Hamas has survived Israel’s 15-month war in the Gaza Strip. Now, the militant group is replenishing its ranks, although restocking its weapons supplies will be more difficult.

Hamas handed Agam Berger over to Israel, the first of eight hostages expected to be released from Gaza on Thursday. In exchange, Israel is set to release 110 Palestinian prisoners, including about 30 people serving life sentences, in the third swap since the Gaza cease-fire and hostages agreement came into effect earlier this month.

Italy says monitoring mission, which was halted when Hamas seized control of Strip in 2007, 'was launched at the request of Israel and the PA'

The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but it was suspended two years later after the militant Islamist group Hamas took control of Gaza.

A delegation from Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Cairo on Monday to discuss the implementation of ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, the group said in a statement.

Hamas released four hostages, all female soldiers, and Israel 200 Palestinian prisoners as the latest cease-fire exchange occurred on Saturday.

Hamas has announced the names of the next four hostages it will release this weekend as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel. The truce is supposed to halt fighting

Israel-Hamas war has profoundly altered the Middle East’s geopolitical landscape. Iran and Russia, once dominant forces, have suffered severe setbacks, while Israel, Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar have all expanded their regional influence.

For the EU Border Assistance Mission in Rafah to effectively restart it needed a cessation of hostilities between terrorist organisation Hamas and Israel, which happened on 15 January when the two parties to the conflict signed a ceasefire, which then entered into force on 19 January.

The European Union will restart a civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

Today, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to redeploy it to the Rafah Crossing Point between Gaza and Egypt. This will allow a number of injured individuals to leave Gaza and receive medical care.”The European Union Border Assistance Mission to Rafah was established in 2005 when Israel withdrew from Gaza during the Disengagement.