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Hello, I'm Jason Kay with the BBC News.
The office of the prime minister of Israel says the Cabinet has approved the first phase of a U.S.-brokered peace plan for Gaza. The Israeli military will partially withdraw from Gaza and Hamas will release all the Israeli hostages dead and alive. Palestinian prisoners will also be released. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the importance of the moment. "We were at a momentous development in the last two years. We fought during these two years to achieve our war aims. The central one of these war aims is to return the hostages, all of the hostages, the living or the dead. And we're about to achieve that goal." President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner attended the Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Barbara Pletasha is in Jerusalem with more details of the agreement. The way has been cleared for the ceasefire to go into effect, for the Israeli military to pull back from the front line. Still going to be in control of more than half of Gaza, we understand, but it's pulling back. Then the clock starts ticking for the release of the hostages in the next few days and also the exchange with the Palestinian prisoners. Far-right ministers in Mr. Netanyahu's coalition voted against the deal. They are against making a deal with Hamas. They say Hamas should be completely dismantled. According to Israeli media, one of them challenged the U.S. envoys and said, this is like making a deal with Hitler. Would you make a deal with Hitler? U.S. officials say a 200-strong military team will deploy to the Middle East to help monitor the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The team will provide expertise in security, logistics, planning, engineering and transport. The officials say the team will have members from regional states including Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. But they say no U.S. troops will enter Gaza. President Trump says he plans to leave for the Middle East on Sunday, as Anthony Zurcher explains. We're expecting him. He has said he wants to go to Egypt, he wants to go to Israel to celebrate the signing of this deal. He now has an invitation from the Israeli Knesset to come and address the gathered parliament at some point during this visit. It would be the first time that a sitting American president has addressed the Knesset since 2008 and George W. Bush. This would be a crowning diplomatic achievement for Donald Trump and clearly he wants to be there to see this over the finish line, even if it is, as we pointed out, just the first phase of an agreement. Despite the momentum towards peace in Gaza, Thursday evening has seen reports of a new Israeli strike on a building in Gaza City, which according to the Civil Defense authority in the Strip, killed four people. The nascent agreement has, however, prompted celebration on both sides of the border. World News from the BBC. The Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James, has been indicted in the U.S. state of Virginia. The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating her for alleged mortgage fraud. Ms. James has said her indictment was continuing the president's weaponization of the justice system. Nada Tawfik has more from New York. President Donald Trump has long railed against the Democratic New York attorney general. Before his 2024 election victory, Letitia James successfully sued Mr. Trump and his organization for fraud, something he denounced as a witch hunt. Then last month, he questioned the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on why Ms. James and other political enemies hadn't yet been prosecuted, saying it was killing his reputation. In a statement, the attorney general said the charges against her were "baseless." A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked President Trump's plan to deploy National Guard soldiers in the city of Chicago. The decision was in response to a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of Illinois on Monday aimed at stopping the deployments of Illinois and Texas Guard members. Chicago and Illinois say the deployments are unnecessary and illegal, and the governor of Illinois and local officials have strongly opposed the use of the National Guard. The U.S. says it's finalized a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina to support its failing currency, the peso. Argentina has been using its Treasury reserves to defend its currency amid fears of a financial crisis. But the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said global support for Argentina remains strong. The southern Indian state of Karnataka has approved a plan that grants one-day paid menstrual leave per month to women employees working in government and private sector companies. The chief minister called it "a step towards a more humane and inclusive workplace." Karnataka, home to Indian tech hub Bengaluru, is a national leader in female employment. BBC News. |