The Israeli military says it has killed a man involved in the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023.

Strikes were carried out on 50 targets over the past day, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli Security Agency adds in a joint statement.

Hundreds of people were killed at the festival on 7 October, when Hamas gunmen crossed the border from Gaza.

Officials in Gaza say at least 80 people, including 19 children, have been killed by Israeli strikes since the agreement was announced last night.

The armed wing of Hamas says an Israeli strike - made hours after the ceasefire announcement - targeted a location where a female hostage set to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal was being held.

The group's military spokesman gave no further details about the hostage's condition.

As a reminder, the ceasefire deal includes a staggered release of hostages, with 33 expected to be freed in the first six-week phase due to begin on Sunday.

The current war in Gaza began when the Palestinian armed militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, carried out an unprecedented cross-border attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel then began a military offensive in Gaza - starting with air strikes and then launching a ground invasion - pledging to destroy Hamas and its military capabilities.

More than 46,700 people have since been killed in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which are viewed as accurate by the UN and others.

The UN also estimates that at least 1.9 million people in Gaza - or about 90% of the population - have been internally displaced.

More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations and prisoner swaps with Israel or by Israeli military rescue operations.

A total of 94 hostages taken during the 7 October attacks remain unaccounted for. Israel believes that 60 are still alive.

The chair of the far-right Religious Zionist faction in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, tells the BBC that the group is actively discussing whether to leave the governing coalition over the ceasefire deal.

Speaking to the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme, Ohad Tal, says: “We are discussing [leaving the coalition] among ourselves. We will, of course, vote against the deal."

He adds that his party continuing its partnership depends on it getting assurances that once the first stage of the deal is complete, Israel will continue to fight to “make sure we are removing [Hamas] from power”.

"We promise a very simple thing, to bring back the hostages and to eradicate Hamas," Tal says.

Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister and leader of Religious Zionism, suggested that the party might put forward such an ultimatum after the deal was announced, saying returning to fighting was a "clear condition" for remaining in government.

Netanyahu has a problem with the hard-right in his governmentpublished at 15:07 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

15:07 GMT 16 January

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor, reporting from Jerusalem

The Israeli cabinet meeting to sign off the deal has been delayed, with the Israel PM's office saying Hamas is trying to move the goalposts.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a serious political problem with hard-right parties in his coalition government.

They are contemplating whether to leave the government and try to bring it down – as they believe the deal is the worst thing Israel should be doing right now.

The way Netanyahu works is that he says different things to different groups and tries to play for time. It is often an effective tactic.

The PM is probably signalling to his ultra-nationalist right-wing that they should take this deal for now and that the incoming US President, Donald Trump, wants the deal.

He is also signalling to them that if Israel doesn't get what it wants during the first phase of the ceasefire deal, and it looks like Hamas is regrouping, then Israel will go back to war.

A former Israeli deputy foreign minister says he has "no doubt" that the ceasefire deal will be signed - referring to a delay in the Israeli cabinet meeting to discuss the agreement

Yossi Beilin tells BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that the "opposition and others" in the Israeli government will support the ceasefire deal and doesn't need the support of people in government who are against it.

"It's not a serious crisis, not inside Israel, not inside the coalition [government]," he says.

Ahmed Yousef, an influential political voice in Hamas, says what's happening is "inside politics on both sides" and that it's "just a matter of time" before both Israel and Hamas "declare that the deal satisfies both of them".

Speaking from a refugee camp in Gaza, he says all sides "should live together in this land".

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

The head of the emergency department at a hospital in Gaza City has described to the BBC the moment they heard a series of Israeli air strikes land shortly after the ceasefire deal was announced, sending patients flooding in.

Dr Amjad Eliwah was on shift at the city’s Baptist Hospital when they heard the booms nearby on Wednesday evening.

"It was a bloody night," Dr Eliwah said, over the phone from Gaza City. "We did not rest for one minute. The injured kept on coming. The dead we sent directly to the morgue."

According to the Civil Defence organisation in Gaza, dozens were killed in strikes following the ceasefire announcement and more than 200 wounded. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

Among the dead, according to Dr Eliwah, was a colleague of his from nearby Al-Shifa hospital, a woman he had been working alongside just a day before.

"She was a gastroenterologist and she had a bright future ahead of her," he said. "Suddenly I saw her dead. Half of her family is dead too and the other half is wounded."

At least 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of this recent conflict, according to Palestinian health authorities.

But there was something particularly painful and senseless about seeing the dead and wounded flood in after the long-awaited ceasefire had been announced, Dr Eliwah said.

"For a little while, everyone was happy and joyful,” he said. “Then the same people who were happy were dead."

How much aid has been getting into Gaza?published at 14:32 Greenwich Mean Time 16 January

14:32 GMT 16 January

By Nick Eardley

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate, with 91% of the population facing acute food insecurity according to the UN.

Aid supplies have fallen sharply since the conflict began, according to figures by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Before October 2023, an average of 500 aid trucks, including fuel, entered Gaza daily.

Truckload numbers have dropped considerably since.

UN figures since the conflict do not include fuel or, from May 2024, private sector cargo. But in October 2024 the daily average was just 37 trucks. This prompted US President Joe Biden to demand concrete measures on aid from Israel, but these demands were not met.

Aid agencies – like the Norwegian Refugee Council – have accused Israel of failing to fulfil its legal obligation to facilitate aid. They have also documented disruption caused by Palestinian looters and criminal gangs.

Israel has denied restricting aid, blaming the UN for inefficiencies in distribution.

The European Union has announced a fresh €120m (£101m) aid package for Gaza as part of its "long standing commitment to support Palestinians".

This package will include food, healthcare, water, hygiene and sanitation support, shelter assistance and protection, it says.

It brings their total contribution of humanitarian aid since 2023 to more than €450m.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen writes in a statement that the draft ceasefire and hostage release deal offers "desperately needed" hope, but that "the humanitarian situation remains grim in Gaza".

The proposed deal means aid deliveries would be allowed into Gaza from the first phase. The third stage of the agreement would involve the rebuilding of Gaza.

We can now bring you more from Israeli government spokesperson, David Mencer's statement and response to questions from the media.

He says the Israeli delegation is still in Doha and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly insisted last night that Hamas fold their last-minute demand to change the deployment of Israel Defence Forces in the Philadelphi corridor on the Egyptian border, which he describes as "crucial to stop weapons smuggling to Hamas".

Mencer gives no specifics in answer to a question on what parts of the deal Hamas has reneged on, saying he doesn't want to negotiate live on air.

In response to a question about whether Israel is seeking a complete veto on the release of Hamas prisoners, Mencer says that information will be in the agreement when it is finalised, and adds that Hamas is "not renowned for keeping to deals".

Image source, National Public Diplomacy Directorate

We've just heard from Israeli government spokesperson, David Mencer, who has provided an update on the ceasefire and hostage deal.

He reiterates the Israeli government line that Hamas is reneging on the agreement, which he says has created "a last-minute crisis in an effort to extort last-minute concessions".

The Israeli cabinet cannot convene until mediators notify them that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement that were already agreed, he says.

For context: Hamas has said it is committed to the deal, but the BBC's Rushdi Abualouf hears the group is trying to get one or two of its members on the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed.

We'll bring you more on Mencer's statement in our next post.

Image source, EPA

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby has just been speaking to NBC News about the ceasefire deal and last-minute delays to the Israeli cabinet's voting on it.

Asked if he is confident that this is a plan that will hold, Kirby says their team is working to get through issues raised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that they are "confident we'll be able to solve last-minute issues and that this ceasefire can take place starting on Sunday".

Questioned on President-elect Donald Trump's influence in getting the deal over the line, Kirby says the isolation and weakening of Hamas was the main deciding factor, but that Trump's support "certainly helped, there's no question about that".

"We've got to stop worrying about this whole credit business and who gets credit for what. There's plenty of credit to go around. The hostages don’t care, the people in Gaza don’t care," Kirby adds.

• An Israeli cabinet meeting expected to give the final approval for the ceasefire and hostage release deal has been delayed, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Hamas of backtracking on the deal
• That's something Hamas has denied - saying they are "committed" to the ceasefire
• However, our Gaza correspondent hears that Hamas is pushing for the names of one or two symbolic prisoners held in Israeli prisons to be included in the deal
• Meanwhile, hard-line Israeli ministers are calling for assurances the war will resume at the end of the first phase one of the deal

• Hamas officials in Gaza continue to report on dozens of deaths from Israeli airstrikes carried out since the announcement of the deal
• Aid convoys have started making their way to the border in anticipation of the deal coming into force on Sunday

Stay with us as we follow this story into this afternoon.

While we've reported about Israelis anxiously waiting for news of the release of hostages, there have also been protests in Israel today against the deal - with some voicing concerns it may weaken security.

Here are some of the images we've seen from the news desk.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The latest episode of The Global Story podcast examines the ceasefire deal and the legacy the conflict will leave for Gaza, Israel and the wider region.

The BBC’s Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet joins host Jonny Dymond to break down the terms of the agreement, and how the warring parties ultimately arrived at an accord after months of stalemate.

BBC correspondent Fergal Keane has joined an aid convoy travelling from Jordan to Gaza.

As part of the ceasefire deal, there will be a surge in humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, with hundreds of lorries allowed in each day.

Many are making their way to the border ahead of the deal coming into effect on Sunday. Watch the report below:

Jon Donnison
Reporting from Jerusalem

This long awaited ceasefire and hostage release deal is not over the line yet. It still needs to be approved by the Israeli cabinet and government.

That was expected to happen this morning but the meeting was pushed back.

Hard line Israeli ministers who have threatened to quit the government want assurances that the war will resume in six weeks time after phase one of the deal.

There were protests outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem from the families of dead Israeli soldiers and hostages. “Don’t do a deal with the devil” was their chant, saying the war shouldn’t stop until Hamas is completely wiped out.

And the killing goes on. Officials in Gaza say at least 80 people, including 19 children, have been killed by Israeli strikes since the agreement was announced last night.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also commented on the deal, saying the ceasefire in Gaza must clear the path for much-needed humanitarian aid to enter the war-torn territory.

Speaking during his first visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv earlier, he says the deal will be a "huge relief" to both the hostages and their families as well as the Palestinians after 15 months of war.

"This must be used to get desperately needed aid in, at scale and at speed," Starmer adds.

Starmer also talks about his hopes that the deal is "enduring" and will lead to a "lasting peace" that involves a two-state solution.

Lammy also tells MPs that "much remains to be done", adding that final approval of the agreement is "critical".

"As the Israeli cabinet meets, I urge them to back this deal. Now is not the time for any backtracking," he adds.

"Both sides must implement each phase of the deal in full and on time. The history of this conflict is littered with missed opportunities - it would be a tragedy to let slip the chance before us."

We can bring you some comments from David Lammy, who has just given a statement on the ceasefire deal in the House of Commons.

The foreign secretary is currently taking questions from MPs.

Lammy says the war in Gaza has "divided" communities in the UK, calling the ceasefire deal "a moment to unite".

"After months of despair, there is now hope, a glimmer of light in the darkness ," he tells MPs, adding that the "agony" of hostage families has "gone on and on" and pays tribute to their "bravery, humanity and commitment".

He goes on to say that the civilians in Gaza will be "waiting anxiously" to see what this deal means for them.

"I say to them too, we are with you as you begin to rebuild your lives. After 15 months of conflict, the level of suffering defies belief," he says.