White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett says he remains ‘very, very confident’ that courts will support President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.

Hassett made the statement during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ telling host George Stephanopoulos that the White House still expects ‘Plan A’ to work out.

‘And so we’re very thrilled. We are very confident that the judges would uphold this law. And so I think that that’s Plan A, and we’re very, very confident that Plan A is all we’re ever going to need,’ Hassett said.

‘But if, for some reason, some judge were to say that it’s not a national emergency when more Americans die from fentanyl than have ever died in all American wars combined, that’s not an emergency that the president has authority over – if that ludicrous statement is made by a judge somewhere, then we’ll have other alternatives that we can pursue as well to make sure that we make American trade fair again,’ he added.

Hassett’s appearance comes after a federal court struck down Trump’s tariffs in a ruling last week, only for an appeals court to issue a temporary stay protecting the tariffs during litigation.

The appeals court ruling paused a decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), thus allowing Trump to continue to enact the 10% baseline tariff and the so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ that he announced April 2 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. 

The CIT had ruled unanimously to block the tariffs the day before.

Members of the three-judge panel who were appointed by Trump, former President Barack Obama and former President Ronald Reagan, ruled unanimously that Trump had overstepped his authority under IEEPA.

They noted that, as commander in chief, Trump does not have ‘unbounded authority’ to impose tariffs under the emergency law.

For now, the burden of proof shifts to the government, which must convince the court it will suffer ‘irreparable harm’ if the injunction remains in place, a high legal standard the Trump administration must meet.

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Sunday that he would support President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ if the debt ceiling hike was removed.

Paul told CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ host Margaret Brennan that he and three other Republican senators will hold out against the bill unless it is modified. 

‘I think there are four of us at this point, and I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction,’ Paul said. 

‘I want the tax cuts to be permanent. But at the same time, I don’t wanna raise the debt ceiling five trillion,’ he continued, adding, ‘The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this.’

Trump on Saturday warned Paul would be ‘playing right into the hands of the Democrats’ if he votes against the bill.

‘If Senator Rand Paul votes against our Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, he is voting for, along with the Radical Left Democrats, a 68% Tax Increase and, perhaps even more importantly, a first time ever default on U.S. Debt,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday afternoon. 

‘Rand will be playing right into the hands of the Democrats, and the GREAT people of Kentucky will never forgive him! The GROWTH we are experiencing, plus some cost cutting later on, will solve ALL problems. America will be greater than ever before!’

Next week, Senate Republicans will get their turn to parse through the colossal package and are eying changes that could be a hard sell for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who can only afford to lose three votes.

Congressional Republicans are in a dead sprint to get the megabill — filled with Trump’s policy desires on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt — onto the president’s desk by early July.

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Alex Miller contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s 20th week in the Oval Office is expected to include a White House meeting with Germany’s chancellor, a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and lawmakers’ ongoing efforts to pass the ‘big, beautiful bill’ to fund the president’s agenda.

Monday marks Trump’s 134th day in the White House, a period in which he has issued 150 executive orders affecting domestic policies, unveiled sweeping plans to rectify the nation’s trade deficit with foreign nations and held ongoing negotiations to end international wars. 

The week is slated to include a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House as war continues to rage between Ukraine and Russia and trade negotiations with the U.S. hang over Germany. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz heads to DC 

Merz’s office confirmed on Saturday that the chancellor will travel to Washington on Wednesday evening ahead of meeting Trump on Thursday, Politico reported. 

The two are slated to discuss the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and trade policies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Merz in Germany last week as the two European leaders ironed out an agreement for Germany to bolster its backing of Ukraine. 

The meeting on Thursday will be followed by a lunch and press conference, according to Bloomberg.

Merz and Trump have previously spoken by phone but have not met face-to-face since Merz was elected Germany’s leader in May.

Merz clashed with Trump officials last month when Germany designated its right-wing Alternative for Germany political party a ‘proven right-wing extremist organization.’ 

‘Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy–it’s tyranny in disguise,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted to X of the designation. ‘What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD–which took second in the recent election – but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.’

‘Banning the centrist AfD, Germany’s most popular party, would be an extreme attack on democracy,’ former Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk posted to X, the social media platform that he owns.

Merz responded that American leaders should not weigh in on German elections and politics. 

‘We have largely stayed out of the American election campaign in recent years, and that includes me personally,’ Merz said, according to Politico.

‘We have not taken sides with either candidate. And I ask you to accept that in return,’ he added. 

Trump to call with Xi Jinping

Trump is expected to hold a phone call with China’s Xi Jinping this week to discuss tariffs, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett revealed on Sunday. 

‘President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That’s our expectation,’ Hassett said Sunday during an interview on ABC News’ ‘This Week.’

A day for the phone call has not yet been locked down, according to Hassett.

‘You never know in international relations, but my expectation is that both sides have expressed a willingness to talk,’ Hassett said. ‘And I’d like to also add that people are talking every day, so [U.S. Trade Representative] Jamieson Greer, his team and President Xi’s team in China, they’re talking every day trying to move the ball forward on this matter.’

The Trump administration leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of their own. 

China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement last month, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post on Friday. 

‘I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!’ he wrote. 

‘Big, beautiful bill’ negotiations continue in Senate

Senate lawmakers are working to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is a multitrillion-dollar piece of legislation that advances Trump’s agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. 

House lawmakers passed the legislation last month by one vote after a handful of Republican lawmakers held out on supporting the legislation, saying it would exacerbate the nation’s debt. 

A handful of Republican senators have made similar remarks to their House counterparts, explaining they cannot support the legislation unless it addresses its impact on the nation’s debt. The bill is expected to add roughly $3 trillion to the national debt, Fox News Digital previously reported.

‘I’m a ‘no’ unless we separate out the debt ceiling,’ Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said last week. ‘If you take the debt ceiling off the bill, I’m pretty much a ‘yes’ on most of the rest.’ 

‘If we follow the path of the House bill, we’ll have close to, I think, $60 trillion worth of debt in 10 years. What we’ve got to do is do what every family does: We’ve got to go through every line of the budget,’ Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said during an interview on Fox News on Thursday.

Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on Friday that the Senate must pass the legislation or American families will pay higher taxes. 

‘We don’t have a choice. We have to pass the bill to get the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act back in place on a permanent basis,’ he said. ‘If we don’t do that, the average American family is going to see about a $2,400-a-year increase in their taxes. So we have to do something. And it’s critical that we pass this bill. We’re going to work with the House. We’re going to get this deal done. The Senate will put their mark of approval on it, but nonetheless, we want to do everything we can as quickly as we can to take care of this so that we can get on to other things. The president has made it very clear he wants to get this done. We want to help in that regard. This is our job.’

Trump has repeatedly called on lawmakers to unify and pass the legislation, saying that it is ‘arguably the most significant piece of legislation that will ever be signed in the history of our country.’

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Poland has elected Karol Nawrocki, a conservative backed by President Donald Trump, in the country’s presidential runoff election, according to a final vote count issued Monday. 

Nawrocki won 50.89% of the vote, gaining a narrow victory over liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who received 49.11%, the Associated Press reported. 

The first round of voting two weeks ago revealed deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union. Nawrocki will succeed Andrzej Duda, a conservative whose second and final term ends on Aug. 6. 

Trzaskowski conceded defeat and congratulated Nawrocki on Monday, thanking all those who voted for him. 

‘I fought for us to build a strong, safe, honest, and empathetic Poland together,’ he wrote on X. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t able to convince the majority of citizens of my vision for Poland. I’m sorry we didn’t win together.’

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week stumped for Nawrocki at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Warsaw, where she also slammed ‘weak’ European leaders who she argued have allowed mass migration of having ‘destroyed their civilizations.’ Noem praised Poland’s strict border enforcement, warning that ‘socialists’ like Trzaskowski would take such protections away from the Polish people. 

Trump hosted Nawrocki at the White House in early May during the conservative candidate’s campaign. 

Under the Polish constitution, the president serves a five-year term and may be re-elected once. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the leaders offering their congratulations to Nawrocki on Monday morning. 

‘Poland, which preserves the strength of its national spirit and its faith in justice, has been and remains a pillar of regional and European security, and a strong voice defending freedom and dignity for every nation,’ Zelenskyy wrote. ‘By reinforcing one another on our continent, we give greater strength to Europe in global competition and bring the achievement of real and lasting peace closer. I look forward to continued fruitful cooperation with Poland and with President Nawrocki personally.’ 

The U.S. has about 10,000 troops stationed in Poland and Noem suggested that military ties could deepen with Nawrocki as president. A common refrain from Nawrocki’s supporters is that he will restore ‘normality,’ as they believe Trump has done. U.S. flags often appeared at Nawrocki’s rallies, and his supporters believed that he offered a better chance for good ties with the Trump administration.

Nawrocki, a 42-year-old amateur boxer and historian, has also echoed some of Trump’s language on Ukraine. He promises to continue Poland’s support for Ukraine but has been critical of Zelenskyy, accusing him of taking advantage of allies. He has accused Ukrainian refugees of taking advantage of Polish generosity, vowing to prioritize Poles for social services such as health care and schooling.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who shares Nawrocki’s national conservative worldview, hailed Nawrocki’s ‘fantastic victory.’

Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered measured congratulations, emphasizing continued EU-Poland collaboration rooted in shared democratic values: ‘We are all stronger together in our community of peace, democracy, and values. So let us work to ensure the security and prosperity of our common home.’

Nawrocki’s victory is a comeback for the Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023, when it lost power to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist coalition. 

Duda’s veto power has been one obstacle to the pro-European Union Tusk in fulfilling certain electoral promises, such as loosening restrictions on abortion or passing a civil partnership law for same-sex couples. Some observers in Poland have said the unfulfilled promises could make it more difficult for Tusk to continue his term until the next parliamentary election scheduled for late 2027, particularly if Law and Justice dangles the prospect of future cooperation with conservatives in his coalition.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s time as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has come to an end following the expiration of his time as a special government employee. 

Since January, Musk has been heading up DOGE, which was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the federal government’s budget through efforts to slash spending, government programs and the federal workforce.

But how will the Trump administration look at DOGE now that Musk is gone?

So far, there are no signs that DOGE is being dismantled or that its efforts will be reversed, and former DOGE employees are infiltrating other areas of the Trump administration. Plus, President Donald Trump signaled that Musk could return in some capacity, although he did not dive into specifics. 

‘Elon’s really not leaving,’ Trump said Friday in the Oval Office. ‘He’s going to be back and forth … it’s his baby. And I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things. But Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history.’

DOGE’s efforts to cut waste have led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraudulent payment cuts, in addition to other steps to eliminate costs, according to a May 26 update from DOGE’s website. That translates to roughly $1,086.96 in savings per taxpayer, according to the website. 

Meanwhile, Musk signaled that despite his departure as a special employee, DOGE would only continue to pick up steam and that DOGE is now an essential aspect of the federal government. 

‘This is not … the end of DOGE, but really the beginning. My time as a special government appointee necessarily had to end,’ Musk said Friday in the Oval Office. ‘The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. The DOGE influence will only grow stronger. I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It’s like a way of life, so it is permeating throughout the government. And I’m confident that over time, we’ll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction.’ 

The White House has said that DOGE leadership following Musk’s departure will continue through members of Trump’s Cabinet. 

‘The DOGE leaders are each and every member of the president’s Cabinet and the president himself, who is wholeheartedly committed to cutting waste, fraud and abuse from our government,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday at a White House press briefing. 

‘The entire Cabinet understands the need to cut government waste, fraud and abuse,’ Leavitt said. ‘And each Cabinet secretary at their respective agencies is committed to that. That’s why they were working hand in hand with Elon Musk. And they’ll continue to work with their respective DOGE employees who have onboarded as political appointees at all of these agencies. So surely the mission of DOGE will continue, and many DOGE employees are now political appointees and employees of our government.’

A senior White House official previously told Fox News Digital that DOGE is now part of the ‘DNA’ of the federal government, and that the agency will continue to function as it has done so far. 

‘The DOGE employees at their respective agency or department will be reporting to and executing the agenda of the president through the leadership of each agency or department head,’ the official said.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a stark warning Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore: China’s military is ‘rehearsing for the real deal,’ and a full-scale invasion of Taiwan ‘could be imminent.’

‘We are not going to sugarcoat it – the threat China poses is real,’ he added.

Beijing swiftly rejected the allegation. Rear Admiral Hu Gangfeng, head of the Chinese delegation and vice president of China’s National Defense University, called the remarks ‘groundless accusations,’ stating that ‘some of the claims are completely fabricated, some distort facts and some are cases of a thief crying ‘stop thief.’’ Despite such denials, a growing body of evidence suggests China may indeed be preparing for a military move against Taiwan.

Numerous indicators draw this conclusion. Here are nine:

1. China has intensified its joint sea and air exercises surrounding Taiwan, including rehearsals simulating blockades, encirclements, and amphibious assaults. These drills closely mirror operational strategies that would likely be employed in an actual invasion and are widely interpreted by analysts as concrete signals of Beijing’s willingness to use force.

2. The Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) has positioned H-6 bombers, capable of delivering nuclear payloads, on outposts such as Woody Island in the South China Sea. These platforms significantly extend China’s strike capability and serve as strategic messaging to both Taipei and Washington.

3. China continues to conduct gray-zone operations aka non-kinetic forms of coercion, including cyberattacks on Taiwan’s infrastructure, disinformation campaigns, and illegal incursions by maritime militia vessels. Though these actions fall below the threshold of open warfare, they are designed to wear down Taiwan’s defenses and destabilize the region. 

4. According to U.S. intelligence assessments, Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed the PLA to be capable of launching an invasion of Taiwan by 2027. While not a confirmed deadline for action, it has catalyzed PLA modernization, emphasizing joint force integration and amphibious readiness. 

5. China’s strategic expansion in Latin America – especially through Belt and Road investments and attempts to influence key nodes such as the Panama Canal reflect broader ambitions to project global power and encircle U.S. interests. These moves indirectly support Taiwan-related ambitions by distracting or overextending U.S. response capabilities.

6. Recent PLA exercises have incorporated civilian ferries capable of transporting tanks and personnel—suggesting preparations for amphibious operations on Taiwan’s shores. The dual-use nature of these assets allows China to mask military buildup under the guise of civilian activity.

7. Beijing has intensified its political narrative around ‘reunification,’ including state media coverage, educational reforms, and speeches by top Chinese officials. These ideological signals often precede military action in authoritarian regimes.

8, China has rapidly expanded its coastal infrastructure, including new docks, airstrips, and logistics hubs in Fujian Province—directly across the Taiwan Strait. Satellite imagery suggests these assets are optimized for a cross-strait operation.

9. Chinese fighter jets and warships have entered Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) at unprecedented levels. In early 2025 alone, PLA aircraft breached Taiwan’s ADIZ over 1,200 times, prompting elevated readiness levels in Taipei.

The question of whether China will invade Taiwan is no longer hypothetical but a matter of timing and risk calculus. While Beijing continues to deny aggressive intent, the evidence suggests a sustained and deliberate military buildup with the intent to compel reunification—if not peacefully, then by force. 

Hegseth’s warning reflects not alarmism, but a sober assessment of escalating realities. These indicators—military drills, strategic deployments, political rhetoric, and infrastructure mobilization—align with historical precedents for pre-invasion posturing.

The international community must take this threat seriously. Strengthening deterrence, improving intelligence sharing, and reinforcing Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities are critical to avoiding a regional catastrophe. For the United States and its allies, readiness is no longer optional—it is a strategic imperative.

Jerusalem – Iran angrily lashed out at Austria’s government Friday after Fox News Digital reported on a document asserting that Tehran has developed an advanced nuclear weapons program that can launch long-range missiles. 

The explosive report from Austria’s version of the FBI—the Directorate State Protection and Intelligence Service—provides a specialized window into the Iranian regime’s illicit atomic weapons program and its espionage activities in the central European country.

Fox News Digital was the first news organization to report on the Iran sections of the report on Wednesday, sparking a major diplomatic row between the Islamic Republic and Austria.

‘The Iranian nuclear weapons development program is well advanced, and Iran possesses a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long distances,’ the Austrian domestic intelligence agency report stated.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqaei, denounced the Austrian intelligence agency ‘for spreading lies,’ and called on the Austrian government to ‘provide an official explanation regarding the irresponsible, provocative, and destructive act by one of its official institutions,’ according to the Ministry’s website.

Tehran-based Austrian diplomat Michaela Pacher was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry, according to the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

‘[Pacher] took this opportunity to reiterate Austria’s and the EU’s position on the Iranian nuclear program,’ Austrian officials said in a statement. ‘This position was most recently expressed to the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.’

Austria expressed support for an EU statement along with other countries in March.

‘Iran already accumulated more than six significant quantities of 60% enriched material [which the Agency defines as the approximate amount of nuclear material for which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded] and is currently producing one significant quantity of highly enriched uranium every month,’ noted the EU statement.

The EU statement added that ‘All these actions carry very significant proliferation-related risks and raise grave concerns about Iran’s intentions, since they have no credible civilian justification. In this context, the EU remains concerned by statements made by Iranian officials about Iran’s capacity to assemble a nuclear weapon.’

The shocking Austrian intelligence findings contradict the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has yet to begin a weapons program, but has ‘undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.’ There have long been conflicting views (between U.S. intelligence agencies and European intelligence services) over Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program.

The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the Austrian report.

‘President Trump is committed to Iran never obtaining a nuclear weapon or the capacity to build one,’ a White House official said.

The Austrian report coincides with a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report. The AP reported on Saturday that Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog said Saturday and called on Tehran to urgently change course and comply with the agency’s probe.

The report comes at a sensitive time as Tehran and Washington have been holding several rounds of talks in the past weeks over a possible nuclear deal that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to reach.

The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency says that as of May 17, Iran has amassed 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%.

That material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. A report in February put the stockpile at 274.8 kilograms (605.8 pounds).

The IAEA report raised a stern warning, saying that Iran is now ‘the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material’ — something the agency said was of ‘serious concern.’

In February, Fox News Digital reported that the IAEA said Iran has sufficient enriched uranium to manufacture six nuclear weapons.

‘The Islamic Republic is the standard-bearer of deception and stonewalling. Today’s damning IAEA reports confirm how Iran has been in violation of the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] for years, even when the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] was in effect. It shows the regime cannot be trusted with any diplomatic agreement,’ said Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).

The JCPOA is the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal that was concluded between the Obama administration and Iran. President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 because, his administration said at the time, the deal did not prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.

‘I think Iran’s regime’s response to Austria’s findings shows its sensitivity over these matters,’ Brodsky said. ‘It also wants to bully Austria. Austria should force the Iranian regime to decrease the size of its embassy in Vienna which it has long used as a hub for malign intelligence collection and operations throughout Europe.’

The clerical regime’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, posted on his X account a statement in response to the Fox News Digital report.

‘Media is speculating about an imminent Iran-U.S. deal. Not sure if we are there yet,’ he wrote. ‘Iran is sincere about a diplomatic solution that will serve the interests of all sides.

‘But getting there requires an agreement that will fully terminate all sanctions and uphold Iran’s nuclear rights—including enrichment. Path to a deal goes through the negotiating table and not the media.’

The U.S. talks to dismantle Iran’s illicit atomic weapons program coincides with a nationwide truckers’ strike in Iran. The widespread labor unrest could severely weaken the regime, according to Iran experts.

The exiled crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the U.S, called on U.S. labor unions to stand with Iranian truckers.

 ‘Truck drivers and workers across Iran are on strike and are putting their lives on the line to fight for their rights and for a better future for their families,’ Pahlavi, who lives in the U.S, wrote on X. ‘Now, they are being jailed and threatened for posting photos and videos of their strike. Only in a free Iran will all workers have the right to freely and openly organize. I invite you, labor unions and leaders, to stand with your fellow workers in Iran and show your solidarity.’

Hamas has agreed to release 10 living hostages and return the bodies of 18 more, but the terms of the proposed deal have been deemed unacceptable by the U.S. and Israel.

The group, which has been on the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations since 1997, made the announcement in a statement Saturday and said it was being done on the condition that a number of Palestinian prisoners be returned in exchange as part of a means to achieve a permanent ceasefire.

Israeli media reported that Hamas added new demands to the proposal from U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, including a permanent ceasefire, complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and unrestricted humanitarian aid flow into the strip.

Witkoff’s proposal did not include a full withdrawal or a ceasefire, the Jerusalem Post reported, and that Hamas added terms of its own.

In a statement posted to X on Saturday, Witkoff called Hamas’ response to the American proposal ‘totally unacceptable’ and warned it ‘only takes us backward.’ He urged the group to accept the original framework in order to begin proximity talks as early as next week, which could pave the way for a 60-day ceasefire and the return of both living and deceased hostages.

In a statement before Witkoff’s response, Hamas wrote: ‘After conducting a round of national consultations, and based on our immense sense of responsibility towards our people and their suffering, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) today submitted its response to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s latest proposal to the mediating parties. 

‘This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.’

Reacting to the announcement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that while Israel had agreed to the updated Witkoff framework, ‘Hamas continues to cling to its refusal.’ The office emphasized that Israel remains committed to bringing its hostages home and defeating Hamas, citing Witkoff’s remarks as confirmation that Hamas’ latest stance undermines progress.

Hamas is holding 58 hostages in Gaza. Of these, Israeli intelligence assesses that at least 34 are deceased, leaving approximately 24 believed to be alive. More than 250 people were captured during the Hamas terror attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

The latest proposal being negotiated involves the release of 10 living hostages and a number of bodies during a 60-day pause in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including 100 serving long sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks, The Associated Press reported Friday, citing a Hamas official and an Egyptian official speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. negotiators had not publicized the terms of the proposal.

Witkoff’s office reiterated on social media that the proposed deal could allow ‘half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased’ to return to their families if Hamas agrees to enter talks under the current terms. 

The statement stressed that the window to finalize the deal is narrowing, and that major negotiations could begin ‘in good faith’ within days if Hamas accepts.

‘As stated by the U.S. President’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff: Hamas’ response is unacceptable and sets the situation back,’ the Prime Minister’s Office said.

President Donald Trump said Friday that negotiators were nearing a deal.

‘They’re very close to an agreement on Gaza, and we’ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow,’ Trump told reporters in Washington. Late in the evening, asked if he was confident Hamas would approve the deal, he told reporters: ‘They’re in a big mess. I think they want to get out of it.’

Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.

Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all hostages still held in Gaza before it agrees to end the war. Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.