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US Steps Up Diplomacy After Gaza Truce Shaken
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
US envoys met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday aiming to corral Israel and Hamas to get the Gaza ceasefire plan back on track after an explosion of violence over the weekend that threatened to derail the week-old truce.
Israel and Hamas have both recommitted to the ceasefire plan brokered by US President Donald Trump since Sunday’s flare-up in which a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers prompted an Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
However, with even the first stages of the truce shaken by repeated flashes of violence, including on Monday, it was far from clear whether the US will be able to keep pressure on the two sides and maintain momentum to end the conflict.
The latest events reflected the stumbling blocks to keeping the long-sought ceasefire from unraveling and securing a lasting peace after two years of war in Gaza. Key questions of Hamas disarming, further Israeli troop pullbacks, and future governance of the Palestinian enclave remain unresolved.
TALKS ON NEXT PHASE OF CEASEFIRE PLAN
Trump, keeping pressure on both Hamas and Israel as he seeks to salvage the signature foreign policy achievement of the first year of his second term, said on Monday the US was taking many steps to maintain the ceasefire.
He told reporters the “Hamas situation” would be handled quickly but that he had not told Israel to “go in and take care of it.” He said that while Hamas was in violation of the agreement, he did not believe its leadership was responsible but that it was facing “some rebellion” in its ranks.
If Hamas leaders do not straighten it out, “we’re going to eradicate them if we have to,” Trump said at the White House. But he insisted that such actions would not involve US troops on the ground.
During their visit that began on Monday, the US envoys, Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, were expected to try to shore up the truce then start talks on the next, more difficult, phase of the 20-step plan.
US Vice President JD Vance was also due to visit Israel on Tuesday, with Netanyahu saying the pair would discuss regional challenges and opportunities.
High-level US diplomacy in the region, with talks also due later on Monday with Hamas in Egypt, underscored the priority Trump has placed on cementing the ceasefire after proclaiming last week the deal heralded “the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
On Monday, Palestinian medics said three more people had been killed by Israeli tank fire near the “yellow line” inside Gaza demarcating Israel’s initial military pullback from the main populated areas.
The Israeli military said forces had fired at militants who crossed that line, which it was started marking with concrete barriers and yellow poles about every 200 meters (219 yards).
Gaza City residents reported confusion over the line’s location due to the lack of a visible boundary.
HAMAS TO HAND OVER BODY OF ANOTHER HOSTAGE
Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Israel, aimed at discussions on the next phase of Trump’s complex ceasefire plan, was scheduled before Sunday’s flare-up in violence, according to US and Israeli sources.
Israel is unlikely to publicize any progress in the talks until the remains of more hostages are returned.
The Red Cross received the body of another hostage from Hamas on Monday and transferred it to the Israeli military, Netanyahu’s office said.
Israel believes Hamas could hand over up to five more bodies immediately. Other bodies among 15 still in Gaza may be hard to recover because of destruction in the enclave.
Egypt will host talks in Cairo on Monday with Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief, over ways to follow up on implementing the ceasefire, the group said in a statement.
A Palestinian official close to the talks said the group‘s delegation would discuss formation of a technocratic body to run Gaza without Hamas representation.
Hamas and other allied factions reject any foreign administration of Gaza, as envisaged in the Trump plan, and have so far resisted calls to lay down arms, which may complicate implementation of the deal.
RESIDENTS FEAR MORE OUTBREAKS OF VIOLENCE
Israel said it launched strikes across the enclave in response to a Palestinian attack that killed two soldiers operating inside the agreed deployment line in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Hamas’s armed wing said it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and had not been in contact with groups there since March.
Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist group, has detailed what it calls a series of violations by Israel that it says killed 46 people and stopped essential supplies from reaching the enclave.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said any Hamas terrorists in areas of Gaza still under Israeli control must leave immediately and anyone remaining beyond the yellow line would be targeted without warning.
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Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
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AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”
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Qatari PM Meets Iran’s Larijani in Tehran, Discusses Easing Regional Tensions
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met with top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in Tehran and reviewed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday in a statement.