Israel has begun allowing Palestinians to return to the heavily destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday, opening the way to a possible end to a devastating 15-month conflict.

Hamas is a Palestinian armed group and political movement in the Gaza Strip. On 7 October 2023 it attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

President Donald Trump has ended his predecessor's hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, lifting a pressure point that had been meant to reduce civilian casualties during the U.S. ally's war with Hamas in Gaza that is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

Mr Trump would be speaking to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Jan 26. Read more at straitstimes.com.

President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Egypt and Jordan take in Palestinians from the war-ravaged Gaza Strip is likely to be met with a hard “no” from the two close U.S. allies and the Palestinians themselves.

US President Donald Trump's proposal to uproot Gazans to Egypt and Jordan is a "hostile" move against the two US allies and aims to "liquidate the Palestinian cause", Jordanian analysts told AFP.