Image source, Reuters

The head of the UN Development Programme says Gaza is estimated to have lost "decades" of development.

"We are dealing with 40 million tonnes of rubble alone that have to be removed. That rubble is highly dangerous, it is toxic, it has unexploded ordinance," Achim Steiner tells BBC World Service's Newsday programme.

Steiner, who's overseeing efforts to support rebuilding and rehousing displaced people, says a major effort is needed to clear the rubble so that people can return to their homes or shelters.

"This is a very complex undertaking that we are now essentially confronted with," he adds.

Steiner also said a complete cessation of fighting and access to humanitarian aid in Gaza are the top priorities in the first 42 days following the ceasefire agreement.

"We have continued to face significant restrictions in terms of being able to move supplies and commodities into Gaza," he says. "We have to create access, we have to create security that will allow life-saving aid to be able to be brought in."

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Israeli air strikes killed more than 20 people in Gaza last night following the announcement of a ceasefire deal, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency.

The victims included 12 people living in a residential block in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, the agency said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

While the ceasefire agreement has been announced, it has yet to be approved by Israel’s cabinet, and if approved would not come into force until Sunday.

Israel has previously launched air strikes in the run up to ceasefire arrangements taking effect, including recently in Lebanon, where a round of heavy bombing hit the capital Beirut just hours before the ceasefire there in November.

Under the planned first stage of this ceasefire agreement with Hamas, 33 hostages would be released from Gaza in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Getting to this point has taken months of painstaking indirect negotiations, not least because Israel and Hamas completely distrust each other.

Hamas wanted a complete end to the war before it would release the hostages, something which was unacceptable to Israel.

The ceasefire will in effect pause the war while its terms are carried out.

However, it is unclear whether it will mean the war is over for good.

One of Israel's key war aims has been to destroy Hamas's military and governing capabilities. Although Israel has severely damaged it, Hamas still has some capacity to operate and regroup.

It is also unclear which hostages are alive or dead or whether Hamas knows the whereabouts of all those who remain unaccounted for.

For its part, Hamas has demanded the release of some prisoners which Israel says it will not free. This is believed to include those who were involved in the 7 October attacks.

It is also not known whether Israel will agree to pull out of the buffer zone by a certain date, or whether its presence there will be open-ended.

• What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal

Jon Donnison
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

In Israel there was celebration and relief that a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage relief deal has finally been agreed. But it’s not quite there yet.

Israel's cabinet has to meet this morning to give its final approval.

Two hard-line right-wing ministers have long threatened to quit the government coalition if the ceasefire goes ahead. That could lead to fresh elections here, but it won't block the deal if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants it to happen.

The ceasefire and the release of the first three Israeli hostages is expected to come on Sunday although a senior Hamas official has told the BBC there are talks ongoing to bring the start forward to tonight.

The fighting continues - Gaza’s Civil Defence agency says at least 20 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the deal was announced yesterday evening.

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor, reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Getty Images

A senior Palestinian official told the BBC that Hamas would release three female soldiers on the first day of the ceasefire. Mediators in Doha are trying an earlier start to the ceasefire, Thursday evening instead of Sunday.

Until the ceasefire does come into effect, the war that started when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 goes on. At least 12 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes on northern Gaza around the time the ceasefire was announced.

In what has been at times even an hourly ritual over the last 15 months, video has come out of northern Gaza showing their bodies being carried out of ambulances in sheets and laid out in a line outside a hospital.

The ceasefire is a considerable diplomatic achievement. It's long overdue. Versions of the deal have been on the table since it was announced by US President Joe Biden in May last year. Hamas and Israel have blamed each other for the delays.

In Khan Younis in Gaza, journalists working for the BBC filmed Palestinians dancing and chanting as it became clear that the ceasefire had been agreed.

• Read the rest of the analysis on the impact of the ceasefire deal on the conflict

Gazans and Israelis react to the news of a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The much-anticipated ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas will involve three phases.

The first phase will be take place over six weeks and involve the release of 33 hostages including women, children and elderly people. In exchange, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners held in its Israeli jails.

Israeli forces will also withdraw to the east away from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be able to return to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into the territory each day.

On the 16th day of the first phase, talks will start on the second phase which would see the remaining hostages released and a full Israeli troop withdrawal

The third and final phase will involve the reconstruction of Gaza and the return of any remaining hostages' bodies.

Image source, Reuters

Sharone Lifschitz is a British-Israeli woman whose 84-year-old father Oded is among the remaining hostages. Her mother, Yocheved, was also abducted in the 7 October attack but was released after several weeks in captivity.

She told the BBC as news of the deal came through that it felt "like a bit of sanity", but she admitted: "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."

She warned: "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."

Moshe Lavi, the brother in-law of Omri Miran, a 47-year-old father-of-two young children, told the BBC that it was "a very mixed day for most families of hostages".

"We want to see our families come home from their mass captivity. But we also understand that this is a phase deal. Only the first phase was agreed upon," he said.

"We'll have to keep fighting, keep advocating as families with all leaders with our own government to understand they have to release all the hostages."

Image source, Reuters

As news of the agreement emerged, pictures showed people cheering and waving Palestinian flags in the central Gazan town of Deir al-Balah and southern city of Khan Younis.

Sanabel, a 17-year-old girl living to the north in Gaza City, told BBC OS: "All of us are delighted."

"We have been waiting for this for a long time," she said. "Finally, I will put my head on my pillow without worrying... It is time to heal."

Nawara al-Najjar, whose husband was among more than 70 people killed when Israeli forces launched an operation to rescue two hostages, said: "After the ceasefire I want to give my children the best life."

"I want them to get over the fear we lived. My children are really scared. The terror has settled in their hearts."

Hello and welcome as we continue our live coverage following the news that Hamas and Israel have struck a ceasefire and hostage release deal after 15 months of war.

US President Joe Biden hailed the move, saying it would "halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families".

Israel's cabinet is due to meet later today to approve that deal, with an initial six-week truce expected to start this Sunday.

Many Palestinians and Israeli hostages' families have celebrated the news, but there has been no let up in the war. Gaza's civil defence agency says at least 20 Palestinians have been killed since the deal was announced yesterday evening.

Stay with us as we take your through all the news of the day.

After 15 months of war, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal.

Here are the key developments from a dramatic day of diplomacy:

• Israel and Hamas have reached a deal that is due to come into effect on Sunday
• US President Joe Biden confirmed the deal, which involves a ceasefire in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas
• The deal also paves the way for increased aid deliveries to Palestinians
• Fighting has continued in the meantime. On Wednesday the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency reported that Israeli airstrikes killed more than 20 people
• Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 back to Gaza as hostages
• The attack triggered a massive Israeli offensive on Gaza, during which more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry
• According to BBC Verify research, 94 hostages are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are presumed dead

We are pausing our live coverage for now. You can keep up with all the latest news below:

• Gaza ceasefire deal agreed by Israel and Hamas, Qatar and US say
• 'We have been waiting a long time' - Palestinians react to ceasefire deal
• Bowen: Long-overdue ceasefire may stop the killing but won't end the conflict
• Biden hails ceasefire deal as both he and Trump claim credit, external

Our BBC Arabic-Gaza Lifeline teams have been speaking to Palestinians on the ground in Gaza who have been reacting to the news of a deal, which they hope will lead to the cessation of hostilities.

One man says he feels "overwhelming joy mixed with deep sadness and pain" at the news. "There is joy in the cessation of bloodshed in Gaza, but grief for the martyrs, prisoners, and the countless wounded and disabled left behind by this brutal war."

Another woman, speaking to BBC Arabic, says she is "relieved that the ceasefire has been reached, and I pray that there will be no more wars".

"I hope for the liberation of Gaza and Palestine, for the day we can once again pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque and see the sea. I wish for everyone to live in happiness and peace," she adds.

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

The Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said the UK government hopes Emily Demari, the one remaining hostage with British citizenship who is being held in Gaza, "will be freed in the coming days".

"I was in Israel on Monday briefing hostage families connected to the UK, sitting with Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari... briefing her on where these negotiations have got to," Lammy said.

"This is a very, very tense time. And these are a tense few days as [familes] wait to see if their loved ones will emerge and whether they are alive or no longer and we wait patiently alongside them," he continued.

The UK foreign secretary said "this is a day of hope after 466 days of agony and pain across the Middle East and across the global community".

He added "this is the moment now to get the humanitarian aid in to support those many, many, many people who have found the last 14 months so horrendous, and of course, to begin the reconstruction."

"I would want to emphasize this peace, that may now have been achieved, is very fragile. This is just phase one. We must move to phase two and three and a complete ceasefire, and the day after," he said.

"And as you would expect, the United Kingdom will be playing a critical role, both in the humanitarian effort and in those steps to begin to rebuild Gaza, but to get to the two-state solution that will see wider peace between Israel and the Palestinian people."

Merlyn Thomas
BBC North America correspondent

As news of the ceasefire was confirmed, it's interesting to note which US figure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called first.

His office said he spoke to President-elect Donald Trump, thanking him for "helping Israel end the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families."

The two leaders are due to meet soon in Washington, it added, with Trump due to take office on 20 January, one day after the ceasefire is meant to take effect.

The statement from Netanyahu's office then goes on to mention outgoing President Joe Biden, thanking him for his help in promoting the hostage deal, in fewer words than those dedicated to Trump. It also makes clear that the prime minister spoke with Biden second.

The order of these phone calls suggests Netanyahu - like many other leaders around the world - is already anticipating the shift in power in Washington, even though the presidential inauguration is still a few days away.

We're getting some further details about the steps that led to the deal, via a background briefing by White House officials who say it was military pressure on Hamas that helped get the group back to the negotiating table.

A senior US administration official outlined the long start-and-stop negotiation process and painted a picture of a weakened Hamas losing its ally in the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and faced with weaker friends in Iran and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.

The official also detailed the role of Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, saying that he was an active participant in negotiations, working as a partner with Brett McGurk, Joe Biden’s top advisor in the region – who also served under Trump.

The White House says it's confident that there will be a seamless transition - on this issue at least - between the Biden and Trump presidencies.

Jonah Fisher
Reporting from Jerusalem

Though many Palestinians and Israelis say they are feeling a sense of optimism following the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage deal, Israel’s far-right, ultra-nationalist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier gave his reaction, calling the accord "bad and dangerous".

In a post on social media site X, he said, a "clear condition of our remaining in the government is the absolute certainty of returning to war with great force".

The ceasefire deal with Hamas will be discussed by Israel's government on Thursday, ahead of it coming into force on Sunday. Though Smotrich and his fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have said they oppose it, they don’t have the numbers to block it.

They could, however, quit the government and try and bring it down. With that in mind, Smotrich says he’s been holding "feverish conversations" with Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the last few days.

The ceasefire is – on paper at least – a temporary one, lasting six weeks. The possibility of the war in Gaza resuming at that point may just be enough to keep the likes of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir on board and in government.

People in Israel and Gaza have welcomed the news of a ceasefire agreement, with celebrations breaking out in the streets of Deir al-Balah in Gaza and Tel Aviv in Israel.

In Gaza, one man says he is "in shock with joy", while a woman in Israel says she hopes every hostage will return home, not just the initial 33 who are due to be released in the ceasefire's initial phase.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, celebrated the news of the ceasefire deal on X and said his organisation was ready to "scale up its support".

"The Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal is welcome and encouraging. Too many lives have been lost and too many families have suffered. We hope all parties will respect the deal and work towards lasting peace," Ghebreyesus says.

"Peace is the best medicine!"