International

Israel will send a delegation to Doha on Tuesday to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave instructions to send a negotiating delegation to Doha on Tuesday in view of indirect talks with Hamas in search of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the president’s office reported after he met with the White House envoy in the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

“In his meeting with the envoy Witkoff and the (US) ambassador to Israel, Mike) Huckabee, the prime minister discussed the last effort to implement the scheme for the release of hostages presented by Witkoff, before the escalation of the fighting” in Gaza, says the text of the Netanyahu Office.

In the statement, Netanyahu emphasizes that it is the last effort to promote Witkoff’s proposal, which Israel defends from the beginning (to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, instead of moving towards the second, as stipulated in the original agreement), “before the escalation of the fighting”.

The threat comes at the gates of Israel expanding its operations in Gaza, with the intention of occupying more and more land in this Palestinian territory and for which it is mobilizing thousands of reservist soldiers.

“The prime minister clarified that the negotiations will only take place under fire,” the statement added in this regard. Already on Sunday night, Netanyahu’s Office warned that all negotiations for the truce will take place while his Army maintains the fighting in the devastated Gaza Strip.

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Witkoff’s proposal promulgated an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire of weeks during which about half of the remaining live hostages in Gaza would be released (24, according to the Israeli authorities, who in recent days acknowledged not to be sure of the state of three of them).

The Israeli president met with Witkoff and Huckabee on the first arrival in Israel on the occasion of the release of the captive soldier with American and Israeli nationality, Edan Alexander, announced last night by Hamas as the result of its indirect conversations with the Donald Trump Administration in the United States.

Alexander, whose release is expected for Monday afternoon, is the only hostage with American nationality left alive in Gaza, the Palestinian militias keeping the bodies of the remaining four.

His exit from Gaza was presented as a gesture by Hamas, without apparent compensation, with the aim of promoting dialogue for the ceasefire in the Strip.

Netanyahu spoke after the meeting with Trump, whom he thanked “for his help in the release of Army soldier Edan Alexander.”

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The statement from the Netanyahu Office states that the US president, for his part, reiterated his commitment to Israel and “his desire to continue cooperating closely with the prime minister.”

The call between the United States tycoon and the Israeli leader also occurs at the gates of Trump’s first Middle East tour of this presidency, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.