What to know about the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release plan:
An Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into effect at noon local time (5 a.m. Eastern) Friday as part of the first phase of President Trump's peace plan to end the war in Gaza, the Israeli military said.
Israeli troops have finished withdrawing from parts of Gaza, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said, starting a 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release all remaining Israeli hostages.
Israeli officials say 48 hostages are still in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive. Hamas will release all of the remaining hostages by noon local time on Monday, an Israeli official told CBS News.
As part of the deal outlined by Mr. Trump, Israel will release dozens of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of the Israeli hostages, and allow the immediate provision of "full aid" to Gaza, which has faced severe food shortages and has fallen into famine in some regions, according to the world's leading authority on food crises.
International Glance
The last two years have brought unprecedented horrors in Israel-Palestine: first, the gruesome Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israelis led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, then Israel’s sweeping and U.S.-enabled devastation of the Gaza Strip. Daily reports of deaths and apparent war crimes have been so overwhelming as to sometimes obscure the reality that the continued conflict and tragedy are a result of choices by individuals — often, choices at the White House.
The State Department is offering a $15 million reward for information linked to four Chinese nationals it says have helped the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) procure U.S. military equipment and drone technology.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal that's intended to end to the devastating Gaza war which unleashed the deadliest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians.
The momentum to find a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine has been exhausted since the Donald Trump-Vladimir Putin summit in Alaska, Moscow’s deputy foreign minister has said.





























