Middle East

On May 4, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a barrage of suicide drones at Port Sudan, the army’s de facto wartime capital on the Red Sea.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) accused foreign actors of supporting the RSF’s attacks and even threatened to sever ties with one of its biggest trading partners.

The RSF surprised many with the strikes. It had used drones before, but never hit targets as far away as Port Sudan, which used to be a haven, until last week.

“The strikes … led to a huge displacement from the city. Many people left Port Sudan,” Aza Aera, a local relief worker, told Al Jazeera. “If the aggression continues … I think I’ll leave like everyone else.”

A drone war

When a civil war erupted between the SAF and RSF in April 2023, the army had aerial supremacy due to its fleet of warplanes and drones.

Yet the RSF is closing the gap with an arsenal of suicide drones, which it used on Port Sudan for six consecutive days, hitting an army base, a civilian airport, several hotels, and a fuel depot, which caused a massive blast.

“Sudan had already entered the phase of drone warfare over the last … few months at least,” said Suliman Baldo, the founder of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker think tank.

The army largely relies on the relatively affordable Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, reportedly receiving $120m worth of them since late 2023.

Bayraktars can travel long distances with a large payload, and the army says they helped it regain swaths of territory from the RSF in eastern and central Sudan between September 2024 and March 2025, including the capital Khartoum.

Despite losing significant ground, the RSF then stepped up its aggression against the SAF with Chinese-made drones, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.

The human rights group, Sudan’s de facto military government and other monitors all accuse the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of purchasing these drones – and other weapons – and supplying them to the RSF.

The UAE has denied the accusations as “baseless”.

“The UAE strongly rejects the suggestion that it is supplying weapons to any party involved in the ongoing conflict in Sudan,” said Salem Aljaberi, a spokesperson for the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on X.

Regardless, the increasing use of drones by both sides marks an escalation and risks exacerbating an already catastrophic situation for civilians, according to experts and human rights monitors.

Bold announcement

On May 6, the army-backed authorities in Port Sudan announced the severing of all ties with the UAE after accusing it of being behind the attacks.

That announcement was not well thought-out, according to Baldo.

Sudan’s army could lose tens of millions of dollars in gold revenue, as well as access to vital banking operations, he told Al Jazeera.

A UAE-backed company, Emiral Resources, owns a majority of shares in Sudan’s largest gold mine, the Kush mine.

Kush is administered by Sudan’s army, which likely sells tens of millions of dollars worth of gold to the UAE.

According to the Central Bank of Sudan, about 97 percent of gold exports from army-controlled areas went to the UAE in 2023.

Kush exported at least one tonne of gold in 2024, although it is unclear how much higher the number is for production.

Furthermore, UAE banks own a majority share in the Bank of Khartoum, whose digital platform, Bankak, facilitates money transfers for millions of displaced Sudanese and public institutions.

The UAE state also owns El Nilein Bank, which manages and approves international transactions on behalf of Port Sudan, according to a report that Baldo co-authored in March for the Chatham House think tank.

“This was a rushed decision [to cut ties with the UAE] that will have serious consequences … due to the UAE’s control over [Sudan’s] national economy,” Baldo told Al Jazeera.

Major escalation?

Sudan’s army has not clarified how and when it will sever ties with the UAE.

On May 6, SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan vowed in a video to “defeat the militia (RSF) and those who help them”.

Al Jazeera sent written questions to army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah, asking if Port Sudan will implement the announced suspension.

No reply was received by time of publication.

For its part, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry told Al Jazeera in an email that it will not retaliate against Port Sudan.

“The statement issued by the so-called ‘Security and Defence Council’ will not affect the deep-rooted and enduring ties between the UAE and the Republic of the Sudan, and their peoples,” the emailed statement said.

Meanwhile, experts and observers believe the war in Sudan is trending towards a major escalation.

The army’s regional backers could respond to the RSF’s increased use of drones by doubling down on their support for the army, warned Alan Boswell, a Sudan expert for the International Crisis Group.

“The obvious risk [from the attacks on Port Sudan] is that it brings other [regional powers] into deeper involvement on the army’s side,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We could see an escalating war with greater and greater firepower, and nothing would be left of Sudan’s infrastructure by the end of it.”

United States President Donald Trump has started his Middle East tour, arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, just after 10am, where he was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

During his three-day trip, he will also travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a focus on securing economic agreements with three of the world’s wealthiest nations.

The trip will involve discussions on investment opportunities, and some experts say Trump may urge the Gulf countries to lower oil prices.

When will Trump be visiting each country?

Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday just before 10am local time (07:00 GMT), where he was greeted by MBS. The same day, he is scheduled to attend a Saudi-US investment forum featuring leading companies such as BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir, Qualcomm, and Alphabet.

On Wednesday, he is scheduled to take part in a Gulf summit in Riyadh, before travelling to Qatar later that day. He will conclude his trip in the UAE on Thursday, May 15.

Trump’s first visit as president was to Saudi Arabia

During his first term, 2017 to 2021, Trump became the first US president to make the Middle East his first international destination, breaking with the longstanding tradition of visiting neighbouring North American countries first.

His trip to Saudi Arabia from May 20 to 22, 2017 – during which he attended the Riyadh Summit – was a calculated move to bolster defence ties and secure substantial arms deals.

During that trip, Trump also visited Israel and Palestine.

While Trump did not go to Qatar or the UAE during his first term, he met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Riyadh Summit.

During the summit, Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud signed a $110bn arms deal, including missile defence systems, tanks, combat ships and cybersecurity technology, with the intent of buying $350bn worth of arms over 10 years.

A memorable moment from that 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia was during the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh. In a surreal photo op that quickly went viral, Trump stood alongside King Salman and President el-Sisi with their hands on a glowing orb.

What is the value of US-Gulf investments?

Sami al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, told Al Jazeera that Trump has been very vocal about his objective in visiting the three Gulf states: investments.

Trump’s administration has reportedly discussed the possibility of expediting investments by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE before his trip to the region.

“He’s trying to get trillions of dollars out of these countries,” al-Arian told Al Jazeera.

“He’s already said that he’s hoping to get $1 trillion from Saudi Arabia in terms of arms sales and commercial deals,” he said.

US-Saudi investments

According to the latest data from the US Department of Commerce, the total stock of US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia reached $11.3bn in 2023.

Conversely, Saudi Arabia’s FDI stock in the US stood at $9.6bn, mostly in transport, real estate, plastics, automotive, financial services and communications, according to the Commerce Department.

These figures are only FDI, not other investments, like portfolio investments or short-term financial flows.

US-Qatar investments

In 2023, the total stock of US FDI in Qatar was estimated at $2.5bn.

According to the US-Qatar Business Council, US companies that have facilitated FDIs in Qatar focused on the fields of energy, petrochemicals, construction, engineering, and communications technology.

Conversely, Qatari FDI stock in the US reached $3.3bn in 2023, with investments concentrated in financial services, energy and real estate.

US-UAE investments

In 2023, the total stock of US FDI in the UAE reached $16.1bn.

According to the Reuters news agency, in 2023, the main FDI drivers were manufacturing, finance and insurance, construction and wholesale and retail trade sectors.

Meanwhile, UAE FDI stock in the US totalled $35bn in 2023 – in financial services, transport, food and beverages, aerospace, and business services, according to the Commerce Department.

In March, UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Trump and committed $1.4 trillion in investments to the US over 10 years in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing.

Weapons trade between the nations

The US is the biggest exporter of arms globally and a top supplier to Gulf countries.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia each accounted for 6.8 percent of the world’s total arms imports for 2020-24, making them the third and fourth largest importers globally.

The UAE is the 11th largest importer of arms, accounting for 2.6 percent of global imports for the same period.

Saudi Arabia is the main recipient of US arms, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Between 2020 and 2024, Saudi Arabia received 12 percent of the US’s total arms exports.

About 74 percent of Saudi arms imports come from the US.

Trump is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100bn during his trip, according to Reuters.

In the 2020-24 period, the US was the top supplier of arms to Qatar, accounting for 48 percent of its imports.

In March, the US Department of State approved a large weapons package to Qatar worth $2bn, which includes long-range maritime surveillance drones and hundreds of missiles and bombs.

In the same period, the US was also the top supplier of weapons to the UAE, accounting for 42 percent of the country’s arms imports.

The latest attacks come as the African Union rejects any ‘interference’ in the civil war, which has killed more than 20,000 people.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed seven people in artillery shelling on el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan.

A statement from the military-aligned government said on Monday that the RSF shelling that began late on Sunday targeted residential neighbourhoods, killing seven people, including women and children, and wounding at least 15, who were taken to hospitals.

On Sunday, the army also said the RSF shelling in the city killed nine people.

El-Fasher has witnessed intense fighting between SAF and RSF since May 2024, despite international warnings about the risks of violence in a city that serves as a key humanitarian hub for the five Darfur states.

For more than a year, the RSF has sought to wrest control of it, located more than 800km (500 miles) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, from the Sudanese army, launching regular attacks on the city and two major famine-hit camps for displaced people on its outskirts.

The RSF and the SAF have been locked in a brutal power struggle since April 2023, resulting in thousands of deaths and pushing Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and 15 million displaced in the brutal civil war now in its third year, according to UN and local figures. However, some United States-based researchers estimate the actual death toll to be as high as 130,000.

Won’t accept ‘any interference’

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) said on Monday it would not accept “any interference” in Sudan after the RSF was accused of receiving weapons from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Last week, the Sudanese government severed diplomatic relations with the UAE, accusing it of supplying weapons to the RSF.

Amnesty International has also accused the UAE of supplying weapons to the RSF, in violation of a UN arms embargo.

The UAE has rejected the claims as “baseless”.

“The Commission’s position is that member states are sovereign states, and the AU Commission will not accept any interference in the internal affairs of Sudan,” said AU Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.

“We will not support any intervention, any interference in the crisis in Sudan,” he said.

However, Youssouf declined to comment on the UAE’s possible role in the conflict. “It is not the role of the AU. Sudan has accused the Emirates; it is up to Sudan to provide this evidence,” he said.

The foreign minister of Djibouti was elected head of the pan-African organisation in February, inheriting multiple conflicts and a record of ineffectual statements.

Among the top of his priorities coming into the post was the Sudan civil war, which has effectively cleaved the country in two.

Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.

In recent days, drone attacks attributed by the army to the RSF have increased, marking a turning point in the two-year conflict.

Drone attacks have also notably targeted strategic sites in Port Sudan, the temporary seat of government and the logistical humanitarian epicentre.

In February, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged a halt to the “flow of arms” into Sudan.

Hamas has released Edan Alexander, a dual United States-Israeli national and soldier, as it seeks to revive ceasefire negotiations and an end to Israel’s punishing blockade on the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed on Monday evening that it had facilitated the soldier’s transfer. An image was released showing Alexander with Hamas members and a Red Cross official.

Hamas said it had released Alexander as a goodwill gesture towards US President Donald Trump, who is visiting Arab Gulf nations this week.

Fighting briefly stopped to allow for the handover after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would permit safe passage for the release.

“Edan Alexander, American hostage thought dead, to be released by Hamas. Great news!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“The government of Israel warmly welcomes soldier Sergeant Edan Alexander who has been returned from Hamas captivity,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

“The government of Israel is committed to the return of all hostages and missing persons – both the living and the fallen,” the statement added. Families of the captives have accused Netanyahu of putting his own political survival above that of the captives still held in Gaza.

In a statement, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric welcomed Alexander’s release while calling for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

“We are relieved that one more family has been reunited today. This nightmare, however, continues for the remaining hostages, their families, and hundreds of thousands of civilians across Gaza,” Spoljaric said.

Alexander’s mother reportedly arrived in Israel on Monday and was flown to the Re’im military base, where the two were expected to be reunited later in the evening, according to Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan, because Al Jazeera is banned from Israel.

Despite the release, Israel has made no commitment to a broader ceasefire. “There’s nothing in exchange, no release of Palestinian prisoners, no pause in the fighting,” Salhut said. “If there are going to be any sort of negotiations, they’re going to happen under fire,” Salhut added, referring to the Israeli government’s prevailing line.

Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst, said Alexander’s release has spurred joy as well as frustration in Israel. “What we see is that what President Trump can do, Netanyahu is not able – or not willing – to do,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

The Israeli prime minister has faced widespread calls to end the Gaza war to secure the captives’ release but has said he plans to expand Israel’s offensive.

“Today is a crucial point,” Eldar explained. “Because the Israeli public is aware of the fact that if you want a deal, if you want your sons back at home, you can do it. But for that, you have to be a leader like President Trump and not like Netanyahu.”

Release changes little for devastated Palestinians

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said there seems to be no change forthcoming in Palestinians’ daily suffering: “Palestinians are devastated. They’re exhausted. Palestinian families are unable to feed their children. They’re saying their children are going to bed hungry.”

“The IPC [Integrated Food Security Phase Classification] report issued today said 93 percent of Gaza’s population is living through acute food insecurity. This is because of the blockade that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip,” Khoudary said.

“Palestinians are asking, ‘What’s next? What is this release going to bring? Are there any positive negotiations? Is there any glimpse of hope of a ceasefire?’” she added.

And the bombardment continues, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 15 people on Monday.

Gaza on brink of famine

Humanitarian organisations have warned that Gaza is on the verge of mass starvation. The IPC reported that half a million Palestinians face imminent famine.

According to the IPC, 70 days after Israel blocked entry of essential supplies, “goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks.”

The head of the UN’s World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, urged immediate international action. “Families in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border,” she said. “If we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.”

Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, also issued a stark warning. “The risk of famine does not arrive suddenly,” she said. “It unfolds in places where access to food is blocked, where health systems are decimated, and where children are left without the bare minimum to survive.”

Hunger, she added, has become “a daily reality for children across the Gaza Strip”.

Gaza assault set to continue

Netanyahu and his hardline government remain committed to escalating the military campaign in Gaza.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a key coalition partner, reiterated his position that the war must continue and humanitarian aid should be blocked from entering the territory.

“Israel has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, claiming military pressure had compelled Hamas to release Alexander. Critics have countered that the release came about purely because of direct US contacts with Hamas.

Netanyahu met US figures, including Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, on Monday. His office described the meeting as a “last-ditch effort” to push forward a captive-release deal before the fighting widens.

Huckabee said Trump and his administration “hope this long-overdue release” of Alexander “marks the beginning of the end to this terrible war”.

Israel plans to send a delegation to Doha on Tuesday for talks but made clear military operations would persist. “The prime minister made it clear that negotiations would only take place under fire,” his office said.

Interior Ministry urges residents to stay home and avoid movement, warning of further instability.

The United Nations has called for urgent de-escalation in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, as rival gunmen exchanged fire in the city’s southern districts after the killing of a powerful militia leader, prompting authorities to impose an emergency lockdown warning.

Residents reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions across multiple neighbourhoods from about 9pm local time (19:00 GMT), according to journalists on the ground.

Reporting from Libya’s Misrata, Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina said security sources had confirmed the killing of Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, widely known as “Gheniwa”, who is the head of the powerful Stability Support Authority militia.

Gunfire and clashes then consumed several parts of Tripoli.

Al-Kikli was one of the capital’s most influential militia leaders and had recently been involved in disputes with rival armed groups, including factions linked to Misrata.

Traina said that at least six people have been injured, although it remains unclear whether they are security force members or civilians.

“People are angry that every time these armed groups clash, civilians are caught in the crossfire,” he continued, adding that residents are demanding “accountability”.

“When these groups fight and people are killed, no one is held responsible. Locals want justice, and expect the authorities to hold those behind the violence accountable,” he said.

In a statement early on Tuesday, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it was “alarmed by the unfolding security situation in Tripoli, with intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas”.

UNSMIL added that it “calls on all parties to immediately cease fighting and restore calm, and reminds all parties of their obligations to protect civilians at all times”.

UNSMIL is alarmed by the unfolding security situation in Tripoli, with intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas. 
The Mission calls on all parties to immediately cease fighting and restore calm, and reminds all parties of their obligations to… pic.twitter.com/SZ8oKgZ1p8

— UNSMIL (@UNSMILibya) May 12, 2025

UNSMIL voiced support for local mediation efforts, particularly those led by elders and community leaders, emphasising the need to protect civilians amid mounting tensions.

Schools shut, residents told to stay indoors

The Ministry of Internal Affairs urged residents to stay home and avoid movement, warning of further instability. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education suspended classes across Tripoli on Tuesday, citing the deteriorating security situation.

Libyan social media platforms have been flooded with videos and images showing gunfire, plumes of black smoke rising, armed men in the streets and convoys entering the city.

Footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency captured the sound of medium-calibre gunfire in several neighbourhoods, including areas where the Stability Support Authority militia is known to operate.

Several districts have seen what local sources describe as “suspicious military manoeuvres”, with convoys arriving from Az-Zawiyah, Zintan, and Misrata – seen by many as preparations for a possible showdown in the capital.

The country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The oil-rich nation has been governed for most of the past decade by rival governments in eastern and western Libya, each backed by an array of fighter groups and foreign governments.

United States President Donald Trump descends on Tuesday on the Middle East for a regional tour that will begin in Saudi Arabia and include stops in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. It is a business trip in every sense of the term, involving potentially trillions of dollars in investment and trade deals.

The UAE, for example, has already pledged $1.4 trillion in investments to the US over 10 years in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence and energy to mining and aluminium production. Saudi Arabia, for its part, has committed to investing $600bn in the US over the next four years. According to the Reuters news agency, Trump will also be offering the kingdom an arms package to the tune of $100bn.

Meanwhile, in keeping with the president’s solid history of nepotism and self-enrichment, it just so happens that the Trump Organization is currently presiding over real estate projects and other business ventures in all three Gulf countries he is slated to visit.

And yet one country is conspicuously absent from the regional itinerary despite being the US’s longstanding BFF in the Middle East: Israel, the nation that has for the past 19 months been perpetrating genocide in the Gaza Strip with the help of gobs of US money and weaponry. The official Palestinian death toll stands at nearly 53,000 and counting.

Although the genocide kicked off on the watch of his predecessor President Joe Biden, Trump was quick to embrace mass slaughter as well, announcing not long after reassuming office that he was “sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job” in Gaza. It appears, however, that Israel is taking a bit too long for the US president’s liking – particularly now that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prescribed an intensified offensive against an enclave that has already been largely reduced to rubble.

The issue, of course, is not that Trump cares if Palestinian children and adults continue to be massacred and starved to death while Israel takes its sweet time “finishing the job”. Rather, the ongoing genocide is simply hampering his vision of the “Riviera of the Middle East” that will supposedly spring forth from the ruins of Gaza, the creation of which he has outlined as follows: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it.”

So while war may be good for business – just ask the arms industry – it seems that too much war can ultimately be a counterproductive investment, at least from a Trumpian real estate perspective.

In the run-up to Trump’s Middle Eastern expedition, reports increasingly circulated of tensions between the US president and the Israeli prime minister – and not just on the Gaza front. On Sunday, NBC News noted that Netanyahu had been “blindsided – and infuriated – this past week by Trump’s announcement that the US was halting its military campaign against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen”.

Even more annoying to the Israeli premier, apparently, is Trump’s refusal to endorse military strikes on Iran. Plus, the US has reportedly discarded the demand that Saudi Arabia normalise relations with Israel as a condition for US support for the kingdom’s civilian nuclear programme.

What, then, does the strained Trump-Netanyahu rapport mean for the ever-so-sacred “special relationship” between the US and Israel? According to an article published by the Israeli outlet Ynetnews: “Despite the tensions, Israeli officials insist behind-the-scenes coordination with the Trump administration remains close, with no real policy rift.”

The dispatch goes on to assure readers that US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has “denied rumors that Trump might announce support for a Palestinian state during the visit” to the three Gulf nations. Of course, it’s not quite clear what sort of “Palestinian state” could ever be promoted by the man proposing US ownership of the Gaza Strip and expulsion of the native Palestinian population.

Although Israel may be sidelined on this trip, that doesn’t mean it won’t continue to serve a key function in general US malevolence. Just last month, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – source of the idea that there is “no reason for a gram of food or aid to enter Gaza” – was hosted by Republican officials at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. After a dinner held in his honour, Ben-Gvir boasted that Republicans had “expressed support for my very clear position on how to act in Gaza and that the food and aid depots should be bombed”.

Flashy trillion-dollar Gulf deals aside, rest assured that the Trump administration remains as committed as ever to capitalising on Israeli atrocities.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

United States President Donald Trump will undertake a three-day tour of the Gulf for his first state visit since retaking office in January.

The trip begins in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

It marks Trump’s second foreign visit as president after he attended Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome in April.

Here is what to know about the trip and what is on the agenda:

When and where is Trump visiting?

Trump will fly out of the US on Monday and start his trip in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday.

He is expected to attend a Gulf summit in the city on Wednesday, visit Qatar later that day and conclude his visit in the UAE on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia was the first country Trump visited during his first term as well, breaking the tradition of US presidents starting with the United Kingdom, Canada or Mexico.

What is on Trump’s agenda?

His objectives are securing major economic deals and making diplomatic progress on issues that impact the region, including a Gaza ceasefire and stalled Saudi-Israel normalisation talks.

The focus on economic deals comes as the US recorded a drop in its economic output in the first quarter, its first in three years.

On Wednesday, Trump said he will also decide during his trip how the US refers to the “Persian Gulf”.

US media reported that he may decide to refer to the body of water as the Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia.

Saudi Arabia: Normalisation, business deals and weapons

Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the president wants to expand the Abraham Accords, under which the UAE and Bahrain recognised Israel during Trump’s first term, to include Saudi Arabia.

Talks were reportedly under way on Saudi Arabia joining the accords, but after Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) paused those discussions.

Saudi officials have said they won’t move forward unless there is real progress towards a two-state solution for Palestine, leading to speculation that Trump may propose a US-backed framework to end the war and revive normalisation efforts during this visit.

In a shift from past US policy, the Trump administration has uncoupled discussions on a Saudi nuclear agreement and normalisation with Israel, which US President Joe Biden’s administration had held as a condition for nuclear cooperation.

Riyadh wants US help building a civilian nuclear programme, which Israel has raised concerns about and had wanted it tied to normalisation.

Trump’s main focus will be economic partnerships as he meets with MBS and attends a Saudi-US investment forum. He wants to secure a $1 trillion Saudi investment in US industries, expanding on a $600bn pledge made by the crown prince earlier this year.

Saudi Arabia is also expected to announce more than $100bn in US arms purchases, including missiles, radar systems and transport aircraft.

Other key issues include reviving a scaled-down US-Saudi defence pact.

UAE: Investment in the US and cooperation on tech goals

In the UAE, Trump is to meet with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss investment opportunities in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing.

In March, the UAE announced a $1.4 trillion investment plan for those sectors in the US over the next decade.

Meanwhile, Trump is expected to lift Biden-era export restrictions on advanced technology as the UAE seeks US microchips and artificial intelligence technology to support its goal of becoming a global AI leader by 2031.

Qatar: Military cooperation, regional security and Syria

In Qatar, where the largest US military base in the Middle East is located, Trump’s agenda includes meetings with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss military cooperation and regional security.

Doha, which has close ties with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, may also seek Trump’s support in easing sanctions on Syria.

As a key partner in regional mediation, Qatar is also expected to discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts with Trump.

Why is Israel not on the itinerary?

Trump’s decision to skip Israel during this tour comes amid heightened tensions in Gaza, where Israel’s military has intensified its operations after breaking a ceasefire on March 18.

“Nothing good can come out of a visit to Israel at the moment,” a US official told the Axios news website.

Since it broke the ceasefire, Israel has continued extensive air strikes on Gaza while voicing concerns over what it sees as a decline in US support.

Recent reports from US and Israeli media also suggest growing tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the Trump administration signals it may act independently on Middle East policy without waiting for the Israeli leader.

Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg told Al Jazeera: “At the moment, Israel is at odds with [Trump’s] overall goal, promising continuous fire.

“I think the mistrust between Trump and Netanyahu has been quite extensive for some time.”

How are countries responding to this visit?

In the lead-up to Trump’s visit, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE pledged significant investments in the US, signalling an interest in deepening economic ties.

However, Trump’s trip also follows resistance in the region over his proposal for the US to redevelop Gaza and relocate its residents to other Arab countries.

In a meeting of Arab leaders in Riyadh in February, officials from countries including Egypt, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait rejected Trump’s plan, emphasising the need for Palestinian self-determination and regional stability.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will be waiting to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Turkiye to talk face-to-face, as part of peace negotiations scheduled for May 15. It’s not clear however if Putin will attend.

Hamas says it will release US-Israeli captive Edan Alexander and confirms direct talks with the US, while Israel insists it has not agreed to any ceasefire – signaling a possible rift with Washington, analysts say.

Israeli PM says negotiations with Hamas will continue ‘under fire’, with just a pause for the planned release of Edan Alexander.

Israel has not agreed to any ceasefire or prisoner swap with Hamas ahead of the expected release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, but is continuing to prepare to intensify its military operations in Gaza, its prime minister has stated.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement released on Monday that ceasefire negotiations “will continue under fire, during preparations for an intensification of the fighting”. The Israeli leader insisted that military pressure had forced Hamas to make the release.

“Israel has not committed to a ceasefire of any kind” or the release of Palestinian prisoners, but has only agreed to allow safe passage for the release of Alexander, the last surviving United States captive held in Gaza, the statement said.

A Hamas source told the AFP news agency later on Monday that mediators had informed the Palestinian group that Israel would pause military operations in Gaza for the handover.

‘Final deal?’

Hamas said on Monday that Alexander’s release was imminent. The armed group agreed to release him as a goodwill gesture to US President Donald Trump, who is due to arrive in the Middle East later.

The previous day, the Palestinian group had revealed that it had agreed to the release in talks with the US. Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt called it an encouraging step towards a return to ceasefire talks for war-torn Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayyah, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said the group was ready to “immediately start intensive negotiations” to reach a final deal for a long-term truce, including an end to the war, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and remaining Israeli captives in Gaza, and the handing over of power in the enclave to an independent body of technocrats.

Alexander’s family said they hoped the decision would open the way for the release of the 59 other captives, only 21 of whom are believed to be alive.

Families of the captives and their supporters in Israel have pressed the government to reach a deal to secure the release of those still held in Gaza, but Netanyahu has faced heavy pressure from hardliners in his cabinet not to end the war.

Last week, Netanyahu announced that Israel plans a total conquest of Gaza in an intensive military operation. Israeli officials have said that the step-up in military action would not start until Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.

Israel continues to bombard the enclave.

Gaza’s Civil Defence agency reported on Monday that several people were killed and many more injured in an overnight air attack on a school housing displaced people.

“At least 10 [dead], including several women and children, as well as dozens of wounded, were transported following an Israeli air strike on the Fatima Bint Asad school, which is home to more than 2,000 displaced people in the city of Jabalia,” Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.

Israeli forces also continued attacks across the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City in the north, Rafah in the south and the Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has announced that it plans to disband and disarm in a move promising an end to decades of conflict with Turkiye.
The move was announced on Monday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group.

Amid ferocious Israeli attacks on Yemen, ostensibly in response to Houthi attacks on Israel, surprising news from the United States seemed to shake matters briefly.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a ceasefire had been agreed between his country and the Houthis, claiming the Houthis had bent the knee and this was a victory for the US.

He also praised the Houthis for their bravery and resilience.

This meant the US would no longer be bombing Yemen, and the Houthis would stop firing at ships in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.

There was no mention of Israel in Trump’s announcement – a sign, to many, of a possible chill between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Houthis, for their part, made it clear that the deal does not extend to Israel and they would continue their attacks until Israel allowed aid into Gaza, ending the starvation it is imposing on the people there.

Israel left out?

Israel has been launching attacks on Yemen, claiming it wants to deter the Houthis, who took control of Sanaa in 2014 and already fought a years-long war against the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

Israel’s most recent attack, on Sunday, bore an eerie resemblance to how it has operated when bombing the trapped population of Gaza, issuing “warnings” to people in three Yemeni ports in Hodeidah governorate to flee, with less than an hour’s notice.

Whether this escalation is a reaction to the announced US ceasefire remains to be seen, but many analysts have spoken of a widening rift between Netanyahu and Trump.

Netanyahu has reportedly expressed his frustration with Trump’s Middle East policy in private conversations.

He has been publicly against the US administration’s talks with Iran, claiming there is no diplomatic way to resolve differences with Tehran, yet Iran and the US have continued their talks.

He went on to blame Iran for the Houthis’ attacks, claiming Israel’s attacks are a message to the “Houthis’ sponsors”.

Trump, for his part, has seemed unconcerned.

“It’s worth noting Trump didn’t say anything about [Houthi] attacks on Israel, which seem to be continuing amid this escalation,” Nicholas Brumfield, a Yemen analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“In [this] case, it’s a US drawdown because the Houthis haven’t been attacking international shipping,” Brumfield said. “They’ve been attacking Israel. The US has been doing its thing, and the Houthis have been targeting US ships.”

After Israeli attacks on Monday and Tuesday, which killed at least three people and wounded 35 others and damaged Hodeidah Port and Sanaa Airport, the Houthis promised retaliation.

The attacks “will not go unanswered”, the Houthi political bureau said in a statement.

That kind of statement is typical of the Houthis, who have managed to weather more than a decade of attacks by forces with far superior military capabilities.

Air strikes by the US and United Kingdom on Yemen in early 2024 were unable to stop the Houthis’ attacks on Red Sea traffic.

Years of air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government taught the Houthis to keep their military infrastructure agile, analysts told Al Jazeera.

A senior US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera that recent US attacks on the Houthis have pushed leaders underground after the killing of some key military commanders.

However, unlike under US President Joe Biden’s administration, the attacks under Trump have been indiscriminate and have led to more civilian deaths. More than 250 people have been killed by US attacks on Yemen since mid-March, including at least 68 people at a centre housing detained African refugees and migrants in late April.

Experts told Al Jazeera that despite the increased ferocity of those attacks, the Houthis have not been deterred.

“The Houthis aren’t going to stop,” Brumfield said.

Israel still striking

The Houthis have made their stance clear vis-à-vis the agreement with the US and the continuation of attacks on Israel, which has also made clear that it plans to keep attacking.

“The stated aim is to deter [the Houthis] or deplete their military capabilities to the point that the Houthis cannot target Israel any more, but these are both very unrealistic goals,” Hannah Porter, an independent Yemen analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Israel already considers that it has diminished the capabilities of two of its biggest foes, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, over the past 19 months.

But trying something like that on the Houthis would be a vastly different challenge, she said.

“Israel has probably not gathered the amount of intel on the Houthis that they have on Hamas or Hezbollah, so tracking and targeting leaders will be harder,” Porter said.

“More importantly, the geographic area is much larger in northern Yemen, meaning that there are far more potential targets.”

“The terrain is a factor, too,” she added. “Northern Yemen is very mountainous with plenty of places to hide people and weapons.”

For now, Israel and the Houthis seem intent on continuing their exchange of attacks. And the first to suffer will be the people of Yemen.

Israel struck numerous targets in recent days in Yemen, including Sanaa’s airport and the port in Hodeidah, which experts said is likely to exacerbate Yemen’s dire humanitarian situation.

Israel destroyed at least three civilian planes in the attacks.

Yemen is already suffering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. More than 18.2 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection services, according to the United Nations.

More than 17.1 million Yemenis suffer acute food shortages, and about five million are on the brink of famine.

While analysts said Israel’s attacks on ports will not be a “knockout blow”, they are among a matrix of factors that leave many Yemenis in an increasingly precarious position.

“The humanitarian situation will just get worse,” Raiman Al-Hamdani, a Yemen researcher with the international development company ARK, told Al Jazeera.

“Destroying the two main ports of northern Yemen, where the majority of the population lives, coupled with the FTO [“foreign terrorist organisation”] designation with cuts to the aid system around the world and the deteriorating economy … is a recipe for [unprecedented] humanitarian disaster.”

“[Israel’s attacks] are a continuation of its strategy. It’s out of spite, targets civil infrastructure and the policy of creating human suffering,” Al-Hamdani said.

Both sides seem unwilling to stop, however.

“I cannot see anything quite good coming out of this unless the war Israel is waging on Gaza comes to some form of truce,” Al-Hamdani said.

Port Sudan, el-Fasher, West Kordofan and West Darfur have all seen heavy fighting.

Multiple attacks by Sudan’s armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have struck various locations across the country now in its third year of a civil war.

At least nine civilians, including four children, were killed and seven injured in attacks on Sunday by the RSF in el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan, according to the Sudanese army.

During a sweep of the city, the SAF killed six RSF members and destroyed three combat vehicles, according to the statement. There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the army report.

El-Fasher is the last major city held by SAF in Darfur. For over a year, the RSF has sought to wrest control it, located more than 800km (500 miles) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, from the SAF, launching regular attacks on the city and two major famine-hit camps for displaced people on its outskirts.

In the meantime, Sudan’s civil defence forces announced on Sunday that they have full control over fires that erupted at the main fuel depot and other strategic sites in Port Sudan, the seat of the army-backed government, which has come under daily drone attacks blamed on the RSF over the past week.

The fires caused by a drone strike on the fuel depot on Monday had spread across “warehouses filled with fuel”, the Sudanese army-aligned authorities said, warning of a “potential disaster in the area”.

The Red Sea port city had been seen as a safe haven from the devastating two-year conflict between the SAF and RSF before the drone strikes began on May 4.

The attacks have damaged several key facilities, including the country’s sole international civilian airport, its largest working fuel depot and the city’s main power station.

On Tuesday, Sudanese authorities accused the RSF of being behind the drone strikes. The RSF has not commented on the allegations.

Port Sudan is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the attacks “threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the country”, his spokesman said.

Sudan’s army launched air strikes on the RSF in el-Khuwei in West Kordofan state and the state of West Darfur late on Saturday. El-Khuwei was captured by the RSF last week.

Activists and Sudanese accounts shared a video clip on social media showing the Sudanese army and their allied forces announcing that they had regained control over el-Khuwei after battles with the RSF on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency.

Witnesses also reported drone strikes on Sunday, targeting the airport in Atbara, a city in the northern state of River Nile.

The RSF has been battling the SAF for control of Sudan since April 2023. The civil war has killed more than 20,000 people, uprooted 15 million and created what the UN considers the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Israel has previously bombed Hodeidah and Sanaa International Airport; Houthi missile targeted Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

Israel has launched air attacks on Yemen’s Hodeidah governorate, according to the Houthi Interior Ministry.

The attack late on Sunday came after the Israeli army said it had warned those present at three Houthi-controlled ports in the area to evacuate.

It was the latest salvo in exchanges between Israel and the Houthis.

Israel bombed the Hodeidah port after a Houthi attack near Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv earlier this month.

Israeli strikes have also targeted parts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the main international airport there.

The Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel and on Israeli targets in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians under fire since the war on Gaza began 19 months ago. Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 52,000 people, including 57 who starved to death due to the total Israeli siege since March 2, according to Palestinian officials.

A ceasefire deal between Yemen’s Houthis and the United States does not include any operations against Israel, the group’s chief negotiator announced earlier this week.

The statement did not indicate when the 21-year-old Alexander would be released.

Hamas has said it will release a US-Israeli captive held in Gaza, as the group confirmed it was engaged in direct talks with the United States towards securing a ceasefire in the war-ravaged enclave and getting aid flowing again to a suffering Palestinian population.

The Palestinian group released a statement on Sunday: “Israeli soldier Edan Alexander, a dual US national, will be released as part of efforts towards a ceasefire” and the reopening of aid crossings.

The statement did not indicate when the 21-year-old Alexander would be released, but it is thought to be in the coming 48 hours.

Israeli media reported that US envoy will be in Israel Monday as part of the deal.

It comes shortly before US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week – which does not include a trip to Israel. Trump and Witkoff have frequently mentioned Alexander by name in the past few months.

In its statement on Sunday, Hamas said it was willing to “immediately begin intensive negotiations” that could lead to an agreement to end the war and would see Gaza under a technocratic and independent administration.

“This will ensure calm and stability for many years, along with reconstruction and the end of the blockade”.

There was no immediate comment from either the United States or Israel.

Alexander, who grew up in the United States, was taken from his base during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.

Earlier Sunday, two Hamas officials told the AFP news agency that talks were ongoing in the Qatari capital of Doha with the United States and reported “progress” had been made.

One Hamas official, speaking about the talks with the US, said there was “progress made… notably on the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip” and the potential exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

A second official also reported progress “on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip”.

Israel shattered the last ceasefire, which lasted two months, on March 18, launching a major offensive in Gaza and ramping up its bombardment of the territory.

It has also cut off all aid to Gaza since March 2, saying it would pressure Hamas to release the remaining captives. None have been released.

Starvation has taken hold across Gaza due to the Israeli blockade.

Earlier this month, the Israeli government approved plans to expand its offensive in the Gaza Strip, with officials talking of retaining a long-term presence there.

The health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that at least 2,720 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the overall death toll since the war broke out to 52,829.

The Israeli military has killed at least 13 Palestinians, including several children and women, in Gaza as it continues to starve the besieged enclave.

Among the victims since dawn on Sunday were three Palestinians killed in a drone strike on a vehicle and two killed in a bombing near residential towers located west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Another two people were killed in artillery shelling of a home in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City in the north while the body of a man was recovered near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza after Israeli warplanes bombed the area a day earlier.

The Israeli military also attacked the Islamic University building in Khan Younis.

فيديو يوثق لحظة قصف الاحتلال الجامعة الإسلامية في منطقة معن شرقي خانيونس جنوبي قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/1G8rFhF7Ch

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) May 11, 2025

The latest killings in the daily Israeli bombardment of Gaza came as the enclave has seen no food, water, medicine or fuel enter the territory for 70 days due to Israel’s blockade.

The 2.3 million residents of Gaza are surviving on fast-dwindling supplies and charity kitchens, which have been gradually forced to shut down as they run out of food and hunger spreads.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned on Sunday that the longer the blockade continues, the more irreversible harm is being done to Palestinians.

“UNRWA has thousands of trucks ready to enter and our teams in Gaza are ready to scale up the delivery,” the organisation said.

Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that Israel is committing a “complex crime”.

Israel’s security cabinet this month approved a plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip and force another mass displacement of Palestinians.

Israel has also proposed taking over any future humanitarian aid distribution, which would, it said, involve creating designated military zones.

The Humanitarian Country Team, a forum that includes UN agencies, warned that the plan is dangerous and would “contravene fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday that the country would accept a new US mechanism that would start delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

A group of American security contractors, former military officers and humanitarian aid officials is proposing to take over the distribution of food and other supplies in Gaza based on plans similar to those designed by Israel.

The plan has been criticised for bypassing the UN and aid groups with expertise in aid delivery and creating only four distribution points that would force a large number of Palestinians to travel to southern Gaza.

According to the latest figures by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Sunday, at least 52,829 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 119,554 wounded by Israeli military attacks since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, which killed an estimated 1,139 people and resulted in more than 200 people taken captive into Gaza.

Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire, entry of humanitarian aid and release of all those held in Gaza during his first Sunday blessing since his election as pontiff.

Israel to pay soldiers more before Gaza expansion

The Israeli military planned to intensify its ground occupation of Gaza on Sunday, pulling the Paratroopers Brigade back from its incursions into Syria to be redeployed to Gaza.

The paratroopers have been operating in the occupied Golan Heights and inside Syria since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Israel withdrew the Nahal Brigade from the occupied West Bank – which has also been under assault for months – in its intended and self-proclaimed push to “conquer” Gaza.

But thousands of Israeli reservists and other members of the Israeli military and security agencies, along with thousands of Israelis demonstrating in the streets, have been calling for an end to the war to bring back all captives.

To address the growing dissatisfaction among soldiers, the Israeli government on Sunday approved a “comprehensive benefit plan” for reservists worth about 3 billion shekels ($838m) that is slated to include a series of economic and social benefits.

The army welcomed the plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying in a statement that it is a reflection of soldiers’ “exceptional contribution” to Israeli society.

This comes as United States President Donald Trump, who has reportedly had some differences with Netanyahu in recent weeks over the Gaza war and how to engage with Iran, will launch a tour of the Middle East this week.