Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump pushes for ceasefire
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US President Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ takes another hurdle in tight Senate vote
Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending around $3.8 trillion in tax breaks. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump’s first term that would otherwise expire by year’s end if Congress fails to act. A new analysis from the non-partisan Cogressional Budget Office said the bill would increase 11.8 million the number of people without health insurance by 2034. The president was working the phones from the Oval Office late Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump’s national security.
Senate Republicans voting in a dramatic late Saturday session narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks, spending cuts and increased deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline.
The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. In the end, two Republicans opposed the motion to proceed, joining all Democrats.
Republicans are using their majorities in Congress to push aside Democratic opposition, but they have run into a series of political and policy setbacks. Not all GOP lawmakers are on board with proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid, food stamps and other programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending around $3.8 trillion in tax breaks.
“It’s time to get this legislation across the finish line,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Criticism mounting but GOP leaders determined
Ahead of roll call, the White House released a statement of administrative policy saying it “strongly supports passage” of the bill. Trump himself was at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday with GOP senators posting about the visit on social media.
But by nightfall, Trump was lashing out against holdouts, threatening to campaign against one Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who had announced he could not support the bill because of grave Medicaid cuts that he worried would leave many without health care in his state. Tillis and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted against. The president was working the phones from the Oval Office late Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pressure was mounting from all sides — Elon Musk criticized the package again as “utterly insane and destructive.”
The “New Big Beautiful Bill Act” was released shortly before midnight Friday, and senators are expected to grind through all-night debate and amendments in the days ahead. If the Senate is able to pass it, the bill would go back to the House for a final round of votes before it could reach the White House.
Make-or-break moment for GOP
With the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate, leaders need almost every lawmaker on board. A new analysis from the non-partisan Cogressional Budget Office said the bill would increase 11.8 million the number of people without health insurance by 2034.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Republicans unveiled the bill “in the dead of night” and are rushing to finish the bill before the public fully knows what’s in it. He immediately forced a full reading of the text late Saturday in the Senate, which would take hours.
The weekend session could be a make-or-break moment for Trump’s party, which has invested much of its political capital on his signature domestic policy plan. Trump is pushing Congress to wrap it up and has admonished the “grandstanders” among GOP holdouts to fall in line.
After Saturday’s vote, Trump posted on his social media platform that “tonight we saw a GREAT VICTORY in the Senate with the ‘GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'”, thanking leading GOP senators by name.
A weekend on call
The legislation is an ambitious but complicated series of GOP priorities. At its core, it would make permanent many of the tax breaks from Trump’s first term that would otherwise expire by year’s end if Congress fails to act, resulting in a potential tax increase on Americans. The bill would add new breaks, including no taxes on tips, and commit $350 billion to national security, including for Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
But the cutbacks to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments, which a top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said would be a “death sentence” for America’s wind and solar industries, are also causing dissent within GOP ranks.
The Republicans are relying on the reductions to offset the lost tax revenues but some lawmakers say the cuts go too far, particularly for people receiving health care through Medicaid. Meanwhile, conservatives, worried about the nation’s debt, are pushing for steeper cuts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson sent his colleagues home for the weekend with plans for them to be on call to return to Washington.
Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump pushes for ceasefire
Three children among those killed in a strike on a “safe zone” in northern Gaza. Israeli military says it is trying to “eliminate terrorists” in the area. Israel has been trying to reach a deal with Hamas to end the conflict in Gaza. The UN has said it is working with Israel to find a way to ease the situation in the Gaza Strip. It has also called for an end to the use of U.S. troops as human shields in the region. The U.N. says it has been working with the Israeli government to try and find a solution to the crisis in Gaza, which has been raging since the start of the year. It says the situation has improved since a ceasefire was agreed, but that it is still working on a long-term deal with the Palestinians. The United Nations has called on all sides to work together to ensure the safety of civilians in the Middle East, including in the West Bank and North Africa, as well as the release of prisoners of war.
Trump has reiterated calls to “make the deal in Gaza” and “get the hostages back”.
Three children were among those killed in a strike on the so-called “safe zone” of al-Mawasi, their parents said.
At least 86 people were killed as the result of Israeli attacks in the 24 hours before midday on Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
People in neighbourhoods across Gaza City and Jabalia have been told to move south towards the coastal area of al-Mawasi as Israeli military operations “intensify and expand westward”.
Israel has ordered Palestinians to evacuate from parts of northern Gaza ahead of increased military action, as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire deal.
On Saturday, Trump had said on Truth Social that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the process of negotiating a deal with Hamas “right now”.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Sunday that the Israeli military was operating in north Gaza “to eliminate terrorists and terrorist infrastructure”.
Medics and residents told Reuters that military bombardments increased in Gaza in the early hours of Sunday, destroying several houses.
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence agency told news outlets that at least 23 people had been killed on Sunday alone.
Medics said five people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a tent housing displaced people in al-Mawasi near the southern city of Khan Younis – an area where people in the north had been told to evacuate to.
Five members of the Maarouf family, including three children, were killed.
“They bombed us while we were sleeping on the ground,” their mother Iman Abu Maarouf said. “We didn’t do anything wrong. My children were killed, and the rest are in intensive care.”
Their father Zeyad Abu Maarouf told Reuters that the family had arrived in the “safe zone” a month ago after Israel told them to go to al-Mawasi.
When asked about the incident, the IDF told the BBC it could not provide a specific response without more information, but said it “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm”.
Also on Sunday, a 20-year-old IDF soldier, Sergeant Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, was killed in northern Gaza.
The increased Israeli military action comes as mediators begin new efforts to end the war and release the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
On Thursday, a senior Hamas official told the BBC mediators have intensified their efforts to broker a new ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, but that negotiations with Israel remain stalled.
Qatari mediators have said they hope US pressure could help to achieve a deal, following a truce between Israel and Iran that ended the 12-day conflict between the countries.
On Sunday, Netanyahu told members of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet that “victory” over Iran opened up many possibilities, “first and foremost, to rescue the hostages”.
“Of course, we will also need to resolve the issue of Gaza, to defeat Hamas, but I believe we will achieve both missions. Beyond that, broad regional opportunities are opening up, in most of which – almost all – you are partners,” he said.
Trump previously said he was hopeful a ceasefire in Gaza could be agreed in the next week.
In March, a two-month ceasefire collapsed when Israel launched fresh strikes on Gaza. It said it wanted to put pressure on Hamas to release its hostages.
Israel also imposed a total blockade on humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March, which it partially eased after 11 weeks following pressure from US allies and warnings from global experts that half a million people were facing starvation.
That partial easing included the creation of a US and Israeli-backed aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), after Israel accused Hamas of stealing aid. Hamas has denied this.
GHF’s aid system has been condemned by UN agencies. There have been repeated incidents of killings and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid.
Juliette Touma, communications director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, told the BBC that the new mechanism was “a killing field”. She said the distribution of aid in an orderly way could only be done through the UN and other humanitarian organisations.
GHF boss Johnnie Moore previously told the BBC World Service’s Newshour he did not deny deaths near aid sites, but said “100% of those casualties are being attributed to close proximity to GHF” and that was “not true”.
Trump calls for ceasefire deal while Israel plans new mass evacuations to expand military operations
US President Donald Trump pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-month-long conflict. At least 60 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health workers said. Israeli official stated that plans are being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalised. Despite Trump’s popularity in the country, this was seen as a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state by many in Israel and Egypt. The Israeli military on Sunday ordered new mass evacuations of Palestinians in northern Gaza, Col. Avichay Adraee said. The IDF will expand its attacks to the city’s northern section, as the IDF will expanded its attacks.
US President Donald Trump pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks, calling for a deal that would halt the fighting in the 20-month-long conflict as Israel and Hamas appeared to be inching closer to an agreement.
An Israeli official stated that plans are being made for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks. The official declined to discuss the focus of the visit and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not yet been finalised.
Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was already set to travel to Washington this week for talks on a ceasefire.
Hours before Trump’s calls for a ceasefire, on Saturday, at least 60 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health workers said.
The strikes began late Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among others killing 12 people near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.
More than 20 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, according to health officials.
A strike midday Saturday killed 11 people on a street in eastern Gaza City, and their bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital.
Trump: Make the deal, get the hostages back!
“Make the deal in Gaza. Get the hostages back!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform on Sunday morning.
Earlier on Friday, Trump raised expectations for a deal, stating that a ceasefire agreement could be reached within the next week. Taking questions from reporters, he said, “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”
In Israel, relatives of the remaining hostages and their supporters gathered for their weekly rally demanding a ceasefire and a deal to return the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Despite an eight-week ceasefire reached just as Trump was taking office earlier this year, attempts since then to bring the sides toward a new agreement have failed.
Meanwhile, Trump has called Netanyahu’s corruption trial a “political witch hunt” claiming similarity to his own trials in the US. According to Trump, the legal proceedings should end, and the court should let Netanyahu go, so that he can negotiate a deal with Hamas to take back the hostages. Despite Trump’s popularity in the country, this was seen as a dramatic interference by an international ally in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state by many in Israel.
New evacuation orders in Gaza
Netanyahu is scheduled to hold a high-level discussion on Sunday with Defence Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir to evaluate the next steps in the Gaza Strip, including potential steps to embark on a wider military operation differing from previous offences, according to Israeli media.
The Israeli military on Sunday ordered new mass evacuations of Palestinians in northern Gaza. Col. Avichay Adraee, a military spokesperson, posted the order on social media, as the IDF will expand its attacks to the city’s northern section.
The evacuation area includes multiple neighbourhoods in eastern and northern Gaza City, as well as the Jabaliya refugee camp.
The military will expand its escalating attacks to the city’s northern section, calling for people to move southward to the Muwasi area in southern Gaza, Adraee said. Rights groups say this movement would amount to a forcible transfer.
Humanitarian situation is ‘unbearable,’ Austrian minister says
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met his Austrian counterpart, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, in Cairo on Saturday, and the two held a news briefing.
The Austrian minister said the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip was “unbearable.”
“It’s high time, especially in political and diplomatic talks, to push for a ceasefire. It’s time for peace, for the guns to fall silent, also in Gaza,” Meinl-Reisinger said.
The war has killed over 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It says more than half of the dead were women and children, including 6,089 killed since the end of the latest ceasefire.
Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end
Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end. Military escalation comes as new ceasefire effort begins. At least 11 Palestinians killed in latest strikes, medics say.
Military escalation comes as new ceasefire effort beginsAt least 11 Palestinians killed in latest strikes, medics sayTrump calls for deal to end war and return Israeli hostages
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli air strike on a school, in northern Gaza Strip, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Nidal al-Mughrabi ©Reuters Today at 12:47
The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire.