Free Republic

CAIRO (AP) — As the Middle East broadly welcomes a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iran finds itself at one of its weakest moments since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tehran has operated its self-described “Axis of Resistance” over several decades, supporting militant groups and nations allied with it against Israel and the United States. But as Israel bombed the Gaza Strip, it also turned its crosshairs toward top leaders abroad in militant groups like Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and even the top echelon within Iran’s military and nuclear program — killing many and disrupting their ability to fight back....

Israel on Friday published the names of 250 Palestinian security prisoners it has agreed to release as part of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal, and Israeli authorities began notifying families whose loved ones’ killers are set to go free. However, Hamas’s Prisoners’ Ministry said there was no agreement yet on the identities of the prisoners to be freed, and Qatari-owned network Al Araby TV cited sources saying the list published by Israel on Friday omitted some names that mediators had agreed on. The list, published the morning after the cabinet approved the US-backed ceasefire deal, includes members of the Hamas, Palestinian...

Hamas has recalled about 7,000 members of its security forces to reassert control over areas of Gaza recently vacated by Israeli troops, according to local sources. The Palestinian group also appointed five new governors all with military backgrounds, some of whom previously commanded brigades in its armed wing. The mobilisation order was reportedly issued via phone calls and text messages which said the aim was to "cleanse Gaza of outlaws and collaborators with Israel" and told fighters to report within 24 hours. Reports from Gaza suggest that armed Hamas units have already deployed across several districts, some wearing civilian clothes...

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff tells a rally in Tel Aviv that US President Donald Trump is "owed deep gratitude" as Israel awaits the release of hostages "I dreamed of this night. It's been a long journey," he says as the crowd chants "thank you Trump" before booing when Witkoff mentions Netanyahu There has been a sense of hope and excitement as the 72-hour deadline for the hostages to be returned to Israel nears, writes Alice Cuddy from Tel Aviv Elsewhere, Hamas recalls 7,000 fighters to reassert control over Gaza as fears of renewed internal violence emerge Gaza's Hamas-run civil...

Israeli and Arab military officials have come together for meetings and trainings, facilitated by U.S. Central Command, on regional threats, Iran and underground tunnels.Even as key Arab states condemned the war in the Gaza Strip, they quietly expanded security cooperation with the Israeli military, leaked U.S. documents reveal. Those military ties were thrown into crisis after Israel’s September airstrike in Qatar, but could now play a key role in overseeing the nascent ceasefire in Gaza.Over the past three years, facilitated by the United States, senior military officials from Israel and six Arab countries came together for a series of planning...

Thousands of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters marched in central London on Saturday, despite the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal aimed at ending the war in the Strip. Demonstrators held signs with the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” seen by many as a call for Israel’s destruction, and a placard comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. The crowd chanted “Israel is a terror state” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” while marching to Whitehall, where many British government buildings are clustered. Ben Jamal,...

On the two year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, a protest calling for freedom for Palestine marched throughout Eugene, Ore. The march started at 6 p.m. in the Park Blocks of Eugene and ended at 7:40 p.m., dispersing at 18th Street.

Trump’s bold Gaza peace plan achieves a historic first step—cease-fire, hostage release, and Arab-Israeli cooperation few thought possible.Yesterday, at noon Egypt time, Israel and Hamas agreed to implement the first stage of President Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan by implementing an immediate cease-fire, a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release by Hamas of 48 Israeli hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel also agreed to release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including about 250 who were serving life sentences, primarily for terrorism-related charges. As I explained in my October 3 American Greatness article, Trump’s peace plan...

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine rejected in a joint statement on Friday any "foreign guardianship" over Gaza, stressing that its governance is a purely internal Palestinian matter, according to Reuters. In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Hamas official Basem Naim said that while Hamas will no longer be directly involved in governing Gaza following the implementation of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, there is no plan to fully disarm, as Naim claimed that “no one can deny us the right to resistance by all means, including armed resistance.” When asked...

Rep. Thomas Massie is turning his defiance of President Trump into dollars. The Kentucky Republican raised more than $750,000 in the last three months — surpassing his previous best fundraising quarter since entering Congress by more than $100,000. “A lot of times, candidates get tripped up when Trump endorses their opponents because they can’t raise money, that basically shuts off all the fuel to the engine of their campaign, and that is not the case with me,” Mr. Massie told The Washington Times. Mr. Massie credits the surge in donations to Republican voters. “Every time he’s attacked me, there has...

Israeli forces completed a pullback of troops from Gaza on Friday after Israel's Cabinet approved a plan for a ceasefire aimed at ending the devastating 2-year-old war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement early Friday that the Cabinet had approved the "outline" of a deal to release the hostages — a key part of the initial agreement. "The government has now approved the framework for the release of all the hostages — both the living and the deceased," the statement read. It did not detail other more contentious parts of the pact hammered out Wednesday....

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has praised US President Donald Trump's leadership in the Gaza peace talks, claiming the deal "would not have happened" without him. On Wednesday, Trump announced Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his 20-point peace plan, in a major step towards a permanent end to their war. It comes two years and two days after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage. Sir Keir said the UK "played an important part behind the scenes" and had seen...

International politics can be boring at times, but the one constant in an ever-changing universe is the hubris of the European Union.With President Trump outlining the breakthrough negotiations for a peace agreement in Gaza, Emmanuel Macron (France), Keir Starmer (U.K) and Friedrich Merz (Germany) call an urgent meeting of EU Foreign Ministers to organize their strategy to take over the Gaza “Board of Peace.”EUROPE – Now that Donald Trump’s peace deal has the green light, European powers want a seat at the table.As the news broke that Israel and Hamas had agreed the first phase of a ceasefire plan, French...

His Gaza agreement, though still fragile, adds to an unprecedented peacemaking record.Not only does Donald Trump deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, but there has arguably never been an American president who deserved it more.Four of his predecessors have won the prize. Barack Obama won seven months into his presidency essentially for not being George W. Bush — and even he said he didn’t deserve it. Woodrow Wilson won for creating the League of Nations, which proved to be a feckless disaster that the United States never even joined. Theodore Roosevelt won for ending a single conflict, the Russo-Japanese War, which...

VIDEOWhen it's good news for President Trump, MAGA, and the country in general, you can count on Morning Mika to put on her sour face. Such was the case when Morning Joe announced the significant Mideast peace deal arranged by Trump. The result was the Morning Mika sour face. Give poor Mika credit. She was struggling mightily to keep from looking downright gloomy and the result was her signature sour face.

News of a truce between Israel and Hamas sent shockwaves through the mainstream media on Thursday as it appears President Donald Trump may finally have earned his Nobel Peace Prize. The president plans to arrive in Israel on Saturday, two days before Hamas is set to release approximately 200 living hostages still in captivity. The first phase of the peace agreement also calls for Israel’s troops to withdraw to a fixed perimeter, with a final goal of total demobilization from Gaza. On ABC News, correspondent Martha Raddatz appeared unrecognizable from her past pieces critical of Trump as she breathlessly recounted...

As 2025 dawned a 40-year-old Norwegian man called Jørgen set out his hopes for the coming year. In particular, he spoke about his dismay at the increasing polarization, and the 'rise of autocratic political tendencies' around the world. 'More concerning was the erosion of freedom of expression even in democratic nations,' he complained. 'In the United States, President Donald Trump launched more than 100 verbal attacks on the media during his election campaign.' Such sentiments might be expected from a liberal speaking in Scandinavia but the man's words will reverberate at the White House. They were spoken by Jørgen Watne...

The White House has released a 20-point document titled “President Donald J. Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.” It would install a transitional governance structure under a “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump, with figures such as former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair expected to participate.The plan posted on social media opens with promises:Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors.Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough.It then outlines ceasefire terms, staged withdrawals, prisoner exchanges, and international administration.Yet the...

"If we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we’ve seen for so many years."Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a U.S.-backed plan to end the war in Gaza and establish “a credible pathway” to a Palestinian state.The White House rolled out the plan shortly before President Donald Trump appeared with Netanyahu for a joint press conference at the White House. Trump announced that Israel had agreed to the 20-point framework, which the president said would deliver “peace in the Middle East,” during his opening remarks.“Today is a historic day for peace,...

President Donald Trump on Monday released a 20-point plan to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. resident Donald Trump on Monday released a 20-point plan to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. The White House released the plan in an email release amid a meeting between Trump and Netanyahu. Trump himself confirmed in a press conference that Netanyahu had accepted the plan. "I also want to thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for agreeing to the plan and for trusting that if we work together, we can bring an end to the death and destruction that we've seen...