Hamas still has 20,000 fighters, though new recruits are of lower quality; has hundreds of rockets, some long-range appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Mideast experts urge excluding UNRWA from Gaza reconstruction under President Trump's peace plan, citing the agency's alleged Hamas connections and incompetence.

US Vice President JD Vance expressed "great optimism" on Tuesday that the Gaza truce would hold, during a visit to Israel aimed at shoring up support for a ceasefire and post-war reconstruction plans.

An Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory is halted "until further notice," the first major test of the ceasefire.

Hamas’s Radaa (deterrence) force claims it arrested members of the "Popular Forces" militia, seizing weapons in southern Gaza.

The Trump peace plan calls for an international security force in the Gaza Strip, but countries that might send troops are wary of danger, an unclear mission and being seen as occupiers.

Support for a peace plan grows as negotiators work in Cairo to seal the deal, with Gazan militias backing Trump’s proposal amid fighting and calls for new local governance.

This lack of clarity about timetables and mechanisms to transition from one phase to another makes things difficult.“The decision by [Jared] Kushner and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was to reach a ceasefire agreement first,