Latest news and live updates as a Gaza ceasefire deal is reached after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase, spanning a 42-day ceasefire, would see the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, U.S. officials said.

Their release is scheduled for Sunday, 19 January 2025. Hamas officials in Doha who participated in the ceasefire talks said Hamas has handed Israel the list of three hostages, says news agency AFP.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, multiple officials announced Wednesday.

Israeli negotiators attending ceasefire and hostage release talks in Doha have expressed “cautious optimism,” even as some gaps between both sides persist, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators shuttled between the Israeli and Hamas delegations in Doha on Tuesday, where officials said a deal to halt the war is near.

Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages in the first phase of the ceasefire-hostage agreement being negotiated in Doha in relation to the situation in Gaza, CNN reported on

Qatar’s prime minister said the deal would go into effect on Sunday. Israel said final details still need ironing out.

The deal, not yet formally announced, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

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

Israel and Hamas agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.