A senior Israeli official has said hostages being held in Gaza won't be freed before Friday
A pause in fighting was expected to begin on Thursday, but an Israeli government source told the BBC it has also been delayed
The Israeli foreign minister earlier said he expected the first hostages to be received on Thursday
Under the planned agreement, 50 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas will be released and 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli jails freed
Israel has continued its ground and air operation in Gaza - and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to win "absolute victory" over Hamas
Israel began attacking Gaza after Hamas fighters crossed the border on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 others hostage
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 14,000 people - including more than 5,000 children - have been killed in Israel's campaign
Tom Bateman
Reporting from Jerusalem
The BBC understands the agreement is for the pause in fighting to start tomorrow at 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT), with the first release of hostages taking place around noon.
Image source, ReutersWe're turning our attention briefly now to Rome, where the relatives of hostages have held a news conference after meeting Pope Francis this morning.
The sister of 19-year-old Karina Ariev, Alexandra, was among those who spoke. Karina was serving at an Israeli army base near Gaza when she was kidnapped.
Alexandra says that "every minute, every hour, is critical" for the hostages, adding: "Every one of them needs to come home. Not in coffins. They should come home to tell their stories, to tell the stories of the the people who were murdered - so they can be our future."
Next comes the father of Nimrod Cohen, 19. He says of Hamas's deadly incursion into Israel on 7 October: "Our lives from that day changed. We don't have day and night - we just focus on his return and others to Israel."
Rachel, the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, from California, says her son hid in a roadside bomb shelter near the Supernova music festival - along with his friends and other attendees - which came under attack from Hamas militants.
"Most were dead, but some of the lucky ones were trapped under the dead bodies and told us what happened", including that Hersh's left arm had been blown off from the elbow down, Rachel says.
"That was 47 days ago that my heart was buried in Gaza," she adds.
Last came a resident from Kibbutz Be'eri, whose sister Raaya Rotem, 45, and niece, Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, were taken into Gaza.
He last heard from Raaya at 12:05 on 7 October, adding that he has had no information since.
Image source, ReutersAs we've been reporting, a deal has been struck between Israel and Hamas to release 50 hostages and hold a pause in fighting to allow humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.
In a Hamas statement, more details have been given as to how that pause might look on the ground in Gaza.
First off, all drone and Israeli aircraft activity is expected to stop for four days in the south of the territory, it says.
In the north, however, this will only hold between 10:00 and 16:00 local time (08:00-14:00 GMT) each day.
Israeli troops and tanks are expected to remain in their positions inside the territory for the duration of the pause, with Hamas's statement adding that Israeli forces would not attack or arrest anyone.
The deal will also allow 200 lorries carrying aid, four fuel tankers and four lorries carrying gas to enter Gaza via Egypt's Rafah crossing on each of the four days.
Anna Foster
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Tel Aviv
I am in the square outside Tel Aviv's Museum of Art - dubbed hostages plaza - which has been the focal point both for the protests of ordinary Israelis and the families of hostages.
Still standing here is the empty Shabbat table, along which empty chairs have been placed for each hostage.
Some of them are marked out for women and children, who it's hoped will start to be returned in the next 24 hours.
There's a buzz of activity here this morning. One person is playing the piano next to posters of the photographs of the hostages, all flanked by waving Israeli flags.
A chessboard is is also on display, with each hostage being shown as a chess piece.
What's different here today is that it feels like a moment of potential breakthrough.
There was an impromptu protest we could hear last night as some of the families of the hostages were really trying to push this deal through.
Now, there's a mix of anticipation and nerves.
This is a fragile deal and until people here actually start to see those hostages being released that nervousness will remain.
But there's definitely a sense that relief is close.
Jeremy Bowen
International Editor
A senior Israeli official has contacted the BBC to contradict reports that a very similar hostage deal to the one now agreed was on the table before Israel launched the ground invasion of Gaza.
The Israeli official, who asked not to be identified, pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had thanked US President Joe Biden for intervening to improve the deal from their point of view.
Earlier, three separate diplomatic sources from other countries close to the talks told the BBC that a deal was all but agreed before Israel sent troops and tanks into Gaza late last month.
Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem
As we've been reporting, the deal agreed between Israel and Hamas initially allows for 50 women and child hostages to be freed in batches by Hamas in exchange for a four-day pause in fighting. But the deal has, evidently, been structured to encourage further releases.
The incentive is a longer pause in fighting: “The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one additional day in the pause,” the Israeli government statement says.
That clause is an important one for the hostage’s families, some of whom had told me they didn’t want to see a partial deal.
It is also expected that the 50 hostages to be released would be those with Israeli nationality or dual nationals.
An update now from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which says its troops have exposed and destroyed approximately 400 Hamas tunnel shafts since the start of the conflict on 7 October.
It adds that many of the shafts leading to its tunnel network are located within civilian hospitals, schools and homes.
The IDF also shared footage and images of tunnel entrances and interiors demonstrating these claims, which the BBC is not able to independently verify.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians in Gaza as human shields, which Hamas denies.
Image source, Israel Defense Forces
Image source, Israel Defense Forces
Image source, ReutersThe prime minister of Qatar helped broker the deal
Now for some diplomatic reaction to the deal struck between Israel and Hamas that will see the first break in fighting since 7 October - and the release of 50 hostages being held in Gaza.
The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani - who helped broker the truce - said in a statement he hoped it would pave the way for an end to the war.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the deal was a "crucial step" towards releasing hostages and providing humanitarian relief in Gaza, while French President Emmanuel Macron said work is being done "tirelessly" to free all hostages.
The truce was also welcomed by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, the EU and countries including the US, Jordan, Russia, China, Egypt, France and Germany.
Davide Ghiglione
Reporting from Rome
Image source, ReutersPope Francis held separate meetings with Israeli families of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians with relatives in Gaza.
He said the Israel-Hamas conflict had gone beyond war, becoming “terrorism”, and emphasised that “both sides are suffering.”
Speaking at his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square, shortly after the meetings in his residence, the pontiff said: ”They suffer so much and I heard how both sides suffer.”
He added: "Please let us go forward for peace... My blessing goes to all."
The tiny nation of Qatar, positioned on a peninsula in the Persian Gulf, was once one the poorest countries in the Middle East but is now one of the richest.
In recent years, it has played key roles in negotiations around the world – not just in its own neighbourhood - and has led Israel and Hamas to ceasefire before.
Qatar’s leaders have for many years “pursued a strategy of talking to all sides - virtually all sides - in different conflicts in the Middle East and around the world,” Georgio Cafiero of the group Gulf State Analytics told BBC World Service's Newshour.
It has also been involved in negotiations with countries including Venezuela, Chad and Sudan, he says.
"This is part of a foreign policy strategy aimed at making Doha increasingly valuable to as many different players on the international stage as possible," adds Cafiero.
Some governments have criticised Doha for its ties to extremist groups such as Hamas, and in 2017 Saudi Arabia led efforts to cut the country off, ostensibly to force it to abandon its relations with radical and Islamist groups.
Qatar says any ties with such groups are part of an independent policy of relations with regional actors and strongly denies supporting terrorism.
Read our Qatar profile here
Image source, TelegramYosi's cousin Shiri and her two children were pictured being taken by Hamas gunmen
Among those waiting to see which hostages will be released by Hamas is Yosi Shnaider, who told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he has no idea if his cousin Shiri and her two small children are on the list.
They were pictured being kidnapped by Hamas militants on 7 October and Schnaider told the programme "we don't know if they're alive, injured, if they're ok mentally".
Shnaider added he was concerned the release may not even go ahead because he does not believe Hamas can be trusted, saying: "I try to be realistic and I know who we're dealing with."
"They will do everything that they can to ruin even this deal and I'm scared."
The deal has been structured in a way that allows for a pause in fighting to be extended by a day for every 10 further hostages released.
Shnaider said this is adding to the pain for his family as they will have to wait each night to see if Shiri and her children are on each subsequent hostage release list.
The IDF's Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee says, external a "temporary tactical suspension" of fighting is being implemented today in two areas in Khan Younis - a city in the south of Gaza.
The pause will be in force between 10:00 and 14:00 local time (08:00 to 12:00 GMT) in Jurat al-Lot and Batn al-Sameen.
Israel has announced regular "mini pauses" in fighting in recent weeks. But the four-day pause, confirmed overnight, will be the first full-scale break in fighting across the full Gaza Strip since 7 Ocotober.
Image source, ReutersA grieving family pictured in Khan Younis on Wednesday after alleged Israeli air strikes
The start time for the pause in fighting will be announced within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, Israel is continuing its operations in the Gaza Strip.
This morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a new evacuation window, external for people in northern Gaza to head to the south, giving them until 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).
Since the early days of the war, Israel has advised people in the north to head south, at times opening "safe routes" to allow tens of thousands of people to escape.
Image source, .The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says 14 ambulances have arrived at al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, to evacuate patients.
Israel occupied the Gaza City hospital last week after fierce fighting, while hundreds of patients and staff remained trapped inside.
We reported on Saturday that hundreds of people had been evacuated. It's thought around 300 critically ill people remained.
Image source, ReutersRed Crescent ambulances pictured on Monday, taking patients from al-Shifa across the border into Egypt
Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem
As we've reported, a key development this morning has been the publication of 300 names of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
The reason this list had to be published is because of a legal formality in Israel.
Ahead of any prisoner release, Israeli citizens must be allowed 24 hours to make an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court.
We're not expecting any serious holdups - but this is why we have this delay in the deal taking effect.
We're not expecting Israeli hostages to be released - or the start of the pause in fighting - until tomorrow.
As we've been reporting, Israel continued its operation in the Gaza Strip overnight, with deaths reported.
Last night, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said , externalone of its employees - Dima Alhaj - had been killed in Gaza, along with her six-month-old baby, husband and two brothers.
"My colleagues and I are devastated: we have lost one of our own in Gaza today," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote.
He said 108 UN workers had been killed in Gaza since 7 October.
Image source, Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusDima Alhaj
As we've just reported, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is continuing to operate in the Gaza Strip, before the four-day pause begins.
An official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reports that nine people were killed by strikes on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip this morning.
It adds more than 60 people were killed in a separate strike on the Jabalia camp, in the north.
The BBC cannot confirm these figures and the IDF has not commented on the specific attacks. It says its strikes target Hamas infrastructure.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 14,000 people have been killed in Israel's campaign since 7 October.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has just said it is continuing to operate from the air, ground, and sea in the Gaza Strip ahead of the four-day pause in fighting.
The start time for the pause is due to be announced over the next 24 hours.
In an update posted to X, external, fomerly Twitter, the IDF gave details of aircraft strikes, exchanges of fire with Hamas gunmen, and the destruction of alleged Hamas infrastructure.
It looks as though Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, was among the places targeted.
We've just received these images of the aftermath of an apparent Israeli strike:
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Qatari PM shared his thanks in a social media post
Qatar's prime minister has thanked the US and Egypt for helping Qatar broker the pause in Gaza.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said he hoped the agreement would establish a "comprehensive and sustainable agreement" that would "put an end to the war and the bloodshed".
The prime minister also said he hoped the deal would "lead to serious talks for a comprehensive and just peace process".