The Israel-Hamas war has devastated the Gaza Strip. Satellite photos offer some sense of the destruction in the territory.

JERUSALEM - A ceasefire in the Gaza war will begin at 8.30am (2.30pm Singapore time) on Jan 19, mediator Qatar has said after Israel’s Cabinet voted to approve the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner release deal.

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.

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect in less than 24 hours, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

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.

Qatar's foreign ministry said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal, with a pause in fighting in Gaza and the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners expected to begin Sunday. Follow for live updates.

A year after Israel vowed to wipe Hamas ‘off the face of the earth’ following the 7 October attack into Israel the conflict has spread across the Middle East

A committee of Palestinian notables on Saturday said that an agreement had been reached to end fighting in the West Bank between security forces from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and extremists in the city of Jenin.