What we're covering
• The long-awaited Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal is expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET) on Sunday, potentially signaling a new chapter in a bloody 15-month conflict that has enflamed the Middle East.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the deal, but said it could not move forward until Hamas supplies a list of the hostages to be released. He warned Israel reserves the right to resume fighting if the deal falls apart — and would have US backing in doing so.
• Thirty-three Israeli hostages are expected to be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase of the deal. Three female Israeli civilian hostages are expected to be released on Sunday, according to two US officials.
• In the days leading up to the ceasefire, Israel has maintained its bombardment of Gaza, killing at least 122 people and injuring 270 others since the deal was announced on Wednesday, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense.
• Aid trucks are already lining up at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News reported, ahead of the ceasefire. Aid into Gaza will be ramped up to 600 trucks per day. But the UN warns that would be “only a start” in addressing the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.