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Middle East expert says Israel and the US are back on the same page — but that doesn't mean Hamas is deterred

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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)

TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST ENVOY EXPLAINS GAZA TAKEOVER PROPOSAL: ‘MORE HOPE’ FOR PALESTINIANS’ FUTURES

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.

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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.

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“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)

IF IRAN ATTEMPTS ASSASSINATION, ‘THEY GET OBLITERATED’: PRESIDENT TRUMP

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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.

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Stocks fall and oil prices gain after Trump warns the Iran ‘clock is ticking’

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Stocks fall and oil prices gain after Trump warns the Iran ‘clock is ticking’

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks mostly retreated and oil prices jumped on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that the “clock is ticking” as U.S.-Iran negotiations over a permanent end to the war stall.

U.S. futures fell and markets in Japan and South Korea pulled further back from their records. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 60,815.95, a decline led by technology-related stocks. It reached all-time intraday high levels last week above 63,000.

The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond surged to as high as 2.8%, its highest level since the late 1990s, part of a shift toward higher yields as the Bank of Japan gradually raises interest rates and higher energy costs raise expectations of rising inflation. That’s up from around 2.55% just one week ago.

Seoul’s Kospi climbed 0.3% to 7,516.04 after trading lower earlier in the day. It crossed the 8,000 mark for the first time on Friday, supported by buying of technology shares driven by the boom in artificial intelligence, but later declined partly on profit-taking by investors.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 25,596.68. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 4,131.53, after China reported weaker-than-expected retail data for April.

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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.5% to 8,505.30.

Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.7%, while India’s Sensex fell 0.1%.

Oil prices rose after Trump warned Iran in a social media post that “the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them” following a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump has set deadlines for Iran and then backed off, so investors have remained cautious about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and how it is impacting global energy flows, including oil and gas. The strait is still mostly closed, and the U.S. has also imposed its own sea blockade on Iranian ports since last month.

A drone strike over the weekend on a United Arab Emirates’ nuclear power plant added to worries over a potential escalation in the conflict.

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Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.7% to $110.02 per barrel. It was trading at roughly $70 a barrel in late February before the start of the Iran war. Benchmark U.S. crude was trading 0.8% higher to $106.31 per barrel.

“Re-escalation risks are increasing,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a research note. While there has also been a pick up on shipping activities over the past week around the strait, they said, “this can change quickly.”

The pair also noted that the oil market was reacting to the lack of tangible results on the Iran war after last week’s widely-watched summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, even as the White House said both the U.S. and China had agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.

U.S. officials had hoped that Beijing could use its influence, given its economic ties with Iran, to help broker a peace agreement and reopen the strait. Trump said last week in an interview that Xi told him China “would like to be of help” in negotiating an end to the war. So far it’s been unclear how Beijing might do that.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury was at around 4.60%, up from 4.47% last Thursday and sharply higher than the nearly 4% level it was holding at before the Iran war.

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On Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 dropped 1.2% from the record it set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.5%.

In other dealings early Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.86 Japanese yen from 158.62 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1635, up from $1.1622.

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Canada confirms hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak that has killed three passengers

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Canada confirms hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak that has killed three passengers

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Canadian health officials on Sunday confirmed that one of four Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship, the subject of an international Andes hantavirus outbreak, tested positive for hantavirus. Three people connected to the outbreak have died.

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The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the positive test after British Columbia’s top public health officer previously described the case as a “presumptive positive.”

“One individual’s sample was confirmed positive for hantavirus,” the agency said in a statement.

Officials said additional testing will be conducted at a national laboratory. It was not immediately clear whether that testing was for confirmation, strain characterization or another purpose.

CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER DESCRIBES UNCERTAINTY AFTER 3 DEATHS AMID HANTAVIRUS PROBE

Experts say cruise outbreaks get more attention due to public reporting rules, but many travelers still plan to sail as booked. (Myloupe/Universal Images Group)

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The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring the rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius, which has sickened multiple passengers.

As of May 13, the World Health Organization said 11 cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case. Those figures included three deaths. The Associated Press later reported that the Canadian confirmation brought the number of people from the ship who had tested positive to 10.

Canadian health officials said four Canadians returned home from the MV Hondius, though only one has tested positive for the virus.

RARE HANTAVIRUS HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION SUSPECTED ON LUXURY CRUISE SHIP WHERE 3 HAVE DIED

The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, is the only known hantavirus strain that has the capability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged close contact. (Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu)

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The confirmed patient and a traveling companion — identified as a Yukon couple in their 70s — returned from the cruise together. The companion later tested negative, officials said.

A third person in their 70s from Vancouver Island remains in isolation, along with a British Columbia resident in their 50s.

So far, no confirmed U.S. cases tied to the cruise ship have been reported, though WHO said as of May 13 that one U.S.-repatriated passenger had inconclusive laboratory results and was undergoing retesting.

HANTAVIRUS DEATHS ON CRUISE SHIP HIGHLIGHT DANGERS OF RODENT-BORNE DISEASE

Pictured is the MV Hondius, the cruise ship tied to a hantavirus outbreak after a stop in Argentina that left three passengers dead. (Europa Press Canarias via Getty Images)

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Last week, however, health officials in Ontario County, New York, announced they were investigating a suspected locally acquired hantavirus case unrelated to the cruise ship.

The Ontario County Public Health Department said there was no risk to the general public. Officials also said the strain typically seen in the United States is not known to spread from person to person.

The outbreak linked to the MV Hondius began after the Dutch cruise ship, carrying 147 passengers and crew members, departed Argentina on April 1 for a South Atlantic voyage.

TRAPPED CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER SHARES UPDATE ON CLEANLINESS OF SHIP AMID DEADLY HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK

The outbreak has prompted heightened precautions internationally, including in the Netherlands, where Radboud University Medical Center quarantined 12 staff members after officials said a hantavirus patient’s blood and urine were not handled under the strictest protocols recommended for the virus strain.

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The outbreak has also sparked comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital there is “no comparison.”

He noted hantavirus is difficult to spread.

Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken Hondius cruise ship walk with their belongings after disembarking at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, on May 12. (Piroschka van de Wouw)

“It’s not airborne … in terms of respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to transmit.”

While coronavirus “moved in the direction of humans in a significant way,” hantavirus has not, except for “very rare” cases of human-to-human transmission, he added.

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The World Health Organization has assessed the risk to the global population as low, while noting that current evidence suggests subsequent human-to-human transmission may have occurred on board. Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to have documented person-to-person transmission, though such spread is considered rare.

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Siegel also noted hantavirus cases have been reported in the United States for decades, though they remain “very rare.”

Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Angelica Stabile, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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Moment of collision between two Navy jets at Idaho air show

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Moment of collision between two Navy jets at Idaho air show
NewsFeed

Two US Navy jets collided during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, sending both aircraft crashing to the ground in front of spectators. All four crew members ejected safely before impact.

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