Live updates: Trump visits main U.S. military base in Middle East as violence flares in Gaza
Live updates: Trump visits main U.S. military base in Middle East as violence flares in Gaza
President Donald Trump on Thursday visited a U.S. base installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region.
In other parts of the Middle East violence flared in the West Bank, and a hospital in southern Gaza said 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.
Trump spoke of American military strength as he addressed troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also supported the recent U.S. air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, though the strikes themselves came from two aircraft carriers in the region.
The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program.
The President also meets business leaders in Qatar before heading to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Here’s the latest:
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Trump visits Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
The house of worship is a vast monument to the United Arab Emirates’ official religion and has hosted other heads of state before, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It’s also an important symbol of national identity. The UAE’s founder, Sheikh Zayed, is buried in the mosque’s main courtyard.
US wholesale prices dropped 0.5% last month despite President Trump’s tariffs
U.S. wholesale prices dropped unexpectedly in April for the first time in more than a year despite President Trump’s sweeping taxes on imports.
The producer price index — which tracks inflation before it hits consumers — fell 0.5% last month from March and rose 2.4% from April 2024, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices dipped 0.4% from March and rose 3.1% from a year earlier.
Economists had expected that producer prices rose modestly in April. A 0.7% drop in services prices brought the index down.
On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose just 2.3% last month from April 2024 — smallest year-over-year gain in more than four years.
Economists have predicted that Trump’s tariffs would drive up prices, and many expect the effect to show up in June or July.
▶ Read more about U.S. wholesale prices
Democratic senators seek to bring back the Presidential Management Fellows Program
Democratic Sen. Andy Kim is expected Thursday to introduce a bill he co-sponsored with Sen. Jeff Merkley that would resurrect the Presidential Management Fellows Program, which was wiped out earlier this year by one of Trump’s executive orders.
“I believe that public service and serving our nation is an honorable pursuit that should inspire and attract the very best talent in our country,” Kim said in a statement.
A former fellow himself, he added: “The PMF program has for years operated under both Republican and Democratic Presidents to lift up merit and align skills with opportunity. Even in these divided times, I hope we can show strong bipartisan support for the importance of talent in government and the need to codify this important program in legislation.”
The program was created by a 1977 executive order issued by then-President Jimmy Carter to entice highly qualified workers with advanced degrees to join the federal government. The bill being introduced lines up with the requirements that were in place at the time the program was dissolved, including graduate level degrees as well as the expectations for future government employment.
Trump mocks Biden for 2022 fist bump with Crown Prince
As he made his way from Doha Qatar to Abu Dhabi, United Emirates, on Thursday, the president reminded reporters about Joe Biden’s 2022 fist bump with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
During that encounter, Biden awkwardly greeted the crown prince with a fist bump, a moment roundly criticized by human rights activists, who were already upset at Biden’s decision to meet with the Saudi leader.
Trump noted that while in Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week, he’s shaken many hands.
“They were starving for love because our country didn’t give them love,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “They gave him a fist bump. Remember the fist bump in Saudi Arabia? He travels all the way to Saudi Arabia … and he gives him a fist bump. That’s not what they want. They don’t want a fist bump. They want to shake his hand.”
Trump’s UAE trip puts attention on that country’s arm shipments
Trump’s trip to the United Arab Emirates come as Senate Democrats push that wealthy Gulf country to stop what the U.S., U.N. and international rights groups say are arms shipments to one of the sides in Sudan’s devastating war.
The U.S. has sanctions on UAE companies over weapons deliveries to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, whose fight with a rival has uprooted millions of Sudanese and spurred atrocities and starvation. Aid groups call it one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
UAE’s arms deliveries also are raising the risk of a “broader conflict that could destabilize the whole region,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said this week.
Ahead of Trump’s trip, “my message to the UAE is to stop extending the aid” and work to stop the fighting, Shaheen said.
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and a U.S. ally, has been repeatedly accused of arming the RSF, something it has strenuously denied despite evidence to the contrary.
Trump says he and Putin need to get together to Ukraine war solved
The president insists he’s not disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not showing up for peace talks in Istanbul with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled from Doha, Qatar, to Abu Dhabi, United Emirates, on Thursday. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”
Trump arrives in Abu Dhabi
President Trump left Air Force One after touching down in Abu Dhabi for the last leg of his first major foreign trip.
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan greeted Trump. A young girl standing next to the UAE leader showed Trump a huge bouquet of white flowers.
Trump will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — among the largest mosques in the world — ahead of a state visit at Qasr al-Watan palace in Abu Dhabi.
Israeli military says it killed five militants in West Bank raid
Israeli troops killed five Palestinian militants in a raid on two villages in the occupied West Bank, the military said.
The military said forces operated overnight and into Thursday in Tamun and Tubas. The military said forces exchanged fire with the militants, who it accused of planning to carry out attacks. It said it found three assault rifles in the building where the militants were located.
In a statement, Hamas said it mourned the deaths of the “resistance heroes” but stopped short of claiming them as its fighters.
The operation appeared to be unrelated to a separate attack on Wednesday night, in which an Israeli woman on her way to give birth was killed by a Palestinian gunman.
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Trump’s ‘nuclear dust’ comment mirrors Gulf Arab concerns over any Iran nuclear strike
President Donald Trump’s comment Thursday about not wanting to make “nuclear dust” in a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities mirrors the concerns of the Gulf Arab countries he’s visiting in the Mideast this week.
The possibility of a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iranian enrichment sites has renewed long-standing fears that Gulf Arab states have about Iran’s program. In the past, they’ve worried that an accident or a strike at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could send radioactive material into the air and spread across the Persian Gulf into their countries.
Speaking to a business forum on Thursday, Trump similarly brought up the idea.
“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms: They’re not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran.”
Iran has criticized the U.S. threats to strike.
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Trump boasts of firings in the military
Standing in front of U.S. troops at the Qatari airbase, President Donald Trump said “we let a lot of four stars go,” touting his administration’s effort to thin the military’s top ranks.
There’s long been friction between Trump and some top generals, and he’s been more emboldened to remake the command structure in his second term.
He described some military leaders as “frickin’ losers” as he addressed the rank-and-file.
The president danced for a moment to the Village People’s “YMCA” as he wrapped up his speech.
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Trump speaks of ‘overwhelming’ American military power
President Donald Trump is speaking to troops at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
He started his speech thanking troops and discussing his Mideast trip so far, then spoke about America’s military power.
“As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them, but I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners,” Trump said. “And this is one of our great partners right here” in Qatar.
He added: “When we’re threatened, America’s military will answer our enemies without even thinking about it. We have overwhelming strength and devastating force.”
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Hegseth says the U.S. is restoring ‘warrior ethos’
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asserted that “wokeness and weakness” allowed the wars in the world.
“We’re restoring the warrior ethos. No more political correctness,” he told U.S. troops at Al-Udeid Air Base, before President Donald Trump addresses them.
“Sadly, over the last four years, we saw a collapse in Afghanistan. And what happened on October 7th, the war in Ukraine, violence unleashed by wokeness and weakness.”
Trump then took the stage as Lee Greenwood sang his signature song, “Proud to be an American.”
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Gaza’s only hospital providing cancer treatment declared out of service
The European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is out of service due to severe damage to its infrastructure and access roads from Israeli strikes, the territory’s Health Ministry said Thursday.
The shutdown halts all specialized treatments, including cardiac surgeries and cancer care in the only facility that was providing ongoing medical care to cancer patients in Gaza, the ministry added.
Israeli forces struck the European Hospital twice on Tuesday, saying it was targeting a Hamas command center beneath the facility. Six people were killed in the strike.
European Hospital director Imad al-Hout told The Associated Press there had been 200 patients in the hospital at the time of Tuesday’s strikes. They were all gradually evacuated, with the last 90 transferred to other hospitals, including Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, on Wednesday morning. Efforts were now underway to coordinate repairs to the facility, he added.
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American comedian jokes about cocaine on a baby before Trump visits base
American comedian Theo Von did a set Thursday before President Donald Trump’s visit to a military base in Qatar that included references to snorting cocaine off a baby’s back.
The jokes drew laughter and some groans from the service members at Al-Udeid Air Base, home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.
“Somebody put some cocaine on the baby’s back, right? I didn’t do it,” Von said. “And it wasn’t a lot of cocaine. … It didn’t weigh the baby down, OK? And it was a mixed baby. So you can see the cocaine. I’m not doing white dust off a white child’s back, man.”
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A key U.S. military base in the Middle East is awaiting a visit by President Donald Trump
Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar is the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command. At the base Thursday, service members listened to a comedy act ahead of Trump’s appearance. A Qatari and American flag flanked a large banner reading: “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”
A Qatari F-15 and an MQ-9 Reaper drone sat to the side of the stage.
Theo Von, an American comedian, did a stand up set that included making jokes about Qatar’s national dress for men, the white thobe, and everyone being named Mohammed.
“It’s like a Ku Klux sandsman,” he said.
He later made a joke about the U.S. Navy: “I’m not going to fly across the whole world just to be gay. I’m not in the Navy.” And another punch line included: “Where do you think the next 9/11 should happen?”
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Trump says only two solutions for Iran are ‘intelligent’ or ‘brutal’
President Donald Trump kept up pressure Thursday on Iran, warning Tehran that a deal over its nuclear program or potentially airstrikes are the only two solutions to the diplomatic impasse.
Speaking in Qatar before business leaders, Trump said: “We’d like to see if we could solve the Iran problem in an intelligent way, as opposed to a brutal way. There’s only two: intelligent and brutal. Those are the two alternatives.”
Trump also said that Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been pushing for diplomatic deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Qatar shares a massive offshore oil and gas field that’s crucial to its wealth with Iran.
“I said last night that Iran is very lucky to have the emir because he’s actually fighting for them. He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran,” Trump said. “He says, ‘You can make a deal. You can make a deal.’ He’s really fighting. And I really mean this: I think that Iran should say a big thank you to the emir.”
At another point, Trump mused: “In the case of Iran, they make a good drone.”
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Trump suggests India offered to drop tariffs to zero on US goods
President Donald Trump has suggested that India has offered to drop tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, something not immediately acknowledged by New Delhi.
Trump made the comments during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, on his Mideast tour, first discussing Apple’s plans to build manufacturing plants for its iPhone there.
“It’s very hard to sell into India and and they’ve offered us a deal with what basically they’re willing to literally charge us no tariff,” Trump said. India is a close partner of the U.S. and is part of the Quad, which is made up of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, and is seen as a counterbalance to China’s expansion in the region
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Trump says he didn’t think Putin would go to Turkey talks if he wasn’t there
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would go to talks in Turkey with Ukraine if he wasn’t there.
Trump made the remarks at a business roundtable in Qatar on his Mideast trip.
“I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump said.
Trump had suggested he could travel there for the talks if Putin was going. On Thursday, however, Trump said: “I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going? Because I wasn’t going to go. I wasn’t planning to go. I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go. And I said, I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go.”
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Trump attends a business forum in Qatar
Trump sat with GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp and Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg on either side of him on Thursday. Both praised Trump for his support for the Qatar Airways order for Boeing aircraft. Ortberg called it one of the largest orders Boeing has ever had.
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Hospital says 54 killed in overnight strikes in Gaza’s Khan Younis
A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.
An Associated Press cameraman in Khan Younis counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday, and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in the city’s Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital’s morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed.
It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children.
The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. 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.
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Al Jazeera mutes critiques of American foreign policy during Trump’s visit
Qatar’s satellite news channel Al Jazeera long has been a powerful force in the Middle East, often taking editorial positions at odds with America’s interests in the region during the wars that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaida.
But during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf Arab nation this week, state-funded Al Jazeera muted its typical critiques of American foreign policy.
The channel, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, broadly covered Trump’s visit in a straightforward manner, highlighting it was the first-ever trip to Qatar by a sitting American leader. Mentions of the Israel-Hamas war, which Al Jazeera often has criticized America over for its military support to Israel, did not include any critiques of U.S. policy. Instead, journalists highlighted Qatar’s role as a mediator in the war and aired comments by Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling for a ceasefire.
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President Trump begins his third day in the Middle East
After a morning meeting with top U.S. and Qatari officials and American defense and aerospace business leaders, Trump heads to Al-Udeid Air Base, a U.S. installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. There, he will address troops and is expected to view a demonstration of American air capability.
The president then travels to the United Arab Emirates, the final leg of his first major foreign trip. He will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and then to a state visit hosted at Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al-Watan palace.
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Human Rights Watch slams Israeli plans to expand Gaza war
The international rights group said that Israel’s plan to seize Gaza, remain in the territory and displace hundreds of thousands of people “inches closer to extermination.”
It called on the international community to speak out against the plan. It said that the new plans, coupled with the “systematic destruction” of civilian infrastructure and the block on all imports into Gaza, were cause for signatories to the Genocide Convention to act to prevent Israel’s moves. It said states should halt weapons transfers to Israel and enforce international arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister, as well as review their bilateral agreements with the country.
Israel vehemently denies accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.
The group also called on Hamas to free the 58 hostages it still holds in Gaza, 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
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Pregnant Israeli woman killed in West Bank attack, doctors rescue her baby
A pregnant Israeli woman has died after she was shot and critically wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, a hospital said Thursday.
Beilinson Hospital said that doctors succeeded in saving her unborn baby, who was in serious but stable condition after being delivered by caesarean section.
The Israeli military said a Palestinian assailant opened fire on a vehicle late Wednesday, wounded two civilians. Soldiers launched a search for the attacker.
It’s the latest violence in the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military has launched a major operation that it says is meant to crack down on militancy. The operation has displaced tens of thousands of people.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in months of violence that surged there after the start of the war in Gaza.
By The Associated Press
