President Donald Trump put some blame on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for choosing to fight Russia rather than make a deal. In April of 2022, Zelensky had nearly completed negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin when members of NATO pushed Kiev to...
Israel Confirms Troops Not Leaving Lebanon By Monday Deadline
Surprising few people except perhaps Amos Hochstein, who guaranteed this wouldn’t happen, Israel confirmed Friday that they will, in fact, not be withdrawing from Lebanon by the deadline set out in the ceasefire, which was 60 days and arrives overnight Sunday into...
Shin Bet Says Israel’s ‘Multi-Front’ War Is Now Focused on the West Bank
The head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency said Thursday that Israel's "multi-front war" is now focused on the occupied West Bank amid a new Israeli siege on the northern Palestinian city of Jenin. "We are in a multi-front war, and now it is the turn of Samaria,"...
Israel Purchases More Iron Dome Interceptors With US Aid
The Israeli Defense Ministry announced last week that it had signed its first deal using an $8.7 billion military aid package it received from the US to purchase munitions for its Iron Dome missile defense system. The Defense Ministry said it signed a contract with...
Trump Says He Wants To Work With China and Russia on ‘Denuclearization’
On Thursday, President Trump delivered a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and said he wanted to discuss the idea of "denuclearization" with Russia and China. The president claimed that during his last term in office, he discussed the...
Trump To Put Steve Witkoff in Charge of Iran Negotiations
President Trump is expected to put his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in charge of the Iran file, signaling the administration will try diplomacy with the Islamic Republic, Financial Times reported on Thursday. Sources told FT that Witkoff, who put pressure on...
Gaza Hospitals Receive 122 More Bodies, Raising Death Toll
Gaza's Health Ministry said Thursday that hospitals received 122 more bodies as Palestinians continue to dig the remains of people killed by Israel's bombing campaign out of the rubble on the fifth day of the ceasefire. The Health Ministry said that 120 of the bodies...
US Private Security Contractors To Operate Checkpoint in Gaza
Armed US private security contractors will begin operating a checkpoint in Gaza in the coming days, Axios reported on Thursday, citing Israeli officials. The report said the US contractors will be deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational group that's been...
Trump Re-Designates Yemen’s Houthis as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’
On Monday, President Trump signed an executive order re-designating Yemen's Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," a move that will impede aid deliveries to Yemen and complicate the chances of a lasting peace deal between the Saudis...
Israel Wants to Extend Troops’ Stay in Lebanon Another 30 Days
Just one day after Israel’s Foreign Minister was saying they are “committed” to the ceasefire in Lebanon, multiple media reports say that Israel is now seeking an additional 30 days to keep troops in Lebanon, beyond the 60-day deadline for the pullout currently in...