Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel will decide which foreign forces can participate in the planned international mission in Gaza, aimed at securing a fragile ceasefire under U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
It remains uncertain which countries will contribute troops, with Hamas’s refusal to disarm complicating the plan and Israel expressing reservations about the composition of the proposed force. The Trump administration has ruled out deploying U.S. troops but is in discussions with Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan about joining the mission.
“We are in control of our security,” Netanyahu told his cabinet. “Israel will determine which international forces are unacceptable to us, and this will continue to be our policy. The United States fully supports this,” he added.
Israeli opposition to Turkish participation
Netanyahu recently hinted that he would reject any Turkish involvement in the Gaza force, as relations between Türkiye and Israel have deteriorated sharply since the Gaza conflict began. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been one of Israel’s most vocal critics, condemning its military campaign.
During his visit to Israel on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the force should consist only of “countries that Israel is comfortable with.” He did not comment on Türkiye’s potential participation but confirmed that the U.S. is exploring a U.N. resolution or international agreement to authorise the deployment, with discussions to continue in Qatar on Sunday.
Hamas and the hostage issue
A key obstacle to Trump’s plan is Hamas’s refusal to lay down its weapons. Since the ceasefire began two weeks ago — the first stage of Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan — Hamas has cracked down violently on internal rivals testing its control.
Meanwhile, Israel says 13 bodies of deceased hostages remain in Gaza. A government spokesperson said Hamas knows their locations and could recover them if it chose to. Israel has authorised an Egyptian technical team, working with the Red Cross, to search beyond the “yellow line” — the boundary marking the Israeli military’s initial pullback — using excavators and trucks.
Netanyahu reaffirms independence
Opening Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu dismissed claims that the U.S. dictates Israeli security policy. “Israel is an independent country,” he said, describing the U.S. relationship as a partnership, not subordination.
Diplomats and analysts say Trump succeeded in convincing Netanyahu — who had long resisted calls for a Gaza ceasefire — to accept a broader peace framework. Trump also reportedly pushed Netanyahu to apologise to Qatar’s leader after a failed airstrike targeting Hamas negotiators in Doha and persuaded Arab states to pressure Hamas into returning all Israeli hostages, a key demand of his plan.
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The UN's International Maritime Organization has paused escort operations through the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship was reportedly attacked near Oman, with two U.S. officials accusing Iran of the attack.
The United Nations' top human rights official has called for independent investigations into deaths in U.S. immigration detention facilities, citing a rise in fatalities among people held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. At least 589 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble, as emergency crews and international rescue teams race to respond.
An aircraft roughly the size of a car crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper on Friday evening, triggering a major emergency response and a heavy police presence as authorities sealed off the area and gave no immediate explanation for the incident.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Japan's northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.
As Western Europe battles a deadly heatwave that has shattered temperature records, disrupted transport and power supplies, and forced the closure of schools and cultural landmarks, attention is turning to whether El Niño is playing a role in the extreme conditions.
The U.S. Senate rejected a resolution on Wednesday that would have directed President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress formally authorised military action.
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming Moscow is pressuring Belarus to support an expanded Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. At least 589 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble, as emergency crews and international rescue teams race to respond.
The United Nations' top human rights official has called for independent investigations into deaths in U.S. immigration detention facilities, citing a rise in fatalities among people held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
An aircraft roughly the size of a car crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper on Friday evening, triggering a major emergency response and a heavy police presence as authorities sealed off the area and gave no immediate explanation for the incident.
Montenegrin police, working alongside the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation, have arrested an Iranian national accused of carrying out a series of cyberattacks that allegedly caused an estimated $3.4 billion in damage to U.S. infrastructure.
South Korea is set to dramatically expand its unmanned warfare capabilities, with plans to integrate drones across all branches of its military as tensions with North Korea continue to shape the country's defence strategy.
Fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun to recover following an interim U.S.–Iran agreement aimed at stabilising the waterway after months of disruption during conflict, industry data shows.
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