Washington, Sep 30: President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth plan to address hundreds of US military officials in person Tuesday after the Pentagon suddenly asked top commanders from around the world to convene at a base in Virginia without publicly revealing the reason.

The gathering at the Marine Corps base in Quantico near Washington has fuelled intense speculation about the purpose and value of summoning such a large number of generals and admirals to one place, with many stationed in more than a dozen countries that include conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new. But experts say the scale of the gathering, the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it are particularly unusual.

“The notion that the secretary is going to talk to the generals and give them his vision for running the department — and maybe also for strategy and organisation — that’s perfectly reasonable,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine colonel.

“What’s mystifying is why it’s on such short notice, why it’s in person and what else might be involved,” he said.

The uncertainty comes as the country faces a potential government shutdown this week and as Hegseth, who has hammered home a focus on lethality and what he calls the “warrior ethos,” has taken several unusual and unexplained actions, including ordering cuts to the number of general officers and firings of other top military leaders.

News about the abruptly scheduled meeting broke Thursday, and top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed it but declined to release further details.

Trump didn’t seem to know about it when he was asked by reporters during an Oval Office appearance later that day. The president said he’ll “be there if they want me, but why is that such a big deal?”

A White House official said Sunday that Trump also will speak at the gathering. The president told NBC News that he and Hegseth would be “talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things.”

Vice President JD Vance argued last week that the media had turned it into a “big story” and that it was “not particularly unusual that generals who report to” Hegseth are coming to speak with him.

Italian Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, described the meeting as unusual and told reporters Saturday after a NATO meeting in Riga, Latvia, that “as far as my 49 years of service, I’ve never seen that before.”

The lack of detailed information has prompted many in Washington to speculate about the meeting’s focus. Whatever it is, Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution said he suspects there will be a dramatic element that may be “as important as any substantive element.”

“Just the sheer scale makes you wonder what kind of meaningful interaction can occur,” said O’Hanlon, Brookings’ director of research for foreign policy. “And therefore it smacks more of theatrics or of trying to impose than of trying to exchange views.”

Bryan Clark, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, said he expects the meeting to centre on the Trump administration’s shift in defense policy. The US military is expected to focus less on Europe and Asia and more on the Northern Hemisphere, a change that breaks with decades of precedent, he said.

Hegseth has championed the military’s role in securing the US-Mexico border, deploying to American cities as part of Trump’s law enforcement surges, and carrying out strikes on boats in the Caribbean that the administration says targeted drug traffickers.

“I think they’re trying to set the tone, set the context, for these generals and admirals to say the strategy we have coming out is very different than what you’re used to — we need you to all be on board with it,” Clark said.

Video teleconferencing across the world is difficult because leaders are spread across time zones, Clark said. Forcing them to attend the meeting in person will drill the point home.

“It’s a way of demonstrating that this is important,” Clark said.

Indonesia, Sep 30: Rescuers ran oxygen and water to students trapped in the unstable concrete rubble of a collapsed school building in Indonesia, as they desperately worked to free survivors Tuesday morning more than 12 hours after the structure fell. At least one student was killed, dozens were injured and 65 were presumed buried in the rubble.

Rescue workers, police and soldiers digging through the night pulled out eight weak and injured survivors more than eight hours after the collapse at Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School in the East Java town of Sidoarjo. Rescuers saw additional bodies, indicating the death toll was likely to rise.

Families of the students gathered at hospitals or near the collapsed building, anxiously awaiting news of their children. Relatives wailed as they watched rescuers pull a dusty, injured student from the buried prayer hall.

A notice board at the command post set up in the boarding school complex listed 65 students as missing as of Tuesday morning. They are mostly boys in grades seven to 11, between the ages of 12 and 17.

“Oh my God… my son is still buried, oh my God please help!” a mother cried hysterically upon seeing her child’s name on the board, followed by the cries of other parents whose relatives had suffered a similar fate.

“Please, sir, please find my child immediately,” cried a father, holding the hand of one of the rescue team members.

Heavy slabs of concrete and other rubble and unstable parts of the building hampered search and rescue efforts, said Nanang Sigit, a search and rescue officer who lead the effort. Heavy equipment was available but not being used due to concerns that it could cause further collapse.

“We have been running oxygen and water to those still trapped under the debris and keeping them alive while we work hard to get them out,” Sigit said. He added that rescuers saw several bodies under the rubble but were focused on saving those who were still alive.

Several hundred rescuers were involved in the effort and had equipment for breathing, extrication, medical evacuation and other support tools.

The students had been performing afternoon prayers in a building that was undergoing an unauthorised expansion when it suddenly collapsed on top of them, provincial police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said.

Residents, teachers and administrators assisted injured students, many with head injuries and broken bones. Female students were praying in another part of the building and managed to escape, survivors said.

One male student, a 13-year-old boy, was killed and 99 other students were injured and taken to hospitals, some of them in critical condition, officials said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the collapse. Abast said the old prayer hall was two stories but two more were being added without a permit.

“The old building’s foundation was apparently unable to support two floors of concrete and collapsed during the pouring process,” Abast said.

New Delhi, Sep 30: The Palestinian Authority (PA) has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s proposed Gaza peace plan, describing his efforts as “sincere and determined,” the BBC reported, citing the PA’s WAFA news agency.

In its statement, the PA pledged to work with the United States, regional states and international partners “to end the war on Gaza through a comprehensive agreement that ensures the sufficient delivery of humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and prisoners, and the establishment of mechanisms to protect the Palestinian people.”

The authority also committed to political and institutional reforms once the conflict ends, including holding parliamentary and presidential elections within a year, revising the school curriculum, and creating a new security force.

“We have affirmed our desire for a modern, democratic, and non-militarised Palestinian state, committed to pluralism and the peaceful transfer of power,” the statement said.

Washington, Sep 29: President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday they’ve agreed to a plan to end the war in Gaza, but it’s unclear whether Hamas will accept the terms.

Trump on Monday laid out a 20-point plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war and establishing a postwar governance in the war-battered Palestinian territory. Trump’s plan would establish a temporary governing board that would be headed by Trump and include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it. It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.

Trump said Israel would have the “full backing” of the United States to take steps to defeat Hamas if it doesn’t accept the proposed peace deal.

“I think we are beyond very close,” Trump said at the start of a news conference with Netanyahu where he detailed the plan. “We’re not quite finished. We have to get Hamas.”

“If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself,” Netanyahu said. “This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done”

The president went on to urge Palestinian people to take responsibility “for their destiny” and embrace his peace proposal.

Netanyahu earlier extended a formal apology to his Qatari counterpart for a recent military strike targeting Hamas officials in the Gulf emirate that infuriated Arab leaders and triggered rare criticism by the US of Israel.

Netanyahu made the call to Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, as he met with Trump, according to the White House.

Trump described the exchange between the Israeli and Qatari leader as a “heart-to-heart” call.

“As a first step, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” the White House said in a statement. “He further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future.”

The White House talks, and apology from Netanyahu, come at a tenuous moment. Israel is increasingly isolated, losing support from many countries that were long its steadfast allies. At home, Netanyahu’s governing coalition appears more fragile than ever. And the White House is showing signs of impatience.

The question now is whether Trump, who has offered steadfast backing to Netanyahu throughout the war, will change his tone and turn up the pressure on Israel to wind down the conflict.

As he welcomed Netanyahu to the White House, Trump responded affirmatively when asked by reporters whether he was confident a deal would be soon reached to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

“I am. I’m very confident,” Trump said.

Netanyahu’s apology for strike that angered US ally

Israel stuck the headquarters of Hamas’ political leadership in Qatar on September 9 as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The strike on the territory of a US ally was a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages. No senior Hamas officials were killed in the strike.

The attack on an energy-rich Gulf nation hosting thousands of American troops, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas throughout the war and even before, was described by Trump as out of step with Israeli and US interests. And Trump sought to move quickly to assuage his Qatari allies.

Qatar, meanwhile, condemned the strike as a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms” as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Other key US allies in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, promised their support to Qatar.

The White House said al Thani welcomed Netanyahu’s “assurances” and emphasized “Qatar’s readiness to continue contributing meaningfully to regional security and stability.”

But even as the White House was spotlighting the apology, Israel’s far right national security minister newly defended the decision to carry out Israel’s attack.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key coalition partner of Netanyahu’s, in a posting on X called the operation “an important, just and ethical attack.”

“It is very good that it happened,” he added.

White House urges Israel and Hamas to get to a ceasefire and hostage release deal

Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt urged both sides to finalize an agreement to bring an end to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.

“Ultimately the president knows when you get to a good deal, both sides are going to leave a little bit unhappy,” Leavitt told reporters. “But we need this conflict to end.”

Trump and Netanyahu were first holding talks with aides in the Oval Office and over a private lunch. A joint press conference is expected later.

Meanwhile, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said Palestinian officials stood ready to work with Trump and Arab countries in bringing an end to the war.

“Let us not delay a single minute more in doing what is necessary for this just peace to replace the unbearable reality of today,” Mansour said during a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

Trump growing more frustrated with conflict

Trump joined forces with Netanyahu during Israel’s brief war with Iran in June, ordering US stealth bombers to strike three nuclear sites, and he’s supported the Israeli leader during his corruption trial, describing the case as a “witch hunt.”

But the relationship has become more tense lately. Trump was frustrated by Israel’s failed strike this month on Hamas officials in Qatar.

Last week, Trump vowed to prevent Israel from annexing the West Bank — an idea promoted by some of Netanyahu’s hard-line governing partners. The international community opposes annexation, saying it would destroy hopes for a two-state solution.

On Friday, Trump raised expectations for the meeting with Netanyahu, telling reporters the US was “very close to a deal on Gaza.”

Proposal does not include expulsion of Palestinians

Trump’s proposal to stop the war in Gaza calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages within 48 hours and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave, according to three Arab officials briefed on the plan. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been formally unveiled.

Hamas is believed to be holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed by Israel to be alive. The militant group has demanded Israel agree to end the war and withdraw from all of Gaza as part of any permanent ceasefire.

Trump discussed the plan with Arab and Islamic leaders in New York last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It doesn’t include the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which Trump appeared to endorse earlier this year.

The 21-point proposal also calls for an end to Hamas rule of Gaza and the disarmament of the militant group, said the officials briefed on the plan. Hundreds of Palestinians, including many serving life sentences, will be released by Israel, according to the proposal.

The plan also includes the establishment of an international security force to take over law enforcement in postwar Gaza, they said.

A Palestinian committee of technocrats would oversee the civilian affairs of the strip, with power handed over later to a reformed Palestinian Authority, they said. Netanyahu has rejected any role for the authority, the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinians, in postwar Gaza.

A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group has repeatedly rejected laying down arms and has linked its weapons to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.