Netanyahu says he won't agree to a deal that ends the war in Gaza, testing the latest truce proposal

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The viability of a U.S.-backed proposal to wind down the 8-month-long war in Gaza was cast into doubt on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would only be willing to agree to a “partial” cease-fire deal that would not end the war, comments...

The fate of the latest cease-fire proposal hinges on Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing...

Harris meets with former Israeli hostage who described being sexually assaulted in Gaza

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday met with an Israeli lawyer who has publicly described being sexually assaulted while held hostage in Gaza, and said the story left her fearing more such accounts “will only increase as more hostages are released.” Harris...

Retired AP reporter Hoyt Harwell dies at 93. He covered key events in the American South

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Hoyt Garland Harwell, a longtime reporter for The Associated Press who covered key events in the American South and was a mentor to young reporters, has died. He was 93. Harwell died at home June 12 following a brief illness, according to his obituary. ...

Russian forces storm a detention facility to rescue staff taken hostage, killing hostage-takers

MOSCOW (AP) — Security forces stormed a detention center in southern Russia on Sunday, killing inmates accused of links to the Islamic State group who had taken two staff members hostage, state-funded news channel RT reported. Journalists on the scene reported the sounds of...

Security forces storm a detention center in southern Russia, killing an unknown number of hostage takers

8 Israeli soldiers killed in southern Gaza in deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months

JERUSALEM (AP) — An explosion in southern Gaza killed eight Israeli soldiers, the military said Saturday, making it the deadliest attack on Israeli forces in months. The attack, coming more than eight months into a grinding war that shows few signs of ending soon, was likely to...

US government's top hostage negotiator defends prisoner swaps with foreign adversaries

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's top hostage negotiator defended prisoner swaps that free Americans wrongfully detained by foreign countries in exchange for the release of convicted criminals, denying on Thursday that such deals incentivize additional arrests of U.S. citizens. ...

Israelis and Palestinians are hopeful but cautious over the latest cease-fire proposal

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A proposed cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas is raising hopes that eight months of fighting could soon come to an end. Displaced Palestinians are desperate to return home and rebuild, while Israelis yearn for dozens of captives taken by Hamas to be freed. ...

Blinken says some of Hamas' proposed changes to a cease-fire plan in Gaza are workable and some not

BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that mediators would keep trying to close an elusive cease-fire deal for Gaza after Hamas proposed changes to a U.S.-backed plan, some of which he said were “workable” and some not. The back-and-forth laid bare...