In return 250 Palestinian prisoners and about 1,700 detainees were released by Israel.

Israel on Tuesday named two of the four hostages whose bodies were returned this week as part of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, as Guy Illouz and Bipin Joshi.

"Of course, this is going to be difficult, but it's vital. It was difficult in Northern Ireland in relation to the IRA (Irish Republican Army), but it was vital," Starmer said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan said they had agreed a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday, following days of deadly clashes between the neighbors and former allies. The fighting followed strikes in the Afghan capital Kabul and the border province of Paktika last Thursday – which the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan,

The New York City mayoral candidate said he'd be open to giving Trump credit if the peace deal "proves to be something that is lasting."

The tenuous ceasefire in the two-year Israel-Hamas war was holding Tuesday even as complex issues remained ahead, a day after widespread jubilation over the return to Israel of the last 20 living hos...