Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies
The bodies of 13 deceased hostages are believed to still be in Gaza.
U.S. officials -- including Vice President JD Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner -- traveled to Israel this week for high-level meetings, discussing the next steps in the delicate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire deal by withholding the bodies of the remaining 13 deceased hostages thought to have died during or after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas has said the return of the remaining bodies "may take some time" due to the destruction.
Key Headlines
- Egyptian resources deployed in Gaza to help locate, recover Israeli hostage remains
- Netanyahu says Israel, not US, will decide security policy
- Trump hints at 'action' if Hamas doesn't return hostage bodies 'quickly’
- Rubio says West Bank annexation would 'threaten this whole process'
- Aid allowed into Gaza is still falling short of what is needed, WHO head says
Netanyahu says Trump 'succeeded in doing something miraculous'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised and thanked President Donald Trump in his address to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Monday.
"At the beginning of the war, I promised to bring all the hostages home. Today, with the indispensable help, the determined and focus help, the unremitting help of President Trump ... and with the incredible sacrifice and courage of the soldiers of Israel, we are fulfilling that promise," Netanyahu said, with Trump looking on.
"Two weeks ago, you succeeded in doing something miraculous, you succeeded in doing something that no one believed was possible: you brought most of the Arab world -- you brought most of the world -- behind your proposal to free the hostages and end the war," he said to Trump.
"I've seen a lot of American presidents ... I’ve never seen anyone move the world so quickly, so decisively, so resolutely as our friend President Donald J. Trump," he said.
Netanyahu: 'I am committed to this peace'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “no American president has ever done more for Israel” than President Donald Trump when he addressed the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Monday, with Trump looking on.
“You are committed to this peace, I am committed to this peace … we will achieve this peace,” Netanyahu said to Trump.
Netanyahu not attending Egypt summit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday’s international peace summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Netanyahu thanked President Donald Trump for inviting him, "but said that he would not be able to participate due to the proximity of the holiday," the Prime Minister's Office said.
Monday night to Wednesday night marks the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
"The Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his efforts to expand the circle of peace - peace through strength," the Prime Minister's Office added.
The Egyptian presidency said earlier that Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would both attend the summit.
Egypt is hosting the summit, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President Donald Trump, the spokesman of Egyptian presidency said.
The gathering will be attended by leaders from more than 20 countries, the statement said. The summit aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability."
Trump greeted with standing ovation before addressing Knesset
President Donald Trump was greeted with a standing ovation from Israel’s parliament as he entered the room for his address.