Israel-Palestine category, Page 8
Netanyahu decries release of wrong body as a ceasefire violation. Hamas pledges to investigate
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after a body that Hamas released as part of the deal was found to not be that of an Israeli mother of two young boys, as...
Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages said to include a mother and her 2 young children
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hamas on Thursday returned the bodies of four hostages to Israel, prompting a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay respect to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional...
Palestinian families flee West Bank homes in droves as Israel confronts militants
FAR’A REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank — the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war....
Hamas says it will free 6 living hostages and hand over 4 bodies, accelerating Gaza releases
CAIRO — A top Hamas leader says the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages Saturday and the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise increase that apparently comes in return for Israel allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip. The six are the...
Israel and Hamas complete their latest exchange as ceasefire’s first phase has just 2 weeks left
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel and Hamas completed the sixth exchange of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Saturday with just over two weeks remaining in the initial phase of their fragile Gaza ceasefire. Israelis expressed relief as the three hostages — Argentinian-Israeli Iair Horn, 46; American-Israeli Sagui...
Hamas names 3 more Israeli hostages set for release to uphold shaky Gaza ceasefire
JERUSALEM — Hamas named three Israeli hostages on Friday it will release in a weekend trade for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the latest sign that the shaky Gaza ceasefire deal appears to be holding in spite of a tense dispute that has threatened to renew fighting. The militant group and...
Hamas says it will free 3 more hostages as planned, paving the way to resolve ceasefire dispute
CAIRO — Hamas said Thursday it would release three more Israeli hostages as planned, paving the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The militant group had threatened to delay the next release of captives, accusing Israel of failing to meet its obligations to...
Hamas’ threat to delay the next release of Israeli hostages raises fears for Gaza ceasefire
JERUSALEM — Hamas’ threat to delay the next planned release of Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip has jolted a fragile ceasefire that’s seen as having the potential to wind down the war. It has brought new dismay for Israelis who watched the latest Hamas handover of hostages in growing...
Hamas accuses Israel of ceasefire violations and says it will delay next hostage release
JERSUSALEM — A Hamas spokesman on Monday accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement with the group, including targeting Palestinians in Gaza with airstrikes, and said that next Saturday’s hostage release would be delayed. Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire during which Hamas is releasing...
Trump says ceasefire deal should be canceled if Hamas doesn’t release all hostages by Saturday
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that a precarious ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas should be canceled if Hamas doesn’t release all the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza by midday on Saturday — though he also said that such a decision would be up to Israel....
Israeli forces withdraw from key Gaza corridor as concerns mount over extending ceasefire
MUGHRAQA, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor in Gaza on Sunday, Israeli officials and Hamas said, the latest commitment under a tenuous ceasefire that faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension. Israelis’ shock at the sight of three emaciated hostages...
Israeli forces withdraw from key Gaza corridor as concerns mount over extending ceasefire
MUGHRAQA, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor in Gaza on Sunday, Israeli officials and Hamas said, the latest commitment under a tenuous ceasefire that faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension. Israelis’ shock at the sight of three emaciated hostages...
Hamas releases 3 frail-looking Israeli hostages for 183 Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas-led militants released three gaunt, frail-looking Israeli hostages and Israel freed nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners Saturday in the latest exchange of a ceasefire agreement that has paused 16 months of war in Gaza. The hostages’ condition and scenes of Hamas forcing them to speak in...
Egypt lobbies against Trump plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians as Israel makes preparations
CAIRO — Israel says it has begun preparations for the departure of Palestinians from Gaza despite international rejection of President Donald Trump’s plan to empty the territory of its population. Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes against the proposal, warning it would put its peace deal with...
Trump won’t rule out deploying troops to support rebuilding Gaza, sees ‘long-term’ U.S. ownership
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take “ownership” in redeveloping the area. Trump’s audacious proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel...
Who are the hostages released as part of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in Gaza?
JERUSALEM — Hamas-led militants released eight hostages on Thursday after more than 15 months in captivity, including an Israeli soldier, bringing to 15 the number of captives freed since the start of a ceasefire in Gaza more than a week ago. Agam Berger, 20, was among five young, female soldiers...
Hamas frees 8 more hostages. Israel begins releasing Palestinian prisoners after delay
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners on Thursday after eight hostages in the Gaza Strip were freed by militants earlier in the day in a sometimes chaotic process that briefly called the exchange into question and underscored the fragility of a ceasefire that began this...
Hamas set to free 3 Israelis, 5 Thais in next hostage release, Israeli official says
JERUSALEM — An Israeli official said Wednesday that Hamas will release three Israelis, including two women and an 80-year-old man, and five Thai nationals in the next hostage release, slated for Thursday. The official named the Israel women as Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 19, and the man as Gadi...
Israel’s prime minister says Trump has invited him to the White House on Feb. 4
WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says President Donald Trump has invited him to visit the White House on Feb. 4, which would make him the first foreign leader to visit Washington in Trump’s second term. The visit comes as the United States pressures Israel and...
Tens of thousands return to devastated northern Gaza as Israel lifts its closure under truce
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile...
Qatar says agreement reached to release Israeli hostage, allow Palestinians to return to north Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Mediator Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Qatar’s statement said Hamas will hand over...
Desperate families await return of 4 female soldiers held by Hamas for 15 months
TEL AVIV, Israel — Hamas announced Friday that it would release four female soldiers held hostage for 15 months in Gaza, as part of an exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners laid out in its ceasefire agreement with Israel. An advocacy group representing the families of hostages confirmed the identities...
Why is Israel launching a crackdown in the West Bank after the Gaza ceasefire?
In the days since a fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers have rampaged through two Palestinian towns. The violence comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces domestic pressure from his far-right...
Palestinians confront a landscape of destruction in Gaza’s ‘ghost towns’
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians in Gaza are confronting an apocalyptic landscape of devastation after a ceasefire paused more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Across the tiny coastal enclave, where built-up refugee camps are interspersed between cities, drone footage captured by The Associated Press shows mounds...
Israel’s top general resigns over Oct. 7 attack as it launches major military operation in West Bank
JERUSALEM — Israel’s top general resigned Tuesday, citing the security and intelligence failures related to Hamas’ surprise attack that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. Israel meanwhile launched a large military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had...
