Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, control the crowd while Red Cross vehicles come to collect Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar, File)

One Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City killed 18 people as Palestinians await the start of the ceasefire on Sunday.

The Gaza Strip ceasefire should begin on Sunday as planned, despite the need for negotiators to tie up a "loose end" at the last minute, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza

The anticipated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT), nearly three hours after initially scheduled. Ahram Online provides live coverage of the events, which could signal the start of the end of 470 days of a genocidal Israeli war that killed and wounded nearly 10 percent of the 2.

If successful, the cease-fire deal would cap over a year of stop-start talks and lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early days of the conflict, when Hamas freed about half of its prisoners in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

A source familiar with the negotiations in Doha told AFP there had been "significant progress ... territory's health ministry that the United Nations says are reliable. - Gaza City pounded - Even as intense diplomatic efforts continued towards a truce ...

President Joe Biden and his top diplomats, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had sought closure during his term.

Here are the main elements of a Gaza ceasefire deal that went into effect on Sunday after 15 months of conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East.

The complex accord emerged Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt & the US. Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people hours later, medics say.

Qatar says it is hopeful that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal could be agreed "very soon", with negotiators from Israel and Hamas beginning a "final stage" of indirect talks in Doha.

Qatar on Monday presented Israel and Hamas with a final draft of a deal to end the Gaza war, following a midnight breakthrough in talks attended by