Associated Press

Fighters with the opposition Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have attacked an open market in the Sudanese city of Omdurman, killing 54 people.

The attack on Sabrein market also wounded at least 158 others, Sudan’s health ministry said.

Two more people were killed on Saturday in an airstrike in the capital, Khartoum, across the Nile from Omdurman.

The culture minister and government spokesperson, Khalid al-Aleisir, condemned the attack and said the casualties included many women and children. He also said the atrocity had caused “widespread destruction to private and public properties”.

“This criminal act adds to the bloody record of this militia,” he said. “It constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”

The RSF denied carrying out the attack.

Hostages Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, Ofer Calderon freed after 484 days in Hamas captivity

3 civilian men forced to parade on stage as they’re freed in Khan Younis, Gaza City port; cousin of Yarden Bibas says the deal must continue ‘until we see Shiri and the boys at home’

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

Three hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack were released by Hamas on Saturday under an ongoing ceasefire deal with the terror group, returning to Israel 484 days after they were taken from their communities near the Gaza border and kidnapped to the Strip.

Ofer Calderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35, were released to the International Red Cross in south Gaza’s Khan Younis on Saturday morning, and Keith Siegel, 65, was handed over almost two hours later at the Gaza City port.

The releases were far more controlled than the chaos surrounding the Thursday release of three Israelis and five Thai nationals.

The terror group set up stages at both locations, with Calderon and Bibas freed soon after 8:30 a.m. and Siegel after 10 a.m.

Representatives of the International Red Cross sat at desks on the stages to sign the so-called handover documents produced by the terror group.

Calderon and Bibas were released first, taken onto the stage set up by Hamas in the southern Gaza town, holding the now ubiquitous certificates issued by the terror group.

Rubio heads to Central America as Trump admin attempts crackdown on migration to US

By Jennifer Hansler and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

CNN — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Panama on Saturday for his first trip as the United States’ top diplomat that will test if his diplomacy can build on President Donald Trump’s bellicose and transactional approach to “American First” foreign policy, particularly on migration.

Rubio’s choice to visit Central America – Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic – is intentional and meant to drive forward the Trump agenda by “paying closer attention to our own neighborhood.”

Migration will be a key focus throughout Rubio’s trip, set against the backdrop of the dramatic confrontation between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro last Sunday.

Discussion about the Panama Canal – which Trump has repeatedly said should be back under US control – is also “a priority” while the top US diplomat is in Panama City.

Rubio is also expected to emphasize efforts to counter China in the region. However, aid officials and some US officials say this effort – and priorities like countering illegal migration and drug trafficking – have been undermined by his sweeping foreign assistance freeze.

On migration, Trump officials have been mapping out a Latin America strategy, keenly aware that the region is integral to their aggressive deportation agenda. For years, the US has been sending back migrants from Central American countries. However, the Covid-19 pandemic in part spurred record migration across the Western Hemisphere, meaning that more people were journeying to the United States’ southern border from multiple countries.