Mena Today

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only dealt with Gaza and was not specific enough on Palestinian statehood.

When a U.S. president of Donald Trump’s stature sets his sights on the Middle East, the global stage shifts. Monday’s summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Trump himself, is not merely a ceremonial close to the latest round of bloodshed in Gaza. 

Hamas forces have killed 32 members of "a gang" in Gaza City in a security campaign launched after a ceasefire came into effect on Friday, while six of its personnel were also killed in the violence, a Palestinian security source said on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend Monday's summit on ending the Gaza war in Egypt, his office said, after Cairo had earlier announced he would take part.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Hamas had been given a greenlight for internal security operations it is conducting in the Gaza Strip, saying the group wants "to stop the problems" and "we gave them approval for a period of time".

Hamas handed over all 20 surviving hostages to Israel on Monday, a major step towards ending two years of devastating war in Gaza as U.S. President Donald Trump, who helped broker the truce, proclaimed it was "a great day".

Iran, a longtime backer of the Palestinian group Hamas, confirmed on Sunday evening that it has received an official invitation to attend the high-level Gaza peace summit scheduled for Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. However, the Islamic Republic has yet to announce whether it will participate.

The Palestinian Authority is ready to work with U.S. President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on their effort to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire and start rebuilding, a senior Palestinian official told Blair on Sunday.

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s outgoing Foreign Minister, took to X Sunday to claim France “opened the way” for the U.S. peace plan in Gaza, securing hostage releases and a ceasefire. 

The release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza is expected to begin early Monday morning, according to Shosh Bedrosian, spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Monday, global attention will turn to Sharm el-Sheikh, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump co-chair a high-level peace summit aimed at ending the war in Gaza. 

Dozens of fighters were killed in overnight border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both sides said on Sunday, in the most serious fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban came to power in Kabul.