Politics
Hamas, Israel agree to ceasefire, free hostages in Trump-led initiative
Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending a war that has killed tens of thousands and unleashed a humanitarian crisis. The agreement, to be signed Thursday, also calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as well as prompt a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel.
Palestinian militant group Hamas is to release all hostages while Israel would pull its troops back to an agreed on line, US President Donald Trump said after talks in Egypt on his 20-point peace plan resulted in a deal.
A source within Hamas told AFP the group will exchange 20 living hostages all at the same time for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s first phase, with the swap to happen within 72 hours of its implementation.
Trump said he believed all the hostages would “all be coming back on Monday”, adding that Washington will play a role in helping rebuild war-torn Gaza as well as keeping it safe and peaceful.
“Honestly, when I heard the news, I couldn’t hold back. Tears of joy flowed. Two years of bombing, terror, destruction, loss, humiliation, and the constant feeling that we could die at any moment,” displaced Gazan Samer Joudeh told AFP.
“Now, we finally feel like we’re getting a moment of respite,” he added.
Qatar said the deal was the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”.
The hostages are to be freed in exchange for 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the war began, added source within Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would bring the hostages home “with God’s help”, and an official source added the premier’s cabinet would meet Thursday to approve the deal.
Trump said earlier that he may travel to the Middle East this week as a deal was “very close”.
The fast-paced developments came after AFP journalists saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupt an event at the White House on Wednesday and hand Trump an urgent note about the progress of the negotiations in Egypt.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” Trump said, adding that he was “most likely” to turn up in Egypt but would also consider going to war-torn Gaza.
Trump’s plan called for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
- Venezuela’s Machado gave her Nobel medal to Trump.
- Donald Trump says he intends to keep the medal.
- Original laureate recorded in history as prize recipient.
OSLO: The Nobel Peace Prize remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation that won it, though the medal can be given away, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday, a day after last year’s winner gave her medalto US President Donald Trump.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her medalon on Thursday to Trump, who thanked her for it. The White House released a photo of Trump and Machado, with Trump holding up a gold-coloured frame displaying it, and a White House official said Trump intends to keep it.
Machado’s award also consists of a diploma and 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.19 million).
“Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the award body said in a statement.
“There are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation on what a laureate may do with the medal, the diploma, or the prize money. This means that a laureate is free to keep, give away, sell, or donate these items,” it added.
‘Inseparably linked’
The medal and the diploma are physical symbols confirming that an individual or organisation has been awarded the prize, said the five-strong award committee.
“The prize itself – the honour and recognition – remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation designated as the laureate by the Norwegian Nobel Committee,” it said.
The committee, which did not refer to Trump and Machado by name in its statement, said it does not comment on a laureate’s statements, decisions or actions after the prize is announced.
It was not the first time a Nobel laureate has given away the medal. In 1943, Nobel literature laureate Knut Hamsun gave his to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.
In 2022, Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov sold his medal for $100 million to raise money for the UN children’s fund Unicef to help Ukrainian refugee children.
In 2024, the widow of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan donated his 2001 Nobel Peace Prize medal and diploma to the UN office in Geneva.
US President Donald Trump purchased about $100 million in municipal and corporate bonds from mid-November to late December, his latest disclosures showed, including up to $2 million in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery bonds just weeks after the companies announced their merger.
Financial disclosures posted on Thursday and Friday showed the majority of Trump’s purchases were municipal bonds from cities, local school districts, utilities and hospitals.
But he also bought bonds from companies including Boeing, Occidental Petroleum and General Motors.
The investments were the latest reported assets added to Trump’s expanding portfolio while he is in office.
It includes holdings in sectors that benefit from his policies, raising questions about conflicts of interest.
For example, Trump said in December that he would have a say in whether Netflix can proceed with its proposed $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, which faces a rival bid from Paramount Skydance.
Any deal to acquire Warner Bros will need regulatory approval.
A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said on Friday that Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions and neither Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested.
Like many wealthy individuals, Trump regularly buys bonds as part of his investment portfolio.
He previously disclosed at least $82 million in bond purchases from late August to early October.
US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim of having stopped a war between Pakistan and India, while also saying that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked him for saving at least 10 million lives.
He made the remarks at the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald J Trump Boulevard in Washington on Friday.
“In a year, we made eight peace deals and ended the conflict in Gaza. We have peace in the Middle East…We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting, two nuclear nations…The Pakistani Prime Minister said Donald Trump saved at least 10 million people, and it was amazing,” he said.
The US president further recalled that the Pakistani prime minister’s remarks were an honour for him.
Trump cited his administration’s foreign policy record and repeated assertions of brokering peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Trump has made similar claims multiple times since May 10 last year, arguing that US pressure helped defuse tensions between India and Pakistan.
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