World

(LONDON and NEW YORK) — Many Palestinian doctors who worked in the Gaza Strip are either dead, have fled the territory or are in prison, U.S. doctors told the United Nations.

Four U.S. medical doctors who have worked in the Gaza Strip for periods throughout the past 15 months spoke about their concerns and the priorities for bringing critical care needed in Gaza during a press conference at the U.N. in New York last week.

Drs. Thaer Ahmad, Ayesha Khan, Feroze Sidhwa and Mahmooda Syed met with the U.N. secretary-general and spoke last week with the press about the future of Gaza.

All four said they agreed they had never seen anything like what they saw during their time working in Gaza.

U.N. officials and nongovernmental organizations have repeatedly warned that the health care system in Gaza has collapsed and is lacking the critical resources needed to meet an overwhelming demand of injured and sick Palestinians.

With the fragile ceasefire in place between Israel and Hamas that is allowing aid to flow at much higher levels than it has in the past few months, and medical evacuations set to increase, the doctors said there needs to be a plan for the immediate needs of Palestinians.

Sidhwa said rebuilding hospitals is a priority.

Only 16 of 36 hospitals in Gaza remain partially functional, the U.N. said in January, before the latest ceasefire agreement to pause fighting was reached. Most of the functioning hospitals aren’t able to treat complex injuries or chronic diseases, the U.N. said.

Israel targeted and raided multiple health facilities in Gaza, most recently the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north, in what the Israeli military said were anti-terrorism operations aimed at Hamas.

As a result, much of the infrastructure has been damaged, as shown in an ABC News visual analysis of the state of several hospitals after a year of war.

But it is not just the infrastructure that needs to be replaced, Sidhwa said, but all the machines and equipment, too. “There is extreme need with minimal capacity,” he said.

While this process takes place, the immediate priority should be evacuations, the doctors said. But even those come with many complications, especially for children, who, in the words of spokesperson Tess Ingram of UNICEF, are “disproportionately wearing the scars of the war.”

Many families are worried, for example, that they will not be allowed back inside Gaza, Ahmad said, urging for the evacuated children to be relocated to the West Bank or Jerusalem instead of Egypt or the U.S.

Syed said Israel only allows one adult to accompany each child evacuated from Gaza, while many parents have more children who require their presence.

These bureaucratic hurdles slow down what the doctors say is an urgent race against time.

Khan held up a photograph of a little girl’s foot, which was badly burned. When the patient came in, the doctor said he thought the wounds were fresh, but it turned out they were months old, and she might need an amputation.

Like that girl, many children and adults in Gaza sustained wounds months ago, increasing the chances of infections and long-term disabilities, the doctors said.

A senior U.N. official told the Security Council in October 2024 that Gaza has the largest number of amputee children in modern history.

The doctors also spoke about their personal challenges and the indescribable struggles of their colleagues in Gaza.

The four doctors said they faced many obstacles and now fear retaliation for sharing the details of what they say are violations of international humanitarian law, which Israel denies.

“The white coat does not protect you,” said Ahmad, conveying what he says is a shared belief among many Palestinian doctors.

Ahmad worked at Kamal Adwan Hospital, where the director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, was detained in December by Israel. He has not been heard from since, but Israeli forces have confirmed he is in their custody as a suspected Hamas operative.

Safiya is one of more than 365 health care workers being held in Israeli prison, the head of information for the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, Zaher Al Wahidi, told ABC News in January. ABC News has reached out to Israel for comment.

“This was the hospital that he built. Those were the departments that he helped develop. And he refused to leave,” Ahmad said of the Kamal Adwan director.

“Then he watched the military raid the hospital, destroy it, getting injured in the process,” he added. “Then he had to walk up to the tank, in his white coat, and shake the hand of the military that killed his son and injured him.”

As the U.N. panel concluded, Secretary-General António Guterres posted on X: “I was deeply moved by the testimonies and impressed by the dedication of 4 American doctors that have worked in Gaza. 2,500 children must be immediately evacuated with the guarantee that they will be able to return to their families and communities.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Israel has occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank since its victory in the Six-Day War in 1967. Palestinians hope that one day both territories will become part of a nation-state they can call their own.

But that dream seems further away than ever following Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response — which has left the strip destroyed.

The far-right factions in Israel are now advocating for the annexation of the West Bank once and for all.

“We left only with our lives, with our safety,” Palestinian Sana Al Zubeidi told ABC News, after being forced to flee her home with her family amid some of the most intense IDF raids there in decades. “We didn’t take anything with us because it was at that moment and we were leaving and that airplanes in the skies were shooting at us.”

Just days ago, the Al Zubeidi family, comprised of a grandfather, grandmother, and 10 grandchildren, was forced to flee their town of Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Jenin is known as a militant stronghold, a place that has witnessed little to no peace.

Streams of people are fleeing the Jenin refugee camp where they have lived since their displacement in Israel’s founding in 1948. According to the local mayor, 16,000 people have left since the IDF launched “operation iron wall” weeks ago, with the aim to root out terrorism in the West Bank.

Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz stated, “The Jenin refugee camp will not return to its previous condition. After the operation is complete, IDF forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terrorism does not return.” There have been many battles in Jenin, and the families are determined to return to their homes one day.

Meanwhile, many displaced families have sought refuge in Burqin Village. The faces of slain Palestinian fighters throughout the years are visible here. In Israel, they are labeled as terrorists; here, they are viewed as resistance fighters and revered as “martyrs.”

Even Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the attacks on Oct. 7, was displayed prominently in the town square. The IDF claims that “Operation Iron Wall” is different, stating that they are targeting the core of terrorism in the West Bank.

Bulldozers are tearing up the streets, while airstrikes and controlled demolitions are destroying many houses, resulting in a devastating scene.

Roads have been destroyed, restricting movement and cutting off communities from one another across the northern West Bank. Palestinians are routinely stopped and searched.

At least 40,000 Palestinians are impacted by forced displacement due to ongoing Israeli Forces operation in the north.

This war is disrupting almost every aspect of daily life, and there seems to be no end in sight. Jamal Al-Zubaidi has lost two sons in the fighting, another son is injured, and a fourth is in jail.

“I want to tell you something very clear: We are part of the resistance to an illegitimate occupation,” Jamal Al-Zubaidi said. “The military occupation is the biggest terror. The only terrorists are the occupation and the Israeli Army that kill us, that displaced us, that took our land in 1948, that is preventing us from achieving our rights and our self-determination.”

In a statement to ABC News, the IDF reported that they had thwarted 2,000 attempted terrorist attacks since Oct. 7. They described the West Bank as having a “complex security reality” where they are dealing daily with terrorism and violent disturbances.

The statement goes on to assert that the IDF “follows international law” and claims that “terrorist operatives” have exploited civilian infrastructure.

As the raids expand, tragedy unfolds — mourners gather at the funeral of a 2-year-old child, Laila Al-Khatib, who was reportedly killed by gunfire during an Israeli raid on Jenin, according to Palestinian officials.

Security footage from Tulkarm captures the moment the IDF shot 10-year-old Sadam Hussein Rajab on Jan. 28. He was left in critical condition and died just over a week later.

The IDF has confirmed that they know both incidents and have initiated investigations. Israel asserts that this is just the beginning.

“You pay a heavy price for freedom,” Jamal Al-Zubaidi said. “And nothing comes without a price. And we are going to, and we are willing to, pay the price for our rights.”
 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON and THE PENTAGON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared at his first meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Wednesday to tell allies that the liberation of all Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory “is an unrealistic objective.”

“The bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” Hegseth said, in one of the most detailed delineations of the Ukraine-Russia peace deal envisioned by President Donald Trump’s new administration.

“President Trump has been clear with the American people — and with many of your leaders — that stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority,” Hegseth said at the meeting, which was led by the U.K., marking the first time the group has not convened under U.S. leadership.

“He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table,” Hegseth said. “We will only end this devastating war and establish a durable peace by coupling allied strength with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government in Kyiv have demanded full territorial liberation — whether by military or diplomatic means — per the country’s internationally-recognized 1991 borders. Among Ukraine’s other demands are binding Western security guarantees, ideally in the form of full NATO membership and Article Five protection.

Hegseth rejected such ambitions, at least in the near term.

“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, but we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” he told allies. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth continued. “Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.”

“If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and they should not be covered under Article Five,” he added. “There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact.”

“To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” Hegseth said.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to end the war by forcing both Moscow and Kyiv back to the negotiating table after nearly three years of full-scale war.

Hegseth suggested that Trump’s domestic energy policies would help pressure the Kremlin. “Lower energy prices coupled with more effective enforcement of energy sanctions will help bring Russia to the table,” he said.

Hegseth delivered a broader warning to European allies of a lighter U.S. footprint on the continent. They, he said, will need to “provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine.”

He said the “stark strategic realities” of competition with China in the Indo-Pacific and the U.S. focus on securing its domestic borders “prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”

Hegseth called on allies to donate more ammunition and equipment to Ukraine, expand their industrial bases and explain to citizens that the Russian threat necessitates “spending more on defense and investing strategically.”
That will include increasing defense spending beyond the 2% of GDP target agreed by allies in 2014. The threshold — which many NATO allies have still not achieved — “is not enough,” Hegseth said.

“President Trump has called for 5% and I agree,” he added. “Increasing your commitment to your own security is a down payment for the future.”

The defense secretary warned that while the U.S. “remains committed to the NATO alliance and to partnership with Europe,” America “will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.”

“Rather, our relationship will prioritize empowering Europe to own responsibility for its own security,” he added. “Honesty will be our policy going forward.”

In response to Hegseth’s remarks, British Defense Secretary John Healey said, “We hear you.”

“We hear your commitment to NATO, to Article Five, to a sovereign Ukraine and to your defense partnership with Europe,” Healey said. “We also hear your concerns.”

“On stepping up for Ukraine, we are and we will,” Healey continued. “On stepping up for European security, we are and we will.”

“You’ve just spoken about peace through strength,” Healey said. “We are 50 nations strong here, all determined to put an end to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war, to do so together.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — A Russian citizen held in a U.S. prison will be repatriated to Russia following the release of U.S. citizen Marc Fogel, who was returned to the United States on Tuesday, Moscow said.

“In exchange for Fogel, a Russian citizen imprisoned in the United States will be returned to Russia in the coming days,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said on Wednesday.

Peskov did not disclose which Russian citizen held in a U.S. jail would be repatriated, but said the United States had agreed to the release during negotiations for the return of Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021.

President Donald Trump didn’t disclose on Tuesday the negotiations that led to Fogel’s release or say whether there had been any conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I can only say this: We got a man home whose mother and family wanted him desperately,” Trump said.

Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said in a statement on Tuesday that Washington had “negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” His statement did not include details on the exchange.

Trump earlier on Tuesday had been asked if Russia had given the United States anything in return.

“Not much, no,” Trump said. “They were very nice. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually.”
Peskov on Wednesday declined to say whether additional prisoner exchanges were expected in the future, but said that “contacts between the relevant departments have intensified in the last few days.”

Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in October 2024 that Fogel, an American teacher, had been “wrongfully detained,” the State Department confirmed to ABC News.

The U.S. tried but was unable to include Fogel in the large prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, a State Department spokesperson said last year.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Michelle Stoddart, Nathan Luna and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine called on Western partners to apply more pressure to Russia after an overnight ballistic missile and drone strike killed at least one person and set multiple fires in the capital Kyiv.

“Apartment buildings, office buildings and civilian infrastructure were damaged,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “All our services are working on the ground, helping people and eliminating the consequences of this terror.”

“Unfortunately, as of now, one person has died in Kyiv,” he added. “Four more were injured, including a child. My condolences to the family and friends.”

Ukraine’s air force reported downing six out of seven ballistic missiles fired at Kyiv and the central city of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s home town. The air force said Russia also launched 123 strike drones into Ukraine, of which 71 were shot down and 40 were lost in flight.

Viacheslav Chaus, the governor of Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast, said two people were injured in a Russian drone strike on a critical infrastructure facility. Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, said the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih damaged infrastructure, high-rise residential, administrative and educational buildings.

Zelenskyy called on Western partners to apply greater pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to the latest round of strikes, which came as both sides maneuver for an expected revival in peace talks after almost three years of full-scale war.

“This Russian terror against Ukraine will not stop on its own,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Putin is not preparing for peace — he continues to kill Ukrainians and destroy cities.”

“Only strong steps and pressure on Russia can stop this terror,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Right now, we need unity and support from all our partners in the fight for a just end to this war.”

The latest barrage came only hours after Steve Witkoff — President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy — flew to Moscow to facilitate the release of jailed American Mark Fogel. Fogel, 63, had been serving a 14-year prison sentence in a Russian prison colony after being arrested in 2021 on drug charges.

Trump later told reporters he thought Fogel’s return could advance negotiations to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. “I want to get the war ended,” Trump said.

Moscow has continued nightly drone and missile attacks ahead of potentially pivotal meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials this week.

Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is due in Ukraine this week, while Vice President JD Vance is set to travel to the Munich Security Conference next weekend where Zelenskyy will lead Ukraine’s delegation.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram that “every public statement by the West about ‘progress’ in the movement towards peace is accompanied by missile strikes by the Russian Federation.”

Kovalenko suggested Putin would continue to employ such tactics through 2025. “These are methods of diplomacy that are closely intertwined with the front,” he wrote.

Ukraine is also continuing its long-range strike campaign into Russia. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Telegram on Wednesday that it downed seven Ukrainian drones over the western Belgorod and Kursk regions during the previous 24 hours.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Max Uzol contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — American Marc Fogel, who has been held in Russia since being arrested on drug charges in 2021, has been freed, according to the White House.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement. “President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.”

Fogel, an American teacher who was arrested in Russia and was serving a 14-year sentence there, was determined to be “wrongfully detained” by then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken in October 2024, the State Department confirmed to ABC News in late December.

“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” Waltz added in the statement.

Fogel was a teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, where many diplomats from the U.S. Embassy send their children.

He was arrested in August 2021 when he landed at a Moscow airport. He was accused of trying to bring in 11 grams of marijuana, and eight grams of hash oil was reportedly found in his luggage.

He was sentenced to 14 years on a drug smuggling charge that his family has said was trumped up, and the U.S. had called for his humanitarian release.

The U.S. tried but was unable to include Fogel in the large prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, a State Department spokesperson said last year.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — If Hamas doesn’t return Israeli hostages by Saturday afternoon, “the ceasefire will be terminated,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement following a meeting with his security cabinet.

“The decision that I passed unanimously in the cabinet is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday afternoon — the ceasefire will be terminated, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu is demanding all nine living Israeli hostages who were supposed to be released during phase one of the ceasefire deal now be released in the next few days, an Israeli official told ABC News. Hamas violated the agreement; therefore, there will be no progress in the further implementation of the agreement or in negotiations on the second phase of the deal without the return of Israeli hostages, according to the official.

Netanyahu’s statement comes after President Donald Trump warned that “all hell is going to break out” unless Hamas releases all remaining hostages from Gaza by Saturday, following the group’s announcement it would delay the latest planned release after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that it would be “appropriate” to abandon the ceasefire unless all hostages are freed. “I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” he said.

The president dismissed the “drips and drabs” process set out in the January deal that slated small groups of hostages for release during the three-phase ceasefire, in exchange for Israel freeing Palestinian prisoners and withdrawing its forces from parts of Gaza.

“I would say Saturday at 12, we want them all back,” Trump said. “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it. But from myself, Saturday at 12 o’clock, and if they’re not, they’re not here, all hell is going to break out.”

In response, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump “must remember there is an agreement that must be respected,” in a statement cited by Reuters. “The language of ‘threats’ has no value and only complicates matters,” Zuhri added.

The president also warned that those hostages still being held in Gaza may not be in good physical condition.

“Who knows? Are they alive? Are they not alive? But I saw the condition when I saw the condition of the last ones that came out,” Trump said. “They’re not going to be alive right now, based on what I saw over the last two days, they’re not going to be alive for long.”

Trump suggested Hamas had released the healthiest captives first. “They’ve got more to send out, and they probably feel that they can’t do that, because it’s not going to make them look very good,” he said.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the oldest hostage taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack — Shlomo Mantzur, 86 — had been killed that day. Mansour’s death was announced by the Kibutz Kissufim where he lived and was later confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces.

Trump’s latest assertion followed Hamas’ Monday announcement that it would delay the next scheduled release of hostages, planned for Saturday.

In a statement, Hamas said the postponement was intended as a “warning message” to Israel, which it said had repeatedly violated the terms of the January ceasefire deal.

Hamas accused Israel of preventing the return of displaced Gazans to the north of the strip, blocking the planned influx of humanitarian aid and continuing to kill “many” Palestinians despite the pause in fighting.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the IDF to prepare at the “highest level of alert” in response to Hamas’ announcement.

Following the meeting of his security cabinet on Tuesday, Netanyahu instructed the IDF to “reinforce forces in and around the Gaza Strip and to prepare for any scenario” if Hamas does not release “the Israeli hostages this coming Saturday,” an Israeli official told ABC News.

The meeting lasted about four hours and was “thorough and in-depth,” the official said.

All the cabinet members expressed support for Trump’s statement that Israeli hostages should be released by Saturday at noon and for his “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” the official added.

There have so far been five rounds of exchanges between Hamas and Israel since the conflict began. Thirty-three Israeli hostages are expected to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement due to last six weeks. The agreement was reached on Jan. 15.

The ceasefire turbulence comes as Trump continues to promote his controversial plan to permanently relocate Gaza’s population — around 2 million people — to other regional nations.

The president said during a taped Fox News interview — parts of which were released on Monday — that Gazans resettled outside of the strip would not be allowed to return to the territory, which he has said will be “a real estate development for the future.”

Pressed on his remarks in the Oval Office on Monday, the president did not repeat his assertion that Palestinians would not be given the right to return, but continued to insist that Gazans would not want to live in the devastated territory.

“We’ve spoken to a lot of Palestinians,” Trump said. “They would love to leave Gaza if they could find a place to be. And I’ve spoken to various leaders of various countries in the not so distant area from where we’re talking about the Gaza Strip, and I think they were very positive about providing land.”

“What we need is land, and if we could build a nice place for people to live safely, everybody in Gaza would do it,” Trump said. “You’re going to see that they all want to leave,” he claimed.

The president has found little foreign backing for his plan, with key regional partners like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all rejecting the proposal. Trump has suggested that those countries should help resettle Gazans on their territory.

Jordan has served as a humanitarian lifeline for civilians in Gaza throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict and already hosts millions of registered Palestinian refugees.

The president told reporters on Monday he could “conceivably” withhold billions of dollars in aid to Egypt and Jordan to coerce them into agreeing to host Palestinians displaced from Gaza.

The president will host Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday. “I do think he’ll take, and I think other countries will take also,” Trump said of Abdullah when asked if he would accept ejected Palestinians. “They have good hearts, I think they’ll take,” he added.

Hamas has rejected Trump’s Gaza plan as “absurd.” In a statement, the group said the president’s comments “reflect a profound ignorance about Palestine and the region. Gaza is not a piece of real estate to be bought and sold; it is an inseparable part of our occupied Palestinian land.”

Nearly 400,000 people have already returned to the north since the beginning of the ceasefire, according to Gazan authorities. Palestinians interviewed by ABC News said they yearn to rebuild Gaza for themselves, the only place they say they have or will ever call home.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, framed Trump’s proposal as “a totally different vision, a much better one for the state of Israel.”

Netanyahu — who met with Trump at the White House last week — described the plan as “revolutionary, creative — and we’re discussing it. He is very determined to carry it out. It opens up many opportunities for us.”

ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky, Will Gretsky and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov riffed on President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Ukrainians “may be Russians some day,” as both Moscow and Kyiv maneuver for leverage in revived peace talks the White House hopes will end nearly three years of full-scale war.

Peskov told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that the situation in Ukraine “largely corresponds to President Trump’s words.”

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson was referring to remarks made by Trump during an interview with Fox News which aired on Monday. The president told Bret Baier of his plans to secure U.S. access to $500 billion worth of rare earth metals located in Ukraine in exchange for continued American backing.

“They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth, in terms of oil and gas and other things,” Trump said. “I want to have our money secured because we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars and, you know, they may make a deal. They may not make a deal.”

“They may be Russians some day or may not be Russians some day,” Trump then added.

On Tuesday morning, Peskov said Trump’s remarks indicated the situation on the ground in Ukraine — often referred to by Putin and other Russian officials as the “new territorial realities” of Russian military occupation.

“The fact that a significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russia, and has already, is a fact,” Peskov told reporters, referring to Moscow’s claimed 2022 annexation of four Ukrainian regions, not all of which Russian forces actually control.

Asked if Trump’s peace proposals had a chance of success, Peskov replied, “Any phenomenon can happen with a 50% probability — either yes or no.”

Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee, told ABC News of Trump’s comments, “It will never happen.”

“We saw what life under Russia might look like for Ukrainians in Bucha and Irpin,” Merezhko added, referring to the Kyiv suburbs briefly occupied by Russian forces in 2022 and where evidence of executions, torture and other abuses against civilians were uncovered after Moscow’s retreat.

“Trump’s statement means that he needs to communicate more with [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy to understand the real picture,” Merezhko said.

Zelenskyy has expressed openness to Trump’s rare earth metals proposal. “The Americans helped the most, and therefore the Americans should earn the most,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Reuters last week.

Zelenskyy this weekend told ITV News he “would be ready for any format for talks” if there was “an understanding that America and Europe will not abandon us and they will support us and provide security guarantees.”

Trump said Monday that his Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg would visit Ukraine this week as the White House formulates a peace plan.

Zelenskyy is also expected to meet with Vice President JD Vance at next weekend’s landmark Munich Security Conference in southern Germany.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected any suggestion of territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace, though has acknowledged it may not be possible to free the occupied territories via military means.

ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BAHAMAS) — Two Americans were injured, one seriously, in a suspected shark attack in the Bahamas, police said.

The two female tourists were swimming in Bimini Bay on Friday around 6:30 p.m. when the incident occurred, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said over the weekend.

“Initial reports indicate that the victims, both U.S.A. residents, sustained injuries while swimming in the waters at Bimini Bay,” police said.

Both women sustained injuries to their lower bodies, with one of the victims injured seriously, police said.

They both were initially treated at a local clinic before being airlifted to New Providence for further medical attention, police said.

Both have since returned to the U.S., Bahamian officials said Monday.

One of the victims will require a third surgery to repair the damage to her leg, her family told ABC News. She will undergo the surgery in the Orlando, Florida, area, her family said.

The incident remains under investigation.

Shark attacks are exceedingly rare. There were 69 unprovoked shark bites recorded around the world in 2023, according to the most recent yearly research conducted by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.

Of those, one of them occurred in the Bahamas and was deadly, according to the report. In that incident, a 44-year-old woman from Massachusetts was killed by a shark while paddleboarding near the back of the Sandals resort, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

ABC News’ Anselm Gibbs and Alondra Valle contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(GUATEMALA CITY) — At least 51 people were killed as a bus plunged into a ravine early Monday in Guatemala City, officials said.

At least 20 more were seriously injured, they said.

City officials said the incident occurred when the bus veered off a highway and went into a ravine.

Photos released by fire officials showed the bus upside-down in the ravine as they pulled passengers from the wreckage.

In a statement, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said the country’s army and disaster relief agency would aid in the response.

Arevalo also said he would declare a period of national mourning.

“I stand in solidarity with the families of the victims who today woke up to heartbreaking news. Their pain is my pain,” he said.

ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.