The U.S. secretary of state spoke with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, about the role the authority might play after Israel’s war with Hamas.
Hamas freed two dozen hostages, Israel released 39 imprisoned Palestinians, and more than 130 aid trucks reached Gaza over the first day of a tense, temporary truce after seven weeks of war.
Families that waited outside a prison for the release of people detained by Israel said the conflict in Gaza and the rising death toll had cast a pall over any celebration.
Considered authoritarian and corrupt, the Palestinian Authority is still Washington’s choice to run the enclave. But many believe it can only be credible now if it includes Hamas.
In the city of Jenin, partly dominated by militias, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, was seen as a relic and treated as a guest, not a ruler.