World
Trump’s Vision for Gaza Shifts Away From a Cease-Fire Deal
Barely a week ago, Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, waving placards thanking President Trump and his Middle East envoy for their role in helping secure an initial cease-fire deal in Gaza and getting some hostages freed.
Many of them were hoping that Mr. Trump would strong-arm Israel’s long-hesitant prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, into agreeing to negotiate an end to the war with Hamas and get the rest of the hostages released when the two leaders met in Washington on Tuesday.
Instead, they woke up to news of Mr. Trump’s fantastical idea of removing the population of roughly two million Gazans from the devastated enclave to make way for a glittering, American-owned Middle Eastern Riviera.
Far-fetched as Mr. Trump’s vision for Gaza may be — the Arab world has roundly rejected it and any forcible removal of a population violates international law — it abruptly shifted attention away from the future of the cease-fire deal, whose initial, six-week phase is due to end in early March.
As Mr. Trump sketched out his grandiose plans for Gaza, he placed little public pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to proceed with talks via Qatari and Egyptian mediators to turn the temporary cease-fire into a permanent cessation of hostilities. That left Israel with a wide berth on how it might deal with Gaza next.
The talks, which were meant to start this week, are now up in the air. And Mr. Netanyahu will leave Washington with Mr. Trump’s endorsement of what far-right members of the Israeli government have effectively been calling for: the mass migration of Palestinians from Gaza.
That leaves the fate of the hostages still held by Hamas in question as the militant group assesses how to move forward and many Palestinians worrying about whether the war might resume again.
“On the one hand, we are very grateful for what Trump has been doing,” said Idit Ohel, whose son, Alon Ohel, 23, was kidnapped from a bomb shelter as he tried to flee a music festival during the Hamas-led assault of Oct. 7, 2023, which started the war.
“Now,” Ms. Ohel said of Mr. Trump, “I don’t understand the implications of what he is saying or how this is going to bring my son home.”
Mr. Netanyahu, in an interview with Fox News late Wednesday, hailed Mr. Trump’s idea as “remarkable,” saying it should be “pursued,” drowning out any talk of the details of how to move cease-fire negotiations forward.
And on Thursday morning, Mr. Netanyahu’s loyal defense minister, Israel Katz, issued a statement saying he had instructed the Israeli military to prepare a plan to facilitate the exit of “any resident of Gaza who is interested to leave to any place in the world that agrees to accept them.”
The initial phase of the cease-fire deal took effect on Jan. 19 and provides for Hamas to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. About 79 hostages remain in Gaza, at least 35 of whom are presumed to be dead.
Talks were due to start on Monday — Day 16 of the deal — on a second phase, which is supposed to result in the rest of the living hostages being released and to usher in a permanent cessation of hostilities. That would mean a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Wording about the transition to the second phase had been left intentionally vague, since Israel and Hamas are holding out for mutually exclusive demands.
Mr. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas no longer holds sway in Gaza and to resume fighting, if necessary. Hamas refuses to give up control or disarm.
In repeated statements in Washington, Mr. Netanyahu laid out his three priorities for Gaza, with the hostages only coming in second.
“In Gaza, Israel has three goals: Destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, secure the release of all our hostages and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
Mr. Netanyahu could stand to lose his own grip on power, with the far-right flank of his governing coalition having threatened to quit if he ends the war in Gaza with Hamas still in control there.
As of Thursday, no Israeli delegation had yet set out to Doha, Qatar, for negotiations, according to two Israeli officials who were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue publicly.
Mr. Trump also sounded less committal than he has in the past about the fate of the hostages and ending the war, saying it was unclear if the cease-fire would hold. But he spoke of “going to a Phase II” of the cease-fire and said he would like to get all the hostages out. “If we don’t, it will just make us somewhat more violent,” he said, possibly indicating U.S. backing for a resumption of the fighting.
In the Middle East, analysts were parsing what Mr. Trump’s tectonic diversion on the future of Gaza might mean in the more immediate term.
“I think what he did was throw the old checkers board off the table and replaced it with Monopoly,” said Kobi Michael, an expert in the Israel-Palestinian conflict at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. “He didn’t just change the rules of the game but the game itself,” he said.
Both Israel and Hamas are likely to want to buy time — Hamas to rehabilitate itself and its forces after 15 grueling months of war and Mr. Netanyahu to keep his right-wing coalition together — and may try to extend the first phase of the deal, allowing for more hostage-for-prisoner exchanges.
Mr. Michael said Mr. Trump’s vision for a Gaza without Gazans could work as a threat and put significant pressure on Hamas to release more hostages. Conversely, he said, it could cause Hamas to walk away from the deal altogether.
“Mr. Trump is a businessman,” Mr. Michael said. “He takes risks.”
Zakaria al-Qaq, a Palestinian expert in national security, said that even the mere suggestion of relocating two million Gazans was likely to complicate the cease-fire negotiations by making Hamas more cautious, and to destabilize the entire Arab world.
Mr. Trump’s declaration, he said, was “The perfect recipe for recruiting more people to Hamas,” adding that Mr. Trump’s “new colonialism” had given Hamas “easy marketing tools.”
Many people believe Mr. Trump’s vision for Gaza is not feasible, but regardless of the reality, Mr. Netanyahu has come out with no sign of being pressured by Mr. Trump, or of any daylight between them. His government is intact, for now.
An Israeli official who briefed Israeli political reporters in Washington after the Netanyahu-Trump meeting said it was now clear to Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition partners that bringing down his right-wing government with Mr. Trump as president would be irresponsible and foil “historic” opportunities in the coming years.
Relatives of the hostages warn that they do not have time.
“I live in daily fear,” said Alon Nimrodi, the father of Tamir Nimrodi, an Israeli soldier who is slated to be released only under a second phase of the deal.
Mr. Trump’s vision for Gaza was not a bad one, Mr. Nimrodi said. “But this is not the time to talk about it,” he said. Plans for Gaza should wait till “after the hostages are out,” he said.
Shops and schools shut in northern Israel as residents protested a 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon that took effect on April 16, saying “nothing was achieved”. Israeli officials say operations may continue, with forces still deployed inside southern Lebanon.
Published On 19 Apr 2026
World
Pope Leo says remarks about world being ‘ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ were not aimed at Trump: report
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that remarks he made this week in which he said the “world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants” were not directed at President Donald Trump, a report said.
The pope, speaking onboard a flight to Angola during his 10-day tour of Africa, said reporting about his comments “has not been accurate in all its aspects” and his speech “was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting,” according to Reuters.
The news outlet cited the pope as saying his comments were not aimed at Trump.
“As it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate the president, which is not in my interest at all,” the pope reportedly said.
’60 MINUTES’ ACCUSED OF USING LEFT-LEANING CARDINALS TO BAIT TRUMP INTO FEUD WITH VATICAN
Pope Leo XIV answers journalists’ questions during his flight from Yaoundé, Cameroon, to Luanda, Angola, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Luca Zennaro/Pool Photo via AP)
Vice President JD Vance later took to X to thank the pope for clearing the record.
“While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict — and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen — the reality is often much more complicated,” Vance wrote. “Pope Leo preaches the gospel, as he should, and that will inevitably mean he offers his opinions on the moral issues of the day.
“The President — and the entire administration — work to apply those moral principles in a messy world,” he continued. “He will be in our prayers, and I hope that we’ll be in his.”
The vice president’s comments came days after he told Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report” that it would be best for the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality.”
“Let the President of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance said Tuesday.
Trump last Sunday accused Pope Leo XIV of being “terrible” on foreign policy after the pontiff criticized the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
“He talks about ‘fear’ of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
POPE LEO SLAMS THOSE WHO ‘MANIPULATE RELIGION’ FOR MILITARY OR POLITICAL GAIN, TRUMP RESPONDS
Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump (Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images; Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
During a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, the pope said, “We must make a decisive change of course — a true conversion — that will lead us in the opposite direction, onto a sustainable path rich in human fraternity.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.
Pope Leo XIV speaks as he meets with the community of Bamenda at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda on the fourth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa April 16, 2026. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Bulgarians headed to the polls Sunday for the eighth time in five years, with anti-corruption candidate and former president Rumen Radev’s bloc tipped to win.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The European Union’s poorest member has been through a spate of governments since 2021, when large anti-graft rallies brought an end to the conservative government of long-time leader Boyko Borissov.
Eurostat data shows Bulgaria consistently ranks last in the EU by GDP per capita. In 2025, Bulgaria (along with Greece) was at 68% of the EU average.
Radev, who has advocated for renewing ties with Russia and opposes military aid to Ukraine, was president for nine years in the Balkan nation of 6.5 million people.
He stepped down in January to lead newly formed centre-left grouping Progressive Bulgaria, with opinion polls before Sunday’s vote suggesting the bloc could gain 35% of the vote.
The former air force general has said he wants to rid the country of its “oligarchic governance model”, and backed anti-corruption protests in late 2025 that brought down the latest conservative-backed government.
“I’m voting for change,” Decho Kostadinov, 57, told reporters after casting his ballot at a polling station in the capital, Sofia, adding corrupt politicians “should leave — they should take whatever they’ve stolen and get out of Bulgaria”.
Polls are forecasting a surge in voter participation, with more than 3.3 million Bulgarians expected to cast ballots according to the Bulgarian News Agency.
Voting will close at 1700 GMT, with exit polls expected immediately afterwards. Preliminary results are expected on Monday.
‘Preserve what we have’
Borissov’s pro-European GERB party is likely to come second, according to opinion polls, with around 20%, ahead of the liberal PP-DB.
“I’m voting to preserve what we have. We are a democratic country, we live well,” said Elena, an accountant of about 60, who did not give her full name, after casting her vote in Sofia.
Front-runner Radev has slammed the EU’s green energy policy, which he considers naive “in a world without rules”.
He also opposes any Bulgarian efforts to send arms to help Ukraine fight back Russia’s 2022 invasion, though he has said he would not use his country’s veto to block Brussels’ decisions.
Pushing for renewed ties with Russia, Radev denounced a 10-year defence agreement between Bulgaria and Ukraine signed last month – drawing fresh accusations from opponents of being too soft on Moscow.
The ex-president also stoked outrage online for screening images at his final campaign rally of his meetings with world leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
“We need to close ranks,” he told around 10,000 cheering supporters at the rally, presenting his party as a non-corrupt “alternative to the perverse cartel of old-style parties”.
Borissov, who headed the country virtually uninterrupted for close to a decade, has dismissed suggestions that Radev brings something “new”.
At a rally of his party earlier this week, he insisted GERB had “fulfilled the dreams of the 1990s” with such achievements as the country joining the eurozone this year.
‘No one to vote for’
Radev is aiming for an absolute majority in the 240-seat parliament.
A lack of trust in politics has affected voter turnout, which slumped to 39% in the last election in 2024.
But with Radev rallying voters, high turnout is expected this time, according to analyst Boryana Dimitrova from the Alpha Research polling institute.
Miglena Boyadjieva, a taxi driver of about 55, said she always votes, but the “problem is that there is no one to vote for”.
“You vote for one person and get others. The system has to change,” she told reporters.
Political parties have called on Bulgarians to show up for the polls, also to curb the impact of vote buying.
In recent weeks, police have seized more than one million euros in raids against vote buying in stepped-up operations.
They have also detained hundreds of people, including local councillors and mayors.
-
Health6 minutes agoExperts reveal why ‘nonnamaxxing’ trend may improve mental, physical health
-
Sports12 minutes ago‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
-
Technology18 minutes agoiPhone and Samsung flashlight tricks you should know
-
Business24 minutes agoDavid Ellison hits CinemaCon, vowing to make more movies with Paramount-Warner Bros.
-
Entertainment30 minutes agoLarry David discusses ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ ‘Seinfeld’ legacies and new HBO series
-
Lifestyle35 minutes agoNine non-negotiable items for a well-designed life
-
Politics42 minutes agoSupreme Court weighs phone searches to find criminals amid complaints of ‘digital dragnets’
-
Sports54 minutes agoRyan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies