Global Outlook

  Egypt's Intelligence Chief Hassan Rashad arrived in Israel on Tuesday for Gaza ceasefire talks with Israeli officials. Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said Rashed met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel said Rashad’s talks in Israel will also take up the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The Egyptian intelligence chief will also meet with US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff during the visit. The visit is the first by a senior Egyptian official to Israel since Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. The ceasefire deal took effect on Oct. 10 in Gaza, based on a phased plan presented by US President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas. Since October 2023, the Israeli gen...

  The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, appears to be holding — but not without drama. After days of intense conflict, both nations agreed to halt hostilities, though accusations of violations erupted almost immediately. Israel claimed Iran fired missiles post-truce, while Tehran denied the allegations, blaming Israel for pre-dawn strikes that killed a top nuclear scientist. Trump, visibly frustrated, lashed out at both sides, declaring they’d been fighting so long they didn’t know what they were doing. Yet, within hours, he triumphantly announced the ceasefire was saved, crediting his intervention for preventing further escalation. Behind the scenes, a classified U.S. intelligence report contradicted Trump’s bold claims. While the president insisted Iran’s nuclear program was completely obliterated, the Defense Intelligence Agency assessed the damage as far less catastrophic, setting back Tehran’s ambitions by only a few months. Th...

  Israel has firmly declared that it will not withdraw its forces from the Gaza-Egypt border , a crucial condition outlined in the second phase of a truce with Hamas. Despite participating in ongoing ceasefire negotiations, an Israeli source made it clear: “We will not exit the Philadelphi Corridor.” This corridor, a 14-kilometer (8-mile) strip along the border, remains a point of contention as Israel insists it will not allow Hamas fighters to regain access to weapons through smuggling. This announcement sets a tense backdrop just days before the first phase of the Israel-Hamas hostage-ceasefire agreement is set to expire. Hamas quickly responded, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. In a statement, Hamas asserted that Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the border was “a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, and an attempt to fabricate excuses to obstruct the ceasefire agreement and cause it to fail.” The second phase of the ceasefire was intended to involve ...