Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire Wednesday, a deal that will end 15 months of fighting in Gaza, senior Hamas and Qatari officials said.

Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a multiphase ceasefire that commits them to end the war in Gaza, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch said.

A Hamas official also told the BBC the group had approved a draft from US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Qatari and Hamas officials say a last-minute dispute in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas has been resolved.

WASHINGTON — More than 15 months into Israel’s devastating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the two sides have agreed to a ceasefire deal that would pause fighting and free some Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to Associated Press on Wednesday.

As Israel and Hamas edge closer to a possible ceasefire-hostage agreement, a small number of families whose loved ones remain captive in Gaza are saying “No” to a deal.

Negotiators have yet to confirm a start date and other technical issues. But if implemented, the first phase of the hard-won agreement would see dozens of hostages freed from Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israel.

Negotiators in Qatar appeared close on Wednesday to sealing a deal for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Hamas had given verbal approval to the ceasefire and hostage return proposal under negotiation in Qatar and was waiting for more information to give final written approval, a Palestinian official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

The deal would pause fighting in the Gaza Strip and begin with an exchange of some of the hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.