Trump says allies ready to send troops to Gaza to 'straighten out' Hamas | LIVE

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Israel receives two more bodies of deceased hostages

Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip have received two caskets, containing the apparent bodies of two deceased hostages, from the Red Cross a short while ago, Times of Israel reports.

The caskets had been collected by the Red Cross from Hamas in southern Gaza.

The Israeli army is set to inspect the caskets before draping them in Israeli flags and holding a short ceremony led by a military rabbi.

The remains will then be taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification.

If the bodies are identified as belonging to captives, 13 deceased Israeli hostages will remain in Gaza.

UK deploys small number of military officers to Israel following US request

A small contingent of British military planning officers has been sent to Israel to join a task force led by the U.S. with the intention of supporting stabilization efforts in Gaza, the UK defense ministry announced in a statement cited by Reuters.

Gaza mediators — the United States, Egypt and Qatar — stepped up their efforts this week to maintain the early stages of the truce between Israel and Hamas and to push forward Trump's 20-point cease-fire plan.

A U.S.-backed stabilization force, known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center, or CMCC, is meant to ensure security in Gaza. Its composition, role, chain of command, legal status and other issues are yet to be determined. According to a report from the Guardian, Egypt is expected to be leading the coalition.

The U.S. has agreed to provide up to 200 troops to support the force without being deployed in Gaza itself. U.S. officials have said they are also speaking to Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Azerbaijan to contribute.

Israel's national security adviser says he was fired by Netanyahu

Israel's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, says Netanyahu sacked him, ending his tenure immediately, AFP reported.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu informed me today of his intention to appoint a new head of the National Security Council," Hanegbi said in a statement.

Netanyahu's office published a statement thanking Hanebgi "for his service as head of the National Security Council over the past three years, and wishes him great success in his future path."

Hanegbi also called for an investigation into security failures during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The Israeli army reportedly dismissed warnings from its personnel of unusual behavior among Hamas operatives leading up to the attack and has been accused of being slow to respond on the morning of the attack.

Two years later, Netanyahu's government has yet to set up a commission to investigate the matter, with Israel's opposition accusing him of stalling the process.

Kushner says no reconstruction funds for any Gaza area under Hamas control

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was part of drafting the U.S. plan for a Gaza cease-fire, told reporters at the press conference alongside JD Vance and Witkoff that no reconstruction funds for the Gaza will go into areas under Hamas’ control, Times of Israel reports.

“No reconstruction funds will be going into areas that Hamas still controls,” Kushner said, at an event marking the opening of a U.S.-Israeli coordination center for post-war Gaza in southern Israel.

According to Kushner, discussions are underway as to how to begin reconstruction in areas controlled by the Israeli military in the Strip. Israel currently controls a little more than half of Gaza.

“There are considerations happening now in the area that the [Israeli army] controls,” Kushner said. He touted a vision of a “new Gaza” that would be built “to give the Palestinians living in Gaza a place to go, a place to get jobs, a place to live.”

JD Vance says US will not send troops into Gaza

During a press conference in Israel, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. would not send troops into Gaza, reiterating a pledge made by Trump and U.S. officials multiple times, AFP reports.

"There are not going to be American boots on the ground in Gaza. The President of the United States has made that very clear. All of our military leadership has made that very clear," Vance said from Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, where a US-led mission is monitoring the Gaza ceasefire.

Vance added that the U.S. would limit itself to providing "useful coordination."

Trump threatens 'US-allied nations' could send troops to Gaza to confront Hamas

U.S. President Donald Trump says that allied nations in the Middle East are prepared to send troops into Gaza, at his request, to confront Hamas if the group does not cease its alleged violations of his peace plan, AFP reports.

The threat comes a day after Trump warned Hamas would be "eradicated" if the group did not meet expectations of the agreement, which Trump had laid out in a 20-point plan, the first phase of which Hamas agreed to two weeks ago.

"Numerous of our NOW GREAT ALLIES in the Middle East, and areas surrounding the Middle East, have... informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and 'straighten our [sic] Hamas' if Hamas continues to act badly," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Hamas says it will hand over two more hostages' bodies tonight

Hamas’s military wing announced that it will transfer two bodies of deceased hostages to Israel tonight at 9 p.m. local time, AFP reports. According to the group's statement, the bodies were “retrieved today in the Strip.” Their identities were not disclosed.

Since first agreeing to the initial stage of Trump's cease-fire proposal, Hamas has been clear on the point that locating and then retrieving the bodies of deceased hostages would be a technically challenging task given the level of destruction from Israeli bombardment in Gaza

Witkoff and Kushner meet with freed Israeli hostages

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Israeli hostages who were freed last Monday by Hamas, Haaretz reports.

Macron: Gaza cease-fire remains 'very fragile'

French President Emmanuel Macron said the cease-fire in Gaza remains “very fragile” and called for the reopening of access points to the territory to allow the entry of humanitarian aid.

“The situation remains very fragile, and we know it,” Macron said during a press conference in Ljubljana. “It is essential that Hamas fully respect the commitments it has made (...) and that pressure remain to ensure the cease-fire is fully observed.”

He added that it is “an absolute emergency to immediately reopen the humanitarian crossings and various aid routes so that food and essential medical care can reach the population.”

Netanyahu meets Egyptian intelligence chief in Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rachad in Jerusalem, the prime minister’s office said.

During the meeting, the two officials discussed the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza cease-fire plan and Israel-Egypt relations.

Cost of rebuilding Syria could exceed $216 billion, according to World Bank

The cost of rebuilding Syria, devastated by 13 years of war that destroyed its infrastructure, could exceed $216 billion, the World Bank estimated in a report.

“The challenges ahead are immense, but the World Bank stands ready to work alongside the Syrian people and the international community to support recovery and reconstruction,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, the bank’s Middle East director.

According to the report, the Syrian civil war “devastated the country's economy, with real GDP declining by nearly 53 percent between 2010 and 2022.”

Egyptian intelligence chief visits Israel

Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rachad is visiting Israel today to meet with Israeli officials and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff amid diplomatic efforts to maintain the cease-fire in Gaza, Egypt’s state-affiliated Extra News TV reported.

Rachad’s role in the negotiations that led to the cease-fire — effective since Oct. 10 — between Israel and Hamas was publicly praised by U.S. President Donald Trump during the Gaza peace summit in Sharm al-Sheikh on Oct. 12, AFP reported.

Israel returns bodies of 15 Palestinians killed in custody

The bodies of 15 Palestinians have been handed over by Israel and transferred to the Nasser Medical Complex, marking the sixth handover of prisoners killed in custody, Al Jazeera reports, citing a medical source.

US Vice President JD Vance arrives in Israel

U.S. Vice President JD Vance landed in Israel today on a mission to shore up a fragile U.S.-brokered cease-fire in Gaza, according to AFP.

"Welcome to Israel, Vice President Vance," Israel's foreign ministry posted on social media, along with a photo of Vance and his wife stepping off the plane. 

Vance is expected to meet top U.S. Middle East envoys and military experts monitoring the truce on Tuesday. According to Israeli media reports, he will also meet Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday in Jerusalem.

Maintaining Gaza cease-fire 'vital' for delivering aid, says WFP

Maintaining the cease-fire is “vital” to deliver aid “and save lives” in Gaza, said the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), reiterating its call for Israel to open all crossing points into Palestinian territory.

"Maintaining the cease-fire is vital. It is really the only way to save lives and fight famine in northern Gaza," WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told reporters in Geneva after Sunday's Israeli strikes killed 45 people in Gaza.

Israeli army targets civilians harvesting olives

An Israeli army drone dropped a sound bomb on civilians harvesting olives in Blida (Marjayoun district), according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in southern Lebanon.

In early October, several border village municipalities, including Blida's, called on residents to register before harvesting their fields, so that Israel would be informed of their movements.

The municipality of Blida had set Oct. 16-20 as the period to visit fields east of the village, under the supervision of Lebanese Army patrols and peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Israeli drones fly over Beirut southern suburbs

Israeli drones are flying over the southern suburbs of Beirut at a low altitude, according to local media outlets.

Israeli drones were loudly flying yesterday over the capital, its southern suburbs and other areas.

Qatar's emir condemns 'continued violation' of Gaza cease-fire

The ruler of Qatar, a key mediator for the ongoing Gaza truce, accused Israel of violating the 11-day-old cease-fire on Tuesday after a series of Israeli strikes on Gaza killed 45 people on Sunday.

"We reiterate our condemnation of all Israeli violations and practices in Palestine, particularly the transformation of the Gaza Strip an area unfit for human life and the continued violation of the cease-fire," Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in an annual address to the Shura Council legislative body.

Gaza: Hamas negotiator says deal 'will hold'

Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya told Egyptian channel Al-Qahera News that the group remains committed to the cease-fire deal.

“We face many difficulties extracting the bodies, but we are determined and working hard to achieve it,” he said. “The agreement for Gaza will hold because we want it and our will to respect it is strong.”

Netanyahu: No concessions on return of hostage remains

“We will make no concessions and will spare no effort until all deceased hostages, without exception, are returned to us,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X. He is scheduled to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance later Monday after talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

“We will discuss two things ... the security challenges we face and the diplomatic opportunities before us. We will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities,” Netanyahu said, without specifying when he would meet the U.S. vice president.

US administration 'concerned' Netanyahu could pull out of deal

The meeting between Vance and Netanyahu comes as several Trump administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The New York Times they are “concerned” Netanyahu might withdraw from the agreement.

Officials said the strategy for Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner is now to try to prevent Netanyahu from relaunching a full-scale offensive against Hamas.

Gaza: Trump threatens Hamas again

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Sunday that Hamas would be “eradicated” if it failed to respect the Gaza cease-fire, after Israel accused the group of truce violations that Hamas denied.

"We made a deal with Hamas that they're going to be very good, they're going to behave, they're going to be nice," Trump told reporters, standing beside Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House. "If they're not, we're going to go and we're going to eradicate them, if we have to. They'll be eradicated, and they know that."

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of developments in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and the wider region.

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