The United States said talks for a second phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal were on track, as Hamas said Israel agreed to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the bodies of four Israeli hostages.

In Israel, thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral procession of Shiri Bibas and her sons, who were killed in captivity in Gaza and had become symbols of the hostages' ordeal.

Iran has put its defense systems around its nuclear sites on high alert amid fears of an attack by Israel and the U.S., The Telegraph British newspaper said Tuesday.

The daily said that, according to two high-level government sources, Iran has been on high alert and that several additional air defense system launchers have been deployed.

The first phase of the ceasefire that paused 15 months of brutal warfare between Israel and Hamas militants is set to end on Saturday — and it's unclear what comes next.

The two sides were supposed to start negotiating a second phase weeks ago in which Hamas would release all the remaining hostages from its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the war, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Hamas freed six Israelis on Saturday in the last scheduled release of living hostages by the militant group under the current stage of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

In all, a total of 33 Israelis are being freed during this stage — including eight who are dead. Five Thai hostages have also been freed separately. Sixty-three hostages, including the body of a soldier held since 2014, remain in Gaza.

Israel on Monday denied entry to two European Union lawmakers, accusing one of promoting boycotts of the country.

Lynn Boylan, who chairs the European Parliament EU-Palestine delegation, and Rima Hassan were refused entry at Ben-Gurion airport and ordered to return to Europe.

When night falls over northern Gaza, much of the cityscape of collapsed buildings and piled wreckage turns pitch black. Living inside the ruins of their home, Rawia Tambora's young sons get afraid of the dark, so she turns on a flashlight and her phone's light to comfort them, for as long as the batteries last.

Displaced for most of the 16-month-long war, Tambora is back in her house. But it is still a frustrating shell of a life, she says: There is no running water, electricity, heat or services, and no tools to clear the rubble around them.

The final results of Iraq's first census in nearly 40 years released Monday show the population has reached 46.1 million.

In 2009, an unofficial count estimated the population at 31.6 million.

Syria's new interim president pledged on Tuesday to ensure the state has a monopoly on weapons at a national dialogue conference on the country's future after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the rebel alliance that toppled Assad in December, also said he plans to establish a transitional justice committee.

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa received an invitation on Sunday to attend an Egyptian-hosted Arab League meeting on Gaza, the Syrian presidency said.

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Monday accused Israel of wanting to "annex the West Bank by force" after Israel deployed tanks into the occupied territory for the first time in decades.