Work on an agreement that would pause months of fighting and free some hostages resumed after Hamas went silent.

Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of an emerging ceasefire agreement being finalized by negotiators in Doha, two Israeli officials said, the first positive sign in months that a truce in the Israel-Hamas war may be in sight.

It is hoped that a ceasefire deal will mean an agreement to stop the war which has been raging in Gaza. It is also expected to see an exchange of hostages and prisoners. Hamas seized 251 hostages when it attacked Israel in October 2023. It is still holding 94 captive, although Israel believes that only 60 are still alive.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his most detailed picture yet of his long-awaited plans for post-war Gaza on Tuesday as he stressed the importance of not leaving a power vacuum in the decimated Palestinian strip.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made a last-minute case for a plan for the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears tantalizingly close to completion.

The outgoing Biden administration will hand over to President-elect Donald Trump's team a plan for the post-war management of Gaza, including details of an interim security mission including international forces and Palestinians,