Image source, Getty Images

The charity Save the Children has welcomed the new ceasefire, and says attention must now be turned to helping children and their families who've been affected by the conflict.

At least 232 people, including more than 100 women and children, have been killed during Israel's bombardment of Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry.

Meanwhile 12 people, including two children, died in Israel during rocket attacks by Gazan militants.

"Many will live with the mental, emotional, and physical scars all their lives." said Jason Lee, a country director for Save the Children. "All parties must allow unfettered access to aid workers to safely reach children with life-saving support."

Mr Lee called on "the international community" to find a solution to the conflict "that addresses the underlying causes of this escalation" and "upholds equal rights for both Palestinian and Israeli children."

Read more: The mothers caught in the Israel-Gaza conflict

More reaction is streaming in from world powers. Here is a flavour of the latest from France and China.

"China welcomes the ceasefire between both sides in the Palestine-Israel conflict, and hopes the relevant parties will earnestly implement the ceasefire and cessation of violence," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

"The international community should promote the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestine issue on the basis of the two state solution."

"I welcome the ceasefire, which puts an end to a cycle of violence with a heavy civilian toll," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement. The violence had "underscored the need for a relaunch of a genuine political process between the parties," he said, adding that without this "cycles of violence will be repeated."

Image source, EPA

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it killed 25 senior commanders from the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad and 200 operatives during the 11 days of fighting in Gaza.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says 232 people were killed, including 65 children and 39 women. Hamas has not given casualty figures for fighters.

A graphic posted online by the IDF also says that more than 100km (60 miles) of Hamas’s underground tunnel network were destroyed in air strikes during what the IDF called “Operation Guardian of the Walls”. Hundreds of rocket launchers and related infrastructure were hit, it adds.

Dozens of facilities used by Hamas’s military wing were also destroyed, according to the IDF. They included nine tower blocks, one of which was used by media outlets including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. In addition, 10 offices of the Hamas government in Gaza, 11 interior ministry branches and five banks were bombed, it adds.

The IDF says Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted about 90% of the rockets fired by militants that crossed into Israeli territory and were headed for populated areas. More than 4,340 rockets were launched towards Israel in total in 11 days.

We're covering the aftermath of a ceasefire that came into effect overnight between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, ending 11 days of conflict in which at least 250 people died. Here are some of the main news lines so far:

• The ceasefire appears to be holding with no reports of strikes on Gaza or rockets fired into Israel today
• A clean up operation has begun in the rubble-filled streets of Gaza
• In Israel, the army has lifted almost all emergency restrictions on movement and several airlines have said they will resume flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday
• The mayors of Sderot and Ashkelon - two of the towns hardest hit by rockets from Gaza - have criticized the ceasefire, saying that Hamas should have been eliminated
• The European Union has vowed to increase efforts for a long-term political resolution to the conflict

Image source, Getty Images

Reports in a number of local media suggest that Israel has re-opened the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow aid into Gaza. However the status of the crossing is unclear, because at least one outlet is reporting that trucks haven't been able to go through the vital corridor.

Managed by Israel's airports authority, it lies at the borders of Gaza, Israel and Egypt, and is a crucial thoroughfare for overland trade and travel.

As the conflict raged earlier in the week Israel did re-open the crossing so Gaza could receive humanitarian assistance, but it closed it again shortly citing Palestinian militants firing mortars at the area.

Ordinary people on both sides of the conflict have been speaking of their relief in the aftermath of the ceasefire. "It's a good decision to be honest with you because people from both sides are done with what's going on," Amwrah Dana, a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem told AFP.

In Tel Aviv, Avital Fast told the same news agency: "I really hope that it will remain because the only thing that we want here is to live our life without any alarms or fire."

Also in Tel Aviv, 30-year-old software engineer Eiv Izyaev gave a bittersweet assessment to Reuters, saying: "It's good that the conflict will end, but unfortunately I don't feel like we have much time before the next escalation,"

Jeremy Bowen
BBC Middle East editor

Just as in the other wars since Hamas took over in Gaza in 2007, the two sides are claiming victory.

A senior Hamas leader told the BBC in Gaza that Israel had promised to "lift their hand off Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque". He was referring to one of Islam's holiest mosques and the Jerusalem district which became a flashpoint during an attempt to evict Palestinian families from their homes.

Israel denied there was any such understanding. Benny Gantz, the defence minister, issued a statement saying that after the past 11 days Israel can show military achievements "unprecedented in their scale and strategic significance for the struggle with terrorist organisations in Gaza".

On both sides survivors and the bereaved from missiles and bombs are not claiming victory. By far the majority of the dead and injured are Palestinians in Gaza, which also suffered hundreds of millions of dollars of physical damage.

Both sides have also been crafting what is referred here sometimes as victory narratives.

It is the fourth big war between Israel and Hamas since the first one back in the end of 2008 and after each of those encounters, and all the smaller ones in between, similar things have been said by both sides in claiming victory and then essentially the seeds of the next conflict are sown. I can tell you one thing for certain - that if the status quo does not change favourably, there will be another round of this.

Moving pictures here of the scenes of celebration in Gaza as Palestinians poured on to the streets after the ceasefire came into effect.

While there were air strikes on Gaza and rockets fired into Israel in the run up to the ceasefire hour last night, the truce so far appears to be holding.

The Jerusalem Post quotes Israeli military spokesman Brigadier-General Hidai Zilberman, external as saying that there is still a significant Israeli military presence in the country's south, and that the Israel Defense Forces will asses the situation in the coming hours to decide whether or not to ease the state of alert.

David Willis
BBC News North America correspondent

Keen to play-up the US role in negotiating an end to the violence, President Biden last night hailed the success of what he called "hour by hour" diplomatic discussions - including six calls that he made personally to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ceasefire came a day after Mr Biden issued an unusually blunt demand for a significant de-escalation of the violence, amid widespread alarm about the bloodshed.

A staunch supporter of Israel himself, dating back to his early days in the Senate, Mr Biden now finds himself confronting a new political reality - a crop of younger Democratic lawmakers willing to challenge the party’s traditional pro-Israel orthodoxy. They’ve pushed him to take a harder line with Mr Netanyahu, and some are now calling for a block on the recent sale of more than $700m worth of American weaponry to Israel.

Read more: The Democrats' tectonic shift on Israel

Image source, Getty Images

Across Gaza last night, Palestinians flocked to the streets to celebrate the start of an official ceasefire with Israel.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been reacting to news of the truce in the Middle East, and called on both sides to make this a "durable" peace. The move came hours after the UK pledged a £3.2m aid package for civilians in the region.

Tom Bateman
BBC Middle East correspondent

Image source, Reuters

In Gaza there’s gunfire but this is in celebration. It’s a reassuring sound for Palestinians who took to the streets after 11 days and nights of Israeli airstrikes. In Israel, the rockets and air raid sirens stopped nine minutes before the 2am truce. It’s been holding as both sides try to sell a sense of accomplishment.

Israel’s defence minister hailed military achievements that he called unprecedented in their scale and strategic significance. Hamas said it got guarantees that Israeli aggression against the Al Aqsa mosque and Palestinians facing eviction in Jerusalem would stop. Israeli officials denied that, saying the ceasefire was unconditional.

If there are gains for the two sides they may be short lived, and undermined by the devastating human cost of this latest round of fighting. It has also unleashed multiple fronts, including sectarian violence on the streets of Israel, and a fresh diplomatic challenge with Hamas emerging politically energised compared with the internationally accepted Palestinian leadership.

Welcome back to our renewed live coverage of the aftermath of a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

• Both Israel and Hamas have claimed victory after the ceasefire took hold early on Friday
• The conflict saw 11 nights of cross-border bombardments and nearly 250 deaths, mostly on the Palestinian side
• Hamas said it had received guarantees of an end to the Israeli aggression in East Jerusalem which helped trigger the conflict
• That's been denied by Israel, which said it had significantly degraded the military capabilities of Hamas
• The ceasefire was brokered by Egypt, which will send delegations to monitor the truce
• Israeli air strikes on Gaza and rockets fired into Israel continued in the lead-up to the truce hour

Image source, Getty Images

We're pausing our live coverage for the night, thank you for joining us. Here is a round-up of the latest developments in Israel and Gaza:

• A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has started
• The truce came into effect 02:00 on Friday (23:00 GMT Thursday)
• The Israeli cabinet confirmed the decision to approve a "mutual and unconditional" ceasefire hours beforehand
• Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said the Gaza offensive had yielded "unprecedented military gains"
• A Hamas official said the ceasefire amounts to a "victory" for the Palestinian people and a defeat for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
• US President Joe Biden said the ceasefire brought "genuine opportunity" for progress
• At least 232 people, including more than 100 women and children, have been killed in Gaza so far, according to its Hamas-controlled health ministry
• In Israel 12 people, including two children, have been killed, its medical service says

Image source, Getty Images

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has thanked US President Joe Biden for assisting Egypt's ceasefire negotiations.

“I pay tribute and appreciation to the US President Biden for his role in the success of the Egyptian ceasefire initiative,” Sisi tweeted.

Earlier Biden gave his thanks to Egypt’s President Sisi for brokering the ceasefire.

Biden said his Egyptian counterpart played a "critical role" in negotiating the truce.

Videos are being uploaded to social media of Palestinians celebrating the ceasefire coming into effect.

Only celebratory gunfire was heard on the streets of Gaza, journalists from the AFP news agency have reported.

Paul Adams
BBC diplomatic correspondent, Jerusalem

Image source, EPA

After 11 days of violence between Israel and Hamas – the worst since 2014 - the airstrikes and rocket attacks should now be over.

Israel has accepted an Egyptian initiative for a mutual ceasefire, without preconditions.

Egypt is now expected to send delegations to Israel and Gaza to sort out the fine print.

Hamas officials say they’ve obtained unspecified concessions from Israel on the two Jerusalem flashpoints that helped to trigger this crisis: the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah and the mosque of al-Aqsa.

Israeli officials are quoted as saying such claims are totally false.

After the news broke, there were more Israeli air strikes on Gaza and rockets fired into Israel. Meanwhile, the country’s main airport, Ben Gurion, was briefly closed to all flights - an indication of the fragility of the situation.

Even if the ceasefire is observed, nothing has really been fixed.

Hamas has been punished, and the Palestinians of Gaza have suffered terribly. But if the two sides are to avoid yet another war, it’ll take a great deal more than a ceasefire.

A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has begun.

The truce came into effect at 02:00 local time on Friday (23:00 GMT Thursday).

It brings an end to 11 days of bombardment in which more than 240 people have died, mostly in Gaza.