Live updates | Timing for the Israel-Hamas pause in fighting to be announced in the next 24 hours

A cease-fire agreement between the Hamas militant group and Israel has been confirmed by both parties, along with Washington and Qatar, which helped broker the deal that would bring a temporary halt to the devastating war that is now in its seventh week.

The Israeli government said that under an outline of the deal, Hamas is to free over a four-day period at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages taken in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Qatar later confirmed the deal, saying the start time will be announced in the next 24 hours and it will last four days. The agreement would bring the first respite to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said before the Cabinet voted early Wednesday to back the agreement that the war would continue even if a deal was reached. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas.

Currently:

— Truce deal raises hopes of freeing hostages in Gaza and halting worst Mideast violence in decades

— South African lawmakers vote in favor of closing Israel’s embassy and cutting diplomatic ties

— Bahrain government websites are briefly inaccessible after a cyberattack over the Israel-Hamas war

— Gaza health officials say they lost the ability to count dead as Israeli offensive intensifies

— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Here’s what’s happening in the war:

CAIRO — The World Health Organization says one of its local staff members in Gaza was killed along with her family when a strike hit the home where they were sheltering.

It said Dima Abdullatif Mohammed Alhaj, 29, was killed Tuesday along with her husband, their 6-month-old son and her two brothers.

The U.N. health agency said in a statement late Tuesday that over 50 people were reportedly killed in the strike. It was not immediately possible to confirm the report or to determine who carried out the strike.

Israel has launched airstrikes across Gaza in the war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Palestinian militants have fired rockets at Israel, some of which have fallen short.

Dr.