Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says he hopes to announce the release of hostages being held in Gaza "in coming days"
He says diplomatic and military pressure got us to this point - and adds that Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza demilitarised "the easy way or the hard way"
Netanyahu's comments come after Hamas agreed to release hostages under a US-proposed peace plan
Israel and Hamas are preparing to take part in indirect talks in Egypt, with the US sending envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to join them
Hamas has previously asked for further negotiations on a number of issues outlined in the US plan
As Netanyahu's statement was aired, in Tel Aviv crowds gathered around Hostages Square listened intently as former hostages called for an end to the war, the BBC's Alice Cuddy reports
Watch: Hopes and fears in Gaza and Israel over potential ceasefire
According to several Israeli news outlets, negotiating teams have been told to prepare to resume talks today, to hopefully move forward on the first phase of the peace plan.
They have been instructed to get ready to "leave today" for the talks, Haaretz and Channel 12 report, although it is unclear where they would be travelling to.
Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent
Image source, ReutersGaza City has been hit by three separate air strikes since the morning hours, one of which killed one person and left several others wounded, according to medical sources at al-Shifa Hospital.
The first strike targeted a group of residents near al-Nasr School on al-Nasr Street as they tried to check on their homes. It was carried out by an Israeli helicopter.
The second strike hit al-Jalaa Street, between the Zaharna and Ghafri areas, though no casualties were reported. The third air raid was conducted by Israeli warplanes near Hamid roundabout, at the intersection with al-Nasr Street.
Details of casualties or damage remain unclear.
Meanwhile, Israeli ground vehicles and drones (quadcopters) have continued firing, while artillery shells struck buildings in areas where the army is operating.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) - an ally of Hamas which took part in the 7 October attack - has endorsed the group's response to President Trump's peace plan.
"The response provided by the Islamic Resistance Movement 'Hamas' to the Trump plan represents the stance of the Palestinian resistance forces," the PIJ says in a statement.
"The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement participated responsibly in the consultations that led to this decision," the statement adds.
The Israeli military warns Palestinians that the area north of Wadi Gaza "remains a dangerous combat zone".
Israeli army forces are "still surrounding Gaza City" and trying to return there "poses an extreme danger", IDF Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee writes on X, external.
He says Rashid Street is still open so people can move south.
The IDF has been closing in on Gaza City, which it sees as Hamas's "last stronghold". The military has ordered Palestinians to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip, but aid groups say that the "humanitarian area" in the south is so overcrowded, people can't find space to pitch tents and some have returned north.
We're beginning to see some photos taken in the central Gaza Strip early Saturday morning.
As talk of the end of the war rumbles on, little appears to have changed on the ground.
Image source, ReutersThe UN estimates that over 90% of all residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict
Image source, ReutersAccess to clean water is limited in the Gaza Strip, where the UN estimates at least 1.9 million people have been displaced
Image source, ReutersSmoke is rising in Gaza City after overnight Israeli strikes
Image source, EPA/ShutterstockThere have been regular protests in Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, as families of those taken by Hamas demand their return
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says it's now time for Israel to "stand together" to secure the return of all remaining hostages from Gaza.
"We are in decisive days for a deal - days that will determine when the living hostages return for rehabilitation and the deceased return for proper burial," the forum says in a statement.
"This is the hour when all of Israel must stand together and demand loudly: do everything possible to bring our brothers and sisters home."
The organisation, which was formed in the immediate aftermath of the 7 October attack, is largely volunteer-run and supports the hostages' families, while pressuring governments to bring them home.
It has called on Israelis to gather in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square tonight, to mark nearly two years since the 7 October attack.
"This is the time, the place, and the moment to prove that nothing is stronger than Israeli solidarity."
Image source, Getty ImagesTrump released his 20-point peace plan during a visit to the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week.
Here are some of the key proposals in the plan:
You can read Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan in full here.
Leader of the Opposition in Israel Yair Lapid and leader of Israel's Democrats party Yair Golan have called on Netanyahu to move forward with President Trump's peace plan.
"At this moment, our collective mission is not to allow any — neither Hamas nor Netanyahu and his government any opportunity to sabotage Trump's agreement," Golan posts on X.
The leader of the Democrats party says Israel should "move forward and fight with all means" to ensure an agreement is implemented, hostages are released, Hamas' rule ends and the Gaza Strip is reconstructed.
Lapid says he has told the US administration that Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has the political backing to continue the process to end the war.
"Israel should announce it is joining the discussions led by the president to finalize the details of the deal" Lapid writes on X.
Image source, ReutersUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio with opposition leader Yair Lapid in Jerusalem in February
Image source, ReutersPresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says Hamas's response to President Trump's peace plan proposal is "encouraging" and that "this moment must be seized".
"An immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages are within reach," the European Commission's president posts on X.
She adds that Europe will support all efforts to end the war and promote a two-state solution, which she calls "the only viable solution for peace".
Image source, ReutersA Jewish community in Buenos Aires, Argentina mark the second anniversary of the 7 October attack, when about 1,200 people in Israel were killed and 251 others were taken hostage
In its response to Donald Trump's plan for peace, Hamas agreed to release all remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.
Of the 251 people taken on 7 October 2023, there are believed to be 48 hostages still being held in the Palestinian territory by Hamas, only 20 of whom are thought to be alive.
As a reminder: Hamas has asked for further negotiations on a number of issues outlined in the US' peace plan. Handing over all the living hostages means they lose nearly all their bargaining power, our US State Department Correspondent Tom Bateman writes.
Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem
Image source, ReutersHamas was under a lot of pressure to accept at least some points of President Trump’s deal for Gaza. With its “yes, but” response, this is exactly what they have done.
They have agreed to release all the remaining Israeli hostages, both living and dead, and that Gaza will be governed by technocrats.
But the group’s statement doesn’t mention its disarmament, which has been a major Israeli demand, or the exile of its members.
The response came after the start of the Jewish weekend, so reaction in Israel has, so far, been limited.
The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the country was preparing for the immediate release of all the hostages. And reports suggest the army has been ordered to reduce offensive operations.
In Gaza, many are expressing hope that these dramatic developments could finally pave the way for the war to end.
By Merlyn Thomas and Benedict Garman
On Monday, the White House published a map, external showing the various lines of Israeli troop withdrawal, should Donald Trump’s peace plan go ahead.
Although the map appears to be somewhat approximate - for example, Gaza's southern border with Egypt is not actually as straight as pictured - it gives us an idea of what this peace plan would mean for the Palestinian territory.
If the peace plan followed the boundaries shown on the White House map, the military’s initial withdrawal would leave Gaza about 55% occupied.
The second withdrawal would leave it about 40% occupied.
And the final phase of the withdrawal, which would create a “security buffer zone“, would leave about 15% of Gaza occupied by the Israeli military.
It also shows an IDF "current line of control", but this map doesn’t closely correspond to our analysis of areas under evacuation orders or designated militarised zones.
Below is the latest version of the IDF’s own map, showing the area which the Israeli military calls a "dangerous combat zone" which covers about 80% of Gaza. Also shown is the part of southern Gaza it describes as a "humanitarian area".
Image source, APSeveral explosions were seen in Gaza in the early hours of Saturday morning, the day after Trump urged Israel to stop bombing Gaza.
After receiving Hamas's response to his peace plan, Trump said be believed the group was ready for "lasting peace". Shortly after, a journalist for Israel's official military radio station, Galatz, reported that the IDF would reduce troops activity in Gaza to the minimum.
We also reported earlier on an overnight meeting between top Israeli military and intelligence officials, where preparations were made for the "implementation of first phase of Trump plan".
You can read more about that meeting here.
Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, has responded to Trump's 20-point plan on the Strip's future.
Its statement on Saturday stops short of a complete agreement - but it has accepted some of the crucial elements that Western and Middle Eastern countries see as necessary for ending the war.
The points they agree on:
But Hamas wants further negotiations on these points:
It's unclear if Trump will accept renegotiation on these issues.
Read here for our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet's analysis of Hamas' position. Stay with us and we will keep you updated on further developments throughout the day.
Image source, EPAIt has been a busy few hours for high-level diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict in Gaza to a close.
If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know:
Image source, EPAJacob Granger is an emergency coordinator in Gaza for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and tells the BBC that people in Gaza City are living in "dire conditions" with reduced access to food, water and health services.
MSF has been forced to suspend "essential medical activities" in Gaza City at the end of September, which Granger says was due to a deteriorating security situation and increasing air strikes.
MSF staff member Omar Hayek was killed in Gaza on Thursday, the 14th MSF member killed in the in Gaza since 7 October 2023.
"This is an obligation from Israeli authorities, you have to protect humanitarian missions," says Granger, detailing the "pretty tough days" following his colleague's death.
"Even humanitarians are not protected, so just imagine the rest of the civilian population."
And the locals are desperate to find out if the latest political moves would mean an end to the war, as our Gaza Correspondent Rushdi Abualouf has just reported.
Image source, ReutersWhile Trump responded somewhat positively to Hamas' response to his peace plan, the group's rejection of key aspects leaves it unclear what happens next in the conflict.
Oliver McTernan, who has spent more than two decades working in conflict resolution in the Middle East, tells the BBC that Hamas has now put the onus back on Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say whether they accept Hamas's call for further negotiations on certain aspects of the peace plan.
He says the optics of which side is considered responsible for the violence continuing matters, and believes it is up to Trump to tell Israel to stop the killing and to allow aid into Gaza, while allowing further negotiations to take place.
"I think we can move forward to a solution that can help us then to move forward to a durable agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis," adds McTernan.
World leaders have largely welcomed Hamas's statement saying it accepted parts of the 20 point peace plan proposed by Trump while seeking renegotiations on others.
We've reported UK PM Keir Starmer's statement earlier on, as well as Qatar's positive reaction. Here is a round-up of what some other key leaders have been saying:
Image source, EPAGerman Chancellor Merz and French President Macron
Rushdi Abualouf
BBC News Gaza correspondent
Image source, ReutersPeople in Gaza are in a state of shock, struggling to grasp the dramatic and fast-moving developments.
I have received hundreds of messages from inside Gaza filled with urgent questions: “Has the war ended?” and “Is this a dream or reality?”
Questions that I struggle to find the right answers to.
Over the past two days, every official I spoke to from Hamas suggested the movement was either rejecting President Trump’s proposal or expressing strong reservations over some key points, such as the issue of weapons, the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas has come under unprecedented pressure from its allies. Yet, there is near consensus among activists, politicians, and even critics of the movement with whom I spoke that Hamas’s statement was tactically smart, despite the deliberate ambiguity on critical issues.
There remains deep uncertainty about whether these latest developments will succeed in halting the war. What is clear, however, is that the Gaza war has entered a decisive moment in the course of the latest developments.
Image source, HandoutThe mother of an Israeli soldier taken hostage by Hamas has posted on X to say she feels "closer than ever to hug my son Matan again".
Anat Angrest writes that this moment comes "after two years of suffering", adding: "Thank you President Trump".
Matan Angrest, 22, was a soldier when taken captive by Hamas. His health condition has been rapidly deteriorating, according to his mother.