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Wall Street stocks rebounded Monday from steep pre-weekend falls as US President Donald Trump softened his posture on China following earlier threats of large tariffs.European stock markets made modest gains while Asia’s leading stock markets began the week in the red as they caught up with Wall Street’s sharp losses Friday. Gold reached a fresh record …

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Donald Trump took a victory lap in the Middle East on Monday — though the ceasefire deal he was there to celebrate could be just the start of a long road towards lasting peace.In Israel the 79-year-old basked in a standing ovation from parliament, before travelling to Egypt for a Gaza summit where he was applauded by world leaders.”The prayers of millions have finally been answered,” Trump declared in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh with his counterparts lined up behind him. “At long last, we have peace in the Middle East.”The Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal he helped broker had put Trump in a notably good mood, as he joked with presidents and prime ministers in his usual close-to-the-bone style.”They have very little crime,” he said admiringly as he met co-host President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, whose country is regularly criticised for its rights record.”A lot of cash. Unlimited cash,” Trump said with a smile as he met United Arab Emirates Vice President and Manchester City football club owner Sheikh Mansour.  “Tough cookie,” he added of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has cracked down on critics.To Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni he was even more forthright: “She’s beautiful.”- ‘His triumph’ -In Israel, Trump’s curtain call was just as exuberant.He got a hero’s welcome from the Knesset, where lawmakers cheered and audience members wore red MAGA-style hats saying “Trump the Peace President”.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him the “greatest friend of Israel”. Two left-wing MPs briefly heckled Trump before being escorted out.Trump himself let no one forget that the deal is the high water mark so far of his turbulent second term in the White House.”I’ve been involved in a lot of success. I have never seen anything like what’s going on today,” the Republican said, adding that people were “dancing in the streets” about the deal.In a speech peppered with jokes that often veered off script, the former reality TV star even urged a pardon for Netanyahu over a corruption case, adding: “Cigars and some champagne — who the hell cares.”The rapturous reception on either side of the Sinai reflected the praise that the often-divisive Trump has received at home and abroad for the Gaza deal.Trump has been mocked for calling himself the “peacemaker-in-chief” while sending US troops into American cities. His dream of winning the Nobel Peace Prize has yet to come true.But given that every US president for the past 20 or more years has tried and failed to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Trump’s achievement is already remarkable.The cover of the latest Time Magazine carried a picture of Trump with the words: “His Triumph.”- ‘Old feuds’ -Even political opponents in the United States have hailed Trump’s role in the Gaza deal, which saw the release of all living hostages held by Hamas shortly before his arrival.Democratic former president Bill Clinton said in a statement Monday that Trump and his administration “deserve great credit for keeping everyone engaged until the agreement was reached”.Jake Sullivan, who as Democrat Joe Biden’s adviser on national security handled the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that “I give credit to President Trump”. “The question is, can we make sure this sticks as we go forward?” he added.After his victory lap in Israel and Egypt, Trump must now run a marathon.Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from devastated Gaza are key, unresolved issues that could yet torpedo a longer-term deal.Trump appeared to be keenly aware of that as he urged politicians across the Middle East to seize the opportunity provided by the ceasefire to achieve lasting peace.”We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us,” Trump said in Sharm El-Sheikh.The leaders all signed a declaration on Gaza and applauded Trump.But as he boarded Air Force One to leave the Middle East behind, the region is likely far from done with Trump.

The United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed a declaration on Monday at a summit on Gaza as the guarantors of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending two years of war.US President Donald Trump lauded the summit — which he co-chaired with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — as a “tremendous day” for the Middle East, while Sisi said the Gaza deal opened a “new era of peace and stability” for the region. Earlier on Monday, Trump gave a speech to Israel’s parliament following the return of 20 surviving hostages held by militants in Gaza. Israel freed nearly 2,000 mostly Palestinian detainees as part of the ceasefire agreement, with Hamas hailing their release as a “national milestone” in the Palestinian struggle.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war had reached 67,869, as it continued recovering the bodies of those killed during the war. The United Nations considers its figures to be reliable.Here are the latest developments:- Gaza summit -World leaders at a summit in Egypt signed a declaration as the guarantors of a Gaza deal aimed at ending the war.”Together we have achieved what everybody said was impossible. At long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” Trump said in a speech in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.”This is a tremendous day for the world, it’s a tremendous day for the Middle East,” he said in the presence of more than two dozen heads of state, government and international organisations. Sisi said the Gaza deal “opens a new era of peace and stability” for the region and marked a “historic day” that set the stage for a two-state solution.He added that his country would host a conference on the reconstruction of Gaza.After the Egyptian presidency initially announced Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected attendance, the Israeli leader said he was unable to go because the summit coincided with a Jewish holiday. Three sources told AFP Netanyahu was forced into the rapid diplomatic about-face as some leaders at the summit balked at the prospect of having to rub shoulders with him.Hamas was not represented at the gathering, though Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose movement rivals Hamas, did attend.- Hostage-prisoner exchange -As part of Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war, Hamas on Monday freed the last 20 surviving hostages it held after two years of captivity in Gaza.In exchange, Israel released 1,968 mostly Palestinian prisoners held in its jails, its prison service said.Hamas hailed the release, calling it “an achievement that marks a bright national milestone in our ongoing struggle for freedom and liberation”. Israel confirmed all 20 living hostages had returned to the country, with a series of posts on X that read: “Welcome home”.Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is also due to return the bodies of 27 hostages who died or were killed in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict. The bodies of four Israeli hostages were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas on Monday. Israel has said it does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned the same day.- Trump speech -Trump visited Israel on Monday, where lawmakers greeted him with a standing ovation as he entered the Knesset, with Netanyahu calling him the “greatest friend” Israel has ever had in the White House.In his speech to parliament, Trump called the hostages’ release an “incredible triumph for Israel and the world”, paying credit to mediators from Arab and Muslim nations for pressuring Hamas.He also urged Palestinians to “turn forever from the path of terror” following the failure of “jihadism and antisemitism”, and vowed that the United States would “never forget” Hamas’s October 7 attack.”For so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace,” he said.”Not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians and for many others, the long and painful nightmare is finally over.”- Hamas post-war role -While the ceasefire and initial releases were welcomed by Israelis, Palestinians and others around the world, the coming phases in Trump’s plan for Gaza are likely to prove more complicated to implement.A Hamas source close to the group’s negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.The source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the movement has “relinquished control of the Strip”, but stressed it “remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric”.Another Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier told AFP the militant group’s disarmament was “out of the question”.burs-amj/smw

Thousands of Palestinians erupted with joy in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Monday, as Red Cross buses brought back nearly 1,700 former prisoners.Some climbed the sides of the slowly-moving buses as they weaved their way through the dense crowds gathered at Nasser Hospital, to hug or kiss a loved one they recognised.”The greatest joy is seeing my whole family gathered to welcome me,” Yusef Afana, a 25-year-old released prisoner from north Gaza, told AFP. “I spent 10 months in prison — some of the hardest days I’ve ever lived. The pain in prison isn’t only physical; it’s pain in the soul,” he said, adding, like many of his comrades, that he hoped for all other prisoners in Israeli jails to be released soon.At Nasser Hospital, men in military fatigues and black balaclavas struggled to keep order as the prisoners wearing the Israel Prison Service’s grey jumpsuits came off the buses.Patriotic music blared on speakers, while Palestinian flags flew alongside those of Hamas or the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.- ‘Erase those memories’ -Shadi Abu Sidu, a 32-year-old from Gaza City’s Rimal neighbourhood, alleged that he and other prisoners were mistreated in jail.”Even right before our release, they continued to mistreat and humiliate us,” he told AFP.”But now, we hope to erase those painful memories and begin life anew.”Among the Palestinians released under a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal, about 1,700 were detained by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war, while 250 are security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis.Israel agreed to free them in exchange for the release of hostages held in Gaza, under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end a war that was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah too, a large crowd had gathered to greet another group of roughly 100 prisoners released under the deal.Some threw victory signs while others struggled to walk without assistance as they got off the bus and were met by a crowd cheering their return.”It’s an indescribable feeling, a new birth,” Mahdi Ramadan told AFP, flanked by his parents with whom he said he would spend his first evening out of jail. Nearby, relatives exchanged hugs, young men in tears pressed their foreheads against each other — some even fainting from the emotion of seeing loved ones again after years, and sometimes decades, in jail.- ‘Beautiful moment’ -Nour Soufan, now 27 years old, was due to meet his father Moussa, who was jailed a few months after his birth, outside of jail for the first time.Soufan and half a dozen relatives came to Ramallah from Nablus, in the north of the West Bank, and spent the night in their vehicle.”I have never seen my father, and this is the first time I will see him. This is a very beautiful moment,” Soufan said.Like him, many had defied the travel restrictions that punctuate daily life in the Palestinian territory, with Israeli army checkpoints proliferating in two years of war.Palestinian media reported on Sunday that families of detainees had been contacted by Israeli authorities, asking them not to organise mass celebrations.”No reception is allowed, no celebration is allowed, no gatherings,” said Alaa Bani Odeh, who came from the northern town of Tammun to find his 20-year-old son who had been jailed for four years.AFP spoke to several prisoners who said that in their first hours of freedom, they would go home and stay with family.During previous releases, mass gatherings had flooded entire streets in Ramallah, with people waving Palestinian flags as well as those of political factions including Hamas. – ‘Live my life’ -Many prisoners wore a black-and-white keffiyeh around their necks — the traditional scarf that has become synonymous with the Palestinian cause.Some of the newly released prisoners happily let themselves be carried away on relatives’ shoulders.”Prisoners live on hope… Coming home, to our land, is worth all the gold in the world,” said one freed detainee, Samer al-Halabiyeh.”God willing, peace will prevail, and the war on Gaza will stop,” Halabiyeh added. “Now I just want to live my life.”Journalists rushed to talk to the prisoners, but many declined to engage, sometimes explaining that, before their release, they were advised not to speak.

Freed Israeli hostages and their family and friends bounded into one another’s arms Monday, beaming and crying with joy at the end of the captives’ two-year ordeal in Gaza.Wrapped in blue and white Israeli flags, those returning waved and smiled as military helicopters landed them back in Israel, AFP reporters saw, after militants freed the remaining 20 living hostages from the Palestinian territory under a US-backed ceasefire deal.None of the hostages spoke directly to AFP immediately after their return, but videos filmed and released by the Israeli military captured some of the raw emotion of the reunions.”My life, you are my life… you are a hero,” cried Einav Zangauker as she embraced her smiling son Matan, in one video.”Love of your mother, bless you, bless you, my dear.”Eitan Mor’s father wailed in relief as he and the young man’s mother squeezed him tight, the footage showed.Other young hostages such as Bar Kuperstein and Yosef Haim Ohana waved from the windows of vans that brought them to the Sheba medical centre near Tel Aviv, as cheering crowds nearby raised Israeli flags.Freed Israeli-German twins Gali and Ziv Berman smiled and gave the thumbs-up, wearing the yellow and blue shirts of their favourite football team, Maccabi Tel Aviv.- Hostages’ families rejoice -In nearby Tel Aviv, hundreds of people erupted in joy, tears and song on Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square Monday as news of the releases broke.Many had come at sunrise, carrying pictures of the hostages and waving Israeli flags bearing a yellow ribbon, a symbol of the movement calling for their release.”It’s so exciting and overwhelming that it’s finally happening,” said Shelly Bar Nir, 34.”What we’ve been fighting for, for over two years — finally our hostages are coming home.”Another woman on the square, Noga, who wore a badge that read “Last day”, shared her pain and joy with AFP.”I’m torn between emotion and sadness for those who won’t be coming back,” she said.Hamas and its militant allies took 251 hostages into Gaza during the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.Many of them were released in earlier truces, but 47 people seized on October 7 remained in Gaza. Only 20 of them are alive.Since that day, Noga has worn a small badge each day, counting the days of their captivity.- ‘Welcome home’ -For the past two years, people have held frequent rallies and gatherings on this spot in Tel Aviv that has become known as Hostages Square.When the news broke that the first seven of the remaining hostages had been released on Monday, the square broke out in cheers and song.Israel later confirmed all living 20 hostages had returned to the country, with a series of posts on X that read: “Welcome home”.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main organisation representing their relatives, had called on people to gather at the site with the yellow ribbons.As the war in the Gaza Strip has dragged on, the ribbons became ubiquitous in public spaces in Israel, from roundabouts to car door handles and stroller grips.Israel did not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday. The families’ forum branded it “a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas”.”Our struggle is not over. It will not end until the last hostage is located and returned for proper burial,” the forum said in a statement.”Only then will the people of Israel be whole.”In exchange for the hostages, Israel is due to free nearly 2,000 prisoners held in its jails, most of them Gazans detained since the start of the war.

As Donald Trump savoured the cheers of Israeli lawmakers it was a moment of triumph for the US president — and as usual he made the most of it.The 79-year-old hailed a “historic dawn” for the Middle East and declared the end of a “painful nightmare” with the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal he helped broker.But Trump also let no one forget that the deal is the high watermark so far for his own turbulent second term in the White House.”I’ve been involved in a lot of success. I have never seen anything like what’s going on today,” the Republican said, adding that people were “dancing in the streets” about the deal.Trump got a hero’s welcome from the Israeli parliament, which gave him a long standing ovation, with some audience members even wearing red MAGA-style hats saying “Trump the Peace President”.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump the “greatest friend of Israel”.In typical style Trump did not miss the chance to bash his political rivals, including former president Joe Biden, while proclaiming the United States the “hottest country in the world”.In a speech peppered with jokes that often veered off script, the former reality TV star also gave shout-outs to his friends, family and allies for helping him broker the deal. He even urged a pardon for Netanyahu over a corruption case, adding: “Cigars and some champagne — who the hell cares.”- ‘His deal’ -The rapturous reception in Israel reflected the praise that the often divisive Trump has received at home and abroad for the Gaza deal.Trump has been mocked for calling himself the “peacemaker-in-chief ” while sending US troops into cities at home, while campaigning unsuccessfully for the Nobel Peace Prize.But given that every US president for the past 20 or more years has tried and failed to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Trump’s achievement is already remarkable.Even political opponents in the United States have hailed Trump’s role in the Gaza deal, which saw the release of all living hostages held by Hamas shortly before his arrival.”This was his deal. He worked this out,” Mark Kelly, the Democratic Senator for Arizona, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.Jake Sullivan, who as Democrat Biden’s adviser on national security handled the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, told the same program that “I give credit to President Trump”. He also praised Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was in the audience in the Knesset with Trump’s daughter Ivanka.”The question is, can we make sure this sticks as we go forward?” added Sullivan.- ‘Ultimate prize’ -After his victory lap in Israel, Trump now faces a marathon task to secure the legacy of a lasting peace in the Middle East.Trump appeared to be keenly aware of that as he used his speech to proclaim the dawn of a new regional order that could lead to long-term stability.He told the Knesset that Israel had “won all that they can through force of arms” and said it was now time “translate these victories… into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the Middle East”.But the path to peace is littered with obstacles — and Trump is not known for his attention to the fine print.Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory are all key, unresolved issues that could yet torpedo a longer-term deal.As he headed from Israel to Egypt, Trump will hope to make a start on those at the Gaza summit with around 20 world leaders in the resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.The US president jokingly admitted, however, that he may not have made the best of starts after he overstayed in Israel and kept the leaders waiting for some three hours.”I’ll be quite late. They might not be there by the time I get there,” he told the Knesset.

Donald Trump hailed an end to a “painful nightmare” in a speech to Israel’s parliament Monday, as the last surviving hostages returned home from Gaza and a group of Palestinian prisoners were freed under a ceasefire deal he spearheaded.The US president’s lightning visit came ahead of a summit on Gaza in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, with Trump departing Israel just hours after he had arrived.”From October 7 until this week, Israel has been a nation at war, enduring burdens that only a proud and faithful people could withstand,” Trump told Israeli lawmakers, who gave a lengthy standing ovation upon his arrival.”For so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace,” he continued. “Not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians and for many others, the long and painful nightmare is finally over.”Israel said the last 20 surviving hostages returned home on Monday after two years in captivity in Gaza, part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas that Trump had helped to broker.In Tel Aviv, a huge crowd that had gathered to support hostage families erupted in joy, tears and song as news broke of the first releases, though the pain at the loss of those who had not survived was palpable.Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is due to release nearly 2,000 prisoners held in its jails.In the Palestinian city of Ramallah, huge crowds gathered to welcome home the first buses carrying prisoners, with some chanting “Allahu akbar”, or God is the greatest, in celebration.- ‘Emotion and sadness’ -“Welcome home,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of the hostages.On Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Noga shared her pain and joy.”I’m torn between emotion and sadness for those who won’t be coming back,” she said.Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is also due to return the bodies of 27 hostages who died or were killed in captivity, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 during a previous Gaza conflict. Israel has said it does not expect all of the dead hostages to be returned on Monday.Among those Israel was due to release in exchange are 250 security detainees, including many convicted of killing Israelis, while about 1,700 were taken into custody by the Israeli army in Gaza during the war.On October 7, 2023, militants seized 251 hostages during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel, which led to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians.All but 47 of those hostages were freed in earlier truces, with the families of those who have remained in captivity leading lives of constant pain and worry for their loved ones.- ‘A new birth’ -In Gaza, too, the ceasefire has brought relief, but with much of the territory flattened by war, the road to recovery remains long.In the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, meanwhile, Palestinian prisoners released by Israel were met by a cheering crowd so dense that they struggled to get off the bus that delivered them from jail.”It’s an indescribable feeling, a new birth,” Mahdi Ramadan, newly released, told AFP flanked by his parents, with whom he said he would spend his first evening out of prison. Trump’s visit to the Middle East aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week’s ceasefire and hostage release deal — but comes at a precarious time as Israel and Hamas negotiate what comes next.Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the “very special” visit, Trump brushed off concerns about whether the ceasefire would endure.”I think it’s going to hold,” he said of the ceasefire. Trump announced in late September a 20-point plan for Gaza, which helped bring about the ceasefire.In Egypt, Trump and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will co-host a summit of world leaders to back his plan to end the Gaza war and promote Middle East peace.While Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is due at the summit, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli premier will not attend due to the start of a religious holiday.- ‘Guarantees’ -At the gathering, Trump will be looking to resolve some of the uncertainty around the next phases of the peace plan — including Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s failure to pledge a full withdrawal from the devastated territory.Trump insisted he had “guarantees” from both sides and other key regional players about the initial phase of the deal, and the future stages.A new governing body for devastated Gaza — which Trump himself would head under his own plan — would be established “very quickly”, he added.Under the plan, as Israel conducts a partial withdrawal from Gaza, it will be replaced by a multi-national force coordinated by a US-led command centre in Israel.Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem on Monday urged Trump and the mediators of the Gaza deal to “continue monitoring Israel’s conduct and to ensure it does not resume its aggression against our people”.Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,869 people, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers credible.The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.