Tom Bateman
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Israel’s war cabinet has been meeting as the contours of a hostage deal become clearer.

A senior Israeli official, speaking to the BBC, suggests an agreement would involve the release by Hamas of around 12 hostages per day - reaching up to 50 - in return for a four-day ceasefire.

Elsewhere, it’s been reported Israel would free up to 150 Palestinian prisoners it holds - with women and children the focus of releases by both sides.

The potential release of Palestinian detainees explains why the wider Israeli government is also meeting tonight - as it would have to sign this off.

The measure could also be open to legal appeal, although it’s said this could be carried out within 24 hours.

The senior Israeli official said all the Israeli security bodies - the IDF, the spy agency Mossad, and the domestic intelligence agency the Shin Bet, were in favour of the deal.

The official said: “Within four days, 50 people, Israelis who are alive, [would] be released. In addition, maybe Hamas will release Thais unilaterally. At most it will reach 80 people.”

It's 20:00 in Israel (18:00 here in London) - which is the time at which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with his cabinet.

His office earlier said the talks were "in light of developments on the issue of the release of our hostages".

Netanyahu was also scheduled this evening to talk to his war cabinet and a council of ministers. Any hostage deal would require the approval of all three of the groups he's meeting.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.

Image source, EPA

A woman whose parents were abducted by Hamas in the 7 October attacks says she's not being political as debate swirls around the priorities of the Israeli government.

During her interview with BBC News - as mentioned in our last post - Sharone Lifshitz was also asked her opinion of the handling of the hostage crisis by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

She acknowledged that there was a huge debate ongoing, but said one in four people in her kibbutz were killed or left missing following the Hamas attacks on 7 October. She said she was therefore too invested in the hostage issue to "sit here and say what I think about it".

Lifshitz said: "I am not in a position to comment, I do not have the privilege to be political at the moment.

"When they [the hostages] all come back and I've seen that they have all come back with my own eyes, then I can sit and comment on it."

Sharone Lifshitz is the daughter of two of the hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attack.

Her mother, Yocheved, was released some weeks ago, but her father, Oded, remains in Gaza. Yocheved told Sharone her father was injured during their abduction, but that is the extent of their knowledge.

"I know he is in Gaza," Sharone told BBC News earlier, but "no agency as far as we know has seen him. No one knows if he is dead or alive".

Sharone said her mother was "slowly patching up" following her ordeal, and was coming to understand the "fuller picture of this horrific massacre" after being kept in Gaza.

Image source, Reuters

With talk that a potential deal between Israel and Hamas is near, here's a quick rundown of what's been happening so far today:

• US President Joe Biden says a deal that would see Hamas release some Israeli hostages is now "very close", but cautions "nothing is done until it's done"
• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said "progress" was being made - and has summoned key officials for talks this evening. Any deal must be approved by the groups he's arranged to meet
• Earlier, the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh gave his own assessment that the group was nearing a "truce agreement" with Israel, which could see fighting paused in Gaza

• An unnamed senior Israeli official has told the BBC that the potential deal would see 50 Israelis released "within four days" - and that all of Israel's security bodies back the proposal
• An unnamed US official said this would be in return for Israel's release of 150 Palestinian prisoners

• Meanwhile, fighting continues - and the Israeli military says it has surrounded Jabalia in northern Gaza
• The World Health Organization (WHO) says two premature babies died before they could be evacuated with from Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital along with a group of others on Sunday - because of the "lack of care available to them"
• Gaza's Hamas-run government says that more than 14,000 people have been killed in the territory since Israel began its offensive - including more than 5,800 children

• Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October, with about 240 people thought to have been taken hostage

The Hamas-run Gaza government says the number of people who've been killed in the territory since the war began has reached 14,128.

It says that 5,840 children are among the dead.

A little while ago, US President Joe Biden said a deal was "very close" that could see Hamas releasing Israeli hostages. Here's a clip of his comments in full.

"Nothing is done until it's done," he told reporters in Washington.

The BBC has been hearing from a senior Israeli official about a potential deal.

They say the arrangement will see 50 Israelis released "within four days" - so about 12 of them per day.

The senior Israeli official says all of Israel's security bodies, as well as the military and intelligence services, are in favour of the proposed deal - having rejected an earlier one that was mediated by Qatar.

The official also says: "In addition, maybe Hamas will release Thais unilaterally. At most it [the deal] will reach 80 people."

Thailand's foreign ministry has said 25 of its citizens were taken during the Hamas attacks on 7 October. BBC News has found names for 12 of them - you can read more on that here.

There are thought to be about 240 people being held hostage by Hamas.

Image source, EVN

Building on those comments we've just reported from unnamed US officials - President Joe Biden has just said a deal that would see Hamas release some of its hostages from Gaza is now "very close".

"We've been working on this intensively for weeks as you all know," he told reporters in Washington. "My team has been in the region shuttling between capitals."

He added: "We are now very close, very close." Biden went on to say: "We could bring some of these hostages very soon." He cautioned that "nothing is done until it's done," but reiterated that "things are looking good at the moment".

Unnamed US officials have been speaking to both the Reuters news agency and US network NBC about a tentative deal between Israel and Hamas.

The sources suggest the terms have been set down - that Hamas would release 50 hostages, mostly women and children, in return for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners.

Right now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with his war cabinet, and will meet with his security council and government cabinet later this evening.

Image source, Maya Roman

Danielle Gallia-Kind - a family friend of one of the missing Israelis - has been speaking to BBC News.

Asked about suggestions that a hostage deal could be on the way, she said: "Amen".

"I'm very hopeful," Gallia-Kind commented, adding that she felt the need to hold herself back until she knew it was all really happening.

Her friend Yarden Roman-Gat was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be'eri along with her husband and young child. The other two managed to escape when the car briefly stopped, but Yarden then went missing during the chase.

Gallia-Kind is also a representative of the families of hostages. She says she decided to get involved in negotiations because she was feeling "hysterical".

• Stories of the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel

David Brown
BBC News on iPlayer

The BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen has returned to London after more than a month reporting from the front lines in Israel and Gaza.

He has been reflecting on the experience in a new interview.

In it, he says reporting from the Kfar Aza rural community in Israel where there had been "wholesale slaughter" on 7 October will live long in his memory.

You can watch the full interview here.

Earlier today we reported that a Lebanese broadcaster said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli air strike.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed its soldiers were in the area of al-Jabin, saying they were "operating against a threat posed from a launching area of the Hezbollah terrorist organization".

The Israeli military adds: "We are aware of a claim regarding journalists in the area who were killed as a result of IDF fire.

"This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous. The incident is under review."

• Read more on this story here

Image source, Reuters

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent

The use of the word "truce" in a Hamas statement today is not the same as a ceasefire or an end to the war in Gaza that's cost over 13,000 lives so far.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in negotiations over the release of hostages from Gaza has been over the issue of a ceasefire.

Israel has consistently opposed it because it believes Hamas will use it to rearm and regroup before attacking Israel again.

But sources close to the negotiations say a hostage deal is likely to include a framework of temporary pauses in the fighting, amounting to a few hours each day for a period of three to five days.

This would allow not just the release of some hostages from captivity in Gaza but also a major increase in aid for the territory, including perhaps much-needed fuel.

Image source, BBC News

If a hostage deal is agreed, it could be approved by Israel within "hours", according to the senior adviser to PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mark Regev has told BBC Radio 4's the World at One programme: "If an arrangement is made for the release of our hostages... it requires a decision by the Israeli government and that I think can be done very quickly... I think we are talking about hours... but then there's something that might take a touch longer.

"If an arrangement involves the release of Palestinians legally held in Israeli prisons because they have killed people, there has been an arrangement in the past where by families of those people who were killed by these individuals can petition the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court does a hearing which would take a few hours as well."

Regev added it is possible the deal is close but emphasised "it is not done until it is done".

He said: "I hope we will see the release of our people shortly, but I am still not 100% sure."

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's convening his war cabinet for a meeting this evening "in light of developments related to the release of the abductees".

After the cabinet meets at 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT), Netanyahu has also meetings with his security council and his government cabinet this evening.

A short time ago, Netanyahu said he was hopeful for "good news" on a potential deal with Hamas to release some hostages.

For any deal to go ahead, it must be approved by the three groups Netanyahu has set up meetings with tonight.

Let's recap some of the details we've been hearing about a potential agreement involving Hamas and Israel:

• Hamas's leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier said his group was close to agreeing what he called a "truce agreement" - after more than six weeks of fighting
• Moments ago, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said "we are making progress" on the return of hostages snatched by Hamas on 7 October. He added: "I hope there will be good news soon"
• Our correspondent Frank Gardner says the deal could see the release of some of the hostages taken from Israel to Gaza in return for pauses in fighting and the release of Palestinian prisoners
• According to Reuters, the potential agreement - mediated by Qatar - envisages the release of around 50 civilian hostages by Hamas, and of Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli custody

The Israeli prime minister says "progress" is being made on efforts to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Benjamin Netanyahu adds: "I hope there will be good news."

Image source, Reuters

We've been telling you about the babies that were evacuated from Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital on Sunday.

Of the 31 premature babies evacuated, 28 were taken to Egypt, with three remaining in a hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza.

These pictures were taken this morning in that hospital in Rafah, where some of the babies are receiving treatment.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Egyptian Health Ministry

The World Health Organization (WHO) has given an update on the babies evacuated from Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital over the weekend.

A total of 33 premature babies were being looked after in the hospital, which had been raided by Israeli troops.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier says two premature babies died before the evacuation began on Sunday.

He says it was "because of the lack of care available to them".

At the time, the WHO said the babies were all "fighting serious infections and continue needing health care".

Of the 31 evacuated from Al-Shifa hospital, 28 were then taken to Egypt. Unicef has said that 20 of these children were "unaccompanied".

Spokesman James Elder said several parents had been unable to cross into Egypt with their children, while others were orphans.