The United States says it's moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan involving disarming Hamas, rebuilding the war-ravaged territory and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff says on social media the ceasefire the Republican president helped broker was entering its second phase following two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Witkoff didn't offer any details Wednesday about a new transitional Palestinian administration that would govern Gaza. But other mediators Egypt, Turkey and Qatar said the committee to administer Gaza would be led by a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli drone strike on Monday killed three Palestinians who had crossed the ceasefire line near central G…

The U.N. Security Council has backed the United States' plan for the future of the Gaza Strip. How and when it will be carried out remains largely unknown. In a twist unimaginable across the tumultuous history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the plan would mean U.S. President Donald Trump becomes the de facto ruler of Gaza. The territory remains devastated by Israel's campaign to eliminate Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. An international body chaired by Trump is to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction under a 2-year, renewable U.N. mandate. An armed International Stabilization Force is to keep security and ensure the disarming of Hamas. Major questions hang over nearly every part of the plan.

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a U.S. plan for Gaza, but a big question remains: Will Russia veto it? The U.S. resolution would provide international backing for a stabilization force and envisions a possible future pathway to an independent Palestinian state. After nearly two weeks of negotiations on the U.S. resolution, Russia suddenly circulated a rival proposal late Thursday that would strip out reference to a transitional authority meant to be headed by President Donald Trump. The vote is a crucial next step for the fragile ceasefire and efforts to outline Gaza's future following two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel's defense minister has ordered all remaining Palestinians to leave Gaza City, saying it is their "last opportunity." Israel's defense ministry said Wednesday that anyone who stays will be considered a militant supporter and face the "full force" of Israel's latest offensive. At least 21 Palestinians were killed across the territory, according to local hospitals, as Hamas weighed a new proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war and returning the remaining captives taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it. A senior Hamas official says there are some points in the proposal that are unacceptable and must be amended, without elaborating.

Encircled by critics and protesters at the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told fellow world leaders that Israel "must finish the job" against Hamas in Gaza. He gave a defiant speech despite growing international isolation over his refusal to end the devastating war in Gaza and said Israel wouldn't buckle under the pressure. He spoke after dozens of delegates from multiple nations walked out of the U.N. General Assembly hall en masse as he began speaking. Responding to countries' recent decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu said it would encourage terrorism against Jews and others.

France and Saudi Arabia hope to use this year's United Nations General Assembly and the increasingly horrific war in the Gaza Strip to inject new urgency into the quest for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those efforts include a new road map for eventual Palestinian statehood in territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war, and moves by several Western countries to join a global majority in recognizing such a state before it has been established. They face major obstacles, however, beginning with vehement opposition from the United States and Israel.

The U.N. General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It also urges Israel to commit to a Palestinian state, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes. The 193-member world body approved a nonbinding resolution endorsing the "New York Declaration," which sets out a phased plan to end the nearly 80-year conflict. The vote on Friday was 142-10 with 12 abstentions. The nearly two-year war in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict are expected to be at the top of the agenda of world leaders at their annual gathering at the General Assembly starting on Sept. 22.

Palestinian attackers have opened fire at a bus stop in Jerusalem during the morning rush hour, killing six people and wounding 12. An Israeli soldier and civilians shot and killed the two attackers, and police later arrested a third person. Monday's attack at a major intersection is the deadliest in Israel since October 2024. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who visited the scene, warned that Israel is "fighting a war on multiple fronts." The Israeli military is encircling Palestinian villages near Ramallah in response. Hamas hailed the attack as a "natural response" to Israeli actions. The war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians to date.

Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip 20 years ago, dismantling 21 Jewish settlements and pulling out its forces. The Friday anniversary of the start of the landmark disengagement comes as Israel is mired in a nearly two-year war with Hamas. The conflict has devastated the Palestinian territory and is likely to keep troops there long into the future. Israel's disengagement included removing four settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's controversial attempt to jump-start negotiations with the Palestinians. But it bitterly divided Israeli society and led to the empowerment of Hamas, with implications that continue to reverberate today.