Trump says there is ‘largely consensus’ on next phases of Gaza ceasefire plan – live

The United Nations (UN) got the green light from Israel to begin delivering scaled-up assistance Gaza begins Sunday, a U.N. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public, the Associated Press reported.

The aid shipments are intended to address severe malnutrition and famine caused by Israeli offensives and restrictions on humanitarian aid. The international criminal court demands the arrest of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for allegedly using famine as a method of war. Israeli officials deny the allegations.

According to the AP, the aid will include 170,000 tons already in neighboring countries such as Jordan And Egypt while humanitarian officials waited for permission from the Israeli Defense Forces to resume their work.

UN officials and Israeli authorities have been involved in a series of discussions Jerusalem over the past 24 hours on the volume of aid that humanitarian organizations can bring in and through which entry points.

A spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday that fuel, medical supplies and other critical materials have begun flowing through the country Kerem Shalom crossing. UN officials want Israel to open more border crossings and provide safe movement for aid workers and civilians returning to parts of Gaza that were until recently under heavy fire.

In recent months, the UN and its partners have managed to deliver only 20% of the aid needed in the world Gaza StripAccording to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator: Tom Fletcher.

If Abdel Fattah al-Kurdi made the long journey back there Gaza Cityhe noticed he was getting lost. Even though he left the city only a few weeks ago, he could no longer recognize the streets. The buildings he had grown up in between had collapsed, their contents covering the roads in a mixture of torn furniture and broken concrete.

Al-Kurdi could only recognize it Netzarim checkpoint He marked his entry into northern Gaza by the bodies lying at his feet – those who had tried to return home too early, their faces covered by dust after being felled by Israeli fire.

“The city looks completely different, as if it is no longer the Gaza Strip we once knew. In just a short time, enormous destruction has spread everywhere. Almost all houses have been destroyed and the streets are blocked,” said al-Kurdi, a 40-year-old resident of Gaza City, as he returned to his home in the Gaza Strip. Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood.

Al-Kurdi was one of thousands of people Gaza who took advantage of the ceasefire announced on Friday to travel back to their homes in northern Gaza. Videos showed a coastal road clogged by crowds of people, many on foot, making their way north.

Fighting in Gaza had stopped for the first time since an earlier ceasefire failed in mid-March. Hamas And Israel had agreed to stop fighting in preparation for the release of 48 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in an agreement that should lead to a complete end to the two-year war.

Like most people in northern Gaza, al-Kurdi was filled with fear as he walked north. In the days leading up to the ceasefire, Israel had intensively bombed Gaza City as part of its campaign to occupy the city.

Al-Kurdi had no idea if his house was among the lucky few still standing.

Lebanese president Joseph Aoun convicted Israel Saturday for carrying out overnight attacks on civilian facilities that killed at least one person, according to the Health Ministry, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Aoun said:

Once again, southern Lebanon has been the target of a horrific Israeli aggression against civilian installations – without justification or pretext.

The seriousness of this latest attack lies in the fact that it takes place after the ceasefire in Gaza.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said an Israeli attack on the al-Msayleh area left one person dead and seven others injured.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency said Israeli warplanes carried out 10 attacks on bulldozer and excavator sites.

The Israeli army confirmed it has carried out attacks in Lebanon. In a statement, it said it had “hit and dismantled Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in the area of ​​southern Lebanon, where there were technical machines used to restore terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November ceasefire that followed more than a year of hostilities with the United States Iran-backed militant group that culminated in two months of open war.

US president Donald Trump has said there is “broadly consensus” on how the next phases of the approach will proceed Plan for a ceasefire in Gaza will work, but admitted that “some details… will be worked out.”

In comments made Friday and reported by several news outlets, Trump spoke about the remaining hostages in the country Gazaadding to that Hamas they were collecting ‘now’. He said “they are in some pretty rough places”.

The American president, who is praised by Hamas and many in his country Israel for his role in securing a ceasefire agreement, he said he believes the agreement “will hold” because “it does.” [Hamas and Israel] all tired from the fighting.”

Meanwhile, Trump plans to convene world leaders for a summit on Gaza during his visit to Gaza Egypt next week, Axios reported. Among those expected to participate are representatives of Germany, Francethe United Kingdom, Italy, Qatarthe United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan And Indonesia. According to a US officialBenjamin Netanyahu will not be present.

Trump confirmed he would meet “many leaders” in his country Cairo Monday to discuss the future of Gaza and it has been reported that he will also travel there Israelwhere he will speak Knesset.

More on this story soon, but first here are some other important developments:

• Tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to the badly devastated northern Gaza Strip on Friday as a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect in a deal that raised hopes of ending the war between Israel and Hamas. The remaining 48 hostages, about twenty of whom are believed to be alive, will be released on Monday.

• Questions remain about who will rule Gaza as Israeli forces gradually withdraw and whether Hamas will disarm as called for in Trump’s ceasefire plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended a ceasefire in March, hinted that Israel could resume its offensive if Hamas did not give up its weapons.

• The United Nations has been given the green light by Israel to start delivering scaled-up aid to Gaza from Sunday, a UN official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public, the Associated Press reported. The aid includes 170,000 tons already positioned in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt as humanitarian officials waited for permission from the Israeli forces to restart their work.

• UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Friday that fuel, medical supplies and other critical materials had started flowing through the Kerem Shalom crossing. UN officials want Israel to open more border crossings and provide safe movement for aid workers and civilians returning to parts of Gaza that were until recently under heavy fire.

• Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel on Saturday for carrying out overnight attacks on civilian facilities that killed at least one person, according to the Health Ministry. “Once again, southern Lebanon has been the target of a horrific Israeli aggression against civilian installations – without justification or pretext,” Aoun said.

• Israel has shared a list of the Palestinian prisoners it plans to release as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Of the 250 Palestinian prisoners, 15 will be released in East Jerusalem, 100 to the West Bank and 135 will be deported. When Hamas officials initially submitted a list of proposed prisoners to mediators in Egypt, they called for the release of high-profile Palestinian political figures such as Marwan Barghouti. But Netanyahu’s office confirmed it refuses to release Barghouti.