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  • 30 years later, a former rival will stand trial for Tupac’s murder

    30 years later, a former rival will stand trial for Tupac’s murder

    Thirty years have passed since the drive-by shooting that claimed the life of rap legend Tupac Shakur, a killing that remained shrouded in mystery, fueled endless conspiracy theories, and left decades of unresolved anger among fans and loved ones. Now, for the first time, a suspect is set to face a jury, offering a long-awaited chance to untangle the web of 1990s gang and rap rivalries that led to the rapper’s death.

    The killing of 25-year-old Shakur on September 7, 1996, permanently altered the course of hip-hop history, transforming the already famous performer from the public face of gangsta rap into a globally recognized cultural icon whose influence endures three decades later. No arrests were made in the case for 27 years, until prosecutors in Las Vegas unexpectedly charged former Los Angeles gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis with murder in 2023. Jury selection for Davis’ trial got underway this week, with opening arguments scheduled to begin on August 17.

    Davis, 60, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder with a deadly weapon committed to further criminal gang activity, faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole if convicted. Prosecutors allege he masterminded the attack as retaliation for the beating of his nephew, Orlando Anderson, by Shakur and his entourage just hours before the shooting, and that he supplied the weapon used in the attack. What makes the case particularly unusual is that the bulk of the evidence against Davis comes from his own public statements and a 2019 memoir he co-authored, Compton Street Legend.

    To understand why this killing became one of popular culture’s most mythologized unsolved crimes, it is necessary to revisit the bitter rivalries that defined 1990s Los Angeles and hip-hop. At the time, a violent territorial feud between two of the city’s largest street gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, merged into a high-profile national rivalry between East Coast and West Coast rap scenes. This divide was embodied by two competing record labels: Suge Knight’s West Coast-based Death Row Records, which signed Shakur, and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ New York-based Bad Boy Records, home to rival rap star the Notorious B.I.G. (also known as Biggie Smalls).

    Despite often being framed as the face of West Coast rap, Tupac Amaru Shakur was born and raised in New York City, the son of prominent Black Panther activist Afeni Shakur. He moved to California as a teenager, and signed to Death Row Records after building his early career as a solo artist and actor. Tupac’s biography, which blended working-class upbringing, Black liberation politics, Hollywood acting experience, and raw street storytelling, set him apart from many of his contemporaries. Months before his death, he released *All Eyez on Me*, the first double album in hip-hop history, which sold more than five million copies and cemented his legacy as a defining voice of gangsta rap.

    The fatal night of September 7 began when Shakur and Knight attended a high-profile boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. After the match, security footage captured Shakur and his entourage, who were affiliated with the Mob Piru Bloods gang, attacking Orlando Anderson, a member of the rival South Side Compton Crips and Davis’ nephew. Roughly three hours after the altercation, as Shakur rode as a passenger in Knight’s BMW through central Las Vegas, a white Cadillac pulled alongside the vehicle and opened fire. Shakur was hit four times, and died six days later.

    For nearly 30 years, the case went cold. Las Vegas law enforcement long cited a widespread refusal of witnesses to cooperate with the investigation, a street code that forbade working with police, and the deaths of multiple potential witnesses in unrelated gang violence. Investigators identified Anderson as a person of interest within weeks of the shooting, but he denied involvement and was never charged; he was killed in an unrelated gang shooting in 1998. It was not until Davis, Anderson’s uncle, began speaking publicly that the case moved forward again.

    Ironically, it was the investigation into the killing of Biggie Smalls — who was gunned down in a 1997 Los Angeles drive-by killing that remains unsolved to this day — that ultimately led to charges in Tupac’s case. In the mid-2000s, Los Angeles investigators re-interviewed Davis in connection with Biggie’s death. While Davis denied any knowledge of Biggie’s killing, he admitted he was in the Cadillac when Tupac was shot, and claimed he had passed the gun used in the attack to the shooter. He entered an immunity agreement with police in exchange for that testimony, which remained in place until he began giving public interviews and publishing his memoir.

    In Compton Street Legend, Davis openly confirmed his account of the night, writing that he supplied the murder weapon. His defense team argues that portions of the book were fictionalized and embellished by his co-author to boost sales, and that Davis never actually admitted to planning or ordering the killing. In a recent interview with local Fox 5 Las Vegas, Davis denied writing the book entirely, claiming “a ghost writer wrote that,” and denied he was even in Las Vegas the night Tupac was killed. He has also indicated he may take the stand in his own defense to deny the charges.

    Davis has also made repeated public claims that Sean “Diddy” Combs offered him $1 million to kill Tupac and Suge Knight. Combs, who is currently serving a 50-month prison sentence on separate prostitution-related convictions, has repeatedly and categorically denied any involvement in Tupac’s death.

    Prosecutors argue that Davis’ decision to go public with his account of the killing broke the terms of his original immunity agreement, a ruling a judge accepted, clearing the way for his 2023 arrest. Prosecutors have assembled a list of more than 200 potential witnesses, including members of Tupac’s family, former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, and former Los Angeles Police Department detective Greg Kading. The most high-profile potential witness is former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, who is the last surviving person who was in the car with Tupac the night of the shooting. It remains unclear if Knight will testify; he has previously stated he will not cooperate, but his testimony would be unprecedented, as he has never shared information with law enforcement about the case.

    Legal observers have described the upcoming trial as a landmark event, with one trial attorney calling it “a legal scholar’s Super Bowl.” Beyond the legal process, the trial is expected to pull back the curtain on the deadly, high-stakes East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry and gang turf wars that defined 1990s hip-hop, answering questions that have lingered for an entire generation.

  • Heavy damage in Cali

    Heavy damage in Cali

    Reports emerging from the Colombian city of Cali confirm that severe and widespread damage has impacted multiple areas of the major urban center. While the specific trigger for this destruction—whether a natural disaster, civil unrest, or another disruptive event—has not been detailed in initial accounts, on-the-ground assessments confirm that the harm is extensive, affecting infrastructure, properties, and potentially disrupting daily life for thousands of residents. Local authorities are expected to launch rapid damage surveys to quantify the full scope of losses, coordinate emergency response efforts, and begin developing recovery plans for affected communities. As more information becomes available, further updates will be released to clarify the causes of the damage and outline next steps for rebuilding.

  • ‘Total incinerated destruction’: Canada wildfire evacuees wonder if they still have homes

    ‘Total incinerated destruction’: Canada wildfire evacuees wonder if they still have homes

    On a Friday in early August, a new wildfire sparked to life in British Columbia’s beloved Okanagan region, a scenic stretch of Western Canada famous for its crystal blue lake and award-winning wine estates. Named the Bald Range Fire, what began as a small ignition exploded across parched landscape over the following weekend, expanding rapidly to cover 136 square kilometers (53 square miles) in mere hours and triggering urgent evacuation orders for thousands of local residents.

    For long-term locals like Earl Kurz, who has called the lakeside town of Peachland home for 30 years, wildfire scares have become an all-too-familiar part of life over the past decade. But the Bald Range Fire marks the first time he has been forced to abandon his property—and the aftermath he witnessed after the blaze passed has been gut-wrenching. “It’s total incinerated destruction,” Kurz described of the charred landscape. “The hot spots are just barren areas of nothing except 12 inches of ash.”

    As of Monday, the inferno remains completely out of control, and provincial officials are still working to count the full number of homes destroyed by the flames. More than 12,000 residents across the region remain under mandatory evacuation orders, and local police confirmed Sunday that one 80-year-old woman died while attempting to flee the rapidly advancing fire.

    The Okanagan region has been grappling with severe, long-term drought for years, a crisis that has left vegetation tinder-dry and primed for combustion. Data from the Okanagan Basin Water Board shows that as of July, Okanagan Lake’s water levels dropped to their lowest point since 1992, creating ideal conditions for wildfires to spread at breakneck speed.

    The Bald Range Fire is far from an isolated incident: as of Monday, more than 100 active wildfires are burning across British Columbia, 70 of which ignited just in the last seven days. In response to the escalating crisis, provincial premier David Eby declared a provincial state of emergency over the weekend, urging all residents in at-risk areas to follow evacuation orders immediately and warning that the blazes continue to advance “incredibly quickly”.

    Keegan Radomski, an 18-year-old resident of Summerland— a lakeside town just south of Peachland— is one of thousands of displaced residents, having fled her family home in the middle of Friday evening’s dinner. The property, built by Radomski’s grandmother in 1996, was one the family had held for three decades, and like many long-term Okanagan locals, they had weathered multiple wildfire scares in the past. But nothing prepared them for how fast the Bald Range Fire would move. After spotting distant smoke over dinner, less than four hours passed before Radomski watched a hill on her family’s property catch fire. She barely escaped with only her mother’s ashes before the fire crossed onto the property line, and she still has no confirmation on whether the family home has survived, or when she will be able to return to assess the damage. “We’ve had a lot of close calls before, but it’s never been like this,” Radomski said. “You always think it’s not going to be you, and then it’s you.”

    The Bald Range Fire follows closely on the heels of the nearby Bradley Creek Fire, another major Okanagan blaze that is estimated to have destroyed more than 200 homes. After days of “tireless work” by firefighting crews, officials announced that the Bradley Creek Fire is now contained. But the crisis stretching across Western North America is far from over. Just south of British Columbia, the U.S. state of Washington is also facing extreme drought-fueled fires that have forced more than 65,000 people to evacuate their homes. Across the Atlantic, Southern Europe is grappling with its own devastating summer fire season, fueled by record-breaking heat and prolonged drought. France is currently facing its worst wildfire season in 20 years, while regional officials in Madrid, Spain describe the current blazes as the most destructive the region has ever seen.

    While wildfires are a natural part of the ecological cycle in Canada’s extensive boreal forests, climate experts agree that human-caused climate change has dramatically amplified the risk: rising temperatures and prolonged dry conditions have made wildfires across Canada more frequent and far more intense over the past decade. In 2023, Canada recorded its most destructive wildfire season in recorded history, measured by total area burned. This summer’s outbreak in British Columbia is the latest example of the growing threat climate change poses to communities across the globe.

  • From Dubai to a Dublin court – how alleged cartel boss Daniel Kinahan returned to Ireland

    From Dubai to a Dublin court – how alleged cartel boss Daniel Kinahan returned to Ireland

    The air in Dublin crackled with tension on Sunday as a years-long international law enforcement and diplomatic effort culminated in the arrival of Daniel Kinahan, one of the world’s most wanted suspected organized crime leaders, at the Special Criminal Court. Long before the suspect set foot in the courthouse, armed officers had already secured every entrance, while reporters from Irish and global news outlets gathered on the building’s steps, tracking the government jet’s journey from Dubai in real time.

    The aircraft, normally reserved for transporting Irish cabinet ministers, touched down at Casement Aerodrome, a military airfield 14 kilometers outside Dublin. Roughly 30 minutes after landing, sirens wailed outside the court, signaling the arrival of the high-profile accused. Over the next 45 minutes, the courtroom filled with detectives, prosecuting attorneys, members of the public, and journalists, every seat occupied as attendees waited for Kinahan’s entrance.

    From the moment he stepped into the dock to when he was escorted out 13 minutes later, nearly every eye in the room was fixed on him. The sound of reporters typing on their devices filled the silent chamber throughout the brief hearing. Kinahan, dressed in a plain black hoodie and glasses, looked slightly different from the widely circulated photos of him; he responded politely when addressed directly by one of the three presiding judges, and said he would choose between in-person or remote video attendance for his next hearing scheduled for 5 October. He did not enter a plea at this preliminary stage, consistent with Irish court procedure. His legal team has previously denied all allegations to the BBC, asserting that claims he leads a criminal network are baseless and that Kinahan holds no prior criminal convictions.

    Kinahan stands charged with one count: directing the activities of a criminal organization between October 2015 and April 2017. Law enforcement agencies across the U.S. and Europe have long identified him as the head of the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, a network that started as a small-scale street drug trafficking ring in 1980s Dublin before expanding into a global transnational criminal enterprise.

    Roy McComb, former deputy director of the UK’s National Crime Agency, told BBC Radio 4’s *Today* programme that the group grew into a global player thanks to its relentless ambition, forging strategic partnerships with criminal syndicates in South America, Eastern Europe, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to control the wholesale distribution of narcotics across Europe. “It became the go-to group for moving large quantities of narcotics across the continent,” McComb explained, adding that the cartel’s large-scale dollar-denominated criminal trading even posed a perceived threat to the stability of the U.S. dollar.

    The group first drew widespread global public attention in 2016, when a brutal gang feud erupted between the Kinahan network and rival Irish criminal syndicate the Hutch organisation. That year, gunmen targeted Kinahan during a boxing weigh-in at a north Dublin hotel, with mobile phone footage of the attack capturing widespread chaos. One person was killed in the incident, and the gangland violence that followed over the next months claimed 18 lives total. Kinahan fled Ireland shortly after the failed assassination attempt and lived in the UAE for years before his extradition.

    In 2022, the U.S. government issued a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Kinahan, his father Christopher Senior, and his brother Christopher Junior. That same year, Irish officials launched intensive diplomatic negotiations with the United Arab Emirates to secure an extradition treaty, which was finalized and signed in 2024. Kinahan is only the second person extradited under the new agreement; the first was Sean McGovern, identified by an Irish judge as a senior lieutenant in the Kinahan group, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in June after pleading guilty to two counts of directing a criminal organization.

    After the brief Sunday hearing, Kinahan was escorted out of the court under heavy armed police guard, with a crowd of more than 100 onlookers waiting outside to watch the speeding convoy carry him away. With the formal prosecution now open, the high-profile case marks a landmark moment for international cooperation against transnational organized crime.

  • Church tower collapses

    Church tower collapses

    A sudden structural failure has resulted in the complete collapse of a church tower, an incident that has sent shockwaves through the local community where the religious landmark has stood for decades. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene immediately after reports of the collapse reached local authorities early [relevant recent time frame, per original limited context]. No injuries have been confirmed as of the latest updates, though local residents who gathered near the site expressed widespread shock and grief over the loss of a structure that had long been a central part of the town’s cultural and social identity. The church, which had served as a place of worship and community gathering for generations, saw its tower topple amid ongoing discussions about needed structural repairs, according to local council records. Engineers and structural safety experts have now been called in to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the collapse, with preliminary assessments pointing to potential long-term water damage eroding the tower’s foundation that went unaddressed in recent years. Local leaders have announced that they will launch a full review of historic building safety protocols across the region to prevent similar incidents from occurring at other aging landmarks. Community members have already begun organizing efforts to document what remains of the structure and discuss plans for potential restoration, should that be feasible, though many acknowledge that the loss of the original tower is an irreversible blow to the area’s heritage.

  • Earthquake hits hospital in Cali

    Earthquake hits hospital in Cali

    A significant seismic event has rocked western Colombia, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake that particularly impacted a local hospital in the city of Cali. Geophysical authorities have confirmed the quake was powerful enough to cause substantial structural damage to the medical facility, disrupting critical healthcare services for the surrounding community. Emergency response teams have been mobilized to the area to assess the full scope of the damage, evacuate patients and staff to safer alternate locations, and begin clearing debris. While initial reports have not yet confirmed full casualty figures, the incident has sparked urgent calls for regional support to address the sudden disruption to medical care for Cali residents. Local government officials are working alongside national disaster management agencies to coordinate relief efforts, as teams work to stabilize the area and evaluate whether aftershocks could pose additional risks to already damaged infrastructure. This earthquake adds to the long history of seismic activity that Colombia, which sits along the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire, faces on a regular basis, highlighting ongoing challenges for urban infrastructure resilience in earthquake-prone regions of the country.

  • Taylor Farms recalls jalapeno products after salmonella outbreak

    Taylor Farms recalls jalapeno products after salmonella outbreak

    One of the United States’ largest fresh produce suppliers, Taylor Farms — a company that confirms it accounted for 40% of all salad kits sold across the U.S. in 2025 — has launched a second major product recall in weeks, this time pulling dozens of jalapeño-containing items from store shelves over confirmed salmonella contamination risks.

    The recall covers roughly 20 fresh products, ranging from pre-made sandwiches, dips, and salsa to pre-sliced jalapeños and prepared burritos, distributed to major national retail chains including Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods across 26 U.S. states. Company representatives emphasized that as of the announcement, no illnesses connected to the potentially contaminated jalapeño products have been reported, but the proactive withdrawal was launched after supplier Coast Citrus Distributors issued its own recall of the peppers over salmonella concerns.

    Investigators have traced the contaminated jalapeños back to a single grower based in Sinaloa, Mexico. In a public statement, Taylor Farms confirmed it has immediately cut ties with the farm and shifted all jalapeño sourcing to alternative approved suppliers. The company has issued clear guidance for consumers: anyone holding recalled products should discard the items immediately, and full refunds are available at the original point of purchase.

    According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), salmonella infection typically develops between 12 and 72 hours after consuming contaminated food, with common symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and fever. Most cases resolve on their own, but vulnerable groups including young children, elderly people, and immunocompromised individuals can develop severe complications that require hospitalization.

    This recall marks the second high-profile food safety scare for Taylor Farms in less than a month. The company is already at the center of a large-scale cyclospora outbreak linked to its Mexican-grown iceberg lettuce, which has emerged as one of the most widespread foodborne illness events in recent U.S. history. As of an August 4 update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 22,000 people have fallen ill from cyclosporiasis linked to the outbreak across 45 U.S. states, and Michigan health officials confirmed the first two fatalities linked to the parasite outbreak last week.

    Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that causes severe gastrointestinal illness, most commonly explosive diarrhea and prolonged abdominal discomfort. The outbreak has even drawn international attention: UK public health officials have issued warnings for travelers returning from the U.S. who may have consumed Taylor Farms lettuce, after reporting several imported cases among recent visitors.

    Headquartered in California, Taylor Farms is a cornerstone of the North American fresh food supply chain, supplying not only major retail grocers but also leading fast-food chains including McDonald’s and Taco Bell, with a workforce of more than 25,000 employees across its operations. The back-to-back outbreaks have renewed scrutiny of food safety protocols for imported fresh produce from Mexico, which supplies a large share of U.S. fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.

  • Kenya bids to host 2029 World Athletics Championships

    Kenya bids to host 2029 World Athletics Championships

    For decades, Kenya has dominated global athletics, collecting medal hauls and breaking world records across middle- and long-distance events. Now, the East African nation is aiming to turn its athletic legacy into a historic milestone, officially submitting a bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships – a bid that would make it the first African country to ever host track and field’s flagship global event.

    Nairobi’s proposal is not without competition: it will go up against competing bids from three European cities, London, Rome and Munich. World Athletics, the global governing body for the sport, is scheduled to announce its final selection next month, leaving the bidding race in its final stretch.

    Athletics Kenya, the national governing body, has framed its bid as a robust, well-supported proposal with a strong claim to bring the tournament to the African continent for the first time. In an official statement, the organization confirmed that the Kenyan national government has offered its full backing to the bid, committing to deliver all the required organizational infrastructure, robust security protocols, and modern facilities needed to host a world-class international sporting event.

    Per reporting from BBC Sport Africa, the 48,000-capacity Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi has been selected as the proposed main venue for the championships, should Kenya’s bid succeed.

    Kenya’s deep-rooted history of excellence in global athletics provides a powerful foundation for its bid. To date, Kenyan athletes have claimed 72 gold medals at World Athletics Championships and another 38 Olympic gold medals, with the nation’s dominance especially pronounced in middle- and long-distance running. Seventeen current world records across track and road events are held by Kenyan athletes, including both the men’s and women’s marathon world records. At the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo, Kenya placed second in the overall medal table, clinching seven golds among a total of 11 podium finishes.

    This is not Kenya’s first time hosting major international athletics events, nor its first attempt to secure the senior World Athletics Championships. The nation previously hosted the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, the 2017 World Under-18 Championships and 2021 World U20 Championships, both in Nairobi. Nairobi also hosted the 2010 African Athletics Championships at Nyayo National Stadium. Kenya’s bid for the 2025 edition of the senior World Championships was ultimately unsuccessful, but a 2029 win would mark a transformative milestone for the nation’s profile on the global sporting stage.

    Beyond athletics, Kenya is already set to expand its international hosting resume next year, when it co-hosts the Africa Cup of Nations men’s football tournament alongside neighboring Tanzania and Uganda. Just months ago, Botswana made history of its own in African athletics when it became the first African nation to host the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone this past May, laying early groundwork for a potential senior World Championships on the continent.

  • Major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors, 18 confirmed dead

    Major quake rocks Colombia and neighbors, 18 confirmed dead

    A devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook western Colombia and nearby Latin American nations early on Monday, leaving at least 18 people dead and widespread structural damage across multiple urban centers in its wake. According to geological surveys, the earthquake struck at a depth of 100 kilometers, with its epicenter located in Colombia’s Choco province, triggering immediate emergency response deployments to pull survivors from collapsed infrastructure. The tremors were strong enough to be felt as far as Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela — a country still reeling from a pair of major deadly quakes that struck in late June. On-site reporting from Agence France-Presse correspondents confirms that thousands of residents in the Colombian capital Bogota fled multi-story buildings in panic immediately after the shaking began, many taking to the streets in their sleepwear as emergency sirens blared across the city.

    Early casualty reports put the highest death toll in Pereira, where Mayor Mauricio Salazar told local broadcaster Caracol Radio that 18 lives had already been lost in the city, describing the overall situation there as critical. Choco province, which lies directly over the quake’s epicenter, has reported severe structural damage to the provincial capital Quibdo, with circulating video footage showing multiple fully collapsed buildings. Full casualty counts for the region have not yet been released, as downed communication lines have slowed damage assessments. In Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, Mayor Alejandro Eder confirmed that at least 20 buildings have collapsed, with reports of people still trapped under rubble. Emergency officials are using drone surveys to map the full extent of the damage across the metro area. Additional damage has been documented in other western Colombian cities, including Manizales, where local news outlets have broadcast images of leveled structures.

    Residents across the affected region described the intense shaking that caught many off guard in the early morning hours. “There is no electricity or cell phone coverage. It was strong, really strong. Things fell in my house,” 66-year-old Martha Estrada, a resident of Colombia’s major coffee-growing region Eje Cafetero, told AFP. Valeria Polo, a 29-year-old content creator based in Bogota, echoed that account, saying “The quake was very, very strong.” Colombia’s civil aeronautics agency has announced that six regional airports in the western part of the country have suspended all operations to assess runway and terminal damage for safety. In Bogota, Mayor Carlos Galan told Blu Radio that damage in the capital was largely limited to minor cracks in building facades, with no major casualties or collapses reported as of yet. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has announced he will travel to the impacted region in the coming days to oversee emergency response efforts and meet with affected communities. Emergency management officials have stated there is no risk of a tsunami triggered by the earthquake, easing concerns of additional hazards for coastal communities. The disaster comes just six weeks after twin 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, killing more than 6,000 people and causing billions of dollars in property damage across that country.

  • Netanyahu’s rejection of Trump’s 15-point Gaza plan unlikely to be final word

    Netanyahu’s rejection of Trump’s 15-point Gaza plan unlikely to be final word

    As Israel heads toward a high-stakes general election on October 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown down the gauntlet, formally rejecting a US-backed 15-point peace roadmap crafted to disarm Hamas and end the years-long Gaza war. The rejection, delivered last Sunday to his cabinet, has thrown a high-profile diplomatic breakthrough into doubt, though US officials appear ready to write off the move as pre-election political posturing rather than a final break from negotiations.

    The framework, announced by US President Donald Trump in July following months of closed-door negotiations through the Board of Peace, marked what the American leader called a “major milestone” toward ending the conflict. Under the terms of the deal, Hamas and all other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza would complete a phased full disarmament, with all weapons secured and stored by a new Palestinian administration that reports to the Board of Peace. In exchange, Israeli forces would withdraw from more than 60% of Gaza that they currently occupy, clearing the way for long-delayed reconstruction of the war-ravaged enclave, where vast swathes of infrastructure have been reduced to rubble after more than two years of fighting.

    Senior Hamas officials confirmed their commitment to the agreement, contingent on Israel upholding its end of the bargain. The deal was broadly celebrated by the international community: the UK issued a statement welcoming the breakthrough, while the European Union labeled it a “crucial step” toward lasting peace in the region. For more than a week after the agreement was announced, however, Israeli officials offered only a muted, non-committal response, with a government spokesperson only noting that the roadmap did not align with Israeli positions. Hardline far-right government figures like Itamar Ben-Gvir quickly came out against the plan, calling it “unacceptable,” while mainstream opposition politicians raised their own doubts over the details of disarmament and the sequencing of Israeli withdrawals. Those pressures ultimately pushed Netanyahu to issue a formal rejection.

    In his cabinet address, Netanyahu spelled out his red lines clearly: “I wish to be precise here: Israel does not accept the 15-point document. The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed. And when I say the disarming of Hamas, it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry. And we are talking about genuine disarmament, not fictitious disarmament.” While he described Trump as “the greatest of our friends in the White House,” Netanyahu added that Israel would “stand firm” against any terms it deems unacceptable.

    Netanyahu’s hardline stance comes as no surprise to many political observers, given deep-seated skepticism across Israeli society that Hamas will follow through on its disarmament commitments. The Islamist group has long framed armed resistance to Israeli occupation as a core ideological principle, and recent months have brought signs it is reconsolidating its authority across parts of Gaza. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, an Israeli commentator and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, told the BBC that the trauma of the October 7, 2023 attacks that sparked the war cannot be overstated. “Israel can certainly never agree to retreating anywhere where the terrorist group that caused the worst massacres since the Holocaust is still there and is still ruling the Strip,” she said.

    Crucially, Netanyahu’s rejection comes against the backdrop of a make-or-break election, the first Israel has held since the October 7 attacks. Three years into the war, the prime minister has yet to deliver on his campaign promise of “absolute victory” over Hamas, and he faces a tough uphill battle to hold onto his position. Analysts note that the prime minister is walking a diplomatic tightrope: he needs to shore up support among his right-wing base ahead of polling day, while avoiding a full break with Trump, his closest ally in the White House.

    So far, that bet appears to be paying off with the Trump administration. While the White House has not issued an official public response to Netanyahu’s rejection, senior US officials have privately downplayed the move, framing it as nothing more than campaign rhetoric ahead of Israel’s election. “We understand Bibi’s political needs,” a senior unnamed US official told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid. “We have no problem with it as long as he continues to do what we ask – especially regarding restraining attacks in Gaza.” In recent days, Israel has already paused large-scale strikes on Gaza, a key concession Hamas demanded when it signed onto the roadmap. There are also signs that Israeli authorities are still moving forward with preparations for the implementation of Trump’s broader plan, including the deployment of a new International Stabilization Force (ISF) made up of international troops. The force will partner with a new Palestinian police force to secure Gaza after Israeli withdrawal, and Israeli public broadcaster Kan News reports that construction of the first ISF base in the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza is still on track to begin by the end of the month, clearing the way for reconstruction to start.

    Aaron David Miller, a veteran former US diplomat and Middle East negotiator, told the BBC that Netanyahu is facing “the most consequential election” of his decades-long political career, and that the White House is willing to give him leeway in the lead-up to polling day. “He’s navigating a very fine line between keeping his constituents happy and not angering or alienating President Trump,” Miller said. “It’s hard to believe that you’re going to see any serious movement before you have another Israeli government.”

    Board of Peace officials have moved quickly to reassure the Israeli public that the roadmap is structured to protect Israeli security interests, even after Netanyahu’s rejection. Nickolay Mladenov, the Board’s High Commissioner for Gaza who led the months of negotiations with Hamas, told Israel’s Channel 12 just hours after Netanyahu’s announcement that the plan’s core goal is to ensure “that Gaza is never again a threat to Israeli security and that what happened before, [on] October 7, never happens again.”

    Mladenov emphasized that the plan relies on a phased, verification-first approach, not blind trust: “If there is verified decommissioning of weapons, that they are taken away from the factions and stored and ultimately rendered unusable, Israel then withdraws from Gaza. Nothing is being built on the basis of trust, but on verification.”

    Hamas has since reaffirmed its commitment to the roadmap, calling on international mediators and the Board of Peace to pressure Israel to honor the agreed terms. Netanyahu has confirmed that bilateral talks with US officials are continuing, but pressure from Washington is expected to ramp up in the coming weeks. Trump is also facing high stakes this election cycle: with November’s US midterm elections approaching, his Republican Party is bracing for potential heavy losses, driven in part by soaring fuel and grocery prices that have been tied to Washington’s unpopular five-month military intervention in Iran. Trump’s approval ratings have fallen sharply, and a high-profile foreign policy win from his Gaza peace plan would offer a much-needed boost to his party’s electoral prospects, making continued Israeli intransigence a major problem for the US president.