Earlier, Qatar’s Prime Minister confirmed that the ceasefire in Gaza will begin on Sunday and 33 Israeli hostages will be released in the first phase of the truce.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent the past year trying to mediate an end to the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023. During months of on-off talks, the two sides have previously said they were close to a ceasefire only to hit last-minute obstacles.

The war on Gaza broke out after Hamas orchestrated the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an tally. Hamas also took 251 people from Israel hostage during the attack, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

In response, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The fighting has left much of Gaza in ruins and displaced most of the enclave’s pre-war population of 2.3 million.

More on the Gaza ceasefire:

• The talks between the two sides had reportedly hit a last-minute snag. Israel claims that Hamas tried to “change agreed-upon understandings for security arrangements” along Gaza’s border with Egypt.
• Qatar’s prime minister, who has been mediating the Gaza ceasefire, met separately with Hamas and Israeli delegations, and shortly afterwards, the dispute was resolved.
• Qatar’s Prime Minister later confirmed that the ceasefire in Gaza will begin on Sunday and 33 Israeli hostages will be released in the first phase of the truce.
• Earlier today, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet, and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout Gaza over the last 24 hours.
• Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians across the enclave. Those included seven people who were in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City, and six others killed in separate airstrikes on houses in Deir Al-Balah, Bureij camp and Rafah, medics said.