A man walks past rubble and damaged buildings along a street in the Tuffah district east of Gaza City on 8 July, 2024 amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. Photo: OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP
The ceasefire in Gaza appears to have held over the weekend, but the next 12 hours are crucial in finding a lasting peace in the region. Israel said it expects all 20 surviving hostages to be released in one batch on Monday morning - there is a deadline of midday local time, that's 10pm New Zealand time.
The ceasefire agreement provides for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return. But there were last-minute negotiations regarding the exact list of detainees to be freed. There is also the question of security in Gaza during the exchange. Health officials in Gaza raised the death toll over the weekend to 67,800.
Thomas Helm is the Jerusalem correspondent for The National news - an Abu Dhabi based newspaper - and is in Ramallah in the West Bank.
