The New York Times International News

“It took us a few minutes to accept that this pile of rubble was our home,” said Islam Dahliz, whose family was ordered by Israeli forces to evacuate Rafah in May.

The announcement came shortly after President Trump rescinded Biden-era sanctions on Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists raided Palestinian villages in protest against the cease-fire in Gaza.

More than 30 hostages are set to be released during the cease-fire in Gaza. But many Israelis have mixed feelings about the deal because they feel it came at a high price.

Gazans were surveying the vast damage to their neighborhoods on Monday as anxious Israelis awaited news about the condition of the hostages.

Israel said it was still attacking in the enclave because Hamas had not yet handed over names of hostages to be released on Sunday. Hamas said the delay was technical.

Qatar, which mediated the agreement, said the cease-fire deal was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.

The truce will begin at 8:30 a.m., according to the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, a mediator in the talks. U.S. and other diplomats see the deal as the best chance to end the 15-month war that has devastated Gaza.

The full Israeli cabinet passed the agreement during a meeting that continued into the Jewish Sabbath, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged the security cabinet to approve the agreement after a day of delays. His office said the deal, which is expected to be greenlit by the full cabinet later Friday, could go into effect as early as Sunday.

The agreement, which would include the release of hostages, was met with cautious optimism. But Israel’s cabinet needs to ratify the deal, and the prime minister’s office said Hamas was reneging on parts of it, an accusation that the group rejected.

Senior officials said a deal had been reached, but negotiators had yet to confirm a start date or other technical details.

The new interim Syrian government says it will hunt down and punish senior security officials and others, but concern is growing about attacks on former low-level members of the Assad regime’s forces.

The negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, appear to be making progress after months of failed attempts to achieve a breakthrough.

While major ruptures are not expected, Gulf states are urging a tougher stance on Israel and a softening toward Iran, positions that differ greatly from the president-elect’s first term.

Islamic State militants have rampaged across the northern Cabo Delgado Province for more than seven years. The government says the situation has stabilized. Residents tell a different story.

A dispute over a project to cure hams in a bell tower underscored the difficulties that churches in France face trying to pay for restorations.

An image depicting a famous 19th-century painting of Cossacks, with current Ukrainian soldiers standing in for the warriors, has struck a chord as Kyiv battles to assert its identity.

A son of the country’s founding father says he has been persecuted by the government because of a feud with his older brother, who until May was prime minister.

Israel and its allies have escalated strikes against the Houthis, trying to force the Iran-backed group to stop firing on Israel and Red Sea shipping.

A stinging defeat in war has left the once untouchable group on its most uncertain footing in years.

Across China’s west, the Communist Party is placing children in boarding schools to assimilate a generation of Tibetans into the national mainstream and mold them into loyal citizens.

The White House seized a rare chance to undermine Russia and build up regional allies as it built a coalition to support the Ukrainians.

The Freedom Party and its leader, Herbert Kickl, have steadily built support by demonizing immigrants, while entering Austria’s political mainstream.

By suspending Parliament and promising to resign, the prime minister bought the Liberals time. But Canada will now face Donald J. Trump with a lame duck in charge.

Justin Trudeau announced Monday that he was also stepping down as leader of Canada’s Liberal Party. He will remain in both roles until a replacement is chosen.

Justin Trudeau, who has led the country for nearly a decade, is giving up leadership of the Liberal party. He said he would remain in both roles until his replacement has been chosen through a party election.

Settler leaders say they are confident that a Palestinian state is off the table, but their expectations are tempered by their experience of Donald Trump’s first term.

Gaza’s health ministry said that 88 people had been killed over the past day. Israeli and Hamas officials have been holding indirect cease-fire talks via mediators in Qatar.

Residents of Syria’s capital are picnicking on a once-forbidden mountaintop and trading openly in dollars and imported Nescafe. They say the city seems theirs again.

A government push to modernize taxi services comes up against the habits of drivers known for driving fast and accepting only cash.

Christian converts in Kosovo, where the vast majority of people are Muslim, hope to revive a pre-Islamic past they see as a key to their European identity.

Right-wing YouTube​rs helped President Yoon Suk Yeol​ win his election. They are now his allies in the wake of his botched imposition of martial law.

Blocked by bodyguards, officials retreated after several hours without serving a court warrant to hold President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning on insurrection charges.