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A long-awaited ceasefire has started in Gaza following a three-hour delay, bringing respite to the besieged enclave after a bloody 15 months. Follow for live updates.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal, with a pause in fighting in Gaza and the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners expected to begin Sunday. Follow for live updates.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that a deal has been agreed upon with Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza. Follow for live news updates.

The Israeli cabinet was expected to vote Thursday on whether to ratify a highly anticipated ceasefire and hostage release deal agreed between Hamas and Israel. Follow for live news updates.

Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight. Follow for live news updates.

Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight. Follow for live news updates.

American officials believe a ceasefire and hostages release deal in the Israel-Hamas war is now in sight, in what marks the first real sign of serious optimism inside the Biden administration in months, sources familiar with the issue told CNN.

Israeli negotiators attending ceasefire and hostage release talks in Doha have expressed “cautious optimism,” even as some gaps between both sides persist, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

It was a last-minute push by Saudi Arabia that decided Lebanon’s fate on Thursday.

The Israeli military said Friday it had identified the body of a hostage recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza as the son of Yosef Al-Ziyadnah, a hostage whose body was recovered earlier this week.

Lebanon’s parliament has elected its US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

The Israeli military, in an effort to defend its devastating assaults on Gaza’s hospitals, this week released an edited interrogation video that it said bolstered its case that Hamas uses medical facilities as cover for military activity.

The United Arab Emirates has been in discussions about the possibility of playing a role in postwar efforts to rebuild Gaza, but its conditions for doing so have yet to be met, a UAE official told CNN.

Israel has warned on Sunday that its ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah could collapse if the Iran-backed group does not withdraw beyond the Litani River, one of the key stipulations of the truce.

Israel is considering limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza after Donald Trump comes into office later this month in a bid to deprive Hamas of resources, according to an Israeli official familiar with the matter.

An Israeli human rights group said it has filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice demanding to know the whereabouts of a prominent Palestinian hospital director detained by the military.

An Israeli strike killed at least 11 Palestinians overnight, including the director general of Gaza police and a deputy, in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza, local officials said Thursday.

Israel’s population growth slowed in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the state’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), with the slump mainly attributed to Israelis leaving the country.