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.

Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Advisor to the Prime Minister and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Dr. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari has

This came in phone call between Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio - Anadolu Ajansı

Wealthy Arab nations consider bankrolling Gaza’s reconstruction, but they want assurances Palestinians will lead in the postwar period.

Mediator Qatar says an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.

Experts discuss how long rebuilding Gaza's $18.5 billion of damaged infrastructure could take after 15 months of conflict.

Already, the fragile deal has come under considerable stress, and it could collapse in the weeks to come. Yet for the time being, the fighting has stopped in both Gaza and Lebanon, and hostages have begun to come home.

Israel has prevented thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released.

BEER YAAKOV, Israel (AP) — When the mother of one of the Thai hostages held in the Gaza Strip for over a year caught sight of her son on a Facebook livestream after his release Thursday, he had changed so much that she didn’t recognize him at first.