Former hostage Amit Soussana, who was the first Israeli woman to speak about being sexual assaulted while in Hamas captivity, says kidnapped IDF soldier Liri Albag saved her life.

Hamas is rushing to reassert control over the territory it has ruled since 2007. Its leaders sound 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.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders cracking down on campus antisemitism and stripping federal funds from K-12 schools that teach critical race theory.

Hamas on Wednesday gave to Israel the names of the next three hostages to be freed, including Arbel Yehoud, a female civilian whose freedom has been a point of tension.

The release planned for Thursday would be the third so far as Israel and Hamas observe a six-week truce, part of a multiphase agreement that mediators hope will end the war in Gaza.

Ali Al-Ansari, media attache to the Qatari Embassy to the United States, told Newsweek his nation "appreciates the important role and positive impact of President Trump and his administration, particularly the efforts of his special envoy Steve Witkoff, in finalizing the agreement."

Four female Israeli soldiers were released by Hamas on Saturday in the second hostage release of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag were handed to the Red Cross in Gaza City. In exchange 200 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel are set to be freed.

Officials from Israel and Hamas say the militant group will release three Israelis, including two women and an 80-year-old man, and five Thai nationals.

RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — For more than 470 days, Eitan Gonen publicly pleaded with his daughter to stay alive while in Hamas captivity. He didn’t know if she would hear him, but he ended every interview he gave with the same hopeful message: Romi is coming home alive.

Eight of the remaining hostages set to be released by Hamas in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead, according to an Israeli government spokesperson.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Hamas leader Muhammad Ismail Darwish in Ankara on Wednesday, Erdogan's office said in a statement.