Donald Trump says he wants the US to take control of Gaza and turn it into a freedom zone.
This comes as overnight Israeli bombardment has killed more than 100 people in Gaza, including women and children, mostly in the city’s south.
Hear more from Friday’s headlines on The Briefing podcast:
The latest wave of strikes comes as Gazans today commemorate 77 years since the Palestinian ‘Nakba’ or Catastrophe.
The catastrophe was the result of the Arab Israeli War of 1948 when the State of Israel was created.
It was a period when around 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes.
In the meantime, the US President has almost completed his four-day tour of the Middle East.
Donald Trump has been asked whether he was disappointed that Vladimir Putin wasn’t going to show up to scheduled peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey.
“I’m not disappointed in anything. Why would I be?” Trump replied.
“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together, ok? […] But we’re gonna have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also withdrawn from attending the talks in Istanbul, sending his defence minister instead.
Zelensky this morning accused Putin of not being serious about peace.
The Russian president sent a junior delegation to what would have been the first direct talks between the two nations since the beginning of the war three years ago.
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