The Latest: Trump envoy arrives in Israel for talks with Netanyahu

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the disintegrating humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the U.S. imposed new sanctions on officials from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

Witkoff is expected to speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Gaza and a possible ceasefire, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

This is the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since both Israel and the U.S. called their negotiation teams home from Qatar a week ago. Witkoff said at the time that Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce.

Conditions remain dire in Gaza, where the health ministry said 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours. The leading international authority on hunger crises has said that Israel’s military offensive and blockade have led to the “worst-case scenario of famine” in the territory.

— Josef Federman in Jerusalem

Here's the latest:

The White House said Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza on Friday.

In a statement released Thursday, Egypt's government called on other countries that have not yet “recognized the State of Palestine to expedite this step, standing on the right side of history.”

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday that his country will recognize a Palestinian state in September, joining Britain, France and other Western countries in a symbolic statement that is part of a broader global shift against Israel’s policies in Gaza.

Palestinian officials linked to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization will no longer be able to travel to the U.S. after their visas were revoked Thursday, marking a further deterioration of their relations with the United States.

The U.S. State Department’s decision to impose new restrictions comes as Palestinian leaders gain momentum in their campaign for the recognition of statehood, winning support from countries including France, Canada and Australia.

The State Department said senior Palestinian Authority officials had violated longstanding agreements not to undermine the peace process or internationalize the conflict through courts like the International Court of Justice. It accused them of inciting violence, glorifying terrorism, and supporting convicted attackers and their families.

The department did not specify which officials would be sanctioned, but similar actions taken during President Donald Trump’s first term led the group to shutter its Washington-based office in 2018.

The foreign minister of Cyprus says authorities are working out the logistics to re-activate a sea route to ship humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Constantinos Kombos said after talks with his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday that he’s hopeful of announcing the reopening of the Cyprus maritime corridor “very soon.”

He said before shipments can begin, work still needs to be done to ensure that it’s secure to deliver the aid to the Palestinian territory and that the distribution network is operational.

There are currently 1,200 tonnes of aid in storage in Cyprus ready to be shipped once all the details are worked out, he added.

Cyprus was the staging point for some 2,200 tonnes worth of aid shipments to Gaza last year.

Trump said Canada’s announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state “will make it very hard” for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

The threat, posted in the early hours Thursday on Trump’s social media network, is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues. It's a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move.

“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,” Trump said in his post on Truth Social around midnight. “That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh Canada!!!"

The Republican president said this week that he didn’t mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week, he said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s similar move was “not going to change anything.”

France’s foreign minister says his country will conduct four air drops each delivering 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza starting on Friday.

Jean-Noël Barrot said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos Thursday that the flights will be carried out in coordination with Jordanian authorities.

Barrot also called for an end to the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, describing it as a “militarized distribution system” of humanitarian help that has “generated a bloodbath in distribution lines in Gaza." He called it "a scandal, which is shameful and which has to stop.”

The French minister said there are 52 tonnes of humanitarian aid that has been sitting in the Egyptian town of El-Arish, a short distance from Gaza.

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped into Zawaida in central Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped into Zawaida in central Gaza Strip, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Zawaida, central Gaza Strip Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Zawaida, central Gaza Strip Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)