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POINT. In this filephoto, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump appeared on Friday, July 25, to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, both saying it had become clear that the Palestinian militants did not want a deal.

Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where starvation is spreading and most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin.

Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down”, telling reporters at the White House: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”

The remarks appeared to leave little to no room, at least in the short term, to resume negotiations to pause the fighting, at a time when international concern is mounting over worsening hunger in war-shattered Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron, responding to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, announced overnight that Paris would become the first major Western power to recognize an independent Palestinian state. Britain and Germany said they were not yet ready to do so.

Trump dismissed Macron’s move. “What he says doesn’t matter,” he told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”

Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations on Thursday from the ceasefire talks in Qatar, hours after Hamas submitted its response to a truce proposal.

Sources initially said on Thursday that the Israeli withdrawal was only for consultations and did not necessarily mean the talks had reached a crisis. But Netanyahu’s remarks suggested Israel’s position had hardened overnight.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said overnight Hamas was to blame for the impasse, and Netanyahu said Witkoff had got it right.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Facebook that the talks had been constructive, and criticized Witkoff’s remarks as aimed at exerting pressure on Israel’s behalf.

“What we have presented — with full awareness and understanding of the complexity of the situation — we believe could lead to a deal if the enemy had the will to reach one,” he said.

The proposed ceasefire would suspend fighting for 60 days, allow more aid into Gaza, and free some of the 50 remaining hostages held by militants in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.

It has been held up by disagreement over how far Israel should withdraw its troops and the future beyond the 60 days if no permanent agreement is reached.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right national security minister in Netanyahu’s coalition, welcomed Netanyahu’s step, calling for a total halt of aid to Gaza and complete conquest of the enclave, adding in a post on X: “Total annihilation of Hamas, encourage emigration, (Jewish) settlement.”

Mass hunger

International aid organizations say mass hunger has now arrived among Gaza’s 2.2 million people, with stocks running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, then reopened it in May but with new restrictions.

The Israeli military said on Friday it had agreed to let countries airdrop aid into Gaza. Hamas dismissed this as a stunt.

“The Gaza Strip does not need flying aerobatics, it needs an open humanitarian corridor and a steady daily flow of aid trucks to save what remains of the lives of besieged, starving civilians,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters.

Gaza medical authorities said nine more Palestinians had died over the past 24 hours from malnutrition or starvation. Dozens have died in the past few weeks as hunger worsens.

Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to distribute it, in what the Israeli foreign ministry called on Friday “a deliberate ploy to defame Israel”. The United Nations says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions.

United Nations agencies said on Friday that supplies were running out in Gaza of specialised therapeutic food to save the lives of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The ceasefire talks have been accompanied by continuing Israeli offensives on the ground. Palestinian health officials said Israeli airstrikes and gunfire had killed at least 21 people across the enclave on Friday, including five killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City.

In the city, residents carried the body of journalist Adam Abu Harbid through the streets wrapped in a white shroud, his blue flak jacket marked PRESS draped across his body. He was killed overnight in a strike on tents housing displaced people.

Mahmoud Awadia, another journalist attending the funeral, said the Israelis were deliberately trying to kill reporters. Israel denies intentionally targeting journalists.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns near the border, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, health officials there say, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins.

Israel and the United States both criticized Macron’s decision to recognise Palestinian independence. Netanyahu called it a “reward for terrorism”.

Western countries have been committed for decades to an eventual independent Palestinian state but have long said it should arise out of a negotiated peace process.

Europe’s two other big powers, Britain and Germany, made clear there were no plans to act on Palestinian statehood right away.

Germany has a long history of supporting Israel arising from its guilt in the Nazi Holocaust. Britain said on Friday its first priority was alleviating Gaza’s humanitarian disaster and securing a ceasefire.

“Israel’s security is of paramount importance to the German government,” a German government spokesperson said. “The German government therefore has no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term.” – Rappler.com

US President Donald Trump has said Hamas do not want a ceasefire deal in Gaza and that he believes the militant group’s leaders will now be “hunted down”.

It comes a day after Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East, cut short indirect talks with the Palestinian militant group in Doha and amid growing international concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel and its allies will pursue “alternative options” to bring the remaining October 7 hostages home from Gaza and end Hamas rule in the territory, sparking worry that the US and Israel have abandoned ceasefire talks

“It was too bad. Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die,” Mr Trump told reporters, as he prepared to fly to the UK.

“And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”

Referring to Hamas’s leaders, the president added: “I think they will be hunted down.”

The remarks appeared to leave little to no room to resume negotiations to pause the fighting, at a time when international concern is mounting over worsening hunger in war-shattered Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu had said his government was still seeking a deal, despite recalling negotiators from Qatar hours after Hamas submitted its response to a truce proposal.

Sources initially said on Thursday that the Israeli withdrawal was only for consultations and did not necessarily mean the talks had reached a crisis.

But Mr Netanyahu’s remarks suggested Israel’s position had hardened overnight.

Responding to Mr Witkoff blaming Hamas for the impasse, Mr Netanyahu posted on X: “Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff got it right.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel and its allies would consider “alternative options”. (Reuters: Ronen Zvulun)

“Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal. Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region.”

A Hamas official on Friday accused Mr Witkoff of reneging on Washington’s positions and distorting reality after he announced America’s withdrawal.

“The negative statements of the US envoy Witkoff run completely counter to the context in which the last negotiations were held, and he is perfectly aware of this, but they come to serve the Israeli position,” said Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim, in an interview with AFP.

Mr Naim also said that the talks had been constructive, and criticised Mr Witkoff’s remarks as aimed at exerting pressure on Israel’s behalf.

France’s declaration ‘doesn’t carry weight’, says Trump

The proposed ceasefire would suspend fighting for 60 days, allow more aid into Gaza, and free some of the 50 remaining hostages held by militants in return for Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.

It has been held up by disagreement over how far Israel should withdraw its troops and the future beyond the 60 days if no permanent agreement is reached.

Mr Trump also reacted to French President Emmanuel Macron announcing that France would be the first major Western power to recognise an independent Palestinian state.

“He’s [Macron] a very good guy, I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Netanyahu called the decision a “reward for terrorism”.

Western countries have been committed for decades to an eventual independent Palestinian state but have long said it should arise out of a negotiated peace process.

Europe’s two other big powers, Britain and Germany, made clear there were no plans to act on Palestinian statehood right away.

Israel says Gaza aid drops to resume

The news comes amid growing concern over starvation and the lack of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, as the enclave reels from 21 months of war.

Gaza medical authorities said nine more Palestinians had died over the past 24 hours from malnutrition or starvation. Dozens have died in the past few weeks as hunger worsens.

An Israeli official has said on Friday that aid drops would resume soon.

“Humanitarian aid air drops on the Gaza Strip will resume in the upcoming days. They will be managed by the UAE and Jordan,” the official told AFP.

International aid organisations say mass hunger has now arrived among Gaza’s 2.2 million people, with stocks running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, then reopened it in May but with new restrictions.

PM labels Gaza a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ Photo shows Albanese looks serious, behind him is a dark background The prime minister says the conflict in Gaza has stolen “far too many innocent lives”, repeating his desire to see a two-state solution after France moved to recognise a Palestinian state.

“The Gaza Strip does not need flying aerobatics, it needs an open humanitarian corridor and a steady daily flow of aid trucks to save what remains of the lives of besieged, starving civilians,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, told Reuters.

Israel said it has let enough food into Gaza and accused the United Nations of failing to distribute it, in what the Israeli foreign ministry called on Friday “a deliberate ploy to defame Israel”.

The UN says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions.

UN agencies said on Friday that supplies were running out in Gaza of specialised therapeutic food to save the lives of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The ceasefire talks have been accompanied by continuing Israeli offensives on the ground.

Palestinian health officials said Israeli air strikes and gunfire had killed at least 21 people across the enclave on Friday, including five killed in a strike on a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters stormed Israeli towns near the border, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages on October 7, 2023.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, health officials there say, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins.

Reuters/AFP

STORY: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump appeared on Friday to have abandoned Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas.

That’s as both said it had become clear that the Palestinian militants did not want a deal and follows the withdrawal of their delegations from talks just a day earlier.

Netanyahu said Israel was now considering “alternative” options to achieve two main goals: bringing hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas’s rule in the territory.

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Trump said he believed the group’s leaders would now be “hunted down.”

UPSOT: “Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die”

In a statement, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff blamed Hamas for blocking ceasefire negotiations, which have been mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

Netanyahu agreed with Witkoff, emphasizing Hamas as the obstacle to reaching a deal.

However, Hamas disputed Witkoff’s characterisation of the talks.

The group said negotiators had been making progress and suggested Witkoff’s remarks were intended to exert pressure on Israel’s behalf.

The proposed ceasefire would have lasted 60 days.

During this period, additional aid would be allowed into Gaza and some of the remaining 50 hostages held by militants there would be freed in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Summary Sentiment boosted by US-Japan trade deal

Markets pause ahead of next week’s Fed, BOJ policy meetings

Focus on US-EU trade negotiations

Markets shrug off Trump’s Fed visit

Pound weakens against euro and dollar after soft economic data

LONDON/NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar advanced on Friday, bolstered by solid economic data that suggested the Federal Reserve was justified in taking a patient approach to cutting interest rates, while tariff negotiations showed more clarity.

“The dollar regained some ground the past two days, after being on the defensive earlier in the week … supported mostly by an encouraging set of U.S. economic data that argues for continued patience at the Fed,” said Elias Haddad, senior markets strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in London.

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The U.S. currency, however, showed little reaction to data showing new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately. That suggested business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter.

The greenback was set for its biggest weekly drop in a month, ahead of more tariff dialogue and central bank meetings next week, while sterling dipped after softer-than-expected British retail sales data.

Both the Fed and the Bank of Japan are expected to hold rates steady at next week’s policy meetings, but traders are focusing on the subsequent comments to gauge the timing of the next moves.

Politics is a factor for both central banks, most dramatically in the U.S., where President Donald Trump once again pressed for lower interest rates on Thursday as he locked horns with Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Brown Brothers’ Haddad said the Fed’s monetary policy is being “overshadowed by the political pressure to lower interest rates. That’s one of the reasons why I think the dollar’s upside is limited.”

The dollar managed to recover a touch against the euro late on Thursday, however, after Trump said he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he could.

“The market relief was based on the fact that Trump refrained from calling for Powell to go, although that was based on Trump’s view that Powell would ‘do the right thing’,” said Derek Halpenny, head of EMEA research at MUFG.

He added, however, that “the theme of Fed independence being undermined by the White House will unlikely go away and remains a downside risk for the dollar.”

BOJ MEETING

Falls against the euro and yen leave the dollar index , which measures the dollar against six other currencies, at 97.45, on track for a drop of 0.75% this week, its weakest performance in a month, though it bounced back 0.3% on Friday.

Meanwhile, in Japan, though the trade deal signed with the U.S. this week could make it easier for the BOJ to continue rate hikes, the bruising loss for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition in upper house elections on Sunday complicates life for the BOJ

The yen was softer, thanks in part to below-expectations Tokyo inflation data , with the dollar last up 0.5% at 147.66 yen, though on course for a weekly 0.7% fall.

The euro was down 0.2% at $1.1728 but set for a weekly gain of 0.8%.

The common currency took some support Thursday from the European Central Bank meeting. Policymakers left the policy rate at 2%, as expected, but the bank’s relatively upbeat assessment of the economic outlook and signs that an EU-U.S. trade deal is near caused investors to reassess previous assumptions of one more rate cut this year.

In contrast, soft British data is supporting expectations of more Bank of England rate cuts, and causing euro zone bond yields to rise faster than British ones, supporting the euro against the pound.

The euro rose as much as 0.23% on sterling to 87.27 pence on Friday, its highest since April, building on a 0.44% gain the previous day.

Data on Friday showed British retail sales data for June slightly below analysts’ expectations, albeit rebounding from a sharp drop in May, after figures on Thursday showed business activity grew only weakly in July and employers cut jobs at the fastest pace in five months.

The pound was last down 0.6% on the dollar at $1.3434 .

Reporting by Alun John in London and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Kevin Liffey, Helen Popper, Rod Nickel

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Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 2 Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Summary

Companies Week ahead includes tariff deadline Fed meeting, payrolls data

Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft report next week

U.S. Treasury yields rise ahead of data-heavy week

Oil prices decline on demand outlook and Venezuela supply concerns

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) – Wall Street and the dollar firmed on Friday as investors girded themselves for the week ahead, which includes a Federal Reserve policy meeting, crucial corporate results and U.S. President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline for negotiating trade deals

“Some deals will be done and talks will continue, and Trump may push out the deadline further,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. “Trump’s process is to shock and then be reasonable in terms of tariffs.”

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All three indexes were modestly green in early trading, and were on course for weekly gains.

Gold lost some shine, pressured by the dollar as healthy risk appetites lured investors away from the safe-haven metal.

With Trump’s negotiating deadline just a week away, the U.S. and its trading partners are scrambling to reach trade agreements, with European negotiators heartened by the deal with Japan announced on Tuesday.

Intel’s shares INTC.O , opens new tab dropped 8.8% after the chipmaker forecast steeper-than-expected quarterly losses and said it had halted or scrapped new factory projects in the U.S. and Europe.

More than a third of the companies in the S&P 500 have posted results, 80% of which have beaten estimates, according to LSEG data.

Analysts now expect year-on-year second-quarter earnings growth of 7.7%, compared with the 5.8% estimate as of July 1.

U.S. economic data released on Friday showed an unexpected decline in new orders for core capital goods , as companies hold back on big ticket purchases amid the fog of ongoing trade talks.

The Fed is expected to convene next week for its two-day monetary policy meeting, which is expected to culminate in a decision to let its federal funds target rate stand in the 4.25% to 4.50% range. The meeting comes at a moment in which Fed Chair Jerome Powell is facing criticism from Trump for not cutting rates.

“I don’t expect Powell to change what he does, nor should he,” Ghriskey added. “The idea of lower interest rates should scare us because Fed has had this huge job of bringing down inflation, and to ease rates at this point is clearly going to be inflationary.”

European shares gave back some of the previous session’s gains as market participants parsed mixed corporate earnings and awaited developments in the U.S.-EU trade negotiations.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab fell 1.01 points, or 0.11%, to 940.34.

U.S. Treasury yields drifted higher in a subdued trading as investors braced for a data-heavy week, updates on U.S. trade talks, and a Federal Reserve policy meeting.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 0.2 basis points to 4.41%, from 4.408% late on Thursday.

The 30-year bond yield rose 0.5 basis points to 4.9543% from 4.949% late on Thursday.

The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 0.6 basis points to 3.919%, from 3.925% late on Thursday.

The dollar gained strength but remained on course for its biggest drop in a month as investors focused on tariff negotiations and central bank meetings on the calendar for next week.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.28% to 97.72, with the euro down 0.2% at $1.173.

Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.4% to 147.57.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 3.08% to $115,133.22. Ethereum declined 2.63% to $3,641.43.

U.S. crude fell 0.56% to $65.63 a barrel and Brent fell to $68.91 per barrel, down 0.39% on the day.

Gold prices dropped in opposition to the firming dollar, amid growing optimism surrounding U.S.-EU trade talks.

Spot gold fell 0.93% to $3,336.52 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.85% to $3,342.50 an ounce.

World stock index performance

Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional Reporting by Kevin Buckland Editing by Marguerita Choy

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