Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first foreign leader to visit the White House since President Trump's return to office, in a crucial meeting for the future of the Middle East.

Siegel is the first American to be released as part of this deal. A total of 18 hostages have been released since the ceasefire took effect. Hundreds of Palestinians have been released so far.

Three more Israeli and five Thai hostages have been released by Palestinian militants from captivity and returned to Israel, after being held for more than 15 months in Gaza.

Steve Witkoff helped negotiate the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. His visit to Gaza on Wednesday was the first by a senior U.S. official in more than a decade.

The long trek home by Palestinians comes as mediators helped end twin crises over ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.

President Donald Trump said Saturday he'd like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting to "just clean out" the war-torn area.

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers. For the first time in eight months, NPR got a glimpse of Rafah this week.

All four hostages are female Israeli soldiers. They are expected to be released Saturday in accordance with a ceasefire agreement with Israel that's halted fighting in the Gaza war since last weekend.

After more than 15 months of relentless Israeli bombardment, Gaza has been left in ruins. If last week's ceasefire holds, rebuilding could take decades, cost tens of billions of dollars and present overwhelming obstacles.

There are men, women and children on the list of 33 to be released from Gaza. Two are U.S. citizens. Israel is set to free hundreds of prisoners in exchange for them.

Seven of the nearly 100 hostages held in Gaza are U.S. citizens, several of whom are confirmed dead.

Israel's security cabinet has voted to approve a ceasefire deal to end the fighting in Gaza. Full cabinet approval is expected later today.

What began as a battle between Israel and Hamas morphed into a much wider regional conflict that has reshaped much of the Middle East.

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a multiphase ceasefire that commits them to end the war in Gaza, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch said.

Negotiators in Qatar are close to a ceasefire deal that sees an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees, a six-week pause in fighting and eventual troop withdrawal from Gaza.