Good Friday morning.
Here is what is on President Trump’s agenda today:
10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT receives his Intelligence Briefing
11:40 AM THE PRESIDENT attends the FIFA World Cup Drawing
3:00 PM THE PRESIDENT signs Executive Orders
8:00 PM THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend a Concert by Andrea Bocelli
Children and families in Gaza scooped muddy water from their tents Tuesday, trying to protect the few belongings that remain after two years of war.
Winter’s heavy rains have left displaced Palestinians splashing in water that reaches their ankles, and blaming both Israel and Hamas for the misery that remains despite a cease-fire.
“All tents were destroyed,” said Assmaa Fayad in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, whose shelter was damaged in Tuesday’s latest downpour.
“Where is Hamas? Where are the people to see this rain and how our children are drowning?”
A Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, lashed out in a message on Telegram: “All the world’s efforts to alleviate the disaster have failed because of the Israeli siege.”
UN experts urge member states to act as Israeli violations threaten ‘fragile’ Gaza ceasefire Anadolu Ajansı
from news.google.com
The United Nations adopted the United States’s proposal on Monday to begin implementing the next phase of President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
Trump’s 20-point plan to achieve lasting stability in the region, which had been beset by hostilities between Hamas and Israel, gained international legitimacy after the 15-member council voted 13-0 in favor of a resolution endorsing the plan’s proposal for a temporary new government in Gaza.
Russia and China abstained from the vote, which supported the establishment of the “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump as a transitional government, and the creation of a temporary “International Stabilization Force” in Gaza.
“He wants to be part of the Abraham Accords,” Trump said.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) signaled renewed willingness to join the Abraham Accords during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. He emphasized that any normalization with Israel must include a “path to a two-state solution” between Gaza and Israel.
The meeting, MBS’s first White House visit in more than seven years, was marked by an elaborate welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn to spotlight the administration’s partnership with the kingdom and showcase the rapport between the two leaders. They discussed security cooperation, defense sales, nuclear agreements, and hundreds of billions of dollars in Saudi investment in the US economy.
Iran asks UN to hold US accountable for directing Israel’s summer strikes Reuters
from news.google.com
US to share Gaza peace plan draft with UN Security Council Middle East Eye
from news.google.com
The world has been shocked and horrified by stories of how Hamas tortured and murdered Israeli hostages. But Hamas also viciously maltreats and even kills its own people who dare to stand up to it, including Moumen al-Natour, a Palestinian anti-Hamas activist.
The UK Daily Mail says that al-Natour has endured endless harassment and persecution from Hamas, from “being lashed with a whip, stripped of his clothes, or made to squat for 24 gruelling hours in a tiny underground cell, the 30-year-old lawyer has paid the price time and time again for his resistance to the authoritarian government.”
Describing one round of abuse at Hamas’s hands, al-Natour told the UK outlet, “They insulted me with obscene language and threatened to bring my father, mother, brothers and sisters to the prison to torture them. Once, someone even told me they could rape my mother and sisters in front of me.”
Hamas took Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American hero, captive on Oct. 7, 2023, and murdered him while in captivity. Israel finally recovered his body along with the bodies of two other brave Israelis after more than two years in Hamas’ hands.
Sharren Haskel, the Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, posted the news about the three dead hostages’ heartbreaking homecoming in a tribute where she praised their courage and individual talents.
With deep sorrow and heavy hearts, this morning three of our heroes were brought back to Israel from Gaza – Colonel Assaf Hamami, Captain Omer Neutra, and Sergeant First Class Oz Daniel.
They have returned, wrapped in the flag of our nation, to the soil they fought for and to the… pic.twitter.com/qGko1JDjRf— Sharren Haskel השכל שרן (@SharrenHaskel) November 3, 2025
Neutra’s family said in a statement that the Jewish Telegraphic Agency obtained, “With heavy hearts and a deep sense of relief — we share the news that, Captain Omer Neutra …has finally been returned for burial in the land of Israel.” Neutra’s parents spoke at the Republican National Convention last year to rally support for releasing the Israeli hostages before they knew that their precious son had been murdered in captivity.
Israel said it had received the remains of three additional captives from Hamas as part of the ongoing hostage-prisoner exchange under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement for Gaza.
from www.news24.com
The Israeli army launched a barrage of attacks in Gaza on Tuesday as tensions with Hamas grew two weeks into a fragile ceasefire, and the militant group responded by saying it would delay handing over the body of a hostage. At least seven Palestinians were killed, health officials said.
The flare-up of violence presented one of the biggest tests so far for the truce and had international mediators scrambling to prevent it from collapsing. U.S. Vice President JD Vance attempted to play down the fighting, saying he expected “skirmishes” to quickly die down.
The order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch “powerful strikes” came after an Israeli official said its forces were fired upon in southern Gaza and after Hamas handed over body parts on Monday that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war.
Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of these remains on Monday, sharing a 14-minute edited video captured by a military drone in Gaza.
Netanyahu accused Hamas of returning the remains of the wrong Israeli abductee, signaling he would seek retaliation for what he called a violation of the ceasefire.
from www.washingtonpost.com
An Israeli military official told Fox News that the terrorist group Hamas has violated the ongoing Gaza ceasefire by attacking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in Rafah.
Tuesday’s incident comes after two IDF soldiers were killed by terror operatives in Rafah in mid-October.
Israeli soldiers enter Gaza at the border as seen from Israel on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
Israel has said it will not allow Turkish troops to take part in an international force proposed by the US to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza.
The deal brokered by US President Donald Trump earlier this month calls for a temporary stabilisation force to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after two years of war, but does not mention which countries would provide armed forces.
The US plan said the force would train and support “vetted Palestinian police forces” and will “consult with Jordan and Egypt, who have extensive experience in this field”.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to Hungary, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday that Israel opposes the participation of Turkish troops in Gaza.
“Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at least fair to Israel,” Sa’ar said at a press conference in Budapest.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned Israel on Wednesday against annexing the West Bank, saying steps taken by parliament and settler violence threatened a Gaza deal.
Israeli lawmakers voted on Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip that was retaliation for a Hamas attack.
“I think the president’s made clear that’s not something we can be supportive of right now,” Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel. Annexation moves are “threatening for the peace deal,” he told reporters.
Iran not to resume talks unless US abandons ‘excessive demands’: FM lokmattimes.com
from news.google.com
Vice President JD Vance expressed alarm on Thursday about the Israeli legislature’s vote that would claim sovereignty over swaths of the West Bank, calling the move an “insult” to the Trump administration because it could threaten peace in the region.
Before departing for the United States at the end of his two-day trip to the Jewish state, Vance denounced the Knesset’s vote as a “very stupid political stunt.”
“I personally take some insult to it,” he said at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. “The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
Qatar, Saudi Arabia slam Israeli Knesset’s West Bank sovereignty move as “blatant violation” lokmattimes.com
from news.google.com
Support for the U.S. to recognize the Palestinian state has hit 59% according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Only 33% were opposed to it, while 53% of Republicans were opposed to it.
Most Americans – including 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans – think the U.S. should recognize Palestinian statehood, a sign that President Donald Trump’s opposition to doing so is out of step with public opinion, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, found 59% of respondents backed U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state, while 33% were opposed and the rest were unsure or did not answer the question.
About half of Trump’s Republicans – 53% – opposed doing so, while 41% of Republicans said they would support the U.S. recognizing a Palestinian state.
A growing number of countries – including U.S. allies Britain, Canada, France and Australia – have formally recognized Palestinian statehood in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from Israel, whose founding in 1948 led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and decades of conflict.
The U.S. increased pressure on Hamas on Tuesday to disarm in the next phase of an already fragile Gaza ceasefire as President Donald Trump pushed to cement an end to the devastating conflict.
In a visit to Israel, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the ceasefire plan was going better than expected but warned the Palestinian militant group it would be obliterated if it did not cooperate, echoing a Trump threat earlier in the day of “fast, furious and brutal force”.
The United Nations’ top legal body, the International Court of Justice, on Wednesday gave an advisory opinion saying that Israel is under the obligation to ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met. The panel of 11 judges added Israel is forced to support relief efforts provided by the United Nations in the Gaza Strip and its entities, including UNRWA, the United NationsRelief and WorksAgency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
“As an occupying power, Israel is obliged to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival,” presiding judge Yuji Iwasawa said.
Erdogan turns Trump’s Gaza deal into power play for Turkey’s regional influence Ynetnews
from news.google.com
A U.N. Nuclear Watchdog, Rafael Gross, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has claimed that the U.S. bombing run on Iran’s nuclear program failed to significantly deplete the nation’s stockpile of “near-weapons-grade” uranium.
The bombings still set Iran’s nuclear program back, as they are just now beginning to tunnel into the sites, which are still largely collapsed and destroyed. The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security claimed that while the sites are still powered, “… the visible activity does not indicate a dash to remove possible centrifuge or enriched uranium stocks inside the tunnel complex; rather it points more towards preparing controlled and secure access to two of the three tunnel entrances, and hardening the entrances and utilities against future strikes,”
Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Saturday that his agency believes “the majority” of Iran’s stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium survived bombing runs from Israel and the United States in June.
Grossi said during an interview with a Swiss newspaper that the IAEA believes most of the uranium is still stored in Iran’s three primary nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Fordow, and Natanz. All three facilities were hit by devastating airstrikes from the United States in June.
The latest IAEA report estimated Iran has about 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, which is far beyond any conceivable civilian use, but just shy of weapons-grade material. The IAEA has been asking Iran to account for the uranium ever since the June airstrikes, but the Iranians have not been very cooperative.
Vice-President JD Vance arrived in Israel as the ceasefire in Gaza entered its eleventh day. He is expected to shore up President Donald Trump’s peace agreement amid sabotage attempts by Hamas.
“Vance was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials and is expected to stay in the region until Thursday,” the Associated Press reported. “White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, arrived Monday and Vance met with them upon landing.”
NOW: Vice President @JDVance and Second Lady Usha Vance arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel 🇺🇸🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/w7EF9QhLDW
— William Martin (@VPCommsDir) October 21, 2025
Hamas has rejected disarmament and security control surrender under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, following the October 9, 2025, ceasefire in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which ended two years of conflict and released the last Israeli hostages. Saudi Arabia, with UAE and Bahrain, warned the U.S. administration of withholding $50 billion in reconstruction aid if Hamas retains arms or power, criticizing Qatar and Turkey’s mediation for emboldening the group. Gulf states propose a neutral Western-led mission for demilitarization to ensure lasting stability.
The fragile Gaza ceasefire is threatened over dispute on dead hostages’ return. In the meantime, Israel has said it will reopen the Rafah crossing on October 16, 2025 to allow humanitarian aid and construction material into Gaza to rebuild the enclave. FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky tells us more from Jerusalem.
from www.france24.com
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have arrived in Israel on Monday to shore up the shaky Israel-Hamas ceasefire, a day after the fragile deal faced its first flareup with Israel threatening to halt aid transfers after it said Hamas militants had killed two of its soldiers.
The Israeli military later said it continued enforcing the ceasefire and an official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume on Monday.
By early afternoon, it was not immediately clear if the flow of aid had restarted.
More than a week has passed since the start of the US-proposed truce aimed at ending two years of devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels detained around two dozen United Nations employees in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Sunday, in what UN officials described as a serious escalation of the rebels’ crackdown on international organisations operating in areas under their control.
from www.france24.com
