Hamas gunmen released three more hostages and Israel freed more than 180 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday, quickly conducting the latest exchange in a tense cease-fire deal and avoiding the chaos that marked a drawn-out transfer earlier this week. Hamas released two of the hostages, Yarden Bibas, 35, and Ofer Kalderon, 54, in a highly theatrical … Read more
A broad group of Arab nations on Saturday rejected an idea floated by President Trump for Gazans to be moved to Egypt and Jordan, saying in a joint statement that such a plan risked further expanding the conflict in the Middle East. The statement, signed by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, did … Read more
Sick and wounded people left Gaza for Egypt through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday for the first time in nine months under a key provision of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas. But officials in the Gaza Health Ministry said that only 50 of the thousands of ill and injured people in need … Read more
Powerful Arab nations rejected President Trump’s suggestion to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to neighboring Egypt and Jordan. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League released a joint statement rejecting any plans to move Palestinians out of their territories in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Mr. … Read more
The Trump administration is considering sending 24,000 assault rifles to Israel that had been held up at the State Department on the orders of Antony J. Blinken, the former secretary of state, a U.S. official said. Mr. Blinken had asked the State Department not to move forward with fulfilling Israel’s request, which comprises three tranches … Read more
The group representing the families of Israeli hostages confirmed Friday the names of three more captives whom Hamas is expected to hand over on Saturday, and there’s a dual U.S.-Israeli national among them. Keith Seigel, 65, originally from North Carolina, moved to Israel four decades ago and was among those seized during Hamas’ Oct. 7, … Read more
Samar Faisal stood among a crowd in the crisp winter air, shivering as much from her excitement as the cold. She was in disbelief, she said, that this day had come. Her brother, after spending more than 20 years in an Israeli prison, was being released. “I’m anxious and praying for the moment I finally … Read more
An undated handout photo said to be of Muhammad Deif, the Hamas military leader.Credit…via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Muhammad Deif, the shadowy leader of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza and one of the chief architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that ignited a war, was confirmed by Hamas on Thursday to … Read more
Among the Palestinians released on Thursday in a hostage-for-prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas was Zakaria Zubeidi, who over the past two decades has been a militant, a theater director and an escaped prisoner whose flight stunned Israelis and Palestinians alike. Mr. Zubeidi, 49, rose to prominence as a militant leader during the Second Intifada, … Read more
Hamas released eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thais, on Thursday as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, more than a year after they were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Agam Berger, an Israeli army soldier, was released first in a highly choreographed ceremony in northern Gaza. … Read more