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 set to begin early Sunday. Follow for live updates.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an agreement with Hamas to pause the war in Gaza has been finalized, suggesting it’s on track to begin on Sunday.

Netanyahu's office said Thursday his Cabinet won't meet to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal until Hamas backs down from what it called a "last minute crisis."

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been delayed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would not begin until Hamas provides the names of the three hostages it was set to release later on Sunday in exchange for scores of Palestinian prisoners.

Envoy Steve Witkoff, carrying a message from Donald Trump, broke through the impasse in long-futile cease-fire talks.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas it set to go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) on Sunday, mediator Qatar said. It will pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

JERUSALEM: A long-awaited ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was delayed Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the last minute that it would not take effect until the Palestinian group provided a list of the hostages to be released.

The deadline for the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip passed as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had not lived up to its commitment to provide the names of the three hostages it was set to release later on Sunday,

Hamas blamed the delay in getting a list across on "technical field reasons." It said in a statement that it is committed to the ceasefire deal announced last week.

Netanyahu’s announcement comes one hour before the ceasefire deadline. Hostages were expected to be released within hours of the start of the ceasefire, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military not to start the ceasefire in Gaza as he demanded the list of hostages to be freed, throwing the truce in limbo just an hour before it was to begin.