Middle East latest: Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect Sunday

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday, mediator Qatar said.

The ceasefire will pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israel's Cabinet approved the deal early on Saturday; the ceasefire will see the first hostages released.

Brokered by mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt in months of indirect talks between the warring sides, the ceasefire is the second truce achieved in the devastating conflict.

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Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

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A summary:

Turkish President Erdogan praises Gaza ceasefire

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is a “hopeful development” but also warned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a “long record” of violating ceasefire agreements.

“Everyone should do their part to prevent a return to the past in Gaza, and constant pressure should be put on Israel,” Erdogan said at a ruling party congress on Saturday.

Erdogan also addressed Turkey’s relationship with the new Syrian administration and praising its “inclusive“ approach.

“We will provide all kinds of support so that Syria can become whole, strong, and prosperous again,” Erdogan said.

Houthi missiles trigger sirens in central, southern Israel

JERUSALEM — Yemen-based Houthi rebels said they fired a ballistic missile targeting Israel's defense ministry.

The missile triggered sirens in central Israel early Saturday. Israel’s military said there was minor damage from falling shrapnel.

The Iran-backed Houthis have been firing projectiles at Israel and at vessels on the crucial Red Sea shipping corridor in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has responded with repeated strikes against what it calls Houthi infrastructure at ports in Yemen and in the rebel-controlled capital, Sanaa.

Israel’s military later Saturday reported another launch from Yemen that set off sirens in southern Israel, with no reported injuries.

Family of the youngest remaining hostage mark his second birthday in captivity

TEL AVIV, Israel — The family of Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, marked his second birthday on Saturday, a day before a ceasefire is expected to go into effect.

Kfir was less than nine months old when he was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his brother Ariel, now 5, and parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas. It is unknown if the family is still alive.

In December 2023, Hamas claimed that Shiri Bibas and her two sons had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. Yarden Bibas, who was kidnapped separately, was filmed being informed of their deaths. Israel dismissed the Hamas claim and said the video of Yarden Bibas was “psychological terror,” but there have been no signs of the family since.

Kfir, with red hair and a toothless smile, has been in captivity for almost two thirds of his life and has become a symbol across Israel for the helplessness and anger over the hostages’ plight.

“In our worst nightmares, we never thought we would reach this day,” Yifat Zailer, the cousin of Shiri Bibas, said earlier this week.

Last year on his birthday, the family marked what they called “ the saddest birthday in the world.” This year on his birthday, the family commissioned copies of the pink elephant Kfir is clutching in his hands in the famous hostage photo that has been posted around the world, in hopes that when he comes home they will be able to bring him his favorite toy.

The entire Bibas family is expected to be released in the first six weeks of the ceasefire, according to lists obtained by the Associated Press. In the first stage, 33 hostages will be released in exchange for approximately 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, though it is unclear how many of the 33 hostages are still alive.

Palestinians prepare to welcome home relatives released from Israeli prisons

KAFR NIEMA, West Bank — Ahead of the first day of the ceasefire, some Palestinians in the West Bank prepare to welcome home their relatives. Some have spent years in Israeli prisons.

Earlier this week Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of the names of 95 Palestinian prisoners set to be released on Sunday. Most of them are accused of crimes such as incitement, vandalism, supporting terror activities or attempted murder.

In the village of Kafr Niema in the West Bank, the Ataya family is hoping to mark their son’s birthday on Sunday with his release.

“He will turn 19 and begin his 20th year. It will be a celebration of both a new year of his life and God willing, his release,” said his father, Nasser Ataya.

His son, Osama’s name is on the list. He was arrested after the war broke out in October 2023, accused of conducting terror activities, said his father.

Israel’s Prison Services says it will carry out the transportation of the prisoners when they’re released, rather than the International Red Cross, to avoid “public expressions of joy.”

The lists of prisoners are published to also allow members of the public to petition Israeli courts against the release of a specific prisoner. They can submit petitions up until the prisoners are released on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry said.

Syria wants to take up its seat in the Arab League

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani says his country wants to “restore its seat” in the Cairo-based Arab League and participate in the next Arab summit scheduled later this year in Iraq.

Al-Shibani held a joint press conference with Hossam Zaki, the league’s deputy chief, who was on an official visit to Damascus.

The Arab League’s readmitted Syria in 2023, after shunning it for 12 years because of a brutal crackdown by then-President Bashar Assad against demonstrators.

Syria’s new authority is currently led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group

Al-Shibani called on Arab countries to help with the reconstruction process, especially in infrastructure sectors. He added that Damascus was open to investments to boost Syria’s economy.

He also said Syria will work with Arab countries to guarantee stability in the region.

UN chief pledges international support as Lebanon rebuilds

BEIRUT — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said the international community will back Lebanon “for what we believe will be a speedy recovery of this country, making it again the center of the Middle East.”

Guterres met on Saturday in Beirut with Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanon had been without a president for 26 months, part of the country's internal divisions. Guterres said that naming a president and prime minister makes it possible to consolidate the Lebanese institutions and to deploy the Lebanese army across the country, including areas from where Israeli troops will withdraw.

“As soon as the conflict ends, reconstruction begins,” Guterres said.

The U.S.-brokered 60-day ceasefire is an attempt to end the Israel-Hezbollah war that has killed more than 4,000 people and wounded over 16,000 in Lebanon.

Part of the deal is that Hezbollah will pull out from the border area with Israel and only Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers can have armed presence along the Israeli border.

Lebanese leaders asked Guterres to help repatriate Syrian refugees after a new authority took over power in Damascus.

A country of about 6 million people, Lebanon hosts nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands who are unregistered — the world’s highest refugee population per capita.

Hezbollah leader praises ceasefire deal

BEIRUT — Naim Kassem said the Palestinian people's sacrifices aborted Israel’s attempts to erase “the Palestinian cause.”

In comments aired on the Lebanese militant group's Al-Manar TV, he also said Lebanon's government has to firmly prevent Israeli violations of the U.S.-brokered 60-day truce aiming to end the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

Kassem said Israel violated the truce hundreds of times since it went into effect on Nov. 27, warning that Hezbollah’s patience “should not be tested.”

Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon have been calling for the disarmament of the group saying only Lebanese state institutions should have weapons.

Kassem said the group’s weapons should be part of a national defense strategy that is discussed in a national dialogue and warned that no Lebanese side should try to take advantage of the Israel war to make gains internally.

Qatar says ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday

Under the deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas has agreed to free three female hostages on Day 1 of the deal, four on Day 7 and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks.

Israel publishes list of more than 700 Palestinian prisoners to be released under the ceasefire deal

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Justice Ministry has published a list of over 700 Palestinian prisoners who are to be released under the ceasefire deal pausing the war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

The list came just hours after Israel’s full Cabinet approved the ceasefire deal.

The Justice Ministry said the Palestinian prisoners would be released no earlier than 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, the day the exchange is set to begin. The list includes members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups, some of whom are serving lifetime sentences and are convicted of serious offenses such as murder.

The list did not appear to include Marwan Barghouti, the 64-year-old who is the highest-profile prisoner held by Israel and seen by many Palestinians as a prime candidate to become their president in the future. He was a leader in the West Bank during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.

Hamas has demanded that Israel release him as part of any ceasefire agreement, a possibility Israeli officials have ruled out.