Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

We were with Sharone Lifschitz in east London as the news of a deal came through. Her dad, 84-year-old Oded, is still being held hostage. Her mum Yocheved was released in October 2023.

Sharone was tearful but realistic as she is aware that, although the next few weeks will be a time of joy for some families, other families are going to discover that their relatives are no longer alive.

"It feels like a bit of sanity," she says, adding: "I know that the chances for my dad are very slim.

"He’s an elderly man, but miracles do happen. My mum did come back, and one way or another, we will know. We will know if he's still with us, if we can look after him. We will know… my father didn’t deserve this."

She adds: "There are more graves to come and traumatised people to come back but we will look after them and make them see light again...may this be the start of something better.

"It will be amazing to see the mothers hugging their children and the children hugging their fathers and we will know who we are grieving for."

The EU's Commissioner for the Mediterranean has welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, saying it will bring "much-needed relief to those affected by the devastating conflict".

In a post on X, Dubravka Suica said the bloc "remains committed to supporting all efforts towards a long-lasting peace and recovery".

The families of US citizens held captive in Gaza say they are "deeply grateful" that an agreement has been reached "to bring our loved ones home".

In a statement, the Families of American Hostages group thanks President Biden, President-elect Trump and their teams for their efforts.

"The tireless collaboration between Israel, Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and other parties was critical in reaching this moment," they add.

The group says the coming days will be "just as painful for our families as the entirety of our loved ones' horrific ordeals". They urge all parties to stick to the ceasefire agreement until everyone has been returned.

"We feel hopeful that under President Trump’s leadership, every last hostage will come home," they add.

Jonah Fisher
Reporting from Jerusalem

This outline of this deal had been widely leaked – and it involves several phases.

Phase one is an initial six-week ceasefire. During that period Hamas will release 33 of the hostages that it seized in the 7 October attack. It’s not clear how many of those 33 are still alive.

In return for each hostage set free, Israel will release dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel will pull its soldiers out of the more densely populated parts of the Gaza Strip into a buffer zone on the eastern side.

More aid and fuel will immediately be allowed in – and there will be a managed return of Gaza’s two million displaced to their homes. Or, quite possibly, the rubble that was once their homes.

There is still a group of Israeli hostages – men of military age – who are not part of the first release. Their fate has been left up to another round of talks which are due to start 16 days into the ceasefire.

It’s then that key questions about Gaza’s future – such as who will govern it, and whether Israel fully withdraws, are supposed to be addressed.

As we wait to learn more about the ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas, we're now hearing from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The prime minister's office says Hamas "backed down" because of Netanyahu's "firm stance" against last-minute demands on the deployment of forces on the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt.

Netanyahu's office, however, notes there are "still several unresolved clauses" of the agreement that need to be addressed - but he hopes details will be finalised in the coming hours.

We've just received these pictures from Tel Aviv, where protesters are demanding the return of hostages kidnapped during the 7 October attack by Hamas:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

94 hostages still held in Gaza - 34 of them believed to be deadpublished at 17:52 Greenwich Mean Time

17:52 GMT

By Emma Pengelly, Jamie Ryan, Alex Murray

According to BBC Verify research, 94 of the 251 hostages taken on 7 October 2023 are still held in Gaza - 60 are assumed to be living and 34 dead.

There are another four hostages who were taken in 2014 and 2015, two of whom are believed to be dead.

The figure of 34 hostages taken on 7 October and now thought dead is based on announcements by the IDF after investigations, statements from kibbutzim and organisations representing the families.

This would leave a figure of 60 hostages still alive, but since 7 October Hamas has claimed a higher death toll of hostages in Gaza. We are unable to verify this.

Some 109 hostages have been released through negotiations, either on humanitarian grounds or during the temporary ceasefire from 24 - 30 November 2023.

Eight hostages have been rescued by the IDF.

The remains of 40 hostages have been recovered from Gaza by the IDF. This includes three hostages accidentally killed by the IDF on 15 December 2023.

As news of the ceasefire emerges, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are celebrating the deal on the streets.

Here are some of the images we’ve received from Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Here's more reaction from US President-elect Donald Trump, who says the "epic ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November".

He says his election to the White House signalled to the world that his administration "would seek peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies".

The president-elect says he is "thrilled" that both American and Israeli hostages will be returning home.

Trump names his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, saying he and the national security team will "continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to make sure Gaza never again becomes a terrorist safe haven".

Trump says his team will continue "promoting peace through strength throughout the region" and build on the "momentum" of the Abraham Accords.

"This is only the beginning of great things to come for America, and indeed, the World," he adds.

Trump's imminent presidency gave the talks a deadlinepublished at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time

17:43 GMT

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent, Washington DC

I think the key point here has been that the transition to the Trump presidency and the looming deadline of his inauguration - 20 January - has in effect given a meaningful deadline on these talks.

Both sides knew that the current terms on offer, and the fact that they're guaranteed by the United States, you get much more uncertainty after that date.

There was no guarantee that with a new administration you would get the same guarantees made by the Biden administration into this process - there may be changed priorities.

A new administration will have to take this on in five days' time - but in the meantime the Biden administration will be dealing with the implementation of that agreement.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's office says the president has met the president of the International Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, amid preparations for a hostage transfer.

In a statement released a few moments ago, the president's office says that during the meeting Herzog emphasised the "utmost importance and sensitivity of this mission".

The Red Cross team, the statement adds, has briefed the president on preparations for the transfer of hostages and the "various challenges they face".

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent

This deal will allow hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Gaza city and southern Gaza to go back to their homes, villages, and towns.

A very important issue for Palestinians is that part of the deal involves 600 trucks of aid [every day of the ceasefire] and medical supplies, including tents, being allowed into Gaza from the Rafah crossing.

We understand this will also include 50 fuel lorries to operate what is remaining of hospitals, fix the power stations, repair sewage and water system, and start the process of finding solutions for all the problems people have been suffering for over a year.

CBS News, the BBC's US news partner, reports that a last-minute snag over the Philadelphi Corridor - a strategically important strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt - arose in the last hour but this was resolved.

Tom Bateman
State Department correspondent, Washington DC

A source briefed on the talks tells the BBC: "Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal reached following Qatari PM’s meeting with Hamas negotiators and separately Israeli negotiators in his office."

US President-elect Donald Trump has just written on Truth Social: "WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!"

Israel and Hamas have agreed a ceasefire deal, a source briefed on the talks tells CBS News, the BBC's US news partner.

The source says it follows the Qatari PM’s meeting with Hamas negotiators and separately Israeli negotiators in his office.

It is hoped that a ceasefire deal will mean an agreement to stop the war in Gaza.

It is also expected to see an exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Hamas seized 251 hostages when it attacked Israel in October 2023. It is still holding 94 captive, although Israel believes that only 60 are still alive.

Israel is expected to release about 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some jailed for years, in return for the hostages.

• Read more: What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal

A Hamas official has told the BBC it has told Qatari and Egyptian mediators that Hamas has approved the ceasefire agreement.

The official spoke to the BBC as Israeli media reported Hamas had introduced last-minute demands to the ceasefire deal - moments before Qatar was due to hold a news conference on the state of the talks.

The reports in Israeli media said it had issued fresh demands about the Philadelphi Corridor - a strategically important strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

Months of negotiations are now coming to a head, leading to a flurry of briefings from all sides. Stay with us as we unpick it all.

While we wait for the press conference in Doha to begin, we've just heard Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has cut short his diplomatic visit to Italy following progress in talks to secure a Gaza ceasefire deal.

In a statement, the foreign ministry says Saar will return to Israel tonight to take part in the expected security cabinet and government votes on a deal.

He had been scheduled to travel to Hungary to attend further diplomatic talks tomorrow.

As is often the case with news conferences, the Qatari update expected to have begun at 19:00 local time (16:00 GMT) has been delayed.

We've not been told by how long the timings have slipped. Stay with us.