Fighters from the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, control the crowd while Red Cross vehicles come to collect Israeli hostages to be released under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar, File)

The Gaza Strip ceasefire should begin on Sunday as planned, despite the need for negotiators to tie up a "loose end" at the last minute, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza

President Joe Biden and his top diplomats, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had sought closure during his term.

Qatar says it is hopeful that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal could be agreed "very soon", with negotiators from Israel and Hamas beginning a "final stage" of indirect talks in Doha.

Mediators gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal on Monday to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after a midnight "breakthrough" in talks attended by envoys of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Qatar on Monday presented Israel and Hamas with a final draft of a deal to end the Gaza war, following a midnight breakthrough in talks attended by

The deal promises the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that a deal has been agreed upon with Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza. Follow for live news updates.

US officials confirmed that a ceasefire has been reached between Israel and Hamas that would pause the war in Gaza and release dozens of hostages

Israel's deadly West Bank raids come as Qatari and Egyptian Prime Ministers could start talks over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire