Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his officials have reached a deal with Hamas to return hostages after last-minute snags in negotiations.
Mr Netanyahu said he will now convene his security cabinet, and then the government, to approve a deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release of hostages.
The ceasefire is expected to take effect on Sunday, local time.
In Gaza itself, Israeli warplanes kept up intense strikes, and Palestinian authorities said late on Thursday that at least 86 people were killed after the truce was unveiled.
On Thursday, Mr Netanyahu delayed a cabinet vote to get the agreement finalised.
His office accused Hamas of reneging on key parts of the agreement to extort last-minute concessions — an allegation Hamas denied.
But in the early hours of Friday, Netanyahu's office said approval was imminent.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed by the negotiating team that agreements have been reached on a deal to release the hostages," his office said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear whether the full cabinet would meet on Friday or Saturday or whether there would be any delay to the start of the ceasefire on Sunday.
"The Prime Minister ordered the political-security cabinet to convene tomorrow (Friday). The government will then convene to approve the deal," Mr Netanyahu's office said.
It added that the families of the hostages had been informed and that preparations were being made to receive them upon their return.
Families of hostages urge PM to move quickly
A group representing families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom are due to be freed in the first six-week phase of the accord, urged Mr Netanyahu to move forward quickly.
"For the 98 hostages, each night is another night of terrible nightmare. Do not delay their return even for one more night," the group said in a statement late on Thursday carried by Israeli media.
If approved by Israel's cabinet, the truce agreement would begin on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier on Thursday said a "loose end" in the negotiations needed to be resolved.
A US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said this was a dispute over the identities of some prisoners Hamas wanted released.
Envoys of President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump were in Doha with Egyptian and Qatari mediators working to resolve it, the official said.
Hamas senior official Izzat el-Reshiq said the group remained committed to the ceasefire deal.
Dozens killed in strikes after truce unveiled
Inside Gaza, joy over the truce gave way to sorrow and anger at the intensified bombardment that followed the ceasefire announcement as residents woke up to columns of smoke, rubble and more deaths following new Israeli air strikes.
Palestinian authorities said that at least 86 people were killed after the truce was unveiled.
"We were waiting for the truce and were happy. It was the happiest night since October 7," said Gaza resident Saeed Alloush.
"The whole area's joy turned to sadness, as if an earthquake struck."
He added his uncle had been among those killed.
AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment.
Tamer Abu Shaaban's voice cracked as he stood over the tiny body of his young niece wrapped in a white shroud at a Gaza City morgue.
She had been hit in the back with missile shrapnel as she played in the yard of a school where the family was sheltering, he said.
"Is this the truce they are talking about? What did this young girl, this child, do to deserve this?" he asked.
In the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, resident Mahmud al-Qarnawi told AFP that until the agreement takes hold, Gazans would remain vulnerable.
"The shooting has not stopped, the planes are still in the air and the situation is difficult," he said.
Netanyahu should accommodate Palestinians, Biden says
Mr Biden said on Thursday that Mr Netanyahu "has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns" of Palestinians for the long term sustainability of Israel.
"And the idea that Israel is going to be able to sustain itself for the long term without accommodating the Palestinian question … It's not going to happen," Mr Biden said in an interview on MSNBC.
"And I kept reminding my friend, and he is a friend, although we don't agree a whole lot lately, Bibi Netanyahu, that he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of a large group of people called Palestinians, who have no place to live independently."
Mr Biden faced criticism from multiple human rights advocates for his military and diplomatic support for Israel during its military assault on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and led to accusations of war crimes and genocide.
Israel denies the accusations.
ABC/wires
