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.

After the chaotic handover in southern Gaza, Zivan Frieden, a spokesman for Israel’s prisons authority, said in a statement that the release of over 100 Palestinian prisoners had been suspended, without providing further details.

An agreement has been reached between Israel and Hamas that involves the release of additional hostages and the return of Palestinians to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

The cease-fire between Hamas and Israel is expected to go into effect on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time, Qatar’s foreign ministry announced Saturday.

Among those freed is Arbel Yehoud, whose release was at the center of a dispute that threatened to unravel the fragile ceasefire deal.

Qatar, a key negotiator in the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, confirmed Saturday that the first hostages will be released in less than 24 hours. Qatari Foreign Minister Majid al-Ansari

Trump sent Witkoff to ensure the ceasefire agreement advances to the second phase, which will require hashing out more thorny questions about Gaza’s future.

CAIRO (AP) — The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced ...

Hamas confirmed for the first time on Thursday that Israeli killed the head of its military wing, Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike last year. Deif was one of the alleged

The names of the Israeli hostages due to be released in Gaza on Thursday have been released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office (PMO), which also confirmed that five Thai nationals will be released.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East next week, making stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank, the State Department announced. This will be ...