It's been almost two hours since a four-day temporary truce between Israeli forces and Hamas began, and we're starting to get the first pictures from Israel and Gaza through.

Both sides have said the pause in fighting is temporary.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The BBC has been speaking to Palestinians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, about the current ceasefire.

Mohammad Meqbil, who has been displaced from Jabaliya in the north of the territory, says that despite being “very happy” about the ceasefire, they still can’t go home.

“We, the residents of the north, we were uprooted because of the bombardment and we won’t be able to go back to our homes. It’s a tragedy, we want to see our homes.

"We want to see the martyrs, the injured, we want to see our children that we left behind,” Meqbil said.

“We hope that this truce is extended and that everyone can go back home,” Meqbil added.

Jihan Qanan, a resident of Khan Younis, said she hoped there would be a lasting ceasefire.

“May God bring calm between people and no more destruction of homes. People’s homes collapsed on top of them, they were displaced, they left in panic they lost their houses, their money, their property, everything,” Qanan said.

Anna Foster
Reporting from southern Israel

We are told 200 or so lorries a day over the next four-day period of this deal are due to take things like medical supplies, basic things like food and water and also fuel as well, which has been an important part of this deal.

Israel insisted for many days that fuel should not pass into Gaza because they said there was fuel already which was being hoarded by Hamas and they feared if they sent more fuel in, the militants would take it and use it as part of their operations against Israeli forces.

But as part of this deal negotiated by Qatar there are going to be four tankers of fuel per day that go in, with assurances that it will be taken directly to places that need them like hospitals and it will not be allowed to fall into the hands of Hamas.

That is what we’re seeing right now at the Rafah crossing - the movement of those lorries carrying vital humanitarian aid starting to move across into Gaza.

This was the moment the temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas began.

Here, our reporter in southern Israel Anna Foster describes the scene as she looks out towards the Gaza Strip.

Under the deal, Hamas will release 50 hostages from Gaza over four days and Israel will free 150 Palestinian prisoners.

If you are just joining us, here are the details of the deal mediated by Qatar:

• Ceasefire: A four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has come into effect with both sides saying the pause is temporary. Our reporter in southern Israel, Anna Foster, says the Israeli military continued their operation right up until the ceasefire began, and it appears also until just afterwards, as well
• Hostage and prisoner release: 13 women and children taken hostage by Hamas are to be released on Friday - the first of 50 to be released over four days. Hamas says the deal will see 150 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel
• Possible extension: For every 10 additional hostages released, the pause in fighting will be extended by a day
• Aid and fuel: 200 lorries carrying aid, four fuel tankers and four lorries carrying cooking gas will be allowed to enter Gaza via Egypt's Rafah crossing on each of the four days. Cairo says 130,000 litres of diesel will be allowed in Gaza each day

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent, travelling with David Cameron

Image source, No 10 Downing Street

David Cameron will today hold talks with Palestinian leaders on the second day of his visit to the Middle East.

The UK foreign secretary said the country would provide a further £30m to tackle what he called the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The money would go towards supporting the United Nations and other agencies on the ground delivering lifesaving aid, including shelter and medical provision.

He said Britain was urgently looking into all avenues to get support into Gaza, including by land, air and sea.

Lord Cameron said the importance of the hostage deal was not just that some captives would come home, but also that a pause in the fighting would allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

In his talks with Palestinian leaders, Lord Cameron is expected to discuss a longer-term political solution to the crisis.

Anna Foster
Reporting from southern Israel

This is an important step.

This is the beginning of this deal which will run not just throughout today but over the next four days which begins with this ceasefire - the cessation of hostilities and firing inside Gaza.

It moves onto additional humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza from Egypt through Rafah.

And then as we move throughout the day today we expect to see, if all goes to plan at 16:00 (14:00GMT) local time, the release of the first group of hostages - 13 of them we’re told, women and children - who will be brought from Gaza back into Israel.

Once that has happened, there will be a two-hour period during which Israel needs to release Palestinian prisoners who are being held inside Israeli jails.

Of course, at the heart of this today are those hostages - children, women, men, in some cases whole families - who were taken from here in southern Israel across into Gaza by Hamas as part of those attacks on 7 October.

Image source, .

Lior Peri's father Haim is a hostage stuck in Gaza and won't be released today - only 50 women and children are set to be freed over the next four days.

But there's still an overriding sense of hope, he tells the BBC.

Peri says he's happy with every deal the Israeli government can achieve and feels assured they won't stop now. "We're urging them to continue their work."

Anna Foster
Reporting from southern Israel

The four-day ceasefire began almost an hour ago, but we did hear, for around 15 minutes or so, continuing occasional explosions.

You can still see a hint on the skyline of the last air strikes in the 20 or 30 minutes leading up to the beginning of the temporary ceasefire.

The Israeli military really did continue their operation right until the ceasefire began, and slightly afterwards it appears - certainly from what we could hear and see over Gaza.

I can hear a drone in the sky above but we haven’t heard any arms fire, mortars, explosions, or any real sound of fighting for at least 20 mins or so. It looks like the ceasefire is firmly in place.

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Image source, Reuters

In the hours before the truce was due to take hold, there was intense fighting in Gaza.

Smoke could be seen rising up from Israeli air strikes and there was the constant sound of artillery and gunfire.

By 07:00 local time - about 40 minutes ago - it was calmer, but not immediately quiet. Sporadic gunfire could still be heard, and sirens went off in Israeli villages close to Gaza to warn of incoming missile or mortar fire.

While this is a worrying sign, in previous wars here, there has been a similar shaky start before a truce or longer ceasefire has stuck.

A few moments before the official start of the temporary ceasefire, the Israeli military posted a video, external on social media warning people in Gaza that "the war is not over yet".

"The humanitarian pause is temporary," says Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman, who was speaking in Arabic.

"The northern Gaza Strip is a dangerous war zone and it is forbidden to move north. For your safety, you must remain in the humanitarian zone in the south," he tells Gazans.

Anna Foster
Reporting from Sderot, southern Israel

This is one of the most significant moments since this war began on 7 October.

This is the beginning of a deal that will run over the next four days.

It begins with this ceasefire, it moves on to additional humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza through Egypt, and then we expect to see - if all goes according to plan - the release of the first group of hostages later today.

Dulcie Lee
Live reporter

A four-day pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas is expected to begin now.

If successful, it will mark the first pause in fighting in almost seven weeks of war.

The temporary ceasefire agreement also includes the release of 50 women and children, some of the around 240 people taken hostage by Hamas during their attacks on 7 October.

We expect to see the first group of 13 hostages freed at 16:00 (14:00 GMT) today.

In return, Israel has said it will release 150 Palestinian women and teenagers held in its prisons.

The pause in fighting will also bring some relief to 2.2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with the promise of more much-needed aid into the enclave under the deal.

Fighting was continuing up until the final few moments - I could hear the distant booms of mortar fire on the phone to my colleague Anna Foster in Sderot, close to the border with Gaza.

Israel has said this isn't the end of the war - the government has vowed to complete its mission to eliminate Hamas and return all hostages.

Hamas - which Israel, the US and other Western powers class as a terrorist organisation - has said the deal will give Palestinians time to recover after an intense Israeli air and ground assault which its government in Gaza says has killed more than 14,500 people.

Stay with us as we follow developments on the ground.

With around 15 minutes to go until the temporary ceasefire is due to begin, smoke can be seen in the sky as fighting continues up to the wire.

We've just been sent the following picture by our colleague Anna Foster, who's in Sderot in southern Israel.

Anna Foster
Reporting from Sderot, southern Israel

I've just arrived at the Sderot outlook in southern Israel.

There's less than an hour left until the ceasefire is meant to begin - but we're still hearing sounds of constant small arms and mortar fire in Gaza, and flares are visible in the sky.

And now an air strike. Drones can be heard too.

It seems the Israeli army is continuing its operation inside Gaza until the last moment.

Thirteen hostages are set to be released by Hamas at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

We don't know exactly who they'll be, but we do know that they'll all be women and children.

They're the first batch of a total of 50 hostages who are meant to be released over four days, according to the Israeli PM's office, during which there will be a pause in the fighting which is due to start in about 40 minutes.

They will be Israeli or dual nationals, rather than foreign citizens.

More hostages may be released after this. Under the deal struck between Israel and Hamas, the release of every additional 10 hostages will extend the ceasefire by one additional day.

Here are some of the images we've been getting out of Gaza over the last 24 hours or so.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

How do you agree a deal when neither side trust each other?published at 01:45 Greenwich Mean Time 24 November 2023

01:45 GMT 24 November 2023

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Jerusalem

One thing you hear from some families of hostages is that they won't quite believe their loved one is coming home until they are walking through the door.

It's a good indicator of the lack of trust between the two sides, for very obvious reasons.

I was in a briefing with a former Israeli hostage negotiator earlier this week who said that the point in these negotiations is that, of course, there is absolutely no trust between Israel and Hamas. And what you effectively replace that with is a sort of confidence and a respect in the mediator, Qatar, which seems to have worked quite well.

They've got a lot of mechanics worked out - where the Red Cross is going to be, and that Israel will stop its drone surveillance above Gaza for six hours in the run up to the hostage release at 16:00 (the specific timings on the surveillance outage are according to the account of the deal by Hamas).

That’s probably because Hamas thinks Israel would use that intelligence to work out where the other hostages are being held.

Obviously, they are trying to conceal that from the Israelis so it’s possible they wouldn't have signed up to the release agreement if the drone surveillance was there.

Israeli officials have previously said they have “other intelligence gathering capabilities” for when there are no drones and balloons in the air.

Image source, Getty Images

The World Food Programme says it has more than 100 trucks with around 1,300 tonnes of food supplies ready to enter Gaza once the temporary truce comes into effect.

The deal between Israel and Hamas will see a four-day pause in the conflict starting at 07:00 (5:00 GMT) today. In the afternoon, Hamas will free 13 hostages it kidnapped from Israel last month, followed by the release of some Palestinian prisoners.

Speaking to the BBC, the World Food Programme's Middle East spokesperson, Abeer Etefa, says while the temporary truce is a "step forward", only a total ceasefire will allow humanitarian needs in Gaza to be properly met.

Image source, Getty Images

It's coming up to 2am in Gaza and Israel and there's much anticipation ahead of the four-day pause in fighting which is expected to commence five hours from now. Let's recap on today's main developments:

• Qatar, who has played a crucial role in mediating a temporary truce deal between Hamas and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), said a pause in fighting would begin at 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Friday
• The temporary truce will apply to both north and south of the Gaza Strip, and the agreement is that 13 hostages will be released at 16:00 on the same day - all those being released are women and children
• Fifty hostages will be released in total across four days in exchange for a pause in fighting, and the release of 150 Palestinians currently held in Israeli jails
• A significant increase in aid allowed into Gaza also forms part of the agreement, as aid agencies repeat warnings of dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave
• IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the relatives of the 13 hostages chosen to be released on Friday have been informed, and that Israeli forces will be stationed at the ceasefire line when the pause in fighting begins
• The deal says for every additional 10 hostages released it will result in one additional day in the pause - Hamas took more than 200 people hostage in its 7 October attack on southern Israel
• On the ground in Gaza, the Israeli military confirmed that it had detained the director of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital after finding evidence which it says shows the facility - under his management - was used as a Hamas command and control centre. Hamas has long denied this claim
• Israel told the BBC they were not suggesting that the hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiya was a member of Hamas, adding that he was not under indictment
• The medical director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza says the facility is under heavy fire from Israeli tanks and the situation has escalated

• And UN's Palestinian refugee agency chief said he witnessed "unspeakable suffering of people" during a recent visit to Gaza, but he is hopeful that a pause in fighting will help aid reach north Gaza