Sebastian Usher
BBC Arab Affairs Editor

Image source, Reuters

If the ceasefire holds, all sides involved will begin to take stock of whether this latest chapter of the conflict between Israel and Hamas has caused any genuine shift in how things were just 11 days ago.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country's aim was to degrade the military capabilities of Hamas and other Palestinian militants - and that has been achieved, if once again, at great human cost.

But Israelis will be asking if all the bombardments on Gaza will in reality prevent another deadly showdown with Hamas, which will greet its survival as a victory.

What Palestinians and their supporters far beyond Gaza will be hoping is that their cause has been restored to the world's attention, making it once again an urgent, live issue that needs to be addressed.

Israelis will be hoping that the internal unrest between Palestinian and Jewish Israelis - with a level of violence not seen for decades - will now subside.

But a younger generation of Palestinians has found a new sense of identity and purpose and is determined not to allow a return to the status quo.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab issued a statement late on Thursday:

"The UK welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life.

“Hamas must end all attacks on Israel. It is also now important for Israel to facilitate rapid humanitarian access in and out of Gaza.”

Speaking from the White House, President Biden commended Israel for the ceasefire.

Image source, White House

In his concluding remarks, Biden says: "I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress, and I’m committed to working for it.

"God bless you all and let’s pray that this continues."

And with that, Biden leaves the podium, ignoring questions from journalists.

Biden says the US “remains committed to working with the United Nations” in providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza and in reconstruction efforts in the enclave.

“We will do this in full partnership with the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, the Authority, in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal,” he says.

“I believe the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity and democracy,” he says.

The US this week blocked a proposed statement by UN Security Council members that would have called on Israel to stop its military offensive and urged a cessation of the violence.

Biden gives his thanks to his diplomatic team and Egypt’s President Sisi for brokering the ceasefire.

He says his Egyptian counterpart played a "critical role" in negotiating the truce.

He then turns to the human cost of the conflict.

"These hostilities have resulted in the tragic deaths of so many civilians," Biden says, noting the child casualties on both sides.

“I send my sincere condolences to all the families, Israeli and Palestinian, who have lost loved ones and my hope for a full recovery for the wounded,” says Biden.

Image source, White House

President Biden says he spoke to Netanyahu after the ceasefire agreement was announced.

He says: “In my conversation with President [sic] Netanyahu I commended him for the decision to bring the current hostilities to a close within less than 11 days.

“I also emphasised what I’ve said throughout this conflict: the United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups that have taken the lives of innocent victims in Israel.”

Biden said the Israeli prime minister shared his appreciation for Israel’s US-backed defence system, known as the Iron Dome, "which our nations developed together and which has saved the lives of countless Israeli citizens - both Arab and Jew".

Biden said he assured Netanyahu the US will replenish its Iron Dome system in the future.

In remarks at the White House, President Joe Biden confirms Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire.

He says he has spoken today with Israeli PM Netanyahu and Egyptian President al-Sisi.

We'll bring you more on this in a moment.

Image source, Reuters

Also critical of the truce is the mayor of Sderot, an Israeli town near Gaza which has frequently been targeted by rocket fire.

"This proves that despite the full support and perseverance and heroism that the residents of the south have shown for the past 20 years, it appears that Netanyahu and the Israeli government are not interested in defeating Hamas and prefer temporary quiet for residents of central Israel at the expense of residents of the Gaza periphery and the south, who will continue to suffer from terrorism,” Alon Davidi said, according to the Times of Israel.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, there are still reports of hostilities in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

“We can hear some sounds of explosions here and there," Khaled Abu Shabaan, a humanitarian worker in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera.

Palestinian media reports say Israeli aircraft are carrying out air strikes in the Gaza Strip before the ceasefire takes effect at about 02:00 local time (23:00 GMT).

Rocket alert sirens have been going off in communities close to the Gaza border in Israel, too.

US President Joe Biden is due to deliver remarks on the Middle East in the next few minutes.

He is expected to address the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza.

In recent days, the Biden administration has come under mounting pressure to encourage Israel - a key US ally - to end its bombardment of Gaza.

Image source, EPA

With a ceasefire on the table, Israelis and Palestinians are counting the cost of 11 days of fighting that brought death, destruction and instability to the Middle East.

These statistics give a sense of the toll this conflict has exacted:

• At least 232 Palestinians, including 65 children, have been killed since the conflict began. In Israel, at least 11 people have been killed, including two children
• In the last 24 hours alone, 11 Palestinians were killed, including at least seven civilians, and another 190 people were injured
• The conflict displaced more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number to about 91,000, according to UN figures
• Gaza’s housing ministry said 16,800 housing units had been damaged. Of those, 1,800 had become unfit for living and 1,000 were destroyed completely
• Hamas's media office estimated the bombardments had caused $40m (£28m) in damage to factories and the strip’s industrial zone
• Israel's military said more than 4,300 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory. Of those, 90% were intercepted by Israel's defence system, known as the Iron Dome
• Israel's manufacturers association calculated that the economic cost of the first three days of fighting came to about $166m

Image source, Reuters

Several Israeli politicians have denounced the ceasefire.

Speaking before the cabinet decision, the leader of the New Hope party Gideon Sa’ar said it would “seriously harm Israeli deterrence” against Hamas and other militant groups.

“The cessation of Israeli military activity without imposing any restrictions preventing the arming and strengthening of Hamas and without the return of the soldiers and civilians held in Gaza will be a political failure, the price of which will be paid, with interest, in the future,” he said according to the Times of Israel.

Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party, described it as “another failure of Netanyahu”.

“The one who nurtured Hamas and enabled it to get to where it is today is Netanyahu,” he told Channel 12.

Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the hard-right Religious Zionism party, called on Netanyhau not to "capitulate" on moves to evict several Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Fighting began in Gaza after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem that culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes.

Survivors are not claiming victorypublished at 21:56 British Summer Time 20 May 2021

21:56 BST 20 May 2021

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".

The horrible tradition in these things is that sometimes both sides like to show they can fire the last shot and there is an intense period in the last hour or so, I hope that doesn’t happen. It might.

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

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 worth of physical damage.

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 sewn. I can tell you one thing for certain - that if the status quo does not change favourably, there will be another round of this.

Image source, EPA

A former US Middle East envoy has warned that no ceasefire can last as long as Hamas - the militant group which controls Gaza - has rockets.

Dennis Ross, who served in the role under President Bill Clinton, told the Jerusalem Post, external that any deal would be a "short-term calm".

He called on the international community to link humanitarian aid to the group's demilitarisation.

The ceasefire announced by Israel amounts to a "victory" for the Palestinian people and a defeat for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Hamas official has told the Associated Press news agency.

Ali Barakeh said Hamas militants would remain on alert until mediators have been in touch to finalise the details of the truce.

Egypt, Qatar and the UN have played leading roles in mediating the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Sebastian Usher
BBC Arab Affairs Editor

Image source, Reuters

All day there had been growing speculation that a truce was about to be agreed that would bring a halt to the current conflict between Israel and Hamas after 11 days.

International pressure had been growing on Israel - as a special session was held for several hours at the UN General Assembly which echoed with calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Egyptian President Sisi has ordered two security delegations into Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to work towards upholding the ceasefire, according to Egyptian state TV.

Fighting began in Gaza on 10 May after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem that culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes.

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. Israel has said at least 150 militants are among those killed in Gaza. Hamas does not give casualty figures for fighters.

In Israel 12 people, including two children, have been killed, its medical service says. Israel says some 4,000 rockets have been fired towards its territory by militants in Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

As the ceasefire was confirmed by Israel, the Israeli military said warning sirens were sounding in southern Israel, indicating that rockets had been fired from Gaza.

Meanwhile Palestinian media in Gaza reported fresh air strikes on the territory.