Countries with leverage on Hamas must ‘act now’ to conclude a deal, Foreign Ministry Director-General Eden Bar Tal said

President-elect Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as U.S. president on Jan.

Hamas on Tuesday stood by its demand that Israel fully end its assault on Gaza under any deal to release hostages and said US president-elect Donald Trump was rash to say there would be ’hell to pay’ unless they go free by his 20 January inauguration.

The family of a hostage who appears in the latest video released by Hamas has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the opportunity to do a ceasefire deal, describing the footage as having “torn our hearts to pieces.

An Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Qatar on Friday to continue negotiations on a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza, a source with knowledge of the talks told CNN on Friday.

Israel said Monday that Hamas had not yet provided the status of 34 hostages the group declared it was ready to release in the first phase of a potential exchange deal.

President-elect Donald Trump has warned if Hamas does not release all the Israeli hostages before his inauguration "all hell will break out in the Middle East". It comes as Hamas and Israeli officials hold talks with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in the most intensive effort to reach a ceasefire

The prime minister’s office announced on Thursday the approval of a new Israeli delegation to continue hostage negotiations in Doha, Qatar.

WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump has warned that all hell will break out in the Middle East if the hostages being held by Hamas are not released by Inauguration Day, repeating the threat four times.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expresses confidence in a near-term Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange.

A new round of indirect talks on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal resumed in Qatar’s Doha on Friday, according to the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas. Senior Hamas official Basem Naim sought to underline the group's "seriousness" in seeking to reach a deal as soon as possible.