Gaza, ceasefire talks resumed in Doha Media, 2 dead in Houthi raid on Red Sea ship

If the inhabitants of Gaza "want to stay, they can, but if they want to leave, they should be able to," Netanyahu said. "We are working very closely with the United States to identify countries that want to achieve what they have always said they want to do, which is to give the Palestinians a better future," Netanyahu continued. "I think we are close to finding several countries willing to do that."

A few months ago, Trump had hypothesised the relocation of the Palestinians and the annexation of the Gaza Strip, with the intention of turning it into the 'Riviera of the Middle East'. A proposal strongly rejected by the residents of Gaza, determined not to abandon the coastal enclave, despite the devastation brought by more than 20 months of Israeli bombardments and street-to-street fighting. At the time, human rights organisations condemned the plan aired by the US president, calling it a form of ethnic cleansing.

In the course of the evening, Netanyahu handed Trump a letter containing the American president's nomination of Israel for the Nobel Peace Prize. Proposing Trump's name to the committee that awards the prestigious prize is becoming an increasingly popular diplomatic strategy. The president of the United States makes no secret of his ambitions for the prize and a few days ago - following a lunch in Washinton between Trump and the Pakistani chief of army staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir - it fell to the government in Islamabad to nominate him

Meanwhile, ceasefire talks in Gaza have resumed in Doha, says a source close to the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Middle East is also looking at possible US-Iran talks after the 12-day war with Israel. "No request has been made on our side for a meeting with the American side," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, after Donald Trump said the Iranians "have requested a meeting" and envoy Steve Witkoff said the meeting could be held "next week". Mehr reports. After talks on the Iranian nuclear dossier began in April, Tehran suspended negotiations with Washington following Israel's attack on Iranian territory and US raids against Iran's nuclear sites.

In the Middle East, a battle also continues between the skies and the Red Sea. Germany has accused 'China of targeting a German aircraft participating in the EU operation Aspides with a laser during an EU military operation in the Red Sea'. This was announced on X by the German Foreign Ministry, stating that 'putting German personnel at risk and disrupting the operation is totally unacceptable'. The Chinese ambassador was summoned to the ministry. Aspides is an EU military naval mission launched in 2024 to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf in response to Houthi attacks.

Two crew members of the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship Eternity C were killed in an attack by marine drones and speedboats off Yemen yesterday. This was reported today by Liberia's maritime delegation. Reuters writes this on its website. The two deaths, the first since June 2024, bring to six the total number of seafarers killed in attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

The IDF meanwhile ordered the immediate evacuation of a large area of the eastern part of Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, due to the resumption of ground operations against Hamas. This was announced by the Arabic-language military spokesman on X. The message states that 'due to terrorist activities in the region, the IDF will expand operations in the area with ground manoeuvres'. Civilians are asked to head west for security reasons. According to the Israeli army, the expansion of operations is part of efforts to free all hostages and dismantle the Hamas infrastructure.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said that 52 Palestinians were killed and 262 injured as a result of Israeli attacks in the Strip in the last 24 hours. The tally since the start of hostilities on 7 October 2023 is 57,575 dead and 136,879 injured, a press release published on Telegram further stated.