The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced for news of loved ones,

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time, mediator Qatar announced Saturday.

After months of negotiations between Hamas and Israel -- with the United States, Egypt and Qatar serving as intermediaries -- a ceasefire negotiation has been reached in the war in Gaza. The agreement will go into effect on Sunday,

Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, mediator Qatar announced on Wednesday evening.

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators shuttled between the Israeli and Hamas delegations in Doha on Tuesday, where officials said a deal to halt the war is near.

Qatar’s foreign ministry says the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Sunday

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is set to begin on Sunday, pausing the devastating 15-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip

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.