Middle East: Trump urges Hamas to accept ceasefire plan

The head of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said the program would not be shut down, denying that Palestinians had been killed at its sites.

"We will not be shut down. We have one job to do, it's very simple: every day, we provide free food to the people of Gaza. That's it," GHF Chairman Johnnie Moore said at a press conference virtually attended by DW's Tania Kraemer.

The Israel- and US-backed GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel had halted supplies into Gaza for more than two months.

On Tuesday, about 130 of the world's largest charities and NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, urged that the GHF be shut down.

They said the foundation forced thousands of starving people into militarized zones, where they faced gunfire while trying to access lifesaving aid. The list of signatures had grown to more than 200 by Wednesday. 

The UN human rights office said last week that since GHF began operating, "the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities."

The World Health Organization's chief said Friday that in the previous two weeks, 500 people had been killed "at non-UN militarized food distribution sites."

"We have not had a single violent incident at our distribution sites. We haven't had a violent incident in close proximity to our distribution sites," Moore said.

"It is clear that civilians have died over the course of this," he added, noting that the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza "every single day issues a statistic of civilian casualties and simultaneously attributes 100% of those civilian casualties to waiting for aid, virtually every time, waiting for our aid."

Moore was in Brussels on Wednesday to counter what he described as "misinformation, disinformation" about the GHF's work.

He said the foundation had delivered more than 55 million meals to date and was willing to work with the UN and other aid agencies.

"President [Donald] Trump said that Hamas was treating the people of Gaza very badly by stealing their aid, and he said the United States of America is going to do something about it, and that's what the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is," Moore said.

"We do not exist to replace the United Nations or the World Food Program or any organization...We want to, we have a shared mission, a very simple mission, to make sure hungry people in Gaza get food," he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says Israel is serious about striking a deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza and bring hostages home.

"We are serious in our will to reach a hostage deal and a ceasefire. We said yes to US Special Envoy Witkoff's proposals. There are some positive signs. I don't want to say more than that right now. But our goal is to begin proximity talks as soon as possible," Saar said.

Saar also said "a large majority within the government and the population is in favor of the plan to free the hostages" held by Hamas in Gaza.

"If the opportunity arises, it must not be missed!" Saar wrote on X.

Hamas has said it is prepared to free the remaining 50 hostages, less than half of whom are believed to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza

However, Israel has insisted it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and exiles itself — conditions that Hamas rejects.

"I am announcing to you — there will be no Hamas," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Wednesday.

An Israeli official said the latest proposal calls for a 60-day deal that includes a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid for the territory.

The official said mediators and the US would give assurances about talks to end the war, but Israel is not committing to that as part of this proposal.

Palestinian militant group Hamas says it is discussing new Gaza ceasefire proposals from mediators after US President Donald Trump claimed Israel supports a 60-day truce in the war-battered territory.

Nearly 21 months of war have created dire conditions for the more than two million people in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Trump urged Hamas to accept a 60-day ceasefire, saying Israel had agreed to finalize the deal. The Israeli government has not commented on his claim.

In a statement Wednesday, Hamas said it was "conducting national consultations to discuss what we received from the proposals of the... mediators." It said it wanted "to reach an agreement that guarantees ending the aggression, achieving the withdrawal [of Israel from Gaza] and urgently aiding our people in the Gaza Strip."

 

Iran's president on Wednesday reportedly gave the green light to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after American airstrikes hit its most critical nuclear facilities.

"Masoud Pezeshkian promulgated the law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," state TV said, meaning the measure drawn up in the aftermath of the Iran-Israel war last month is now in effect.

It wasn't immediately clear what that would mean for the UN nuclear watchdog, which has been monitoring Iran's nuclear program.

Former US President Barack Obama allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67%, enough to fuel a nuclear power plant, but far below the threshold of 90% needed for weapons-grade uranium. It also drastically reduced Iran's stockpile of uranium, limited its use of centrifuges and relied on the IAEA to scrutinize Iran's compliance.

However, Obama's successor, Donald Trump, in his first term in 2018, unilaterally withdrew the US from the accord, arguing it was too lenient on Tehran and didn't address the missile program or its support for militant groups in the wider Middle East.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel agreed to set terms for a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Without specifying the proposed terms, Trump said he hoped the militant group Hamas would accept the ceasefire terms reached with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

"The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal," Trump wrote. "I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The announcement came ahead of a scheduled meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next Monday.

The United States pushes for a truce in Gaza "sometime next week," President Donald Trump said.

The Republican leader told reporters he hopes a ceasefire in the brutal war between Israel and Hamas can be in place before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House on July 7.

"We hope it's going to happen, and we're looking for it to happen sometime next week," Trump said before leaving Washington for Florida.

The quick end to Israel's 12-day war with Iran has sparked fresh hopes for a stop to the fighting in Gaza. More than 20 months of combat have left over two million people facing a dire humanitarian crisis.

Trump has urged Israel to "make the deal in Gaza," but Israeli forces have kept up their offensive across the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli army says it is reviewing an airstrike on a popular Gaza seafront cafe it claims targeted militants but that rescuers say has left 24 dead.

In a statement to AFP, the army said it hit "several Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip."

Gaza's civil defense reported that at least 24 Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded when the Al-Baqa cafe, a busy spot along Gaza City's coastal promenade, was hit on Monday.

An Israeli army spokesperson said "steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance" before the strike. "The incident is under review," he added.

The Al-Baqa cafe and restaurant had become a regular gathering place for residents who have not been displaced by the conflict, surviving more than 20 months of war and heavy bombardment.

At least seven Palestinians are confirmed dead after trying to reach aid late Monday and early Tuesday, hospitals report.

Three people were shot dead by Israeli fire in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while four others were killed in central Gaza.

More than 65 people were wounded, according to Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, which took in the casualties.

Local health officials say Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the enclave have killed at least 112 people and injured more than 400 in the past 24 hours.

Clusters of houses have been reported destroyed in Gaza City's Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, east of Khan Younis, and in the southern city of Rafah.

More than 170 non-governmental organizations are calling today for a US- and Israeli-backed food aid plan in Gaza to be dismantled, saying it is putting civilians at risk of death and injury.

Medical authorities in Gaza say more than 500 people have been killed in mass shootings near aid distribution centers or transport routes guarded by Israeli forces since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating in late May.

The GHF relies on private US security and logistics firms to bring supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says allowed militants to divert aid. The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a breach of humanitarian impartiality rules.

By early afternoon in Geneva on Tuesday, where the joint declaration was released, 171 charities had signed the call for countries to press Israel to stop the GHF scheme and return to UN-coordinated aid deliveries.

"Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families," the statement said.

Groups backing it include Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Amnesty International.

In response, the GHF told Reuters it has delivered more than 52 million meals in five weeks and said other humanitarian groups have had "nearly all of their aid looted."

"Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza," the GHF said.

The NGOs accuse the GHF of forcing hungry and weak people to trek for hours, sometimes through active conflict zones, to reach food aid.

The Israeli military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians have been harmed at aid distribution centers in Gaza, saying Israeli forces have been given new instructions after what it called "lessons learned."

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More than 170 charities have been calling for the US- and Israeli-backed food aid plan in Gaza to be scrapped, warning it’s putting civilians in grave danger.

Medical teams in Gaza have been reporting more than 500 deaths near aid routes since the private-run scheme began, with the UN insisting the plan has been breaching humanitarian rules.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces says it is reviewing an airstrike on a Gaza beach cafe that killed 24 people.

This blog will bring you the latest on the situation in the Middle East, including in Iran, Israel and Gaza.