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Trump says ‘very close’ to securing Israel, Hamas ceasefire, returning hostages

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President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have said they believe a ceasefire with Hamas is «very close» to being secured. 

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«I will tell you we’re getting very close to a deal,» Trump said in response to a question from Fox News Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Wednesday. «I don’t know if it’s secret or not secret, but doesn’t matter to me – secrets fine if it gets us to where we want to be, we want to have a ceasefire. 

«We want to have peace. We want to get the hostages back. And I think we’re close to doing it,» he added. 

NETANYAHU SAYS IRAN WILL ABANDON NUCLEAR PROGRAM AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES: ‘THEY’RE AFRAID’

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Netanyahu echoed the sentiments in an interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on «Mornings with Maria,» which aired earlier Wednesday. He said he believed there is a «good chance» that a 60-day ceasefire will be reached with the terrorist network. 

«We are talking about a 60-day ceasefire in which half of the live hostages and half of the deceased hostages would be returned to Israel by these Hamas monsters,» he said following a Tuesday evening meeting with Trump. «I think we’re getting closer to a deal. I think there’s a good chance that we’ll have it.»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Donald Trump during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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NETANYAHU SAYS IRAN WILL ABANDON NUCLEAR PROGRAM AFTER US-ISRAELI STRIKES: ‘THEY’RE AFRAID’

Ahead of the high-level meetings this week, Trump was expected to pressure Netanyahu to secure a deal to end Israel’s war in Gaza and return all 50 hostages. The Israeli government assesses 28 of the hostages to be deceased, including Hadar Goldin, who was taken in 2014, and 27 hostages who were abducted on Oct. 7, 2023 – including Americans Omer Neutra and Itay Chen.

This leaves 22 hostages still assessed to be alive, though some comments by Netanyahu have suggested that the fate of several of the hostages remains unknown. In his sitdown with Bartiromo, the Israeli leader said there were «20 alive left and 30 deceased.»

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«I’m committed to getting all of them out and getting Hamas out of the picture,» he added, comparing the terrorist network to the Nazi SS. 

According to Hamas leader Taher Al-Nono in a statement to Al-Jazeera on Wednesday, Hamas has agreed to release 10 hostages to ensure the continued flow of aid and stop the fighting, but he did not specify if this would include alive and deceased hostages. 

«The current round of negotiations faces significant challenges, and the movement’s position is firm regarding the basic requirements for any agreement with the occupation, foremost among them the complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a comprehensive cessation of aggression,» the statement read. «We emphasize the importance of international guarantees, and the United States of America holds the real keys to pressure «Israel» to end the war if it has the political will.»

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Special Enovy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Tuesday told reporters he plans to head to Doha this week to continue negotiations with mediators, which began Sunday.

Witkoff also reportedly said he is hopeful a deal can be secured this week.

Trump and Netanyahu meet at the White House

President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on July 7, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

AFTER SETBACK TO IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM, TRUMP EXPECTED TO LEVERAGE MILITARY SUPPORT IN NETANYAHU MEETING

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The exact hiccups in the negotiations remain unclear, though disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence in the Gaza Strip and a day-after plan for the Palestinians have long plagued the talks. 

Bartiromo also questioned Netanyahu over frustrations that have mounted between the international community, Israel and the U.S. over the distribution of aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) instead of the United Nations. 

«We have our own distribution system that has been established to prevent Hamas from stealing the food that is supposed to go to the population,» Netanyahu said. «They steal it, they take it for themselves, and the remainder they hike the prices and basically extort the Palestinian population in order to use it to continue recruiting people to their war machine.»

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Palestinians carry humanitarian aid

Palestinians carry bags and boxes containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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Netanyahu said he does not want to give up the distribution system that has worked to ensure Hamas is not stealing aid and using it as a black market commodity to extort civilians and a terrorist recruitment tool.

While the U.N. has been continuing to distribute aid in Gaza, its convoys have repeatedly been attacked and ransacked by suspected Hamas terrorists. 

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The Israeli prime minister said he expects the U.N. and GHF will be distributing aid under the 60-day plan.

Fox News Yonat Friling contributed to this report. 

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GOP senator demands FBI reveal if surveillance went beyond Jack Smith’s phone tracking

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EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is demanding information from the FBI on whether she has been subjected to additional surveillance, following revelations that former Special Counsel Jack Smith tracked her phone calls, calling the action «one of the most serious infringements on the separation of powers in American history.» 

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Fox News Digital first reported Monday that Smith and his «Arctic Frost» team investigating Jan. 6 allegedly monitored the phone calls of Lummis and fellow GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained an FBI document stating the names of the lawmakers and that an FBI special agent on Smith’s team «conducted preliminary toll analysis» on the toll records associated with them.

JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS

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Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is demanding information from the FBI on whether she has been further surveilled, following the revelations that former Special Counsel Jack Smith was tracking her phone calls. (Caroline Brehman/Pool/Sipa USA)

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team were able to view which phone numbers the senators called, along with the location each call originated and where it was received.

Lummis is now seeking more information on the matter, writing a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel thanking him, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their «transparency regarding the blatantly unconstitutional surveillance activities conducted on the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by the Biden Administration during Operation Arctic Frost.»

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«Your willingness to expose these abuses is crucial to getting the FBI and Department of Justice focused back on its core mission of delivering justice for all,» she wrote in the letter to Patel, obtained by Fox News Digital.

Lummis is now demanding all FBI and DOJ records that identify which members of the Biden administration «authorized or approved the surveillance of my phone records and communications.»

FBI FIRES AGENTS, DISMANTLES CORRUPTION SQUAD AFTER PROBE UNVEILS MONITORING OF GOP SENATORS, PATEL SAYS

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Lummis is asking for the names of all DOJ officials, FBI officials, and any White House officials involved; the entire data file collected on her, including all phone records and any recordings or transcripts of her private communications; any legal statutes cited to justify the data collection; and any individuals with whom the information was shared.

She is also requesting documentation of «any other surveillance conducted by the FBI or DOJ from January 20, 2021, through January 20, 2025, on me related to my official duties as a United States senator.»

Jack Smith delivers remarks in August 2023.

Special Counsel Jack Smith tracked the private conversations of multiple Republican senators during the Jan. 6 investigation. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

«I believe that the surveillance of sitting United States Senators by the executive branch represents one of the most serious infringements on the separation of powers in American history,» she wrote. «It seriously impinges on both my civil rights and my constitutional duties as a legislator, especially since this surveillance was directly connected to core legislative activities protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution.»

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Lummis added that «the American people deserve to know the truth about how the Biden administration weaponized federal law enforcement against their elected representatives.»

«Those responsible will be held accountable,» she wrote. «Thank you for your prompt attention to these requests, and for restoring integrity to the FBI.»

«Arctic Frost» was opened inside the bureau on April 13, 2022. Smith was appointed as special counsel to take over the probe in November 2022. 

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An FBI official told Fox News Digital that «Arctic Frost» is a «prohibited case,» and that the review required officials to go «above and beyond in order to deliver on this promise of transparency.» The discovery is part of a broader, ongoing review.

«The American people deserve the truth, and under my leadership, they will have it,» Patel told Fox News Digital. «We promised accountability for those who weaponized law enforcement, and we will deliver it.»

Kash Patel sworn in

Kash Patel is sworn in as FBI director by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in the Indian Treaty Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) on the White House campus in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

HAWLEY RIPS JACK SMITH’S ‘BIDEN’S STASI’ PROBE, CALLS ALLEGED SPYING ‘ABUSE OF POWER BEYOND WATERGATE’

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Patel added: «Under our watch, the FBI will never again be turned against the American people.»

«It is a disgrace that I have to stand on Capitol Hill and reveal this — that the FBI was once weaponized to track the private communications of U.S. lawmakers for political purposes,» FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who briefed senators on the matter, told Fox News Digital. «That era is over.»

Bongino added: «Under our leadership, the FBI will never again be used as a political weapon against the American people.»

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Meanwhile, the FBI has terminated employees and disbanded the CR-15 squad. Patel announced the actions were taken in response to the revelation of the «baseless monitoring» of U.S. lawmakers.

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«We are cleaning up a diseased temple three decades in the making — identifying the rot, removing those who weaponized law enforcement for political purposes and those who do not meet the standards of this mission while restoring integrity to the FBI. I promised reform, and I intend to deliver it,» Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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Patel also posted about it on X, saying, «Transparency is important, and accountability is critical. We promised both, and this is what promises kept looks like… We terminated employees, we abolished the weaponized CR-15 squad, and we initiated an ongoing investigation with more accountability measures ahead.»

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Acuerdo Israel-Hamas: las familias de los rehenes celebran su inminente liberación en el centro de Tel Aviv y convocan a Donald Trump

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A primera hora de este jueves, la Plaza de los Rehenes, en el centro de Tel Aviv, se convirtió en un estallido de emociones desbordadas. Las familias de los rehenes israelíes celebran con júbilo su próxima liberación.

«¡Matan vuelve a casa!», gritó Einav Zangauker, uno de los rostros más conocidos de la campaña de dos años por liberar a los cautivos, refiriéndose a su hijo. Con los brazos alzados al cielo, exclamó «¡Gracias!», mientras simpatizantes, familiares y rehenes liberados llenaban la plaza.

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Einav Zangauker, madre del rehén Matan Zangauker, sostiene un cartel con un poema que pide el regreso de todos los rehenes. Foto: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

«Quiero olerlo. Si tengo un sueño, es ver a Matan dormir en su cama«, agregó en diálogo con la prensa.

Tras el secuestro de sus seres queridos durante el ataque de Hamas sobre el sur de Israel el 7 de octubre de 2023, que desató la guerra en Gaza, las familias se embarcaron en una lucha ardua por recuperar la libertad de sus allegados. Viajaron por todo el mundo para reunirse con líderes internacionales, enfrentaron la incredulidad de políticos israelíes y suplicaron incansablemente por un final a la pesadilla que parecía interminable. Hasta hoy.

Emoción en Tel Aviv tras el anuncio de Trump sobre el alto el fuego. Foto:  AP/Emilio MorenattiEmoción en Tel Aviv tras el anuncio de Trump sobre el alto el fuego. Foto: AP/Emilio Morenatti

Después de que Donald Trump anunciara el acuerdo entre Israel y Hamas para liberar a los cautivos restantes, la tensión en la plaza comenzó a disiparse. De los 250 capturados inicialmente, Israel asegura que alrededor de 20 de los 48 que permanecen en Gaza siguen con vida.

El contador que marcaba los días, minutos y segundos desde aquella angustiante mañana de octubre seguía iluminando a los presentes, pero ahora cada segundo los acercaba más a la liberación.

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Familiares y allegados de los rehenes israelíes retenidos por Hamas en la Franja de Gaza celebran tras el anuncio. Foto: AP/Emilio MorenattiFamiliares y allegados de los rehenes israelíes retenidos por Hamas en la Franja de Gaza celebran tras el anuncio. Foto: AP/Emilio Morenatti

«Durante dos años he luchado por la vida de mi esposo», escribió Rebecca Bohbot en Instagram sobre su marido, Elkana. «Este es el momento en que un niño pequeño volverá a abrazar a su padre, un instante en que mi familia recobra la vida», agregó.

«Siento escalofríos de pies a cabeza», contó Omer Wenkert, rehén liberado anteriormente, sobre la noticia del acuerdo. «No puedo ni imaginar la alegría que sentiremos, como nación, por fin», sumó.

Una persona se disfrazó de Trump en medio de los festejos. Foto: AP/Ohad ZwigenbergUna persona se disfrazó de Trump en medio de los festejos. Foto: AP/Ohad Zwigenberg

En el corazón de las celebraciones estuvo la figura de Trump, a quien muchos familiares e israelíes atribuyen el mérito de haber presionado al primer ministro Benjamín Netanyahu para aceptar el acuerdo. Una persona se disfrazó del presidente republicano y ondeó banderas estadounidenses; las familias expresaron su agradecimiento y algunos corearon que merecía el Premio Nobel de la Paz, como mencionó Javier Milei en X.

Invitación de los familiares a Donald Trump

El Foro de Familias de Rehenes y Desaparecidos, que representa a los allegados de la mayoría de los secuestrados en Gaza, invitó a Trump a reunirse con ellas en Israel tras impulsar el acuerdo de alto el fuego.

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«Ya sea un discurso en la plaza, un lugar que se ha convertido en símbolo de esperanza y resiliencia, una visita privada a las familias o cualquier reunión que se ajuste a su agenda, haremos lo posible para que suceda«, indicó el Foro en un comunicado.

«Solo necesitamos mirarle a los ojos y expresar lo que las palabras no pueden transmitir: que nos devolvió a nuestras familias y con ellas, nuestra esperanza«, añadieron.

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El líder de la Casa Blanca llegará a Israel el domingo, según informó el diario Yedioth Ahronot, tras la firma del alto el fuego. La liberación de los 48 cautivos se producirá el lunes, según Washington. Israel y Hamas aún deben acordar quiénes conformarán los 1.950 prisioneros palestinos que serán liberados a cambio de los rehenes: 250 condenados a cadena perpetua y 1.700 detenidos en la Franja de Gaza, según un miembro del buró político de Hamas.

Israel inicia los preparativos de su retirada

Antes de la liberación, el Ejército israelí deberá retirarse hasta la «línea amarilla» estipulada por EE. UU., marcando la primera fase de su retirada del enclave. Esto permitirá que las tropas permanezcan en un perímetro de 1,5 kilómetros en su zona más estrecha y 6,5 en la más amplia, garantizando presencia militar en cerca de la mitad del territorio.

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Un helicóptero Apache israelí dispara municiones mientras sobrevuela Gaza, después del anuncio de Trump. Foto: REUTERS/Ammar AwadUn helicóptero Apache israelí dispara municiones mientras sobrevuela Gaza, después del anuncio de Trump. Foto: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Según Haaretz, esta retirada facilitará que las milicias gazatíes, encabezadas por Hamas, localicen a todos los cautivos. El Ejército ya inició los preparativos y estableció un protocolo de combate para avanzar «pronto» hacia la línea establecida, mientras mantiene la capacidad de responder a cualquier desarrollo operativo.

«Las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel han comenzado los preparativos operativos previos a la aplicación del acuerdo. Como parte de este proceso, se están llevando a cabo las tareas previas y un protocolo de combate para pasar pronto a unas líneas de despliegue modificadas», afirmó el ejército en un comunicado.

El acuerdo contempla que la primera fase de retirada se complete antes del lunes, cuando Hamas liberará a los 48 rehenes aún cautivos. La medida garantiza que los secuestrados sean localizados tanto por las Brigadas Al Qasam como por otros grupos, como la Yihad Islámica Palestina.

Aún no se han detallado las fases posteriores, pero tras llegar a la «línea amarilla», las tropas israelíes seguirán presentes en alrededor de la mitad del enclave, tras haber dominado hasta ahora más del 80%.

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Con información de AP y EFE



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World leaders praise ‘landmark’ Israel-Hamas peace deal mediated by US: ‘New horizon of hope’

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President Donald Trump announced in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday night that a «landmark peace deal» between Israel and Hamas has been reached, hailing it as «a historic step toward peace in the Middle East.»

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In the interview, Trump said «the whole world came together» to make the deal happen, crediting both «luck» and «talent.» 

«So many countries that you wouldn’t have thought of have come together,» he said on «Hannity.» «It’s been so great for Israel, so great for Muslims, for the Arab countries — and so great for the United States of America. This is more than Gaza — this is peace in the Middle East.»

Leaders across the world are welcoming the news and describing it as a potential turning point.

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HAMAS ACCEPTS TRUMP PEACE PLAN ENDING 2 YEARS OF WAR IN GAZA, RETURNING HOSTAGES

«With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel,» Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. «From the beginning, I made it clear: we will not rest until all our hostages return and all our goals are achieved.» 

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He thanked his «great friend and ally President Trump,» saying Israel has «reached this critical turning point.»

Israeli President Isaac Herzog chimed in on X, offering an emphatic endorsement of the deal while thanking Trump, adding that «should he visit us in the coming days, he will be received with immense respect, affection, and gratitude by the people of Israel.»

«This agreement will bring moments of indescribable relief to the dear families who have not slept for 733 days. This agreement offers a chance to mend, to heal, and to open a new horizon of hope for our region,» the post read. «This is a time to honor the heroes among us: our sons and daughters who fought bravely to bring the hostages home; the bereaved families; the wounded in body and spirit; and all who have paid an unbearable price for this historic and vital moment.» 

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TRUMP UNVEILS 20-POINT PLAN TO SECURE PEACE IN GAZA, INCLUDING GRANTING SOME HAMAS MEMBERS ‘AMNESTY’

At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the breakthrough and urged swift follow-through, according to Reuters.

«I welcome the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. The United Nations will support full implementation and recovery efforts. This momentous opportunity must not be lost,» Guterres said.

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Under the deal, Hamas is expected to release all 20 living hostages by this weekend, and the Israeli military is expected to begin withdrawing troops from most of Gaza as part of the initial phase.

The IDF also released a statement on social media, welcoming «the signing of the agreement for the return of the hostages, which was signed overnight.»

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«This is a great day for peace,» Trump said. «Many years they talked about peace in the Middle East — now it’s happening.»

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, a figure that has not been independently verified.



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