Muhannad Tutunji
BBC Arabic, reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

It’s an anxious time for the families of 300 Palestinian prisoners as they wait to see if their loved ones will be among the 150 women and children initially due to be released as part of the Israel-Hamas deal.

“We haven’t heard anything from anyone. We’re all extremely tense and it’s very stressful,” said Sameera Dwayat.

The mother of 26-year-old Shorouq Dwayyat - who is currently half-way through her 16-year sentence - spoke to BBC Arabic from her home just outside East Jerusalem.

We’ve also been in touch with the Hammad family from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Nofuz – who is 16 – was recently sentenced to 12 years. Her father, Aref, is impatient for news.

“It’s clearly being kept very secret. We don’t know anything, and we haven’t been contacted by the authorities,” he says.

Image source, Israel Government Press Office

Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has reiterated that the planned upcoming break in fighting is "an operational pause" only.

"Israel is still at war with Hamas," Hagari told a news conference a few moments ago. He explained that the IDF was committed to bringing every hostage home.

"The Hamas massacre of October 7 was a genocidal attack," Hagari said in his statement.

The IDF spokesman reiterates Israel's argument that Hamas has been operating out of tunnels under hospitals in Gaza. Hamas has previously denied these claims.

Hagari said he took members of international media outlets to Gaza so that they could be shown "the facts for themselves".

Image source, Getty Images

For those of you just joining us, here are the latest headlines:

• Hamas says a planned four-day pause in fighting it has agreed with Israel will begin at 10:00 on Thursday
• While Israel has not confirmed this, the country's foreign minister said he expected the first hostages to be released on Thursday
• Fifty Israel hostages taken by Hamas are expected to be released under the agreement, while 150 Palestinian women and teenagers are also expected to be freed from Israeli jails
• Aid lorries are now queuing up at the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza in anticipation of the pause in hostilities
• Intense fighting in the Gaza Strip began after Hamas fighters carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel on 7 October, in which they killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages

• Hamas officials have said more than 14,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then

• Unicef's chief has said Gaza is "the most dangerous place in the world to be a child"

Image source, EPA

More than 100 unidentified Palestinians have been buried in a mass grave in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

"They were killed, and their families and relatives didn’t know about them. We don't know anyone of them." spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry Bassam Dababesh told the Reuters news agency.

The dead, which include children, were killed in areas of Gaza's north, but are being buried in the south, a health ministry worker told the Reuters at the scene.

"They will be buried here in Khan Younis because we couldn't bury them in Gaza City," Hamad al-Najar said.

"We dug this mass grave for them to be buried in so our society would avoid the smells, decomposition and pollution," he said.

"These bodies and souls are being honoured by burying them in this grave - so their souls may rest and so they can meet their maker," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

The Swiss government has announced that it will be bringing forward a law that bans Hamas "activities" or any support for the group within Switzerland.

A government statement described the drafting of the law as "the most appropriate response to the situation that has prevailed in the Middle East since 7 October" when Hamas launched its attack in Israel.

"The act will provide the federal authorities with the necessary tools to counter any Hamas activities or support for the organisation in Switzerland," the statement continued.

It's expected that the law will go through with the country's hard-right Swiss People's Party pushing strongly for a ban and Switzerland supporting Israel's "right to ensure it's own defence and security".

Switzerland's Federal Council also called for civilians in the Gaza Strip to be protected, adding that humanitarian pauses were "necessary" for that purpose.

Yannai and Liel Hetzroni-Heller, 12-year-old twins, were killed during the Hamas attack on the Kibbutz Be'eri on 7 October.

Their British father, Gavin Heller, who lives in north London, said the "unfathomable, unimaginable, unspeakable has happened to my gorgeous children".

"I am utterly devastated by the news of my children's deaths in Israel; it has broken me,” Heller said in a statement issued through the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

"There are no words that can ever or will ever explain this pain and brutality,” Heller said.

The twins were raised in Israel by their great-aunt, who was also killed. She and Yannai were buried at a ceremony on 15 November, at which some of Liel's belongings were also buried in the absence of her body.

"Lives have been torn apart in the worst way. Liel wasn't even buried as there weren't enough fragments of her. Her toys were buried instead of her body,” Heller said.

• You can read the full story here

Image source, PA Media

Image source, EPA

The head of the United Nations children's agency Unicef has labelled the Gaza Strip "the most dangerous place in the world to be a child".

Addressing the UN Security Council earlier, Catherine Russell said that the hard-won truce deal between Israel and Hamas would not be enough to save their lives.

More than 5,300 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza since Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel, accounting for 40% of the deaths. "This is unprecedented," Russell said.

She added that she was "haunted" by what she saw in a recent visit to Gaza's south.

"In addition to bombs, rockets, and gunfire, Gaza's children are at extreme risk from catastrophic living conditions."

Russell reiterated her call for humanitarian workers to have consistent safe access to Gaza.

Adnan al-Bursh
BBC Arabic, reporting from Gaza

Image source, Firas al-Ajrami

Mixed emotions can be felt here in the south of Gaza as residents receive the news of the temporary ceasefire deal that has been reached between Hamas and the Israeli army.

Initial feelings of relief and optimism were dampened by anger. The conditions of the truce prevent those who have fled from the northern parts of the Gaza Strip from returning to their homes to check on them.

“What is the point of this agreement if we are not able to go back to the north to find out what happened to our homes and residential areas?” They tell me, visibly frustrated and heart-broken.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to the south since the beginning of the war. Many of them want to move back to their homes and to also support their neighbours and friends, some of whom have lost the majority of their family members.

Meanwhile, continuous heavy bombardment has been felt across the Gaza Strip since last night. The Hamas-run government has announced that some 200 people have been killed in continuous airstrikes over the past 24 hours.

People here are exhausted and completely devastated after living through 46 days of non-stop fighting and intense bombardment.

However, a glimmer of hope has emerged after the ceasefire was announced, and people hope that this short-term agreement could be extended to deliver a longer lasting truce.

The Israeli military says it has intercepted a cruise missile fired towards the southern city of Eilat.

After reports of "an infiltration by a hostile aircraft" near the city, an Israeli fighter jet "successfully intercepted a cruise missile that was launched toward Israel", the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Local media reports suggest it was launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have carried out a series of drone attacks on Israel since the latest conflict in Gaza began, and over the weekend seized a cargo ship in the Red Sea.

What we know about the hostages in Gazapublished at 16:31 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2023

16:31 GMT 22 November 2023

By Emma Pengelly and Jamie Ryan, BBC Verify

Neither Israel nor Hamas has provided an official list of those hostages being held in Gaza.

The Israeli authorities have notified some of the relatives of those being held, while others who believe friends or family members are among the hostages have not been officially informed.

BBC Verify has been able to identify more than 200 of those taken on 7 October by analysing Hamas-affiliated channels, social media posts from family members of those taken, reports in international media and by speaking to relatives directly.

Thirty-nine of the hostages identified are 18 years old or younger. A baby boy called Kfir Bib, who is less than a year old, is believed to be the youngest.

We also have the names of 56 female hostages aged 19 or over. The oldest is an 85-year-old grandmother called Yafa Adar.

The deal reached between Israel and Hamas is expected to see the release of 50 women and children held in Gaza.

In return, 150 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails are to be freed. A four-day pause in fighting has also been agreed to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

You can read stories of some of the hostages here.

Over the past month, Israel has allowed 1,399 lorry-loads of humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza via Egypt. Before the war, the monthly average was closer to 10,000, according to the UN.

As part of the truce struck between Israel and Hamas overnight, a larger number of lorries carrying vital aid will be allowed to enter the territory.

Images sent to us today on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza show preparation is underway for this process to begin:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Analysing the list of Palestinian prisoners set to be freedpublished at 15:53 Greenwich Mean Time 22 November 2023

15:53 GMT 22 November 2023

BBC Verify’s data team has been examining a list issued by the Israeli authorities which gives details of 300 Palestinian prisoners - half of whom are expected to be released as part of deal that includes a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hamas would initially release 50 Israeli women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for 150 prisoners - Palestinian teenagers as well as adult women - held in Israeli jails.

Our analysis of the data shows that:

• 267 (89%) of those on the list of Palestinians are male
• 121 (40%) are aged under 18
• 203 (68%) were arrested between 1 January and 5 October 2023. None of the males is older than 19 - all those 20 and over are female
• The remaining 97 (32%) were arrested before 1 January 2023. None of the people on the list were arrested after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October

We are working to accurately translate text in the document which contains additional information about each detainee, including the nature of their alleged offences and sentences.

The Palestinian Authority's health ministry has said that seven Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.

Six were said to have been killed in the Tulkarm camp, in what the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported as a targeted Israeli drone strike.

The news agency also reported that another Palestinian was killed in the West Bank city of Qalqilia, bringing the total to seven.

The Israel Defense Forces has yet to comment on the operation.

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

“No.” That was the brief emphatic reply when Arab foreign ministers were asked if they were ready to help govern Gaza when the war ends.

But this delegation visiting London to press for a “an immediate ceasefire” is also worrying about “the day after".

Their goal is clear – the long-standing demand for a Palestinian state including Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

That road is still strewn with obstacles: an Israeli coalition government which doesn’t back it; a weak Palestinian Authority; a Gaza they fear will be a “wasteland” where grief and anger runs deep. And, in public, Arab leaders are saying little about Hamas’s future. “We’re no friend of Hamas,” is how one foreign minister put it privately.

“We have more questions than answers,” another admitted after today’s news conference.

And for all their criticism of the US’s very public support for Israel, they say Washington has to help lead any effort to maximise this moment.

“We need a big plan,” one minister told me. But there’s only a small window before next year’s US election eclipses what would have to be a herculean effort fraught with risk.

Lyse Doucet
Chief International Correspondent

“It’s good news.. but only one step in the right direction,” was Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s reaction to the new deal.

He emphasised “we hope it can be a basis for extended pauses which lead to a ceasefire", as he sat in a London hotel surrounded by Arab foreign ministers.

Speaking at a news conference, he said they had been “tasked to convey a message to the world – the violence in Gaza must stop immediately".

There was no hiding their anger with the response of many Western powers so far. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Western "silence" was allowing Israel to "continue with war crimes". As a reminder, Israel insists its retaliatory attacks since 7 October are targeting Hamas infrastructure and minimising civilian harm.

“The only way to kill a bad idea is to present a better one,” was a view expressed by many ministers who emphasised a political process leading to a two-state solution was the only way to respond to Hamas’s 7 October attacks, which they said they condemned “unequivocally.”

Image source, Reuters

It's nearly 14:15 in London and 16:15 in Israel and Gaza. Here's a recap of what's happened so far today:

• Hamas says the four-day pause in fighting between it and Israel in Gaza, announced overnight, will begin at 10am on Thursday
• Israel has not yet commented on when the pause will begin, but its Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he expected the first hostages to be received on Thursday
• The deal to pause fighting will allow 50 hostages to be released from Gaza and 150 Palestinians to be let out of Israeli jails
• World leaders have welcomed the deal, but some called for a longer pause in the conflict
• Families of those held in Gaza said every captive "needs to come home" and that each hour is "critical"

• Separately, Israeli forces have shared footage and images of what they say are 400 Hamas tunnel shafts in Gaza that have been destroyed since the start of the conflict
• On Wednesday morning, its military confirmed its ground and air operation in Gaza was continuing until the pause comes into effect

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau, tells the BBC the government will do "everything that can be done to have all the hostages released".

He says those to be released under the deal struck with Hamas overnight were chosen "according to categories" - and that women and children were prioritised.

"Though I feel for people who have male relatives held hostage in Gaza, decisions had to be made," he adds.

A peace activist formerly involved in hostage negotiations for the Israelis has described the deal between Israel and Hamas as "very fragile".

Gershon Baskin, who was involved in the 2011 release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, told the BBC that this deal is particularly "difficult".

Baskin said: "We have two parties who don't trust each other and have no reason to trust each other.

"There are so many things that could go wrong...there are no guarantees and anything could break down the agreement."

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, it's understood the pause in fighting will begin tomorrow morning at 10:00 local time.

Over the last few hours, more diplomatic reaction to the deal has been coming into us. Here's a look at some of the key voices.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomes the truce, but adds: "This is not enough to end the suffering of civilians" as he calls for efforts to free the remaining hostages to continue and for a ceasefire in Gaza.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says it is an "important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done."

In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry says it hopes the deal can help bring a full end to the war and "initiate a process towards a just and lasting peace on the basis of a two-state solution."

Elsewhere, Jordan's King Abdullah is heading for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi on how to end "Israel's aggression against the Palestinians", a palace statement said.

Reports in the Middle East also suggest the pause in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas will come into effect from 10am local time tomorrow (that's 08:00 GMT).

The deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told pan-Arab TV news channel al-Jazeera, external that was when they expected the pause to begin ahead of the first hostages being released.

An Egyptian security source told Reuters that mediators wanted the truce to start at 10am on Thursday, and Hamas wanted "a few hours" after it was under way to begin freeing hostages.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Defence Ministry told Reuters the truce would likely come into effect "some time tomorrow". The news agency also quoted Foreign Minister Eli Cohen as saying that he expected Israel to receive the first hostages on Thursday - though he declined to confirm the timing.