What We're Watching

Palestinian factions near deal to govern Gaza

​Supporters of Hamas wave their green flags during a celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the founding of Hamas in Gaza City in December 2022.
Supporters of Hamas wave their green flags during a celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the founding of Hamas in Gaza City in December 2022.
Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters
Fatah and Hamas are reportedly close to a deal on a post-war government for Gaza, marking a potential end to Hamas’ 17-year rule. The agreement would establish a committee of 12-15 politically unaligned technocrats with authority over issues of the economy, education, health, humanitarian aid, and reconstruction.

Following talks in Cairo brokered by Egypt, the two rival factions agreed the committee would also administer the Palestinian side of the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt. The proposal was submitted to the Palestinian authority in the West Bank for approval on Tuesday.

Would Israel and the US accept the deal? Israel insists it must dismantle Hamas to ensure the security of the Jewish state – which could make the deal a nonstarter. Washington supports a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza and the West Bank.

Meanwhile in Lebanon, Israelvowed to “penetrate deeper” into Lebanese territory if the tenuous ceasefire between the two nations collapses. On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a strategic partnership designed to strengthen bilateral ties and jointly called for Lebanon to hold long-delayed presidential elections.

More For You

People gather outside the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport to decry President Trump's travel ban on 19 countries which went into effect this morning.

5: US President Donald Trump added five new countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria – to the list of nations banned from traveling to the US.

US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pose for a family photo amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on August 18, 2025.
REUTERS/Alexander Drago

With the release of its National Security Strategy, the Trump administration has telegraphed how the US intends to engage with allies, and what it expects from them.