Times of Israel

1 day ago | timesofisrael.com | Jacob Magid

Palestinian-American political activist Bishara Bahbah was the third-party mediator between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Hamas who succeeded in convincing the terror group to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday, four officials familiar with the matter confirmed to The Times of IsraelThe Times of Israel revealed the existence of the backchannel on Sunday, but did not disclose Bahbah’s identity, as he was not ready to go public at the time.

1 day ago | timesofisrael.com | Jacob Magid

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that it is his “dream” for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, before acknowledging that Riyadh will do so in its own time. “It’s my fervent hope, wish and even my dream that Saudi Arabia… will soon be joining the Abraham Accords,” Trump said in a foreign policy speech at an investment summit in Riyadh on the first day of his Middle East visit.

1 day ago | timesofisrael.com | Jacob Magid

Netanyahu reportedly says Israel will only accept a temporary truce that frees some of the hostages, unless Hamas agrees to disarm, in what increases chances for continued impasse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a call with coalition party chiefs on Monday, reportedly trying to assure them that Israel wasn’t going to agree to end the war before Hamas is defeated after he agreed to a request from the Trump administration to send a negotiating team to Doha in order to jumpstart...

2 days ago | timesofisrael.com | Aamer Madhani |Darlene Superville

WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump set out on a three-nation visit to the Middle East on Monday, a trip he had originally intended to use to focus on his efforts to press wealthy Gulf nations to pour billions in new investment into the United States. But now Trump finds himself navigating a series of geopolitical crises — and searching for glimmers of hope in the deep well of global turmoil — that are casting greater import on the first extended overseas trip of his second term.

2 days ago | timesofisrael.com | Nava Freiberg |Jacob Magid

Israel will send a delegation to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday to negotiate a hostage release and ceasefire deal to enable the release of the remaining Gaza captives, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday. The statement by the Prime Minister Office’s came shortly before the Hamas terror group released American-Israeli hostage soldier Edan Alexander, and US President Donald Trump embarked on his planned visit to the region.