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

A source familiar with the negotiations in Doha told AFP there had been "significant progress ... territory's health ministry that the United Nations says are reliable. - Gaza City pounded - Even as intense diplomatic efforts continued towards a truce ...

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.

The complex accord emerged Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt & the US. Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people hours later, medics say.

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

Rockets fired from Gaza and intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system over Israeli skies are seen from Gaza City, on May 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File) DOHA, Qatar — Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip,

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 cabinet still has to ratify the deal, and some details remained unresolved. President Biden said hostages were to be released over 42 days.

Hundreds of truckloads of food, fuel and other supplies have arrived in Gaza each day since the cease-fire took effect. But the need is vast after 15 months of war.

Netanyahu is under pressure from right-wing members of his coalition government to resume bombardment of the Gaza Strip until Hamas is destroyed. Several have said they received assurances from Netanyahu that after the first phase of the truce ends, Israeli troops and fighter jets will once again launch in and over Gaza.