World
Middle East expert says Israel and the US are back on the same page — but that doesn't mean Hamas is deterred
President Donald Trump made a massive shift in Washington’s stance towards Israel and the Middle East, proposing a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area,” President Trump said during a joint presser with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
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Nearly 16 months after Hamas’ surprise attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been grappling with the aftermath of the onslaught as it continues to fight the terror regime in control of Gaza. For much of the war, the question has been what will happen when Hamas is no longer in control, but through his surprise declaration, President Trump has given the Israelis an answer.
Even before he was officially in the Oval Office, Trump’s threat of “all hell to pay” seemed to work on Hamas, as the terror organization released hostages for the first time since November 2023.
“There is clearly a sense that Jerusalem and Washington are on the same page, illustrated by Netanyhu’s upcoming visit to DC and being the first foreign dignitary to be invited to the White House since the election,” Scholars for Peace in the Middle East Executive Director Asaf Romirowsky told Fox News Digital on Monday.
“The Trump administration is clearly helping on the hostage front and part of the discussions in DC this week will center on resuming the war and the rest of the hostages,” Romirowsky added.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answer questions during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025.
Despite the multiple rounds of hostage releases, Romirowsky is skeptical whether the terror organization is feeling the weight of the U.S. government.
“As far as Hamas goes it is not in their nature to be deterred by any U.S. government and they will try to push their agenda through Qatar and others,” Romirowsky said. “That said, Israel seems to be getting the military support they need and the hope is that it also continues as it relates the war in Gaza and the Middle East at large.”
Prior to leaving office in 2020, President Trump launched an initiative that seemed to have peace breaking out in the Middle East. Aimed at creating peaceful relationships between Arab nations and Israel, the Abraham Accords included the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Many speculated that a treaty with Saudi Arabia was on the horizon.
“There is no doubt that the goal is to expand the Abraham Accords especially as it relates to Saudi Arabia,” Romirowsky said. “Saudi-Israel relations are also linked regarding their shared security concerns as they relate to Iran.”
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump signed an executive order ending U.S. engagement with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Former President Joe Biden halted the funding of UNRWA following reports that some of the agency’s staff participated in the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel. Additionally, freed hostage Emily Damari, who was taken from her home in Kfar Aza, said she was held in UNRWA facilities, and that Hamas denied her medical care after shooting her twice.
In the joint presser with Netanyahu, Trump described the UNHRC as “antisemitic.” President Trump also withdrew from the UNHRC during his first term. In 2021, the Biden administration rejoined the controversial international body.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
EIGHT BELIEVED DEAD AFTER B-52 CRASHES SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE
The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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