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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Ben-Gurion International Airport aboard “Wing of Zion” on Sunday evening for his third in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the wake of “Operation Rising Lion” and amid talk of a possible hostages-for-ceasefire deal.

“In my conversation with President Trump, I will first of all thank him for his very strong support for Israel. We have never had such a friend in the White House,” Netanyahu told the press just before his flight.

“Our joint efforts have brought about a tremendous victory over our common enemy—Iran,” he said.

The camp director and co-owner of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, died in the catastrophic flooding as he reportedly raced to save the lives of his young campers.

Dick Eastland, who purchased the camp in 1974, died after the wall of water crashed through the Christian summer camp, which is located along the banks of the Guadalupe River, Texas Public Radio reported. 

Syria’s new governing authority on Friday claimed a willingness to work with the United States to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, which created a U.N.-monitored buffer zone separating the two countries.

After a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani expressed Damascus’s “aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”

Rubio released a statement saying the two men discussed “matters of shared concern, including countering terrorism, Iran, Israel-Syria relations and destroying any remnants of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons program.”

US President Donald Trump said on Friday it was good that Hamas said it had responded in "a positive spirit" to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal.

He told reporters aboard Air Force One there could be a deal on a Gaza ceasefire by next week but that he had not been briefed on the current state of negotiations.

Trump said on Friday that Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium.

President Donald Trump signs the sweeping Republican-crafted domestic policy package that he and the GOP call the "One Big Beautiful Bill," into law on Friday at the White House.

The massive tax cuts and spending bill passed the House and Senate this week by razor-thin margins along near party lines. 

But the political battle over the bill is far from over, as it moves from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Big Beautiful Bill” budget on Thursday in a party-line vote.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the bill would “set the stage for the coming golden age” under U.S. President Donald Trump.

“President Trump has delivered on his promises to Main Street while strengthening critical programs, national security and America’s manufacturing sector,” Bessent stated. “The One, Big, Beautiful Bill will unleash the full potential of the U.S. economy.”

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman secretly met with President Donald Trump and other key officials in the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, multiple sources confirmed with Fox News.

According to sources, the talks included discussions about de-escalation with Iran and getting to the negotiating table. The talks were also reportedly about ending the war in Gaza and negotiating the release of the remaining hostages – whether dead or alive – and about working toward peace in the Middle East. Although the talks were not exclusively about the possibility of normalization with Israel, sources said the conversation dealt with steps that needed to occur to get there.

The Saudis are in the process of finalizing a defense and trade deal with the U.S., and the message shared between the two allies, sources added, is that they see eye-to-eye on all issues.

Hamas is expected to respond to the 60-day ceasefire within the coming hours, sources told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday evening, noting that there is increased optimism that the response will be positive.

The proposal, presented by Qatar and based on the Witkoff framework, calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies during a 60-day ceasefire. During that period, the sides are expected to hold talks aimed at ending the war. 

On Thursday, senior Hamas officials met in Turkey to discuss the recently proposed framework.

North Korea will send up to 30,000 additional soldiers to the frontlines in the Ukraine-Russia War, according to a CNN report on Wednesday.

These troops may arrive in Russia in stages by November, “to strengthen the Russian contingent, including during large-scale offensive operations,” a Ukrainian intelligence document seen by CNN stated.

Additionally, satellite imagery obtained by CNN indicated signs of Russia’s preparations. Ships previously used for North Korean deployments were seen in Russian ports, and flight patterns of cargo planes revealed that routes bringing soldiers to Russia were active.

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that US strikes had degraded Iran's nuclear program by up to two years after destroying the three targeted sites.

Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, offered the estimate at a briefing to reporters, adding that the official estimate was "probably closer to two years."

"We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the Department (of Defense) assess that," Parnell told a news briefing.

(photo: Adar Eyal)

Following Israel’s green light for the Qatari hostage deal proposal, which is essentially the Witkoff framework with some modifications, officials in Israel, the US, and the mediating countries are now awaiting Hamas’s response.

"For the first time, there is real optimism that Hamas will say ‘yes,’" two sources familiar with the talks told The Jerusalem Post. An Israeli official also confirmed that there is a growing belief that this time, Hamas may accept the deal. "Qatar is applying immense pressure on the group," the sources added.

In a Truth Social post published Wednesday morning, former President Donald Trump warned Hamas, saying: "I hope, for the sake of the Middle East, that Hamas takes the deal—because if not, things will only get worse for them, not better."

Hamas suggested Wednesday it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel but stopped short of accepting an American-backed proposal announced by US President Donald Trump hours earlier, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end [permanently] to the war in Gaza.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a "substantial" phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on the Iran-Israel conflict and Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, the first such exchange between the two leaders since September 2022.

In Paris, Macron's office said the call lasted two hours and that the French leader had called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of negotiations on ending the conflict.

The White House said on Tuesday that President Trump had paused the delivery of some air defense interceptors and precision-guided bombs and missiles to Ukraine, citing Pentagon concerns that the U.S. weapons stocks were dwindling too low.

US President Donald Trump claimed that "Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday night.

In the post, Trump confirmed that his "Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza."

"The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal," he added.

"I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE," he continued.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met with senior Israeli security officials in the United Arab Emirates in April to lay the groundwork for the current talks over peace and normalization, a Syrian source with knowledge of the matter told i24NEWS.

The April 13 meeting in Abu Dhabi was attended by senior officials from the Israeli Mossad, the National Security Council, and IDF intelligence, through the mediation of the Emiratis.

This meeting established a new phase in relations between Israel and Syria and opened the door to further direct contacts between Jerusalem and Damascus.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it will take time and assurances from the US before Tehran is ready to re-engage in talks on its nuclear program, and insisted that Iran will soon be ready to start enriching uranium again and “make up for lost time.”

“I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,” Araghchi on Monday told CBS News, though he added that diplomacy was not off the table.

“In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations,” Araghchi added. “And I think with all these considerations, we still need more time.”

US President Donald Trump said he will discuss the situations in Gaza and Iran when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington next Monday, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will arrive in Washington on Monday, a source told The Jerusalem Post.

The cabinet held a discussion and will wait to hear about Dermer's meetings in Washington before considering additional significant steps in Gaza.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump called for a deal to be made in Gaza and to "get the hostages back!!!" in a post to Truth Social.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday removing longstanding sanctions on the Syrian government while maintaining sanctions on the regime of deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad and other destabilizing actors.

The executive order ends the national emergency that the U.S. government declared in 2004 under Executive Order 13338 and revokes the five orders that constitute the basis of that program, according to a senior Trump administration official, who spoke to reporters on background.

The executive order also directs “certain actions with respect to waivers of applicable statutory-based sanctions, export controls and other restrictions,” the official said.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not speaking to Iran and was not offering the country "anything," and he reiterated his assertion that the United States had "totally OBLITERATED" Tehran's nuclear facilities.

Former president Barack Obama "paid [Iran] $Billions under the stupid “road to a Nuclear Weapon JCPOA (which would now be expired!)" Trump's Truth Social post continued.

Trump on Friday dismissed media reports that said his administration had discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program.

Iran's top Shiite cleric issued a religious decree against President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday, an act some experts called an incitement to terrorism.

The fatwa from Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi called on Muslims around the world to take a stand, according to the New York Sun. It states that any individual or government that challenges or endangers the leadership and unity of the global Islamic community (the Ummah) is to be regarded as a "warlord" or a "mohareb," defined as someone who wages war against God. Under Iranian law, those identified as mohareb can face execution, crucifixion, limb amputation, or exile.

"Those who threaten the leadership and integrity of the Islamic Ummah are to be considered warlords," Makarem said in the ruling. He finished with a prayer asking for protection from these "enemies" and for the swift return of the Mahdi...

Any ceasefire or post-war arrangement regarding Gaza must meet specific criteria outlined by the Cabinet, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said on Sunday.

“Three essential goals must be achieved,” Karhi told JNS. “First, the return of all hostages; second, the elimination of Hamas’s governing and military capabilities; and third, ensuring that the Gaza Strip no longer poses a threat to the State of Israel.”

He added that, beyond these objectives, U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle Gazans who so wish in other countries is “a significant and worthwhile initiative that should also be pursued.”