By SAMY MAGDY and LEE KEATH

CAIRO (AP) — Bombardment stopped and Israeli troops pulled back in Gaza on Friday under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But will the agreement lead, as U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed, to “a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace”?

It took pressure on Israel and Hamas from the United States, Arab countries and Turkey, each saying it was time to end a two-year war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, sparked other conflicts around the region and increasingly isolated Israel.

That push sealed an agreement on a first phase that is to free the remaining living Israeli hostages within days in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

But it left unanswered a long list of questions over what happens next.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Israel wants to ensure that Hamas disarms. Hamas wants to ensure Israel pulls its troops completely out of Gaza and is not allowed to restart the war. At the same time, a postwar government for Gaza must be worked out to replace Hamas’ rule. Without that, reconstruction is unlikely, leaving Gaza’s more than 2 million people in continued misery.

With no trust between the sides, much relies on continued pressure from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. Any hitch in working out those intertwined issues could unravel everything and potentially lead to Israel resuming its campaign to destroy Hamas.

Here is what we know about the deal.

The first steps begin

The ceasefire came into effect at noon Friday. The Israeli military said it had pulled back its troops to lines inside Gaza agreed on for the first day, withdrawing from much of Gaza City, the southern city of Khan Younis and other areas. Troops remain in most of the southern city of Rafah, towns of Gaza’s far north and the wide strip along Gaza’s border with Israel.

The military said Palestinians displaced to the south would be able to move back to their homes in the north. Thousands were already filling roads heading north.

By Monday, Hamas is to release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive. Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinians, including several hundred serving prison sentences and others seized from Gaza during the war. Hamas also will hand over the remains of around 28 hostages believed to have died, though for logistical reasons that may take longer.

At the same time, hundreds of aid trucks will start moving into Gaza.

Negotiations for the next phases would then begin.

Troop withdrawal

Hamas had long insisted it would not release its last hostages unless Israeli troops leave Gaza completely. After agreeing to free them first, Hamas says it is relying on guarantees from Trump that the full withdrawal will happen.

How long it will take — weeks, months, years — is unknown.

An initial 20-point plan issued by Trump last week called for Israel to maintain a narrow buffer zone within Gaza along their shared border, and Israel has also spoken of keeping hold of the Philadelphi corridor, a strip of land on Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Israel is unlikely to relinquish those areas unless Hamas disarms and the void left in running Gaza is filled by a body that Israel deems palatable.

Trump’s plan also called for an Arab-led international security force to move into Gaza, along with Palestinian police trained by Egypt and Jordan. It said Israeli forces would leave areas as those forces deploy.

It is not known whether that system will be followed or an alternative will be negotiated.

Disarmament

Hamas long refused to give up its weapons, saying it had a right to armed resistance until Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories ends.

For Israel, disarmament is a key demand. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said its campaign will not end until Hamas’ military capabilities are dismantled, including the network of tunnels built around the territory.

There are signs, however, that Hamas could agree to a “decommissioning” of its offensive weapons, handing them over to a joint Palestinian-Egyptian committee, according to the Arab officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Future government

Israel has said it wants Gaza purged of Hamas influence. But it has also rejected giving any role to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority or any arrangement that could lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has agreed to step down from governing the territory and hand over governance to a body of Palestinian technocrats.

What takes its place is uncertain.

Under Trump’s plan, an international body will govern. The Council of Peace and Board of Peace have both been floated as names for the body.

It would hold most power while overseeing the administration of Palestinian technocrats running day-to-day affairs. It would also hold the commanding role of directing reconstruction in Gaza. Trump’s initial 20-point plan called for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to lead the body.

Hamas has so far not agreed, saying Gaza’s government should be worked out among Palestinians.

The stakes

Israelis celebrated the agreement announced overnight after three days of talks in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. For much of the Israeli public, freeing the last of the hostages held for two years has been their top priority.

But Palestinians in Gaza were more uncertain. There was relief that the relentless bombardment and ground offensives may stop for a time and aid may flow in. But there was also skepticism and worry over how long any pause in fighting would last, whether hundreds of thousands will be able to return to their homes, and whether Gaza — its cities largely in ruins — will ever be rebuilt.

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Many Palestinians fear Israel will take any breakdown in the talks as a chance to resume its assault. For months, Netanyahu and his hard-line allies have insisted they will keep long-term direct security control over Gaza and have spoken of pushing out its Palestinian population, ostensibly on a “voluntary” basis. In Gaza, many believe that remains Israel’s objective.

Pressure from the U.S. and its allies — if it continues after hostages are out — could prevent Israel from relaunching a full-fledged war.

But there is another, murkier scenario.

If Hamas and Israel cannot reach a final deal or negotiations drag on inconclusively, Gaza could slide into an unstable limbo, with Israeli troops still holding parts of it and Hamas still active. In that case, Israel would be unlikely to allow significant reconstruction, leaving Gaza’s population languishing in tent camps or shelters.

By LORNE COOK

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO will hold its major annual nuclear exercise next week, the alliance’s chief announced Friday, with an important part of the drill to focus on protecting the weapons before they’re ever used.

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The long-planned “Steadfast Noon” exercise, which starts on Monday, is taking place amid heightened security around military facilities in Europe due to a series of mysterious drone incidents, some of them blamed on Russia.

Steadfast Noon will run for about two weeks. It will be led by the Netherlands and involve 71 aircraft from 14 NATO countries. The exercise has been held at roughly the same time each year for over a decade.

“We need to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as secure, and as effective as possible,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a video statement.

“It also sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats,” he said.

Bomber aircraft and fighter jets that can carry nuclear warheads are taking part, but no nuclear weapons or live munitions will be used. The bulk of the exercise is being held in the North Sea, far from Russia and Ukraine.

It will involve military bases in Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands.

The United States and Britain, with their nuclear forces, are key to NATO’s strategic deterrence. France also has nuclear weapons but is not a part of the organization’s nuclear planning group.

NATO officials would not say what kind of scenarios will be used to test the 32-nation alliance’s nuclear readiness, but they insisted that it is not directed toward any particular country, nor does it relate to current international events.

The United States is providing F-35 jets capable of carrying conventional or nuclear weapons, refueling planes and other support aircraft. Finland and Poland are sending fighter jets. Electronic warfare equipment and reconnaissance and intelligence systems will also be used.

A big part of the exercise will focus on protecting nuclear weapons on the ground, said Col. Daniel Bunch, Chief of NATO Nuclear Operations at the alliance’s military headquarters in Mons, Belgium.

Bunch said there are “a variety of different threats that we assess and that we must defend against because these are highly protected assets that require the utmost security and safety.”

Asked whether drones are a particular concern given the recent incidents, notably near military facilities in Belgium and Denmark, he said: “Drones are not a new threat to us. Drones are something we understand.”

“The more frequent incursions are something we’re obviously keeping an eye on,” Bunch acknowledged, but he added: “Ultimately, we’re going to stay one step ahead of the adversary.”

The Washington Summit declaration agreed by the alliance’s leaders last year states that “the fundamental purpose of NATO’s nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression.”

“As long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance,” it said.

James Stokes, the head of NATO’s Nuclear Policy Directorate told reporters that despite the Kremlin’s continued and heated rhetoric the allies “haven’t seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture” recently.

He underlined that Russia is not a focus of the exercise, but said that NATO continues to monitor Russian military activities, including its use of dual-capable missiles in Ukraine, which could be fitted to carry nuclear warheads.

“New York has the chance to build the most inclusive cannabis industry in the country—an industry where small businesses thrive alongside larger players, where local communities benefit directly, and where justice is not only acknowledged but enacted.”

Products for sale at a cannabis dispensary in Manhattan. (John McCarten NYC Council Media Unit)

New York’s cannabis market may have surpassed $2 billion in total sales, but the small businesses that were supposed to be its backbone aren’t all sharing in that prosperity. The state must act swiftly, starting with appointing permanent leadership at the industry’s regulatory agency. 

The vision of legalization was clear: repair the harms of prohibition, open the doors of opportunity to entrepreneurs shut out of traditional industries, and build a market rooted in equity and inclusion. Instead, the system we have today is leaving too many behind. Licensing delays, confusing regulations, and the absence of promised support are squeezing out small operators while those with the deepest pockets position themselves to dominate.

What we’re seeing is an industry built on the language of equity but sustained by barriers that block the very entrepreneurs it was designed to help. Take the rollout of BioTrack, the state’s first seed-to-sale tracking system that’s supposed to root out product illegally trafficked into the state and introduced into the legal market. The implementation was riddled with delays that left operators in limbo—unable to properly log inventory or complete required compliance steps. 

Just as businesses were beginning to adapt, the state abruptly announced a shift to a new platform, Metrc, forcing operators to retool their systems and retrain staff. For small businesses already running on razor-thin margins, the confusion from the state along with the disruption has meant lost time, lost money, and yet another roadblock to competing in a market where every day counts. 

Then there was also the state’s confusing approach when it declared more than 100 dispensaries to be closer to schools than the law allows, creating chaos for retailers who had already invested heavily in their locations. These missteps have left operators uncertain whether the rules of the game can be trusted, or whether they’ll change again tomorrow.

To close that gap, New York must act with urgency. That begins with permanent leadership at the Office of Cannabis Management. Without stable, experienced leadership, the agency responsible for shaping this market cannot provide the clarity and consistency small businesses need to plan, invest, and grow. 

The legislature also has to lead. It was lawmakers who put equity at the center of legalization, and it must be lawmakers who now step in to make sure that promise is honored with real reforms.

And the state must finally deliver the support it promised. Social equity designations and reinvestment funds only mean something if they translate into real, tangible assistance—technical help, fair financing, reduced fees, and a licensing process that doesn’t punish smaller operators. Without these, “equity” risks becoming a slogan, not a reality.

The stakes are enormous. New York has the chance to build the most inclusive cannabis industry in the country—an industry where small businesses thrive alongside larger players, where local communities benefit directly, and where justice is not only acknowledged but enacted. 

But if the state doesn’t act now, we risk watching legalization turn into another broken promise, another market dominated by a powerful few while the entrepreneurs who believed in this vision are left out. The cannabis industry can be a driver of jobs, investment, and wealth across New York. It can also be proof that legalization was about more than revenue—it was about fairness, justice, and opportunity. 

But that future is only possible if the state provides the leadership, legislative action, and support that small businesses need to succeed. The opportunity is still here. The question is whether New York has the will to seize it.

Damien Cornwell is president of the Cannabis Association of New York.

The post Opinion: Ensuring New York’s Cannabis Industry Lives Up to its Promises appeared first on City Limits.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting late Friday at Venezuela’s request on U.S. military actions in recent weeks in the waters off the South American country against what Washington calls drug traffickers.

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Venezuela made the request in a letter addressed to Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, the current council president, accusing the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump of seeking to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and threatening “peace, security and stability regionally and internationally.”

The council scheduled the meeting at 3 p.m. EDT.

Maduro’s government also expressed its expectation of an “armed attack” against Venezuela in “a very short time.”

The request came a day after members of Congress voted down legislation that would have put a check on Trump’s ability to use deadly military force against drug traffickers. So far, the U.S. military has carried four deadly strikes in the Caribbean since it increased its maritime forces for what for what Trump has declared an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Maduro’s government, however, maintains that the White House is using drug trafficking only as an excuse for the operation.

“The ulterior motive remains the same as that which has characterized the United States of America’s actions toward Venezuela for more than 26 years: to advance its ‘regime change’ policies in order to seize control of the vast natural resources found in Venezuelan territory,” Samuel Moncada, Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.N., wrote in the letter.

Venezuela’s request does not mention the nationalities of the 21 people killed in the four strikes on boats that the U.S. has claimed to have been carrying drugs. But in mentioning the four strikes, Venezuela’s government offered the clearest acknowledgment yet of the first attack. Initially it doubted the report of the attack, arguing that a video Trump released had been created with artificial intelligence.

The Trump administration has said three of the targeted boats set out to sea from Venezuela.

Russia has long been an ally of Venezuela.