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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 622

Ellen Knickmeyer

A cropped handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace shows US President Donald Trump (R) shaking hands with Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) in Riyadh on May 14, 2025. (Bandar AL-JALOUD / Saudi Royal Palace / AFP)
May 24, 2025, 6:39 am
After Trump announcement, Treasury Department says US formally lifting Syria sanctions
Sweeping economic relief doesn’t include removal of Sharaa’s HTS from terror blacklist; some US officials pushed for phased approach that would include normalizing ties with Israel
By ABBY SEWELL and Ellen Knickmeyer
US President Donald Trump speaks at the Saudi-US Investment Forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)
May 16, 2025, 12:20 pm
Trump’s Middle East trip goes big on deals and diplomacy, but small on human rights
President told Saudi investment forum US will no longer give Arab states ‘lectures on how to live’; human-rights activists fear implications of that new approach
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, left, and his son Henry take pictures as they visit the Al-Raqi synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki, File)
March 9, 2025, 1:27 pm
US Jews from Syria ask White House to lift sanctions so they can rebuild in Damascus
Only seven Jews believed to remain in Syrian capital, once one of the world’s largest Jewish communities; New York family seeks to rebuild destroyed synagogues
By Ellen Knickmeyer
A bouquet of white flowers placed outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured, in Washington, February 7, 2025. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
February 27, 2025, 8:08 am
Trump administration says it’s slashing 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts
Nonprofits owed money say contracts are already being terminated en masse, charge move is aimed at getting around court order to temporarily lift funding freeze
By Ellen Knickmeyer, Mark Sherman and Matthew Lee
Sen. Marco Rubio attends the 60th US Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
January 24, 2025, 11:38 pm
US freezes new funding for most foreign aid programs, Israel military aid unaffected
State Department to conduct review to ensure funding aligns with Trump’s ‘foreign policy agenda’; humanitarian food programs and military assistance to Egypt also won’t be impacted
By Ellen Knickmeyer and Farnoush Amiri
This Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, courtroom drawing by artist Janet Hamlin shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (center) and co-defendant Walid Bin Attash (left) attending a pre-trial session at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP/Janet Hamlin, Pool, File)
December 31, 2024, 4:30 pm
US court rejects Pentagon chief’s bid to throw out plea deal for 9/11 mastermind
Military appeals court rules against Lloyd Austin’s attempt to revoke agreements with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants that would spare them the death penalty
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates and the United States Agency for International Development cross the Trident Pier before entering the beach in Gaza, May 17, 2024. (Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley/US Army Central via AP)
August 28, 2024, 8:09 am
Biden pushed for failed Gaza aid pier despite warnings against it, USAID says
USAID says it had warned that the floating pier would distract from efforts to open more efficient land crossings into northern Gaza
By Ellen Knickmeyer
US President Donald Trump speaks during the NATO summit, Dec. 4, 2019, in Watford, England. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
July 7, 2024, 3:01 pm
As Biden falters, NATO allies look to ‘Trump-proof’ alliance before US election
Worried return of GOP candidate and rise of far right in Europe will threaten support for Ukraine, nations seek to boost own armies and reduce dependence on US
By Ellen Knickmeyer
US President Joe Biden is greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP/Evan Vucci)
January 13, 2024, 2:43 pm
Despite close support, US struggling to sway Israel on way forward with Palestinians
The Biden administration clearly sees moves toward a Palestinian state as the best way forward for Israel and the region, but Jerusalem vehemently disagrees
By Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Lee and Melanie Lidman
US Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 8, 2023. (AP/Jose Luis Magana, File)
December 5, 2023, 10:12 am
Senate Democrats upping efforts to condition US military aid to Israel
Sen. Bernie Sanders says concrete measures regarding the protection of civilians must be fulfilled for Senate to approve continued funding
By Ellen Knickmeyer and LISA MASCARO
File - US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, September 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
September 22, 2023, 6:44 am
Zelensky meets Biden, briefs US lawmakers on war as some Republican support softens
Washington announces $325 million more in aid to Ukraine, which is struggling to mount counteroffensive to Russian invasion; reception far quieter than last year’s hero’s welcome
By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK and Ellen Knickmeyer
Family members embrace freed Americans Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi, as well as two returnees whose names have not yet been released by the US government, who were released in a prisoner swap deal between US and Iran, as they arrive at Davison Army Airfield, Virginia, September 19, 2023. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AP)
September 19, 2023, 3:42 pm
‘The nightmare is over’: US prisoners embrace loved ones upon return from Iran
Relatives cry ‘freedom’ as captives released in exchange for frozen oil funds land at airbase in Virginia; deal with Tehran praised by family members, denounced by GOP
By Ellen Knickmeyer, Jon Gambrell and LUJAIN JO
Vehicles pass under a billboard supporting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi for the coming presidential elections, erected by Egypt's political party of Homat Watan, the Protectors of the Nation, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. Arabic reads, "yes for stability." (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
September 15, 2023, 10:18 pm
US withholding less aid to Egypt, even though human rights record not improving
Biden officials cite what they say are overriding national security interests for decision to limit extent they would penalize Egypt for abuses
By Ellen Knickmeyer
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, left, meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah on June 7, 2023. (Amer Hilabi/Pool Photo via AP)
June 7, 2023, 10:18 pm
Saudi-PGA golf deal marks dazzling turnaround for former pariah crown prince
MBS accused of ‘sportswashing’ in latest and perhaps most dramatic move by to wield his kingdom’s oil wealth in advancing its economy and influence
By Ellen Knickmeyer
File: Former US national security advisor John Bolton tals to journalists at the Global Taiwan National Affair Symposium XII in Taipei, Taiwan, April 29, 2023. (AP Photo/ Chiang Ying-ying)
June 2, 2023, 3:47 pm
US sanctions IRGC member over alleged plot to kill ex-Trump aide Bolton
Washington also targets other Iranians for suspected conspiracies to murder perceived threats against Tehran, which is seeking to avenge 2020 killing of top general
By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Matthew Lee, Ellen Knickmeyer and Eric Tucker
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