A.M. Edition for Feb. 28. WSJ correspondent Summer Said reports that mediators are hoping to extend a Gaza cease-fire expiring this weekend, even as Hamas’s military wing prepares for a new fight. Plus, the FAA readies a hiring push to attract more U.S. air-traffic controllers. And, markets—and Trump’s team—struggle to keep up with a flurry of tariff activity from the president. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main focus of this episode on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire?
Ukraines Zelenskyy heads to Washington in a bid to win US support. Plus, as mediators work to salvage an expiring Gaza ceasefire, Hamas' military wing prepares for a new fight.
Orders were given to abandon cell phones. A bunch of Hamas fighters are going inside Gaza to try to search for spies. So they definitely do think that there is a nice chance that the war will restart again.
And markets and Trump's team struggled to keep up with a flurry of tariff activity from the president. It's Friday, February 28th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. And here is the AM edition of What's News. The top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with President Trump at the White House this morning.
Zelensky is hoping to finalize a mineral rights deal and then appeal to Trump for security guarantees, though it's unclear whether those guarantees are forthcoming.
Ein Senior-Trump-Administration-Official hat gestern gesagt, dass die USA keine Boots auf dem Boden in der Ukraine stellen würden, obwohl sie gefordert haben, dass eine Art indirekter Unterstützung für die Diskussion offen sein könnte, so lange die US-Truppen nicht in Schmerzen sind.
Eine gemeinsame Pressekonferenz zwischen Trump und Zelenskyy wird um 1.00 Uhr östlich an der Schlussfolgerung von bilateralen Beratungen stattfinden. Mittlerweile ist es ein wichtiges Wochenende in der Mittleren Osten-Diplomatie, weil die erste Phase eines aktuellen Ausbruchs zwischen Israel und Hamas morgen ausführen wird.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of the current Israel-Hamas negotiations?
Die USA, ein wichtiger Mediator in den Gesprächen, hat gesagt, dass sie sich auf eine zweite Phase bewegen wird, die die Krieg formal enden würde, aber mehr Zeit benötigen würde, um das zu tun. So how likely is that? And how are the parties to the war viewing things? Summer Said is a journal senior Middle East correspondent.
Summer, you have always got a good pulse on when diplomatic talks are actually occurring versus when this is all just bluster that we're hearing. What's happening? Are the parties talking?
Chapter 3: How are different parties perceiving the ceasefire talks?
So currently the US, the Qataris and the Egyptian negotiators are in talks inside Cairo with the Israeli officials with the indirect participation of Hamas to try to at least extend the current ceasefire to encompass the holy months of Ramadan. The issue is still both sides want two different things. So Hamas is happy to extend the deal, but with different terms.
While Israel is demanding that even if we go for an extension, it would be at the current terms that we've had in Phase 1. They still have not figured out how we move to Phase 2. Hamas still asking to proceed with a comprehensive prisoner exchange. They wanted to encompass a definitive end to the war. They want the full withdrawal of the IDF.
Wenn sie nicht einen Weg finden können, um diese erste Phase des Ausbruchs von einem Monat abzuwenden, was passiert?
Wissen wir das?
Chapter 4: What preparations are being made by Hamas amidst the ceasefire?
So we've been talking to Arab officials or the mediators and they've been saying that the Israelis have been telling them that within a week, if we do not get more hostages released, Israel will definitely resume the war. Now the chances of that remain unclear. You mentioned there Israel willing to resume fighting if something can't be worked out within a week.
Earlier this week you reported that Hamas' military forces were regrouping, new commanders were being appointed. They were working out where they might position fighters if there was a return to the war. Just expand on that a bit. That was Hamas' militant wing making those preparations. Does their political wing necessarily feel the same way?
Chapter 5: What are the potential outcomes if the ceasefire negotiations fail?
And could that all just be posturing, not wanting to seem ahead of talks like they wouldn't be willing to fight if it came to it?
So there is definitely a lot of posturing that is happening from both sides. However, for the last three weeks, Hamas has definitely inside Gaza, so the military wing, has been acting as if war is about to restart. So there were orders that were given to all of their militants to abandon cell phones, go back to the basic habits.
Modes of communications, make sure that they do not move wide in the open inside Gaza. They created a whole entire unit to just monitor the borders and watch out for infiltrations. There is also a bunch of Hamas fighters that are going inside Gaza to try to search for spies or devices that were left in buildings or ruins or schools.
So they definitely do think that there is a nice chance that the war will restart again.
And in terms of what happens next in these talks, Summer, how do we factor in the Trump effect? He had a pretty galvanizing effect on the ceasefire process last month, demanding the release of hostages or else. Of course, there are still more than 60 hostages in Gaza, though many of them are presumed dead. How should we see his and the U.S. role in all of this?
Definitely Hamas has taken these threats very seriously, but they also know that the only leverage that they have right now are the hostages. So Arab officials do not believe that Hamas will be easily giving away their lost leverage. They believe that once their hostages are out, that's it for them. that the game is up and they will have to leave.
So this is definitely the most difficult stage of the negotiations. While it may sound a bit ridiculous to say that Phase 1 was easier to reach, considering the fact that we've been negotiating it since November 2023, it was always known that Phase 2 was going to be the most critical and the most difficult phase of the negotiations that we were ever going to encounter.
Summer Saeed ist Wall Street Journal Senior Middle East Correspondent. Summer, thank you so much for the update. Thank you. Coming up, the FAA readies a hiring push for U.S. air traffic controllers, plus how markets are reacting to President Trump's latest tariff threats and more after the break. FAA
The Trump Administration wants to hire more air traffic controllers and spend billions of dollars to upgrade the nation's aviation system. As part of a plan to increase staffing, the Federal Aviation Administration will boost pay for air traffic control students at its academy in Oklahoma City by 30% and streamline its hiring and training process to attract the best candidates.
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