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ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Russia that he may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles if Moscow doesn’t settle its war there soon — suggesting that he could be ready to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin’s government using a key weapons system.
“I might say, ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to Israel. “The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, very offensive weapon. And honestly, Russia does not need that.”
Trump said, “I might tell them that if the war is not settled — that we may very well.” He added, “We may not, but we may do it. I think it’s appropriate to bring up.”
His comments came after Trump spoke by phone earlier Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Trump said he mentioned possibly sending Tomahawks during that conversation.
“Do they want to have Tomahawks going in that direction? I don’t think so,” Trump said of Russia. “I think I might speak to Russia about that.” He added that “Tomahawks are a new step of aggression.”
His suggestions followed Russia having attacked Ukraine’s power grid overnight, part of an ongoing campaign to cripple Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter. Moscow also expressed “extreme concern” over the US potentially providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Putin himself has previously suggested that the United States supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington.
For his part, Zelensky described his latest call with Trump as “very productive,” and said the pair had discussed strengthening Ukraine’s “air defense, resilience, and long-range capabilities,” along with “details related to the energy sector.”
Trump in recent weeks has taken a notably tougher tact with Putin, after the Russian leader has declined to engage in direct talks with Zelensky about easing fighting.

Zelensky said Ukraine would only use Tomahawk missiles for military purposes and not attack civilians in Russia, should the US provide them. “We never attacked their civilians. This is the big difference between Ukraine and Russia,” the Ukrainian leader said on the Fox News “Sunday Briefing” program. “That’s why, if we speak about long-range (missiles), we speak only about military goals.”

The Ukrainian leader said they are still discussing the possibility that Washington might provide Kyiv with the long-range missiles. Trump said last week that before agreeing to provide Tomahawks he wants to know how Ukraine would use them because he does not want to escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky said he was still working on trying to convince Trump to approve a missile deal.
“We count on such decisions, but we’ll see,” Zelensky said.

Last month, Trump announced that he now believes Ukraine could win back all the territory lost to Russia — a dramatic shift from the Republican’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
But the US president, at least so far, has resisted Zelensky’s calls for Tomahawks. The weapon system would allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory and put the sort of pressure on Putin that Zelensky argues is needed to get the Russians to seriously engage in peace talks.
Trump said aboard Air Force One of the war: “I really think Putin would look great if he got this settled” and that “It’s not going to be good for him” if not.

Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), long enough to strike deep inside Russia, including Moscow. The Kremlin has warned against any provision of Tomahawks to Ukraine.
Putin said earlier this month that it was impossible to use Tomahawks without the direct participation of US military personnel and so any supply of such missiles to Ukraine would trigger a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.”

Still, Zelensky, in a Sunday evening address in Ukraine, said he saw Russia’s concerns as reason to press forward.
“We see and hear that Russia is afraid that the Americans may give us Tomahawks — that this kind of pressure may work for peace,” Zelensky said.
The war in Ukraine is Europe’s deadliest since World War II, and Russian officials say they are now in a “hot” conflict with the West. Putin portrays it as a watershed moment in Moscow’s relations with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union by enlarging NATO and encroaching on what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine and Georgia.
Ukraine and its allies have cast it as an imperial-style land grab and have repeatedly vowed to defeat Russian forces.
 

JERUSALEM: Anticipation built across Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank on Sunday as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held before a critical day for all sides and the region.
Preparations appeared underway for the freeing of the 48 hostages — both alive and dead — still in Gaza, and for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. More ramped-up aid was being readied for Gaza, much in ruins after two years of war that began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 killing some 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. In Israel’s ensuing offensive, more than 67,600 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
US President Donald Trump was scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday, staying a few hours before heading to Egypt.
What we know and what remains unknown:
737 days since hostages taken
Sunday was day 737 since the hostages were taken — a number many Israelis have updated daily on strips of adhesive tape worn in national commemoration.
Israel said Sunday that it expects the 20 living hostages to be released together on Monday. They were then to be handed to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and to the Israeli military, which planned to take them to the Reim military base in southern Israel to be reunited with their families.
Israel then planned to take the hostages to centers around Israel but asked the Red Cross to have ambulances ready in case a hostage needs immediate care after more than two years in captivity.
It appeared unlikely that the remains of up to 28 others will be returned at the same time. Medical experts and advocates say that would be crucial to begin the healing process for many families, and for society at large, but one ceasefire document contains stipulations for remains that aren’t returned within 72 hours.
On Sunday, Israel said “an international body” will help locate the remains if they are not released tomorrow.
Palestinian prisoners slated for release
As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel is to release around 2,000 Palestinians. Among them are some 1,700 people that troops seized from Gaza during the war and have held without charge since.
Also among those being released are some 250 Palestinians serving prison sentences.
Many are members of Hamas and the Fatah faction who were imprisoned over shootings, bombings or other attacks that killed or attempted to kill Israelis, as well as others convicted on lesser charges. They’ll return to the West Bank or Gaza or be sent into exile.
It is unclear who will be among the prisoners released back into Gaza, and whether any will be deported.
Aid expected to surge in Gaza
Humanitarian organizations said they’re preparing to surge aid into the Gaza Strip, especially food that’s been in short supply in many areas.
That includes some 400 trucks from Egypt on Sunday that will have to undergo Israeli inspection before being allowed into the strip. The Israeli defense body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza said around 600 trucks of aid per day will be entering soon, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement.
The world’s leading authority on food crises said in August that the Gaza Strip’s largest city was gripped by a famine that was likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said famine was devastating Gaza City — home to hundreds of thousands of people. That famine was expected to spread south to the cities of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis by around now if the situation did not change.
The larger task of rebuilding Gaza is daunting, as much of it is in rubble and most of its two million residents displaced.
Trump to travel to Israel and Egypt
Trump, who pushed to clinch the ceasefire deal, is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday morning.
A giant US flag enveloped a building in Jerusalem’s City Hall complex, and US and Israeli flags were projected onto the Old City’s walls on Saturday night.
The White House schedule has Trump meeting with families of hostages and speaking at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, before traveling to Egypt for a “peace summit” attended by regional and international leaders later on Monday. From there, he was slated to return to the White House, arriving overnight Tuesday.
Daunting issues remain unsolved
The ceasefire and release of hostages is the first step in the proposed peace plan. Competing demands remain on the next steps, casting uncertainty on whether the conflict is indeed over.
Israel wants Hamas to disarm, and Hamas wants Israel to pull its troops out of all of Gaza. The future of Gaza’s government, which has been in Hamas’ hands for two decades, also remains to be worked out.
Gaza’s Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the 67,600 deaths were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the UN and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties