Image source, Reuters

Israel's President Isaac Herzog has welcomed the security cabinet's decision to recommend approving a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.

The full government cabinet is expected to vote on the deal shortly, which if approved would go into effect on Sunday.

"This is a vital step toward fulfilling the highest covenant between the state and its citizens. There is no greater moral, human, Jewish, and Israeli duty. We must bring all of our hostages back home," Herzog says in a post on X.

"I harbor no illusions — the deal will bring with it great challenges and painful, agonizing moments that we will need to overcome and face together."

He adds that he embraced all families of the hostages, especially those who would not return in the first stage of the deal - which is expected to see 33 hostages released.

Israel's security cabinet recommends the Israeli government "approve the proposed outline" of the ceasefire deal, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

As we mentioned a little earlier, this means that the deal must now be voted on by the wider government cabinet.

The meeting for that vote is scheduled to begin at 15:30 local time (13:30 GMT), according to Israeli media.

Let's bring you more from the families of hostages who addressed a public event in Tel Aviv a short while ago.

Daniel Lifshitz - who hopes his 84-year-old grandfather will be released in the first phase of the deal - tells the crowd: "At this moment, all families are more united than ever behind the return of the first 33 hostages and from there the return of all hostages.

"We won't let the war continue, we won't stop until the last hostage is home. On Sunday we begin a new era of our country."

For Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan, 24, was taken hostage, she says the ceasefire is the "beginning of the healing and rehabilitation process that the country so desperately needs".

Image source, Paulina Patimer

Israeli media is reporting that the wider government cabinet is set to convene at 15.30 local time (13:30 GMT) to discuss the ceasefire deal.

The security cabinet, a smaller group of government ministers, has been meeting for the past few hours to discuss and vote on it.

The wider government cabinet must formally approve it, before a ceasefire can come into force.

Image source, Kobi Gideon/GPO

The newly announced ceasefire will see aid deliveries increased to hundreds of trucks per day, as part of the first phase of the deal between Israel and Hamas - up from about 40 at the moment.

Aid trucks loaded with supplies are forming queues at the border in Egypt as they wait to be allowed into Gaza - which could be on Sunday, if the timetable is stuck to.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Doug Faulkner
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

• Israel's security cabinet is meeting to discuss the deal and is expected to approve it, despite opposition from far-right members of Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition who have threatened to resign if the deal is ratified
• That meeting had been due to take place yesterday but the Israeli prime minister postponed it, accusing Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement - which the group denies
• This morning Hamas said obstacles to the ceasefire had been resolved
• If the security cabinet approves the agreement Israel's wider government still has to give it the green light
• News of the deal broke on Wednesday, when US and Qatari officials said an agreement between Israel and Hamas had been reached after months of negotiations
• The first of three stages is expected to come into effect on Sunday with the first hostages being released, and Netanyahu's office says this is still possible despite the delay to the security cabinet meeting
• Fighting has continued in Gaza since the deal was announced on Wednesday, with 113 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes according to Gaza's civil defence agency

As we wait for news from Israel's security cabinet meeting, a former Israeli politician tells the BBC he's sure the government will approve the ceasefire deal.

Meir Sheetrit - who held various minister posts in government until 2009 - tells the BBC Newsday programme: "Without that [a ceasefire deal], we cannot move on, and I'm sure that there is a full majority in the government to approve it."

He calls it a "bad deal" but that he is "happy that it is happening", adding that "I think we should do it".

A majority of Israeli ministers are expected to back the deal, but late on Thursday security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened that his right-wing party would quit Netanyahu's government if it was approved.

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Hundreds of far-right protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem last night to protest against the anticipated ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

The protesters blocked roads and smeared their hands with fake blood, chanting accusations that Israel was surrendering to Hamas with the deal.

Far-right members of Israel’s government, led by hard-line national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have threatened to resign over the deal, seeking to pressure Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue the country’s war against Hamas.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Hamas says obstacles that arose in relation to the ceasefire have been resolved on Friday.

In a statement the group says: "With the generous efforts of the mediators, the obstacles that arose due to the occupation's failure to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement were resolved at dawn today."

Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a security cabinet meeting to sign off on the deal, accusing Hamas of trying to "extort last minute concessions" - which the organisation denied. The BBC understands Hamas was trying to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners that would be released under the deal.

The Israeli cabinet meeting has gone ahead today.

The Hamas-run civil defence agency in Gaza says 113 people, including 28 children and 31 women, have now been killed in the Strip since the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday night.

Spokesman Mahmoud Basal said the number was correct as of midday on Friday (10:00 GMT) - and marks a rise of 13 deaths since the last update three hours earlier.

At least 264 people have been injured in the same timeframe, he adds.

Among the recent deaths that Basal mentions is two people killed in a strike in Jabalia in northern Gaza, and three killed in bombing behind Al-Zafer Tower in Gaza City.

Image source, The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters

As the security cabinet meeting takes place, families of hostages have been speaking at an event in Tel Aviv this morning, calling for the ceasefire deal to be finalised.

"I welcome this deal with a joy in my heart for every hostage saved," says Michel Illouz, the father of 26-year-old Guy Illouz, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival by Hamas and is believed to have died in Gaza.

"This deal comes too late for my son Guy whose life will not be saved but he can be brought back home for burial here," he tells the audience.

"Our work is not done, we will not rest until every hostage is home - the living and the dead - they all need to return to us, to their family."

Huda Matrabie, a Gazan who has been displaced several times during the conflict, says the ceasefire "can feel like a fragile moment of relief".

"For many of us, it brings us a sense of hope, a hope that perhaps this time might be different, so the possibility of rebuilding, returning to a normal life, even if just for a while," she tells the BBC Newsday programme from northern Gaza.

But she adds that "with this hope, comes real fear" that the deal could break down.

"The fear is not just of the immediate danger, but of the emotional toll - constant uncertainty and the ever-present feeling that are lives are not truly our own," she adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

After several delays, the Israeli cabinet is reportedly meeting to discuss the ceasefire deal, and the prime minister’s office has said it expects the release of hostages as early as Sunday.

The deal looks to be on track, but pitfalls remain:

• Far-right members of Israel’s government, led by national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have threatened to resign over the terms of the deal and have yet to withdraw that threat
• There is a potential logistical hurdle in the form of the Sabbath, which would prevent working on Saturday, in the crucial final hours before the deal is expected to come into force. This hurdle could be overcome, if necessary, by a religious exemption available in Jewish law that allows for the breaking of the Sabbath in order to save a life
• Another sticking point could come in the form of a 48-hour period granted by Israeli law, under which anyone can object to the specific Palestinian prisoners being released in exchange for hostages. The 48-hour period, which begins with the publication of the names of the Palestinian prisoners, could reportedly be shortened via the courts

The more significant obstacles may arrive after phase one of the deal is agreed. The release of the hostages in small groups over six weeks could be fraught and fall apart at any moment, if either side cannot follow through or chooses to renege.

Netanyahu’s fragile political coalition could also fall apart during the process, threatening his ability to see through the terms of the deal as agreed.

We've had confirmation from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the security cabinet meeting has begun in Jerusalem.

The security cabinet needs to vote to accept the deal and then the wider Israeli government cabinet must formally approve it, before the ceasefire can come into force.

The statement adds: "Earlier, an operational security situation assessment was held regarding the implementation of the agreement, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, together with the negotiating team that returned from Doha."

The prime minister's office also released a photo alongside the statement:

Image source, IsraeliPM/X

How much aid has been getting into Gaza?published at 10:01 Greenwich Mean Time

10:01 GMT

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.

UN's children’s agency Unicef says they've seen "thousands of aid pallets" held up in warehouses in Jordan waiting to go into Gaza.

But Unicef spokeswoman Rosalia Bollen tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're very hopeful the conditions on the ground improve with a ceasefire."

She says even if the aid does make it in, there will be challenges to distribute it because of the "security environment and damage to infrastructure."

Image source, Reuters

The first hostages could be released as early as Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu's office says, subject to the approval of the ceasefire deal by Israel's security cabinet and government.

In a statement the Israeli prime minister's office says: "Subject to approval by the cabinet and the government, and the entry into force of the agreement - the release of the hostages can be realised according to the planned outline, in which the hostages are expected to be released as early as Sunday."

We're seeing reports from the AFP news agency and Israeli media that the security cabinet meeting to approve the deal has begun.

We'll bring you more when we have it.

Joel Gunter
Reporting from Jerusalem

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz has cancelled all administrative detention orders against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, as part of the anticipated ceasefire deal, the defence ministry has announced.

Israel has jailed tens of thousands of people using administrative detention - a controversial security policy that allows the state to hold people indefinitely without charge.

The policy has been used to detain a very small number of Israeli settlers, but it is overwhelmingly used against Palestinians in the West Bank, who face a 99% conviction rate under the policy in Israeli military courts.

Katz said the cancellation of the few detention orders against Israeli settlers was intended to “send a clear message of support and encouragement to the settlement community”.

It was, he added, “better for the families of Jewish settlers to find joy than for the families of released terrorists”.

Katz had already announced last November that detention orders would no longer be issued against settlers. Today’s announcement cancels all existing orders.

• How Israel jails hundreds of Palestinians without charge

David Gritten
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Israel’s security cabinet, also known as the Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs, is due to meet later today to vote on the ceasefire deal.

The security cabinet is responsible for guiding Israel’s national security and foreign policies. It is a smaller body than the full cabinet - besides the prime minister, it must include the ministers of defence, foreign affairs, justice, finance and national security.

The prime minister can also appoint additional ministers to the body, provided the overall number of members does not exceed half of the number of ministers in the full cabinet.

Various leaders of parties in the governing coalition and other senior lawmakers are in the current security cabinet.

They currently include two far-right leaders, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oppose the Gaza ceasefire deal and threatened to quit over it.