US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel on his first trip to the Middle East as America's top diplomat. He's set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the coming hours. Rubio landed shortly after the latest exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian detainees. His trip also comes as President Donald Trump pushes his widely condemned plan for a US takeover of the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hamas complete their sixth captive-prisoner swap, with three people held in Gaza released in exchange for 369 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.

There's just two weeks left until the end of the Gaza ceasefire deal's first phase and yet, several provisions of that agreement have yet to be fulfilled. Among them are the delivery of mobile homes, needed to shelter displaced Palestinians who have lost their homes in the war. Though none of them have made it past the border with Egypt. Hamas accuses Israel of avoiding its obligations, but says they won't allow the agreement to fail.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Trump is the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House. He made the remarks during a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in West Jerusalem. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated unwavering US support for Israel after a meeting with PM Netanyahu in Israel, part of Rubio’s six-day Middle East tour. It's Rubio's first trip to the Middle East as America's top diplomat. Netanyahu said he discussed with Rubio “the bold vision” of Trump for Gaza’s future, adding that he and Trump are working in full cooperation and coordination on the situation in Gaza. He stressed that Israel is determined to achieve war objectives in Gaza.

After decades of colonisation, exploitation and resource extraction, African countries want an apology and a pay cheque. Members of the 55-member African Union bloc are meeting in Addis Ababa to try to consolidate a position on reparatory justice. Currently there are armed conflicts in more than 30 African states. The violence in Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular, is likely to dominate discussions. Is now the right time to be having this debate?

Mohammed el-Halabi, former head of World Vision in Gaza, who was arrested in 2016 by Israeli forces after being accused of supporting Hamas, returned to Gaza earlier this month after being released. “I spent more than 8.5 years in prison. My case was a high-profile case and I was convicted with no evidence. I refused all their plea bargains and compromises, because they wanted to use me to undermine international assistance to Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.

Trump’s executive order cutting aid to South Africa stems from his claims of human rights abuses against white farmers. But how accurate are his accusations, and what’s really behind them?

One by one, the freed Palestinian prisoners are disembarking from the buses that have brought them to the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Many of them appear to have worn inside out the shirts that they were forced to put on by Israeli prison authorities. They make the Victory sign as they exit the buses and greet their loved ones. Large crowds surround the buses, with many holding their phones in the air to capture the scenes.

Yair Horn, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Alexander Trufanov have now been handed over to the ICRC after being released by the military wings of Palestinian groups as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel. The release took place without any incident amid strict security measures in the presence of dozens of fighters from both factions. A total of 369 Palestinians held in Israeli jails are due to be released later today under the ceasefire agreement.

The vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross have now arrived at the site in Khan Younis where three Israeli captives will be released.