DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With the remains of one hostage still in Gaza, the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing.

Israel has killed senior Hamas military figure Raad Saad in an airstrike on Gaza’s Rashid coastal road, in a move both sides frame as a major test of the new US‑brokered ceasefire. Saad, long described by Israeli officials as Hamas’s number‑two and head of its weapons‑manufacturing network,

Gaza militias emerge as Hamas regroups during ceasefire, with Palestinian fighters forming new forces to challenge the group's control in the territory.

The killing of the commander, Raed Saad, on Saturday was the highest-profile assassination of a Hamas leader since a cease-fire came into force two months ago.

Hamas' chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya said on Sunday that a targeted assassination by Israel on Saturday of one of the group's