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Israel threatened Tuesday to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.Under the terms of the truce, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was “committed to the ceasefire”.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that “hell” would break loose if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by Saturday.The president proposed taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million residents.”If all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock… I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said.He reaffirmed his deadline while hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday.King Abdullah said on social media he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians”, adding it was “the unified Arab position”.Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s remark “further complicates matters”.”Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties,” he told AFP.Egypt, a US ally which borders Gaza, said Tuesday it plans to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Palestinian territory which ensures residents remain on their land.- ‘Gates of hell’ – Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and “avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza”.Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have attacked Israel throughout the war in support of the Palestinians, said they were “ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza”.Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to “open the gates of hell” if Israel doesn’t get back “all the hostages… by Saturday”.The far-right politician demanded the “full occupation of the Gaza Strip” and an end to all humanitarian aid.The Israeli military said it has reinforced its troops, while hostage families rallied outside Netanyahu’s office in support of the ceasefire.”There is a deal. Go for it!” said Zahiro, whose uncle Avraham Munder died in captivity.In Gaza, resident Adnan Qassem was praying “the ceasefire holds”.”The ruling faction in Israel wants war, and I believe there is also a faction within Hamas that wants war,” said the 60-year-old from Deir el-Balah.- ‘Humanitarian catastrophe’ -Trump’s latest threat came hours after Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the hostage release scheduled for Saturday was postponed.It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans at the weekend.But the group said “the door remains open” for the release to go ahead “once the occupation complies”.The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,219 people in the territory, figures the UN considers reliable.A UN report issued on Tuesday said that more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the devastated territory.

When President Donald Trump froze nearly all US foreign aid, Cambodia was forced to suspend workers removing dangerous mines from the country  — until China stepped in with the necessary funding.In the Cook Islands, traditionally bound to New Zealand and friendly with the United States, the prime minister has announced plans to head to Beijing to sign a cooperation deal.Successive US administrations have vowed to wage a global competition with China, described as the only potential rival for global leadership.But as seen in Cambodia and the Cook Islands, two small but strategic countries, the United States has effectively ceded one of its main levers of influence.The dramatic shift by Trump — following the advice of billionaire advisor Elon Musk — has put nearly the entire workforce on leave at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), marking the end of a key decades-old effort by the United States to exercise “soft power” — the ability of a country to persuade others through its attractiveness.Trump has unapologetically turned instead to hard power, wielding tariffs against friends and foes and threatening military force to get his way, even against NATO ally Denmark over Greenland.When John F. Kennedy created USAID, he pointed to the success of the Marshall Plan in rebuilding Europe and hoped that alleviating poverty would reduce the allure of the Soviet Union, the main adversary of the United States at the time.Michael Schiffer, who served as USAID’s assistant administrator for Asia under former president Joe Biden, warned that China could become the dominant player in the developing world in areas from public health to policing.”We’ll be sitting on the sidelines and then in a couple of years we’ll have a conversation about how we’re shocked that the PRC has positioned itself as the partner of choice in Latin America, Africa and Asia,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.”At that point, the game will be over.”- Will China step up? -The United States has long been the top donor in the world, giving $64 billion in 2023.A number of other Western countries, especially in Scandinavia, have been more generous compared with the sizes of their economies. But Schiffer doubted they could replace the United States either in dollar terms or in the longstanding US role of mobilizing international aid to priorities around the world.China’s aid is more opaque. According to AidData, a research group at the College of William and Mary, China has provided $1.34 trillion over two decades — but unlike Western nations, it has mostly provided loans rather than grants.Samantha Custer, director of policy analysis at AidData, doubted there would be any “huge, dramatic increase in aid dollars from China,” noting Beijing’s focus on lending and the economic headwinds facing the Asian power.Still, she said, the United States will struggle to counter perceptions it is no longer reliable.”China can win the day by not even doing anything,” she said.”You can’t partner with somebody who’s not there.”Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said China is more interested in construction and benefiting its domestic industries, like building a hospital rather than training its doctors.And with the freeze in USAID, China may have even less reason to step up aid.”If they become the only game in town, it doesn’t generate strong incentives for China to compete and significantly increase development assistance,” he said.One major gap will be conflict-related funding, said Rebecca Wolfe, an expert in development and political violence at the University of Chicago.She pointed to Syria, where the Islamic State extremist group gained grounds in areas that lacked governance.”Yes, the Chinese can come in and do the infrastructure. But what about the governance part?”She said Western countries may not step up until they feel real effects, such as a new migrant crisis.- Different soft power? -Trump’s aid freeze is officially only a 90-day review, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that he issued waivers for emergency assistance. But aid groups say effects are already being felt by the sweeping pause, from schools shutting down in Uganda to flood relief shelters under threat in South Sudan.Hendrik W. Ohnesorge, a scholar of soft power, said Trump has a highly transactional worldview and is more attuned to hard power.But Ohnesorge, managing director of the Center for Global Studies at the University of Bonn, said Trump also represented a new, post-liberal sort of soft power in a polarized world.He noted that other leaders have styled themselves after Trump and gladly followed his lead. For instance, Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, swiftly joined Trump in leaving the World Health Organization.”Perhaps it may henceforth be better to even speak of US soft powers — in the plural — as there are starkly different visions of America and the world prevalent in the US today,” Ohnesorge said.

US stock markets wobbled and gold hit fresh highs Tuesday as traders kept a nervous eye on US President Donald Trump’s next tariff moves and worried about inflation and interest rates.European markets rose, with both Frankfurt and London again setting records, while Asian equity markets struggled for direction.All three major US indices had opened lower, …

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his idea of exiling Palestinians and placing a rebuilt Gaza under “US authority” but faced pushback from visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II.”I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all,” Abdullah said on social media after the talks.However, he told Trump that Egypt was working on a plan for how countries in the region could “work” with Trump on his shock proposal.The Jordanian monarch also appeared to offer a sweetener to Trump, who the day before the visit floated the possibility of halting US aid to Jordan if it did not take in refugees.”One of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children, cancer children who are in a very ill state. That is possible,” Abdullah said as Trump welcomed him and Crown Prince Hussein in the Oval Office.Trump replied that it was “really a beautiful gesture” and said he didn’t know about it before the Jordanian monarch’s arrival at the White House.The US leader stunned the world when he announced a proposal last week for the United States to “take over” Gaza, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” — but only after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, with no plan for them ever to return.Abdullah urged patience and said that Egypt was coming up with a response and that Arab nations would then discuss it at talks in Riyadh.”Let’s wait until the Egyptians can come and present it to the president and not get ahead of ourselves,” Abdullah said.Trump retreated from his previous talk of an aid halt to Jordan and Egypt, saying: “I don’t have to threaten that. I do believe we’re above that.”- ‘Tough guy’ – Trump, however, kept pushing his plan to “own” Gaza and place it under “US authority,” despite the fact that it is home to more than two million Palestinians who want their own sovereign state.”We don’t have to buy. We’re going to have Gaza,” Trump said. “We’re going to take it, we’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it.”But Trump, who made his fortune as a real estate tycoon did however deny that he would seek to personally develop property in Gaza. “No. I’ve had a great career in real estate,” he said.The meeting came as the Gaza ceasefire appears increasingly fragile, after Trump warned on Monday that “all hell” would break out if Hamas fails to release all hostages by Saturday.Trump said he doubted that the Palestinian militant group would abide by the ultimatum — but played down the risk of a longer threat to efforts to create a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas.”It’s not going to take a long time,” Trump said. “A bully is the weakest person, and they’re bullies. Hamas is bullies.” The Jordanian king and crown prince earlier met Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz.King Abdullah is a key US ally but last week rejected “any attempts” to take control of the Palestinian territories and displace its people.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to visit the White House later this week, urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians.”Analysts say the issue is an existential one for Jordan in particular.Half of Jordan’s population of 11 million is of Palestinian origin, and since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Palestinians have sought refuge there.In 1970 in what became known as “Black September,” clashes erupted between the Jordanian army and Palestinian groups led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).It resulted in the expulsion of those groups.But Jordan is also keenly aware of the economic pressure Trump could exercise. Every year, Jordan receives around $750 million in economic assistance from Washington and another $350 million in military aid.On social media after the Trump talks, Abdullah stressed that his “foremost commitment is to Jordan, to its stability and to the well-being of Jordanians.”

Canada, Mexico and the EU on Tuesday slammed US President Donald Trump’s “unjustified” decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which has raised fears of a broader trade war.Trump signed executive orders to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports of the metals starting March 12, triggering a flurry of angry reactions.The European Union …

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Israel threatened on Tuesday to resume “intense fighting” in Gaza if hostages were not released this weekend, while Hamas insisted it remained committed to the ceasefire deal and accused Israel of violations.Under the terms of the ceasefire, which has largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, captives were to be released in batches in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. So far, Israel and Hamas have completed five hostage-prisoner swaps.But the deal has come under increasing strain in recent days, prompting diplomatic efforts to salvage it and Hamas to say it was “committed to the ceasefire”.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end, and the IDF (Israeli military) will resume intense fighting until Hamas is decisively defeated”.His threat echoed that of US President Donald Trump who said on Monday that “hell” would break out if Hamas failed to release “all” Israeli hostages by Saturday.Tensions, which initially spiked after Trump proposed last month taking over Gaza and removing its more than two million inhabitants, have grown following his latest comments.”As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock… I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump said.While hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday, Trump was asked whether his deadline still held, and said “Yes”.Senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump’s remark “further complicates matters”.”Trump must remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties,” he told AFP.Late on Tuesday, the militant group again insisted it was “committed to the ceasefire agreement” but said Israel “is the party that did not abide by its commitments and is responsible for any complications or delays”.King Abdullah, asked at the White House about Trump’s widely criticised proposal to displace Gazans, said only that Egypt was coming up with a response.Posting later on X, the king said he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians”, adding that it was “the unified Arab position”.- ‘No more phases’ – Hamas has said it would postpone the next hostage release, scheduled for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the deal and calling for it to fulfil its obligations.UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Hamas to proceed with the planned release and “avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza”.Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are aligned with Hamas and have launched attacks throughout the war in support of the Palestinians, said they were “ready to launch a military intervention at any time in case of escalation against Gaza”.Netanyahu did not specify whether he was referring to all captives, but his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the premier to “open the gates of hell” if Israel doesn’t get back “all the hostages… by Saturday”.”No more phases, no more games,” far-right leader Smotrich said, calling to stop all humanitarian aid and demanding the “full occupation of the Gaza Strip”.The Israeli military said it had decided “to raise the level of readiness” of its forces near the Gaza Strip and “increase reinforcements with additional troops, including reservists”.Outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem, families of hostages rallied with pictures of their loved ones, calling for the implementation of the agreement.”There is a deal. Go for it!” said Zahiro, whose uncle, Avraham Munder, died in captivity in Gaza.In Gaza, concerns over the fate of the ceasefire were prevalent.”I pray that the ceasefire holds, but… the ruling faction in Israel wants war, and I believe there is also a faction within Hamas that wants war,” said Adnan Qassem, 60, from Deir el-Balah.- ‘Humanitarian catastrophe’ -Trump’s latest threat came hours after Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said the hostage release scheduled for Saturday was postponed.It accused Israel of failing to meet its commitments under the agreement, including on aid, and cited the deaths of three Gazans at the weekend.But the group said “the door remains open” for the release to go ahead “once the occupation complies”.The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.Militants also took 251 hostages, of whom 73 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the war has killed at least 48,219 people in the territory, figures the UN considers reliable.A UN report issued on Tuesday said that more than $53 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza and end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the devastated territory.