Israel approved a cease-fire agreement with Hamas early Saturday, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year. Palestinians have celebrated the truce with the hope that it will finally end the devastating 15-month war, and Israelis are anxiously awaiting the return of scores of captives abducted by Hamas.

By Andrew Mills, Nidal al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The Israeli cabinet will meet to give final approval to a deal with militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and a release of hostages,

After intense negotiations, Israel and Hamas have reached a deal that would see a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday, opening the way to a possible end to a devastating 15-month conflict.

Israeli government officials said they would wait at least until tomorrow before voting to ratify a deal to pause the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of dozens of Israeli hostages. The vote, which had been expected today, was delayed as diplomats raced to work through last-minute disputes between the two sides.

If the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal goes according to the current draft, then fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days, and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed.

A visual guide to how much has changed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its military response to Hamas's attacks on 7 October.

A cohort of gray-haired uptown residents are suing Columbia University over the closure of its “College Walk,” a stretch of quad space on its Morningside Heights campus cut off to the public after

As a ceasefire is called between Israel and Hamas look at the toll over a year of war has taken on the scarred landscape of Gaza. | ITV National News

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are eager to leave miserable tent camps and return to their homes if a long-awaited ceasefire agreement halts the Israel-Hamas war.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war-time security cabinet met on Friday morning to approve a long-awaited ceasefire with Hamas.The cabinet convened at 10.15am (8.15am GMT) to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal set to bring an end the brutal 15-month conflict.