US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, a former senior advisor to Trump and his son-in-law, will travel to Israel tonight, according to reports in Israeli media.

The pair were among those sent to Egypt to take part in deal negotiations in for a peace deal. Trump earlier said they were “tremendous help”.

In its daily update on the death toll in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says a further 11 people have been killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours.

That means a total of 67,194 have been killed since 7 October 2023, it says.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is “ready to scale up its work to meet the dire health needs” in Gaza, its director-general says.

In a post on X reacting to the news of the deal, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus writes that the WHO will also “support rehabilitation of the destroyed health system” in the region.

He writes that: “The best medicine is peace.

“I hope all parties will respect the agreement, so the suffering of all civilians finally ends and all hostages are brought home respectfully.”

Image source,Reuters

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed the announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

For context, the Palestinian Authority governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but does not govern Gaza.

In a post on the Palestinian Authority’s foreign affairs ministry’s social media, it says Abbas expresses hope that “these efforts would be a prelude to reaching a permanent political solution”, leading to “an end to the Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state”.

It says Abbas affirms his readiness to work to ensure the agreement’s success, and calls for its immediate implementation.

Lucy Manning
Special correspondent

Around 20 Israeli hostages are thought to be alive, including:

Childhood friends Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal. Hamas has released videos of the men in an emaciated state, with David being made to dig his own grave deep in the Hamas tunnels.

Alon Ohel, 24, is a talented pianist. Hamas recently released a captivity video of him showing what his family say is the lost sight in one eye.

Twins Gali and Ziv Berman, both 28, are believed to be alive. Ziv was taken as he was protecting former British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari – who was released earlier this year and celebrated with his family last night.

There have been fears for Nepalese agricultural student Bipin Joshi. His family yesterday released a Hamas video filmed just after he was taken hostage and said they do believe he is still alive.

The bodies of those killed on 7 October, and those killed as hostages, would also return – although there is concern Hamas won’t be able to locate them all.

They include teenagers Oz Daniel and Itay Chen who were serving as soldiers.

Eighty-five-year-olds Amiram Cooper and Aryeh Zalmanovich – whose son says was “murdered” in a Gaza hospital.

The body of one woman, Inbar Haiman, who was taken from the Nova festival, is still held.

Muhammed el-Atrash was a Bedouin in the Israeli army and the father of 13 children.

Joshua Mollel from Tanzania was working as an agricultural student in Israel. His body was taken after he was killed on 7 October.

The British family of Yossi Sharabi have campaigned for the release of his body. His brother Eli Sharabi told the BBC last week how important it was for the family to have a funeral and closure.