US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Mike Walz, said today that the Islamist movement Hamas "will never rule Gaza again."
"Hamas can no longer be a terrorist organization and will never again rule Gaza," said Volz.
"Israel will do whatever is necessary to ensure that Hamas is never in power in Gaza again," added Volz.
Volz also said there was a possibility that the US could send "security forces" to the Middle East to ensure stability in the region.
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European Council President Antonio Costa said today that he "feels relief" after the first hostages arrived in Israel.
He added that "the implementation of the ceasefire gives hope for peace."
"I feel relieved that the first hostages have been released and that the ceasefire is coming into effect. This brings hope to this part of the world," said Kosta.
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Three hostages who were released from Gaza have been transferred to the Red Cross and are on their way to an Israeli army base, the Israeli military announced today.
The vehicles carrying the hostages were escorted by armed men wearing Hamas insignia.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv, thousands of people gathered to follow developments on screens set up around the city.
Israelis have been gathering in demonstrations for months demanding a ceasefire agreement.
The agreement opens the initial first phase of the ceasefire, which is expected to last six weeks.
The World Food Program (WFP) announced today that trucks carrying humanitarian aid began entering the Gaza Strip through the Zikim and Kerem Shalom crossings on the first day of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
As stated in the statement, this branch of the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) "aims to deliver food daily through humanitarian corridors that include crossings from Egypt, Jordan and Israel."
The statement added that "a ceasefire is crucial for humanitarian work, and that security and access must be ensured," the agencies reported.
WFO has appealed for the opening of all border crossings to allow food to be delivered safely to Gaza. It has also requested security teams for members and convoys of the humanitarian organization.
"More humanitarian staff need to be allowed into Gaza and we need emergency funds to quickly reach everyone in need," the World Food Programme said.
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The Health Ministry of the Hamas government in Gaza announced today a new toll according to which at least 46.913 people have been killed in more than 15 months of war with Israel in that Palestinian territory.
According to a count stopped at midnight on Saturday, before the ceasefire came into effect at 10:15 a.m. today, it also states that at least 110.750 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war.
The war was launched on October 7, 2023, with a Hamas attack on Israel, after which Israel launched an offensive in Gaza.
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The Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas said it was waiting for Israel to hand over a list of Palestinian prisoners who would be released today in exchange for three Israeli women held in Gaza.
The statement said that the list would include the names of women and children.
"The occupier is expected to soon submit a list containing the names of 90 prisoners, including women and children, planned for release on the first day of the ceasefire," Hamas said, adding that the ceasefire agreement provides for 30 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one detained civilian, the agencies reported.
The Israeli side knows the names of the detained female hostages who will be released today.
Hamas did not hand over the list of their names on time, so the ceasefire went into effect at 10:15, almost three hours later than announced.
This marked the beginning of a six-week lull that has raised hopes that dozens of hostages held by extremists will be freed and that the devastating war will end after more than 15 months.
Even before the ceasefire officially came into effect, celebrations began in the devastated Palestinian territory and Palestinians began returning to the parts of Gaza where they lived before the war began.
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Pope Francis called today for "immediate respect" for the ceasefire in Gaza and advocated for increased humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages.
"I express my gratitude to all the mediators. Thank you to all the parties involved in achieving this important result," the pope said after the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
"I hope that, as agreed, the parties will immediately respect the agreement and that all the hostages can finally return to their homes, to embrace their loved ones again," the pope said.
He said he was praying for them and their families, and hoped that humanitarian aid would begin to reach the Gaza population more quickly, as they have so many urgent needs.
"Israelis and Palestinians need clear signs of hope. I hope that the political authorities of the two countries, with the help of the international community, will achieve a just two-state solution," the pope added.
"Let everyone say yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace," he said.
The long-awaited ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip officially came into effect today, agencies reported.
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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, an ultra-rightist, called on Israel today to occupy the Gaza Strip and establish military rule, threatening to topple the government if it does not.
Thousands of Palestinians displaced by war headed back to their homes in the Gaza Strip today after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, AFP journalists reported.
In the middle of the day, thousands of people arrived in Jabalia from Gaza City in the northern Palestinian territory.
Other population movements were observed in the Rafah and Khan Khan Younes sectors in the south, according to eyewitnesses.
The long-awaited ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip officially came into effect on Sunday morning, agencies report. This was announced by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Qatar, a key mediator in the negotiations.
Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, will monitor the implementation of the agreement. The start of the ceasefire was delayed by three hours due to Hamas's delay in providing the names of three female hostages who will be released today as part of the ceasefire agreement.
Even before the ceasefire came into effect, thousands of displaced Palestinians with their belongings set off on their journey back to their homes in the north and south of the devastated Gaza Strip, footage from Agence France-Presse shows.
Some in pickup trucks, some on foot, some with smiles showing the V sign, the sign of victory, while others handed out sweets or waved Palestinian flags.
In Jabaliya, in the far north of Gaza, where intense Israeli military operations have been conducted since October, residents are discovering an apocalyptic landscape of ruins.
According to outgoing US President Joseph Biden, the first phase of the agreement includes Israel's withdrawal from the densely populated Gaza Strip and increased humanitarian aid to the territories where famine threatens.
The Gaza War began with a Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1.200 people and taking 251 hostages. Of that number, 94 are still in Gaza, and the Israeli military believes 34 are dead.
At least 46.899 people have been killed in the Israeli counter-offensive, according to figures from the Hamas Health Ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, has been significantly weakened but is still far from destroyed, contrary to the goal set by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, experts believe.
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See today's photos from Gaza:
Israel is committed to achieving its goals in the Gaza war, including the return of hostages and the dismantling of Hamas's government and military capabilities, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday, Reuters reported.
He spoke to reporters in Jerusalem shortly after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the dominant Palestinian militant group in Gaza, came into effect.
Sarr added that there will be no future peace, stability and security for both sides if Hamas remains in power in Gaza.
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took effect on Monday after nearly three hours of delay, pausing a 15-month war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East.
Residents and a medical worker in Gaza said they had not heard any new fighting or military strikes about half an hour before the ceasefire implementation began.
Israeli air and artillery strikes killed 13 Palestinians between 7:30 a.m. Central European Time, when the ceasefire was supposed to begin, and 10:15 a.m. Central European Time, when it actually took effect, Palestinian doctors said.
Israel blamed Hamas for the delay after the Palestinian militant group failed to provide a list listing the first three hostages to be released under the deal.
Hamas attributed the delay to "technical" reasons, without specifying what they were.
The ceasefire in Gaza has come into effect, Reuters reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced today that the release of three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza will take place today after 15 p.m. Central European Time.
The statement also said that four other women who are being held hostage will be released in seven days.
The Palestinian movement Hamas announced earlier today that three female hostages would be released today. They are Romy Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
Israel has received a list of hostages in Gaza who will be released today, and Israeli security personnel are checking "the details", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, Reuters reported.
It was also said that the office, through representatives of the Israeli military, had begun informing the families of the hostages that they would be released.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced today that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 11:15 local time (10:15 Central European Time), Reuters reports.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Israel had received a list of hostages in Gaza that Hamas would release today.
The agency said that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had begun notifying families that the hostages would be released today.
Reuters also reports that a statement from the Hamas movement states that three female hostages will be released today. They are Romy Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari.
Israel has not yet released the names of the three hostages.
Mediators have told Israel they have received the names of hostages to be released today as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal, but the list is not yet in Israeli hands, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Israel's hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two other ministers from his nationalist-religious party have resigned from their posts in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over the Gaza ceasefire agreement, their party said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Dozens of Israelis protested against the ceasefire agreement last night in Jerusalem and briefly blocked a main road, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign and for the war to continue.
Many carried fake coffins wrapped in the Israeli flag and banners saying the ceasefire was a betrayal of soldiers killed in the war, the Associated Press reported.
Yehoshua Shin, whose son was killed fighting Hamas extremists on October 7, 2023, criticized the agreement because it provides for the release of Palestinians from prison and called on US President-elect Donald Trump to delay the agreement until a total victory over the extremist Hamas.
Israeli media reports that three people were arrested at the protest for allegedly attacking police officers at the entrance to the city.
A police spokesman said they threw stones at police officers on duty.
Right-wing protesters blocked traffic for the fourth time since a ceasefire agreement was announced on Wednesday.
The agreement, which calls for a pause in the more than 15-month-long war and the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli prisons, was approved by the Israeli government early Saturday.
The agreement, brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt and negotiated indirectly over months, is the second ceasefire agreement in the devastating war.
The ceasefire was postponed this morning after Netanyahu asked Hamas to provide a list of hostages who should be released during the day, but Hamas said it could not do so for "technical" reasons, Reuters reported.
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Israeli military strikes have killed at least eight Palestinians across the Gaza Strip amid a delay in the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian emergency services said, Reuters reports.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said earlier today that the implementation of the ceasefire was delayed because Hamas had not fulfilled its obligation to send Israel a list of hostages to be released on the first day.

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