Thousands of Palestinians have begun returning to Gaza's north, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks Donald Trump for securing a ceasefire
Those returning to Gaza City say they are driven by desperation rather than confidence that it is safe, with many already told their homes no longer exist, writes Rushdi Abualouf
It comes as forces have pulled back to the lines agreed under Trump's plan, the IDF says, but will continue to "remove any immediate threat
Hamas has until 12:00 local time (10:00 BST) on Monday to release all Israeli hostages, while Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian detainees - here's what's meant to happen next
Israel has published a list of 250 Palestinian prisoners it will release in exchange for the hostages but the BBC understands Hamas is pushing for more to be freed
It comes after the Israeli government approved the first phase of Trump's ceasefire and hostage return deal
Israel's government has approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release plan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says in a statement.
"The government has just approved the framework for the release of all the hostages -- both the living and the deceased," the statement says.
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
It’s late at night here in Tel Aviv, and while many people have headed home, dozens are still gathered in Hostages Square as Israeli ministers are meeting to discuss whether they should approve the Gaza ceasefire plan.
Those still here are now standing around a piano dedicated to hostage Alon Ohel - a pianist who is among those still being held in Gaza - and singing along to live music.
I’ve just been speaking to 29-year-old Tova, who tells me she has been coming to the square every week.
“We’ve been fighting for two years now… I came here just to feel it,” she says.
Barbara Plett Usher
Reporting from Jerusalem
Approval by the Israeli cabinet would be the last step needed to set the deal in motion.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are attending the meeting, and Israeli media has reported that ministers broke into applause when they entered.
Trump himself expects to head to the Middle East on Sunday once the agreement gets the nod from the Israeli government, and a ceasefire would go into force.
The military will pull back from the frontline, and the clock starts ticking towards the release of the hostages in a few days' time.
The UN is poised to begin sending much more aid into Gaza, where famine has been declared in some areas.
Far-right members of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition have long opposed any deal with Hamas and said they’d vote against it. One of them warned he would push to topple Netanyahu’s government unless the Palestinian militant group was ultimately dismantled.
The Trump plan calls for Hamas to disarm, although it has always refused to do so. It’s main concern in talks thus far is that Israel will go back to war as soon as the hostages are freed.
A senior Hamas official has said today that the group received guarantees from the United States, Arab mediators, and Turkey that the war in Gaza has permanently ended.
Image source, The Prime Minister of Israel / X(From left) Steve Witkoff, Benjamin Netanyahu and Jared Kushner
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's X account has just shared photos from the cabinet meeting, which is happening now.
Netanyahu is pictured seated next to US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The speaker of the Knesset [Israeli parliament] confirms his office has invited President Donald Trump to give a speech.
"It is my profound honor and privilege to officially invite the greatest friend and ally of the Jewish people in modern history," Speaker Amir Ohana writes of Trump, external, "to deliver a formal address to the nation before the Knesset."
"Israel awaits The Peace President," Ohana adds.
Earlier, Trump said he had accepted an offer to speak, incorrectly stating that it marks the first time a US president has ever done so.
Ohana's office notes that Trump will be the first US president to speak before the Knesset since George W. Bush in 2008.
We don't yet know when Trump will speak, but earlier today he told the New York Post he would "probably" go to the Middle East on Sunday.
Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, tells Radio 4's The World at One that the Palestinian Authority (PA) "absolutely welcome" the Gaza ceasefire deal "as a first step towards a new future" - but adds that "this is not a time to relax".
"We have experience with Netanyahu," Zomlot says, adding that the Israeli prime minister "looks for loopholes" and "doesn't want to end this".
For context, Zomlot is the UK representative for the PA, which holds partial control over the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Image source, Getty ImagesKushner (left) and Witkoff at the Trump-Netanyahu meeting last week
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The three are now all in the full cabinet meeting, Israeli media reports.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
I’ve just left the Oval Office at the White House, where I was only a few feet from President Trump and his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb.
Much of their conversation focused on shared concerns about Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But Gaza was also discussed - and just a moment ago, I asked Trump for his view on the possibility of a Palestinian state in the future, which the 20-point plan suggests could happen if the right conditions are met.
“We’re going to see how it all goes. There’s a point at which we may do something that would be a little bit different, and maybe very positive for everybody,” he replies.
“We’ll be looking at that at the time,” he adds. “I think we will get to that.”
The possibility of Trump winning a Nobel Peace Prize also came up.
“I think the best nomination would be coming from Zelensky, and then the King of Jordan,” Stubb says. “I have to say that the track record of the President of the United States is rather impressive.”
Image source, ReutersAs we are still waiting for a result from the Israeli government on the Gaza ceasefire deal, the country’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has just said he will vote to bring down the government if Hamas is not “dismantled”.
“If the Hamas government is not dismantled, or if they only tell us that it is dismantled while in reality it continues to exist under a different guise - Otzma Yehudit [party] will dismantle the government,” he says in a statement, referring to his far-right party that is in coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir also says he’ll oppose any proposed peace deal that results in the release of prisoners Israel accuses of murder.
“I and the Otzma Yehudit ministers will not be able to raise our hands in favour of a deal that releases those murderous terrorists, and we will oppose it in the government,” the statement adds.
Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defense Agency says it's working at the site of a strike on a home in Gaza City.
The organisation says more than 40 people are trapped under the rubble, and two women have been rescued so far.
Israel's public broadcaster Kann has cited a military source saying that an attack on a residential building in Gaza City was aimed at a structure where "activity against IDF forces was detected".
Image source, ReutersSenior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya says he has received guarantees from the US and mediators involved in peace talks with Israel that "the war has completely ended".
In his statement, Hayya says the agreement includes a "permanent ceasefire", the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the entry of humanitarian aid, and the reopening of the Rafah crossing.
Hayya also outlines the "captive exchange" in the deal, which he says will see 250 people serving life sentences and 1,700 detainees from Gaza who were arrested after 7 October released, along with all women and children.
He adds that Hamas is in the process of completing the remaining stages of the agreement.
As a reminder, Israel's government is yet to confirm the ceasefire deal, and both Israel and the US have yet to comment on Hamas's statement.
We're hearing that Netanyahu's cabinet has now finished its meeting on the ceasefire plans agreed this morning between Israel and Hamas.
Now, Israeli government ministers will meet to decide whether to back the deal supported by the US.
As we've been reporting, it's widely expected that they will vote to approve the plans - though far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said he will not support the agreement.
We'll bring you more on Ben-Gvir's comment soon.
Image source, ReutersIsraeli cabinet's meeting, Donald Trump's speech in Washington DC, and Arab and European foreign ministers' discussion in Paris - there's been a lot of movement in the last few hours.
Here's the latest:
Stick with us as we bring you the latest reaction.
Image source, Getty ImagesEgyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi says a ceasefire in Gaza is urgently needed, even before Israel's government has fully approved the agreement with Hamas this evening.
As we've been reporting, Israel's offensive in Gaza is still continuing, as Israel's cabinet has yet to confirm the deal agreed this morning between Hamas and Israel.
Egypt's president made the comments while welcoming a US delegation, including Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, to Cairo, according to a presidential spokesperson.
"President El-Sisi stressed the critical urgency to implement the ceasefire in the strip immediately without waiting for the signing of the relevant agreement," a statement from his office reads.
Following news that a Gaza deal has been reached - although the ceasefire is yet to be implemented - people in Gaza are still reporting explosions in the territory.
Thick plumes of smoke, fireballs and the sound of explosions have been seen in the Strip in a series of clips filmed up to 13:00 BST today.
Explosions and smoke seen on Gaza skyline
Our North America editor Sarah Smith and correspondent Anthony Zurcher got together for a special episode of Americast to talk about Donald Trump’s role in the process.
They also discussed how much credit he can personally take, what it tells us about US foreign policy, and whether there could be a lasting peace deal.
Image source, Getty ImagesUK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says there will be no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza.
Speaking after a meeting with European and Arab foreign ministers in Paris, Cooper says there will be “no role for Hamas as a result of the anguish that we’ve seen over the past two years and the importance of building a lasting peace”.
She also notes the Arab League and US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan has set out a role for Palestinians and a Palestinian committee after the war, while excluding Hamas.
Although we expect the Israeli government to confirm a ceasefire this evening, there remain a number of unknowns.
While we await further detail, our colleagues at BBC Verify have been investigating what a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza might look like:
What could Gaza look like under the ceasefire plan?
Alice Cuddy
Reporting from Tel Aviv
Inbar's brother and niece were killed in the 7 October attacks
Earlier in Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, I spoke to Inbar Goldstein. Her brother and niece were killed in the 7 October attacks, and her sister-in-law, niece and two nephews taken hostage.
They were released in November 2023.
Inbar tells me today feels like "the beginning of the end".
"We've experienced different types of endings over the past two years but it feels like the grand finale we’ve been looking for," she says.
"I don't know what to expect but I know it will be a new way of breathing for us because we've been suffocating for the past two years," she adds.
Inbar tells me the return of her loved ones in late 2023 was "the saddest happiest moment in our lives - having them with us but knowing that... we'll never be complete again".
She jokes that the "energy [here in Hostages Square] is frightening because I'm trying not to be too happy too soon.
"I declared that I'm going to learn the steps and join the dance circles - but only when I see the hostages come back. Today, I'm not dancing, I'm standing still and smiling. But soon I'll dance."
Kristina Volk
BBC World Service
18-year-old Sanabel has been sending me updates and voice messages for the past two years.
She spent most of that time in her destroyed family home in Gaza City, but is now displaced in the west of Gaza, staying with relatives.
Today, her message was hopeful. "You can’t even imagine how delighted we are," she says, adding: "I now need to heal and get rid of every bad memory. I really want to live in peace."
She’s cautious, though - saying she’s seen too many ceasefires collapse. Even now, the explosions in the background of her voice message are constant.
"I really don’t want to hear the sound of bombs anymore. I want to at least live one day without hearing any explosions, missiles or drones."