Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

Updates: Hamas-Israel ceasefire holds

  • UN must continue despite ‘Board of Peace’ plan: Trump
  • Palestinian girl reunites with father after year in detention
  • Gaza students continue medical training amid ruins
  • Bahrain joins Trump’s Gaza Peace Board
  • Thursday Jan 22 2026 | 12:55 AM

    Italy hesitates on Peace Board, seeks constitutional clarity

    By: Reuters

    Italy needs more time to decide whether to join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" because parts of its statute appear incompatible with the constitution, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday.

    "This does not allow us to sign tomorrow for sure, but we need more time. There is work that needs to be done. However, my position certainly remains one of openness," Meloni told state broadcaster RAI.

    Earlier on Wednesday, daily Corriere della Sera said Italy would not take part, citing concerns that joining a body led by a single foreign leader would breach constitutional rules requiring Rome to engage only in organisations where it enjoys equal terms with other states.

    Diplomats have also warned the project could undermine the role of the United Nations. "There is a doubt about this, a doubt that I’ve read about," Meloni said.

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 09:31 PM

    Trump says Hamas must give up weapons or be 'blown away'

    By: Reuters

    US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it should be known within three weeks whether Hamas will agree to give up its weapons, and threatened action if the group does not.

    "That's what they agreed to. They've got to do it. And we're going to know ... over the next two or three days — certainly over the next three weeks — whether or not they're going to do it," Trump said in a question and answer session following his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

    "If they don't do it, they'll be blown away very quickly. They'll be blown away."

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 08:57 PM

    Pope Leo invited to join Trump's 'Board of Peace', says cardinal

    By: Reuters

    Pope Leo is among world leaders invited to join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomatic official, said on Wednesday.

    Leo, the first US pope and a critic of some of Trump's policies, is evaluating the invitation, he said.

    "The pope has received an invitation and we are considering what to do," Parolin told journalists. "I believe it will be something that requires a bit of time for consideration before giving a response."

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 06:38 PM

    Israeli fire kills 11, including journalists, say Gaza health officials

    By: Reuters

    Israeli fire killed 11 Palestinians, including two boys and three journalists, in Gaza on Wednesday, said local medics.

    In the latest violence disrupting a brittle, three-month-old ceasefire, Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian journalists travelling in a car in the central Gaza Strip.

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 06:25 PM

    Pakistan joins Trump's peace board for 'lasting peace' in Gaza

    By: Web Desk

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace (BoP), the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday, as Islamabad aims to contribute to stability in Gaza.

    The decision has been taken as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to support the implementation of the Gaza Peace Plan under the framework of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, the statement issued by the FO.

    Read complete story here.

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 04:26 PM

    Israeli fire kills 11, including journalists

    By: Reuters

    Israeli fire killed 11 Palestinians, including two boys and three journalists, in Gaza on Wednesday, local medics said, and the Israeli military said it had "eliminated" a Palestinian militant who posed a threat to soldiers.

    In the latest violence disrupting a brittle, three-month-old ceasefire, Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian journalists travelling in a car in the central Gaza Strip.

    The three were on an assignment sponsored by the Egyptian Committee, which supervises Egypt's relief work in Gaza, to film tent encampments built by Egypt for displaced Palestinians, other local journalists told Reuters.

    An Egyptian security source confirmed the vehicle belonged to the committee but gave no further details. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Israel and Hamas have traded blame for multiple breaches of the October truce after two years of war that devastated Gaza and caused a humanitarian disaster, and remain at odds over the next steps in U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 12:38 PM

    Israel's Netanyahu accepts Trump invitation to join 'Board of Peace': statement

    By: AFP

    Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", Netanyahu's office said Wednesday.

    "Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he has accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation and will join as a member of the Board of Peace, which will be composed of leaders of the world," the office said in a statement.

    The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of post-war Gaza, but its charter, as seen by AFP, does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory, and members have to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on it.

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 05:23 AM

    UN must continue despite ‘Board of Peace’ plan: Trump

    By: Reuters

    US President Donald Trump said "you got to let the UN continue" when asked about his plans for a so-called "Board of Peace" that has alarmed international experts.

    Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump's invitation to join that initiative that the US president says aims to resolve conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.

    "Might," Trump said when asked by a reporter if he wanted the "Board of Peace to replace the UN."

    "The UN just hasn't been very helpful. I am a big fan of the UN potential but it has never lived up to its potential," Trump said in a briefing.

    "I believe you got to let the UN continue because the potential is so great," he added.

  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 04:34 AM

    WATCH: Palestinian girl reunites with father after year in detention

    By: Web Desk

    A Palestinian girl reunited with her father, Anas Jallamneh, after his year-long detention in the West Bank.



  • Wednesday Jan 21 2026 | 04:32 AM

    Gaza students continue medical training amid ruins

    By: Web Desk

    Despite devastation, Gaza’s medical students continue to achieve professional acumen through ACLS training led by Dr Anas Ali at Al-Shifa Hospital, keeping healthcare alive in the occupied territory.