"Trump has issued what he said was a “last warning” to Hamas to release all of the hostages in Gaza immediately, adding that he would send Israel “everything it needs to finish the job” if Hamas “don’t do as I say.” In response, Hamas said that Trump’s threat is only encouraging Israel to evade a ceasefire deal. Kit Maher, Michael Rios, and Mick Krever report for CNN.

The United States has been holding unprecedented direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages in Gaza and the possibility of a deal to end the war, sources told Axios. Barak Ravid reports. 

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent yesterday. In a statement, Smotrich highlighted the “importance” of the meeting after four years of no ministerial-level meetings between the U.S. Treasury and the Israeli government under the Biden administration. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.

Israel has outlined a plan to directly control all humanitarian aid entering and distributed inside Gaza, according to agencies briefed on the initiative. Under the plan, which aid agencies say they are unlikely to cooperate with as it stands, only one entry point from Israel into Gaza would remain open. Karen DeYoung, Claire Parker, and Missy Ryan report for the Washington Post."

"In a recent meeting with Hamas negotiators, the United States has floated a deal involving the exchange of the last remaining U.S. citizen held hostage by Hamas and a number of other living captives in exchange for a two month extension to the Gaza ceasefire and a resumption of humanitarian aid to the enclave, sources say. Karen DeYoung reports for the Washington Post.

The Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have frozen millions of dollars in contractual payments to aid groups operating in Gaza, leaving the agencies paying millions out of pocket to preserve the ceasefire, USAID officials say. Julia Frankel reports for AP News.

At least 70 people were killed and dozens wounded in overnight skirmishes between Syria’s new authorities and gunmen loyal to the former Assad regime in Latakia and Tartous provinces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Earlier on Thursday, Assad loyalists killed 16 security personnel in the deadliest attack yet on Syria’s new security forces. Christina Goldbaum reports for the New York Times."

"Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was working with the United States to “accelerate peace”.

“We will do a lot of work here in Europe, with the US, and in Saudi Arabia – we are preparing a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen the foundations of security,” he wrote on X on Friday night.

“Today, intense work with President Trump’s team has been ongoing at various levels – numerous calls. The topic is clear – peace as soon as possible, security as reliably as possible. Ukraine is fully committed to a constructive approach.”

On Friday, Trump told reporters that it was “easier” to deal with Russia to secure an end to the three-year-long war than Ukraine, but he had said earlier that he was “strongly considering” sanctions on Russia due to its attacks.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha spoke to his US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before the planned Ukraine-US negotiations in Saudi Arabia.

During the call, Sybiha wrote on X on Friday that the two officials discussed the upcoming meeting and ways to “advance our bilateral cooperation”.

Zelenskyy is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday to talk to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."

"Israel has cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, disconnecting power to a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the territory, officials said yesterday. A Hamas spokesperson called the decision part of Israel’s “starvation policy.” Melanie Lidman and Samy Magdy report for AP News.

Israel’s defense ministry will open an office to manage the mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said yesterday. The formation of the new office was not immediately confirmed by the defense ministry. Gerry Shih reports for the Washington Post.

Israel and Hamas on Saturday signaled they were preparing for the next phase of Gaza ceasefire negotiations, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announcing that Israeli negotiators will travel to Doha today and Hamas saying there were “positive” indicators in the talks. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

Israel objected to the Trump administration’s covert direct negotiations with Hamas in a “difficult” call between Netanyahu’s close aide Ron Dermer and U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler last Tuesday, according to an Israeli official. Boehler yesterday said that while he understands Israel’s concerns, the United States is “not an agent of Israel” in the efforts to broker a ceasefire. Barak Ravid reports for Axios; Avery Lotz reports for Axios.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom on Saturday announced they support Egypt’s “realistic” plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would avoid displacing Palestinians from the territory. Lucy Clarke-Billings reports for BBC News."

"Hamas has offered to hand over the governance of Gaza in exchange for a five-to-10-year truce in its war with Israel, Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler said on Sunday. Laura Kelly reports for the Hill.

Any further delay in Israel’s reversal of its block on the supply of aid and electricity to Gaza will “further reverse any progress we have managed to achieve during the ceasefire,” the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, Muhannad Hadi, said yesterday. Separately, the head of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has accused Israel of “weaponizing humanitarian aid.” The Washington Post reports; Robert Greenall and Imogen Foulkes report for BBC News.

Syria’s Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have agreed to integrate into state institutions of the new Syrian government, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa announced yesterday, adding that the landmark deal would also recognize Syria’s Kurdish community as an integral part of the state. Eyad Kourdi and Kareem El Damanhoury report for CNN. "

"Ukraine supports the Trump administration’s proposal for a 30-day cease-fire with Russia and the United States will immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and military assistance to Kyiv, according to a statement issued by the two countries following talks in Saudi Arabia yesterday. “The ball is now in [Russia’s] court,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Andrew E. Kramer and Alan Rappeport report for the New York Times.

"Russia has presented the United States with a list of demands for a deal to end its war against Ukraine and reset U.S. relations, sources say. The demands reportedly mirror similar previously presented demands, including no NATO membership for Ukraine, no foreign troops in Ukraine, and international recognition of Putin’s claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia. Erin Banco and Jonathan Landay report for Reuters.

U.S. officials landed in Moscow today to discuss a potential 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine. A Kremlin spokesperson said that while the truce talks were planned, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we’ll tell you about them later.” Separately, U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine also resumed yesterday. Bernd Dbusmann Jr reports for BBC News; Samya Kullab and Hanna Arhirova report for the Associated Press.

Russia should seek to undermine the U.S. negotiating stance on Ukraine by fueling tensions between the Trump administration and other nations while continuing its efforts to dismantle the Ukrainian state, according to a document prepared for the Kremlin. The document was written by a Moscow-based think tank close to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Catherine Belton and Robyn Dixon report for the Washington Post.

Ukraine’s military said it had shot down 74 out of 117 drones launched by Russia overnight. Another 38 drones did not reach their targets likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, the military added in a statement on Telegram.

"Russian leader VLADIMIR PUTIN said he isn’t shutting the door to a deal to end the war in Ukraine, but said he had questions about the U.S.-Ukraine proposal on the table for a 30-day interim ceasefire. Those questions may just be a delaying tactic, as Europeans and lawmakers from Trump’s own Republican party voice skepticism that Putin is remotely interested in peace.

Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) gave his own take on X today: “Putin doesn't want peace. He wants conquest.”

Kremlin negotiator YURI USHAKOV had said that the ceasefire would allow Ukraine to regroup, thwarting its efforts to kick Ukraine back across the border. Putin claimed during a press conference with Belarusian counterpart ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO today that he wanted a deal that would eliminate the “root causes of the crisis,” — apparently with no sense of irony that the crisis was caused by his unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in what was supposed to be a three-day “special military operation.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin will meet with special envoy STEVE WITKOFF tonight and it is expected that Russia will offer a rebuttal to the proposal.'

"Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa yesterday signed a temporary constitution that will leave the country under Islamist rule for the next five years. The Kurdish-led administration in north-eastern Syria criticised the document, saying the provisions stipulating that Islam should be the religion of the president and Islamic jurisprudence is “the main source of legislation” contradict “the reality of Syria’s diversity.” Ghaith Alsayed and Kareem Chehayeb report for AP News; David Gritten reports for BBC News.

Thousands of largely Alawite Syrians have crossed into Lebanon after attacks on Syrian security forces by Alawite gunmen affiliated with the Assad regime triggered a surge of sectarian reprisals, local officials say. Loveday Morris and Mohamad El Chamaa report for the Washington Post.

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff this week presented Israel and Hamas with a new Gaza ceasefire extension proposal, a source said, as Witkoff divides his attention between the negotiations on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. An Israeli official yesterday said that the negotiations remain deadlocked, a sentiment echoed by a Hamas spokesperson. Jeremy Diamond and Lauren Izso report for CNN; Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.

The United States and Israel have reached out to officials of three East African governments to discuss potential resettlement of Palestinians on their land, according to U.S. and Israeli sources. Sudanese officials said they have rejected Washington’s overtures. Separately, Trump yesterday said that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians” from Gaza. It is unclear whether the comment amounts to a shift in Trump’s previous policy of “moving [Palestinians] to a beautiful location.” Josef Federman, Matthew Lee, and Samy Magdy report for AP News; Rob Picheta, Ibrahim Dahman, and Kareem El Damanhoury report for CNN."

"Large-scale U.S. air and naval strikes against Yemen’s Houthis killed 53 people over the weekend, the rebel group said, while vowing revenge. U.S. Central Command launched what it called a “decisive and powerful” wave of airstrikes on Houthi targets on Saturday as part of efforts to open up international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said the airstrikes “took out” multiple Houthi leaders, with new strikes also continuing today. George Wright reports for BBC News; Sarah Fortinsky reports for The Hill.

A joint Iraq-U.S. operation killed a leader of the self-styled Islamic State militant group and one of its operatives in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command said on Friday. Hanne Cokelaere reports for POLITICO.

Waltz said yesterday that “all options are always on the table” when asked whether a military response against Iran would be considered, either in relation to its support for the Houthis or its potential development of nuclear weaponry. In response, Iran’s foreign ministry said yesterday, “The United States government has no authority, or business, dictating Iranian foreign policy. That era ended in 1979.” Megan Lebowitz and Sarah Dean report for NBC News; David Cohen reports for POLITICO.

Responding to a proposal to extend the Gaza ceasefire, Hamas said on Friday it is prepared to release a U.S.-Israeli hostage and the bodies of four dual nationals. The release would be conditioned on Israel abiding by the terms outlined in a multi-phased ceasefire previously agreed in January, the group said. Ibrahim Dahman, Dana Karni, Ivana Kottasová, and Eyad Kourdi report for CNN.

The Trump administration and Israel approached the governments of Sudan and Somalia and has also been interested in Syria as potential locations to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, sources told CBS News. A senior Syrian official said they were unaware of any outreach about the plans by the U.S. government or Israel, while Somalia’s ambassador to the U.S. also denied receiving such contact. Camilla Schick and Margaret Brennan report."

"The Israeli strikes on Gaza today killed 404 people, wounded 562, and left dozens buried under rubble, the deadliest attack since the ceasefire agreement with Hamas began in late January, the Hamas-run health ministry said. According to an Israeli official, the “series of preemptive strikes” targeted Hamas leaders and infrastructure. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the strikes were launched due to a “dead end” in ceasefire talks to release more hostages. The Israeli military said it issued evacuation orders for neighborhoods in Gaza, suggesting the offensive, which fell short of an immediate ground invasion, could become a sustained campaign. The Washington Post reports; Patrick Kingsley reports for the New York Times.

Hamas today accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire agreement, with a senior official saying Israel’s strikes were essentially a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages in the enclave. Nidal Al-Mugrhabi, Enas Alashray, and James Mackenzie report for Reuters; Jennifer Jett reports for NBC News.

The defense ministers of Syria and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire following cross-border attacks that left 10 dead and over 50 injured, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported yesterday. The officials also committed to enhancing bilateral coordination and cooperation, amid rising tensions between Beirut and Syria’s newly formed Islamist-led government. Nadeen Ebrahim and Charbel Mallo report for CNN.

President Trump yesterday said that the United States will view any further attacks by the Houthis in Yemen as originating from Iran and warned Tehran of “dire consequences.” Trump also threatened that any further retaliation by the Houthis will be “met with great force,” after the rebel group’s Sunday attack on the USS Truman Red Sea strike group. The Pentagon confirmed the attacks but said no damages were caused. Barak Ravid reports for Axios."

:TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE: The White House said President Donald Trump made progress toward achieving a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine during a more than two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, but Moscow laid out steep demands for a full pause.

“The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire,” the U.S. readout of the call said, “as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.” The White House also said Trump and Putin talked about the Middle East and improving U.S.-Russia relations overall, which “has huge upside.” More from POLITICO’s Eli Stokols

Russia’s readout: The Kremlin said Putin agreed to a monthlong halt to targeting energy infrastructure, while negotiations toward maritime and full ceasefires take place. Moscow said a prisoner exchange will take place tomorrow.

What Russia wants for a full ceasefire: Bloomberg had scooped this morning that Putin wants an end to all arms shipments to Ukraine, as a prerequisite to agreeing to the pause in its war on Ukraine. At a minimum, Russia would demand a halt to weapons from the U.S. Indeed, “stopping the rearmament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” was specifically mentioned in Russia’s readout, which called for “the complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence sharing.” That could be very difficult for Europe and Ukraine to accept. European leaders fear that it would produce a scenario in which Russia rearms to attack Ukraine again after the ceasefire ends, while Ukraine can’t prepare a defense.

Public pressure on Trump: The latest Gallup poll shows political downside for Trump in his recent moves to limit support for Ukraine. The share of Americans who think the U.S. is doing too little to help Ukraine has leapt to 46 percent, the highest ever since Gallup started asking in August 2022. That’s mainly due to significant increases from Democrats and independents. Thirty percent of Americans say the U.S. is doing too much, down 7 points from December.

In the dark: The State Department has axed a contract that funded the Conflict Observatory, a Yale/MITRE initiative tracking and gathering documentation of alleged Russian war crimes, WaPo’s John Hudson reports. The work included a database of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children thought to have been abducted by Russia. That has stopped evidence from being shared with prosecutors at the International Criminal Court and elsewhere. Lawmakers sounded a siren that the data may have been permanently deleted, hampering efforts to find the kids.

CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS WATCH: In an unusual, short statement today, Chief Justice John Roberts warned that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” per POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney. “It’s the most intense public conflict between Trump and Roberts since 2018,” and it follows Trump’s call this morning for federal judge James Boasberg to be impeached because he had temporarily blocked a Trump order.

Rather than make a legal argument about his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process, Trump touted his election victory and said he was doing what voters wanted. But legal experts tell Reuters’ Luc Cohen, Tom Hals and Jack Queen that on the actual merits, the administration “has likely exceeded its authority” — though it could still win at the Supreme Court. A recent ICE filing continued to claim that the administration had not flouted Boasberg’s directive because the planes he demanded to be turned around were already in the air when his written order came, per CBS’ Jake Rosen."

"Negotiations with Hamas “will take place only under fire,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, adding that the renewed Israeli strikes that killed more than 400 and wounded over 500 Palestinians in Gaza yesterday were “just the beginning.” Israeli air strikes killed at least 13 additional people overnight, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported today, citing Red Crescent medics. Lior Soroka reports for the Washington Post; Aleks Phillips reports for BBC News.

Health workers in Gaza say they are overwhelmed by casualties from Israel’s strikes, with the situation further worsened by Israel’s ongoing restrictions on medical aid and other humanitarian supplies, including food and fuel. Adam Taylor and Mohamad El Chamaa report for the Washington Post; Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Olivia Le Poidevin report for Reuters.

Responsibility for resumed hostilities in Gaza “lies solely with Hamas,” acting U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said yesterday. The United States supports Israel in its next steps, Shea added. Reuters reports.

The hostilities in Gaza must cease and humanitarian aid and commercial essentials must be allowed into the territory, U.N. Under-Secretary-General and emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher said yesterday. Reuters reports."

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday agreed to Russia’s offer of a 30-day pause in attacks on energy targets during a call with President Trump. It was not immediately clear when or how the pause would take hold, with Zelenskyy adding that “everything will continue to fly” until there is an “appropriate document” setting out the partial truce's terms. Shawn McCreesh, Michael Crowley, and Maria Varenikova report for the New York Times.

Ukrainian forces in Kursk have lost ground in recent days but are not encircled, contrary to recent comments by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. and European officials familiar with recent intelligence assessments say. Erin Banco reports for Reuters.

Trump yesterday floated the possibility of the United States acquiring Ukrainian power plants to provide “best protection” for energy infrastructure during his call with Zelenskyy, according to an administration readout of the call. Zelenskyy said that the discussion concerned the idle Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, located in Russian-occupied territory. Alan Cullison, Ian Lovett, and Alexander Osipovich report for the Wall Street Journal. 

A State Department spokesperson yesterday said that data from a repository that helps track thousands of abducted Ukrainian children “exists … and is not missing,” denying earlier reports the repository might have been deleted. The State Department itself never held the data, the spokesperson added. Daphne Psaledakis and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.