DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The first three hostages set to be released from Gaza were transferred to the Red Cross and were on their way toward Israeli forces, the Israeli military announced Sunday, hours after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold.

The families of hostages freed under the long-awaited Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Sunday have spoken for the first time since their release.British-Israeli Emily Damari, 28, returned to Israel alongside Romi Gonen,

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was important to include President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the latest round of talks because if a ceasefire can be reached, it will be up to the Trump team in part to ensure it survives beyond Inauguration Day.

Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza

Thousands of families have started walking or dragging carts from displacement camps in Gaza City toward the razed towns and cities of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Rockets fired from Gaza and intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system over Israeli skies are seen from Gaza City, on May 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File) DOHA, Qatar — Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed Gaza would never again pose a threat to Israel, as a tense calm prevailed on the second day of a truce in the Palestinian territory.

The first three Israeli hostages returning home under a long-awaited Gaza truce were transferred to the Red Cross overnight, a Hamas official and the Israeli military said. The hostages, all women, “were officially handed over to the Red Cross” in Gaza City ahead of their return to Israel, the senior Hamas official told AFP.

Israel has freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The release comes early on Monday, more than seven hours after three Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza returned to Israel.

Hostage families give update as Palestinians return home to ‘total destruction’ - Freed British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari is in high spirits, her mother said in her first statement since her releas