Welcome to the news world from West Asia, your live source for real-time updates and analysis from one of the world’s most strategically vital regions. From shifting alliances and diplomatic breakthroughs to economic reforms and civil movements,

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would send its negotiating team to Qatar, this after Hamas said it had issued a "positive response" to a U.S.-mediated ceasefire proposal.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial U.S.-backed aid distribution initiative supported by Israel, is currently the primary method for Palestinians in devastated Gaza to access supplies in designated spots after Israel lifted its aid blockade in mid-May.

The deal comes more than 20 months into the conflict -- and more than three months after a previous deal ended.

In March, United Nations experts said in a report that Israel had used sexual violence as a war strategy in Gaza, allegations Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected as biased and anti-Semitic. The authors of the Bar-Ilan University document presented the report to Israel’s first lady Michal Herzog on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump said negotiators are “very close” to a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, raising optimism for a long-elusive agreement as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the US.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday on Capitol Hill that he and US President Donald Trump have a common goal to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel struck an upbeat note about the prospects for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza on Wednesday, falling in behind US President Donald Trump and his optimism for an