As Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the cease-fire deal, Israel’s prime minister has vowed a return to “intense fighting” if hostages are not freed by Saturday.

The discovery of Ronald Ojeda’s body encased in concrete in Chile has raised new fears over how far President Nicolás Maduro will go to keep his stranglehold on Venezuela.

Hostages freed before Saturday’s exchange have expressed relief and joy, while descriptions of the torment they endured are trickling out.

During the war with Hamas, troops patrolled the Netzarim Corridor, which splits Gaza, preventing evacuated Palestinians from returning north.

My father’s killer is being released to save hostages.

The scenes at the latest hostage release in Gaza angered Israelis and created even more uncertainty surrounding the next steps in a phased cease-fire deal.

The release of the three men was the fifth in a staggered hostage-for-prisoner exchange laid out in a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel.

The Israelis were identified as Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben-Ami, all of whom were abducted during the 2023 Hamas-led attack. Israel is expected to let dozens of Palestinian prisoners go in return.

Keith Siegel was abducted along with his wife in the October 2023 Hamas-led attack. His wife was freed in a previous cease-fire.

Hamas freed three Israelis and five Thai nationals in exchange for more than 100 Palestinians. But the militant group struggled to control crowds, prompting a delay.

Hamas released eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thais, as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange.

Bloodshed over the weekend highlighted the brittleness of the cease-fires in both places. Still, Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah each have reasons to postpone a new escalation, at least for a few weeks.

Before their release, the hostages, four female soldiers, were led onto a stage in Gaza City, surrounded by masked, uniformed fighters.

Israel is preventing movement to the north of Gaza until plans are set for the release of Arbel Yehud, one of the last civilian women held in Gaza.

Hamas identified four female soldiers abducted from a military base as those who will be freed in the next exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The fate of the Israel-Hamas agreement will require huge effort.

More than 30 hostages are set to be released during the cease-fire in Gaza. But many Israelis have mixed feelings about the deal because they feel it came at a high price.

In exchange, the Biden administration released an Afghan man convicted on narcotics charges in 2008.

Thirty-three people were set to be released during the first phase of the agreement, including female soldiers and civilians, children and men over 50.

After 470 days of death, a tentative cease-fire began on Sunday in Gaza. But Palestinians could not be sure that the war had ended, and Israelis fear that many hostages will still remain in Gaza.