Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas have returned safely to Israel after the militants paraded them in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City.

Four Army units will deploy to Europe, South Korea and the Middle East in the spring as part of regular unit rotations, the Army announced Friday.

The United States has been sharing secret intelligence on threats from the Islamic State with the new government in Syria, which is itself run by leaders of a militant group long considered by Washington to be a terrorist organization, according to multiple current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges.

Afghan refugees are appealing to Pakistan’s premier to ease a visa regime on humanitarian grounds after President Donald Trump paused the U.S. refugee programs. An estimated 20,000 Afghans are currently waiting in Pakistan to be approved for resettlement in the U.S. via an American government program.

The statement comes after the Houthis have detained U.N. staffers, as well as individuals associated with the once-open U.S. Embassy in Sanaa and aid groups. It comes as the Houthis have been trying to deescalate their attacks on shipping and Israel after a ceasefire was reached in the Israel-Hamas war.

The Taliban is rejecting the International Criminal Court’s requested arrest warrants for their leaders for persecuting Afghan women and girls. Since they took back control of the country in 2021, the Taliban have barred women from jobs, most public spaces and education beyond sixth grade.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the ceasefire “is based on the understanding that the withdrawal process could possibly continue beyond the 60 days” and that Lebanon hasn’t yet “fully enforced” the agreement.

The hostages are to be freed Saturday in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinians imprisoned or detained by Israel. The 33 to be released in the first phase will include women, children, sick people and those over 50 — almost all civilians, though the deal also commits Hamas to freeing all living female soldiers.

Experts from the U.S. Air Force are looking at ways to upgrade Cyprus’ premier air base for use as a humanitarian staging post in future operations in the Middle East, a Cypriot official told The Associated Press Thursday.

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor announced Thursday he is seeking arrest warrants for the leader of the Taliban and another senior regime official over their alleged persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat visited Lebanon on Thursday for the first time in a decade following years of strained relations between the oil-rich kingdom and the small Mediterranean country.

The Alawites, a Shiite offshoot that makes up around 10% of the population, served as the backbone of the former government’s military and intelligence command. Many Syrians blame Alawites for participating in atrocities, and now Alawites whisper of vigilante reprisals.

The outgoing and incoming occupants of the White House simultaneously pushed to free dozens of hostages in Gaza and bring an end to a conflict that began with the killing of about 1,200 in Israel and that Palestinian health officials say has killed more than 47,000 in Gaza.

President Donald Trump’s executive order this week suspending the U.S. refugee admissions program has left in limbo tens of thousands of Afghans who were hoping to start new lives in America.

It appeared to be the first time the Israeli military said it struck targets in Gaza since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians were trapped in a hospital by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank that has killed at least 10 people in two days.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released the 25-person crew of the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier seized in November 2023 at the start of their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea corridor. The rebels said Wednesday they released the sailors after mediation by Oman.

A militant resistance group, the National Mobilization Front, took responsibility for the killing, saying the man was working with Taliban intelligence. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the Chinese man was working for a mining company. Chinese firms have sought to pursue opportunities in Afghanistan’s vast, undeveloped resource deposits.