JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump’s administration is working overtime to prevent a full-blown military escalation between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, and to cool rising tensions between the Jewish state and Syria.

President Trump is expected to announce that Israel and Hamas are moving to a second phase of his peace plan in early 2026, but there remains a host of challenges and unanswered questions for the

President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan is set to enter a new phase within weeks, but crucial pieces of the agreement remain undefined as Israel tightens its military grip on the battered enclave.

The remarks come as tensions escalate along Israel’s northern border with Syria.

Gazans in tents have been hit by heavy rain as failure to find last Israeli hostage risks derailing peace plan.

Trump’s plan demands full Palestinian demilitarization while imposing hardly any limitations on Israeli military power.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing.

The changes come as pressure mounts for Israel and Hamas to move into the second phase of the ceasefire plan that U.S. President Donald Trump brokered in October. Under the terms of the ceasefire, all living and dead hostages would be released before a second phase focused on Gaza’s postwar governance would be negotiated.

US President Donald Trump encouraged Israel to maintain a dialogue with Syria after a deadly military operation on the border further strained relations between the two nations.

EXCLUSIVE: United States Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz recently returned from a Middle East swing, touting the "amazing progress" in the implementation of President Donald Trump’s Israel–Gaza peace deal.

By Alexander Cornwell JERUSALEM, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the second phase of a U.S. plan to end the war in Gaza was close, but cautioned several key issues still needed to be resolved,

The initiative underscores the degree to which the Trump administration considers China’s near monopoly in rare earths — minerals that are critical to civilian and military applications — and dominance of other parts of the global supply chain, as a significant threat.