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U.S. Vice President JD Vance and other envoys projected optimism about Gaza's fragile ceasefire agreement during a visit to Israel even as they acknowledged significant challenges remain. They visited a new center in Israel for civilian and military cooperation as questions linger over the long-term plan for peace, including whether Hamas will disarm and who will govern the territory after the war. Vance noted flareups of violence in recent days but said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began on Oct. 10 is going "better than I expected." Late Tuesday, Israel said the remains of two hostages had been handed over to the military in Gaza.

Senior officials from the United States, Qatar and Israel have joined the third day of talks between Israel and Hamas in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It's a sign negotiators aim to tackle on Wednesday the toughest issues of an American plan to end the war in Gaza. Hamas says it's seeking solid guarantees from U.S. President Donald Trump that Israel won't resume its military campaign after the militant group releases its remaining hostages under the plan. Among the more senior officials joining the negotiations are Qatar's prime minister, Trump's Mideast envoy and a top adviser to Israel's prime minister. Trump says he could travel to the Middle East if talks are successful.

Israeli and Hamas officials launched indirect talks on a U.S.-drafted peace plan to end the war in Gaza. The talks are set to resume Tuesday in Egypt on the second anniversary of the war, after several hours of discussion on Monday. The negotiations focus on a ceasefire's first stage. That includes the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Many questions remain about the plan, including the disarmament of Hamas and the future governance of Gaza. Israel continued with airstrikes despite President Trump's order to stop.

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Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas' leadership in Qatar as they considered a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Tuesday's strike on the territory of a U.S. ally marked a stunning escalation and risked upending talks aimed at winding down the war and freeing hostages. Qatar, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the "flagrant violation of all international laws and norms" as smoke rose over its capital, Doha. Hamas said in a statement that its top leaders survived the strike but that five lower-level members were killed, including the son of Hamas' leader for Gaza. The White House described the attack as an 'unfortunate incident' that didn't advance peace in region.

Health officials in the Gaza Strip say that more than 64,000 have been killed in the nearly two-year war. Hamas and Israel meanwhile reiterated their incompatible demands for ending the fighting sparked by the militant group's attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Local hospitals said Thursday that Israeli strikes killed 28 people overnight. Israel is pressing ahead with its planned offensive in famine-stricken Gaza City. In the occupied West Bank, Israelis established a new settlement in a Palestinian city, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.

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Israeli and U.S. officials are to meet in Washington to discuss postwar Gaza. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday even as Israel's military calls the evacuation of Gaza City "inevitable" ahead of a new offensive and no signs of a ceasefire are in sight. The talks come amid mounting outrage over this week's double Israeli strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed journalists, emergency responders and others. Gaza health officials said the death toll from the attack on Nasser Hospital rose to 22 after two more people died Wednesday. The Israeli military offered no immediate explanation for striking twice and no evidence for an assertion that six of the dead were militants.

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A key mediator on Gaza is stressing the urgency of brokering a ceasefire after Hamas showed a "positive response" to a proposal. But Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive on some of the territory's most populated areas. The prospect of an expanded assault on areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians has sparked international outrage. Palestinians say nowhere is safe, and many Israelis fear for the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Qatar on Tuesday warned that even if a ceasefire deal is reached, it will not be "instantaneously implemented."

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Hamas says it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza that would still need Israel's approval. Israel indicates its positions haven't changed. Gaza's Health Ministry meanwhile says the Palestinian death toll has passed 62,000 from 22 months of war. Israel announced plans to reoccupy Gaza City and other heavily populated areas after ceasefire talks appeared to break down last month. Those plans have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining hostages taken in the 2023 attack that sparked the war. A widened military offensive will worsen the humanitarian crisis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that Ukraine controls as part of a ceasefire deal. Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls because it was unconstitutional and would only serve as a springboard for a future Russian invasion. Zelenskyy said Putin wants the remaining 9,000 square kilometers (3,500 square miles) of Donetsk under Kyiv's control, where the war's toughest battles are grinding on, as part of a ceasefire plan. Doing so would hand Russia almost the entirety of the Donbas, a region comprising Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.

President Donald Trump could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. A White House official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. News of a potential meeting came after Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow. Trump posted that the meeting was productive and he had updated European allies. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is open to meeting with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The potential meeting was first reported by The New York Times.