Families of hostages endure uncertainty even as hopes rise for a ceasefire in Gaza

KIRYAT GAT, Israel (AP) — Ilana Gritzewsky is fighting a battle against time to save her boyfriend from Hamas captivity. While there appears to be progress toward a deal to free the remaining captives in phases, Matan Zangauker would likely not be released in the first stage since...

Syria faces crisis and Gaza heads toward famine, World Food Program official says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Program has been on whirlwind visits to hotspots in the Middle East and Sudan to assess dire humanitarian situations and escalating demands for food from millions of people trapped or fleeing conflicts. But...

Humanitarian aid to northern Gaza mostly blocked for the last 2 months, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Humanitarian aid to n orth Gaza, where Israel launched a ground offensive on Oct. 6, has largely been blocked for the past 66 days, the United Nations said Tuesday. That has left between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without access to food, water, electricity or health...

Palestinian medics say an Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed 19 people

AP PHOTOS: After 15 months of abandonment, hostage homes are empty memorials

KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (AP) — After 15 months of war, the homes of Israeli hostages are like time capsules of a war zone. There’s a small blue bicycle flung to the ground outside the house of the Bibas family — all of whom, including two young boys Kfir and Ariel, are still in captivity....

Trump names new point person for negotiating the release of hostages, detainees abroad

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named a health care executive to serve as his administration's lead hostage negotiator at a time when the U.S. is trying to secure the release of prisoners in Gaza and other regions around the world. Adam Boehler will...

Trump demands immediate release of Oct. 7 hostages, says otherwise there will be 'HELL TO PAY'

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term there will be “HELL TO PAY." “Please let this TRUTH serve to...

Arms producers saw revenue up in 2023 with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, a new report says

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Major companies in the arms industry saw a 4.2% increase in overall revenue in 2023 with sharp rises for producers based in Russia and the Middle East, a new report said Monday. The report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI,...

World Central Kitchen says Israeli airstrike hit car with its workers in Gaza, and 'urgently' seeks details

Hungary's Orbán vows to disregard international arrest warrant for Netanyahu

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday denounced the International Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would defy it by inviting him to Hungary. In comments to state radio,...