Trump says Hamas will likely release all Israeli hostages by early next week, as the "first phase" of a deal to end the war in Gaza is expected to take effect soon.

Thousands of Palestinians began walking from southern Gaza to the north as a 24-hour ceasefire went into effect Friday, after a late-night vote by ministers in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to approve an initial deal with Hamas.

Thirteen families whose loved ones were taken hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack are still waiting for Hamas to return their remains from Gaza.

The Israeli cabinet agreed to the deal early ... Hamas' exiled Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the war was over. An Israeli government spokesperson said the ceasefire would go ...

A US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza appears to have survived its first major test as Israel and Hamas affirmed their commitment to the deal after two Israeli soldiers were killed in the enclave on Sunday,

Hamas says it needs specialised equipment to recover the remaining bodies of the hostages [Reuters] The US has downplayed claims that Hamas is violating the ceasefire deal with Israel by not returning all the bodies of dead hostages. Only nine of the 28 ...

The Israeli military said Wednesday that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas the previous day as part of the ceasefire deal is not that of one of the hostages who was held in Gaza, adding to tensions over a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war.