Israeli operatives are reportedly conducting widespread surveillance, including both open and covert recording, of U.S. forces and allied officials at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, a joint facility established in October 2025 to monitor the Gaza ceasefire and coordinate aid under Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza’s future.

The scale of the surveillance prompted Lt Gen Patrick Frank, the U.S. commander at the base, to demand that recording cease, according to sources briefed on internal disputes. The Israeli military has denied gathering intelligence on its partners, stating that meeting documentation is standard protocol and that discussions are unclassified.

The CMCC, located in a former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation building, serves as a hub for military planners from the U.S., Israel, the UK, and the UAE, and has hosted diplomats and humanitarian workers.

Despite its stated purpose of coordinating humanitarian aid and planning for Gaza’s future, Palestinian representatives and organizations are entirely excluded from the center. Attempts to include Palestinian voices via video calls have been repeatedly interrupted by Israeli officials.

U.S. personnel, including logistics experts trained for disaster response, were deployed to boost aid flows into Gaza but found Israeli restrictions on goods—such as tent poles, water purification chemicals, pencils, and paper—far more significant than logistical challenges, leading to the departure of several dozen personnel within weeks.

While the U.S. has leverage, Israel retains control over Gaza’s perimeter and final approval for what enters the territory.

The CMCC’s interior has been described as resembling a "dystopian startup," with informal meeting spaces, artificial grass, and corporate-style terminology like "Wellness Wednesdays" and "Thirsty Thursdays" to frame humanitarian tasks.

This environment has fostered concern among diplomats and aid workers about the mixing of military and humanitarian efforts, the lack of an international mandate, and the potential for the center to violate international law.

The U.S. military declined to comment on the surveillance allegations, while the Israeli military dismissed claims of espionage, asserting that its documentation of meetings is transparent and professional.

The controversy underscores growing diplomatic tensions over the CMCC’s role and the exclusion of Palestinians from planning their own future, even as the center operates under the framework of a U.S.-backed ceasefire plan.

Benin's President Patrice Talon addressed the nation on Sunday, declaring that the situation was "totally under control" following a failed coup attempt by a group of soldiers who seized state television and announced the dissolution of the government.

The coup plotters, led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri and calling themselves the "Military Committee for Refoundation," cited deteriorating security in northern Benin, neglect of fallen soldiers and their families, healthcare cuts, tax increases, and political repression as justification for their actions.

The attempted coup began in the early hours of Sunday morning when a group of soldiers hijacked Benin’s state television, declaring the removal of President Talon and the suspension of the constitution.

In response, loyalist forces, supported by air strikes and ground troops from neighboring Nigeria, swiftly recaptured key locations, including the national TV station and a military camp, and arrested 14 individuals, including a previously sacked soldier.

Explosions were heard in Cotonou, the capital, later in the afternoon, believed to be the result of air strikes conducted by Nigeria’s military, which had entered Benin’s airspace at the request of the Benin government to help dislodge the mutineers.

The situation was stabilized by Sunday evening, with the government restoring state media signals and regional forces, including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone, deployed to support constitutional order.

Nigeria confirmed it sent fighter jets and ground troops to assist in restoring order, with the Nigerian presidency saying the operation was aimed at dislodging the coup plotters from the state TV network and a military camp.

President Talon commended the loyalty of the armed forces and their leaders, expressing condolences to victims and those still held by fleeing mutineers, while vowing that the "treachery will not go unpunished."

The coup attempt occurred amid a broader wave of military takeovers in West Africa, including recent coups in Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, raising regional stability concerns.

Benin, a former French colony, has been considered one of Africa’s more stable democracies, but President Talon has faced criticism for suppressing dissent, including barring the main opposition candidate from the upcoming April 2026 election and extending legislative terms.

Regional and international bodies, including ECOWAS and the African Union, condemned the coup attempt, with ECOWAS ordering the deployment of a regional standby force to preserve constitutional order and territorial integrity.

The French, Russian, and U.S. embassies issued safety advisories, urging their citizens to remain indoors or avoid Cotonou, especially the area around the presidential compound.

Tucker Carlson interviewed Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Sunday, at the 2025 Doha Forum, discussing regional peace efforts, Qatar’s role in mediating conflicts, and international responses to the war in Gaza.

During the interview, Al Thani addressed Qatar’s diplomatic engagements with non-state actors like Hamas and the Taliban, which were established at the request of the United States to facilitate dialogue and ceasefires, crediting it with facilitating President Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan that ended active fighting and enabled hostage exchanges.

Carlson opened by addressing widespread U.S. accusations, citing Senator Ted Cruz’s claims that Qatar is a “terror state” due to its hosting of Hamas leaders.

“The starting of the relationship with Hamas and the communication was started back more than 10 years, 13 years ago — at the request of the United States,” Al Thani responded.

The Prime Minister said that Qatar’s engagement with Hamas, with 2012 opening of Hamas Doha office, was at the request of Israel and the U.S. and was solely for communication, ceasefire facilitation, and aid delivery to Gaza, not for funding the group.

Al Thani described Israel’s September 2025 airstrike near Doha as an "unprecedented and unethical," a violation of sovereignty and mediation principles.

Carlson revealed Trump privately urged Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize, describing the attack as having "short-circuited" ceasefire efforts.

"The mediator being bombed by one of the parties—this has been unprecedented," A Thani said. He revealed that Trump was “very clear” and “frustrated” upon learning of the attack, assigning an adviser to contact Qatar immediately.

The PM affirmed Qatar's commitment to humanitarian aid for Palestinians but insisted that any funds must supplement insufficient international support and directly reach the people, not be used for infrastructure rebuilding.

"We will not write the cheque for what others destroyed," he said, adding, "Our position is that our payments will go only to help the Palestinian people, if we see that the help coming to them is insufficient."

"We will do whatever to alleviate their suffering," he said, but emphasized no support for forced Palestinian displacement, saying they have the right to remain in their homeland and that no one has the authority to deport them.

The prime minister emphasized that Qatar would not fund the reconstruction of Gaza, asserting that Israel, as the party responsible for the destruction, should bear that burden, and criticized the double standard applied to conflicts like Ukraine and Gaza.

Qatar lobbies in the U.S. "only to protect and to safeguard this relationship," Al Thani said, noting its mutual benefits., and in an apparent swipe at Israel, argued that the Gulf Arab nation does not ask the U.S. to bomb any nation in the  Middle East.

Carlson echoed: "Peace has a lot of enemies… who want to undermine it for political reasons."

The high-profile forum was attended by prominent figures including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr., and Bill Gates.

In a session moderated by Foreign Policy's Ravi Agrawal, Clinton expressed alarm over Trump's foreign policy eroding U.S. alliances and values, particularly on Ukraine and Gaza. She doubled down on prior comments blaming social media "propaganda" for young Americans' pro-Palestinian views, calling it an "incomplete" picture lacking "context" and "historical perspective."

Confronted by journalist Aaron Maté on her "not know history" claim, she declined to respond.

On Trump's Ukraine stance, Clinton said: "Supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even in a limited way… attempting to coerce Ukraine into accepting a negotiated ceasefire… this is concerning. Remember, Russia has been in Ukraine since 2014."

Clinton warned of "unnecessary division" with allies in the U.S. National Security Strategy.

On Gaza and global conflicts, she acknowledged "horrific" Gaza conditions: "I am angry about all of the human rights abuses… I’m angry about what happened on October 7 in Israel. I’m angry about what happened in Gaza… Sudan… eastern Congo."

Clinton advocated a two-state solution: "We are not going to implement [peace plans] unless people come with some sense of historical perspective and empathy." She claimed that Trump's policies put "a very heavy emphasis on moving away from core American values," triggering global backlash.

Appearing with investor Omeed Malik and Sky News' Yalda Hakim, Trump Jr. promoted "patriotic capitalism" and signaled a U.S. pivot away from unlimited Ukraine aid, prioritizing domestic issues. He criticized President Vladymyr Zelenskyy as a "borderline deity" elevated by the left and highlighted Ukrainian elite corruption as a peace barrier.

"The American public has NO appetite for writing blank checks for Ukraine or [the] EU… Old ways of America’s gonna be [the] big idiot with a checkbook—that’s NOT gonna happen," Trump Jr. said. The war "isn’t even a top 10 issue for Republicans."

"Because of the war, and because he’s one of the great marketers of all time, Zelenskyy became a borderline deity, especially to the left, where he could do no wrong," he said. "50% of the supercars… have Ukrainian plates. Do we think that was actually earned in Ukraine?" He suggested elites lack "incentive for peace."

On President Trump's unpredictability, Trump Jr said,  "He doesn’t follow every clown’s script… No one should bet on his father… to stand by Ukraine."

In his remarks, Gates (the Gates Foundation Chair) stressed human ingenuity for global problems but urged better tools for health and climate action, aligning with forum calls for a Global Climate Resilience Fund.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's remarks focused on post-conflict reconstruction and regional stability, amid Syria's fragile transition. While Turkish FM Hakan Fidan: advocated multilateralism in Gaza and Ukraine, criticizing "strategic isolation."