JENIN: Gunfire and explosions rocked the occupied West Bank's Jenin area on Wednesday, a Palestinian official and a reporter said, as the

Israel said it will maintain control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas.The truce, now in its fourth day, is supposed to bring calm to war-battered Gaza for at least six weeks and see 33 Hamas-held hostages released in return for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman's Foreign Ministry has welcomed the announcement of an agreement to exchange hostages and restore a sustainable truce

The Galaxy Leader was taken in November 2023 at the start of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war.

The crew, who are nationals of the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico, were handed over to Oman, according to Galaxy Maritime.

The Indian national airline suspended operations in Israel after October 7, but recommenced operations relatively quickly compared with other airlines in March 2024. But the Iranian attack on Israel the following month led to the cancelation of the company's flights until May when flights were resumed until the escalation in the north in August.

French retail giant Carrefour announced the closure of its branches in Oman on Tuesday, in the latest hit the company has suffered due to widespread boycott campaigns.

Yemen's Houthi group on Wednesday said it had released the crew of Galaxy Leader vessel to support the Gaza ceasefire agreement

The Abraham Accords remain a cornerstone of President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Party's agenda. During the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah

The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas stretched into a fifth day on Thursday. Humanitarian aid groups are working to surge food and supplies to the war-ravaged territory as Palestinians scour through mountains of rubble looking for bodies of those killed by Israeli bombardments during the 15-month war.