US, Saudis approve nuclear deal, F-35 jets sale as UN backs US Gaza plan

TNA’s live coverage of the latest from the war on Gaza concludes for today. Join us again at 0800 GMT for updates from the besieged Palestinian enclave.
 

Hamas described Tuesday’s attack in the West Bank’s Gush Etzion area as "a natural response to the occupation’s attempts and the escalating aggression carried out by occupation soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

The incident left one person dead and three others injured, including one in a serious condition.

The group also issued a warning, stating that "efforts to impose new facts on the ground in the Gaza Strip, and the ongoing Judaization and annexation plans in the West Bank, will not go unanswered."

Six British pro-Palestinian activists went on trial on Tuesday accused of attacking a factory operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit to cause as much damage as possible, with one also charged with striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.

Prosecutors said the six defendants were part of a group from the now banned organisation Palestine Action, which carried out the meticulously planned assault on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August last year.

Some of the group used fireworks and smoke grenades to keep security guards at bay, while others caused "extensive damage" inside the factory by smashing equipment with crowbars and hammers and spraying red paint, prosecutor Deanna Heer said.

She said they intended to "cause serious damage to property and to use or threaten unlawful violence against anyone who stood in their way, if necessary with the use of weapons".

Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, deny charges of aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage.

Corner also denies causing grievous bodily harm with intent for allegedly hitting a female police sergeant with a sledgehammer in the back as she was trying to arrest Rogers. Heer said the attack caused a lumbar spine fracture.

Britain proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in July, almost a year after the Elbit incident took place, making it a crime to be a member.

Masked Israeli settlers damaged property and smashed windscreens and windows in two separate incidents in the West Bank, according to Palestinian accounts and the Israeli outlet Haaretz.

In Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, settlers reportedly entered Palestinian homes, while in the Yitzhar area masked men were said to have thrown stones at Palestinian vehicles, locals told Haaretz.

Hamas said it had no military installations in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, dismissing Israel's claims of having hit a Hamas training compound on Tuesday as "lies".

Blaming Israel for a "brutal assault" on the Ain al-Helweh camp, Hamas said in a statement that "claims that the targeted location was a 'training compound affiliated with the movement' are pure fabrications and lies," as it insisted: "There are no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon."

The Israeli military released a video of a strike hitting a building, but Hamas stated that "the targeted site was an open sports field frequented by the youth of the camp", and that "those targeted were a group of young boys" on the field at the time.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Tuesday that his kingdom wanted to normalize relations with Israel through US President Donald Trump's Abraham Accords, but first needed a "clear path" to Palestinian statehood.

"We want to be part of the Abraham Accords. But we want also to be sure that we secure a clear path of two-state solution," Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler said in the Oval Office alongside Trump.

"We're going to work on that, to be sure that we can prepare the right situation as soon as possible," he added.

Pressed by Trump, who said that his guest had a "very good feeling" for the Abraham accords, the prince said: "We want peace for the Israelis. We want peace for the Palestinians."

"We want them to coexist peacefully in the region, and we will do our best to reach that date."

The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco in 2020 became the first Arab states in decades to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, hailed by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a signature diplomatic triumph.

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in the country's south killed at least 13 people on Tuesday in an updated toll, as Israel claimed it struck a Hamas compound.

In an updated toll, the health ministry reported "13 dead and a number of others wounded" in the strike in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the city of Sidon, adding that "ambulances are still transporting more wounded to nearby hospitals".

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike targeted a car near the Khalid bin al-Walid mosque and that "subsequently it was reported that the raid also targeted" the mosque itself and a centre of the same name.

The widow of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi called Tuesday on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to personally apologize after he said at the White House that his killing inside a consulate was a mistake.

"The Crown Prince said he was sorry so he should meet me, apologize and compensate me for the murder of my husband," Hanan Elatr Khashoggi wrote on X.

An Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese city of Sidon killed 11 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Israeli military said that it struck members of the Palestinian movement Hamas whom it said were operating in a training compound in the crowded Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon.

Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas at Palestinians in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, on Tuesday, according to the Wafa news agency.

Troops first stormed the home of 17-year-old Waleed Khalil Sabarneh- whom they had killed earlier that day- damaging the family’s furniture and belongings, seizing mobile phones, and detaining his parents for questioning.

Soldiers later blocked worshippers from leaving the Beit Ummar Grand Mosque following the evening and night prayers.

When confrontations erupted between residents and the army, Israeli forces responded with volleys of rubber bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas against Palestinians.

US President Donald Trump insisted he has no involvement in his family’s business dealings in Saudi Arabia, dismissing any suggestion of a conflict of interest after the kingdom announced plans for up to a trillion dollars’ worth of investment in the United States.

He told a reporter: “I have nothing to do with the family business; they operate everywhere – they have done very little with Saudi Arabia.”

An ABC reporter raised the issue of why Americans should trust Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, noting that US intelligence had concluded he approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump dismissed ABC News as “fake news” and then contradicted US intelligence regarding the crown prince’s involvement, saying:

“You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman [Khashoggi] that you’re talking about. Whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happen. But he [bin Salman] knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking something like that.”

US intelligence determined in 2021 that bin Salman authorised the capture or killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The crown prince denied ordering the operation, though he accepted responsibility as the kingdom’s de facto leader.

Trump reiterated his support for selling advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a move that has caused consternation in Israel.

"[Saudi Arabia] is a great ally and Israel is a great ally," Trump told reporters.

"I know [Israel] would like you to receive a reduced calibre...as far as I'm concerned they are both at a level where they should get top of the line."

Israel has blocked the sale of the US's most advanced hardware to other states in the region to maintain its military superiority.

A sale of the stealth planes to Saudi Arabia would break with years of US policy designed to keep Israel's 'qualitative military edge'.

Trump praised bin Salman's human rights record as "incredible" during the crown prince's first visit to the US since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

"We have an extremely respected man in the Oval Office today, a friend of mine for a long time, a very good friend of mine," Trump told reporters.

"I'm very proud of the job he's done. What he's done is incredible, in terms of human rights, and everything else."

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom will "definitely" increase its investment commitment to the US to $1 trillion during a press event in the White House on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia pledged to make $600 billion in US investment during Trump's visit to the kingdom earlier this year.

Bin Salman arrived at the White House on Tuesday morning for talks with the US president expected to focus on regional security and lucrative business deals.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrived at the White House ahead of talks with Donald Trump that are expected to focus on regional security and bilateral commercial deals.

The kingdom's de facto ruler was welcomed with an extravagant ceremony featuring a military band, a cavalry procession, and a flyover of US fighter jets.

The two leaders are expected to begin their meeting inside the next half an hour.

We'll bring you more as we get it.

The US and Saudi Arabia are expected to announce deals on Tuesday that include defense sales, cooperation on civil nuclear energy and a multibillion dollar investment in US AI infrastructure as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits the White House, a senior administration official told Reuters.

Fulfillments of the Saudi's $600 billion investment pledge were also expected to be announced as President Donald Trump hosts the kingdom's de facto ruler, the US official said.

Bin Salman is expected to arrive at the White House soon after 1600 GMT (1100 EST).

(Reuters and TNA staff)

Israeli ultranationalist opposition figure Avigdor Liberman has criticised the UN resolution endorsing Trump's Gaza peace plan as stripping Israel of its sovereignty and comparing it to the British Mandate.

"We have lost control over the country. International forces in the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, a syndicate that has stripped us of our ability to defend ourselves and handcuffed all the hands of the IDF - this is a return to the Mandate period," he wrote in a post on X.

"We will win the upcoming elections to return control of the Land of Israel to the people of Israel. We have no other choice."

Liberman heads the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party.

Britain's foreign minister Yvette Cooper plans to introduce sanctions relating to human rights violations and abuses in war-torn Sudan, she said on Tuesday, stressing the need for sustained efforts for a ceasefire.

"I've instructed my officials to bring forward potential sanctions relating to human rights violations and abuses in Sudan," Cooper told lawmakers, amid global efforts to end the war in the east African nation.

The conflict erupted in 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been accused of carrying out mass killings, ethnic cleansing and sexual violence.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman is set to press US President Donald Trump to personally intervene to help end the war in Sudan during talks in Washington on Tuesday, five people familiar with the matter said.

The sources - two Arab diplomats and three western diplomats - said the Saudi Crown Prince believed Trump's direct pressure was needed to break a logjam in talks to end more than two and a half years of war, pointing to his work to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza last month.

The conflict erupted in 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

It has caused ethnically-charged bloodletting, widespread destruction and mass displacement, drawing in foreign powers and threatening to split Sudan.

The UAE has been widely accused to providing arms, funding and mercenaries to the RSF, which has taken control of most of the country's sprawling Darfur region.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

At least one Palestinian has been killed by Israeli gunfire in central Gaza's al-Bureij refugee cam, hospital sources told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military says two people suspected of carrying out a stabbing attack in the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion, have been killed by soldiers in the West Bank.

An Israeli was killed and three others injured in an attack near the Gush Etzion bloc of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli media reports.

Israeli security forces reportedly killed two people who pulled up to Gush Etzion junction in a car and began stabbing people.

We'll bring you more as we get it.

The European Union on Tuesday hailed the UN Security Council's vote in favour of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan as "an important step".

It is "an important step in advancing the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict. It consolidates the ceasefire, enables humanitarian access at scale and opens the way for early recovery, reconstruction and institutional reform in Gaza," the EU's foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

(AFP)

An Al Jazeera cameraman has been shot and wounded by Israeli forces while working in the occupied West Bank, the Qatari broadcaster said this morning.

Fadi Yassin was shot in the foot while covering a protest near the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem, and has been taken to hospital.

A child was also shot and wounded in the attack, according to Al Jazeera.

Four Palestinians were detained by the Israeli military.

At least 98 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, a rights group said on Monday, alleging torture and medical neglect and calling for an international investigation.

A report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel, entitled "Death Sentence for Palestinians in Custody," said at least 46 died in Israel Prison Service facilities and 52, all from the Gaza Strip, died in military custody.

The treatment has persisted despite the ceasefire in Gaza declared last month, the report said. The group, founded by Israeli physicians, described the toll as unprecedented and said the actual figure may be higher.

PHRI said initial post-mortem findings and testimonies pointed to a pattern of severe abuse, including head injuries, internal bleeding and broken ribs, as well as extreme malnutrition and denial of lifesaving care.

(Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called for Hamas to be expelled from the region, a day after the UN Security Council voted to back the US-led Gaza ceasefire plan.

Netanyahu publicly endorsed the plan during a White House visit in late September. However, his latest remarks appear to show that there are differences with the United States on the path forward. Hamas has also objected to parts of the plan.

Diplomats say privately that entrenched positions on both the Israeli and Hamas sides have made it difficult to advance the plan, which lacks specific timelines or enforcement mechanisms. Still, it has received strong international backing.

Netanyahu on Tuesday published a series of posts on X in response to the UN vote. In one post, he applauded Trump and in another wrote the Israeli government believes the plan would lead to peace and prosperity because it calls for the "full demilitarization, disarmament, and deradicalization of Gaza".

"Israel extends its hand in peace and prosperity to all of our neighbors" and calls on neighbouring countries to "join us in expelling Hamas and its supporters from the region," he said.

Asked what the prime minister had meant by expelling Hamas, a spokesperson said that it would mean "ensuring there is no Hamas in Gaza as outlined in the 20-point plan, and Hamas has no ability to govern the Palestinian people inside the Gaza Strip".

(Reuters and TNA staff)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called the passing of a US-backed resolution on Gaza an important step in the consolidation of the ceasefire, in a statement sent to reporters.

The UN Security Council on Monday voted to adopt a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza and authorizing an international stabilization force there.

"It is essential now to translate the diplomatic momentum into concrete and urgently needed steps on the ground," Guterres said in the statement, adding that the UN is committed to scaling up humanitarian assistance in Gaza.

Guterres also said it was important to continue advancing to the second phase of the US plan, leading to a political process to achieve a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

(Reuters)

A Gaza company that operates water desalination plants serving nearly half of the enclave's population has stopped operations to protest at the detention by Hamas of one of its staff.

Youssef Yassin, a board member of the Abdul Salam Yassin Company, said the move would affect more than 1 million people who normally receive water from the company.

Over 70 trucks that carry water containers across the enclave have also stopped operations, he added, risking further supply disruption after the pipeline network was badly damaged during the war.

"I know it is catastrophic but protecting our employees is a sacred issue," Yassin told Reuters.

Yassin said Hamas had given no reason for the arrest late on Monday. Hamas had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

The first trial of more than a dozen suspects linked to massacres that left hundreds dead in Syria's Alawite coastal heartland earlier this year began on Tuesday, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said.

The massacres in March, which authorities say broke out after attacks by supporters of ousted president Bashar al-Assad against their forces, left at least 1,426 people dead, most of them civilians, according to a national commission of inquiry.

Seven men, including former military personnel, accused of attacking government forces, and seven members of the forces loyal to the new Islamist authorities, appeared in court.

Assad's supporters are being prosecuted for "sedition, incitement to civil war... attacks against law enforcement, murder, looting, and vandalism," according to the indictment.

The seven accused from government forces are being prosecuted for "premeditated murder".

(AFP)

The Israeli military has voiced objections to a potential sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

In a document picked up by Israeli media, the army warned the government that its military superiority could come under threat if the Trump administration follows through on the sale of the stealth aircraft. 

US president Donald Trump on Monday said he would sell the kingdom an undisclosed number of the planes, a move which would counter a decades-long US policy of maintain Israel's "qualitative military edge".

Saudi Arabia has requested to buy as many as 48 of the planes in a deal that could be sealed during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington this week.

Israel has in the past blocked the sale of advanced warplanes to countries in the region, including the UAE and Turkey.

Lebanese media is reporting that one person was killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon earlier this morning.

"The Israeli enemy's drone raid on a car in the city of Bint Jbeil led to the death of a citizen," the Lebanese health ministry said in a statement carried by the National News Agency.

Israel has killed hundreds of people in Lebanon in airstrikes in the year since it signed a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

🚨غارة من مسيرة إسرائيلية استهدفت بصاروخين سيارة في بنت جبيل pic.twitter.com/TigYF11Dhs

— bintjbeil.org (@bintjbeilnews) November 18, 2025

Hamas rejected the US-drafted UN resolution endorsing the Trump administration's Gaza plan, saying it fails to meet Palestinians' rights and demands and seeks to impose an international trusteeship on the enclave that Palestinians and resistance factions oppose.

"Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation," the group added.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has welcomed the UN vote approving the Trump administration's Gaza peace plan and called for its immediate implementation.

The 15-member council on Monday evening passed a resolution backing the plan, which would see the creation of an Arab-led security force in Gaza and the establishment of an international 'Board of Peace' that would govern the territory until the end of 2027.

There were 13 votes in favour of the text, with only Russia and China abstaining,

The resolution "affirms the establishment of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance, and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent State," the PA said in a statement following the vote.

It called on the international community to "immediately implement this resolution on the ground, in a manner that ensures the return of normal life, protects our people in the Gaza Strip, prevents displacement, secures the full withdrawal of the occupying forces, enables reconstruction, halts the undermining of the two-state solution, and prevents annexation".

Israeli forces have detained seven Palestinians during raids in several locations in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Troops arrested five people in Bethlehem and two in the Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah.

Several homes were raided in Nablus and surrounding villages though no arrests were reported.

Palestinian media reported fresh strikes in Gaza overnight as the UN Security Council approved the Trump administration's ceasefire plan in the face of Israeli opposition.

Airstrikes were reported in Gaza City and eastern Khan Younis in the south of the territory. No casualties have been reported.

Israel has violated the ceasefire on almost a daily basis since it came into force on 10 October, killing 266 people and injuring 635 others.