US President Donald Trump is speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity on the phone.

Trump tells Hannity, "We had tremendous help from [Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff, [Trump's son in law Jared] Kushner, [Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio] and [US Vice President] JD [Vance]."The whole world came together, to be honest. The world has come together around this deal." Many countries "have wired" their best wishes, he says.

Trump says this is more than Gaza, this is "peace in the Middle East".

"It's been really an amazing period of time. So great for Israel, so great for Muslims and the Arab countries," Trump says.

Hugo Bachega
BBC Middle East correspondent

After intense negotiations, Israel and Hamas have reached agreement on the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza.

The breakthrough was first announced by US President Donald Trump, who called it a great day for the world.

Trump said all the hostages would be released soon and Israel would withdraw its troops to an agreed line.

He said all parties would be treated fairly and that these were the first steps towards a strong and everlasting peace.

This is the first phase of a twenty-point plan announced by Trump last week.

Once the deal is approved by the Israeli government, a ceasefire will go into effect.

That will be followed by the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israel troops from parts of Gaza.

The negotiations have been boosted by the personal involvement of Trump, who has put pressure not only on Hamas but also on Israel for a deal.

Despite the hopes that this could lead to the end of the war after two years, crucial details still need to be discussed, including a plan for who will govern Gaza and the future of Hamas.

Videos are beginning to circulate on social media of Palestinians in Gaza celebrating the news of the ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Night-time footage posted on Instagram by Palestinian journalist Saeed Mohamed showed a large crowd of men and women dancing to music, whistling, clapping and chanting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) outside al-Aqsa hospital, in the central city of Deir al-Balah.

Another video by journalist Mohammed al-Haddad showed a smaller group of young men dancing on a street elsewhere in Gaza.

The world is starting to react to the news of an initial peace deal between Hamas and Israel.

And their reactions share one common thread: hopefulness.

Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat of Delaware, tells CNN that Trump's Truth Social post announcing the deal is "encouraging", adding: "I hope that it holds."

Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat and outspoken supporter of Israel, says, "Those poor souls finally have a chance to maybe go home, and that's the first opportunity for enduring peace" according to CBS News, BBC's US partner.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut tells CNN that "the initial reports are hopeful".

And on the other side of the aisle, Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota says he's cautiously optimistic about the deal, adding "we'll see how it actually gets implemented", CBS News reports.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US- and Israeli-backed organisation whose stated mission is to deliver aid to Gaza, shares a statement Wednesday calling the deal "welcome news".

"We are hopeful that this will create conditions on the ground that enable the needs of all Gazans to be met," the GHF says.

Image source, Getty Images

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, says the UN will support the "full implementation" of the deal as well as increase its delivery of humanitarian aid and advance its reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

Guterres also urges all parties to obey the terms of the deal including releasing Israeli hostages, abiding by a permanent ceasefire, and immediately allowing humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

"The suffering must end," Guterres says.

"I urge all stakeholders to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation, recognising the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, leading to a two-state solution to enable Israelis & Palestinians to live in peace & security."

We've received images from the third day of negotiations over the peace deal from our Gaza correspondent, Rushdi Abualouf.

They show members of the Qatari, Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian envoys at an undisclosed location in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt earlier.

Image source, Rushdi Abualouf / BBC News

A major victory for Trump - for nowpublished at 01:21 BST

01:21 BST

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Since returning here to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly said that peace between Israel and Hamas is around the corner.

Month after month, that peace eluded him. Gaza, along with Ukraine, continued to be a thorn in his side, even when he proudly claimed to have ended wars around the world, from Thailand to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

If the deal that Trump posted about earlier holds, and the fighting stops, the administration will almost certainly point to this as the crowning foreign policy achievement of his second term so far - perhaps even more than the airstrikes which they say ended Iran's nuclear programme.

We still don't have many contours of the deal so far, other than that the hostages will be released and Israel will pull troops back to an "agreed upon line".

This announcement has become, by far, the biggest news story in Washington, and in the next hours and days we are likely to hear more details from Trump and his team.

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent

A senior Palestinian official told the BBC that the ceasefire will go into effect immediately after approval by the Israeli government around 14:00 Jerusalem time, adding that Israel will allow 400 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily during the first five days, with the number to increase gradually in later stages.

The official said the “yellow line” on the Trump plan map has been adjusted to reflect Israel’s security requirements and Hamas’s need to secure the release of Israeli hostages.

He added that Israel rejected the inclusion of senior Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti in the exchange deal, despite Hamas’s insistence on his release.

We can now bring you more details on how the implementation of this peace deal might unfold.

According to a senior White House official speaking to the BBC's US partner, CBS news, the deal goes to the Israeli cabinet on Thursday.

If they formally approve the deal, Israel must then withdraw its troops from Gaza to the agreed-upon line, which the official says will likely take less than 24 hours.

Hostages held by Hamas will likely begin being released from Gaza on Monday, the senior White House official explains.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just spoken by phone with Trump, according to a new statement from his office.

"The two held a very moving and warm conversation, and congratulated each other on the historic achievement of signing the agreement to release all the hostages," Netanyahu's office said.

The Israeli leader also thanked Trump "all his efforts and his global leadership", while Trump in turn thanked Netanyahu "for his determined leadership and the actions he led".

"The two agreed to continue their close co-operation," the statement says, adding that Trump has now been invited to speak to the Israeli parliament.

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

Relatives of hostages and former hostages have been reacting on social media to the news of a deal and the return of the hostages.

Eli Sharabi, whose wife and children were killed, and whose brother Yossi’s body is being held by Hamas, posted: “Great joy, can’t wait to see everyone home.”

The mother of hostage Matan Zangauker said on X: “Matan returns home to me..to you, to the country. For these tears, I prayed.”

The mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen posted: “My child, you are coming home.”

Former British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari celebrated with former hostage Romi Gonen, reciting prayers of gratitude, then toasting “L’chaim”, meaning “to life”. She has been campaigning for the release of her friends, twins Gali and Ziv Berman.

Their brother Liran Berman posted: "My Gali and Ziv, I love you so much. You're coming home."

Israel's cabinet is due to vote tomorrow on the deal, and if they approve Israel must retreat to an agreed upon line.

The withdrawal should take under 24 hours, a senior official at the White House has told our partners at CBS News.

After Israel leaves, then the 72 hour clock to release the Israeli hostages begins.

"Our assessment is that hostages will begin getting released on Monday," the official said.

But they also said that "Hamas will try to go earlier if possible".

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has just released another statement, calling Hamas and Israel's agreement to the first phase of a Gaza peace deal "a great day for Israel".

He says he will convene Israel's government tomorrow to approve the agreement and "bring all our dear hostages home".

He goes on to thank Israeli troops and US President Donald Trump and his team "for their mobilization for this sacred mission of releasing our hostages".

We can bring you more now from Hamas's statement on the peace deal.

According to the BBC's US news partner, CBS, Hamas says the agreement will "end the war on Gaza, ensure the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and implement a prisoner exchange".

It thanks Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and US President Donald Trump for their mediation efforts. Hamas also calls on Trump and other parties to "ensure that the Israeli occupation government fully complies with the terms of the agreement".

The people of Gaza "have demonstrated unmatched courage, honour, and heroism", Hamas adds.

"We will never abandon our people’s national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved."

We have now heard from Hamas, which says in a statement that a deal has been reached to end the war in Gaza.

Hamas is also calling on Trump and the involved countries to compel Israel to fully follow the deal.

Qatar's foreign ministry has also just confirmed an agreement has been reached over the first phase of the Gaza peace plan between Israel and Hamas.

"The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid," a spokesman posted on X.

He said more details will be announced later.

We've just been hearing from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who says in a statement: "With God's help we will bring them all home," referring to Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

President Trump's announcement followed a dramatic series of developments both at the location of mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas at Sharm el Sheikh in Eygpt, and in Washington.

At the White House tonight, Trump had said he expected to fly to Egypt as soon as this weekend, which his officials later said could be as soon as Friday.

He had said a deal was very close after the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaned over the president and whispered in his ear, handing him a note saying a deal was very close.

It's believed the deal involves the exchange of all the living hostages in return for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners, as Israel withdraws to an agreed upon line; with the exchanges expected to begin in the coming days.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

The last several hours at the White House have been tense, but quiet.

Since Rubio's note earlier, reporters - more than is usual at 1900 - have remained at their desks, waiting on any development.

Notably, today's press "pool" - which today includes the BBC - has been kept around uncharacteristically long.

Amongst ourselves, we figured that an announcement, or possibly an appearance by Trump himself, was imminent.

It's finally come via Truth Social, sending the White House into a flurry of activity. Several reporters quickly sprinted outside to their camera crews, and all I hear now is typing at several desks and cubicles in the White House basement.

It's unclear if any further announcements are coming tonight.

US President Donald Trump posts on social media that "Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan".

The rest of the post reads: "This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!

"This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"