Hamas released seven hostages into the custody of the Red Cross on Monday, the first to be released as part of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. There was no immediate information on their condition.

A deal to release hostages held by Hamas and establish a cease-fire in Gaza was approved Thursday by Israel’s government. A host of details still need to be resolved in a subsequent phase of the agreement,

Medical teams at an Israeli hospital awaiting the arrival of hostages expected to be released from Gaza are "prepared for anything," Noa Eliakim Raz, head of the Returning Hostages Unit at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, told NBC News.

It is unclear if disagreement over the list of Palestinian prisoners will affect the release of hostages within the agreed 72 hours.

Beijing has slammed Donald Trump’s plan to impose additional 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese exports and threatened new countermeasures as it blamed the US for escalating tensions between the two powers. Here’s what to know.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El Sisi also said Wednesday that the messages he had received out of the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh were "very encouraging."