Monday Brief – The New York Times

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A ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza was tested yesterday.

The order for the release of hostages was agreed by Lebanese authorities and Hamas, which has denied the return of thousands of displaced Palestinians to their homes in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces have killed or wounded scores of people in southern Lebanon.

At the end of the day, however, Israel and Hamas announced that they had reached an agreement through mediators to resolve their dispute, and the White House issued a statement that the initial 60-day ceasefire in Lebanon would be extended until February. 18.

Negotiators had hoped the ceasefire in Lebanon would last for now, bringing some stability to the troubled region. Thousands of Lebanese displaced by the war have crowded the road to the south.

Latest: An Israeli military spokesman said displaced Gazans in the south could return to their homes in the north on foot starting at 7 a.m. this morning, following two hours later by vehicles.

Diplomacy: President Trump has pushed for the “clearance” of the Gaza Strip, demanding that Egypt and Jordan take in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. His proposal drew a flat rejection from two of America’s allies in the Middle East.

Related: The emergency freeze on US foreign aid does not apply to emergency food aid and arms support to Israel and Egypt.

The United States and Colombia came out of a trade war yesterday, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro and President Trump spoke about the deportation of Colombian immigrants from the United States.

Last night, Petro backtracked and agreed to accept all those deported from the US, including those on military planes. Trump has threatened to impose higher tariffs and more penalties after Petro turned back military planes carrying people to Colombia.

The White House said in a statement yesterday that Petro has agreed to all terms. He said tariffs and sanctions would “remain on standby” and other penalties would remain in effect until the first migrant plane arrives in Colombia. Colombia’s foreign ministry also issued a statement saying it would offer deportation flights and “respectable conditions” for the Colombians on board.

In other Trump administration news:

In an election widely dismissed as rigged, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Europe’s longest-serving leader, won a seventh consecutive term yesterday.

According to a survey released by the state media last night when voters left the polling stations, the president got 87.6 percent of the votes, out of the 81 percent who said he won in 2020. Exit polls are controlled by the government, like all elections in Belarus, and generally reflect the final result.

Times magazine columnist Katie Weaver loves sugar. Like, really love it. Her home features Amazon’s automated delivery of Dunkaros, Gushers bags, and Strawberry Mood fruit wrap apps.

Determined to kick the habit and learn about sugar addiction, Weaver traveled to a nutritional therapy facility in Austria to try to change her ways. It was a hell of a ride, she says.

Lived: Carol Downer, the women’s health activist who gained national notoriety over the so-called Great Yogurt Conspiracy, has died at the age of 91.

Two art fraud rings in a remote Canadian town made thousands of paintings by Norval Morrisseau, Canada’s most famous indigenous artist.

By the time it all came out — decades later — the works had collectively fetched millions of dollars across Canada and graced the walls of the country’s top galleries and universities. They have been bought by retired school teachers, billionaire art collectors and even rock stars.

“None of us know anything about art,” says one of the hard-boiled homicide detectives who helped crack the case. They investigated Morrison’s life to understand how and what he painted and how he signed his works.

Read about the saga here.

Here’s a brief summary for today. It’s great to be back. – Natasha

Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.