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Trump says Hamas should free all hostages by midday Saturday or ‘let hell break out’

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s statement that Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza was “irresponsible.”

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.”

Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters reported.

But in a wide-ranging session with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed frustration with the condition of the last group of hostages freed by Hamas and by the announcement by the militant group that it would halt further releases.

“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out. I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday,” Trump said.

He said he wanted the hostages released en masse, instead of a few at a time. “We want ’em all back.”

Trump also said he might withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt if they don’t take Palestinian refugees being relocated from Gaza. He is to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday.

The comments came on a day of some confusion over Trump’s proposal for a U.S. takeover of Gaza once the fighting stops.

He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to the Gaza Strip under his proposal to redevelop the enclave, contradicting his own officials who had suggested Gazans would only be relocated temporarily, read the report.

In an excerpt of an interview with Fox News channel’s Bret Baier broadcast on Monday, Trump added that he thought he could make a deal with Jordan and Egypt to take the displaced Palestinians, saying the U.S. gives the two countries “billions and billions of dollars a year.”

Asked if Palestinians would have the right to return to Gaza, Trump said: “No, they wouldn’t because they’re going to have much better housing.”

“I’m talking about building a permanent place for them,” he said, adding it would take years for Gaza to be habitable again.

In a shock announcement on Feb. 4 after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, Trump proposed resettling Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinians and the U.S. taking control of the seaside enclave, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Trump’s suggestion of Palestinian displacement has been repeatedly rejected by Gaza residents and Arab states, and labeled by rights advocates and the United Nations as a proposal of ethnic cleansing.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s statement that Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza was “irresponsible.”

“We affirm that such plans are capable of igniting the region,” he told Reuters on Monday.

Netanyahu, who praised the proposal, suggested Palestinians would be allowed to return. “They can leave, they can then come back, they can relocate and come back. But you have to rebuild Gaza,” he said the day after Trump’s announcement, Reuters reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will depart later this week for his first visit to the Middle East in the office, said on Thursday that Palestinians would have to “live somewhere else in the interim,” during reconstruction, although he declined to explicitly rule out their permanent displacement.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the disparity between Rubio and Trump’s most recent remarks on the plan.

Trump’s comments come as a fragile ceasefire reached last month between Israel and Hamas is at risk of collapse after Hamas announced on Monday it would stop releasing Israeli hostages over alleged Israeli violations of the agreement.

Israel’s Arab neighbors, including Egypt and Jordan, have said any plan to transfer Palestinians from their land would destabilize the region, read the report.

Rubio met Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Washington on Monday. Egypt’s foreign ministry said Abdelatty told Rubio that Arab countries support Palestinians in rejecting Trump’s plan. Cairo fears Palestinians could be forced across Egypt’s border with Gaza.

Trump said in the Fox News interview that between two and six communities could be built for the Palestinians “a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is.”

“I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent,” he said.

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Mosque blast in northeastern Nigeria kills five, injures dozens

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At least five people were killed and more than 30 others injured when a bomb exploded inside a mosque during prayers in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, police said Wednesday night.

Authorities believe the blast was a suicide attack, citing recovered fragments of a suspected explosive vest. Security forces have cordoned off the area and are searching for additional devices.

No group has claimed responsibility, though such attacks have previously been linked to Boko Haram, which has waged a long-running insurgency in the region.

 
 
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Libyan army’s chief dies in plane crash in Turkey

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the crash was under way.

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The Libyan army’s chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, died in a plane crash on Tuesday after leaving Turkey’s capital Ankara, the prime minister of Libya’s internationally recognised government said, adding that four others were on the jet as well, Reuters reported.

“This followed a tragic and painful incident while they were returning from an official trip from the Turkish city of Ankara. This grave loss is a great loss for the nation, for the military institution, and for all the people,” Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said in a statement.

He said the commander of Libya’s ground forces, the director of its military manufacturing authority, an adviser to the chief of staff, and a photographer from the chief of staff’s office were also on the aircraft.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media platform X that the plane had taken off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at 1710 GMT en route to Tripoli, and that radio contact was lost at 1752 GMT. He said authorities found the plane’s wreckage near the Kesikkavak village in Ankara’s Haymana district.

He added that the Dassault Falcon 50-type jet had made a request for an emergency landing while over Haymana, but that no contact was established.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the crash was under way.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity said in a statement that the prime minister directed the defence minister to send an official delegation to Ankara to follow up on proceedings.

Walid Ellafi, state minister of political affairs and communication for the GNU, told broadcaster Libya Alahrar that it was not clear when a crash report would be ready, but that the jet was a leased Maltese aircraft. He added that officials did not have “sufficient information regarding its ownership or technical history,” but said this would be investigated.

Libya’s U.N.-recognised Government of National Unity announced official mourning across the country for three days, read the report.

Turkey’s defence ministry had announced Haddad’s visit earlier, saying he had met with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, along with other Turkish military commanders.

The crash occurred a day after Turkey’s parliament passed a decision to extend the mandate of Turkish soldiers’ deployment in Libya by two more years.

NATO member Turkey has militarily and politically supported Libya’s Tripoli-based, internationally recognised government. In 2020, it sent military personnel there to train and support its government and later reached a maritime demarcation accord, which has been disputed by Egypt and Greece.

In 2022, Ankara and Tripoli also signed a preliminary accord on energy exploration, which Egypt and Greece also oppose, Reuters reported.

However, Turkey has recently switched course under its “One Libya” policy, ramping up contacts with Libya’s eastern faction as well.

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Trump administration recalls dozens of diplomats in ‘America First’ push

The State Department declined to name those affected, with a senior official calling the recalls a routine step for new administrations.

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The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 U.S. ambassadors and senior career diplomats to ensure embassies align with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, a move critics say could weaken U.S. credibility abroad.

The State Department declined to name those affected, with a senior official calling the recalls a routine step for new administrations. The official said ambassadors are the president’s representatives and must advance his policy priorities.

However, officials familiar with the matter said the recalls largely affect career Foreign Service officers posted to smaller countries, where ambassadors are traditionally non-partisan. Those ordered back to Washington were encouraged to seek other roles within the State Department.

The American Foreign Service Association said some diplomats were notified by phone without explanation, calling the process “highly irregular” and warning that such actions risk harming morale and U.S. effectiveness overseas. The State Department did not respond to the criticism.

The move, first reported by Politico, comes as Trump seeks to place loyalists in senior roles during his second term, after facing resistance from the foreign policy establishment in his first.

Democrats have criticised the decision, noting that around 80 ambassadorial posts remain vacant. Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the recalls undermine U.S. leadership and benefit rivals such as China and Russia.

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