Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was treating the ceasefire as temporary and retained the right to continue fighting if necessary.

Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the start earlier on Sunday of the ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, as UN humanitarian convoys brought in urgently needed food aid to begin pulling the war-ravaged territory back from starvation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of backing out of a cease-fire deal to release hostages and end the war in Gaza, which has raged for more than a year.

Netanyahu says US will back return to war with only hours until Gaza ceasefire - The ceasefire deal was signed off by Israel’s government on Saturday morning - but attacks have continued on the Gaza S

President-elect Donald Trump’s influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the defining factor in reaching a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to sources close to the negotiations.

Follow NBC News' live coverage as Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire deal to halt the Gaza war and release hostages, while Biden and Trump react.

The UN secretary-general has reacted after Israel and Hamas agreed to have a ceasefire deal to halt the war in Gaza. The conflict had lasted several months.

The cease-fire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time, 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.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will go into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday.

Speaking at a news conference in Lebanon, Guterres said that while there would not be any "impediments by Israel for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza", that getting the aid into the hands of those in need would not be "easy".

This will pause the fighting after 15 months of war and see the release of dozens of hostages held by the militants in the Gaza Strip and hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.