Israel and Palestinians Prepare for Long-Sought Truce in Gaza

Qatar, which mediated the agreement, said the cease-fire deal was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.

The mediating country Qatar on Saturday announced a time for the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas to take effect the next day, setting off final preparations for a truce that much of the world hopes will end 15 months of destruction in Gaza.

The deal should go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which spent months alongside the United States and Egypt struggling to broker an agreement.

Israel’s government approved the deal early Saturday morning after hours of deliberations and amid internal rifts in the governing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The approval cleared a final obstacle, raising hopes for Israelis who want to see loved ones returned and Gazans who have survived one of the most intense bombing campaigns of the 21st century.

“It’s a mix of joy, sadness and longing for a new beginning,” said Mariam Moeen Awwad, 23, who has been displaced from her home in northern Gaza six times since the war began.

Ms. Awad had planned to move into her newly furnished apartment with her husband in November 2023. The war derailed those plans, leaving the couple in an overcrowded property and eager to return home, she said, “if it’s even still there.”

In Israel, the authorities have started preparations to welcome home dozens of hostages, without knowing whether they will return malnourished, traumatized or dead.