The ceasefire as agreed to in Qatar is set to last 42 days. Over that period, 33 hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, there will be a slow withdrawal of the Israeli military from urban centers in Gaza and a surge of humanitarian aid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Israel's negotiating team had finalized a deal on the release of hostages held in Gaza.

As mediators and the Israeli government have confirmed that the approved Gaza ceasefire agreement is the same as a deal that was rejected more than six months earlier, "the question many Israeli's are asking right now is why did it take two US presidents and Qatar and Egypt to do what the Israeli prime minister could himself have been doing back on May 27?