Israel-Hamas Peace Talks
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Top of the Agenda
Israel and Hamas are due to begin indirect talks in Egypt today over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end their war. Both sides have signaled broad endorsement of the plan, even as Hamas voiced reservations about some of its later phases. The talks will first focus on a potential exchange of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday Washington wants to see “very fast” progress on.
What major actors are saying. On Friday, Hamas said it was ready to discuss releasing its hostages within the plan’s framework but maintained it should be part of discussions on the future of Gaza. The plan, however, calls for Hamas to disarm and have no political role in Gaza’s future. While that matter remains unresolved, Trump welcomed the response and wrote yesterday on social media that “very positive” talks with Hamas and countries “from all over the world” occurred over the weekend. He posted a photo of a Saturday demonstration in Israel calling for a hostage deal to end the war—a stance that the majority of Israelis support. Israel’s prime minister’s office said today that it hopes “to conclude the talks with successes.”
On the ground in Gaza. Trump called for Israel to stop bombing Gaza after receiving Hamas’s response to his truce plan over the weekend, but Israeli strikes have continued. Gaza hospital authorities reported at least fifteen people killed yesterday. If Trump’s plan moves forward, it is expected to result in a cessation of hostilities and increased aid to the territory.
“It is highly possible that Israel and Hamas make progress on the first points of the plan—a cessation in fighting and the exchange of hostages and prisoners—only to see the long-term components crumble and the war resume, once again.” —CFR President Michael Froman, The World This Week
Across the Globe
Watershed elections in Japan… Takaichi Sanae was elected the first woman leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Saturday, likely making her Japan’s first female prime minister. She is one of the most conservative members of the party, criticizing immigration and signaling a more distant relationship with South Korea after her predecessor’s rapprochement. She has also criticized the trade and investment framework agreement Japan struck with the United States.
…and Syria. Syria yesterday held its first parliamentary elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. A limited group of electoral college members from across the country voted for representatives that will account for two-thirds of the legislature, while the interim government will directly appoint the remaining third. Areas not controlled by the government did not participate in the vote, nor did some minority groups. Many Syrians remain displaced and lack identity documents after years of civil war.
French PM quits. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced his resignation today after less than a month in office, saying that his attempts at compromise were stymied by the country’s political camps. The surprise announcement came less than twenty-four hours after Lecornu had formed his cabinet. President Emmanual Macron had appointed Lecornu, a close ally, as France’s fifth prime minister in less than two years. The legislature has been frequently gridlocked since 2024 parliamentary elections left it split between competing factions.
Babis boosted in Czech Republic. Former Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s party came in first in parliamentary elections Saturday, paving the way for a possible return to office for the former leader. Babis has argued that the country is sending too much military aid to Ukraine, though he said upon victory that he was “pro-European” and “pro-NATO.” He has also criticized European Union migration and climate policies in the past. The country’s president will choose the next prime minister after talks with parties. Notably, the party fell short of an outright majority and would need to form a coalition in order to govern.
U.S. National Guard deployments. A federal judge yesterday blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Oregon from any U.S. state. The administration had attempted to send Guard troops from California and Texas to Oregon after the state declined to deploy its own Guard, rejecting Trump’s claim of a security crisis in Portland. Trump also ordered the deployment of the National Guard to Chicago over the weekend against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s wishes.
U.S campaign near Venezuela. Trump said Sunday the U.S. military struck another boat near Venezuela on Saturday that he alleged was carrying drugs. His announcement came after his declaration of “armed conflict” against drug cartels last week and after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that a similar strike had killed four people. Venezuelan officials have criticized the air campaign, and the country’s foreign minister said Caracas reached out to the pope in an effort to restore peace.
TikTok data in Indonesia. Indonesia’s government on Saturday lifted a temporary suspension of TikTok’s license that was imposed after the app refused to share data from recent antigovernment protests. TikTok at first said sharing the data would violate its policies; later, the government said the firm turned over some data. Free speech advocates warned the government’s demands could be part of broader efforts to suppress free expression, while the government claimed it sought the data to crack down on online gambling schemes that monetized TikTok livestreams during the demonstrations.
Green banking setback. A global alliance of major banks that in 2021 pledged to jointly combat climate change voted to cease operations, it said Friday. The Net-Zero Banking Alliance was established with the support of Mark Carney, Canada’s current prime minister, when he was the UN special envoy for climate action. In the United States, multiple Republican attorneys general launched investigations in 2022 into the banks for their coordination on climate change, alleging collusion.
Nobel prizes kick off. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi for research on how the human body calibrates immune responses. The researchers identified regulatory cells that keep immune cells from attacking healthy ones.