𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Israeli knesset will vote on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal on Thursday, a government official said according to Reuters.

The vote will confirm whether Israel will go ahead with the ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas have agreed an historic ceasefire to end 15 months of war in Gaza, The Independent understands, a conflict in which almost 50,000 people have been killed and has threatened to draw the whole of the Middle East in.

The truce and hostage deal was reached after the prime minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, meting with Hamas negotiators and then separately the Israelis. Qatar has been a key mediator in seeking to end the conflict.

Triggered by a bloody attack by Hamas inside southern Israel on 7 October in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage, Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza has left more than 46,000 Palestinians dead, the majority women and children according to Palestinian officials. More than 110,000 people have been injured, and thousands of others are feared buried in the rubble of the devastated enclave.

The Independent’s chief international correspondent Bel Trew and world affairs editor Sam Kiley report:

US president-elect Donald Trump has sayd the hostages will be “released shorty”, after news emerged that a ceasefire deal has been reached between Hamas and Israel.

On his social media site Truth Social, Mr Trump wrote: “We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!”

A Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal has been reached, a source close to the negotiations has told The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley.

It comes following the Qatari prime minister’s meeting with Hamas negotiators, and separately Israeli negotiators, in his office.

Israel and Hamas have reached a Gaza ceasefire deal designed to end the 15-month war following the conclusion of talks in Qatar, an official briefed on the deal has told Reuters.

The agreement follows months of negotiations brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States.

A Gaza ceasefire has been reached, a US official has said according to American outlet Axios.

The claim comes from the outlet’s Global Affairs Correspondent, Barak Ravid.

In contradictory developments to those coming from Hamas sources, an Israeli official has said talks have hit a “last-minute snag”, according to Sky News.

The snag is reportedly around the presence of Israeli forces in the Philadelphia corridor in the south of Gaza, with Hamas demanding Israeli forces withdraw slightly further.

Hamas has approved the ceasefire agreement, a source has told Sky News.

The group’s leader, Khalil Al Hayya, delivered the approval to mediators in Doha, Qatar.