The deal, not yet formally announced, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The agreement follows months of on-off negotiations brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and came just ahead of the January 20 inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
A proposed truce is expected to include a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. (AP PHOTO)
Hamas, Gaza's dominant Palestinian militant group, told Reuters its delegation had handed mediators its approval for the ceasefire agreement and return of hostages.
A Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters earlier Hamas had given verbal approval to the ceasefire and hostage return proposal under negotiation in Qatar and was waiting for more information to give final written approval.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was cutting a visit to Europe short and flying back to Israel overnight to take part in security cabinet and government votes on the deal - meaning the votes would likely be by or on Thursday.
Israeli troops invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas-led gunmen broke through security barriers and burst into Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 soldiers and civilians and abducting more than 250 foreign and Israeli hostages.
Israel's campaign in the strip has killed more than 46,000 people, according to Gaza health ministry figures, and left the coastal enclave a wasteland of rubble with hundreds of thousands surviving the winter cold in tents and makeshift shelters.
As his inauguration approached, Trump repeated his demand that a deal be done swiftly, warning repeatedly that there would be "hell to pay" if the hostages were not released.
His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff worked with US President Joe Biden's team to push the deal over the line.
In Israel, the return of the hostages may ease some of the public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government over the October 7 security failure that led to the deadliest single day in the country's history.
The conflict spread across the Middle East, with Iran-aligned proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The deal comes after Israel killed the top leaders of Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah in assassinations which gave it the upper hand.
Despite the talks on a ceasefire, the Israeli military, the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency and the air force attacked about 50 targets throughout the enclave over the last 24 hours, Shin Bet and the military said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israeli strikes killed at least 13 Palestinians across the enclave.
Those included seven people who were in a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City and six others killed in separate air strikes on houses in Deir al-Balah, Bureij camp and Rafah, medics said.
