Israeli settlers are celebrating the inauguration of a new settlement in the West Bank on land where Israel and the U.S. once hoped to build a hospital for Palestinian children. The new settlement is called Yatziv and it was inaugurated on Monday at a ceremony attended by key settler leaders, including Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. To settlers, the site is emblematic of how far their movement has come and how emboldened they are now under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government and with President Donald Trump in office. Palestinians nearby say the land was originally theirs and the ever-expanding construction hems them in and makes it nearly impossible to establish a viable independent state.
Israeli strikes in central Gaza have killed eight people, including three women, following the U.S. announcement of a second phase in the fragile ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ceasefire largely symbolic, questioning its implementation. The announcement marked progress but left many questions unanswered, including the composition of a proposed Palestinian governing committee and the deployment of international forces. Palestinians in Gaza expressed skepticism about changes on the ground, citing ongoing violence and hardships. The second phase of the ceasefire faces challenges, including disarming Hamas and transitioning governance. Reconstruction is expected to take years and cost over $50 billion.
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.
Health officials say at least 13 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Gaza as U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce his Board of Peace to oversee the fragile ceasefire. Health officials and family members said at least one child was among the dead in northern Gaza following several strikes there as well as east of Gaza City. Officials say next week Trump is expected to announce the Board of Peace which he has said he will head. The board would mark an important step forward for Trump's Mideast peace plan, which has moved slowly since delivering a ceasefire in October ending more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
By JOSEF FEDERMAN and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press
Israel's prime minister says a former U.N. Mideast envoy, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, has been chosen to serve as the director-general for U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace aimed at overseeing the peace process in Gaza. The appointment marks an important step forward for Trump's Mideast peace plan, which has moved slowly since an October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement Thursday after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially announced, confirmed the selection.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urges calm after a bus driver ran over and killed a teenage boy during a protest. The incident happened Tuesday during a demonstration by thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews against a law seeking to draft them into Israel's military. Netanyahu calls for restraint to prevent further tragedies. Police say the driver was attacked by protesters. He has been arrested and was being questioned. The violence highlights tensions over military exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox. Many secular Israelis support drafting them, but religious protesters claim it threatens their way of life. This issue poses a political challenge for Netanyahu.
Israel has cleared the final hurdle before starting construction on a controversial settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank in two. A tender, which is seeking bids from developers, would clear the way to begin construction of the E1 project. The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now first reported the tender. Yoni Mizrahi, who runs the group's settlement watch division, said initial work could begin within the month. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SALLY ABOU ALJOUD Associated Press
Hospital officials say an Israeli strike in Gaza hit a tent housing displaced people, killing a 5-year-old girl and her uncle. The strike took place in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, wounding two other children. The Israeli Defense Forces said on social media it targeted a Hamas militant planning an imminent attack. It was unclear if this referred to the tent strike. The Gaza Health Ministry reported over 400 deaths in Gaza since an October ceasefire began. The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 71,388, with 171,269 wounded.
