CAIRO (Reuters) -Hamas rejected on Sunday a statement from the U.S. State Department in which it cited "credible reports" indicating the Palestinian militant group would imminently violate the ceasefire deal with Israel.

Hamas said such allegations were false.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Muhmmad Al GebalyEditing by Tomasz Janowski)

By Alexander Cornwell

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - British anti-immigration campaigner Tommy Robinson said he believes the Reform UK party is poised to win Britain's next general election, even as he questioned the credibility of its leader, Nigel Farage.

Addressing an audience in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Robinson, who rose to prominence in Britain more than a decade ago by organising protests against Islam, was met with a standing ovation before a two-hour speech criticising immigration, the media and the British government.

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Voters in breakaway north Cyprus went to the polls on Sunday in a presidential vote seen as a test on whether talks to reunify the divided island can be revived.

Incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, who backs a two-state solution, faces the main centre-left rival Tufan Erhuman, who favours renewed United Nations-sponsored negotiations on a federal settlement with Greek Cypriots.

Tatar's position for a two-state deal has been rejected by Greek Cypriots, while peace talks have been in deadlock since 2017.

Israel on Sunday announced the identity of one of two dead hostages returned by Hamas the previous day as 54-year-old Ronen Engel.

The military "informed the family of hostage Ronen Engel... that their loved one has been returned to Israel and his identification has been completed", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

Israel would spare no effort "until all the fallen hostages are repatriated", it added.

CAIRO (Reuters) -Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey in Doha, Qatar's foreign ministry announced early Sunday on X.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din)

Shiite Islam may be the official religion in Iran, but entering Tehran's brand-new Maryam Moghaddas metro station, you could be forgiven for feeling as if you're stepping inside a Christian church.

Maryam Moghaddas in Persian translates as "Holy Mary". And the station's vaulted and arched concourse, with a dome decorated with Persian motifs, features religious frescoes and artworks honouring Christianity's Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ.

(Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Gaza's Rafah crossing will remain closed until further notice, shortly after the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt announced that it would reopen on Monday.

"The crossing's opening will be considered based on the manner in which Hamas fulfils its part in returning the deceased hostages and implementing the agreed-upon framework," Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Saturday.

(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Alison Williams)

(Reuters) -Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt will be reopened on Monday, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said in a statement on Saturday.

The crossing, which has been largely closed since May 2024, will allow Palestinians residing in Egypt to return to Gaza, the embassy said.

(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi; Writing by Hatem Maher; Editing by Jan Harvey)

The Israeli government said on Sunday that Hamas has handed over more hostage remains, as delays in finding bodies buried under the rubble of Gaza threatened the fragile ceasefire.

The issue of hostage bodies still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the ceasefire implementation, with Israel linking the reopening of the main gateway into the territory to the recovery of all of the deceased.

Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines.

KABUL (Reuters) -Afghanistan and Pakistan will hold peace talks in Doha on Saturday, an Afghan government spokesperson said, after the countries extended a ceasefire to their fierce fighting.

"As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place today in Doha," Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

A high-level delegation of the Islamic Emirate, led by the Minister of Defence Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, has left for Doha, he said.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by William Mallard)