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 have agreed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal following 15 months of war, mediators Qatar and the US say. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday so long as it was approved by the Israeli cabinet.

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.

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.

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 ceasefire is due to be enforced at 8.30am local time on Sunday morning - but bombing has escalated since the deal was first announced

At a time when the entire world is aghast at Israel's savagery in Gaza, the Zionist regime has decided to adapt an Iranian novel once promoted by American neoconservatives into a film

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