Morning Briefing: June 1, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Sunday, including Israel blocking a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to Ramallah; Hamas saying it submitted a response to a US envoy’s proposal for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza; and US envoy Witkoff calling Hamas’ response ‘totally unacceptable.’

TOP STORIES

Israel blocks planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to Ramallah: Report

Israeli officials confirmed that Tel Aviv prevented a scheduled visit by a delegation of Arab foreign ministers to Ramallah, where they intended to discuss support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

“The planned meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Ramallah to promote the creation of a Palestinian state is unacceptable,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed Israeli official.

“Israel will not participate in any steps aimed at harming its security,” the official added.

Hamas says it submitted response to US envoy's proposal seeking permanent ceasefire in Gaza

The Palestinian group, Hamas, announced it has submitted its response to the latest ceasefire proposal for the Gaza Strip by US envoy Steve Witkoff through mediators Egypt and Qatar.

In what appeared to be a list of demands, Hamas issued a statement that reiterated its call for “a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and guarantees for the continuous flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the territory.”

Under the framework of the proposal, the group proposed releasing 10 Israeli captives and handing over the bodies of 18 in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas did not, however, explicitly announce its approval of the Witkoff proposal.

The group said the response follows a round of national consultations and reflects its responsibility toward the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Hamas response to US proposal on Gaza ceasefire ‘totally unacceptable’: US envoy Witkoff

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff rejected Hamas' response to a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as "totally unacceptable."

“I received the Hamas response to the United States’ proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward,” Witkoff wrote on X.

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” the envoy added.

He said: “That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire."

NEWS IN BRIEF

• Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrived in Damascus for an official visit, accompanied by a high-level economic delegation, the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced.
• At least eight Palestinians were killed as Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza continues, medical sources said.
• Khuza'a, located in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, has been declared a “completely devastated disaster zone” due to relentless Israeli attacks that have decimated the area.
• The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that current aid deliveries to Gaza fall drastically short of what is needed, calling it a “mockery” of the immense humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the besieged enclave.
• Turkish diplomatic sources denied claims published on the Al-Monitor news website that Türkiye was preparing to hold talks with Ferhad Abdi Sahin, one of the ringleaders of the terror group PKK/YPG that goes by the name SDF in Syria.
• More than 400 passengers were evacuated through a tunnel after a man started a fire inside a subway train in Seoul, according to South Korean media.
• The death toll from severe flooding in Mokwa, a town in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State, has climbed to 151, according to an update from authorities.
• The northern Egyptian city of Alexandria was struck by sudden and severe weather, including strong winds, heavy thunderstorms and hail, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency and delay school exams.
• A Lebanese was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in the town of Deir El-Zahrani in southern Lebanon, marking a new violation of a ceasefire agreement between the two sides, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
• A passenger motorboat sank in a river off the coast of Bangladesh's Noakhali district, apparently due to bad weather and tidal waves, killing one person, police confirmed, adding that 33 people have been rescued so far and five are still missing
• At least 21 Kano State athletes were killed when their bus lost control and fell from a bridge in Kura Local Government Area while returning from the National Sports Festival in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria.
• The Ethiopian Health Ministry confirmed the first death from mpox in the country, with five people still infected.
• Kamil Idris was sworn in as Sudan's new prime minister in the presence of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sovereignty Council.
• A strong earthquake struck northern Japan, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with no immediate reports of damage.

SPORTS

PSG win 2025 UEFA Champions League with 5-0 win against Inter Milan

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) won the 2025 UEFA Champions League trophy by blanking Inter 5 - 0 in the final.

This victory marks PSG's first UEFA Champions League trophy.

Acraf Hakimi scored PSG's first goal in the 12th minute, followed by Desire Doue's goals in the 20th and 63rd minutes. In minute 73, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia widened the gap to four.

Senny Mayulu sealed the scoring in the 86th minute for the big win.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Türkiye’s first floating gas platform reaches Black Sea port

Türkiye’s first floating natural gas production platform, Osman Gazi, arrived at Filyos Port in Zonguldak on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast.

The massive platform was sent off from the Presidential Dolmabahce Office in Istanbul on May 29 — the 572nd anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest — in a ceremony attended by President Erdogan and Türkiye’s energy and natural resources minister, and passed through the Istanbul Strait.

With a maximum processing capacity of 10.5 million cubic meters of natural gas per day and a transfer capacity of 10 million cubic meters, the platform will double natural gas production in the Black Sea to 20 million cubic meters daily.

It is expected to meet the natural gas needs of about 8 million households in Türkiye and will operate at the site for 20 years.