The negotiations focused on freeing Edan Alexander, the only American Israeli hostage still believed to be alive, and the bodies of four other U.S.-Israeli dual citizens who were kidnapped and taken to Gaza in the October 2023 attack, officials told The New York Times.

On Thursday, the Hamas militant group dismissed President Donald Trump's latest threat, maintaining that it will only release the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Trump has described the US “foreign aid industry” as “in many cases antithetical to American ... assistance in Gaza, which has been devastated by war. A separate $56 million was released for the International Committee of the Red Cross related ...

New tensions between Israel and Hamas are raising doubts about prospects for second phase of cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza.

NUSEIRAT, Gaza Strip (AP) — Red Cross vehicles have arrived for a further hostage release in central Gaza town of Nuseirat. Medical examiner ID’s 2 teens, 17 and 16, who died after being found unresponsive in locked car in Hoffman Estates

US President Donald Trump said he is going to “sit back” and watch Arab countries craft a counter-proposal to his plan for the US to "take over" the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace two million Palestinians. Trump’s rhetoric suggests he relishes watching the US’s Arab allies rush to counter his plan.

Three Israeli men regained their freedom on Saturday, after 498 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip. The hostages were handed over to representatives of the Red Cross at a staged event in Khan Yunis,

The tenuous ceasefire has faced repeated stumbling blocks and, most recently, Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners over what it calls the “humiliating” hostage handovers in staged ceremonies in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also faces pressure from his political allies to resume the war and crush Hamas.

Hamas confirmed that Israel, backed by unlimited American support, has been violating the ceasefire agreement from the moment it was announced on January 19.

Washington has put forward an alternative ceasefire proposal, which would allow captives to be exchanged without the Israeli army having to leave Gazan territory. Hamas refused and negotiations stalled.