US sends 200 troops to Middle East, Israel makes major call

“The government has just approved the framework for the release of all the hostages – both the living and the deceased,” the statement reads.

The government had met to sign off on the peace proposals put forward by US President Donald Trump and the US Government on Thursday evening.

Israel earlier said a ceasefire in Gaza could come into effect “within 24 hours” of the government approving the deal. That could be by Friday (Saturday in Australia).

It comes after Hamas’ chief negotiator said the militant group has received assurances from the US and other mediators that the Gaza war has “ended permanently”.

“Today we announce that the agreement has been reached to end the war and aggression against our people and begin implementing a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of the occupation forces,” senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised address on Thursday, local time.

He said 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli prisons and 1,700 Gazans imprisoned by Israel will be released under the agreement.

Mr Trump’s 20 point peace plan for Gaza includes a full ceasefire, Israel withdrawing from much of Gaza, all hostages – living and dead – released and the rebuilding of the destroyed sliver of land.

There remains in much to be decided on the more substantive, long term parts of the plan. But “phase one,” which would see a ceasefire, troop withdrawal and hostage release, appears to be on track.

US sending 200 troops to ‘oversee’ Gaza deal

The US will deploy 200 troops on the ground in the Middle East to “oversee” the Gaza ceasefire, senior US officials said.

One senior official told reporters the head of the US military’s Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper, “will initially have 200 people on the ground”.
“His role will be to oversee, observe, make sure there are no violations,” the official said.

Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish and probably Emirati military officials would be embedded in the team, he said.

“The notion is to make it collegial, if you will. And the Israelis will obviously be in constant touch with them.”

A second official said that “no US troops are intended to go into Gaza”.

Instead, they are intended “to help create the joint control center and then integrate all the other security forces that will be going in there to deconflict with IDF (Israeli Defense Forces).”

‘Peace President’: Trump invited to give address to Israeli parliament

US President Donald Trump has been officially invited to deliver a speech in front of Israel’s parliament (Knesset), a day after announcing Hamas and Israel have agreed to the first phase of the peace deal.

“Your leadership, courage, persistence, and vision have led not only to a deal securing the release of all Israeli hostages, but also to an unprecedented regional agreement accepted by nearly every nation in the Middle East,” Amir Ohana, the Speaker of the Knesset, wrote in a letter addressed to Mr Trump, shared on X.

The people of Israel regard you as the greatest friend and ally of the Jewish nation in modern history. It is therefore my profound honor and privilege to officially invite you to deliver a formal address to the nation before the Knesset.”
In the letter, Mr Ohana referred to Mr Trump as the “Peace President” and praised his “once-in-a-century leadership”.

He also noted his speech would be the first by a sitting US President since George W. Bush addressed the Knesset in 2008.

“Israel awaits The Peace President,” he concluded the letter.

UN unveils 60-day aid plan for when ceasefire starts

The United Nations has unveiled a detailed 60-day plan to rush aid into Gaza once a ceasefire is declared to start helping Palestinians in the war-ravaged territory.

“Our plan, detailed and tested, is in place,” Tom Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian operations told a press conference by video link from Saudi Arabia.

The initiative will also seek to provide 1.4 million people with water and sanitation services and restore the decimated health care system

“Our supplies, 170,000 metric tons, food, medicine and other supplies, are in place. And our team, courageous and expert and determined, are in place.

Israel’s blockade has seen lifesaving aid slashed, with the UN declaring a famine in parts of Gaza and hundreds of Palestinians dying of malnutrition.

The plan calls for food to be provided to 2.1 million people – almost Gaza’s entire population – and specific nutritional aid to 500,000 who are severely malnourished.

The initiative will also seek to provide 1.4 million people with water and sanitation services and restore the decimated health care system.

“We’ll help to restore the water grid,” said Mr Fletcher.

“We will repair sewage leaks and pumping stations. We will move solid waste away from residential spaces, and will provide hygiene supplies, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, sanitary pads.”

“We’ll help scale up emergency care, primary health, child health, sexual reproductive, maternal and neonatal health, non-communicable diseases, mental health and rehabilitation.”

With most of the buildings in Gaza destroyed by Israel’s offensive, the plan calls for thousands of tents to be brought in each week.

The UN also wants to set up temporary schools for 700,000 children.

But Mr Fletcher said that for all this to succeed, there were a number of critical things that also needed to happen, including sustained entry of at least 1.9 million litres of fuel every week and resumption of the flow of cooking gas.

“Let’s be clear, this problem won’t go away in two months,” he said.
Obama praises peace deal
Former US President Barack Obama has welcomed the Gaza peace deal after “two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza”.

“We should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight; that those hostages still being held will be reunited with their families; and that vital aid can start reaching those inside Gaza whose lives have been shattered,” Mr Obama wrote in a post on X, where he did not mention Mr Trump

He said it now “falls on Israelis and Palestinians, with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community, to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza – and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace”.

‘Within 24 hours’

Israeli Prime Minister’s Office spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosians said the ceasefire would take place “within 24 hours” after the government signed off on it.

After that, there would be a 72 hour period for hostages to be released.

On Thursday, US time, President Trump said he would travel to Egypt and Israel to cement the proposals and be part of deal signing.

At a meeting of his cabinet on Thursday, US time, he added that the remaining hostages would return from Gaza on “Monday or Tuesday”.

“We’re going to try and get over there, and we’re working on the timing, the exact timing,” he said.

“We’re going to go to Egypt, where we’ll have a signing, an additional signing, and we’ve already had a signing.”

The US president said he was also likely to go to Israel as well, possibly on Sunday.

Mr Trump has been the subject of fulsome praise from world leaders for his efforts.

One of those has been Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. His relationship with Mr Trump has been tetchy in recent months particularly after Israel bombed a building in US ally Qatar it said housed Hamas negotiators.

That strike killed Qatari locals, managed to miss any Hamas members and infuriated both Doha and DC.

It was seen as a sign that Mr Netanyahu was less interested in negotiations and more in wiping out Hamas completely, a strategy pushed by far right wingers in his governing coalition.

Mr Trump is said to have had an angry conversation with Mr Netanyahu demanding he make moves towards peace.

Netanyahu: ‘Give it to Trump’

On Thursday, Mr Netanyahu posted on X a bizarre AI image of Mr Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

The image shows Mr Trump being feted with applause and ticker tape while wearing the Nobel medallion which has somehow morphed into a massive necklace.

In the image, Mr Netanyahu is seen adjusting the medal.

“Give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize – he deserves it!”

Mr Trump’s odds of getting the prize have narrowed: a win is possible.

Yet it remains unlikely. Yes, his work on Gaza could stop a very bloody war for which he deserves credit. He has also mediated other peace plans and made valiant – but so far futile – attempts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

But the Nobel committee would have to balance that with the Trump administration’s legally dubious attacks on boats from Venezuela, his threats to use the military to take over Greenland no matter what the locals actually want and his clamouring to use National Guard troops in US cities – also legally dubious.

He’s also up against some solid completion in the form of Sudan’s emergency response rooms during that nation’s ongoing horrific civil war and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny who died in custody.

– With AFP