The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
White House: Trump welcomes Arab nations’ ‘input’ on his Gaza proposal
The White House welcomes “input” from Arab nations after they back an alternative reconstructive plan for Gaza that doesn’t require relocating Palestinians, as US President Donald Trump has proposed, while insisting Hamas cannot remain in power.
“President Trump has been clear that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes says. “While the president stands by his bold vision for a post-war Gaza, he welcomes input from our Arab partners in the region. It’s clear his proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis.”
A spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Oren Marmorstein, earlier posted on X that the Egyptian plan “fails to address the realities of the situation” and said the summit’s joint communique does not mention Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war or condemn the terrorist group. The plan, he said, remains “rooted in outdated perspectives.”
Marmorstein reiterated Israel’s support for Trump’s plan to resettle Gaza’s population elsewhere, describing it as “an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will.”
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty blasts Israel’s rejection as “unacceptable,” describing its position as “stubborn and extremist.”
“There will be no peace neither to Israel or to the region” without establishing an independent Palestinian state in accordance with United Nations resolutions, he said. He said “Israel violates all international law rules … the international law must be imposed.”
“No single state should be allowed to impose its will on the international community,” Abdelatty says.
Report: Hostage Matan Angrest is injured, being held in dark cellar, starved, tortured
Hostage Matan Angrest has been held for a long time in a dark cellar with little air, and is suffering from untreated severe burns and bruises as well as harm to his eyes as a result of injuries he sustained during his kidnapping from a burning IDF tank in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023, Channel 12 reports.
The account isn’t attributed to anyone but comes after many captives were released recently, including five female soldiers who have said service people are being tortured by Hamas for intelligence. It also comes a day after Angrest’s family published the first photo of him from captivity, from a video received from Hamas.
The report says Angrest is forced to treat his injuries by himself, and that his Hamas captors are purposely starving him.
Angrest’s father told the Kan public broadcaster earlier today that if the family feels like it is necessary, it will also publish the full video of Matan, which he contended will “shock the country.”
“Matan’s face is completely broken, the boy is completely broken and this is just the face,” he said. “We know he treated his own body.”
Arab leaders to establish fund for Gaza reconstruction
Arab leaders agree to establish a trust fund that would finance the reconstruction of war-battered Gaza, urging international contribution to speed up the rebuilding process.
According to the final communique of the Arab League summit in Cairo, seen by AFP, the fund would “receive financial pledges from all donor countries and financing institutions” to carry out reconstruction projects in the territory.