Israel’s security cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners.

It will now go to the full cabinet for final sign-off, with a meeting said to be scheduled for this afternoon.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said approval came “after examining all political, security and humanitarian aspects” and with the understanding it “supports the achievement of the war’s goals”.

Live – Gaza ceasefire agreement latest

If passed, the truce could begin on Sunday.

In its first stage, the deal would see 33 of the 98 hostages freed over the course of six weeks. About half of the 98 are believed to be alive.

The remainder are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.

Hamas has said it won’t release everyone without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

Between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released in exchange, depending on the number of hostages freed.

Hardliners in Israel’s coalition government have criticised the deal as giving in to Hamas and security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to resign if it was approved.

However, he said he wouldn’t bring down the government and ministers are expected to approve it.

The ceasefire has been long in the works and there have been false dawns, but on Wednesday a deal was done after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

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Israel has continued strikes on Gaza in the meantime, and Palestinian officials said 86 people were killed the day after the agreement was unveiled.

More than 46,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza – mostly women and children – according to officials there.

Around 1,200 were murdered in Israel – alongside more than 250 who were kidnapped – in the October 2023 Hamas terror attack that started the war.

Israel has said it wants to wipe out the group and that it’s killed some 17,000 of its fighters.

However, it’s been accused of not doing enough to protect civilians – claims it denies – in a war that’s devastated Gaza, displaced hundreds of thousands and left many starving.

The World Health Organisation has said it should be possible to dramatically increase Gaza aid to about 600 trucks a day under the deal.

An average of 51 entered in early January, according to UN data.

Dozens of planes have been forced to divert or fly holding patterns to avoid potential debris from the SpaceX rocket that blew up.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it briefly slowed and re-routed planes in the area where the pieces were falling back to earth.

Tracking app FlightRadar24 said its most-watched flights last night after the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” – as Space X called it – were those holding or diverting over the Caribbean.

It appeared to show several planes flying circular holding patterns, including a Spirit jet heading to Puerto Rico and an Air Transat flight bound for the Dominican Republic.

A Boeing 767 transporting Amazon cargo diverted to Nassau in the Bahamas, while a JetBlue flight turned back to where it began in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The FAA often closes airspace for space missions and can create a “debris response area” to protect aircraft if a rocket has a problem outside the original closed zone.

Spectacular video on social media showed the debris from the 400ft Starship rocket streaking across the sky, with another clip showing it from the cockpit of a small plane.

Despite the rocket blowing up, SpaceX owner Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting on X: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”

SpaceX launched the rocket from Boca Chica, south Texas, on Thursday around 4.40pm local time (10.40pm in the UK).

The flight was the seventh test for the newly-upgraded Starship, which was due to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.

But the company said it lost contact about eight and half minutes into the flight, with the last data indicating an altitude of 90 miles and a velocity of 13,245 mph.

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There was some success though – the booster section returned to a launchpad and was caught between two giant mechanical arms.

It’s the second time SpaceX has managed this particular feat and it’s part of its effort to reuse hardware and make space travel cheaper – with getting to Mars the big aim.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully launched two moon landers earlier this week, while Jeff Bezos also had a big win early Thursday morning.

The Amazon boss’s company, Blue Origin, put its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been given a 14-year jail sentence in a land corruption case, his lawyer has said.

The verdict in the case followed allegations of possible bribery involving land, which was exchanged for favours by real estate developer Malik Riaz Hussain.

It is linked to the Al Qadir Trust that Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi established while he was in office. Prosecutors say this was a front for the former prime minister.

It is the largest case of alleged financial wrongdoing against Khan and was delivered by an anti-corruption court in a prison in Rawalpindi, where the former prime minister has been jailed since August 2023.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party insists the land was not for personal gain, and instead was meant for a spiritual educational institution.

Bibi was also convicted in the land corruption case. Local outlet Geo News reported that she was taken into custody shortly after the verdict, having been out on bail.

The PTI said in a statement: “Whilst we wait for detailed decision, it’s important to note that, the Al Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse.”

Omar Ayub Khan, a senior PTI leader, added: “This is a bogus case, and we will approach an appeals court against this decision.”

The 72-year-old, also a World Cup-winning cricketer, was removed from office in 2022 by a vote of no confidence. He claims he has faced more than 150 criminal cases since then.

The land corruption case centres on the use of £190m that the UK repatriated to Pakistan in 2019 after Hussain forfeited cash and assets in a British criminal probe.

Khan was alleged to have then used the money to pay fines against the tycoon for the illegal acquisition of government lands at below-market value.

Former interior minister Rana Sanaullah alleged in 2023 that Hussain gave land in Jhelum and Islamabad to the Al Qadir Trust in exchange for that favour.

After Khan’s sentence, Pakistan’s information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said it was the country’s largest corruption case.

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Including the Al Qadir Trust corruption case, Khan has been charged with graft and misuse of power, and has also been accused of inciting violence against the state after being removed from office.

He has been acquitted or had his sentence suspended in most cases, including ones for leaked state secrets and two other corruption sentences.

In July last year, Khan and Bibi were acquitted of unlawful marriage charges, only for the former prime minister to be arrested again over three cases linked to violence against the military and other state bodies in Lahore on 9 May 2023.

Violent protests have broken sporadically since Khan was jailed.

In November, at least six people were killed and almost a thousand protesters were arrested over demonstrations to free the former prime minister.

Khan’s latest conviction comes just a day after the PTI held formal reconciliatory talks with the government in a bid to restore stability.