Latest Antony Blinken News
Blinken tells AP he's worried Trump administration may abandon key Biden foreign policy initiatives
WASHINGTON (AP) — Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken told The Associated Press that he hopes the incoming Trump administration will press forward with key points in President Joe Biden’s foreign policy, including on the Middle East and Ukraine. But in an wide-ranging...
Canadian foreign minister warns of 'Trump tariff tax' on Americans as threat of 25% tariff looms
TORONTO (AP) — Canada's foreign minister on Friday warned Americans they will be paying a “Trump tariff tax” if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with a threat to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said that Canada is ready to...
Middle East latest: Netanyahu says deal to return hostages from Gaza reached after last snags
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached. The announcement came a day after Netanyahu’s office said there were last minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of...
Blinken defends US policy on Gaza as his final State Department briefing is interrupted by protests
WASHINGTON (AP) — Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday defended Biden administration policies on Israel’s war with Hamas after a ceasefire agreement in Gaza was reached, facing protests that interrupted his final news conference at the State Department. He said...
What does the ceasefire agreement mean for Israel, Hamas and the wider Middle East?
Mediators said Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause the fighting in Gaza starting Sunday after 15 months of war and to begin exchanging dozens of hostages held there for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had yet to confirm on Tuesday that...
Middle East latest: Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 17, medics say, as Hamas accepts a ceasefire draft
Israeli airstrikes on homes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 17 Palestinians, health officials said Tuesday. Earlier strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well. ...
Hamas OKs draft agreement of a Gaza ceasefire and the release of some hostages, officials say
CAIRO (AP) — Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediators from the United States and Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the closest point yet to...
Blinken makes the case for post-war reconstruction, security and governance of Gaza
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a last-minute case Tuesday for a plan for the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears tantalizingly close to completion. Blinken touted the proposal, which has been in...
Middle East latest: Gaza ceasefire talks press on in Qatar
Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer to a phased ceasefire agreement, officials said Monday. However, a deal hasn't been reached yet and there are a number of obstacles that could still scupper the talks in Qatar. Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when...
Biden and Netanyahu discuss the latest in the effort to reach an Israel-Hamas war ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke Sunday about efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, a sign of the intensifying push to reach a deal before Donald Trump’s inauguration next week....
