Jared Kushner

Oct. 24 (UPI) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that diplomats will help American military officers monitor the cease-fire in Israel and Gaza.

Rubio is visiting Israel as part of a series of visits by American officials that have been in Israel this week.

While touring the new Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat Friday, Rubio made the comments.

“There’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns, but I think we have a lot of reason for healthy optimism about the progress that’s being made,” The New York Times reported that Rubio said.

Steven Fagin, ambassador to Yemen, will lead the effort at the center, the State Department said.

A reporter asked on Friday if Israel would need to apply for permission from the United States to resume fighting. “I wouldn’t phrase it that way,” Rubio responded, The Washington Post reported. “The bottom line is that there’s no nation on Earth that’s contributed more to help Israel and its security.”

Israelis have been increasingly alarmed at the United States’ presence in the cease-fire, wondering how much control America will have over Israel.

The United States is also committed to Israel’s long-term security, including ensuring that Hamas is demilitarized, Rubio said.

There is “no plan B,” he said. “It’s not just the United States. … Over two dozen countries signed onto this, including regional Arab countries … that there would be a demilitarized Gaza and that there would not be a Hamas with the capability to threaten Israel.”

On Thursday, a far-right faction in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, voted to annex the West Bank, drawing rebuke from President Donald Trump, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Trump, in an interview with Time Magazine, said that he would not allow it.

“We don’t think it’s going to happen,” Trump said. “Because I gave my word to the Arab countries. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”

Earlier this week, Vance arrived in Israel with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and investor Jared Kushner. They opened the CMCC in Israel, and Vance said the peace plan is “durable.”

Rubio said he plans to join Trump in Qatar to fly to Asia this weekend to attend leadership summits in Malaysia and South Korea, the Post reported. He said he also plans to visit Japan.

Oct. 20 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas remained in place after Israel carried out a series of deadly strikes in the south of the Palestinian enclave and the sides traded blame for clashes.

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening Trump said the agreement would hold and that “rebels” that he did not identify were responsible for alleged violations, not, Hamas.

“Either way, it’s going to be handled properly. It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly,” Trump added.

The Israeli military said it struck dozens of targets through Sunday evening in retaliation for Hamas’ alleged “anti-tank missile and gunfire” that killed two soldiers in Rafah. Sources from hospitals in Gaza told the BBC that at least 44 people had been killed. Aid deliveries were suspended.

Hamas denied all knowledge of the attack in Rafah and reiterated its commitment to the cease-fire. It accused Israel of violations, warning that the attacks were jeopardizing the truce.

Israel Defense Forces announced late Sunday that the operation was over and that it was resuming “enforcement of the cease-fire” and would permit aid to begin to flow again Monday, but warned that any violation of it would be met with a “firm response.”

This was the worst setback since the deal came into force Oct. 10 came as Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner were due to arrive in Israel on Monday to shore up the cease-fire and move the process forward. They were due to be joined by Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday.

The three were expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.

Before departing the United States, Kushner told CBS News that while the truce was fragile, he believed Hamas was acting in good faith to stick to the agreement and was “seriously looking for the bodies” of the 16 Israeli hostages it had promised to return but had yet to do so.

Vance also sought to explain the violence, saying some turbulence was normal in the early stages of any cease-fire. His schedule also includes meetings with hostage families and a visit to a humanitarian facility in Gaza.

“Hamas is going to fire on Israel. Israel’s going to have to respond, of course. There are going to be moments where you have people within Gaza that you’re [not] quite sure what they’re actually doing. But we think it has the best chance for sustainable peace,” he said.

Hamas, which has been struggling to recover the bodies of 28 hostages it agreed to hand back to Israel as part of the cease-fire deal, said Monday it had found the remains of a 13th hostage. Further details were as yet unavailable.

Oct. 8 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a peace deal and hostage/prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas is “very close,” and he might travel to the Middle East this weekend.

Earlier in the day, Trump’s lead negotiators, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, finished their first day of talks in Egypt with Israel, Hamas and other Arab partners, including Qatar, which has been a mediator.

Israel’s chief negotiator is Ron Dermer, who didn’t arrive at talks until Wednesday.

They are seeking to end the war that began in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, after the militant Hamas attacked Israel.

“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas. And it seems to be going well,” Trump said during a White House roundtable on Antifa, during which he was handed a note by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with the latest information. “I may go there sometime toward the end of the week. We’ll see, but there’s a very good chance that negotiations are going along very well.’

Trump said he might leave for the Middle East as early as Saturday from Washington, D.C.

“We haven’t decided exactly,” Trump said. “I’ll be going to Egypt. Most likely. That’s where everybody is gathered right now, and we appreciate that very much, but I’ll be making the rounds as the expression goes.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi invited Trump to attend the signing ceremony.

Final details were still being worked out in the Red Sea town of Sharm El-Sheikh.

“With God’s help, may we have a happy holiday with good news,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told those gathered to mark the Day of Georgian Jewry in Israel.

On Sept. 29, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a 20-point peace plan. On Friday, Hamas reacted positively to the plan.

Hamas would disarm and end control of Gaza. The area, which at one time had about 2.2 million Palestinians, would be governed temporarily by international trustees overseen by the U.S. and Arab allies. Hundreds of thousands have fled from the Gaza Strip and more than 67,000 have died, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Hamas has opposed the oversight committee led by Trump, called a “Board of Peace.”

On Monday, Trump said Hamas has “agreed to very important things” during the negotiations.

The plan calls for an exchange of hostages by Hamas and prisoners by Israel within 72 hours of an agreement.

In Gaza, Israel believes there are 20 live hostages and 28 dead.

“We are very close to an agreement. What’s still pending is the list of prisoners [to be] exchanged,” a Hamas official told CNN.

Rubio, who is also Trump’s national security adviser, has been in touch with the negotiators.

“We’re getting very positive reports, as of an hour ago,” Rubio said as he left the Senate Republican lunch at the Capitol. “I feel optimistic that we’re going to get to a deal, hopefully, that hostages will be released — all the hostages. There’s good progress being made. But it all begins with all the hostages coming home. And I think we have to be optimistic, but there’s still some work to be done.”

With a deal near, Rubio canceled a trip to France to meet with other foreign ministers.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is becoming “more and more catastrophic,” the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the area told CNN’s Lynda Kinkade.

President Donald Trump, right, asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately stop bombing Gaza to enable the immediate release of all living hostages after Hamas on Friday agreed to release all hostages, living and dead, and negotiate a lasting peace. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 3 (UPI) — Hamas leaders say they will release all hostages, living and dead, but need more than three days to do so, which prompted President Donald Trump to urge Israel to stop bombing Gaza.

Hamas said it wants to enter into negotiations to end the war in Gaza that started when Hamas and its allies attacked, killed and kidnapped Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Hamas leaders in a Friday night statement said they agreed to “release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal,” according to the BBC.

Its leaders said they will need more than 72 hours to arrange the release of an estimated 48 hostages, of which only 20 are thought to be living.

Hamas did not say it accepts the peace plan proposed by Trump and others, though.

The president set a deadline for Hamas to agree to the peace plan that was negotiated with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu or face “all hell, like no one has ever seen before,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The 20-point peace plan was written by Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The plan calls for an immediate end to fighting, the release within 72 hours of the 20 living hostages and the return of remains of those believed to be dead.

Hamas leaders said they are willing to “hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support,” as reported by NBC News.

After reviewing Hamas’ response, Trump said he believes the designated foreign terrorist organization is “ready for lasting peace,” The Times of Israel reported.

He also said it’s important for Israel to stop attacking Gaza to support the peace effort.

“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly!” the president said in a Truth Social post on Friday evening.

“Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that,” he added. “We are already in discussions on details to be worked out.”

Trump said ending the war is about more than Gaza and is aimed at bringing peace to the entire Middle East.

Sept. 29 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting Monday at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss a possible cease-fire in the war in Gaza.

Trump told NBC News he was optimistic about the outcome of the meeting and for the release of hostages held by Hamas.

“We’re doing very well. It looks like there is a really good chance for peace in the Middle East,” Trump told the outlet. “Everybody is on board. Everybody.”

One unnamed senior administration official who previously confirmed the meeting to Politico said that Trump believes Netanyahu is losing his hold on power.

“Bibi is on his own island,” one of the officials, using a nickname for Netanyahu, told Politico. “Not just from us, from his own government.”

Trump has a 21-point plan put together by son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and special Steve Witkoff. An unnamed source familiar with the plan told Politico it includes no annexation of the West Bank, an international trusteeship for Gaza, and an Arab and Muslim international security force.

Israel has been under growing pressure from the international community to end the war in Gaza, which has spurred famine and a humanitarian crisis among the Palestinians.

The leaders of several countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada and France, formally recognized an independent Palestine on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s general debate in New York City last week. During Netanyahu’s speech before the assembly, dozens of representatives stood up and left the General Assembly Hall in protest.

Sept. 29 (UPI) — Electronic Arts has been sold to private investors in the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in an all-cash deal worth $55 billion.

Stockholders will be paid $210 per share.

EA stock rose about 15% Friday, closing at $193.35, after the Wall Street Journal said the company was about to go private. This morning, the stock was at $202.80.

The all-cash purchase is valued at about $55 billion.

“The transaction positions EA to accelerate innovation and growth to build the future of entertainment,” a press release said.

“Electronic Arts ​is ​an ​extraordinary ​company with a ​world-class ​management ​team and a bold vision ​for ​the ​future. ​I’ve admired their ​ability to create iconic, lasting experiences, ​and ​as ​someone ​who ​grew up playing their ​games — and now enjoys them with his ​kids — I couldn’t be ​more ​excited about ​what’s ​ahead,” said Jared Kushner, Affinity Partners CEO and son-in-law of President Donald Trump, in a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, the consortium of investors will acquire EA, with PIF rolling over its existing 9.9% stake in the company. The $210 per share purchase price represents a 25% premium to EA’s unaffected share price of $168.32 at market close on Friday, the last fully unaffected trading day, and a premium to EA’s unaffected all-time high of $179.01 at market close on Aug. 14, the press release said.

EA will remain headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., and Andrew Wilson will stay on as CEO. The deal is set to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.

EA makes games such as Battlefield, The Sims and Madden NFL games. It will be the largest leveraged buyout in Wall Street history, CNBC reported

In a note to employees, Wilson said he is “excited to continue as CEO.”

“Our new partners bring deep experience across sports, gaming, and entertainment,” CNBC reported he wrote. “They are committed with conviction to EA — they believe in our people, our leadership, and the long-term vision we are now building together.”