A storm has battered the Gaza Strip, creating misery for displaced Palestinians and delaying the search for the body of the last Israeli hostage held by militants there.
The release by Hamas of living Israeli hostages began an expected swap of hostages for prisoners. In turn, Israel will be releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire agreement.
New images of emaciated Israeli hostages held in Gaza have horrified Israelis and added pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire with Hamas.
Israel said Sunday that it has recovered the bodies of three more hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that ignited the ongoing 20-month war in the Gaza Strip.
The bodies of Judi Weinstein Haggai, 70, an Israeli who held U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and her husband, Gad Haggai, 72, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, were recovered, the country's military said.
The Israeli military expanded its ground offensive in Gaza, and killed at least 80 Palestinians in a new wave of strikes Thursday. Hamas fired its first rockets since Israel broke a recent ceasefire.
Israel said the Tuesday attacks were launched after Hamas refused to release more hostages held in Gaza. The strikes raise the prospect of a full resumption of war after a nearly two-month ceasefire.
Arab mediators are working to reach a new Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal that would secure the release of 12 living hostages out of the 24 still believed to be held alive by Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas, the militant group the U.S. has labeled as terrorists, says it's willing to release the one living American hostage and bodies of four others it's held in Gaza since the 2023 attacks in Israel.
A Hamas official tells NPR that the United States has held direct talks with the Palestinian militant group over the release of several American-Israeli dual citizens taken hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
Both sides agreed there would be no Hamas ceremonies for the hostage bodies and in exchange Israel would release the Palestinian detainees and prisoners whose freedom had been held up since Saturday.
Crowds gathered in Israel for the funeral procession of the Bibas family, a mother and two young sons killed while being held hostage in Gaza. The story of their killing has enraged Israelis, and Israeli government representatives were not invited to the funeral.
