Abu Dhabi, May 16 (AP) President Donald Trump wraps up a Mideast tour in the United Arab Emirates with a breakfast for business leaders and a visit to an interfaith place of worship named for the Abraham Accords he negotiated.
As part of the accords, the UAE and some other countries in the Middle East recognised Israel. Trump departs Abu Dhabi after his visit to the Abrahamic Family House.
During his visit to the region, violence flared in the West Bank, and Gaza. Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people Friday, adding to the more than 120 people who died in recent days.
Here's the latest:
Hostage families call on their government to work with Trump to release those still held in Gaza
Hostage families called on their government Friday to work with President Trump to release those still held in Gaza. A statement from the hostages forum, which supports the families said people woke up with “heavy hearts” amid reports of increased attacks across Gaza at the end of Trump's visit to the Middle East.
There were widespread attacks in northern Gaza Friday as Trump was finishing his visit to Gulf States but not Israel.
Israel says about 23 of the hostages are said to be alive.
Hostage families call on PM to join hands' with Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel's war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza.
The hostage families called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump's efforts to release the hostages.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever.
Trump slams opponents to his birthright citizenship order as Sleazebags'
Trump is wrapping up his four-day visit to the Middle East, but he's keeping a close eye on what's going on back in Washington.
Before heading out Friday morning to the Qasr Al Watan presidential for the final engagements of his trip, the president took to his Truth Social platform to hammer “Radical Left Sleazebags” after Supreme Court justices on Thursday heard more than two hours of arguments debating how the lower courts should handle Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship.
“I hope the Supreme Court doesn't fall for the games they play,” Trump added. “The people are with us in bigger numbers than ever before.”
President Trump kicks off final day of Mideast trip
President Donald Trump is kicking off the final day of his Middle East trip with a meeting of US and UAE business executives alongside UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Energy, health care, aviation, entertainment and other business leaders will be in attendance to highlight ties between the two countries -- a central focus of Trump's trip to the region.
Trump will then tour the Abrahamic Family House, a complex that houses a church, mosque and synagogue and is a symbol of interfaith tolerance. Trump has encouraged other countries in the region to join the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel, as the UAE did in 2020. The president will then depart back to Washington.
Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza
Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Friday morning, as US President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble.
There had been widespread hope that Trump's regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.
Trump to visit Abrahamic House on last day of his Mideast trip
President Donald Trump will make several stops before taking off on Air Force One to end his Mideast trip on Friday.
He'll attend a business summit in the morning in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Trump later will visit the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. It is home to a mosque, a church and a synagogue. The UAE built it after diplomatically recognising Israel in an agreement known as the Abraham Accords, as Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all known as the Abrahamic faiths. (AP) NPK
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