Throughout the war, the Israeli military had barred Palestinians from returning to the north by severing Gaza along the Netzarim corridor, a belt that runs east to west across the strip where troops cleared out the Palestinian population and set up bases.

In a rare move hours after the cease-fire took effect, one senior Hamas official said the group wants to engage the new Trump administration.

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Wednesday that he welcomed the potential for “a dialogue” with Hamas and heaped praise on Qatar for helping facilitate the cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza, despite facing scrutiny for previous ties to the Gulf nation.

Israel says it has killed thousands of the armed group’s members and destroyed much of its infrastructure, but since the cease-fire started Hamas has shown it still holds power in the enclave.

Israel’s longest war has so far failed to destroy its main enemy, Hamas, which, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself – and a failure for Israel.

Sticking with growth plans for green energy is the best response to Donald Trump after the U.S. president's "fatal" move to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, German vice chancellor Robert Habeck said on Tuesday.

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Sunday that if Hamas reneges on the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal, the United States will support Israel "in doing what it has to do.

Biden officials involved in the effort acknowledged that President-elect Donald Trump’s threats and Trump envoy Steve Witkoff’s participation during the final week of negotiations played a major role in bringing across the finish line a deal they had struggled to reach for more than a year.

For the Islamist militant group, armed struggle now looks like a dead end. Its future in Gaza depends on the civilian politburo.

For Austin, the past 15 months have been filled with protests, grief, and rising Islamaphobia and antisemitism. Jewish, Muslim Austinites reflect, hope

The deal, mediated by the United States, offered a glimmer of hope in a conflict that has taken an immense human toll.

Hamas gunmen are guarding aid convoys in Gaza, and its police patrol city streets, sending a clear message: Hamas remains in charge.