Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day from Israel where he began his first visit to the region as the top US diplomat

Israel and the United States have a common approach to Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday, praising President Donald Trump’s “bold vision” for the territory after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Palestinian militants released three Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian inmates freed by Israel, completing the latest swap despite fears the Gaza truce deal was near collapse.

Gaza fighters handed three Israeli hostages over to the Red Cross on Saturday

Saudi Arabia will host the leaders of four Arab countries at a summit on February 20 to discuss Donald Trump's proposal for a US takeover of Gaza, a source with knowledge of the preparations said Friday.

Hamas said yesterday it was committed to honouring a truce with Israel that is facing its worst crisis since it took effect, and added that mediators were pushing for hostages to be released this weekend as planned.

Israel’s military has called up reservists in preparation for a possible resumption of fighting in Gaza if Hamas fails to meet a Saturday deadline to release more Israeli hostages and a nearly month-old ceasefire breaks down.

A Hamas official said yesterday Israeli hostages can be brought home from Gaza only if a fragile ceasefire is respected, dismissing the “language of threats” after US President Donald Trump said he would “let hell break out” if they were not freed.

President Donald Trump said Palestinians would have no right to return to Gaza under his US takeover plan, describing his proposal in excerpts of an interview released yesterday as a “real estate development for the future.”

A Hamas official said Israeli troops completed their withdrawal yesterday from a strategic road cutting through the Gaza Strip, part of a fragile truce deal that Israel said it was implementing.

Israel and Hamas completed their fifth hostage-prisoner swap under a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal yesterday, with the frail, disoriented appearance of the three freed Israelis sparking dismay among their relatives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Saudi Arabia had enough land to provide the Palestinians with a state.

Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday that there should not be negotiations with the United States, days after US President Donald Trump called for a new nuclear deal.

US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza will imperil attempts to forge landmark ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel and fuel anti-American sentiment in the oil-rich kingdom, analysts said.

Israel's defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for "voluntary" departures from Gaza, as President Donald Trump ruled out sending US troops to the territory

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards yesterday unveiled the country’s first drone carrier in Gulf waters, state media reported.

An overnight raid on a police checkpoint claimed by the Pakistani Taliban killed two officers, police said yesterday, while one more remains missing after being abducted in the northwest.

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that Israel would hand over Gaza to the United States after fighting was over and the enclave’s population was already resettled elsewhere, which he said meant no US troops would be needed on the ground.

Palestinian group Hamas yesterday lashed out at President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they want to leave or not.

The Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank is heading in a “catastrophic direction”, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said yesterday, after a new Israeli military operation levelled several buildings.