Three years of war with Russia and the threat of U.S. support dwindling has many Ukrainians ready for a ceasefire, but they want some guarantees.
Palestinian militants began handing over three Israeli hostages in Gaza on Thursday in return for 110 Palestinian prisoners to be freed under a phased agreement that halted fighting in the shattered coastal territory earlier this month.
The ceasefire agreement between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah is in new jeopardy Sunday as various groups slow walk responsibilities under the deal.
President Donald Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with him at the White House on Feb. 4, making him the first foreign leader to receive an invitation to visit Trump in his second term.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting.
Wealthy Arab nations consider bankrolling Gaza’s reconstruction, but they want assurances Palestinians will lead in the postwar period.
Much of the beleagured city of Goma was calm early Wednesday morning, after a day during which thousands of fleeing people hunkered down by roadsides as missiles flew and injured people streamed to overwhelmed hospitals.
Hamas is set to free three more Israeli hostages as well as five Thai captives on Thursday, and Israel is to release another 110 Palestinian prisoners, in the third such exchange since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month.
Families of hostages still inside Gaza have warned that this ceasefire is “the one and only chance” to bring everyone home, as fears grow that the deal could flounder with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of breaching the terms.
Hamas has begun a third round of freeing hostages in Gaza Thursday as part of an ongoing ceasefire agreement with Israel in exchange for releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.