Hamas’ threat to delay the next planned release of Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip has jolted a fragile ceasefire that’s seen as having the potential to wind down the war.

A team of doctors in Israel is preparing for the return of the hostages from Gaza with the expectation that many are likely to have severe, life-threatening complications from spending more than a year in captivity.

(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)JERUSALEM – The solemn Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which annually sees Israeli life grind to a halt, begins on Sunday in a nation already under a sweeping coronavirus lockdown. Because of that, lives were lost.”As part of the latest lockdown, Israelis can only pray in open areas close to home, with gatherings limited to 20 people. But he urged people to avoid going into synagogues on Yom Kippur and to pray outdoors. But he says the closure of synagogues during Yom Kippur is still "very painful for most Israelis,” even those who don't attend regularly. "It’s quite dramatic for Israelis, for all types of Israelis, secular and observant.”In Israel, the holiday is also associated with the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur.

(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)JERUSALEM – Israel on Thursday moved to further tighten its second countrywide lockdown as coronavirus cases continued to soar, ordering all nonessential businesses to close and requiring people to stay within 1,000 meters (yards) of their homes. Hagai Levine, a professor of epidemiology and a member of an expert panel advising the government, warned that allowing Yom Kippur prayers in synagogues could lead to mass transmission. He went so far as to compare it to the 1973 war, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during Yom Kippur. We are going to have a massive problem and massive transmission on Yom Kippur in a few days,” he said. The government last week imposed a nationwide lockdown that closed schools, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants, making Israel the first developed country to impose a second closure.