"Everyone recognizes that the Palestinian issue shouldn't be left behind," an expert told Newsweek. "So there must be progress on this."

President-elect Donald Trump’s tough diplomacy lingered large over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s swift action on Thursday.

President-elect Donald Trump's influence over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the defining factor in reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, plans to be a near-constant presence in the region in an attempt to prevent the deal from unraveling.

President-elect Donald Trump praised the new Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage exchange deal that his special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff pushed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to

Tense' Jerusalem sit-down led to breakthrough in talks, with Israel and Hamas agreeing in principle to hostage deal two days later; sides now finalizing implementation details

The first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is due to start at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) on Sunday.

President-elect Donald Trump held his Victory Rally in Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening ahead of being sworn-in as the 47th president of the United States on Sunday.

Netanyahu says both Trump and US President Joe Biden stressed that Israel can return to fighting in Gaza if the next stages of the deal are not realized. Israel will not rest until “all of its war goals are completed,” he says, which includes the return of every single hostage being held in Gaza.

The deal kicked in at 8:15 am Gaza time on Sunday, nearly three hours after it was scheduled to come into effect.

The first three Israeli hostages released from Gaza have been handed over in a test of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.