Mediators have finally been able to broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of war in Gaza.
The conflict began with a bloody terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, which saw 1200 people killed and more than 200 others kidnapped as hostages.
Israel's ferocious response has so far seen 46,000 people in Gaza killed, according to local health authorities, and brought about what the United Nations has called a humanitarian crisis in the devastated region.
READ MORE: US President Joe Biden confirms ceasefire deal for Gaza
Now a potential end to the war is in sight. Here's how it will work.
What are the stages of the ceasefire?
As clarifed by Biden this morning, the ceasefire has three stages.
Phase one starts Sunday, according to mediator Qatar.
It should include a six-week halt to fighting and the opening of negotiations on ending the war.
Thirty-three of the nearly 100 Israeli hostages should be released over the period, although it's not clear if all are alive. They include women, older adults and wounded people.
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Mediator the US says this first phase also includes a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza.
That will allow many displaced Palestinians to return to their communities.
Humanitarian assistance would surge, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza each day. Final details still being worked out include the list of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to be freed.
Phase two will see negotiations open on day 16 of the ceasefire.
The phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers.
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Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. But Israel has said it will not agree to a complete withdrawal until Hamas' military and political capabilities are eliminated.
And Hamas says it will not hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops.
Phase three calls for the return of the bodies of remaining hostages and the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which is largely devastated and faces decades of rebuilding.
Does the ceasefire mean the war is over?
Not exactly. The ceasefire only covers a six-week period of non-fighting to allow the negotiations needed to end the war to take place.
However, Biden said this morning that if longer than six weeks was needed to come to that agreement, the ceasefire would be extended as necessary, as long as both sides remained in negotiation.
But in fact, the ceasefire isn't even certain yet.
Though announced by both the US and Qatar as confirmed, and hailed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said details were still being worked out.
Netanyahu has not said explicitly whether he accepts the deal.
In a statement, Netanyahu said he would only issue a formal response "after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed."
What happens next?
Assuming there is no last-minute reversal from any of the parties involved, Egyptian, Qatar and US negotiators will head to Cairo on Thursday for further talks on implementing all aspects of the ceasefire deal, according to a senior US official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the negotiators are focused on making sure expectations are clear to both Israel and Hamas, and that implementation of the agreement is carried out as smoothly as possible.
Additionally, the United Nations is preparing for an immediate supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The top UN humanitarian official for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, has been discussing with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials how to increase desperately needed aid after a ceasefire takes effect.
Tom Fletcher, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said aid agencies have been mobilising to scale up aid delivery across Gaza.
In a statement, Fletcher called for the protection of civilians and infrastructure, authorisation for aid workers to have safe and "unfettered" access to people in need, and "removing all obstacles to the entry of essential aid."
OCHA spokesperson Eri Kaneko, in an email, said, "we can only deliver as much as the conditions on the ground allow for us to do so."
US President Joe Biden, speaking in Washington, emphasised that, "The surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin. And the innocent people can have a greater access to these vital supplies."
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