Palestinian militant group Hamas has been significantly battered by 15 months of war in Gaza but has not suffered the eradication that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended, experts say.

After sparking the deadliest war in the Palestinian territory's history, Hamas now faces questions over its legitimacy and whether to stick to its policy of armed resistance.

"Hamas has been extraordinarily weakened, its military capacity and its leadership very damaged," said Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House's Middle East programme.

After news of a ceasefire agreement sparked mass rejoicing in Gaza, residents woke up Thursday to columns of smoke, rubble and more deaths following new Israeli air strikes.

"We were waiting for the truce and were happy. It was the happiest night since October 7," said Gaza resident Saeed Alloush, referring to the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in 2023.

"Suddenly... we received the news of the martyrdom of 40 people," including his uncle, Alloush said.

"The whole area's joy turned to sadness, as if an earthquake struck."

Cyprus on Thursday heralded a move by United States President Joe Biden allowing the strategic Mediterranean country access to military equipment.

Traditionally aligned with Russia, European Union member Cyprus has solidified a more pro-American stance since the election of President Nikos Christodoulides in 2023.

In a memorandum issued by the White House on Wednesday, Biden said "the furnishing of defence articles and defence services to the Republic of Cyprus will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace."

The EU said Thursday it would deliver 120 million euros ($123 million) in new aid for war-torn Gaza, a day after the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said the new package brought the EU's humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territory to more than 450 million euros since 2023.

The EU has also conducted flights that delivered over 3,800 tonnes of aid.

Spain raised its flag at Madrid's Damascus embassy Thursday, in the presence of its top diplomat more than a decade after suspending activity and as Western countries resume ties following Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

Spain closed the mission in March 2012, a year after Assad began brutal repression of anti-government protests, triggering more than 13 years of war.

"It is an honour for me to be here in person," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said at the embassy, where the Spanish national anthem was played, an AFP correspondent reported.

For years, Auschwitz survivor Naftali Furst kept his story to himself.

But since his granddaughter survived the October 7 massacre at the Kfar Aza kibbutz -- one of the bloodiest in Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza -- the 92-year-old is more determined than ever to testify.

With anti-Semitism at levels rarely seen since World War II, Furst warned that "if we forget our history, we risk seeing it repeat itself".

Israel's security cabinet was set to meet Friday after final details of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal were ironed out, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, with the United States "confident" the truce would begin as planned this weekend.

If approved by Israel's cabinet, the ceasefire agreement would take effect Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.

The Israel-Hamas deal was made possible by 18-hour days and a "remarkable" partnership between Joe Biden and Donald Trump's Mideast envoys -- but even then it seemed it might come apart at the last minute.

In the final four days of talks, Biden's pointman Brett McGurk was joined in the region by Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, to get the deal over the line, US officials said.

As they did so, Israeli and Hamas negotiators were huddling on separate floors of a building in the Qatari capital Doha, while moderators from Qatar and Egypt shuttled between them with their proposals.

More than 19.5 million people in Yemen will need assistance in 2025, a senior UN official said Wednesday, expressing concern over a worsening humanitarian crisis and for children suffering from malnutrition.

"People in Yemen continue to face a severe humanitarian and protection crisis," said Joyce Msuya, interim chief of the United Nations' humanitarian agency (OCHA).

And the crisis will only get worse, she added, citing the organization's forthcoming consolidated humanitarian appeal for 2025.

Qatar and the United States announced Wednesday a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas, adding that they hoped it would pave the way for a permanent end to the war in Gaza.

After mediators said a deal had been reached, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the "final details" were being worked on.

Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to thank them for their help securing the agreement, his office said.