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Middle East latest: Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees 3 Israeli hostages

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Middle East latest: Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees 3 Israeli hostages
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News

Middle East latest: Israel releases 90 Palestinian prisoners after Hamas frees 3 Israeli hostages

2025-01-20 10:35 Last Updated At:10:41

Israel has freed 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The release came early Monday, more than seven hours after three Israeli hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza returned to Israel.

A large bus carrying dozens of Palestinian detainees exited the gates of Israel’s Ofer prison, just outside the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israel’s military, which occupies the West Bank, warned Palestinians against public celebration, but crowds thronged the buses after they left the prison, some people climbing on top or waving flags, including those of Hamas.

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Palestinians celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Palestinians celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinians wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians let out a "zaghrouta" or joyous yell to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians let out a "zaghrouta" or joyous yell to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk through the destruction by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians, some armed, return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians, some armed, return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians wave the Palestinian flag as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians wave the Palestinian flag as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

A display of yellow chairs representing hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and a banner reading "now!" in Hebrew, are seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as three hostages are set to be released from captivity, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A display of yellow chairs representing hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and a banner reading "now!" in Hebrew, are seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as three hostages are set to be released from captivity, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A woman reacts as people gather in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, where three hostages are set to be released from captivity in the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A woman reacts as people gather in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, where three hostages are set to be released from captivity in the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Displaced Palestinians flash V-sign as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians flash V-sign as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

An Israeli soldier walks past a graffiti, calling for the return of the hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 , 2023 Hamas cross-border attacks in Israel, in Kfar Saba, Israel, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli soldier walks past a graffiti, calling for the return of the hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 , 2023 Hamas cross-border attacks in Israel, in Kfar Saba, Israel, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Truck drivers of humanitarian aids wait at Baloza check point, on their way to cross the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip , Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Truck drivers of humanitarian aids wait at Baloza check point, on their way to cross the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip , Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a video featuring Kfir Bibas, who, along with his parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas, and his brother Ariel, is still being held hostage in Gaza, plays behind them during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a video featuring Kfir Bibas, who, along with his parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas, and his brother Ariel, is still being held hostage in Gaza, plays behind them during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Balloons are released to mark the second birthday of hostage Kfir Bibas as demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Balloons are released to mark the second birthday of hostage Kfir Bibas as demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Demonstrators hold torches as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators hold torches as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators light flares as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators light flares as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

There were fireworks and whistles, and shouts of “God is great.” Those released were hoisted onto others’ shoulders or embraced.

According to a list provided by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs, all of those released are women or teens, the youngest 15. Israel detained them for what it said were offenses related to Israel’s security, from throwing stones to more serious accusations like attempted murder.

The Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive. Nearly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead.

Here's the latest:

BEITUNIA, West Bank — Bara’a Al-Fuqha, 22, hugged her family as she stepped off the white Red Cross bus and into the sea of cheering Palestinians welcoming the 90 Palestinians freed by Israel early Monday.

A medical student at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem before her arrest, she had spent around six months in Damon Prison. She said she was held under administrative detention — a policy of indefinite imprisonment without formal charge or trial that Israel almost exclusively uses against Palestinians. Israel says that the cases of Palestinians released as part of the exchange with Hamas for Israeli hostages all relate to state security charges.

Al-Fuqha said her conditions in Israeli prison were “terrible,” her access to food and water limited.

“It was like, when we tried to hold our heads high, the guards would do their best to hold us down,” she said.

But now, reunited with her family, al-Fuqha displayed a sense of relief and defiance.

“Thank God, I am here with my family, I’m satisfied,” she said. “But my joy is limited, because so many among us Palestinians are being tortured and abused. Our people in Gaza are suffering. God willing, we will work to free them, too.”

That reflected a wider feeling in the crowd, with many saying this release offered a small, if fleeting, moment of joy, tempered by the 15 months of death and destruction in Gaza.

JERUSALEM — United Nations humanitarian officials say that more than 630 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered the besieged Gaza Strip, in implementation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

In a post on social media platform X, Tom Fletcher, the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs said that over 630 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, with at least 300 of them bringing humanitarian assistance into the north.

“There is no time to lose,” Fletcher wrote. “After 15 months of relentless war, the humanitarian needs are staggering.”

The Gaza ceasefire deal, which began Sunday with an initial phase lasting six weeks, calls for the entry into Gaza of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief daily. Over the course of the deal’s first stage, 33 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza will also be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Aid workers have been scrambling to address Gaza’s dire humanitarian needs after 15 months of devastating war and tough Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries and the movement of convoys within Gaza. Lawlessness and looting by armed gangs has also been a major obstacle to aid distribution.

Before this latest Israel-Hamas war began, Gaza was under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that allowed the entry of some 500 trucks a day carrying commercial supplies and humanitarian aid.

JERUSALEM — Hamas’ office of prisoner affairs has issued a statement saying the delay in Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners was the result of a last-minute conflict over the names on the list.

Seven hours after three Israeli hostages were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian crowds gathered outside Israel’s Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah were still waiting for the release of 90 Palestinians.

The Hamas statement said: “During the process of checking the names of the prisoners being released from Ofer prison, there was found to be one female prisoner missing.”

Hamas said that its officials were in communication with mediators and the Red Cross in hopes of pressuring Israel “to adhere to the agreed-upon list of prisoners.” It said that the issue was being resolved and it expected the buses of the released prisoners to soon depart.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the delay.

The Israeli military has been firing projectiles and moving journalists waiting to cover the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire that began Sunday. That’s according to AP video, which showed smoke trailing from objects landing nearby.

The release of the 90 prisoners will take place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Nearly seven hours have passed since the first three hostages were released from Gaza shortly after the ceasefire began.

It is now approaching 1 a.m. local time. Israel’s military has warned Palestinians against public celebration.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser says the U.S. has assured Israel that if Hamas runs afoul of a Gaza ceasefire deal, “we will be with them.”

Michael Waltz said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that trust and confidence is why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “felt comfortable pushing this through his government.”

He says the Trump administration will support Israel as it is “going to do what it has to do” to ensure Hamas never rules the Palestinian territory again.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military released the first photos of the hostages reuniting with their mothers at a reception center in southern Israel, before they were flown by helicopter to the hospital.

In the photos, the women embrace their mothers. Merav Leshem Gonen cradled her daughter Romi, beaming. Emily Damari embraced her mother, and in a video call with her brother, showed off a hand where she lost two fingers on Oct. 7. Doron Steinbrecher and her mother Simona embraced in a fierce hug.

The hostages and their mothers have arrived at a hospital in central Israel, where they will reunite with the rest of their family and receive medical treatment. They are expected to stay in the hospital for a number of days. All of the hostages were able to walk under their own power, despite concerns about their conditions.

Outside of the hospital, hundreds of people danced and cheered to welcome the hostages back to Israel.

WASHINGTON — Israel’s ambassador to the United States credited President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, along with his country’s degrading of Hamas, for the ceasefire deal that took effect Sunday.

Ambassador Michael Herzog said Hamas realized they were on their own in their fight and “Trump came into the picture and said he wants a deal,” pushing them toward it.

On “Fox News Sunday,” he noted the “unprecedented cooperation” between President Joe Biden’s team and Trump’s envoys.

Going forward, he says he sees “a role for the U.S. and other regional actors to apply and create alternatives to Hamas and stabilize the situation.”

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the release of a British-Israeli woman along with two other hostages Sunday as “wonderful and long-overdue news."

He also cautioned that the world must not forget about those still in captivity by Hamas militants.

Emily Damari, 28, who has dual British and Israeli nationality, was one of the three female hostages freed Sunday. Her mother, Mandy, released a statement of thanks for supporters “who never stopped saying her name.”

“After 471 days Emily is finally home,” her mother said.

Starmer said despite the news, Sunday “also represents another day of suffering for those who haven’t made it home yet.”

“While this ceasefire deal should be welcomed, we must not forget about those who remain in captivity under Hamas,” he said. “We must now see the remaining phases of the ceasefire deal implemented in full and on schedule, including the release of those remaining hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

The father of an Israel-American held by Hamas says he’s grateful for the incoming Trump administration for its work on getting the ceasefire deal over the finish line.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, says the outgoing Biden administration “did extraordinary work” on the framework of the deal.

“However, it took a tweet, the subsequent statements from President-elect Trump to get this home,” the father said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “And what we ask of President Trump and his team is to keep their finger on this.”

President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, said Sunday that Sagui Dekel-Chen is one of the two Israeli-American hostages would will be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement over the coming weeks.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser says “we have a full ceasefire in effect” and expects 800 trucks of humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza on Sunday.

Brett McGurk helped hammer out a deal in Doha, Qatar, along with President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and other mediators from Qatar and Egypt.

He noted on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that two Israeli-American hostages will come out in the first phase of the deal over the coming weeks.

“We’ve been working seamlessly with the incoming team. I think this is a testament to President Biden and to President Trump allowing us to work together,” he said.

TEL AVIV, Israel — They jumped and clapped, and cried out and wept. Israel’s military has released footage of relatives watching the three released hostages meeting military representatives after being released.

The military said the three women had reached the initial reception point in Israel to be reunited with their mothers. They would have an initial medical assessment and go to a hospital.

“This is an exciting day,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, and told the freed women that “an entire nation embraces you.”

Drone footage by The Associated Press in the opening hours of the ceasefire in Gaza shows a gray and devastated landscape in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The footage of what had been densely populated neighborhoods shows roofs caved in, shattered buildings and massive support beams holding up nothing at all.

The images also show Palestinians moving on foot on some of the city’s streets as people begin to assess the damage without the threat of Israeli fire.

The United Nations has said much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden says “the guns in Gaza have gone silent” under a ceasefire deal he outlined in May.

Biden spoke during a visit to a church in North Charleston, South Carolina.

Speaking of the hostages that were being released under the ceasefire, Biden said he had just received a call saying the three were being released. Although he stressed that it was early and it wasn’t immediately clear whether they were out of Gaza, Biden said: “They appear to be in good health.”

Biden said it now falls on the Trump administration to help implement the deal.

“I was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days. It was both necessary and effective and unprecedented,” Biden said.

“Success is going to require persistence and continuing support for our friends in the region, and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence,” the president said.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Families and friends of some of the Palestinians prisoners set to be released from Israel in exchange for hostages in Gaza gathered in Ramallah as cars honked and people waved the Palestinian flag.

About 90 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank and Jerusalem will be released Sunday after Hamas freed the three Israeli hostages. The Palestinians include 69 women.

Fadia Barghouti was arrested from Ramallah in April and spent three months in prison without being given a reason, she said. Tonight she hopes to see friends she had been detained with.

“I’m happy, because of the ceasefire people can live peacefully,” she said.

She said the war in Gaza is evidence that no one in the Middle East can live peacefully until Palestinians have their rights.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over to Israeli forces there in the first test of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The three hostages are Romi Gonen, 24, kidnapped from the Nova music festival, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

Later on Sunday, Israel is expected to release around 90 Palestinian prisoners.

A gradual release of 33 captives over the next six weeks has been agreed on. In exchange, Israel will release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained.

BEIRUT — The 90 Palestinian prisoners set to be released Sunday in exchange for three hostages held by Hamas include 69 women, according to a list provided to The Associated Press.

The youngest is Mahmoud Aliowat, 15.

The prisoners to be released include Khalida Jarrar, 62, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist faction with an armed group that has carried out attacks on Israelis. New York-based Human Rights Watch said her repeated arrests are part of Israel’s wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition.

Dalal Khaseeb, 53, the sister of former Hamas second-in-command Saleh Arouri, is also on the list, which was provided by Hamas. Arouri was killed in an Israeli strike in a southern Beirut suburb in January 2024.

Also listed for release is Abla Abdelrasoul, 68, the wife of detained PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat who killed an Israeli Cabinet minister in 2001 and has been serving a 30-year sentence.

CAIRO — The head of the Rafah municipality in Gaza has told journalists that it has become a “disaster city,” with massive destruction there.

Ahmed al-Sufi said Israel’s military has destroyed a large part of the infrastructure including water, electricity and road networks, in addition to thousands of homes and public facilities.

“Rafah faces a humanitarian tragedy,” he said, as Palestinians across the territory are beginning to discover the scope of the destruction in the first hours of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron says France intends to work with other nations to ensure “the full implementation” of the Gaza ceasefire.

A statement Sunday from his office said Macron “is delighted that the Israeli Cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement” and that “he warmly thanked the Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators who contributed to it.”

His office said Macron spoke Saturday by phone with the families of two French-Israeli hostages still in captivity, Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi.

The statement said their families “have been living for 15 months in an anguish that the entire French nation shares. ... Ohad and Ofer are now both on the first list of hostages to be released.” Macron has said that the two are on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau expressed concerns about the hostages’ health.

“I don’t know in what condition they will return. We don’t know how many are alive or dead and, among the living, in what psychological state we’ll find them in. But the hostages will be progressively released. It’s a good thing,” he told French broadcaster BFMTV.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for national security adviser says the Gaza ceasefire deal should be “celebrated.”

“We will see three women coming out alive,” Michael Waltz, Trump’s pick to be his national security, told CBS of the first hostages set to be released. “Had we not entered this, these people would have died.”

Waltz said the hostages held by Hamas have been captive longer than U.S. hostages held during the Iranian crisis in 1979, “but now we’re going to have a Reagan moment.”

That recalled those hostage being freed after 444 days when Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.

“We’re going to have President Trump being sworn-in as hostages are coming out alive,” Waltz said.

Palestinians celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Palestinians celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the West Bank city of Beitunia, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinians wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians wave Hezbollah and Palestinian flags to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Humanitarian aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians let out a "zaghrouta" or joyous yell to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians let out a "zaghrouta" or joyous yell to celebrate a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel at the Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk through the destruction by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Palestinians walk amongst the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hajjar)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react to the news of the hostages' release, as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians, some armed, return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians, some armed, return to Rafah, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians wave the Palestinian flag as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians wave the Palestinian flag as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

A display of yellow chairs representing hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and a banner reading "now!" in Hebrew, are seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as three hostages are set to be released from captivity, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A display of yellow chairs representing hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and a banner reading "now!" in Hebrew, are seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as three hostages are set to be released from captivity, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A woman reacts as people gather in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, where three hostages are set to be released from captivity in the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A woman reacts as people gather in Tel Aviv, Israel, on the first day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, where three hostages are set to be released from captivity in the Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Displaced Palestinians flash V-sign as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

Displaced Palestinians flash V-sign as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

An Israeli soldier walks past a graffiti, calling for the return of the hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 , 2023 Hamas cross-border attacks in Israel, in Kfar Saba, Israel, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

An Israeli soldier walks past a graffiti, calling for the return of the hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7 , 2023 Hamas cross-border attacks in Israel, in Kfar Saba, Israel, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Truck drivers of humanitarian aids wait at Baloza check point, on their way to cross the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip , Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Truck drivers of humanitarian aids wait at Baloza check point, on their way to cross the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip , Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians leave parts of Khan Younis as they go back to their homes in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a video featuring Kfir Bibas, who, along with his parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas, and his brother Ariel, is still being held hostage in Gaza, plays behind them during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a video featuring Kfir Bibas, who, along with his parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas, and his brother Ariel, is still being held hostage in Gaza, plays behind them during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Balloons are released to mark the second birthday of hostage Kfir Bibas as demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Balloons are released to mark the second birthday of hostage Kfir Bibas as demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during a protest calling for their immediate release in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, gather calling for their released in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Demonstrators hold torches as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators hold torches as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators light flares as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Demonstrators light flares as they gather during a protest calling for the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to push out federal employees by offering them financial incentives.

The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program, which has been commonly described as a buyout.

Here's the latest:

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sparred with Hillary Clinton Thursday on the social media site X over the Trump administration’s actions and the plan to have Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency help upgrade aviation safety.

“They have no relevant experience,” Clinton said in response to Duffy’s post about getting help from Musk’s team. “Most of them aren’t old enough to rent a car. And you’re going to let them mess with airline safety that’s already deteriorated on your watch?”

Duffy responded sharply and told Clinton to sit this one out because experienced Washington bureaucrats are the reason the nation’s infrastructure is crumbling.

“I’m returning this department to its mission of safety by using innovative technology in transportation and infrastructure,” Duffy said. “Your team had its chance and failed. We’re moving on without you because the American people want us to make America’s transportation system great again. And yes, we’re bringing the 22-year-olds with us.”

“We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer,” Karoline Levitt said.

“They don’t want to come into the office. If they want to rip the American people off, then they’re welcome to take this buyout and we’ll find highly qualified people” to replace them.

The deferred resignation program was orchestrated by Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur serving as a top Trump adviser, to further the Republican president’s goal of remaking the federal government, weakening what his allies describe as the “deep state” that undermined his first term.

Administration officials said they can save taxpayer money by presenting employees with “a valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Emails from Elon Musk allies went to a wide swath of the federal government, including a judge overseeing a lawsuit filed to try and block the messages.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Daniel Moss said judges around the country got emails, apparently by mistake, preceding the “fork in the road” message from Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Moss ignored it.

He’s overseeing a court challenge filed by federal employees who allege Musk allies set up a server to send the emails without proper privacy protections, leaving their information vulnerable to hacking.

Moss declined to immediately block any future messages, pointing out to a privacy assessment since been completed by the government.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle on Thursday decried what he described as the Trump administration’s attempt to change the Constitution through an executive order.

Coughenour had previously called the order “blatantly unconstitutional” and two weeks ago issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking its implementation.

Thursday’s ruling came a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants’ rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday it has lifted a pause on permitting renewable energy projects. The nationwide pause had affected at least 168 projects for renewable energy such as wind and solar power. It was intended to comply with an executive order by Trump on “unleashing American energy.″

The Army Corps issues permits for projects on private land that affect wetlands and other waters under the Clean Water Act.

Agency spokesman Doug Garman said the Army Corps received direction Thursday to lift the temporary pause. No reason was given.

Environmental group and clean energy advocates had expressed alarm that a prolonged pause on permitting for solar and wind projects on private lands would have slowed renewable energy development. Trump has issued a similar pause on federal lands and waters as he seeks to expand production of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas and move away from renewable energy.

White House press secretary Karoline Levitt says 40,000-plus federal workers have agreed to resign in exchange for continuing to be paid through Sept. 30.

“We expect that number to increase,” Leavitt said. “We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer.”

She spoke as news broke of another federal judge temporarily blocking the plan. The judge ordered the Trump administration to move a midnight deadline for federal employees to take the offer until after a court hearing on Monday.

The Trump administration’s abrupt closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development is removing a key way of showing American goodwill around the world — with millions of lives at stake.

The stop-work order has closed clinics in more than 25 countries where two-thirds of all child deaths occur globally, said Janeen Madan Keller, deputy director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development.

HIV patients in Africa found locked doors at clinics funded through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which is credited with saving more than 25 million lives. In Congo’s conflict zone, American money no longer supports food, water, electricity and basic health care for 4.6 million people. Doctors of the World-Turkey relied on USAID for 60% of its funding in Syria, where it had to shutter 12 field hospitals providing life-saving services.

▶ Read more about the impact on USAID’s global health programs

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to push out federal employees by offering them financial incentives.

The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program, which has been commonly described as a buyout.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. in Boston did not express an opinion on the legality of the program. He scheduled a hearing for Monday at 2 p.m. EST.

He also directed administration officials to extend the deadline to apply for the program until after the hearing.

Several labor unions have sued over Trump’s plans, which were orchestrated by Elon Musk, a top adviser. The Republican president is trying to downsize and reshape the federal workforce.

Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump’s choice to be the top U.S. trade negotiator, promised to pursue the president’s hardline trade policies in testimony Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee. But he faced pushback from senators unsettled by Trump’s unpredictable actions on trade.

Trump’s protectionist approach — involving the heavy use of taxes on foreign goods — will give Americans “the opportunity to work in good-paying jobs producing goods and services they can sell in this market and abroad to earn an honest living,’′ Greer said in remarks prepared ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee.

As U.S. trade representative, Greer would have responsibility — along with Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick — for one of Trump’s top policy priorities: waging or at least threatening trade war with countries around the world, America’s friends and foes alike.

▶ Read more about Trump’s pick for U.S. trade negotiator

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared for a photo-op with U.S. senators at the Capitol when a reporter asked the question.

“Mr. Netanyahu, do you think U.S. troops are needed in Gaza to make President Trump’s plan peaceful?”

“No,” he replied, and then press aides shooed journalists from the room.

Trump officials have organized question-and-answer sessions as federal workers decide whether to quit in exchange for several months of pay.

“I know there’s been a lot of questions out there about whether it’s real and whether it’s a trick,” Rachel Oglesby, now chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education, told employees, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press.

“And it’s exactly what it looks like. It’s one of the many tools that he’s using to try to achieve the campaign promise to bring reform to the civil service and changes to D.C,” she said.

A similar discussion was recorded at the Department of Agriculture.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have all the answers,” said human resources official Marlon Taubenheim. “These are very trying times.”

▶ Read more about Trump’s effort to reduce the federal workforce

President Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary will face her first confirmation test next week.

Linda McMahon is scheduled to go before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Feb. 13. If confirmed, Trump said her top priority will be dismantling the agency, saying he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”

McMahon, 76, is a longtime Trump ally and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment. She led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term.

President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed last week’s deadly collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter on what he called an “obsolete” computer system used by U.S. air traffic controllers, and he vowed to replace it.

Trump said during an event that “a lot of mistakes happened” on Jan. 29 when an American Airlines flight out of Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, killing all 67 people on board the two aircraft.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, Trump blamed diversity hiring programs for the crash. But on Thursday, he blamed the computer system used by the country’s air traffic controllers.

“It’s amazing that it happened,” Trump said during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol. “And I think that’s going to be used for good. I think what is going to happen is we’re all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new — not pieced together, obsolete.”

▶ Read more about Trump’s response to the crash

Trump is tapping Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead an effort to root out “anti-Christian bias” nationwide.

The president said during the National Prayer Breakfast that the task force would be directed to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination.”

It’s envisioned as an office within the White House that Trump said would place a special emphasis on bias within the federal government, “at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI — terrible — and other agencies.”

The emergence of X owner Elon Musk as the most influential figure around President Donald Trump has created an extraordinary dynamic — a White House adviser using one of the world’s most powerful information platforms to sell the government’s talking points while intimidating its detractors.

The world’s richest man is using the social media platform as a cudgel and a megaphone for the Republican administration at a time when his power to shape the electorate’s perspective is only growing, with more Americans getting their news from ‘influencers’ online. Musk alone has 215 million followers.

Requests for comment from Musk’s special commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, and X were not returned.

Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University and the author of “How Democracies Die,” said “This is a combination of economic, media and political power that I believe has never been seen before in any democracy on Earth.”

▶ Read more about how Musk is wielding his power

IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season will not be allowed to accept the Trump administration’s offer to be paid to quit until after the taxpayer filing deadline.

A letter to IRS employees Wednesday says such workers are exempt until May 15.

Union leaders and worker advocates have criticized the proposal and question whether the Trump administration will honor its terms.

“This country needs skilled, experienced federal employees,” said Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union. “We are urging people not to take this deal because it will damage the services to the American people and it will harm the federal employees who have dedicated themselves and their career to serving.”

▶ Read more about how Trump’s push to get federal workers to quit affects the IRS

The Trump administration’s decision to close the U.S. Agency for International Development has drawn widespread criticism from congressional Democrats and raised questions and concern about the influence billionaire ally Elon Musk wields over the federal government.

The United States is by far the world’s largest source of foreign assistance, although several European countries allocate a much bigger share of their budgets to aid. USAID funds projects in some 120 countries aimed at fighting epidemics, educating children, providing clean water and supporting other areas of development.

▶ Read more about the global impact of closing USAID

A federal judge is considering next steps in a slow-moving court case over whether to release documents that could spell legal trouble for Prince Harry.

The influential Heritage Foundation sued the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration, seeking to reveal if he lied on his immigration paperwork about past drug use or received special treatment when he and his wife Meghan Markle moved to Southern California.

“People are routinely deported for lying on immigration forms,” Heritage’s attorney Samuel Dewey told reporters after a Wednesday hearing.

▶ Read more about the case involving Prince Harry

Democratic senators are still at it, having talked through the night to protest Trump’s pick of Russ Vought as budget director.

Seizing the Senate floor is one of the remaining tools the minority party has to stonewall a confirmation. Democrats unanimously oppose Vought, a Project 2025 author who is influential in Musk’s DOGE efforts to gut government.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D. Colo., said his office was flooded with complaints over Trump’s temporary freeze of federal funds, which has since been rescinded and blocked by a court. He said Congress has appropriated this money and the White House cannot unilaterally cut it.

Republicans have the votes to easily confirm Vought once the 30 hours of debate expires Thursday.

Two Elon Musk allies have “read only” access to Treasury Department payment systems, but no one else will get access for now, including Musk himself, under a court order signed Thursday.

It comes in a lawsuit filed by federal workers unions trying to stop the billionaire’s Department of Government Efficiency from following through on what they call a massive privacy invasion.

Two Musk allies, Marko Elez and Tom Krause, have been made “special government employees” and already have access to the system, government attorneys have said.

The temporary order blocks further access by DOGE as U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly considers the case.

President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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