Italy says monitoring mission, which was halted when Hamas seized control of Strip in 2007, 'was launched at the request of Israel and the PA'

NEW ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL, Egypt — Egypt’s chief diplomat on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay,” raising pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal.

For the EU Border Assistance Mission in Rafah to effectively restart it needed a cessation of hostilities between terrorist organisation Hamas and Israel, which happened on 15 January when the two parties to the conflict signed a ceasefire, which then entered into force on 19 January.

The European Union is in talks to revive a civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah following the announcement of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

Hamas will release more Israeli hostages this week, officials said Monday, including Agam Berger, who was not released along with four of her colleagues on Saturday.

Hamas released four hostages, all female soldiers, and Israel 200 Palestinian prisoners as the latest cease-fire exchange occurred on Saturday.

The German government plans to send border management experts to the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, government sources have told dpa. To facilitate the deployment, Berlin plans to amend a 2005 Cabinet decision that previously allowed only unarmed personnel to be sent,

Qatar prepares for the start of negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement as thousands return to their devastated homes

The European Union agreed Monday to restart a monitoring mission at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of efforts to bolster the truce that halted Israel's war on the enclave.

Israel is letting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians return to heavily destroyed northern Gaza as part of a fragile ceasefire