Latest Brett McGurk News

Middle East latest: 7 people killed in Israel by rocket fire from Lebanon

Oct. 31, 2024 23:43 PM EDT

A series of rocket barrages from Lebanon struck northern Israel on Thursday, killing a total of seven people, including four Thai workers. The attacks marked the deadliest strikes to hit Israel since its military invaded southern Lebanon at the beginning of October. The Israeli...

A new push to wind down the Middle East wars faces familiar challenges

Oct. 30, 2024 16:55 PM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States and other mediators are ramping up efforts to halt the wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, circulating new proposals to wind down the regional conflict during the Biden administration’s final months. Negotiations on both fronts have been stalled...

Biden, Cyprus president discuss administration push to win cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon

Oct. 30, 2024 15:22 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday discussed a new effort by the U.S. administration and mediators in the Middle East to forge cease-fires to end fighting in Lebanon and Gaza. Christodoulides leads the European Union...

Biden adviser meets with Qatari leaders to discuss Israel-Hamas negotiations

Aug. 27, 2024 22:00 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser on Tuesday held talks in Doha with senior Qatari leaders on the efforts to complete a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, as well as on the Qatari prime minister's meeting this week with Iran’s president,...

Israel-Hamas war latest: Israeli forces rescue a hostage in Gaza

Aug. 27, 2024 21:50 PM EDT

Israeli forces conducted a “complex operation” to free a hostage in Gaza, the military said Tuesday. Qaid Farhan Alkadi was abducted during the October attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza. Overjoyed family members sprinted through the hospital where he was brought after...

Israeli airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza on the eve of high-level cease-fire talks in Egypt

Aug. 24, 2024 16:07 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt. Eleven members of a family, including two children, were...

White House insists it is making progress on Gaza cease-fire as talks continue over the weekend

Aug. 23, 2024 18:34 PM EDT

BUELLTON, Calif. (AP) — The White House said Friday that cease-fire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend as the U.S. and Mideast allies continue to press Israel and Hamas to forge an agreement. CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a...

Israel-Hamas war latest: Israel's evacuation orders have displaced 90% of Gaza residents, UN says

Aug. 23, 2024 16:24 PM EDT

Successive Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza have displaced 90% of its 2.1 million residents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the top U.N. humanitarian official for the Palestinian territory says. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris says she and President Joe Biden are...