7 h. ago Gaza latest: Israeli hostage families demand ceasefire is terminated if Hamas fails to return remaining bodies

Hamas says all reachable hostage bodies have been returned to Israel after two more were handed over late on Wednesday

Events

8 h. ago In Gaza, we are picking up our lives amid the remnants of war, fear of Israel’s return haunting every step | Sondos Sabra

There is a continuing trauma and new threats to our safety from gangs who terrorise us. Our ordeal has changed, but it’s far from overThe war has ended, and it’s time for me to return to my coffee, my bread and my poetry. Yet I don’t know what it means to return to life, after death has lived within us down to the marrow. Death had us memorised by heart, reciting our names one by one with unwavering precision. We grew accustomed to it too, in all its forms and colours, until funerals became a daily ritual, much like a weather report we already know by heart. It rained death every day, and our homes scattered like dry leaves in an autumn wind.But another war has begun, of a different kind, more ruthless. The battles no longer take place only in the streets, but in every moment of life, in every step across the rubble, in every attempt to reclaim what remains of our daily spirit. The first chapter of this new war was the brutal anticipation of the roads leading to what remains of home...

Politics

8 h. ago Hamas says it has returned all dead hostages it can locate in threat to ceasefire deal

Israeli anger over failure to return bodies but US downplays risk to ceasefire agreement

Events

43 h. ago Return our dead! Israeli fury grows and Hamas stalls on returning hostages as Trump 'violently' threatens Hamas amid fears of ceasefire

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out doubling the number of trucks to deliver the much-needed supplies amid mounting anger at the terror group's violation of the peace plan.

Events

46 h. ago Hamas hands over bodies of more Israeli hostages after Donald Trump threatened to 'violently' disarm the terror group if it did not return remains to grieving families

The IDF has stated it has received four bodies which were handed over by the Red Cross, following four that were handed over earlier.

Events

50 h. ago Hamas says it will return bodies of four Israeli hostages tonight after Israel says it will keep Rafah crossing closed – Gaza ceasefire live

Hamas tells mediators it plans to transfer bodies of four deceased hostages at 10pm local timeDespite the ceasefire agreement, a medical source told Palestinian news agency Wafa today that four people were killed when Israeli drones fired at residents inspecting their homes in Gaza’s eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood. We have not yet been able to independently verify this information.Israel’s military said it opened fire on people who it says approached Israeli forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip. Continue reading...

Events

52 h. ago Red Cross teams search Gaza ruins for the remains of Israeli hostages after Hamas were warned they had until tonight to return the remaining bodies

The International Committee of the charity said it may take considerable time to hand over the remains of hostages and detainees killed in the Israel-Hamas war

Events

53 h. ago Released Israeli hostages give accounts of torture, torment and extraordinary danger

Descriptions of captivity suggest Hamas had a change of approach in recent weeks as ceasefire talks progressedGaza ceasefire – live updatesAfter the jubilation in Israel of the return of the last Gaza hostages, stories of their time in captivity, hidden away in tents and tunnels, are emerging.Some described being tortured and tormented. Others, though, recalled moments of co-existence with their captors under the most extreme of circumstances. One played cards with the men holding him and even cooked for them. Another said the captors would speak Hebrew for ease of communication. Continue reading...

Politics

54 h. ago Residents fear having to visit war memorials inside a Scotmid after church sold

The Church of Scotland say they are committed to helping ensure the respectful removal and preservation of the war memorials as soon as an affordable cost has been agreed

Events

56 h. ago Missing bodies of hostages top the list of uncertainties as fragile Gaza ceasefire holds

The tenuous ceasefire in the two-year Israel-Hamas war is holding even as complex issues remain ahead, a day after widespread jubilation over the return to Israel of the last 20 living hostages held in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange

Events

58 h. ago Israel tells Hamas to return the remaining 24 dead hostages today 'and believes the terror group is deliberately holding on to some of them'

Four bodies were returned to Israel on Monday, and another 24 are supposed to be turned over as part of the first phase of the peace deal.

Events

3 d. ago A victory lap for Trump – but the beginning of the end for Netanyahu

Editorial: There is cause for jubilation as the last Israeli hostages return to their families, but much of the back-slapping is presumptuous – and Israel’s prime minister deserves no credit for what has been achieved

Politics

3 d. ago ‘Trump did everything’: jubilant Israelis heap praise on US president as hostages return

About 65,000 people gather in ‘hostages square’ in Tel Aviv to welcome home released captivesThe estimated 65,000 people in “hostages square” in Tel Aviv heard it before they saw it. Like so many sunflowers, their faces turned up to search the clear blue morning sky for the source of the sound. Then it swept into view from the west, from the direction of Gaza.A helicopter, military brown, was on the way to Ichilov hospital a few hundred metres away. But it diverted. It circled around the crowd giving each person below a view, and then tilted to its right, in an apparent salute to the cheering, waving, smiling faces below. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘I’m shaking all over’: hugs, tears and relief in Israel as Gaza hostages return

On a powerfully emotional day, 20 Israelis went home, hundreds of Palestinians were freed from prison and Trump had his perfectly scripted momentThe estimated 65,000 people in “hostages square” in Tel Aviv heard it before they saw it. Like so many sunflowers, their faces turned up to search the clear blue morning sky for the source of the sound. Then it swept into view from the west, from the direction of Gaza.A helicopter, military brown, was on the way to Ichilov hospital a few hundred metres away. But it diverted. It circled around the crowd giving each person below a view, and then tilted to its right, in an apparent salute to the cheering, waving, smiling faces below. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago In pictures: Joyous scenes as freed hostages return to Israel after two years in captivity

The hostages have been held in captivity in Gaza since the October 7 attacks in 2023 when they were kidnapped by Hamas.

Politics

3 d. ago Gaza latest LIVE: Donald Trump to address Knesset with Ivanka watching as Israeli hostages return home

US President Donald Trump to address Israel’s parliament after declaring ‘the war is over’

Politics

3 d. ago Who are the hostages released by Hamas? Twenty freed under Trump’s peace deal after two years in captivity

All 48 hostages, living and dead, are expected to return to Israel on Monday as part of Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan

Economics

3 d. ago First Israeli hostages return to families after Gaza release as Trump arrives for historic handover: Live updates

LIVE: Hamas has released the first seven Israeli hostages as part of a monumental ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Politics

3 d. ago Hamas releases seven Israeli hostages after 738 days in hellish captivity as families who never gave up hope gather to welcome them home

The Israeli people gathered in Hostages Square to anticipate the return of the 20 remaining living captives, as Donald Trump is set to arrive in Tel Aviv Monday morning.

Politics

3 d. ago Israeli hostage release: IDF says Red Cross on way to pick up first Gaza hostages

Donald Trump is due to arrive in Israel shortly after the expected release of 20 living Israeli hostages at 8am local timeFull report: Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be freed from Gaza on Monday morningExplainer: As Donald Trump heads to Gaza ‘peace summit’ in Egypt, who is going – and who isn’t?Who are the 20 hostages believed alive and expected to be freed from Gaza?Donald Trump has questioned whether former UK prime minister Tony Blair will serve on a new “board of peace” that is intended to oversee the governance of Gaza.The US president’s comments come amid ongoing criticisms of Blair for his role in the Iraq war that began in 2003. Continue reading...

Politics