Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement for the release of $1.2 billion from the bailout package approved last year. The $7 billion bailout approved by the IMF in July 2024 aimed to keep Pakistan from defaulting on its debt repayments.

The release of hostages in Gaza following a ceasefire marks a major diplomatic development in the Middle East.

Israel has begun releasing Palestinian prisoners and detainees on Oct. 13, in agreement with the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Many top Democrats kept quiet as President Trump attended the historic “Summit for Peace” in Egypt and Hamas released the last of the 20 living Israeli hostages it held in captivity.

Israel is planning to cut the number of aid trucks going into Gaza by 50% and limit assistance to the war-torn area, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

The announcement comes days after President Trump presented a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

News of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas was met with celebrations and joyous scenes in both Gaza and Israel, though residents on both sides of the devastating war expressed trepidation that a deal may still fall through.

Israel's government approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal early on Friday, setting the clock ticking on the first phase of an agreement that aims to end the two-year-old war.

Some Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has for two years waged a brutal and systematic war against Hamas, are returning home and beginning to reckon with the destruction caused by the conflict.