Long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is due to begin at 630am GMT on Sunday – but hostages’ families and Palestinians all fear the deal could fall at the final hurdle

CAIRO (AP) — The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced for news of loved ones, Palestinians prepared to receive freed detainees and humanitarian groups rushed to set up a surge of aid.

Early Saturday morning, Israel’s Cabinet approved the deal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages and pause the 15-month war with Hamas, bringing the sides a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever.

Two senior Iranian Supreme Court judges involved in handling espionage and terrorism cases were shot dead in the capital Tehran on Saturday, Iran's judiciary said.

Two senior judges in Iran’s Supreme Court were shot dead in Tehran on Saturday in an attack that authorities blamed on the US and Israel.

Their killings, a rare attack targeting the judiciary, also come as Iran faces economic turmoil, the mauling of its Mideast allies by Israel and the return of Donald Trump to the White House on Monday.