Despite the three-hour delay to the ceasefire this morning, key mediator Qatar suggests, external the release of the first three female hostages is still on for today - we've got details on the three here.

"They are three Israeli citizens, one of whom holds Romanian citizenship and the other British citizenship," Qatar says. "Thus, the ceasefire has begun."

The release of the first three hostages is supposed to happen sometime after 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT) today.

In a statement, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office also says four other living female hostages could be freed in seven days.

• For context: Qatar, along with the US and Egypt, has played a key role in the mediation talks between Israel and Hamas.

Thousands of internally displaced Gazans have begun making their way back to their homes this morning.

Long lines of people carrying clothing and other belongings can be seen in pictures published by photographers in the territory. As can a convoy of cars, some filled with people holding the Palestinian flag.

Here's what we're seeing:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

We're hearing from the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), which says thousands of trucks filled with food and flour are now waiting to enter Gaza - something agreed in the ceasefire deal.

In a post on X, the agency says it has "4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza - half of them carry food and flour".

The agency's head Philippe Lazzarini adds: "Attacks on aid convoys in the Gaza Strip could decline as humanitarian relief comes in following a ceasefire".

• Want more on this? The BBC's Fergal Keane recently spent time on board an aid convoy, on its way to Gaza

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

Image source, The Hostages Families Forum

The Damari family has waited 471 days for the news that came out this morning - that their daughter, Emily, is to be freed.

The overnight delay for the names to be released was, for her family, "horrific".

On Friday night in Israel, Mandy Damari - born in Kent, south-east England - lit candles to mark the start of the Jewish Shabbat (Sabbath). Behind the candles, there lay a picture of her daughter with a British flag at the side.

Mandy prayed that this would be the last Shabbat Emily would be held as a hostage. But she will not believe Emily is free until she sees her.

British-Israeli Emily, 28, was dragged out from her home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October 2023 by Hamas gunmen. The Tottenham Hotspur fan was shot in the hand and leg, and her dog Choocha was shot and killed.

Her family were told in March 2024 that she was still alive, but received no information about her condition. Since then there has been nothing.

Now they are so close to their aim of finally bringing Emily home.

Image source, Reuters

After 15 months of fighting, and a three-hour delay to the original start time, the Gaza ceasefire has begun.

It means the fighting between Israel and Hamas will stop and Israeli hostages being held by Hamas will be released, in phases, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.

There's been a lot of information to digest this morning - here are the key things you need to know:

• The ceasefire began at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT) - it had been due to start three hours earlier but Israel said it could not go ahead until Hamas had delivered a list of names of the hostages it planned to release
• Hamas blamed "technical reasons" for the delay, but went on to release the names of the three people it says will be the first to be freed: Doron Steinbrecher, 31, dual British-Israeli national Emily Damari, 28, and 24-year-old Romi Gonen
• After the delay this morning, Israeli air strikes continued in Gaza, killing at least 19 according to figures from the Hamas-run civil defence agency
• We don't currently know how the delay this morning will impact timings for the first exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners - which had been due to take place at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT)
• Hundreds of aid trucks are now waiting to cross into Gaza - their entry is a condition of the ceasefire deal and is something humanitarian workers have been calling for for months
• And since it became clear the ceasefire would take effect today, far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir has resigned from the government, branding the truce a "victory for terrorism"

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Bloomberg

The far-right Jewish Power party has announced that it's leaving the Israeli government in protest at the ceasefire deal, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with just a razor-thin parliamentary majority left.

National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichai Eliyahu, submitted their letters of resignation this morning.

Ben-Gvir has long been a vocal opponent of the ceasefire deal, and has pushed for Israel to continue its military operation against Hamas in Gaza.

Writing to Netanyahu to announce his resignation, Ben-Gvir said he would not work to overthrow the government, but called the ceasefire agreement a "complete victory for terrorism".

After that flurry of breaking news, we've just heard from the office of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that the ceasefire in Gaza will commence at 11:15 local time (09:15 GMT).

That means we're expecting it to start anytime now.

The Israeli hostages who'll be freed by Hamas as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal include the youngest and oldest hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, according to a list published by Israel.

Israel's official X account , external shared an image with the names of the first 33 hostages that are expected to be released.

Kfir Bibas was nine months old when he was first taken and has now had two birthdays whilst in captivity. Shlomo Mantzur, 86, is the oldest hostage to have been kidnapped and is expected to be in the first wave of hostages to be released.

Here's the list:

Image source, Israel/X

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

In November 2023, on the weekend the first Israeli hostages were released from Gaza, I was with Yamit Ashkenazi, whose sister Doron has just been confirmed as one of the three hostages expected today.

Doron’s family knew then that she would not be part of that release, which prioritised mothers and children.

"I am a mother also, so I understand why the children have to come out first," Yamit said at the time.

"But Doron is my parents' young daughter. She is a human being. Behind every number there is a person with a story and relatives. So we must get them all back, not just certain categories."

Image source, Family handout

Yamit had just had a new tattoo done. It read: “As the sun we will rise again”, but had some of the sun's rays missing.

"They will be added when she is home," she said.

If all goes to plan today, more than a year on, the sisters will finally be reunited.

In a post on Telegram, Hamas has just released the names of the three female hostages who it says will be freed first, as part of the ceasefire with Israel.

They are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher. Here's what we know about them:

• Doron Steinbrecher, 31, a veterinary nurse, who was in her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas attacked
• Emily Damari, 28, who holds dual British-Israeli nationality and was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza
• Romi Gonen, 24, who was ambushed as she tried to escape from the Supernova Festival

Image source, Reuters

The Hamas-run Gaza civil defence agency has updated its death toll from this morning, saying 10 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes since the ceasefire was meant to have started this morning.

Official spokesman Mahmoud Basal says that includes six in Gaza City, three in the north and one in Rafah. Another 25 people have been injured.

Earlier, Israel's military said it would continue its military operation in Gaza until the ceasefire begins.

A further update for you now - mediators of the ceasefire talks and Israeli media now say that the names of the hostages set to be freed by Hamas have been handed over.

We're yet to see that list and there's been no update on whether this means the ceasefire will begin today, as originally planned, but we'll let you know when we hear.

This list of names has been the key stumbling block that meant Israel delayed the start of the ceasefire this morning, which was due to start at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT).

Part of the deal states that the names of the hostages to be released must be provided at least 24 hours ahead of time. Earlier, Hamas said the reason for its delay was due to a "technical" issue.

A Hamas official says that the names of hostages to be released under a ceasefire deal with Israel will be handed over "any moment", but that "complexities" in Gaza and Israeli strikes have caused delays.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

For the nearly two million people estimated to have been displaced in Gaza since the start of the conflict, about 90% of the population, the ceasefire delay prolongs an agonising wait to begin moving home.

The Israeli military has instructed the civilian population not to approach any of its military personnel or installations, as the IDF gradually withdraws.

“We urge you not to head toward the buffer zone or IDF forces for your safety,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Telegram today.

Speaking to the BBC, Sabreen Doshan, 45, said even though she knew her home and news kiosk in Gaza City had been destroyed in the bombing she would travel back there the moment she was allowed.

"Even if I have to put my tent on rubble it will be OK, because I will be home," she said. "Nowhere can satisfy me now apart from home."

Palestinians in Gaza were hopeful this morning that the much-anticipated ceasefire would start at 08:30 local time.

Photographers had been sending through images of Gazans, of all ages, with smiles on their faces and gesturing the peace sign to cameras as day broke in the war-stricken territory.

But with Israel now confirming the deal is on hold until Hamas releases the names of the Israeli hostages set to be freed, that hope has turned to uncertainty.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, reuter

Image source, Reuters

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Eight people have been killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza in the first hour that the ceasefire was supposed to be in effect, according to a spokesman for the Hamas-run Gaza civil defence agency.

Five have been killed in Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal says, and three in the north. Twenty-five more were wounded.

Video footage from Rafah in the south of the strip showed people already on the move, but the Israeli military has warned civilians not to approach the buffer zones it has set out nor any Israeli military personnel or infrastructure.

Image source, Reuters

It seems Israeli strikes are continuing in Gaza, with images showing huge clouds of smoke rising above the north of the territory.

A little earlier, an Israeli military spokesman told reporters fighting would continue until Hamas held up its end of the ceasefire deal and published the names of the first hostages it planned to release.

Now, in an updated statement, it adds:

"The IDF is continuing to operate and strike terror targets in the Gaza Strip. A short while ago, IDF artillery and aircraft struck a number of terror targets in northern and central Gaza. The IDF remains ready in defence and offence and will not allow any harm to the citizens of Israel."

• As a reminder: A ceasefire in Gaza was meant to come into effect about an hour ago, but Israel said this could not happen until Hamas announced which hostages it was planning to free today. According to the text of the ceasefire deal, names should be provided at least 24 hours before a release takes place.

Another update from the Israeli military now - it says special forces have recovered the body of a soldier who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war and which has been held by Hamas since then.

Staff Sergeant Oron Shaul’s remains were found during a "covert, special operation" in Gaza, according to a statement. His family was informed earlier following an identification procedure carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Military Rabbinate, it adds.

Hamas was believed to have agreed to hand over Shaul’s body as part of the new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, which is meant to take effect today.

The group is also holding three other Israelis abducted before the 7 October 2023 attacks:

• One is another soldier killed in the 2014 war, Hadar Goldin
• The two others are civilians believed to be still alive: Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mengistu and Bedouin Arab Israeli Hisham al-Sayed were seized in 2014 and 2015 respectively after they crossed into Gaza on their own - you can read about their cases here.

Image source, Getty Images

As we wait for more updates on the delayed ceasefire, let's take a look at what the deal actually involves.

It comes in three stages. The first six-week phase of the deal will see more than 30 hostages - including women, children and elderly people - exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

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

Negotiations for the second phase - which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a return to "sustainable calm" - are then due to start on the 16th day.

The third and final stage involves the return of any remaining hostages' bodies and the reconstruction of Gaza - something which could take years.

But unanswered questions remain - including which hostages are alive or dead, or whether Hamas knows the whereabouts of all those who remain unaccounted for.

• More: What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

The ceasefire, due to come into effect a short while ago at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT), has been delayed until Hamas meets its obligations, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari just said.

The issue appears to be a failure by Hamas to provide the names of the three Israeli hostages it planned to release today.

Hagari also said the Israeli military would continue its military operations in Gaza until those obligations were met.