Hamas named four Israeli women soldiers it plans to release from captivity in a second hostage-for-prisoner swap, as the Gaza ceasefire nears the end of its first week.

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Wednesday that he welcomed the potential for “a dialogue” with Hamas and heaped praise on Qatar for helping facilitate the cease-fire deal between Israel and Gaza, despite facing scrutiny for previous ties to the Gulf nation.

Hamas faces an uncertain future post-ceasefire, grappling with leadership losses, declining foreign support, and strained relations with Palestinian factions. Amid pragmatic concessions and resistance rhetoric,

For the Islamist militant group, armed struggle now looks like a dead end. Its future in Gaza depends on the civilian politburo.

In a rare move hours after the cease-fire took effect, one senior Hamas official said the group wants to engage the new Trump administration.

Last week’s Hamas-Israel hostage deal revealed a glaring and uncomfortable reality - the United States, albeit indirectly, became entangled with a murderous jihadi group. Securing the release of hostages is a commendable and necessary humanitarian effort,

Qatar’s foreign ministry says the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Sunday.

Qatar's Prime Minister said in Davos on Tuesday he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end.

Hamas named on Friday four Israeli "women soldiers" held hostage since October 7 whom it plans to release from captivity in a second exchange under a ceasefire deal that has halted the Gaza war.Israel confirmed it had received the list of names.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have publicly claimed credit for pushing the agreement over the line.

A peace deal would put an end to more than a year of fighting, during which tens of thousands of people have been killed