After 14 months of talks, Trump’s threats and his special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, played a major role in helping Biden officials reach the finish line.

Israel intensified strikes on Gaza hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, and mediators sought to quell fighting ahead of the truce's start on Sunday.

A ceasefire in the Gaza war will begin Sunday morning at 0630 GMT, mediator Qatar said on Saturday after Israel's cabinet voted to approve the truce and hostage-prisoner release deal.

Under the deal, bitterly opposed by some cabinet hardliners, a six-week ceasefire is due to take effect on Sunday, with the first of a series of hostage-for-prisoner exchanges that could open the way to ending the 15-month war in Gaza.

They include 737 male, female and teen-aged prisoners, some of whom are members of Palestinian militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis, as well as hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza in detention since the start of the war.

A ceasefire agreement in Gaza has been reached between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of war. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have mediated the long-running efforts