Mughrabi and James Mackenzie JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday after a nearly three-hour delay, pausing a 15-month-old war that has brought devastation and seismic political change to the Middle East.

Iran welcomed on Thursday a cease-fire deal to end Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, calling it a “historic victory” for Palestinians.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, plans to be a near-constant presence in the region in an attempt to prevent the deal from unraveling.

Four hundred and sixty-six days since Hamas fighters massacred over 1,000 Israelis and kidnapped hundreds more, the guns may finally be falling silent.

To better understand what the cease-fire will mean for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Middle East, Foreign Affairs turned to Marc Lynch, a professor of political science at George Washington University and the director of its Middle East Studies program.

In the 80 hours between Wednesday, January 15, when the Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced, and Sunday, January 19, when it went into effect, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 123 Palestinians including dozens of women and children.

Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives for its nuclear enrichment program in an act of sabotage.

What began as a battle between Israel and Hamas morphed into a much wider regional conflict that has reshaped much of the Middle East.

A year after Israel vowed to wipe Hamas ‘off the face of the earth’ following the 7 October attack into Israel the conflict has spread across the Middle East

Mughrabi, Maayan Lubell and Emily Rose JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Palestinians headed for the rubble of their former homes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Israelis prepared to receive the first hostages still held by Hamas after a ceasefire deal took effect that could pave the way for an end to the 15-month-old war.

Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages. Newsweek's live blog is closed.