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It was 2.30am in Washington DC when White House officials were first alerted to a situation which will come to represent a truly bloody turning point.

Throughout the remainder of the night, the phone lines were hot. Israel’s most important ally was in constant contact with military officials in Tel Aviv and the political leaders in Jerusalem trying to determine what was unfolding.

By 7am, America’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was speaking by phone to his Israeli counterpart. By just after 8am, the full national security team including the secretary of state, the defence secretary, the CIA chief and others were talking to President Biden relaying the unprecedented gravity of the situation.

The president then called Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and made clear his total commitment and full unequivocal support for Israel.

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to speak about the conflict in Israel, after Hamas launched its biggest attack in decades, while making a statement about the crisis, at the White House in Washington, U.S. October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
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Joe Biden and Antony Blinken at the White House in Washington on Saturday

By mid-morning, US time, as the attacks in Israel continued, President Biden spoke to King Abdullah of Jordan, a key conduit for all sides in this long conflict now taking a new alarming twist.

In parallel, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was on the phone to his counterparts in the UK, Germany and Italy as well as key calls to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and to Palestinian Authority President Mahmood Abbas in the West Bank.

Airstrike flattens high-rise in Gaza; follow Israel-Gaza latest

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This was a Saturday morning of high diplomatic tension to reflect an astonishing unravelling of a situation that’s been forgotten, ignored, or tolerated by too many for too long.

There is no question that this multi-layered Palestinian attack represents a huge Israeli intelligence failure. Israel has been too consumed in its internal political meltdown. It reflects badly on the intelligence capabilities of America too. They didn’t have Israel’s back.

A Palestinian boy reacts next to a burning Israeli vehicle that Palestinian gunmen brought to Gaza after they infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
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A Palestinian boy in the Gaza Strip

But does it also reflect failure of diplomacy too? A rush to cement the Abraham Accords (a hugely significant Trump-era normalisation deal between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain) by expanding it to include Saudi Arabia.

American officials insist they have been central in keeping the Palestinians a key part of the conversation. True, maybe, for West Bank Palestinians. But as always, the Palestinian Gaza situation was a nettle no one would, or could, grasp.

Short term, we can predict what will happen. The civilian loss of life will be huge. The consequence of Saturday’s terrorism against Israel will be truly terrifying for the people of Gaza.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s overnight statement spelt out with characteristic blunt clarity what it will look like.

“We will destroy [Hamas] and we will forcefully avenge this dark day…” he said, adding “As Bialik [a Jewish poet] wrote: ‘Revenge for the blood of a little child has yet been devised by Satan’.”

To the residents of Gaza, he said: “Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”

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Israel: How the attack unfolded

The problem is, where do they go? They cannot leave the Gaza Strip. Could Egypt open its Rafah border crossing? Would they allow nearly a million people across?

This is a key question which American officials are trying to answer. A presidential call between Joe Biden and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt is likely.

Through previous iterations of this long conflict, Western unequivocal support for Israel becomes more nuanced as the civilian casualties mount.

This Saturday, the Israeli civilian casualties have been unprecedented. We can expect the Israeli response to be equally unprecedented.

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‘Israel has right to defend itself’

On this point, an American administration official said: “I am not going to comment on what the Israelis might do, might not do, should do, should not do. I am just not going to get into that tonight.”

You can bet though that they will want to know precisely what the Israelis will do.

Read more:
Explainer: How Hamas attack unfolded
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Sunak says Israel has ‘right to defend itself’

Beyond the immediate focus on Gaza, there are so many unknowns.

To what extent will the West Bank be drawn into the conflict? The Palestinian Authority which runs the West Bank (and cooperates with Israel) is distinct from Hamas who run Gaza. But across the West Bank, hopelessness has pushed people away from the moderation of their own leaders to the extremism of Hamas.

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Israel attack: What we know so far

To the north, how will Hezbollah in Lebanon respond? Their well-rehearsed opportunist tactics are to attack from the north, to pressure Israel on another front. Lebanon’s broken politics and economy make things even more dangerous.

Then there is Iran. How will Israel respond to their conviction that all this is, in the end, an Iran problem?

The potential for spillover in the Israel-Palestinian conflict is always there. It’s just got so much more real.

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Trump’s optimism meets Macron’s caution in carefully choreographed dance side-stepping divisions

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Trump's optimism meets Macron's caution in carefully choreographed dance side-stepping divisions

The French call it “langage corporel” – body language.

A notably prolonged handshake, reflecting the complex dynamic between the President of the United States and his French counterpart.

Donald Trump may have hoped to see a full turn by Emmanuel Macron – but got a pirouette.

Follow latest: ‘Good reason” to re-engage with Putin, Macron says

U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron react during their meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 24, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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Pic: Reuters

A half-turn, in a carefully choreographed dance, the US leader asserting optimism, the French one, much more cautious in response.

President Trump repeated his view that the war in Ukraine would soon end.

He signalled a dramatic shift by Russia, suggesting President Putin might accept the deployment of European peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine.

But Emmanuel Macron cautioned that any peace agreement must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Trump claimed Ukraine’s president would be in Washington soon, to sign a deal granting the US access to rare earth minerals to offset US war aid.

Again, the French president gently stressed the need for security guarantees.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Neither side wanted a diplomatic spat, side-stepping the divisions laid bare by events in Kyiv and New York on the third anniversary of the war.

The United States was notably absent when Western leaders convened in Ukraine.

And the United States voted against an amendment to a UN resolution replacing the word “conflict” with the words “full-scale invasion”.

There is a world of difference between Trump’s approach and Macron’s.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

In his trademark pragmatic style, the US president seeks a swift end to the war, with economic benefits, even if it risks longstanding alliances.

President Macron’s focus on Ukraine’s sovereignty, prioritising stability and mutual co-operation, represents a more traditional diplomatic stance.

Read more:
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No one said the wrong thing, but the French president briefly dropped his guard at one point.

Emmanuel Macron appeared to wink towards a journalist who had asked President Trump if he would describe President Putin as a dictator.

Now that is langage corporel.

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Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival resolutions on Ukraine war

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US joins Russia, North Korea and Belarus to vote against UN resolution on Ukraine war

The US has abstained from a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution it drafted on the war in Ukraine after the body approved amendments proposed by European countries.

The vote took place on the same day the 193-member assembly approved a competing European-backed resolution from Ukraine which demanded Russia immediately withdraw from the country.

The duelling proposals reflect the tensions that have emerged between the US and Ukraine after Donald Trump suddenly opened negotiations with Russia in a bid to quickly resolve the conflict.

It also underscores the strain in the US’ relationship with Europe over the Trump administration’s decision to engage with Moscow.

Follow latest: Ukraine war live updates

The US-drafted resolution, marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, had called for an end to the conflict but did not mention Moscow’s aggression.

It also made no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

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However, it was amended after European nations said that it should include references to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the need for a lasting peace in line with the UN Charter.

It was also amended to include references to Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The amended US-drafted resolution won 93 votes in favour, while 73 states abstained – including the US – and eight – including Russia – voted no.

Meanwhile, there were 93 votes in favour of the Ukraine-backed resolution, while 65 abstained and 18 voted against it.

The UK, France and Germany were among the countries that voted in favour of the Ukraine-backed resolution, which called for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

The US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea were among those that opposed it.

The US voted against Ukraine's resolution. Pic: AP
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The US voted against Ukraine’s resolution. Pic: AP

The outcome marks a setback for the Trump administration in the UN General Assembly, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.

However, the result also shows some diminished support for Ukraine – as more than 140 nations had voted to condemn Russia’s aggression in previous votes.

The United States had tried to pressure the Ukrainians to withdraw their resolution in favour of its proposal, according to a US official and a European diplomat.

US deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous UN resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond”.

“What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all UN member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Ms Shea said.

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Dorothy Shea said the war has 'dragged on too long'. Pic: Reuters
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Dorothy Shea said the war has ‘dragged on too long’. Pic: Reuters

The world is marking the third anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine as America’s allies try to navigate a new reality as Washington’s stance appears to favour Moscow.

European leaders were dismayed last week when they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary talks on ending the conflict.

Mr Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,” falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned that he “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left”.

Mr Zelenskyy responded by saying the US president was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space”.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron is at the White House holding talks with Mr Trump to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine.

At the start of the meeting, Mr Trump told reporters Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war in the country.

Mr Trump and Mr Macron have been meeting after the pair had earlier joined a call between G7 leaders.

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Trump on Ukraine’s territory: ‘We’ll see’

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who will meet with Mr Trump at the White House on Thursday, appeared virtually and said G7 nations should be ready to “take on more risk”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in Kyiv, called Russia’s aggression a war on “our way of life”.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe’s “first priority” is to strengthen Ukraine’s resistance.

She said this includes speeding up the delivery of weapons and increasing investment, announcing a further €3.5bn (about £3bn) in aid for Ukraine.

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Diverted American Airlines flight escorted by Italian fighter jets after ‘bomb threat’

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Diverted American Airlines flight escorted by Italian fighter jets after 'bomb threat'

An American Airlines flight travelling from New York to New Delhi was diverted midair due to a “bomb threat”.

Flight 292 landed at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport “due to a possible security issue,” the airline said in a statement on Sunday, adding later the threat “was determined to be non-credible”.

The airline did not clarify what the security issue was, but a source familiar with the situation told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News it was a bomb threat sent via email.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported the security issue.

“Safety and security are our top priorities, and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement.

An American Airlines plane is seen from the cockpit of an Italian Air Force Eurofighter aircraft, as it is escorted, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 23, 2025. Italian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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The view from the cockpit of the fighter jet. Pic: Italian air force/Reuters

An Italian Air Force Eurofighter aircraft escorts an American Airlines plane in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 23, 2025. Italian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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Pic: Italian air force/Reuters

The flight requested a diversion to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at around 2pm local time, Roberto Rao, a spokesperson for the airport.

“We immediately agreed and organised a safe landing,” Mr Rao told NBC News.

“We don’t know what the security concern was, but my opinion is that it was serious enough to divert the plane, but not urgent, because we received the alert when the plane was over the Caspian Sea, a three hours’ flight from Rome.”

Once in Italian airspace, the plane was escorted by two Italian air force fighter jets and landed in Rome at around 5.30pm local time.

American Airlines flight AA292 en route from New York to New Delhi that turned around over the Caspian Sea Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, sits on the tamarack of Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International airport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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The flight on the ground in Rome. Pic: AP

‘What’s going on here?’

Neeraj Chopra, one of the 199 passengers on board, said the captain announced the plane had to turn around about three hours before it was supposed to land in New Delhi because of a change in “security status”.

Mr Chopra, who was traveling to India to visit family, described the mood on board as calm until the captain later announced that fighter jets would be escorting their plane to Rome.

“I felt a little panic of, okay, what’s going on here?” Mr Chopra told the Associated Press. “There’s got to be like something bigger going on here.”

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Jonathan Bacon, 22, added that once on the ground, all passengers were loaded on to buses and taken to the terminal, where each passenger and their personal items underwent additional security screenings that were time-consuming and felt “slightly heightened”.

More than two hours after landing, Mr Bacon and his friend said they were still waiting for their checked baggage. “It was definitely the longest flight to Europe I’ve ever taken,” he said.

American Airlines said the plane was inspected and cleared to depart again for New Delhi “as soon as possible” on Monday, after the crew gets some rest.

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