Video aired by Al Jazeera showing the staged release of three Israeli hostages has intensified allegations that the network acts as a platform for Hamas propaganda.

A Qatari official has told Newsweek that the country at the center of the recently established ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement will support President Donald Trump in pushing both sides to adhere to the truce.

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.

Hamas is rushing to reassert control over the territory it has ruled since 2007. Its leaders are exuberant—at least in public. In private, they are arguing bitterly. The war has deepened a longtime struggle between the group’s political and military leaders and has saddled it with enormous challenges.

The next test for Israel and Hamas will come on February 2nd, when talks resume on the next stage of the ceasefire—which includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all of Gaza and the release of more hostages. Whether the ceasefire can endure will depend on those discussions. ■

North Carolina native Keith Siegel is among three people Hamas is reportedly going to release on Saturday. Siegel, a Chapel Hill native, and wife Adrienne “Aviva” Siegel were captured Oct. 7, 2023, when the militant group attacked Israel.

In a rare move hours after the cease-fire took effect, one senior Hamas official said the group wants to engage the new Trump administration.

Among those to be freed is Arbel Yehoud, whose release was at the center of a dispute that threatened to unravel the fragile ceasefire deal.

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.

The Qataris do not want the PA in the Gaza Strip to rein in Hamas and other terrorist groups, or to prevent attacks against Israel. Instead, they want the PA to act as a front to maintain Hamas's hold

After ceasefire, Hamas leaders are open to talk with ‘anyone’ who can advance their cause – even US President Trump.