ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Tuesday, including leaders signing a declaration marking the end of the Gaza war, Israel freeing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under a Gaza ceasefire deal, and Madagascar's president going into hiding after an “attempt on his life.”

TOP STORIES

• Leaders of US, Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar sign document formalizing end of Gaza war

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, US President Donald Trump and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed an agreement formalizing the end of the Gaza war in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

"We seek tolerance, dignity and equal opportunity" for everyone, ensuring that this region allows all individuals to pursue their dreams in peace, security and economic prosperity, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity, the leaders said in the agreement.

"We pursue" a holistic vision of peace, security and collective prosperity rooted in mutual respect and a sense of shared destiny, the agreement said, adding: "In this spirit, we welcome the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip, as well as the friendly and mutually beneficial relationship between Israel and its regional neighbors."

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect Friday under Trump’s plan to end a two-year Israeli war on the enclave. Earlier Monday, the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails began after Hamas freed all 20 living Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip.

• Israel frees nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under Gaza ceasefire deal

Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli detention under the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Hamas-run Prisoners’ Media Office said buses carrying freed prisoners from Ofer Prison west of Ramallah arrived in the town of Beitunia in the occupied West Bank.

The official news agency WAFA confirmed that 96 prisoners serving high jail terms arrived in the town aboard two buses of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Prisoners’ Media Office also said that 154 freed prisoners were deported to Egypt under the ceasefire deal.

It said buses carrying more than 1,700 prisoners released from the Negev Prison in southern Israel also arrived in the Gaza Strip.

“Under the current deal, 250 prisoners serving life sentences and long prison terms as well as 1,718 prisoners arrested from Gaza after Oct. 7, 2023 were released,” the office said in a statement.

• Madagascar's president in hiding after 'attempt on his life'

Madagascar's president said he was sheltering in a "safe space" after an “attempt on his life.”

Andry Rajoelina said only the country's constitution could resolve the impasse, which has seen weeks of anti-government protests.

"I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life today," the 51-year old leader said in the live Facebook address, adding: "I never stop looking for solutions.”

Rajoelina has since Sept. 25 been facing youth-led protests over severe water and electricity shortages and alleged corruption which soon turned into calls for him to resign. He is reportedly said to be in France at the moment.

The unrest led to government reshuffles, including the dissolution of the Cabinet and appointment of a new prime minister and heads of security.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Palestinian group Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, concluded the release of 20 living Israeli hostages.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said his country will step up humanitarian operations for Gaza following the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit held in Egypt.
• Italy is closer to recognizing the state of Palestine following a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
• The UN reported that more than 300,000 people were observed moving from the southern Gaza Strip to the north in recent days as the ceasefire continues to ease access restrictions across the enclave.
• US President Donald Trump declined to endorse a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying his current focus is on rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the ongoing implementation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, describing it as a moment of "fragile hope" after months of destruction.
• Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said achieving a ceasefire in the war-torn Gaza Strip has saved "millions of lives" in the Middle East.
• Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said his government will use all available legal mechanisms to seek accountability for former leader Bashar al-Assad without entering into a conflict with Russia, which currently hosts him.
• A total of 173 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip under a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, said the Government Media Office.
• Two Israeli lawmakers chanted slogans demanding recognition of Palestinian statehood and denouncing the Gaza genocide during US President Donald Trump’s speech to the Knesset.
• Taiwan’s military kicked off a four-day annual naval drill which aims to bolster the island’s offshore defensive capabilities, the local English daily Taipei Times reported, citing the Ministry of National Defense.
• At least 19 people were killed and several injured in the latest attack by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said.
• SpaceX successfully launched the 11th test flight of its Starship rocket from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, according to media outlets.
  

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, Peter Howitt awarded Nobel in economics

The 2025 Nobel Prize in economics has been awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The academy stated that the economists were awarded “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth,” with one half to Mokyr, a professor of economics and history at Northwestern University, “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress."

The other half went jointly to Aghion, a professor at the College de France, and Howitt, a professor of economics at Brown University, “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.”

• Threats of higher tariffs not the right way,’ China tells Trump

China pushed back on US President Donald Trump’s threats of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, stressing such moves were “not the right way” to deal in bilateral ties, state media reported.

“The US has continuously introduced a series of restrictive and sanction measures targeting China, which have seriously harmed China’s interests, and China firmly opposes these actions,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

“Instead of engaging in self-reflection, the US has resorted to threats of higher tariffs, which is not the right way to deal with China," Lin said, according to the Global Times.