Qatar’s foreign ministry said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday.

Mughrabi, Maayan Lubell and Emily RoseJERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Palestinians headed for the rubble of their former homes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Israelis prepared to receive the first hostages still held by Hamas after a ceasefire deal took effect that could pave the way for an end to the 15-month-old war.

By Maayan Lubell, Emily Rose, Nidal al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Fighting in the Gaza Strip halted on Sunday as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas took effect after a brief delay,

What began as a battle between Israel and Hamas morphed into a much wider regional conflict that has reshaped much of the Middle East.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday, opening the way to a possible end to a devastating 15-month conflict.

As C.I.A. director, William J. Burns was deeply focused on China and Russia when the Middle East conflict plunged him back into his old life.

Though the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will mean an end to the fighting, the devastating consequences of the war will drag on for years in both Gaza and Israel.

Palestinian militant group Hamas has been significantly battered by 15 months of war in Gaza but has not suffered the eradication that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended, experts say.After sparking the deadliest war in the Palestinian territory's history,

A year after Israel vowed to wipe Hamas ‘off the face of the earth’ following the 7 October attack into Israel the conflict has spread across the Middle East

This time, the rearrangement looks far more radical than the puny size of Gaza might have suggested. Perhaps not since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 has the regional puzzle been so swiftly and wholly transformed.

Enabled by Western assistance, largely through arms sales and security advice, Israel’s military operations across Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen have drawn worldwide condemnation for their adverse humanitarian impact and extensive destruction.