The apparent shift in tone comes as cease-fire negotiations have hit a wall and pressure is mounting on Israel over the hunger crisis in Gaza. But Israel and Hamas remain far apart on the terms of any deal.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secret treaty Britain and France signed more than a century ago. Many consider it to have seeded a legacy of strife in the Middle East.
The Russian president didn’t directly respond to President Trump’s ultimatum that Moscow halt its offensive by the end of next week or face financial penalties.
It will be the first known visit in months for Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s lead on the cease-fire and hostage talks. Since his last trip, conditions in the enclave have worsened.
Intense nationalism and disputed history — and maps — stoke the neighbors’ hostilities. Even a surge of international diplomacy has brought little hope of a lasting peace.
The talks between commanders on both sides were seen as a crucial test of whether the cease-fire deal reached on Monday would result in a lasting peace.
In its first comment on President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea, North Korea dismissed a call for dialogue, dampening hopes of a new chapter in relations.
A photograph provided by North Korean state media shows Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, speaking in Pyongyang in 2022. North Korea has no interest in pursuing dialogue with the South, she said on Monday.
U.S.-backed talks to end the border war, in which militaries have killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands, began on Monday in Malaysia.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, center, Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia, left, and Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, taking part in talks on a possible cease-fire between Thailand and Cambodia, in Malaysia on Monday.
President Trump’s special envoy said that “we will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home,” though it was not clear that negotiations had halted.
The aftermath of an Israeli military operation in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. Israel’s military campaign has continued and expanded even as negotiations were underway in recent weeks.
The warring sides remain far apart after the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations on Wednesday. But there was progress on humanitarian issues.
Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold another round of negotiations on Wednesday in Istanbul, but the two warring countries have flatly rejected each other’s demands.
The barrage of exploding drones and missiles appeared to be the most intense attack since President Trump announced a plan to get more weapons for Kyiv.
The 2020 agreements addressed diplomacy and commerce, not conflicts or the Palestinians. Predictions that the deals would produce regional peace were baseless, analysts say.
President Trump leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and officials from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates outside the White House to sign the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met several times with President Trump, amid rising hopes of a cease-fire in Gaza, but there are still obstacles to a truce with Hamas.
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