Medical evacuees from Gaza have entered Egypt as the Rafah crossing reopens, but few Palestinians will be allowed to cross in either direction daily. Monday's opening is a key step in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas but mostly symbolic. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave devastated Gaza via the crossing, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to enter and return home. It was unclear if anyone was allowed into Gaza on Monday. The crossing had been closed since Israeli troops seized it in May 2024.

A Gaza Health Ministry official says Israel has turned over the bodies of 15 Palestinians just days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage. The transfer on Thursday marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas. The return of all remaining hostages living or dead had been a key part of the first phase in the ceasefire that paused the war in October. A spokesperson at Gaza's health ministry says the bodies handed over Thursday were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. It comes after Israel announced Monday it found and identified the remains of the last Israeli hostage at a cemetery in northern Gaza.

Israel says the remains of the final hostage in Gaza have been recovered, clearing the way for the next phase of the ceasefire that stopped the Israel-Hamas war. Monday's announcement came a day after Israel's government said the military was conducting a "large-scale operation" in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate the remains of Ran Gvili. The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefire's first phase. Gvili's family had urged Israel's government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned. Hamas says it now has committed to all terms of the ceasefire's first phase.

Israel's prime minister says a former U.N. Mideast envoy, Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, has been chosen to serve as the director-general for U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace aimed at overseeing the peace process in Gaza. The appointment marks an important step forward for Trump's Mideast peace plan, which has moved slowly since an October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement Thursday after meeting Mladenov in Jerusalem. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been officially announced, confirmed the selection.

Israel says it launched an airstrike in southern Gaza in retaliation for an attack by militants earlier in the day that wounded five Israeli soldiers. Israel also has received remains in Gaza of a possible hostage and says it will begin allowing Palestinians to leave the war-torn territory through a border crossing with Egypt. The remains will be examined to determine whether they belong to either of the two last hostages in Gaza. It was not immediately clear when the Gaza border crossing would be opened. Egypt wants Palestinians to immediately be able to return to Gaza through the crossing. Israel says it won't allow two-way crossings until all the Gaza hostages are returned.

Israel has returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians, following Hamas' return of the remains of an Israeli hostage. This exchange is part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Meanwhile, Turkish, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators met in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the next steps. The next phases of the truce include deploying an armed International Stabilization Force and developing an international body to govern Gaza. But violence continued in Gaza as well as in the West Bank, where Israel said it was conducting a "broad counterterrorism operation" on Wednesday.

Israel says it has received human remains that Palestinian militants handed over to the Red Cross, but it is not immediately clear if they are one of three hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday the remains will be taken for forensic testing and identification. The handover is the latest under the fragile ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10. Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it found the remains earlier this week in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in central Gaza. The remaining hostages yet to be handed over are two Israelis and a man from Thailand.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's army says militants in Gaza have handed over a body believed to be a hostage. Since the ceasefire between Israel and…

Israel's military says the remains of a hostage in Gaza have been turned over and are now in Israel. Tuesday's handover is the latest sign of progress under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Ahead of the announcement, Hamas had returned the remains of 20 hostages to Israel under the ceasefire. If the latest remains are confirmed, that would leave the remains of seven in Gaza. The ceasefire began Oct. 10 and is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.

Israel has returned the bodies of 45 Palestinians, according to the Red Cross. It comes a day after militants returned the remains of three Israeli soldiers killed in a Hamas-led attack in October 2023. The exchange is part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Since the truce began in October, Palestinian militants have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight still in Gaza. For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians, totaling 270 since the ceasefire started.