VIDEO: Australian prime minister under fire over joke about foreign leader's 'melons'



Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vehemently denied the suggestion he made a crude remark about a female foreign leader's "melons."

Albanese made the comments — and hand gestures — during his appearance on the "Bush Deep" podcast with Australian comedian Nikki Osborne. He also said during the show that he would "shag" singer and actress Kylie Minogue.

'The comments were beneath the office of prime minister.'

Osborne asked him about gifts from foreign leaders when he told a story involving Sanae Takaichi, the female prime minister of Japan

"Here's something I got recently here that was pretty strange but ended up being quite good was a melon. The Japanese prime minister brought a melon here!" said Albanese.

"How did he get that through customs?" Osbourne asked.

"She — it's a royal melon," he answered.

"Oh, she smuggled — it was a she? Did she smuggle it?" the podcaster asked, while making a gesture as if referring to pregnancy.

"I dunno," he said, smirking.

"Oh, I'm expecting!" Osbourne joked.

"Got a couple of melons!" said Albanese while gesturing with his hands at his chest.

"She brought two?" she laughed.

"She brought two! As you do!" he replied.

"She just came in looking like Pamela Anderson!" the podcaster joked.

"She brought two!" he replied. "And they're beautiful!"

Video of the interaction can be viewed on social media.

Takaichi had been visiting Australia to improve diplomatic relations as China threatens to expand its influence in the South China Sea.

Albanese's political critics pounced on the incident, lambasted him, and demanded that he apologize for the joke.

"The comments were beneath the office of prime minister," said Liberal leader Angus Taylor on Monday. "They were insulting, and the prime minister should make a personal apology. He’s done it through a statement. I mean, the hypocrisy of Labor and the prime minister on this topic knows no bounds, no bounds whatsoever."

Opposition leader Ted O’Brien, after meeting with Japanese officials, said "the prime minister’s words were inappropriate and a national embarrassment."

RELATED: France recalls ambassadors from the US and Australia after calling Indo-Pacific pact a 'stab in the back'

What's more, Shingo Yamagami — a former Japanese ambassador to Australia — rebuked Albanese for his words.

Yamagami wrote, “Prime Minister, please enjoy Japan’s sweet and juicy melons without thinking about a women’s anatomy" before adding that "however lighthearted it was intended to be, the recent joke delivered by PM Anthony Albanese at the expense of Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi is how he might be remembered by Japanese who most value the friendship with Australia.”

Yamagami added that "what dismayed some was that Takaichi has recently been subject to derogatory remarks about her body and gender" and that "the last thing she expected was to be so casually mocked by the trusted leader of Japan’s special strategic partner.”

Albanese previously apologized for his comment about shagging Minogue.

Takaichi is considered a very conservative leader who supports the legacy of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The melons in question are a special kind called Shizuoka-grown Crown Melons, which are grown so that only one fruit can be harvested from each plant. They are very expensive and are exported to Canada from Japan.

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STUNNING admission about vaccine found in newly released Fauci text — while he told public it was safe



Newly released texts from Dr. Anthony Fauci showed that he and other health officials knew about a miscarriage risk to the coronavirus vaccine, but told the public it was safe.

The texts were released by Republican Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin as part of the investigation by the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

'It's really one of those things that's kind of not a close call. It really is pretty clear that pregnant women should get vaccinated.'

The exchange showed Fauci referring to the miscarriage risk in texts to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who was the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the time.

"I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of," he wrote. "Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester."

It was sent Jan. 25, 2021.

Days later, he said the Food and Drug Administration had "found thus far, and we have to be careful, but thus far no red flags about that, about pregnant women," during a livestream with the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Months after that, Fauci made similar comments to "What to Expect" creator Heidi Murkoff.

"[I]f you look at the literally — literally — tens and tens and tens of thousands of women who have been followed by the CDC who were vaccinated when they were pregnant, there's no indication whatsoever that there's any increase of any adverse issues in a pregnant woman who was vaccinated compared to a pregnant woman who wasn't vaccinated," said Fauci.

"It's really one of those things that's kind of not a close call. It really is pretty clear that pregnant women should get vaccinated."

Johnson posted the message on his social media account.

"While I’ve been conducting oversight for years, now that we have the documents and Fauci’s government-issued phone, my investigation has only just begun," he said.

"Pregnant women were told it was safe! How many women lost babies due to Dr. Fauci's lies?" responded Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

RELATED: Former Fauci adviser INDICTED for allegedly hiding emails about the origins of COVID

"Americans were told to shut up, trust the experts, and get the shot or risk their jobs and livelihoods," replied Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

"Meanwhile, behind closed doors, Fauci, Walensky, and Murthy were discussing the very uncertainties Americans were attacked for raising: missing pregnancy data, pregnant women excluded from the trials, a WHO statement citing lack of data, and even a theoretical concern about miscarriage after the second dose," he added.

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Swing-state election official resigns amid mail-in ballot investigation



A Green Bay election official accused of bungling ballot distribution sent herself packing on Friday.

Celestine Jeffreys resigned August 7 after allegedly issuing 152 duplicate absentee ballots to registered voters in April 2026 amid a subsequent Wisconsin Elections Commission investigation into her conduct. Jeffreys was the Green Bay official who helped facilitate Mark Zuckerberg-backed 2020 election grants routed through the Center for Tech and Civic Life, according to RealClear Investigations.

‘A clerk who does not believe the law prohibits issuing duplicate ballots cannot be trusted to prevent it from happening again.’

According to reporting by Spectrum News 1, Jeffreys was placed on administrative leave by the City of Green Bay on July 9 after the Wisconsin Elections Commission unanimously voted to open an investigation into the absentee ballot incident.

Brown County Republican Party board member Theresa Sipes filed a complaint against Jeffreys in April, alleging the duplication violated state law. The duplicates created “a substantial risk of confusion, double voting and increasing the opportunity for and possibility of fraud,” according to the filing.

The Wisconsin Republican Party backed Sipes’ filing.

The City of Green Bay defended Jeffreys, arguing that the discrepancy was an accident.

“Wisconsin law prohibits election fraud, not the inadvertent issuance of multiple ballots,” Green Bay stated in its response, obtained by Fox 11. “The statute does not impose liability for inadvertent duplication in issuance, rather, it establishes the elector’s right to receive a ballot.”

RELATED: Spanberger's plot to let 66,000 felons vote just in time for the midterms is complete

JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images

Sipes' lawyer Nicholas Boerke rejected the city’s defense.

“A clerk who does not believe the law prohibits issuing duplicate ballots cannot be trusted to prevent it from happening again,” Boerke argued in a supplemental letter to the WEC. He went on to say that the “fundamental misunderstanding of ballot issuance law displayed in the response makes future violations inevitable absent commission action.”

The WEC saw enough merit in Boerke's arguments to open an investigation.

“The commission authorizes an investigation into the City of Green Bay clerk to determine if the clerk or any employee or contractor of the City of Green Bay failed to comply with Wisconsin law or otherwise abuse their discretion in the preparation and mailing of absentee ballot mailers," Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Don Millis told Spectrum News 1.

Her resignation follows a years-long string of controversies, beginning with her tenure as Mayor Eric Genrich’s chief of staff.

“Is he working with you? As far as I’m concerned I am taking all of my cues from CTCL and work with those you recommend,” Jeffreys wrote in an email to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, according to RealClearInvestigations.

After Jeffreys’ email and in conjunction with CTCL, Green Bay hired Democrat operative Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein to oversee its 2020 election operations. Spitzer-Rubenstein eventually drove out then-City Clerk Kris Teske after demanding unprecedented access to voter databases.

The WEC reviewed the incident and found no impropriety. Wisconsin voters banned private election assistance via constitutional amendment in 2024.

Jeffreys previously courted controversy in 2023 when she allowed third parties to return absentee ballots on behalf of others. In 2024, the clerk failed to deactivate voter registrations in violation of state law in instances where Election Day materials were returned as undeliverable.

The Green Bay Mayor’s Office directed Blaze News to its August 7 press release when reached for comment.

“The City of Green Bay and Celestine Jeffreys are jointly announcing that Ms. Jeffreys has made the decision to step down from her role as City Clerk. We wish her the best in her future endeavors,” the press release states. “This will be the City’s only statement on the matter.”

Jeffreys, the Brown County Republican Party, the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and the Center for Tech and Civic Life did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg declined to comment.

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Federal judge REJECTS the victim narrative pushed by the criminally charged SPLC



The Southern Poverty Law Center's bad year just got a whole lot worse.

Besides facing congressional scrutiny, the liberal organization whose bread and butter is smearing law-abiding conservatives as "extremists" was federally charged in April with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.

'The American people deserve to see this hate racket exposed in court.'

The SPLC — now under the leadership of CEO Ryan Haygood — tried to play the victim in hopes of having the case thrown out. The federal judge overseeing the case did not, however, buy what the professional concern-mongers were selling.

Tyler O'Neil, author of "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center," told Blaze News, "The SPLC just tried to weasel its way out of accountability for allegedly propping up the Ku Klux Klan by complaining about President Trump’s mean social media posts. Judge Marks rightly saw through this charade."

"Abbe Lowell’s legal team must have known it was a stretch to ask a judge to dismiss the case for vindictive prosecution before trial, but to do so without any evidence tying alleged animus directly to prosecutors required real chutzpah," continued O'Neil. "The motion may have been catnip to the legacy media, but it was dead on arrival in court."

How it started

Prosecutors have accused the SPLC of secretly pouring several million dollars in donated funds to individuals linked to various extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the National Alliance, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America — groups the liberal organization was supposedly fighting against.

According to the superseding indictment filed by the Justice Department in June, which charges the SPLC with the same 11 counts, some of the donor funds were dumped into "fictitious accounts" and used ultimately to pay for so-called field sources "who were either leading or affiliated with multiple violent extremist organizations."

Field sources allegedly used SPLC donor money for numerous questionable activities, including creating racist paraphernalia that extremist groups sold at rallies; publishing extremist literature for recruitment purposes; purchasing materials for cross burnings and Ku Klux Klan hoods; and creating new chapters of extremist groups.

RELATED: SPLC director allegedly used donor cash to fund secret romance with neo-Nazi informant: Indictment

SPLC President Ryan Haygood. Elizabeth Frantz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A former SPLC director is also alleged, among other things, to have used donor cash to fund her secret romance with a neo-Nazi informant.

Blaze Media did not immediately receive a response from the SPLC.

In May, the SPLC, which denies any wrongdoing, filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama to dismiss the federal charges, claiming that it is the victim of "a vindictive prosecution" launched in response to speech protected under the First Amendment — the "latest manifestation of a top-down, retributive campaign."

The SPLC claimed that it has been "falsely accused" by the Trump administration of being anti-Christian, aiding the Biden administration's weaponization of the DOJ, participating in political violence, and helping rig the 2020 election.

The SPLC claimed further that the administration's supposed animus "culminated in the criminal charges against the SPLC — an indictment premised on conclusory accusations but devoid of provable facts or a proper statement of the law."

Should the court refuse to dismiss the charges, the SPLC asked that it at least require discovery into the government's prosecutorial motives.

How it's going

U.S. District Court Judge Emily Marks, a Trump appointee, delivered some bad news to the SPLC on Friday.

"The SPLC is not entitled to discovery or dismissal of the indictment," Marks said in her order. "The SPLC has failed to offer some evidence tending to show animus on the part of the prosecutors involved in bringing this case and that such animus resulted in the prosecution, the showing required for discovery. Because it cannot satisfy that standard, it necessarily fails to satisfy the higher standard that would entitle it to dismissal of the indictment."

In her order, Marks also highlighted the inevitable fallout of presuming vindictiveness on the part of the government just because the SPLC was bashing the Trump administration prior to its indictment.

"It is true that before its indictment, the SPLC extensively criticized the Trump administration," wrote the judge. "But if that were sufficient to warrant a presumption, then the Government's fears would be realized, and an entity could effectively immunize itself from prosecution simply by engaging in protected speech, such as criticizing political figures and their policies."

Marks stressed that the "Court cannot license a fishing expedition based on innuendo or speculation."

"It is the SPLC’s, not the Court’s, burden to show that the Government’s prosecution was improperly motivated," continued the judge. "The SPLC cannot merely provide the rough outline of a theory — the President is out to get it — and expect the Court to fill in the blanks."

An SPLC spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Hill, "While the Southern Poverty Law Center is disappointed with the outcome of the motion, we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work."

The spokesperson for the group accused of reviving at least one hate group and bankrolling the creation of KKK garb added, "SPLC will continue to fight hate, and we will continue to envision and create a safer and more just world."

"The SPLC can scream to high heaven about FBI Director Kash Patel calling the group a 'partisan smear machine,' but that doesn't make it any less true," Tyler O'Neil told Blaze News. "The SPLC scares donors and demonizes its opponents by putting mainstream conservative and Christian nonprofits on a 'hate map’ with Klan chapters. Now it stands accused of reimbursing cross-burning materials and paying for KKK hoods. The American people deserve to see this hate racket exposed in court — and Marks’ ruling brings this case one step closer to trial."

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Black WNBA player blames 'white privilege' after getting ejected for flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham



A black WNBA player blamed "white privilege" after she was tossed out of a very physical match between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky over a flagrant foul.

DiJonai Carrington aggressively took down the Fever's Sophie Cunningham as Cunningham drove to the basket for a layup at the start of Saturday's game, leading to an angry response from Cunningham.

'I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that. I think that’s why she did it because she wants attention.'

Carrington was ejected from the game and then potentially worsened the situation for the league by posting "WHITE PRIVILEGE" on social media afterward.

Cunningham was far less divisive in her response following the game.

"Clearly I think it was unnecessary," she said. "I’ve never really spoken to her, and I have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent-up stuff."

She also explained why she charged at Carrington after the attack, in which Carrington swiped at Cunningham's head while Cunningham was in the air and knocked the Fever player to the floor.

"I popped up," Cunningham said. "I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that. I think that’s why she did it because she wants attention."

Sports Illustrated writer Grant Young called Carrington's "white privilege" post "dangerous" and "asinine" in an opinion column calling on the league to suspend the Sky player.

"Frankly, it's not only immature but dangerous for Carrington to imply that race played any role on her getting a Flagrant 2 and ejected from Saturday's game," Young wrote.

"Any player in the league would have been ejected for the shot she landed on Cunningham, and players have certainly been ejected for less," he added. "For Carrington to try to turn it into a race thing is asinine, especially because she's trying to make an exchange that she started bigger than basketball in a hostile and polarizing way."

RELATED: WNBA team co-owner FINED and SUSPENDED for cursing out teen fans of Sophie Cunningham at game

Carrington also posted on social media a laughing emoji with the date of the next time her team plays the Fever.

The Fever went on to beat the Sky by a score of 90 to 86.

Both Cunningham and Fever teammate Caitlin Clark have been targeted with harassment and criticism — Cunningham for speaking out against biological men in women's sports, and Clark has been accused by black players and pundits of receiving favoritism.

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Haiti suddenly went from 'GREAT ALREADY' to 'hell' now that Trump is sending back its people



The existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre claimed that "hell is other people." Former Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera is among the bleeding hearts who believe that hell is Haiti — at least now that the Trump administration is repatriating its people.

Then

President Donald Trump identified Haiti in a January 2018 meeting as one among various "s**thole countries." This was, after all, then a failed state plagued by violence, haunted by rumors of cannibalism, and still reeling from a deadly earthquake.

'Ridiculous.'

There was tremendous backlash over Trump's remarks — not only from the Haitian government and the United Nations' human rights office but from Democrats and the liberal media.

Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) were among the many concern-mongers who claimed that Trump's vivid characterization of Haiti as a less-than-ideal nation was "racist."

In addition to similarly attacking Trump, celebrities ran a PR campaign for the Caribbean nation, portraying it as a paradisiacal place.

Conan O'Brien, for instance, aired a one-hour special showcasing Haiti's perceived beauty — a special that included refutations of Trump's "s**thole" comment from Haitian natives along with repeated emphases that the island nation was a "beautiful country."

RELATED: Pets of Springfield, rejoice! DHS is coming for suspended-status Haitians after Biden judge takes 'the L'

In subsequent months, others, including Bill Maher, jumped on the bandwagon, donning apparel that stated, "HAITI IS GREAT ALREADY."

Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated in Haiti before it got better — simultaneously confirming Trump's initial framing and prompting the liberal media to ramp up its gaslighting campaign.

When confronted — a couple of years after Haitian President Jovenel Moise's assassination — with reports that criminals had taken over the country's capital, freed thousands of felons from jail, engaged in systematic rape, forced the prime minister to resign, and threatened genocide, NBC News, for instance, reassured its viewers in 2024 that contrary to claims by "right-wing pundits," the Western Hemisphere's poorest country did not also have a problem with cannibalism.

Now

The Trump administration announced in July 2025 that it was terminating Haiti's Temporary Protected Status, having determined that the Caribbean nation no longer meets the conditions for special status, in part due to improvements in domestic safety and stability.

While the administration recognized that the country still suffers a "lack of functional government authority" and that "gang violence in Haiti persists," then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that "the environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home."

This revocation of Haiti's special status — which has shielded roughly 350,000 Haitians from removal — faced multiple legal challenges; however, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in the administration's favor in June.

Now that the Department of Homeland Security is "going after" Haitian migrants with suspended special statuses, the usual suspects have jettisoned their "HAITI IS GREAT ALREADY" framing and adopted the president's previous understanding of the Caribbean country as a loathsome place.

Geraldo Rivera, who asked Trump in 2018 to apologize for his "unfortunate" remarks about Haiti and other third-world nations, wrote on Sunday — in the wake of reports about the deportation initiative under way — that "expelling Haitian immigrants is sending them straight to hell."

Rivera was widely criticized for joining the chorus of liberals against the repatriation campaign.

Normalcy advocate Robby Starbuck wrote in response, "Didn’t the entire media and Democrats in DC swear that Haiti was amazing and wonderful and perfect when Trump called it a hellhole? Trump then said okay, then sounds like they can go back and now the framing switches to, 'it’s hell on earth, you can’t send them back!' Ridiculous."

Mike Howell, the president of the Oversight Project and Blaze News contributor, alluded to Rivera's previous concern-mongering over Trump's "s**thole," then asked, "What happened[?]"

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Trump-endorsed candidate upset in shock primary loss



Trump-endorsed Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) lost the Republican primary in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District on Thursday to newcomer Charlie Hatcher.

The loss comes after the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC spent $2 million against Ogles as retribution for his opposition to green energy subsidies. Ogles was also affected by redistricting, with over 80% of voters in the redrawn district previously belonging to another.

‘Communist Democrats defeated Andy Ogles tonight in Tennessee, but we cannot let them win in November.’

Hatcher did not respond to requests for comment.

"Last night, the radical left successfully employed a strategy to influence a Republican primary," Ogles told Blaze News. "The night before early voting began, a California Green Energy PAC publicly disclosed a four-week, $2 million spending campaign all to defeat a Trump-endorsed America First conservative."

"Republicans across the country should take notice. If the left can spend millions to meddle in Republican primaries in Tennessee, they'll do it in every red state where they think they can buy the outcome," Ogles said. "While last night's outcome wasn't what I hoped, Charlie is a good man, and I will do whatever I can to help him be successful."

Ogles served in the House of Representatives for two terms. He introduced the Remigration Act bill in June, aiming to expand denaturalizations and deportations.

"Tennessee's 5th District just proved once again that standing in the way of America's energy future comes with a hefty political price,” ITC Chairman Tom Matzzie said in a statement provided to Blaze News. “This is our second upset in as many primaries — first Chip Roy, now Andy Ogles — and we will continue to punish members of either party who want to play politics with American jobs, energy security, and utility prices.”

“The entire map is in play, and we will take this fight across the country through November.”

RELATED: Liberals in MAGA clothing run covert campaign against Trump-backed candidate

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Invest in Tomorrow’s campaign ran advertisements attacking Roy (R-Texas) as insufficiently MAGA. Roy lost his primary to state Sen. Mayes Middleton.

Matzzie previously held positions at MoveOn.Org, in John Kerry’s presidential campaign, at the Democratic National Committee, and at the AFL-CIO.The White House directed Blaze News to the president’s Friday Truth Social post when reached for comment.

"Last night was another good night for Endorsements, 8-1," Trump wrote. "The 1 was a person who I remained loyal to even though he had virtually no chance of winning, and was running against a Great 'Trump' Candidate."

Hatcher served as Tennessee’s commissioner of agriculture for seven years and received Gov. Bill Haslam's endorsement in July. The primary winner positioned himself as a Trump ally and voice for rural Tennesseans during the campaign.

“Congressman Andy Ogles lost tonight because a super PAC bankrolled by left-wing California Democrats spent $2 million to raid the Republican primary. These leftist Democrats include a San Francisco billionaire who gave $12 million to Kamala Harris and has pledged to spend 'whatever it takes' to elect Gavin Newsom,” the Freedom Caucus Fund said in a statement.

That San Francisco billionaire is Ripple Labs co-founder Chris Larsen, who donated $6 million to the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition PAC between February and June 2026, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures. During the 2024 campaign, Larsen donated millions to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Larsen is worth nearly $13 billion.

The Freedom Caucus Fund spent over $560,000 to defend Ogles against Invest in Tomorrow's campaign, according to a spokesperson.

“This same super PAC is pledging tens of millions to take out conservative pro-Trump Republicans in the House and Senate this November. Their goal is to destroy President Trump’s America First majority in Congress, install Hakeem Jeffries as speaker, and reinstate Biden’s Green New Scam that President Trump and the House Freedom Caucus eliminated in the Big Beautiful Bill.

"Communist Democrats defeated Andy Ogles tonight in Tennessee, but we cannot let them win in November.”

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Netanyahu REJECTS Trump's Gaza peace plan: 'They have ideas'



President Donald Trump announced on July 30 that his Board of Peace had "reached a HISTORIC agreement" in Gaza that would bring an end to a conflict that has claimed well over 70,000 lives.

While the president characterized his proposed resolution as a major win for the Palestinian people and for Israel alike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is evidently of a different mind.

'President Trump will be very, very disappointed.'

Netanyahu — whom Trump has rebuked repeatedly in recent months for undermining his initiatives in the region — rejected the Board of Peace's 15-point peace plan on Sunday, telling his cabinet that some of its terms are unacceptable.

Peace proposal

The peace plan released by Trump's Board of Peace, which would be undertaken in stages, requires, among other things, that:

  • Israel, Hamas, and "other Palestinian factions" suspend military operations in Gaza;
  • Hamas and other factions in Gaza agree not only that all civilian governance and security functions in Gaza will be taken over by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, but that the committee can carry out its responsibilities independently;
  • the NCAG will oversee the disarmament process;
  • Gaza will be "governed according to the principle of One Authority, One Law, One Weapon";
  • Israeli forces — who presently occupy more than half of Gaza — will execute a phased withdrawal from Gaza; and
  • the International Stabilization Force will separate Israeli forces from NCAG-controlled areas during the withdrawal.

"This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people," Trump said in a statement. "At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks."

RELATED: It’s the economy, stupid — again

Khan Yunis in the southern Gazan Strip on July 31, 2026. Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images.

"The threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild!" continued the president. "Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE."

After announcing the deal, which Hamas accepted through Egyptian mediators, Trump told reporters that "Israel is very happy."

While the Israeli security cabinet initially approved of having the International Stabilization Force enter Gaza to aid in the disarmament of Hamas and the transition, top officials called on Netanyahu to reject the plan, reported the Times of Israel.

Rejection

Netanyahu, who facing both a tough re-election battle and an ongoing corruption trial, told his cabinet on Sunday, "Israel rejects the 15-point document."

"The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed," continued Netanyahu. "And when I say Hamas must be disarmed, I mean the heavy weapons, the less-heavy weapons, all weapons. And we are talking about genuine disarmament, not a fictitious one."

The Israeli leader — whose nation is the "largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II" — noted that his government has raised its reservations over the peace deal with Washington.

"They have ideas," said Netanyahu, apparently referring to the Americans behind the peace deal. "Some of them are acceptable to us and some are unacceptable to us, and we know how to stand up to these things. We have proven this in the past, and we are proving it today as well. In addition, the IDF will continue to thwart threats against our forces and against our citizens."

The White House did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

While flatly rejecting Trump's peace plan, Netanyahu nevertheless spoke warmly of the American president.

"I have great appreciation for President Trump," said the foreign leader. "He is a great friend of ours in the White House. I greatly appreciate the historic partnership with the United States against Iran's attempts to acquire nuclear weapons. And I want to emphasize again: With an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not possess nuclear weapons."

"Unlike all those who preach to us, we are doing what needs to be done for Israel’s security, and we can and know how to stand our ground even against our very best friends when necessary," added Netanyahu.

In addition to rejecting the peace deal, Netanyahu rejected the possibility of a Palestinian state in Gaza.

The prime minister's remarks were welcomed by various Israeli officials, including finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionist Party.

"We went to war with a central goal: the destruction of Hamas," said Smotrich, in a statement reported by the Times of Israel. "The (military) cannot withdraw even a millimeter from the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip cannot begin any process of reconstruction before the complete dismantling and demobilization of Hamas and the Gaza Strip."

Hamas, on the other hand, remains supportive of Trump's plan and has asked Washington to pressure Israel to get on board.

According to an X.com translation of the original Arabic, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' politburo, stated on Sunday, "We are committed to the roadmap reached with the representatives of the Peace Council in Cairo just days ago, and our agreement, despite all the challenges, reflected a commitment to the interests of our Palestinian people."

"We expect the mediators and the American guarantor to press Netanyahu and his government to compel him to adhere to the roadmap and not obstruct the path for internal political and electoral reasons," added Naim.

After Trump first announced the deal, a U.S. official told the Washington Post, "We're not asking Israel to do anything other than agree to the 20-point plan that they agreed to initially, and so we're very confident they will adhere to it. If they don't, obviously, President Trump will be very, very disappointed."

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Father Of Woman Killed By Illegal Alien Warns Badger State Voters: Don’t Let Wisconsin Become Illinois

Joe Abraham, whose daughter was killed by a drunken illegal alien, says far-left candidates for governor would make Wisconsin less safe.
Watch Panel's Faces Go Limp When Republican Shows Receipts
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Watch Panel's Faces Go Limp When Republican Shows Receipts