After 15 months of collective grief and anxiety, three Israeli hostages left Hamas captivity and returned to Israel, and dozens of Palestinian prisoners walked free from Israeli jail, leaving both Israelis and Palestinians torn between celebration and trepidation as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold Sunday (Jan. 19). They were the first among 33 Israeli hostages who are meant to be released in the coming six weeks in a deal that includes a pause in fighting, the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and increased fuel and aid deliveries for Gaza.

As the week wore on, the fragility of the ceasefire became clear as Israel launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers rampaged through two Palestinian towns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces domestic pressure from his far-right allies after agreeing to the truce and hostage-prisoner exchange with Hamas. US President Donald Trump has, meanwhile, rescinded the Biden administration's sanctions against Israelis accused of violence in the territory.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Wednesday (Jan. 22) they released the 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 over the Israel-Hamas war. The move by the Iranian-backed Houthis marks their latest effort to de-escalate their attacks following the ceasefire in Gaza. It also comes as US President Donald Trump likely weighs whether to reinstate a terrorism designation he made on the group that had been revoked by President Joe Biden.

The rebels said they released the sailors after mediation by Oman, that has long been an interlocutor with the Houthis. Oman did not immediately acknowledge the release, though an Omani Royal Air Force jet took a flight to Yemen earlier Wednesday and took off again about an hour after the Houthi announcement. The Houthis also said Hamas separately requested the release of the ship's crew of 25, who included mariners from the Philippines, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Mexico.

A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey early Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 76 people, officials said. At least 51 people also were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya, in Bolu province's Koroglu mountains, some 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of Istanbul, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The fire occurred near the start of a two-week winter break for schools, when hotels in the region are packed.

Yerlikaya said 45 of the 76 people killed have been identified while efforts to identify the other victims were continuing. Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu said at least one of the injured was in serious condition, while 17 other people were treated and released. The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the blaze, which is believed to have started in the hotel's restaurant section.

Prince Harry claimed a "monumental" victory as Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit. News Group Newspapers acknowledged its private investigators and journalists targeted Harry with phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information. The company offered him a "full and unequivocal apology" for intrusion by the now-defunct News of the World and its sister tabloid The Sun.

The statement, read out at the High Court in London by Harry's attorney David Sherborne, even went beyond the scope of the case to acknowledge intruding on the life of Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana, and the impact it had on his family. "We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages," the settlement statement said.