The Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped 49 days ago from kibbutzim near Gaza and dragged into the enclave during Hamas' assault, were released as part of a limited cease-fire deal amid Gaza war

Netanyahu knows that the IDF and its soldiers will get credit for crushing Gaza, just as he understands that the hostage deal is the first thing that will be able to help him climb out of the political abyss he has fallen into

Four-day cease-fire went into effect Friday morning at 7 A.M. local time, first group of hostage women and children set to be released on Friday at 4 P.M. ■ Hamas says won't allow Red Cross to visit remaining hostages ■ ■ Cease-fire will see aid enter Gaza, fighting pause, 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners released ■ Israel confirms arrest of director of Gaza's Al-Shifa: 'Oversaw hospital's use as Hamas HQ' ■ Hezbollah claims responsibility for large barrage of rockets into Israel’s north ■ At least 1,200 civilians and soldiers killed in Israel since October 7, 236 hostages held in Gaza Strip ■ Hamas-controlled health ministry: 14,854 dead in Gaza

A pause in the fighting will enable the IDF to organize for a new offensive thrust in the south of the Gaza Strip - which could take months ■ The United States, concerned over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and a revolt by young Democrats, is also rightly troubled by situation in the West Bank ■

Since the war broke out, the feeling of security of residents living on Israel's borders has been badly shaken. People who once enjoyed a calm life and pastoral landscapes are now arming themselves and wondering how long it will take the enemy to breach the flimsy fences

Arab diplomats who recently met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and other senior officials in Qatar say that every proposal or discussion about the future of the group or the hostage deal was met with the answer, 'We’ll see what they say in Gaza'

Both Iran and the U.S. understand that the war in Gaza – and the clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border in particular – could drag the entire region into a war that could force them to fight each other directly. As far as Iran is concerned, the cease-fire could be an opportunity to return to the status-quo

The way to win a war is to vanquish the foe, but the way to end a conflict is to allow the rival side to share positions of power, according to sociologist and political philosopher Andreas Wimmer, a world authority on ethno-political conflicts