PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the coming hours will be decisive for cementing peace in Gaza and that the current conference on the matter held in Paris aimed to work in parallel with the U.S. initiative.

France is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from Western and Arab countries in Paris on Thursday to discuss an international peacekeeping force and reconstruction assistance for Gaza once the fighting stops.

By John Irish

PARIS (Reuters) -The United States' closest European and Arab partners met in Paris on Thursday to work out how to shape Gaza's post-war future, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and prisoner-hostage swap proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

"This is the best chance we have right now," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters. "But we need to work for the plan after (the war), so that it would be sustainable, and that's why we are also here."

HAVANA (Reuters) -Thousands of Cubans demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana on Thursday to protest the war in Gaza, even as Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire and hostage deal that could pave the way to ending the two-year-old conflict.

The event, led by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and organized by the communist-run government, filled a plaza along Havana's waterfront Malecon boulevard and prompted the U.S. Embassy on the island to halt services on Thursday.

By Tom Perry and Ali Sawafta

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -The Palestinian Authority expects a significant role in post-war Gaza, even though President Donald Trump's plan sidelines it for now, and is banking on Arab support to secure its position despite Israeli objections, Palestinian officials say.

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is expected to announce a new advanced "all-domain" air defence system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech on Friday, four sources familiar with the matter said.

Democratically-governed Taiwan has faced increased military and political pressure from China, which views the island as its own territory over the strong objections of the government in Taipei.

(Reuters) -U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza on Thursday and said it represented a path toward self-determination of the Palestinian people.

"I urge all to  seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political  path forward," Guterres said at the United Nations. "A path towards ending the occupation, recognizing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and achieving a two-state solution."

VALLETTA (Reuters) -The foreign minister of European Union member state Malta said on Thursday that he had nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ian Borg, in a Facebook post, cited Trump's success in negotiating peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and his efforts towards ending wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced on Friday, though the deadline for nominations for each year's Nobel prizes is January 31.

By Simon Johnson and Niklas Pollard

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, the award-giving body said on Thursday, "for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art".

"Laszlo Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess," the Academy said in a statement.

Thousands of jubilant Israelis gathered in a Tel Aviv square Thursday, hopeful for the return of hostages held in Gaza, after two years of fear and worry.

Many wore stickers reading "They're coming back", waving Israeli and US flags and clutching photos of the hostages after Israel and Hamas reached a hostage release and truce deal in a major step towards ending the war.

A group of beaming Israelis sang, clapped and jumped in a circle in Hostages Square, which has been the scene of weekly rallies calling for the captives' return.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that the government had "approved the framework" of a hostage release deal with Hamas, as both sides edged closer to ending more than two years of hostilities in Gaza.

Israel previously said "all parties" had signed the first phase of a ceasefire agreement, adding that Hamas freeing the captives would "bring the end to this war".

The accord in Egypt follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, who said he planned to leave on Sunday for the Middle East.