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

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.

Just as Palestinians in Gaza were reinvigorated with a sense of hope Wednesday after news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, deadly Israeli airstrikes continued to rain down on people just hours later,

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are eager to leave miserable tent camps and return to their homes if a long-awaited ceasefire agreement halts the Israel-Hamas war.

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.

According to the analysis, as much as 70% of buildings in North Gaza and 74% in Gaza City are likely damaged or destroyed. Satellite images show widespread rubble and the ruins of structures in the area.

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

Israel approved a cease-fire agreement with Hamas early Saturday, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year. Palestinians have celebrated the truce with the hope that it will finally end the devastating 15-month war, and Israelis are anxiously awaiting the return of scores of captives abducted by Hamas.

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.

According to a report by Gaza's Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Israel-Hamas war has left hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed or partially damaged, while some 82,000 are deemed entirely uninhabitable.

Israel has continued to bomb the enclave as it prepares to implement a cease-fire. Civil Defense said Gaza City had the highest toll with more than 80 killed.