Why Hamas did not want to release Israeli women hostages

Mediation efforts are continuing for "a complete and sustained ceasefire" in the Israel-Hamas war, says Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani during closing remarks of the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the Qatari capital Doha. Qatar was a key mediator in negotiations that resulted in a seven-day truce, which saw scores of Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinians prisoners and humanitarian aid, until it ended on 1 December. Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, according to Israeli figures, in an unprecedented attack on October 7. The Israeli offensive has killed nearly 15,900 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, around 70 percent of them women and children.

Two women have returned to Israel after being handed to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Israeli authorities said on Thursday, and further hostages are expected to be...

Israeli warplanes strike Gaza refugee camps as Biden approves emergency weapons sale, despite international cease-fire calls. Senior Hamas official rejects...

Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for 105 hostages freed by Hamas during a pause in hostilities, an arrangement attempted to...