Dozens of masked men rampaged through two Palestinian villages in the northern West Bank late Monday, hurling stones and setting cars and property

TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a "last minute crisis" with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited agreement to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed dozens of people across the war-ravaged territory.

The Israeli cabinet will meet to give approval to a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, control the crowd while Red Cross vehicles come to collect Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar, File)

Israel said it will maintain control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas. A statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday denied reports that the Palestinian Authority would control the crossing.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security breakdown on Oct. 7, 2023.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Gaza would never again pose a threat to Israel, as a tense calm prevailed on the second day of a truce in the Palestinian territory. Three Israeli hostages,

Netanyahu's office said Thursday his Cabinet won't meet to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal until Hamas backs down from what it called a "last minute crisis."

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ceasefire that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages until Hamas backs down from what it called a “last minute crisis.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed Gaza would never again pose a threat to Israel, as a tense calm prevailed on the second day of a truce in the Palestinian territory.Three Israeli hostages,