Image source, Getty Images

We're now hearing from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which says it's prepared to "assume full responsibilities" in the Gaza Strip following the ceasefire.

In a statement posted on X, it says: "The Palestinian government has completed all preparations to assume full responsibilities in the Strip and that the government administrative and security personnel were fully prepared to carry out their tasks in order to alleviate the suffering inflicted on the Gaza population, allow displaced persons to return to their homes, restore essential services to the Strip, assume responsibility for the border crossings and help commence Gaza reconstruction."

The PA also urges the international community to offer aid to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem and says there should be an "international peace conference" to recognise the State of Palestine and support its entry to the United Nations.

• For context, the Palestinian Authority is the governing body which has overseen parts of the occupied West Bank since the 1990s and controlled Gaza until the 2006 elections

Image source, Getty Images

The rebuilding process in Gaza will be "impossibly difficult", the UK's former international development minister has said a little earlier.

Rory Stewart says security will need to be achieved in the Gaza Strip to ensure "criminal gangs and tribal groups and Hamas do not have independent militias with guns".

He also says there will be challenges in establishing the rule of law, effective governance, and economic development in the territory.

“In practice, doing it on the ground, we failed repeatedly in many countries around the world and I would’ve thought Gaza was a place where failure was very likely," he tells the BBC Radio 4 World at One programme.

However, he says that "something desperately needs to be done" to help rebuild Gaza.

How damaged is Gaza?published at 18:10 Greenwich Mean Time 17 January

18:10 GMT 17 January

by Nick Eardley & Matt Murphy

Academics Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University have been looking at the extent of damage in Gaza based on satellite images.

In their latest analysis to 11 January, they estimated 59.8% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed since the start of the war.

The below maps shows damage to infrastructure since the start of the war. Much of the Israeli bombing was concentrated in urban areas and some infrastructure was hit multiple times.

The United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) has calculated a higher figure - it reported that 69% of all structures had been destroyed or damaged at the start of December. The UN also concluded 68% of the road network in the strip had been damaged or destroyed.

• Read more about the damage to Gaza's infrastructure here.

As we wait for the government's vote on the ceasefire deal, Israel has released the names and ages of 95 Palestinian prisoners due to be freed from Israeli prisons if the ceasefire deal is approved.

The list also details the offences they have been jailed for - including terrorism, attempted murder, harm to regional security, throwing stones or a Molotov cocktail, carrying knives and making explosives.

The Israeli ministry of justice says it is a "partial list for the purpose of the first wave only", a reference to the first phase of the ceasefire deal which will see 33 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza exchanged for the prisoners.

In a statement, the ministry adds that the prisoners - aged between 16 to 62 years - will not be released "before Sunday at 4:00pm" local time.

The current conflict began when Hamas fighters stormed Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza. Israel then launched a devastating military campaign, first by air and then with a ground invasion.

In November 2023, 105 hostages were released in return for around 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israel in a week-long ceasefire.

In May 2024, US President Joe Biden outlined a proposal for a three-phase ceasefire that would release hostages, forming the basis of the current deal.

Talks were temporarily suspended after Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader and chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in July. Israeli forces then killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in October, which Israel's prime minister called the "beginning of the end" of the war.

In December, after months of deadlock in the negotiations, reports emerged of a break-through in the talks, which have been mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt.

On Wednesday, mediator Qatar announced the deal, which is expected to be approved today.

Adnan El-Bursh
Gaza correspondent, based in Doha

Not long after the ceasefire in Gaza was announced, I was shocked by the loss of 10 family members of my friend and neighbour Amer Sultan in an Israeli bombardment of Jabalia, northern Gaza.

Amer Sultan, 33, is a BBC freelance journalist from Jabalia. Just two days ago, he was overjoyed to hear the long-awaited ceasefire news.

He had been displaced from his home in Jabalia for a year and three months to cover the war.

Like many others, he had suffered multiple displacements and joined our team at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where we worked until I left the Gaza Strip.

We spoke when the ceasefire was announced, and he told me that he could not wait to be with his mother. She was preparing the house he would move into with his fiancé, as soon as the war ends.

But yesterday, an Israeli strike hit the building where his family lived in Jabalia. I contacted him directly and he was screaming on the phone: "They bombed my house... They bombed my house."

Journalists were unable to verify the number of victims until the early hours of the morning due to poor communications, when we learned that he had lost his brothers and their children.

Their bodies were recovered, while his mother was still under the rubble. His house was also destroyed.

The news was very painful. Many in Gaza share the concern over what the coming hours will bring, until the ceasefire comes into effect.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Qatar's prime minister has said the ceasefire deal now being considered by Israel's government is "the last chance for Gaza" and that the conflict has "reshaped the region".

Along with the US and Egypt, Qatar has been a mediator in the ongoing negotiations to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Qatari PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani tells Sky News, external the deal is a "moment for all of us" to think about the "broader picture" of "how can we have a peaceful Middle East" and how can a Palestinian state exist next to Israel peacefully.

"Peace won’t happen unless there’s a Palestinian state at the end of the day, to address the root cause of the issue and not just address the symptoms of the issue," he says.

The "two-state solution" is an internationally-backed formula for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

It proposes an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing alongside Israel.

Image source, EPA

Israeli cabinet ministers are currently meeting to vote on the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal that was announced on Wednesday.

Let's take a look at the most recent developments that led us to this point:

• Israel's security cabinet met earlier today and voted to "approve the proposed outline" of the deal
• The deal will now go to a vote by the wider government cabinet which will decide whether or not to approve it
• The cabinet is widely expected to approve the agreement, but some far-right politicians, including national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, oppose the deal, calling it a "surrender" to Hamas, and are threatening to quit from the government if it is approved
• Israeli President Issac Herzog says the deal is a "vital step" but one that will also bring "great challenges and painful, agonising moments"
• The deal involves three phases with 33 hostages, including children, who are being held by Hamas to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in the first phase, due to start on Sunday
• Aid trucks are queuing at border crossings in anticipation they will be allowed into Gaza in the coming days
• The Hamas-run civil defence agency says 116 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday, while the Hamas-run health ministry says the total death toll since the war began on 7 October 2023 is now 46,876.

Image source, Reuters

The number of people killed in Gaza since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday has risen to 116, the Hamas-run civil defence agency says.

Thirty of those killed were children and 32 women, says agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal. He adds that more than 264 people have been injured.

As a reminder, if the deal is approved by Israel's cabinet, the ceasefire is set to come into effect on Sunday.

Shaina Oppenheimer
BBC Monitoring

The front pages of Israeli newspapers today highlight tense anticipation ahead of the Gaza deal coming into effect.

Popular mass-circulation daily Yediot Ahronot publishes photos of the 98 hostages who remain in Gaza on its front page, under the headline "Waiting for all of them to be home, external".

The front page of the right-wing Yisrael Hayom also says "Waiting for them, external" while centrist Maariv’s front page headline says "Tension and anticipation, external".

During the initial 42 days of the planned ceasefire, 33 hostages are set to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, according to mediators and officials from both sides.

The Israeli right-wing Channel 14 News, external, known for its favourable coverage of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is calling the agreement a "deal with Hamas" and highlights opposition to it, while mainstream broadcasters are calling it a “ceasefire”.

Image source, Yediot Ahronot

Aid agencies urge Israel to open more entry points into Gazapublished at 15:40 Greenwich Mean Time 17 January

15:40 GMT 17 January

By Jake Horton

Aid agencies are urging Israel to open more entry points into Gaza so more trucks can get in - the current number stands at around 40 a day, external. Pre-conflict, around 500 trucks entered Gaza daily.

Agencies told the BBC they have yet to hear which crossings will operate once the ceasefire comes into effect.

"We need all border crossings open and functioning reliably and we also need humanitarian teams to be able to move freely and safely across Gaza," the World Food Programme said.

Four crossings are currently open, external - with around 75% of deliveries this month passing through Western Erez.

The UN said armed looting had disrupted deliveries. And it said between 1 and 13 January:

• 41% of planned aid movements were facilitated by Israel
• 34% were denied
• 15% were obstructed
• 10% were cancelled due to security or logistical challenges.

Israel has previously denied restricting aid and accuses the UN of inefficient distribution.

People in Gaza are desperate for a ceasefire and the atmosphere is one of fear and hope, an aid worker in Deir al-Balah tells the BBC.

"There's a lot of trauma, there's a lot of death here in Gaza. Three of my own colleagues lost more relatives in the last week alone," says the Norwegian Refugee Council's Gavin Kelleher. "So there's a real sense of desperation that this ceasefire has to work."

But he says there are still major concerns about how quickly people will be able to return to their homes, and whether the ceasefire will move on from phase one as planned. Stage two negotiations won't start until 16 days into the ceasefire.

Kelleher says more than 90% of Gazans don't have enough to eat or clean drinking water, and there are babies dying of hypothermia "simply because they don't have adequate shelter".

Image source, AP

As the government cabinet meeting continues, some ministers in favour of the ceasefire deal have cast their votes early due to religious reasons, Israeli media is reporting.

The Times of Israel and other media say several Haredi ministers left the meeting early because of Shabbat, the Sabbath, which prevents them working after it gets dark on Friday night.

Reporters from broadcasters Kan and Channel 12 have shared images, external of notes the ministers left, indicating they had voted in favour of the agreement.

As a reminder, Israel's security cabinet - a smaller group of government ministers - has already recommended approving the deal, but the larger cabinet must formally approve it before the ceasefire can come into force.

Hollie Cole
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

EasyJet has confirmed to the BBC that it plans to resume flights to and from Tel Aviv from 1 June.

"EasyJet will operate flights to Israel from London Luton [Airport], Amsterdam, Berlin, Basel, Geneva, Nice and Milan." its statement says - with about 38 flights a week.

Many Western airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv last year.

According to Reuters, Wizz Air restarted its London to Tel Aviv route yesterday, and the Lufthansa Group - which also includes Austrian Airlines and Eurowings - will resume flights there from 1 February.

Image source, EPA

As we've reported, a majority of Israeli ministers are expected to back the deal - but some far-right politicians who want the war to continue are threatening to quit over it, including Itamar Ben-Gvir.

In a post on X,, external national security minister Ben-Gvir appeals to Israeli MPs to reject the proposed ceasefire deal, saying: "It is not yet too late, we are before a government meeting, we can stop this deal."

"If until yesterday I was terrified of this deal, then today, when more and more details are revealed... I am even more terrified," he says.

He says he is worried that "terrorists serving life sentences" will be released from jails and then "will try to harm again, will try to kill again".

The Israeli health ministry says the country's health system is "waiting in anticipation for the return of the hostages" - which Benjamin Netanyahu said could begin as early as Sunday.

The ministry says previous hostage releases have taught them that freed captives will require "immediate evaluation and treatment in hospital".

Longer term, the hostages will need "continued care and long-term monitoring across all health, medical, psychological and social aspects" - all while "taking extra care with privacy".

Israeli media reports that the health ministry has issued guidance about how to care for released hostages, recommending a four-day minimum hospital stay.

Dean McLaughlin
BBC News NI

Image source, Majida Al Askri

A Palestinian woman living in Donegal in the Republic of Ireland says she's lost 32 members of her extended family since the war in Gaza began, and many more are still missing.

Majida Al Askri tells BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme she is "living in hope that the ceasefire will go ahead as planned".

"My brother, his wife, their children and grandchildren were all killed and I pray every day for the rest of my family," Al Askri says. "It is so difficult. This is my life waiting by the phone for news every day and we just want peace now."

She says she speaks to her three-year-old nephew in Gaza regularly who tells her he is "afraid to die in the tent from the cold like other children".

The Hamas-run health ministry has provided its daily update on the number of people killed in Gaza since the war began.

It says more than 46,876 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since 7 October.

Fighting has continued in recent days despite the upcoming ceasefire - earlier, we reported figures from Gaza's civil defence agency that said 113 people had been killed in strikes since the deal was announced on Wednesday.

Israel's culture minister Miki Zohar says it is with "a heavy but complete heart" that he will vote to approve the ceasefire deal that will "bring our brothers and sisters home".

"The decision was not easy," he writes on X, "and I understand the concerns of our friends who oppose the deal".

Zohar - who is not in the security cabinet, but is in the larger government cabinet that will vote on the deal next - says the agreement "adhered to the basic principles critical to Israel's security".

"Despite the heavy prices we are forced to pay...a large and overwhelming majority of the people of Israel are willing for us to pay this price, in order to save lives," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Israel's security cabinet has just recommended approving a ceasefire deal. Next, it needs to pass the wider government cabinet - that meeting is getting under way shortly.

While the full details have not been officially announced the ceasefire is expected to happen in three stages with the first phase (expected to come into effect on Sunday) lasting six weeks.

During this time hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israel would be freed, and Palestinians who have been displaced in Gaza would be allowed to start returning home.

Israeli troops will pull out of "all" populated areas of Gaza, according to US President Joe Biden, and there will be a surge in aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.

The second phase would be a permanent end to the war, according to Biden. Negotiations for the second phase will start on the 16th day.

The remaining living hostages, including men, would be released in return for more Palestinian prisoners and there would also be a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

The third phase would involve the reconstruction of Gaza - something which could take years – and the return of any remaining hostages' bodies.

• What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal