Feb 20 Returned bodies of 4 Israeli hostages believed to include mother with her infant and toddler By Mohammad Jahjouh, Wafaa Shurafa, Melanie Lidman, Associated Press The handover on Thursday was a grim reminder of those who died in captivity as the talks leading up to the truce dragged on for over a year. Continue reading
Feb 18 Egypt developing Gaza rebuilding plan, a counter to Trump's call for depopulating the territory By Samy Magdy, Associated Press Egypt is developing a plan to rebuild Gaza without forcing Palestinians out of the strip in a counter to President Donald Trump’s proposal to depopulate the territory so the U.S. can take it over. Continue reading
Feb 18 Hamas says it will free 6 living hostages and hand over 4 bodies, accelerating Gaza releases By Samy Magdy, Natalie Melzer, Associated Press The six are the last living hostages set to be freed under the ceasefire's first phase. Continue reading
Feb 17 Israeli forces will remain in 5 locations in Lebanon after Tuesday's pullout deadline, official says By Melanie Lidman, Sally Abou AlJoud, Associated Press Lebanon’s government has opposed any further delay in the Israeli pullout under the ceasefire agreement that ended fighting with the Hezbollah militant group. Continue reading
Feb 16 Israel's Netanyahu signals he's moving ahead with Trump's plan to move Palestinians from Gaza By Matthew Lee, Natalie Melzer, Associated Press Netanyahu discussed the plan with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who kicked off a Middle East visit by endorsing Israel's war aims in Gaza, saying Hamas “must be eradicated.” That created further doubt around the shaky ceasefire as talks on its… Continue reading
Feb 13 Hamas says it will free 3 hostages as planned, paving the way to settle ceasefire dispute By Samy Magdy, Melanie Lidman, Associated Press Hamas says it will release the next group of three Israeli hostages as planned. That would pave the way toward resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Continue reading
Feb 12 Israel threatens 'all hell will break loose' is Hamas fails to free hostages as planned By Tia Goldenberg, Samy Magdy, Associated Press Israel’s defense minister says “all hell will break loose” if Hamas does not release three hostages as planned this weekend. Continue reading
Feb 11 Watch 4:07 Trump doubles down on Gaza takeover idea as Israel threatens to restart war with Hamas By Nick Schifrin, Zeba Warsi The fate of the ceasefire in Gaza seems fragile after Israel threatened to restart the war unless Hamas releases all Israeli hostages by Saturday. The overall fate of Gaza was the focus of an Oval Office meeting between President Trump… Continue watching
Feb 11 WATCH: Trump doubles down on moving Palestinians from 'dangerous' Gaza Strip By Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian, Associated Press President Donald Trump has hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House and renewed his suggestions Gaza could be emptied of residents and redeveloped as a tourist area — a plan that could likely only work if the Arab… Continue reading
Feb 11 Israel's Netanyahu threatens to resume fighting in Gaza if hostages aren't released Saturday By Josef Federman, Associated Press Hamas said Monday — and reiterated Tuesday — that it planned to delay the release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to meet the terms of the ceasefire, including by not allowing enough tents and other aid… Continue reading