A ceasefire is holding in Gaza as hostages have been handed over to Israel and Palestinian prisoners have been returned to Gaza.

Talks have started on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Tuesday.

The ceasefire was announced on 15 January and began four days later, after months of negotiations led by the US, Qatar and Egypt. It is based on a proposal set out by former US President Joe Biden in May 2024. The deal will be carried out in three stages:

Congo’s government has described the unilateral ceasefire declared by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo as “false communication,” while the United Nations on Tuesday noted reports of heavy fighting with Congolese forces in the region.

A rebel group that claimed to have captured the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week has called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, after fighting with the Congolese military has left hundreds of people dead.

Rebels in eastern Congo's largest city, Goma, began a ceasefire on Tuesday and people rushed to bury some 2,000 victims of last week's battles for the city as they feared the spread of disease. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who captured Goma declared a ceasefire on Monday and largely upheld it,