Steven Witkoff, who played an important role in brokering the truce between Israel and Hamas, also met with Israel’s prime minister and visited Saudi Arabia.

Even before the first phase is completed, the fragile cease-fire agreement that has paused 15 months of war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas faces increasingly long odds of lasting or even reaching phase two.

Israel has begun allowing Palestinians to return to the heavily destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas.

A professional fact-checker has debunked claims from the Trump administration accusing the Biden administration of spending $50 million to send condoms to Gaza.

Palestinian officials say more than 650,000 displaced people were blocked from entering the northern Gaza Strip, according to Reuters. Israel blocked access to the region after it accused Hamas of failing to release 29-year-old Arbel Yehud during an agreed upon hostage-prisoner exchange.

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest coverage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Palestinian groups and Israel are carrying out a third hostage-prisoner exchange under a ceasefire deal. Meanwhile, Israel also cut contact with the UN's Palestinian refugee agency. DW has the latest.

There were chaotic scenes in the third release of hostages from Gaza as thousands of Palestinians thronged kidnapees and armed gunmen struggled to hold people back before the handover to Red Cross off

Three Israelis and five Thais were handed over to the Red Cross on Thursday with 110 Palestinians expected to be exchanged in return.

Palestinian militants on Thursday freed three Israeli hostages and five foreigners captured in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel as the third hostage-prisoner exchange of the Gaza ceasefire got under way.