HE Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi discussed with President of the International Committee of the

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassim Al-Budaiwi, discussed cooperation in humanitarian and relief

Mughrabi and James Mackenzie JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday after a nearly three-hour delay, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East.

First phase of deal includes Palestinian detainees’ release in exchange for hostages, with Israeli forces expected to withdraw in 2nd stage and finally, Gaza’s rebuilding in 3rd phase.

Israel’s military campaign has pulverized neighborhoods, damaged health infrastructure and depleted food, water and fuel supplies. In December, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of “acts of genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by deliberately depriving them of adequate water supplies.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is set to begin shortly. However, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the ceasefire will not begin until Tel Aviv gets a list of the hostages set to be released.

GAZA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Palestinians poured into the streets to celebrate and headed back to the rubble of their bombed-out homes on Sunday, as the Red Cross went to retrieve the first hostages to be freed under a ceasefire deal that halted fighting in the Gaza Strip.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect on Sunday morning. Hostages held in the strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be freed in the first phase of the deal. Meanwhile,

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) asked on Saturday the parties to the Gaza ceasefire deal, which comes

Thousands of families in Gaza are waiting for the ceasefire to take effect in order to find out the fate of their missing loved ones.

The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see a total of 33 hostages returned from Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released.