US president will hold a meeting with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan on the sidelines of the UNGA.
United States President Donald Trump is expected to offer a plan and discuss his vision for ending Israel’s war on Gaza and the future of the mostly destroyed Palestinian enclave to Arab and Muslim leaders on Tuesday.
Trump will hold a meeting with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items
- list 1 of 4‘It is a bloodbath’: Australian medic describes situation at Gaza hospital
- list 2 of 4Hardline lawmakers demand nuclear bomb as Iran braces for UN sanctions
- list 3 of 4Could you pass a quiz on UN terminology before the 2025 General Assembly?
- list 4 of 4Dua Lipa fires agent over his purported support for Israel’s war in Gaza
end of list
The US president will discuss how the Israeli military may withdraw from Gaza in the future, how he wants the regional leaders to send in troops to maintain order, and how a transition and rebuilding process can begin and be funded, unnamed Israeli and Arab sources told Israel’s Channel 12 and US-based Axios.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who is expected to attend the meeting, told the conference on the two-state solution hosted by France and Saudi Arabia at the UN on Monday that his country is ready to provide peacekeeping forces in Gaza.
“We are ready to take our part in this journey towards peace. We are willing to provide peacekeeping forces,” he said, on the day that France and several other countries recognised Palestinian statehood, joining the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Portugal, and others who had made the move earlier.
The Gaza plan was reportedly not drafted by Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been made aware of the details. It is believed to envisage some future involvement by the Palestinian Authority (PA), something Israel has repeatedly said it will not tolerate.
The plan sees no role for Hamas, which the US and Israel have demanded must be disarmed and eliminated.
Nearly two years into a genocidal war that has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza – mostly civilians, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health – no breakthrough appears in sight to end the killings and Israeli-induced famine.
Ceasefire talks were making progress earlier this month when the Israeli military launched unprecedented air attacks on Qatar, in an attempt to assassinate the top leadership of Hamas. The Palestinian group had said it agreed to a proposal on the table, and Israel claimed it had accepted it hours before launching the strikes.
Israel has since pressed ahead with a relentless destruction of Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, killing dozens of civilians daily, destroying dozens of residential buildings, and forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee south to an unknown fate.
Israel also torpedoed another ceasefire deal with Hamas on March 18, when it killed hundreds of Palestinians in intense air raids after securing the release of several captives held in Gaza. It then imposed a months-long total blockade that led to the current mass starvation.
Trump ally US broadcaster Fox News reported on Monday, quoting a senior administration official as well as a second unnamed informed source, that Hamas has drafted a letter directed to the US president that proposes a 60-day Trump-guaranteed truce in exchange for the immediate release of half the remaining 48 captives, about 20 of whom are living.
According to the right-wing outlet, the letter is currently being held by mediator Qatar and will be given to Trump later in the week. Neither Hamas nor Qatar have commented on the claim.
Both Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will be addressing the UNGA on Tuesday.
As international stakeholders push to restart talks to end the war, the Israeli army continues to push deep inside the largest urban centre of Gaza with three armoured and infantry divisions, destroying homes and infrastructure.
Intense air raids are hitting across Gaza as well, in addition to casualties reported on Tuesday in several Gaza City neighbourhoods. Israeli raids are also ongoing across the occupied West Bank, as the Israeli government advances with plans to annex parts of the area.
